M Gnome Druid 4 (CORE) | HP 35/35 | AC 15 | T 12 | FF 14 | CMD 11 | Fort +7 | Ref +3 | Will +10 | +2 vs. illusion | +4 vs. fey and spells that target plants | Init +3 | Perception +14 (low-light vision) | Sense Motive +5 | Reroll 1/1 | Active Spells:Endure Elements
Standard Action
Loni gives Darven another tap.
Cure Light Wounds (Darven):1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Move Action
He heads over towards Hannar.
"Get that one girl!" He points to the one garbed in blue.
Carini already used her AoO for last round when yellow moved; she doesn't have Combat Reflexes, so that's it.
Carini steps back, takes a good look at the stance of the man in front of her, and slips her guisarme between his legs, trying to lift him off of his feet as she just did with their captain.
Darven stands up and swings at the leader as he gets up, but misses. The follow up swing is more than enough to end the leader's life. All of the thugs visibly gulp.
Well, except for the Yellow guy, he screams as Kavor flanks with him and bypasses his shield with a well-aimed swing. "I knew this wasn't worth the money! I'm gettin' out of here!"
Carini tries to trip another thug, but he stands firm.
Hortensia inspires you. You get a +1 bonus to attack and damage.
Hannar's bolt of flame arcs wide and burns a smile piece of wood.
Hortensia tries to calm the men down but they are having none of it. The thug with the Yellow gloves, severely wounded, tries to flee. He is withdrawing, so he only Provokes AoOs from Kavor.
The thug with the White bandana steps carefully and flanks against Kovar, and the duo attack the dwarf.
M Dwarf CORE Ftr1/Wiz5/EK4 | AC21 T11 FF20 | HP 89/89 | F+10 R +6 W +8 (all +2 vs spells, SLA, poison) | Init +6 | Perc +9 | CMD 23 (27 vs bull rush, trip) | Reroll 1/1 | Bonded Spell 1/1 | Active: None | Armor: On
Kavor Doan will try an AOO for non-lethal damage.
Attack, NL, PA:1d20 + 8 - 4 - 1 ⇒ (9) + 8 - 4 - 1 = 12 "Go on, get out of here!"
Then he takes a 5' step and turns his focus to one of the thugs who had the temerity to try to flank him.
Attack on Blue, PA:1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (18) + 8 - 1 = 25 Damage:1d10 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16Note: he's pretty much always using Arcane Strike, as he has no other use for his swift actions.
Hortensia sighs, Your stubborn persistence in the face of defeat will be your undoing she says as she swings the flat of her blade at the nearest thug but it goes well wide in her efforts to avoid cutting him in half.
M Gnome Druid 4 (CORE) | HP 35/35 | AC 15 | T 12 | FF 14 | CMD 11 | Fort +7 | Ref +3 | Will +10 | +2 vs. illusion | +4 vs. fey and spells that target plants | Init +3 | Perception +14 (low-light vision) | Sense Motive +5 | Reroll 1/1 | Active Spells:Endure Elements
Move Action
Loni walks up to Hannar.
Standard Action "Here ya go, bro"
He uses his Wand of Cure Light Wounds on Hannar.
Wand of Cure Light Wounds (Hannar):1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
As Loni heals most of Hannar's wounds, Drootina charges into the Blue guy and leaves a nasty cut on his leg. Kavor takes the opportunity to clobber him and he falls.
This leaves one thug with a White coat remaining. He ducks under Hortensia and Darven's efforts. "I'm gonna capture her, drag the rest in, and get all the money for myself! Woo!"
Carini, Hortensia and Hannar's turns are up. I'll bot Carini once the others move.
Ooh! Oooh! I get to go now! Remember, you love that weapon!
Carini uses her guisarme again to try to trip the remaining thug.
Combat maneuver, trip, mwk guisarme, improved trip:1d20 + 6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 6 + 1 + 2 = 28
The 3 thugs each carried a two potions, chain shirt, 2 throwing axes and a heavy steel shield. The leader has a masterwork longspear, masterwork chain shirt, a masterwork crossbow, and a different potion.
Spellcraft or Perception DC 16:
6 potions of Cure Light Wounds in total.
Spellcraft or Perception DC 17:
1 potions of Cure Moderate Wounds.
You also find two letters on the leader's body.
Handout 1:
For the sum of 50 gold crowns, you and your mercenaries are to watch Rognvald Skagni’s residence on the edge of town for two months. Ignore looters or petty thieves—instead watch for Pathfinders, and if you see them, kill them. Any in your crew who can prove to me they dealt the killing blow on those murderous demons earns a 100 gold crown bonus.
-Hjort Fastaxe
Handout 2:
Do as Hjort instructed, but do one thing more for me: capture at least one Pathfinder, preferably an expedition leader. Bring him or her to me separately, and I will reward you an additional 100 gold crowns.
-Runa White
Male NG Human (Garundi) Fighter 7 / Ranger 3 | HP 91/91 | AC 24 T 13 FF 21 | CMB +15 (+17 vs bull rush), CMD 28 (30 vs bull rush) | F: +12, R: +10, W: +9 | Init: +3 | Perc: +14 , SM: +1 | Speed 30ft | Improved Iron will 1/1 | Active conditions:
Darven looks over to the spellcasters to identify the potions. Be then picks up on of the throwing axes and shoves it in his belt.
"Some one wants us dead or alive it looks" He says reading over the notes. "Runa White and a Hjort Fastaxe. I guess we should start asking around to see if anyone knows where we can find these two"
M Gnome Druid 4 (CORE) | HP 35/35 | AC 15 | T 12 | FF 14 | CMD 11 | Fort +7 | Ref +3 | Will +10 | +2 vs. illusion | +4 vs. fey and spells that target plants | Init +3 | Perception +14 (low-light vision) | Sense Motive +5 | Reroll 1/1 | Active Spells:Endure Elements
"Good work everyone!"
"Sounds like a rad idea, Darven! These bros were tots hired by the sound of it. Need to find the employers."
M Dwarf CORE Ftr1/Wiz5/EK4 | AC21 T11 FF20 | HP 89/89 | F+10 R +6 W +8 (all +2 vs spells, SLA, poison) | Init +6 | Perc +9 | CMD 23 (27 vs bull rush, trip) | Reroll 1/1 | Bonded Spell 1/1 | Active: None | Armor: On
@Darven - non-casters can try Perception checks I think. @Loni - since you have it prepared, it's often a good idea to cast Guidance before making a skill check if it could reasonably be done in character (i.e., an active rather than a passive check). Or before a party member tries a skill check. Costs you nothing to do so.
Kavor Doan tries to identify the last potion.
Spellcraft:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15 "Don't know."
Male NG Human (Garundi) Fighter 7 / Ranger 3 | HP 91/91 | AC 24 T 13 FF 21 | CMB +15 (+17 vs bull rush), CMD 28 (30 vs bull rush) | F: +12, R: +10, W: +9 | Init: +3 | Perc: +14 , SM: +1 | Speed 30ft | Improved Iron will 1/1 | Active conditions:
@Kavor- I know, but it could also be some kind of poison. Since that happened to Darven once, he doesn't attempt to drink anything with out identifying it first. Better safe than sorry
M Gnome Druid 4 (CORE) | HP 35/35 | AC 15 | T 12 | FF 14 | CMD 11 | Fort +7 | Ref +3 | Will +10 | +2 vs. illusion | +4 vs. fey and spells that target plants | Init +3 | Perception +14 (low-light vision) | Sense Motive +5 | Reroll 1/1 | Active Spells:Endure Elements
@Kavor: Sure. It's mostly what I get when wanting to post before going to bed after a double-scenario local gameday where I was the organizer. ;)
Hmm, smells of lavendar, no idea what it is though. Has anyone heard of this Hjorte or Runa? Hjorte seems to be the main person who wants us dead, we should track them down first I think.
The notes provide some answers, but not enough. You decide to ask around town.
In the town of Trollheim, everyone keeps to themselves. They don't like outsiders, especially nosy outsiders. The Pathfinders realize they'll need to tread lightly and ask careful questions about Hjort and Runa.
Roll Diplomacy or Knowledge(Local) checks to investigate. I'll need a total of 5 rolls from each of you.
If any of you are of Ulfen origin, you get a bonus to your checks. If you're from their rival region Irrisen and you mention this, you'll suffer a huge penalty instead.
M Dwarf CORE Ftr1/Wiz5/EK4 | AC21 T11 FF20 | HP 89/89 | F+10 R +6 W +8 (all +2 vs spells, SLA, poison) | Init +6 | Perc +9 | CMD 23 (27 vs bull rush, trip) | Reroll 1/1 | Bonded Spell 1/1 | Active: None | Armor: On
Kavor Doan asks around about Hjort and Runa.
Diplomacy:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26 Diplomacy:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8 Diplomacy:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9 Diplomacy:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17 Diplomacy:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
While is usually decently persuasive, he doesn't have much luck in Trollheim. Nor does he speak Skald.
M Gnome Druid 4 (CORE) | HP 35/35 | AC 15 | T 12 | FF 14 | CMD 11 | Fort +7 | Ref +3 | Will +10 | +2 vs. illusion | +4 vs. fey and spells that target plants | Init +3 | Perception +14 (low-light vision) | Sense Motive +5 | Reroll 1/1 | Active Spells:Endure Elements
"This last potions is strangely elusive. I can usually always smell these out. Hmmm"
Carini tries her best to assist the investigation, asking around but not having any particular connection to the locals to lean on. And not really being that personable in the first place, her results are as dismal as might be expected. "Come on; it's a name! Do you know it or not?!? Don't just walk away from me; who do you think you are!?!"
The party canvases the town, getting to know the locals and eventually getting some good results.
Hjort came from a coastal village:
Kavor meets a comely Ulfen guard and she challenges him to an arm wrestling contest. She's quite impressed with his strength, and talks about these outsiders.
“I heard about an Ulfen warrior named Hjort—don’t know his family name—who came here a while back after his entire village was slaughtered on the Arcadian coast. People say his rage toward the Pathfinder Society burns bright, as they were the ones who slaughtered his people—a people, I heard, that he was destined to be the jarl of. Those traditional warriors from the coast are serious brutes—I wouldn’t want to be one of their targets.”
Someone named Runa White has been seen in the markets:
Darven talks to a muscular Ulfen warrior and is straight and to the point. The woman respects your determination and tells you what she knows.
“A dark-haired Chelish woman, family name of White, has been seen about the market recently. She’s hiring mercenaries and low-life thugs for Gorum-knows- what. If you’re looking for her to right some wrong, I’d bring a dozen more of you—she was cornered in one of the market’s darkest corners by some of Trollheim’s biggest miscreants, and just when they thought they had gotten the drop on her, she called to her god and blasted them with holy fire. She’s tough, that one, and not someone I’d mess with.”
Hjort Fastaxe and Runa White have been seen together hiring mercenaries.:
An old swordsmith travels around the town during his days. Hortensia manages to talk his ear off about the smith's impressive weapon collection. He soon strikes up a conversation, and you get a few juicy tidbits.
“Yeah, I know those two. They approached my friends and me and offered us a ridiculous sum to work for them. No way was I going to work for a washed-up Ulfen warrior and a foreign she-devil from the south. Hjort’s eyes told all the story I needed to know: he wasn’t doing whatever he was doing for profit—he was doing it for revenge. That business has only one path, and it leads straight to Pharasma’s ample bosom. And Runa? Well, she’s a foreigner, ain’t she?”
Hjort and Runa operate out of a shady tavern in the market.:
Loni speaks to a destitute Gnome in Trollheim and converse with him without talking about his stench.
“Can’t say as I remember the name of the place, but when they tried to hire my cousin, they told him to meet them at some hole in the market. You’d best do your poking around there and stop pestering the peaceful folk of Trollheim before they decide to yank your entrails out from your mouth and strangle you with them.”
Hjort and Runa live in rooms at the Horned Helm in the northern part of the market.:
You meet a tall, lanky woman at an inn. She claims to be in the middle of writing the world's greatest saga, but all she seems to have done all day is drink. Carini entertains her by buying another drink. At least she won't run away from the Half-elf. Hannar manages to convince her to talk about something besides her saga.
“Hjort and Runa, you say? Yeah, I know ‘em. I drink a beer and punch a guy in the face every night down at the Horned Helm, and they’ve been there for weeks—months maybe. I tell ya, that Hjort can throw a punch, and don’t get Runa started about religion—she’s likely to talk about it long enough it starts a fight and the way she ends fights ain’t fair, ain’t right, and just ain’t normal. Runa is a dark-haired woman from Cheliax, and Hjort is a large brute with red hair, a red beard, and a scar across his left cheek.”
This takes most of the day and at this point it's time for bed. I'll assume you guys find an inn and discuss your results then.
Male NG Human (Garundi) Fighter 7 / Ranger 3 | HP 91/91 | AC 24 T 13 FF 21 | CMB +15 (+17 vs bull rush), CMD 28 (30 vs bull rush) | F: +12, R: +10, W: +9 | Init: +3 | Perc: +14 , SM: +1 | Speed 30ft | Improved Iron will 1/1 | Active conditions:
"I guess the Horned Helm might be a good place to investigate." Darven says relaxing in the common room. "But the two should not be hard to spot with the descriptions we have gotten."
Hortensia nods, Yes, lets head over there now and find out what the hell is going on. It certainly sounds like someone is trying to set up the Pathfinder Society. I am quite certain we would not have killed this Hjort's entire village. That is not what we do!
M Gnome Druid 4 (CORE) | HP 35/35 | AC 15 | T 12 | FF 14 | CMD 11 | Fort +7 | Ref +3 | Will +10 | +2 vs. illusion | +4 vs. fey and spells that target plants | Init +3 | Perception +14 (low-light vision) | Sense Motive +5 | Reroll 1/1 | Active Spells:Endure Elements
"Let's go!" Loni tries to keep up with his short legs.
(Loni will ask if someone can use his Wand of Mage Armor on Drootina before entering any building where we suspect these people are there... going to mark off a charge now)
@GM said it was bedtime, so I'm assuming these calls for action are coming in the morning after we're rested?
Enjoying some bread and butter with her morning caf, Carini agrees. "The Horned Helm definitely seems like the right place to start. What's our plan? I'm not much for social graces; my blade is the only way I know to get things done. Who wants to do the talking then?"
M Dwarf CORE Ftr1/Wiz5/EK4 | AC21 T11 FF20 | HP 89/89 | F+10 R +6 W +8 (all +2 vs spells, SLA, poison) | Init +6 | Perc +9 | CMD 23 (27 vs bull rush, trip) | Reroll 1/1 | Bonded Spell 1/1 | Active: None | Armor: On
Kavor Doan, having shared his story, agrees with Hortensia. "Yes, slaughtering villages on the Arcadian coast is not our way. We have been framed. I think Hortensia is our best negotiator, though I can back her up. Like all dwarves, I am naturally gifted with blades, spells, and words."
You get the sense that last sentence was at least partly in jest.
It took you about 14 hours to complete the investigation, so you would have had to wait for the next day to visit the bar.
You have heard many stories about the Horned Helm. Even the roughest and toughest of Trollheim consider it to be one of the worst dives in town. At least once a week, someone has a knife sticking out or their brains bashed against the wall.
The Horned Helm is a low-slung, two-story building of questionable construction leaning heavily over a shoddy corner of mud and brick in the dankest, filthiest parcel of land in all of the market. It has no windows, as they’ve all been broken and boarded over; its only door looks like a simple plank of wood covered in scratches, burns, and probably blood stains. Noise, heat, and smoke pour out from under that door and rise to a staggering crescendo of laughter as the door swings lazily open and two bodies are unceremoniously dumped into the rutted, frozen mud streets outside. A battered sign hangs above the door, swinging on two chains, one shorter than the other. It bears the faded image of an Ulfen helm with two ridiculously large horns.
Two bodies are lying slumped outside the walls. The bodies are bruised, alive and unconscious. As you enter the insults begin almost immediately. The bartender, a one-armed bearded man is the loudest and most vile of them all. He laughs at the scrawny wimps and their Ulfen chaperone who came into his bar.
The other thing you notice is the intense heat, blazing off of two iron furnaces full of coal. Eventually the insults cease, and the heat is a bit more comfortable.
Perception DC 15:
There is a man seated opposite from the entrance, with only the profile of his left side visible to you. He matches the description of Hjort that you know of.
