Well, we have a string of horses and supplies from the inn and I am guessing a few villagers we have collected along the way. Maybe we are meta gaming moving people out and toward the hills so to speak while we are free to do a rear guard action? Maybe we hang onto two or three horses or whatever if they aren’t already loaded up in case we need to make use of them in our missions?
I am also all for keeping the party together.
I was under the impression that we have people gathering at the tavern/inn while getting supplies at the shrine, then moving everyone en masse out of town and across the bridge.
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...Or did I patch her up while everyone was planning, then join the others heading to the shrine?
Hey all sorry on the delay. Busy weekend with the holidays and trying to make arrangements with getting my vehicle back from the body shop. The company that is responsible for the damage is starting to get flaky with payments and I’m having to deal with that nonsense. So hopefully this week I’ll be more available.
Time to go, Berzerk John.
Paint the walls.
My autocorrect on my phone is killing me. When I edit, it changes words. Anyway, I wanted to make sure people had seen this.
Especially for Arlen, etc. (By the way, how intimidating is it knowing you are about to be stomped by a moose with a mounted warrior on its back?) whose positioning on the map is important. We can be where we need to be on the map.
I did see that. That was before we slaughtered the wolf in the front.
I really need to get on a computer soon and move my own token.
Can confirm via another campaign that when the GM pays for a roll20 subscription, players can sign in and move their tokens from a mobile browser. I got excited when I did it for another game and went to do it here but got the message about how mobile users can't move their token unless they or the GM pay for a subscription. Something to consider doing.
Then again, Google slides is free and has an app that works on most mobile devices, making it easy to get to maps. Something else to consider.
I am on vacation this week. I will be keeping up with my games off and on via RSS, but please do not hold anything up waiting for me. There should be botting instructions in my profile. Do not hesitate to use them to move things forward.
Put an E on the map next to the SW pink foe. Is there a better way for me to add these in the future?
I don't know of any way a player can add tokens to the map.
Looks like I don't have edit rights for Russet's token, so I can't move it yet. Can you fix that, GM?
Should be fixed now.
Sorry, rough weekend. Getting caught up.
Mundane weapons and armor
*Studded Leather Armor (8)
*Ironfang Legion uniform (8)
*Light Steel Shield (8)
*Longsword (8)
*Dagger (8)
*Longbow with 20 arrows (7)
*composite longbow (+2 Str) with 20 arrows,
*handaxe,
*mwk battleaxe,
*padded armor
Mundane gear:
*a round ivory amulet engraved with Erastil’s bow-and-arrow holy
symbol strung on a leather thong (10 crowns).
One traveller's masterwork backpack (Ultimate Equipment) stuffed with:
A soldier's heavy crossbow (with 20 bolts and 9 masterwork bolts);
*backpack, bedroll, blanket, mess kit, small tent,
Magical gear:
A salesman’s case with eight clearly labeled potions of guidance.
*an amulet of aegis of recovery (UE),
*alchemist’s fire (x2),
Wands/scrolls:
A Wizards Wand of magic missile (11 charges) Caster level 1
*Elm wand of magic missile (CL1, 12 charges),
*a wand of cure light wounds (CL3, 43 charges). Faerith
Misc:
*a silver cup (15 crowns),
*a hand-sized darkwood carving of a butterfly (20 crowns),
*Glass jar with 100 crowns worth of gold dust,
*150 crowns worth of silver dust,
Provisions:
dried goat meat, sheep’s cheese, and a jug of sheep’s milk worth a total of 5 Provision Points
Provision Points (3)
*Three bottles of Oldlaw whiskey (20 crowns each),
Currency:
3 crowns in coinage, 76 silver crowns in coinage
120 silver pennies, 180 copper farthings
Gems:
*27 small semiprecious stones (worth 1 crown each),
Claim what you want
Big john will take the Heavy Crossbow and the mwk backpack so he can carry people and still shoot if he needs too.
I don’t want to be greedy, but the Ageis of Recovery would also protect John from keeling over from rage exhaustion.
Take the aegis, John! We need you at peak condition as often as possible.
Looks like Arlen is taking these:
•composite longbow (+2 Str) with 20 arrows,
•mwk battleaxe,
Along with 20 arrows that were with one of the longbows. He will take more arrows, but I think the other archers should grab some. I see 120 arrows left.
Elandra will take 20 arrows and an alchemist fire.
We need someone who can use the wand of magic missiles.
Anyone trained in Use Magic Device?
Durun doesn't really need anything from that last. One of the nice things about Kineticists, they really don't need a lot.
I have a feeling for the most part in this first part im not going to find a whole lot of items I can use being a halfling versus hobgoblins. Loot away boys and girls :)
I will certainly take extra arrows.
Magic Missile isn't on my spell list, but I am trained in UMD.
I am hoping Arlen and Yaron will join in on the scene for character development and party building.
Big John has tried to interact with Faerieth a few times, but she hasn’t reacted. Is she just missing it because the character’s owner is so busy and just trying to get the post out before going to bed or purposefully not reacting back to him because that is her character?
Sorry about the absence, I handle Social Media for a tri-state telecommunications company and a lightning strike killed a server on Monday affecting thousands. It's been nuts.
Sorry John I noticed one after the fact. I'm definitely up for interactions but at the same time, Faerith being a healer is pretty much in triage mode right now. Emotions off, tend the wounded, get people to safety, deal with everything else when the immediate crisis dies down.
I'm not opposed to more missions to get gear, but I want to make sure we're not talking too long.
As for time taken so far, you've taken right about ten minutes since you left the Inn.
I'm on board with that plan still. Is the Smith and alchemist shop next to that?
You can see on the map of Phaendar that the Phaendar Trading Company is down and around the green across an intersection. There's been no change in the lighting conditions or the enemy troop movements, so you have excellent concealment when you need to move.
The Smithy is inside the Phaendar Trading company, the store sharing the structure with the Smithy with a stables out back.
Oreld’s Fine Shop supplies Phaendar with remedies, dye, glue, and paint, with some alchemical stuff. Oreld is a kind of country doctor without magic.
The shop iteslf is across the open green from the Chapel, or take the longer loop around south past the Trading company and back up if you want to maintain concealment.
I don't think we need to RP this decision, but we can.
Arlen will push to maintain concealment. So that would mean going to the trading company and then to the shop, so as to go around the open areas.
I think looping around makes the most sense. Let's not let them see us unless it's to lead them into a trap, like, say, an exploding bridge.
Damn you guys, that was some good RP! I’d say we have a good group here.
Damn you guys, that was some good RP! I’d say we have a good group here.
Agreed!
"...but if we need to break up to get it all done, please let us know. Camris?
You are overmanned at the moment, and can certainly split up to get things done faster, but for my part it's way harder to do the maps for two different fights at the same time. I would probably focus on one fight first, leaving the others offstage for a fair amount of time.
What's our plan for GenCon? My preference would be to just pause for the duration but I can manage to sneak in a post or 2 a day if necessary.
Between packing tonight, traveling, and doing con related things, I will be busy with GenCon from now until Sunday. I don't expect to be caught up to speed until Monday or Tuesday.
If any of y'all will be playing organized play at GenCon and want to meet up, send me a PM! I enjoy the tables much more when playing with a friend.
I will continue to read posts through the RSS feed and may drop in for a post, but please bot me whenever it becomes necessary.
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Big John, I don't think I'm following the benefit of your proposed plan. If you'll explain it a little more, here or in gameplay, I will see it via RSS and can comment further.
Someday I would like to attend GenCon, maybe I will try that next year!
Okay as a player I will try to lay out Big John’s thought process:
Aubrin wants the bridge dropped so that is his primary objective.
Getting wagons, extra food, etc. is all well and good, but without dropping the bridge the other stuff is useless because the group will not be able to escape.
If the alchemist can make more stump remover that can be a powerful weapon. None of the other side objectives give the group an offensive option.
The alchemist is probably a tactical asset that both sides are going to want to capture.
Three characters and a Dog seem to be enough to reach and slip into the alchemists office without causing a bigger disturbance or drawing attention with a larger group. With the sneaky elf and the halfling helping him he might be able to get there unnoticed.
Sor, Darry and Big John can all outrun Hobgoblins because they all have movement over 30ft. Darry moves at 50ft mounted and a dog runs pretty much silent. That gives the three a big advantage, along with Sor’s ability to see better at night, to complete the mission.
If the party splits it saves a lot of time. Big John doesn’t think trying to bring the whole Caravan to the Alchemists is a good idea. It may save 1/3 of the time to get the whole group to head for the bridge.
By spreading out more survivors might be run across. Big John hopes to find some members of the community.
Some members will be at GenCon it sounds like. This side quest might get resolved in time to seamlessly flow back in with loading supplies or meeting at the Inn for loading there.
In short, John thinks the importance is Stump Remover, People at the Inn, and then Supplies. His plan lets him get the remover, then head to the Inn, hopefully the others will get there with the supplies. Otherwise he can move the people to the rest of the group and still have the ability to take out the bridge.
John understands some of the other party members want to get supplies and assumes their objective is the survivability of the refugees. He has no ill will towards them, but from a military stand point, he realizes they might be overwhelmed and he believes the bridge is the reason the hobgoblins are here, because it is the only strategic thing in town. The fort is in ruins, there is no town wall and they are obviously taking prisoners for something.
He believes splitting up forces increases the chances for everyone’s survival and for both groups to be successful in their missions.
The survival part is questionable. A group of hobs hitting a split party could easily be death either group, especially putting three of the four primary melee members and no spellcaster in one group.
It's assumed everyone we've encountered and sent on is gathering and awaiting us. Yes spreading out means we are likely to encounter more civilians, but it also increases the danger for each group. Granted we have a bigger group than normal.
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Agreed - which was the point Yaron was trying to make -- given that the hobgoblins, basically, hold the town - then attacking with our full strength wherever we go will be better for us...
..and, in fact, if we can quickly kill the goblins we bump into, have extra eyes for searching, and enough arms (and saddlebags) to carry things without slowing down, it may be just as quick to stay together.
And that's before we even get to the fact that if the bridge is as important as John thinks, it's already got goblins on it, and I don't think any small group of us is well suited to get them off -- and, for that matter, hold the bridge long enough for group #2 to arrive and/or set it to blow.
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I see no reason to assume that the Smith or the trading Post will be any less well defended than the alchemist shop. Splitting the party means that while you go to the alchemist shop we go to the other two places and both of us are weaker. The GM already said we shouldn't have any trouble sneaking through town at night. I'm not sure what splitting is supposed to gain us.
Maybe you are missing the major point. John wants to get the stump remover first. It is the only thing the group is going after that will drop the bridge. If the bridge is not dropped, everything else will not matter, at least to his thinking.
He is trying to secure the means to reach the objective.
Going to get supplies first, taking time to wrangle and hitch horses (which he isn’t the best at), picking up a bunch of non combatants, moving around in a mob, does not make sense to him to do first, before securing the means to blow up the bridge.
He thinks it will be faster to pick up one bag or jar of stump remover and one maker of said items, than it will be to loot the local Walmart, so to speak.
He thinks he can do that, before you have even got the horses to the wagons. Kind of like, can your dad get to Auto Zone and pick up a few cans of oil faster than your mom can organize a bunch of kids and all the items needed to support them, load them into the car then do the house shopping for the week? Dad can grab the oil and be at the supermarket before mom is done shopping or can at least help load the car before mom can finish gathering and buying 10 bags of graceries.
Rather depends on whether there are a gang of armed folk stopping Dad.
Or, for that matter, someone able to stop or slow Mom so that even if Dad can make it, all he'll find is Mom's corpse.
I'm not saying one person couldn't potentially get there faster (although we're not dragging kids, er, townies, with us - we're sending them back along the trail we've cleared and will meet up with them later) - I'm saying that getting there faster doesn't in any way increase our chance of success and, in fact, actively harms it.
{..and that's not even factoring in that the stuff we're trying to gather will actually increase our ability to fight the bad guys..}
Especially when, unless you've got information we don't, we can safely expect that the whole town is overrun, so there's no "getting ahead" of the invaders. (because, really, an inn's got to be pretty low on the priority list of tactical targets)
In game, considering that the party has witnessed John swing from total meltdown, beating a corpse to a pulp unhinged, to "everyone follow me" barking orders and deputizing in the space of twenty minutes, he's coming off as unhinged with a deathwish ( he's actually said he keeps trying to die) and his insistence is looking like a hero-suicide run. It's not likely to convince the rest of the group to follow his lead.
True, but true to his character. He is going for the weapon that will blow up the bridge. If he gets that, everything else is fluff. He is speaking very calmly and tactically now because he has become mission focused.
His Commanding Officer wants him to drop the bridge so that is the mission.
He wasn’t trying to die, but hasn’t run into anything yet that can kill him yet and laments the loss of people he sees as his betters.
He thinks the Guerilla Elf, and the Halfling Rider and he have the quickest most successful chance of getting the stump remover if the others are goin for loot the emporium and other things first that don’t achieve the primary mission of dropping the bridge.
If the others came with him that is fine. If anyone does a Sense Motive he is happy to do as much as they can after they have secured the means to blow up the bridge.
If he gets the alchemist, be might be able to low more stuff up.
If he achieves those goals, he will work to get more of the fluff until it is impossible to do so, because he knows they have the ability to destroy the bridge as they leave.
Plus it’s also a chance for role play and the characters establish themselves.
Right now John sees Faerieth as a no nonsense ciurgeon, that’s not a Cleric. Who is triaging and seeking to collect means for transporting the wounded and supporting refugees, which is what he thinks she should be focused on and isn’t trying to talk her out of her position.
Yaron and Ghosteye have the most influence on him at the moment.
Big John’s mind isn’t totally incapable of changing, in fact notice the scene where the acolyte talks him out of focusing on burning down the temple.
Arlen has his respect, but has been felled once and represents a more ordered kind of combat being the member of a Calvary unit. John is a vanguard, front line type, which is more brute force and straight forward, single minded. Also, he thinks Arlen is a capable leader and can achieve their objective. He assumes he will be good at organizing helpers and handle the horses.
He knows Sor is an elf, can see in the dark and is the hit and run type. He also said he can sneak and that is what he wants.
John likes Darry’s can do Attitude and sees him like a knight on the chess board. Able to move and go anywhere and a valuable asset in case he has to adjust.
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I think we have a little bit of a miscommunication. Most of us are not assuming that the commoners are moving with us. If we stay together it will be the 7 (8? I can't keep track) PCs and their animal companions and that's it. Not sure if that changes John's mind here.
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Arlen is not a member of a cavalry order, necessarily. He has been doing hit and run tactics and patrols in the woods; not necessarily mounted combat.
If no one is with us, then where are all the horses? That means another stop if the plan to rig horses to the wagons.
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The horses we left at the inn?
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Is anyone else catching a heatwave where they live?
We have suprise and if we shoot together we get a major bonus.
I think every one is that can shoot this round should, unless they have plans to do something else specific like cast spells etc. After that we can see how initiative goes and see what we want to do next?
Any report on GenCon?
I think everyone with a bow has taken a shot
Yeah, unless Darry wants to take a potshot with his sling I think we are all set. I am looking forward to getting this great game moving ahead again after GenCon.