GM Ietsuna's Gods of Iron (Inactive)

Game Master Ietsuna

They are a divider, roughly 4 feet tall. Think indoor picket fence

Ezir steps to the front. Lovely little fence. Will you be painting it white? She chuckles to herself. Tell me, why should we side with you? Severoth Slaid has asked us to eliminate you, I assume because she is unable to accomplish it herself. Are all the leaders here in Scrapwall so weak? Ezir crosses her arms, looking disgusted. In any case, we have no interest in leading a clan or a town, just want to make sure we are not harassed and able to get the information we seek. Honestly, I don't actually care which faction we side with, just want the noise and the fuss to be done with so I can return to my books. She looks him in the eyes. So, plomo o plata? Silver or lead.

She wants me eliminated, does she? I had suspected as much. The Lords of Rust shall hear of her disloyalty. And speaking of disloyalty, you say you do not belong to a clan? I see no insignia upon you. Drop your weapons and we shall speak openly, honestly and without the threat of violence, shall we?

Barlespin lowers his hand crossbow, hooking it into the holster on his belt.
"Your people attacked us. We merely defended ourselves," Barlespin says, not entirely sure (since he was on the roof and didn't actually see the start of the fight) how wrong he is.

Ezir gestures to the others to relax and sheathe weapons, then turns back to Birdfoot and holds her hands out. You can see that I hold no weapons. I have threatened no violence, merely informing you that one of your associates wishes it upon you. We've no need for a hostile attitude here. We are merely travelers coming through Scrapwall in search of information. Perhaps we can cooperate. I generally prefer it to leaving a line of corpses behind me in my travels.

Morgan lowers his pistol on the ground.

"Is that OK!?"

Now, you tell me of disloyalty. Please elaborate.

Barlespin surveys the room as Ezir continues to speak to the man, unsure of the play that she is trying for, but ready for anything should things come to combat. He says, as a way of helping, "The disloyalty is not on our part, Mister Birdfoot. As we establish alliances, you will find us loyal allies ... to those who have earned that loyalty."

Diplomacy(assist, untrained): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Good thing this isn't 2E.

There's not much more to tell. Severoth invited us in as we arrived at the gates to the town. Very shortly thereafter, she offered us membership in the Steel Hawks if we eliminate you. She is planning to take your place. Ezir considers for a moment. I have no problem with violence, but I don't wish to become part of an organization I have no interest in staying a part of. I'd prefer a more loose affiliation, where I can move about freely and accomplish my goals without unexpected obligations. I also like getting paid for my work. Ezir leans against the fence, looking Birdfoot in the eyes. How much is our service worth to you?

If the AP needs us to join one of the groups we can, but given their observed nature so far, Ezir would prefer a more transient relationship. She will work with them, but doesn't want to be a part of them.

Agreed. None of the groups I've seen in this area thus far are inspiring of confidence or loyalty.

You don't need to join up with anyone. You have walked into a town with internal politics and have just got a bit caught up in it.

Birdfood reclines on his throne and considers for a moment. I have some coin set aside that I can use to pay you with if you do this for me. I think at last count is was around 300 Gold Pieces. There are also some miscellaneous items in the storage chest that you can have.

Mind if I take a look at the items? 300 is on the light side given the skill sets we bring to the table, but if the items are sufficiently valuable or useful, that won't be an issue. Please, let us know exactly what you are expecting from us in exchange. I assume it's eliminating Severoth, but want to be sure of expectations going in to avoid any potentially violent disappointments.

Alongside the coins you find 4 silverdisks, one battery, a wand of grease (11 charges), a scroll of sound burst, a masterwork hand crossbow with seven +1 bolts, a white access card, and a timeworn fire extinguisher.

I would have the eliminate my insubordinate underling. When the Lords of Rust appointed me to take over control of the Steel Hawks she never could accept that she had been replaced. I wont have her stirring up ill-feelings, disloyalty and organizing a coup.

Didn't even consider this until now, but do I need to take the Technologist feat to be able to see what these things are?

No, you can recognize them. It is fine.

Eskanii pockets the silverdisks and the hand crossbow (+bolts!).

"Ok, deal. What do you want us to do exactly?" asks Eskanii, drawing her sword and polishing it with a cloth.

Morgan nods.

This seems a reasonable payment. Ezir drops the wand of grease and the scroll into her haversack. I assume any spoils of battle will be ours to keep as well? Are there any particular lieutenants or other lackeys of her that we should ensure also are taken care of?

She turns to her companions. I think we should rest tonight and undertake this tomorrow morning with fresh eyes.

Nope, just eliminate her. I need those under her to continue to man the gates. The Steel Hawks must continue of I will be a band of 1. He laughs at this final statement.

You may rest in the barracks here if you wish. The orcs should give you no trouble.

Excellent. Thank you for your hospitality. If you don't mind sending someone to show us our rooms?

Once the group is alone. We should set watches. I don't expect foul play, but one can never be too careful. I will take first watch.

You are shown to the barracks where there are several beds. This is a "hot bed" situation where the racks are shared between those within the base. The beds are unoccupied and you settle in. The night passes uneventfully with the orcs wandering in and out periodically but not showing any overt aggression toward you, even if their manner is course.

Throughout the night Eskanii waits for a time where no orcs is in the room and discretely addresses the group. "Look, I'm here to smash whoever you tell me to smash. Ezir and Barlespin: your contributions to our group is intelligence gathering and making sure we won't strike against the wrong group. Go out shopping and try to quietly gather some info on all these players. Maybe use disguises or magic or something... before the night is out, if we need to take down these guys here, we need to know! Which group do we need to infiltrate to figure out who's behind Torch's problem? find the answer to that, and then my sword will drop without hesitation!"

"And my bullets will fly! Haha!"

Barlespin nods. "This seems a reasonable plan. Ezir, you look into gathering intel through chatting with people ... I will take a more sneaky approach. Sound good?"

Assuming Ezir agrees with this plan, he heads out to skulk about and pick up

Stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

"I'll stay here with Morgan and we'll be your alibi. Should be easy enough to make a frog-shaped lump in that bed here... there... how does that look? Morgan: let's play cards quietly while our two 'friends' here 'sleep'!"

I am going to assume Ezir is on board

Ezir and Barlespin head out to investigate.

Ezir Diplo: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Ezir slips out under the pretense of getting supplies for the following day's raid on the Steel Hawk's second in command.

"Very interesting info, Ezir and Barlespin! since the Smilers attacked the crusaders' camp, I'm inclined to shiv Birdfood tonight, if you're all with me on this?"

I was obviously not with you during the previous incident. We've already accepted payment from Birdfood, however. I worry that if we switch sides again, we will simply be tossed out of town by both sides. It also seems to me that this is a choice of two evils. Neither is good, and I'd hazard a guess that both have done things that would cause them to be enemies of any good person. I'd prefer to eliminate both, but either way they will simply be replaced by another with a similar agenda. At best we would be getting a temporary reprieve. I'd prefer to stick with our current arrangement.

"Ok. Let's do this."

Eskanii, I have the ability to make you bigger in combat - is that something you want me to prepare for the morning's fight? I'm already swapping some of my spells around.

Swapping out invisibility for create pit, can swap burning hands or vanish for enlarge person if you want. I posted regarding Create Pit in discussion.

"Yes, that would be fun!"

Create Pit: check with the GM on this one. In my experience it often just slows down the fight, as it puts some foes out of melee reach (but it 'can' really save a party's behind when the boss is too tough, so... yeah... ask the GM about using it here... lol)

I am fine with the use of create pit and if we run into an issue where the pit is grinding combat to a halt we can deal with it then.

Just so I am clear. You are siding with Birdfood and against Sevroth Slaid?

I wanted to kill Birdfood as the Smilers attacked the crusaders. We also first made an agreement with the lady at the gate, so that was my preference personally; however, in-character, Eskanii is dumb and will trust Ezir's logic over hers.

Fair enough. Just need to know which combat to prep. You know :)

Yeah... sounds like you need to prep the fight at the gate... sigh... Eskanii loved her rough looks... :P I wouldn't hate you if you'd give us a strong hint that it's a bad idea, if that's the case... lol

Barlespin considers the strategy. "Do you have a spell available that might hinder those birds he has under his command?"

Glitterdust or Burning Hands would be my options there, so I'll prepare to enlarge Eskanii and be able to blind and/or burn the birds.

"Ok let's go!!!!!"

"I am ready!"

Barlespin nods. "Yes. We should scout out the location we are planning to attack at, and those of us who will be engaging from range should do so from cover."

"You're the scout: go!" says Eskanii to Barlespin, readying her weapons and shield.

Barlespin provides a report, with recommendations for Morgan of a good position he can take to fire on the enemies.

Let's wait for the GM to hear what you saw; I think we should be off to the races after that. @GM: do you still need something from us before proceeding?

I do actually. You were heading to the gate to attack Sevroth Slaid at the gate, but there is talk about handling the birds, which are with Birdfood. I assume it was just a confusion between the two and will kick off combat as soon as I know for sure which you are attacking. I will roll initiative below so that will be set up.

Let's go with Birdfood.

Eskanii tries to reach Birdfood and cut him down in his sleep!

Stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15

silversheen falchion power attack two-handed furious focus: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30 Auto hit if sleeping; but hey... a 20 works too! :P

silver slashing dmg: 2d4 + 13 ⇒ (3, 2) + 13 = 18

=================

Confirm Crit if Birdfood not sleeping: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19 auto crit if he was sleeping

additional dmg if Birdfood was sleeping via coup de grace OR if confirm crit is successful: 2d4 + 13 ⇒ (2, 2) + 13 = 17

If he was sleeping, Fort Save DC 45 to survive the coup de grace

Eskanii sneaks into the room. Birdfood sleeps in his makeshift throne while his three birds doze on the perch above him. Eskani makes it to the throne and swings her falchion. Birdfood's eyes open just as the attack hits and Kij's eyes pop open also.

Surprise Round - Bold May Act.

Birdfood -35
Ezir
Barlespin
Morgan
Eskanii
Yarkus
Kij
Rej

Morgan moves back pulls out his pistol and shoots at Birdfoot

mwk pistol - Point Blank Shot: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 9 + 1 = 20
damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Ezir starts casting Enlarge Person.

Eskanii, stay next to me or this will be wasted.

Morgan's shot hits Birdfood.

Surprise Round - Bold May Act.

Birdfood -42
Ezir
Barlespin
Morgan
Eskanii
Yarkus
Kij
Rej

Having scouted the area, and attacking from range, Barlespin stays on the other side of the room's divider. In the moment before Eskanii strikes, Barlespin casts expeditious retreat on himself. He then brings up his crossbow and fires.

Mwk hand crossbow attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Mwk hand crossbow damage: 1d3 ⇒ 3 piercing

He reloads the crossbow.