GM Crunch, Before the Dawn (CORE) (Inactive)

Game Master Saving Cap'n Crunch

did I forget something about us needing to do stuff nonlethaly while we're in town? I didn't see anything in the first page of the thread but I could have missed it. If so, add the penalty for non-lethality to the below, remove the TWF penalty, and disregard the second attack--if he's using the flat of his blade, Ēoswulf would not also try to use his armor spikes.

Freeing up a hand, Ēoswulf slashes with his sword and punches with his armor spikes. He'll take a 5' step if the guy goes down somehow

longsword, attack, rage, twf, power attack, inspired: 1d20 + 10 + 2 - 2 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 10 + 2 - 2 - 2 + 2 = 24
cold iron, magic, slashing: 1d8 + 6 + 2 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 2 + 4 + 2 = 16

armor spikes, attack, rage, twf, power attack, inspired: 1d20 + 9 + 2 - 2 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 9 + 2 - 2 - 2 + 2 = 14
piercing: 1d6 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 11

[b]@GM/@Khellek: Heroism should have a 60 minute duration... wouldn't it still be up on Ēoswulf last round and this one? If so, would that make his previous attack a hit? And I did not add it in, so if it is still up, you will need to add it, GM.

Eowulf and Khellek both have an extended heroism active. It should be good for a couple of hours.

You're not missing anything, he's just trying to guilt you out.

"Whatever keeps our little game of lawmen-and-robbers going. Argh!" The lead enforcer doesn't pay Wrig's spell any mind, but his banter is interrupted by a telling blow from Ēoswulf. He manages to stay up, though.

Round One/Two:

Party Buffs: Inspire Courage +2

Tere
Ēoswulf (heroism) -7 nonlethal
Two Blades
Wrigsolar
Blue
Green -8
Red -37 (13 nonlethal)
Alaric
Khellek (heroism)

Alaric looks to the fellow in blue, and says, "Now, you probably didn't want to be where you are. Shredder! Attack!"

With that, Alaric pulls out his scimitar and attacks blue.
magic scimitar, IC, PA: 1d20 + 9 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (3) + 9 + 2 - 2 = 12
my dice woes continue...

Shredder flies through the door, and attempts to gut the enforcer that is threatening his master.
talon GMF, IC, PA: 1d20 + 11 + 1 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (13) + 11 + 1 + 2 - 2 = 25 S/P GMF, IC, PA: 1d6 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 1 + 2 + 4 = 12

Shredder tears through the thug's piecemeal armor. The dinosaur receives a light smack in retaliation, as does Ēoswulf.

Round Two/Three:

Party Buffs: Inspire Courage +2

Tere
Ēoswulf (rage, heroism) -11 nonlethal
Two Blades
Wrigsolar
Blue -12
Green -8
Red -37 (13 nonlethal)
Alaric
Shredder -6 nonlethal
Khellek (heroism)

longsword, attack, rage, twf, power attack, inspired, heroism: 1d20 + 10 + 2 - 2 - 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 10 + 2 - 2 - 2 + 2 + 2 = 25
cold iron, magic, slashing: 1d8 + 6 + 2 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 2 + 4 + 2 = 15

armor spikes, attack, rage, twf, power attack, inspired, heroism: 1d20 + 9 + 2 - 2 - 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 9 + 2 - 2 - 2 + 2 + 2 = 18
piercing: 1d6 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 10

Ēoswulf continues his assault on the thug before him, turning to the one to his left with his armor spikes if his sword takes out the one in front of him.

Two Blades changed his tactics, stabbing the thug with both of his blades.
+1 Rapier Red Flank, SA: 1d20 + 7 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 7 + 2 + 2 = 251d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 63d6 ⇒ (1, 1, 1) = 3
+1 Shortsword Red Flank, SA: 1d20 + 7 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 7 + 2 + 2 = 281d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 73d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 6) = 10

Skirting through Alaric's legs, Wrigsolar moves into a new position, and fires a ray of enfeeblement against Blue. Attack of Oppurtunity from Blue

Ray, Point Blank shoot, vs touch: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Str Penalty: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

If this strikes, Blue can attempt a DC 15 fortitude save to half the penalty.

Khellek continues to offer advice.
"Duck, he is swinging at you. Gods man, watch out for the glasswork!" even as he slowly fumbles a bolt into Bessie.

"Right you lot, stop this scrapping now, or I fire. I mean it!"

Continues inspire courage, readies action to fire at the first of the thugs that makes an attack
readied attack,inspire,heroism, into melee,cover: 1d20 + 6 + 2 + 2 - 4 - 4 ⇒ (11) + 6 + 2 + 2 - 4 - 4 = 13
damage,inspire: 1d6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 2 = 7

Ēoswulf takes the lead thug down with his blade. His barbed body-check, plus both stabs from Two Blades, divert to the man's fellow, who snarls in pain and anger.

Two Blades, taking a step and both attacks did more damage, but let me know if you'd like to move instead.

Alaric's attacker misses Wrig, then sags slightly as the gnome makes him feel the weight of his armor.

Blue AoO: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Blue Fortitude: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Round Two/Three:

Party Buffs: Inspire Courage +2

Tere
Ēoswulf (rage, heroism) -11 nonlethal
Two Blades
Wrigsolar
Blue -12 (-3 Str)
Green -31
Red
Alaric
Shredder -6 nonlethal
Khellek (heroism)

Playing Bodyguard to the merchant is fine this turn.

Tere rounds on the green thug and tries to lay them out, giving Two Blades a reproachful look as he does so.

Sap attack, including inspiration: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 9 + 2 = 28
Nonlethal damage, including inspiration: 1d6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 2 = 10

You can always ready for when I move Tere.

Since Two Blades had acted and not taken a 5' step into the flank, I figured he was trying to keep between the thug and the merchant.

I think the 5'step was done to get both attacks off on green and not have to acro to get into flank. When I 5' step again it can trigger your attacks and if he is still standing, then its my turn.

Even before Alaric can say anything, the little dino shreds into the man that hit him.
talon PA, IC, GMF: 1d20 + 11 - 2 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 11 - 2 + 2 + 1 = 19 S/P PA, IC, GMF: 1d6 + 2 + 4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 15
talon PA, IC, GMF: 1d20 + 11 - 2 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 11 - 2 + 2 + 1 = 21 S/P PA, IC, GMF: 1d6 + 2 + 4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 15
bite PA, IC, GMF: 1d20 + 10 - 2 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 10 - 2 + 2 + 1 = 26 S/P/B PA, IC, GMF: 1d4 + 2 + 4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 2 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 10

Alaric's eyebrows raise as his little buddy showers him with blood and gore. These people must have never learned to never mess with a deinonychus. This one will never have the chance.

If blue still stands, this attack will be against him instead.

Alaric moves to get by green, to flank with Tere, as Alaric knows that his friend, the elf, will finish this enemy if his own scimitar fails to do the job.

Provokes from green
scimitar +1, IC, PA, flank: 1d20 + 9 + 2 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 9 + 2 - 2 + 2 = 23 magic slashing, IC, PA: 1d6 + 4 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 2 + 4 = 12

Green AoO: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Shredder repays his assailant several times over, leaving him a bloody mess on the floor. Tere whacks the last man standing. Looking quite injured, he gazes over his fallen allies, and the Pathfinders he hasn't so much as put a dent in. Still, he seems determined to stay up.

That is, until he fails to keep Alaric from getting into a good position. The scimitar hit takes him out in a less lethal manner than by way of dinosaur.

Senzer peers from behind his stall as the din of battle winds down. "Thank Shimye! But...the mess may get worse with this escalation. If you are who I think, you can help me?" His last sentence is a plaintive question, voiced from the floor where he is now cleaning some glass wreckage.

Tere stows his sap. "I think we can. Incidentally, do you have any antitoxin for sale?"

"Possibly.." says Khellek.

"Depends maybe on who you think we are, what help you want, and who those men were.." he adds, cautiously.

"Antitoxin? Take as much as you need! It's the least I can do."

Although you'll have to pay for it.

"I've heard tell of some...Pathfinders...in the area," he says, lowering his voice drastically. "They haven't done a very good job keeping it quiet. I didn't think it was true, but I hoped." Without an immediate contradiction, he takes it as the truth and keeps talking feverishly.

"I'm sorry about the lack of potions, but at least it drew your notice. My son...he contracted some odd disease three months back. It was something new, my progress in treating it was slow. A trade-captain named Lura Ichon approached me with help, on the condition I exclusively supply her gambling den. Even if I wanted to go behind her to help you too, I was working for 14 hours a day."

”And what did I learn, but a few weeks ago? The ‘cure’ she’s giving my Roald is snake oil! There’s something real to it, to keep him from wasting away entirely, but it’s diluted with rum. And she knows I’ve figured her out. Her extra eyes on me-” he gestures warily at the bodies lining the floor, ”-that’s new, they rough up anyone who gets too friendly. I need you to get that cure from the Sanguine Pit however possible. In a way that keeps her from butchering me and Roald as soon as you’re gone, if you please.”

Senzer wrings his hands in panic. ”You may have just dropped in, but it's a point of no return for me. If it helps, the heartless wench is an Aspis agent."

"So, let me understand this." says Alaric. "This Aspis agent has a cure, but has been adulterating it to the point that it barely keeps your son alive. You want us to get the cure from her in such a way that prevents her from being able to retaliate against her."

He look around the room at the Pathfinders' work. "I think we can do that. So, do you know, is she the type that keeps all of her formulas in her head, or would she have written it down?"

Alaric will also ask about the disease and its symptoms, in case he has a way to cure the boy. "Worst case, ma'am, when we make our way back through here, I will see if I can remove his disease. I did not learn the spell today, but I can do so later. I am reasonably sure that I will be able to cure him with restorative magics."

heal: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10
OMG the dice hate me!

should Ēoswulf use his wand to heal the nonlethal damage he took, or will someone else be healing it with a renewable resource?

Ēoswulf nods. "You say we have already blown our cover... I suppose there is no further harm in helping you in this way."

"I don't think the serum is her own work. She doesn't understand mine, so I'd wager she just happened on it. Maybe she knows someone more...talented, or she poisoned my boy, but I doubt that."

"If you can find a stash of it, at least I'll have long enough to study the stuff further." Senzer provides directions to the Sanguine Pit, and advises you to take care on approach. As if that wasn't one of the two standard protocols for Aspis territory.

"Understood. We'll be careful, and will do our best."

He turns to Two Blades... "Would you mind channeling the blessings of Desna for Shredder and Ēoswulf? One or two of your blessings would probably be enough. Thanks!"

Khellek will tie a bandage or two around Eoswulf.
"You need to take better care. Do you know the amount of paperwork I have to fill out for injured students?"
CLW: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

"No problem now that the fight is over." Two Blades said as he raised his right hand, the birthmark once again glowed.

Channel to heal: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Channel to heal: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Bluff or Diplomacy time! We'll move ahead to the next scene regardless of the results, unless you all fail. Don't do that.

The Sanguine Pit is nearly an hour and a half away, necessitating your cover identities. It's about the wretched hide you might expect.

The clamour of cheers and shouted bets drowns out any intelligible sounds in this crowded open-air bar. A massive aquarium, fifteen feet on a side, dominates the place as a dog-sized lobster creature and a dark green, man-sized fish with fanged jaws circle one another, occasionally trading blows. Heady, pungent smoke fills the air, and the floor is slick with spilled drinks and seawater.

Near the central tank stands a well-dressed and well-rounded woman with raven hair. Towering over her, at seven feet tall, stands her idealized, amazonian reflection. Both women bear a curious glowing rune on their foreheads. The bookies clearly defer to the smaller woman, and everyone keeps their distance from her glamorous bodyguard.

Lura is blue, her bodyguard is red. The blue square is the glass aquarium, the grey is the innermost circle of onlookers. That is the inside edge, everything outwards of that is difficult terrain due to more throngs of people.

Diplomacy roll: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

Alaric is amazing by how much has changed since he left the area. He tries falling back to his old patterns, but maybe he is the one that changed at that.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
The dice roller does not like me to make a diplomacy check

diplomacy, heroism: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 9 + 2 = 14

do we still have heroism going? if not, is it worth casting it again before we go in?

Ēoswulf tries to keep his disgust maintained. "How should we approach this?" He asks the others. "Get some drinks and wait for things to quiet down? Confront her now? Ask to speak to her in private?"

Diplomacy check: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Tere pays for two antitoxins and follows the rest of the party to the wretched hive of scum and villainy.

Khellek continues his whining on the road.
"And what about expenses? Have you ever tried to file for them? The amount of paperwork it takes must cost more than the expense themselves. You would think such an organisation wouldn't expect its members to pay for their own food, but no.."

diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

Wrigsolar, hearing from the shopkeeper that people seem to know that Pathfinders in the area, tries his best to make sure that people know that the Pathfinders in town are traitors and exquisite lovers.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (6) + 12 = 18

"I suppose we could just murder her in cold blood," Wrigsolar says, "What? We are all thinking it! We have a reputation, might as well live up to it."

Heroism would be off at this point, even extended.

You get a few looks upon reaching the Sanguine Pit, but there are much more interesting things to watch. Still, Pathfinders abound are rare and news has spread quickly in your half-day here.

Khellek continues his whining on the road.

"And what about expenses? Have you ever tried to file for them? The amount of paperwork it takes must cost more than the expense themselves. You would think such an organization wouldn't expect its members to pay for their own food, but no.."

[dice=diplomacy]1d20+11

"Free healing would be nice. All the critters out there wanting to eat us. Not even hazardous duty pay. I even fought a basilisk by myself the last time but did I get a reward for that, nope! I ended up having to sit down with some guy for two days telling them of the experience when I could have been gambling and drinking. I was not even mentioned in the paper he presented on them." Two Blades said.

Khellek, can you cast Heroism again perhaps?

"Setting aside the question of right and wrong, I do not think that avatar there would make it so easy for us to murder her."

Ēoswulf frowns wryly. "You did not have to fight the basilisk by yourself. Myself and the others were ready and waiting for you to lure it into the room with us, but you seemed to forget that part of our plan..." he laughs and gives the man a slap on the back "you preferred to stand in the doorway so we could not even join you! You did keep us safe, from it's gaze, though."

Yeap, I can do two more heroisms. I'll extend mine, that would be me tapped out though.

Wrigsolar takes out his wand, and gets himself a new set of mage armor. "Any dinosaurs want protection while we have a moment?"

"That sounds like a good idea." replies Alaric as he gets ready to go in. "I am going to take a little risk, and take off my armor, in case I need to go all dino on their asses. But, until then, I can still talk."

just want to confirm: that is Heroism cast again on Ēoswulf and Khellek? And only the Khellek one is extended?

Yeap. I can only do the extend three times a day. Maybe I'll pick myself up another extend rod.

Yeap. I can only do the extend three times a day. Maybe I'll pick myself up another extend rod.

Expedition Manager for the win... 6PP for a lesser extend rod

Alaric will offer his last charge on his lesser extend rod to Khellek

"Than you!" says the scholar. He ensures that Eoswulf's heroism will last as long as his own.

Is expedition manager a boon?

The inner crowd starts to thin - only to be instantly replaced by the droves around you. It doesn't look as if you can outwait the crowd. Maybe they'll leave at closing time, but that's far enough away it would go against your mission's parameters.

Khellek sighs, and makes sure that Bessie is close at hand before entering the establishment. Close at hand, and loaded. But not exactly pointing at anyone, just... ready...

"Excuse Me!" he says, using a voice that has cut through more than one class of first-year history students who would prefer to be practicing with the Swordsmaster than the History master.

"Would you be Lura ?" he asks.

"Because we would like to conduct some business with you."

Can I taken ten on an arcana check to understand any significance to the runes on their heads?

Ēoswulf stands at Khellek's side, with nothing to add until the woman responds.

Khellek's knowledge is nearly always on point, but this one is still something he is barely aware of. To have this being by her side, Lura must be a master conjurer. This 'eidolon' is linked to and shaped by her will, explaining the similarities and runes. Keeping it in this world limits her ability to summon more help. But they are highly versatile, fearsome combatants on their own.

Some of the crowd squawks at the interruption, but when it's obvious Lura isn't important to the fight going on, they go back to passively watching. The trade-captain herself is reading a scroll or ledger when she takes notice. "I don't often do business," she says in a nasal tone. "I've got enough people to delegate to, at least. Why shouldn't I send you to one of them, or straight out of my bar, right now?"

Despite being an Aspis agent, she doesn't seem to have heard of you. It's anyone's guess if bringing up your desire to defect would work out.