Into the Desolation

Game Master Zorblag

I believe there was no ill intent, I'm just asking to move on to other topics.

I'm in with the caravan thing. There's safety in numbers.

Helgash makes himself busy by finding what it is the caravan will be carrying, and who is actually traveling with it.

He takes an extra moment to introduce himself and get to know them.

Before they leave, he will go the extra mile to purchase a healthy portion of preserved cheese, dried fruits and even smoked meat around Bard's Gate - these will constitute the base for Coal's diet as they travel, also to make sure he will not munch on any perishables belonging to the caravan itself.

After finishing up in Bard's Gate the party joins up with a caravan heading as far as Glendovel Close. The unremarkable journey takes about a week, and the company is pleasant enough. When the caravan heads East, on the way to Darnagal you stay in Glendovel Close for a while, checking for more information about Tsar, The Desolation or the Camp, but the population seems resolutely incurious about the region to their north. Nothing has come bothering them and they seem inclined to keep that relationship mutual.

After a short stay in Glendovel Close you head north once more. This leg of the journey takes about two weeks and you follow the ancient remains of a road that clearly gets very little use these days. There are no settlements along the way which is would be unusual for this long a stretch almost anywhere in the world that you've traveled. The going isn't too difficult, but the farther north you go the more barren and uninviting the land becomes.

2:00 PM on Djinsdag, the third of Eostre, 3517 I.R.

The long, dusty road from Bard’s Gate has finally brings you to your destination, a settlement on the very edge of the vast region of ruin known as the Desolation. Before you sprawls a pathetic collection of hovels that appear to be composed of whatever materials happened to be lying around. Here, a building that had an impressive beginning as a stone structure peters out a few feet above the ground where its walls become mud-daubed sticks with bunches of straw stuffed into the chinks. There, wooden poles support walls of woven thatch and roof that is little more than an old hay tarp patched in places with tar. Beyond you can make out a ramshackle wooden structure, obviously the scavenged remains of several merchant wagons as evidenced by the axles and wheels still mounted at places on the outer walls and the hitching tongue protruding above the lintel and supporting a tattered awning.

The trail you are on proceeds straight through the center of this collection of dwellings and travels on into the dusty wasteland beyond, disappearing into the shrouding haze of windblown debris. In the center of the settlement stands an old gallows hanging far askew. A dark form turns slowly in the breeze, suspended from this leafless tree. Few people seem to be out on the hard-packed streets of this village, though you can see some activity to one side at an area of pole-supported awnings that appear to comprise some sort of shaded market.

Before you a scraggly buzzard perches atop an old plank sign. Crudely painted upon this placard is simply “The Camp”. The still afternoon is shattered by a great bellowing cry of rage. From the north road charges a massive figure. Those few people on the street quickly scatter at its approach. It is a hill giant covered in dust and blood. A great spiked club swings in its hand. Its face is a mass of recent wounds and horrible burns, perhaps caused by acid. One thing is evident, though; the look in its eyes as they focus on you is one of pure insanity.

The camp map is up on Roll 20. Everyone can roll initiative!

Initiative: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Coal hisses at the giant if it approaches to attack Roryx (Bodyguard Aid): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

AC: 22 (base) + 2 (Coal Aid) = 24
HP: 58
Effects: None

Init: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Init: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31

"Heck of a welcoming wagon this place has... Let the big guy come to us if he wants to.

Map says he's 90' away, so I don't think he can charge that far. Maybe back up 10' to be sure. Then we can soften him up with spells before melee.

Init: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

2:00 PM on Djinsdag, the third of Eostre, 3517 I.R.

Giant's Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 16

Round 1 Initiative order:

Grimm
Khoran
Crazed Hill Giant
Tristan
Helgash
Groff

Grimm and Khoran are up!

Zorblag, while pondering this situation I was wondering - how would you like us to handle Parry and Riposte? Should I post proactively, just state intent, or..?

You're welcome to post Parry and Riposte rolls on your turn preemptively just like you might with Attacks of Opportunity. Most of the time that'll cover the situation just fine, and if it doesn't we can sort it out after. If you pick up combat reflexes at some point you can do it while rolling initiative as well for before your first round of combat.

Grimm will cast create pit under the giant (DC17 reflex).

Reflex Save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

A hole opens up beneath the Hill Giant and you can hear it howl with frustration as it falls to the bottom.

Falling Damage: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 5, 6) = 17

"Well, so much for let him come to us... Nice shot Grimm." Khoran moves towards the pit, loading his crossbow.

Move action - Move 20' towards the pit, drawing crossbow as a free action
Standard Action - Load crossbow

So the new plan is stand around the edge of the pit and shoot it as it tries to climb out?

"Well, we can always try to talk to it. Perhaps he can be reasoned with. Anyone speak giant?"

2:00 PM on Djinsdag, the third of Eostre, 3517 I.R.

I moved Khoran and changed the settings in Roll 20 to hopefully let everyone move their own characters if they couldn't before.

It sounds like something large is thrashing around in the pit and you hear a bellow of frustration, but no one has a line of sight that would let them see exactly what is happening.

Initiative Order:

Tristan
Helgash
Groff
Round 2 Starts
Grimm
Khoran
Crazed Hill Giant

The entire party can go at this point.

"Giants? Reasoned with? You must not have dealt with giants before. This ones seemed extra rabid, so there's nothing but to put it down. "

Don't see the pit on the map.

Groff will move up towards the pit, but stay clear of the area which slopes into it.

The pit and the giant are both 10' x 10', so it's covered up by the giant on the map, north and a bit west of you. For moving I can move Groff if you like. Is this a double move, a run or something else?

I added the pit over the hill giant, as well as the sloped terrain around it. It's not fancy, but it'll do.

Hey guys...don't do kill it yet. Let me "consult" with the townsfolk the group knows this won't take Tristan long and the Pit will still be in effect after he's done his thing

this is probably a ridiculous waste of a spell, but rather than going full murder-hobo from the get-go

Tristan casts Ears of the City trying to learn about the Giant and its relation to the denizens of the Camp. Is it a welcome member of the camp just temporarily crazed by its wounds? Is it connected to anyone powerful in the camp etc etc....Not wanting to kill it if it is going to make us powerful enemies in the Camp

gather info: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (11) + 19 = 30
gather info: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (20) + 19 = 39
gather info: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (11) + 19 = 30

Just to be clear, by the spell's description you can get one gather information attempt per round and will be effectively blind and deaf while you're doing this. It's fine with me if you want to go for it, but I want to make sure you know how it works.

Just to be clear, by the spell's description you can get one gather information attempt per round and will be effectively blind and deaf while you're doing this. It's fine with me if you want to go for it, but I want to make sure you know how it works.

yup ..fine with me..The group is accustomed to Tristan doing this and knows they need to protect him while vulnerable when using his "Consult" spell

"I do speak Giant..." - Helgash moves toward the pit carefully while the others stand close to Tristan.

"You there! In the pit! Why did you attack us? We come in peace!" - he shouts from afar.

Diplomacy?: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

There's no obvious change to the noises coming from the pit based on Helgash's words.

Khoran advances another 20' towards the pit and prepares to shoot the giant if it tries to climb out

Move action - Move 20' towards the pit, drawing crossbow as a free action
Standard Action - Ready attack with light crossbow to interrupt the giant climbing out of the pit...
Note that "Anytime you take damage while climbing, make a Climb check against the DC of the slope or wall. Failure means you fall from your current height and sustain the appropriate falling damage."

@Khoran, since you're readying the action, go ahead and roll your attack now in case it comes up. Given that you know that the pit would give the giant cover until it's mostly out but don't know how fast it might be able to climb out of the pit, is the trigger for the attack when you can see the giant or when it's far enough up that it would no longer receive cover from the pit.

Will waiting until it no longer has cover negate forcing another climb check? Khoran will wait to the last opportunity to force a climb check...

The readied action can interrupt another action mid-action, so you'd be able to shoot as soon as it was fully out of the pit, but before it finished any move or climb action to start moving along the ground. What you don't know at this point would be whether it's actions will get it fully out of cover this round (assuming it climbs to where you could see it.) It sounds like you're waiting until it does not have cover, so if it ends it turn in cover you won't take a shot (the other option would be to be sure to get the shot off if you see it at all, but it would definitely get cover then.)

I was trying all morning to log in and post from my phone with chrome... Unsuccessfully. Finally I downloaded a new mobile browser (edge) and it's working with paizo.com.

Tristans "consult" ends and he relays the info to the group
he's a mercenary leader... I can't imagine this is normal behavior for him

Where did all the other citizens of the town disappear to? Could we seek shelter somewhere and be out of sight out of mind while he's in the pit?

Possibly clearing cookies with the old browser would help, though I'm not using my phone so I'm not sure on that end.

Tristan will need to wait until the next round to relay the information he gained from Ears of the City, and if he does he'll be forgoing the second and third rounds of information gathering (though he won't be blind and deaf from using it after this round.)

The other inhabitants of the Camp have indeed made themselves as scarce as possible during the confrontation, you can still see some retreating to behind various shelters and watching the scene warily from what cover they've found.

Tristan will end his spell after the 2nd where he felt he got great information

OK, then that'll take your next turn as well, so you won't be able to pass on information until your third round. In theory you can change the information that you're seeking each turn for the spell if you'd like.

”I say we just leave him there - not a big fan of shooting fish in a barrel” - Helgash nods at Tristan and the others.

Tristan hasn't had a chance to talk yet, and is currently effectively blind and deaf, so nodding to him won't be something he would notice.

Helgash would say the same to Khoran, so shall we roll with it? ;)

That's fine, just making sure you know that you know more than your character does right now. Certainly given your comment to the giant would make you saying that to Khoran who's raising a crossbow to fire make sense though!

”I say we just leave him there - not a big fan of shooting fish in a barrel” - Helgash nods at Tristan and the others.

Khoran replies "But that's the easiest time to shoot a fish. Also, I don't want him climbing out of there and beating on my head... and it sounds like he's trying the climbing bit at least. You talk him into staying down there and I'm willing not to shoot him."

Not that I'm going to anyways with a To Hit roll of 4...

2:00 PM on Djinsdag, the third of Eostre, 3517 I.R.

Still to act:

Groff (Just need to clarify what move type action was taken)
Round 2 Starts
Grimm
Crazed Hill Giant

Khoran replies "But that's the easiest time to shoot a fish. Also, I don't want him climbing out of there and beating on my head... and it sounds like he's trying the climbing bit at least. You talk him into staying down there and I'm willing not to shoot him."

"Convincing him... I think you are talking to the wrong person" - Helgash smiles, and looks back at Tristan.

Grimm holds his action, waiting to see what the others want to do.

To keep things moving I'm having Groff run as his movement as even that doesn't get him too close to the edge of the pit and keeps him in front of the group which is what he's designed to do as a frontliner.

Giants round:
Move action to climb 25 feet (accelerated climbing) out of the pit.
Standard action as move action (not interrupted by Khoran's missed shot) to move out of the pit and start to move towards the party with heaving itself the last 5 feet out of the pit and the sloped ground counting as difficult terrain. It draws it's spiked greatclub as part of this action.

The noises from the pit grow steadily louder, and before long you see the head of the enraged giant appear from it's depths. The climb continues surprisingly fast with the giant using it's very long arms to on opposite sides up the pit to raise its bulk until the top half of it's body, over 6 feet of it, is up above ground level. At that point it swings it's back arm to the front of the pit and heaves itself out. As it does so, Khoran gets the shot he wants and let's a bolt fly, but it misses over the giant's shoulder.

Once it's out of the pit the giant roars once more and turns it's frenzied gaze at the party members assembled before it. As it carefully moves away from the edge of the pit it draws it's spiked great club and points it at you, clearly telegraphing it's intent to bring it down on as many of your skulls as it can at the next possible opportunity.

2:00 PM on Djinsdag, the third of Eostre, 3517 I.R.

Initiative Order:

Grimm
Tristan (using 2nd round of Ears of the City, Deaf and Blind)
Helgash
Groff
Round 3 Starts
Khoran
Crazed Hill Giant

Grimm, Helgash, Groff and Khoran can go.

Khoran moves to make sure that Groff is between him and the giant raging brute, and then hexes the giant.

Slumber Hex, Will Save or sleep, DC 18.

Giant Will Save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

The giant locks eyes with Khoran as the shaman hexes it, but the rabid glare fades as the giant slumps over and falls asleep in the middle of the battle.

I'm getting a 17 DC on your hex: 10 + 3 from levels + 4 from wis. Is there another +1 I'm missing? Were you using a 1st level spell slot to augment it with Amplified Hex? It turns out it doesn't (quite) matter for this roll, but it will for the future.

I'm getting a 17 DC on your hex: 10 + 3 from levels + 4 from wis. Is there another +1 I'm missing? Were you using a 1st level spell slot to augment it with Amplified Hex? It turns out it doesn't (quite) matter for this roll, but it will for the future.

It's +4 from levels, same as your highest level of spell (which is 4th at level 7).

Zorblag wrote:

I'm getting a 17 DC on your hex: 10 + 3 from levels + 4 from wis. Is there another +1 I'm missing? Were you using a 1st level spell slot to augment it with Amplified Hex? It turns out it doesn't (quite) matter for this roll, but it will for the future.

It's +4 from levels, same as your highest level of spell (which is 4th at level 7).

It's not spell level though, it's half the shaman's level, so it wouldn't hit the +1 until level 2 (or +4 until level 8.) Is there a source you've got that says it should be spell level rather than what the class description says?

The saving throw DC to resist a hex is equal to 10 + 1/2 the shaman’s level + the shaman’s Wisdom modifier.

"I say we take his weapons, and leave him there" - Helgash grunts - "Good job Khoran" - and moves next to the giant intent on taking his weapon away.

Zorblag, any other visible weapons apart from the club?

"I say we take his weapons, and leave him there" - Helgash grunts - "Good job Khoran" - and moves next to the giant intent on taking his weapon away.

Zorblag, any other visible weapons apart from the club?

"He's gonna wake up in 30 seconds or so, even if you don't wake him up grabbing at his stuff. He's not gonna be any less angry Helgash. He looks rabid to me, and I don't figure we should leave him to terrorize whoever's nearby. Especially because I don't run that fast."

Khoran will cast Detect Magic, and examine the giant, looking for indications of possession/being cursed/etc ...

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 7 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 7 + 3 + 2 = 27
7 ranks +3 trained +2 int

Heal: 1d20 + 7 + 3 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 7 + 3 + 4 = 32
7 ranks +3 trained +4 wis

Perception: 1d20 + 7 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 7 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 30
7 ranks +3 trained +4 wis +1 trait +2 racial +2 alertness