(#B-10) "Hillcross Roundup" (Inactive)

Game Master rainzax

We begin our story near the tent city of Hillcross, an isolated settlement along the largest pass through the Tusk Mountains in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, where for some reason, each of you find yourselves, whether you live here, came alone, or traveled together…

Character Introductions:
When introducing yourselves in your opening post, choose one or more Intro Questions below to answer (first spoiler). Then, at your option, please post your Proficiency and Modifier (plus any relevant Skill Feats) in the following skills that represent your Background Knowledge (second spoiler):

If you haven't already, please proceed to Discussion to complete the Check In.

Finally, without further ado, let's commence the Hillcross Roundup!

You can't exactly say that Grimmylow Grunderbuff wanders into the town of Hillcross. He definitely seems to have a purpose, yet whether or not he planned to get to this particular destination or not is largely up for debate.

But then, Grimmylow is not in charge of his fate. It is the Dawnflower who determines where he is most needed and where he must deliver his message of salvation.

He presents his somewhat charred wooden holy symbol and his sermons to anyone who will listen, and even those who do not listen but who do not actively send him away.

He is not unpleasant despite speaking in a loud artificially deep voice and wearing clothes that were clearly once white but now have the stains of much use and travel on them.

Grimmylow has none of those skills.

Mimi has one hand on her wide-brimmed red-feathered cavalier hat to keep it from flying off in the wind. She's a tall human female, made taller yet by the heels of her knee-high dark brown boots. At her waist you spy a sheathed rapier. A long royal-blue coat flaps behind her like a flag in the strong breeze. From under her hat, a mop of bright red hair flutters similarly, framing a pair of clear green eyes set in an attractive light-skinned and freckled face.

The swashbuckler was wondering how a Graltoner like her had ended up in this shabby little village. Her memory on this point was a little clouded; she assumed that some higher power had mysteriously transported her to this outpost as some sort of joke; and not a funny one at that.

As she stands there wondering what to do, she notices the similarly out-of-place goblin wander into town. He seemed harmless in his once-white clothes and wooden holy cross. Mimi had a gut-instinct about these things.

"Pardon me monsieur, but do you 'appen to know vere een Golarion ve are?"

Mimi is similarly lacking in any of the listed skills. I'm not sure I like the sound of Dinosaur Lore though.

Nuvian Von Stein made a mistake. He took the wrong fork in the road and went left when he should of went right.

A source of embarrassment for someone with such keen intellect...

He notices the goblin and tries to keep a straight face....finally he lets out a sign and approaches Mimi...and of course the singed goblin standing about as awkwardly as him.

Placing his usual bigotry aside: We appear to be nowhere of significance...a boil upon the buttocks of the world...Let us leave it at that.

Nuvian's solution to animals is to turn his prized Trident the wrong way around and sneak up on them. He incapacitates them with non-lethal strikes instead of direct interaction.

Nuvian sometimes lets his bigotry show, but is smart enough to rein it in when he has to. He's kind of moody being from the doom and gloom of Ustalav. That said his gut guides his interpretations in the social arena. That is one thing college did not teach him.

Skills: Crafting +6

dot.

Grimmylow sees the two particularly tall folks and is ready to launch into one of his impromptu sermons when one asks him a question and the other answers it.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, you must have me mistaken for someone else. My name is 'Grimmylow,' not 'Monshur.' But it is nice to meet you," he responds to Mimi.

He smiles exuberantly as Nuvian answers her question. "But still warm Sarenrae shines on us, even here! Rejoice my friends for she watches over and protects us!

"Do you know of the Dawnflower? Do you have sins to repent? Of course you do, we all do! Tell me about them and I will help you determine how to seek redemption for Sarenrae redeems all who seek her!"

Mimi looks the newcomer over. "Ah, it is one of those highfalutin elves who thinks they know everything because they've been around forever."

"A boil on de derrière eet may be, but unless ve know exactlee vere on de derrière de boil ees located, ve may vell end up een un even vorse plece ven ve depart." Looking about, she adds "Perhaps ve should ask von of de locals. I vonder if dees plece 'appens to 'ave un inn."

She then frowns a little and turns back to her companions. "And 'ow ees eet dat you fellows ended up een dees particular boil? Vere you brought 'ere under mysterious circumstances much like maself?"

Ninja'd by Grimmylow.

When Grimmylow introduces himself, Mary takes a step back and looks down at the religious little goblin. "Oh 'ow rude of me for not introduceeng maself properlee. I am Mimi de Valence but you may call me juste Mimi. Grimmylow you say? Un interesteeng neme; veree gobliny, no? As far as repenteeng my sins goes, I do not teenk ve 'ave de time to deal vith such un extenseeve subject at de present time." She laughs brightly at her little joke.

Then turning to Nuvian, she raises her eyebrows in expectation. "And 'ow should ve refer to you my good elf?"

A tumultuous tapping grabs your attention!

Nuvian nods to Mimi, and flashes a curt smile, but before he can answer Umber his pet bat comes flying up and lands on his shoulder.

This of course is followed by some incessant tapping as the notice is put in its place.

yes, well as I was saying, I'm Nuvian Von Stein of Ustalav, and mortal enemy of Tar-Baphon, at your service. Sarenrae and I do not see with the same vision..my sins will have to wait for a different venue. As for being here I have no good excuse for it. I arrived quite by accident.

Nuvian bows appropriately, and approaches the woodpecker, leaving umber behind, to read the note.

"The time is now! THE TIME IS NOW!" Grimmylow declares, grabbing Mimi by the leg and shaking with both hands an his whole body.

Abruptly he lets go and takes a step back holding his holy symbol with both hands. "Sorry! Sorry!"

"Boundaries and personal space Grimmylow. Boundaries and personal space."

"Sarenrae redeems all who come to her with an open heart and an honest mind," he tells Nuvian.

But before he can fully convert these two new Sarenrites, he hears the tap-tap-tapping and goes to examine the rap-rap-rapping.

"I'm going to help! Do you want come?"

Mary is a bit taken aback by Grimmylow's fervor. She was beginning to wonder how one went about removing a goblin from one's leg when the little guy finally lets go. She speaks up a little to be heard over the insistent tap, tap, tapping. "I'm sorree Grimmylow, but Sarenrae veell need to look elsewhere for new followers. I find de Accidental God to be a far less, um... demandeeng deeitee. Perhaps later ve can compare der respecteeve merits over a nice tankard of bière. 'Ow does dat sound?"

The noise becomes too annoying to ignore. "Zut alors! Vere ees dat irritateeng sound comeeng from?" She looks around and spots the woodpecker posting the notice at about the same time as Grimmylow.

"I'm sorree Nuvian Von Steen of Ustalav but eet ees not everee day dat von sees a bird posteeng a noteece on a tree. Shall ve see vat eet ees about?" She wanders over with the other two and reads the notice.

"Hmmm... I vonder vat a steg-o-sau-rus ees? I do not beleeve ve 'ave dose een de River Kingdoms. My interest ees piqued, and eet ees not juste because of de récompense. If notheeng else, dees Xila person veell be ebel to tell us vere ve are and 'ow to get back to ceeveelization." After a quick glance at her wayfinder, she turns west and heads to the outskirts of town. "Dees vay I beleeve."

Nuvian follows Mimi west, for 3 heads are better than one, even when all things are not equal...

Hovering back to allow you all to read the sign, at once Grimmylow Grunderbuff, Mimi de Valence, and Nuvian Von Stein start heading "due west" and the woodpecker follows on clumsy wing until...

...you all find yourself in a large clearing between two boulders in a wooded valley to the west of town. Here, a haggard Kellid woman in a patterned cloak of several colors with masses of sticks tangled in her hair and dirt on her face is chaseing a juvenile stegosaurus through the mud.

All around her, nearly 5d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 6, 4, 4) = 22 young stegosauruses romp across the clearing, play in pools of mud, and trample the ropes and stakes of a ruined animal pen. For each stegosaurus the woman successfully herds toward the enclosure, another storms out, excited to roam and play.

The woodpecker lands on the woman's shoulder, even as she remains unaware of your approach...

When Mary enters the large clearing, she stops in her tracks. "Ah," she says, momentarily at a loss for words. "I suppose dose must be de stegosaures." She pauses again before adding weakly, "I vas expecteeng sometheeng more... um, bovine."

She approaches to within earshot of the woman while carefully trying to avoid getting mud on her precious boots. "Excusez-moi, madame. Are you by any chance Xeela of de Green Faith?"

As you converse, a woman walks out of the foilage. Bare-footed, holding a walking stick and dressed in hide, her grey, unkempt hair somehow reflects the colour of the woods and almost seems to have a greenish tint. Her eyes dart around with curiosity, ever so often observing the stegosaurus school. Despite the hair colour, she doesn't seem very old, possibly in her late 30's or early 40's. A gray mask made of hide covers her nose and mouth, and the rest of her clothes seem somewhat tribal. Nothing polished or coloured, and mostly made of hide and furs. She waves at the gathering as she approaches.

She speaks out when she closes distance. Her voice is calm and kind of soothing, but she speaks rather slowly, as if finding the right words. "Apologies, I didn't mean to interrupt. I was in the area and stumbled upon you and these fascinating younglings.", she points at the now defunct pen. "Fascinating beasts; finding their place in the pack and the world."

She gets lost in thought as she observes the pen, and then snaps out of it.

"Sorry, I'm Channary. I wander around and happened to find your little gathering. Mind if I watch these for a moment longer? I'd hate to be nosey..."

Sorry about the late post, everyone. I'm here now. Made this one from scracth and had to browse the books for a while.

Two new souls to bring to Sarenrae! But now is not the time. As the sacred texts say "be of help to all, for those in need at the moment may not understand their needs for the future."

"Are they supposed to do that?" Grimmylow asks the haggard woman. He's careful to stay back. Those beasts, young though they might be, are big and he doesn't want to get trampled underfoot.

A Druid's Dilemma (Part One)

...

Whirling on you as you approach - which causes a stegosaurus she had just relocated back into the pen to immediately spring loose - the woman's look of fluster suddenly seems to dawn into a glimmer of hope.

“I am Xila of the Green Faith!"

As she says this, the recently sprung stegosaurus - perhaps the size of a large dog - heads right for 1d5 ⇒ 4 Channary in a playful mock charge, swatting at her gently but roughly with it's back-plated tail.

She addresses Grimmylow "I was returning from Hillcross with fresh supplies and discovered them like this. They are usually quite calm, but something might have spooked them. Apart from taking a moment to send for help, I haven’t had the opportunity to investigate."

"I'll help! I'll just get around this one over here," Grimmylow says, stalking toward one of the stegosauruses at random.

Stealth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

He's not sure what to do once he gets there but pops up and tries to scare it back in the right direction.

Channary is initially startled by the advance of the beast towards her, but seeing it is only roughhousing, she smiles and returns a nice pat on the snout before being struck with a tail.

"Oh!", she exlaims - "... you are strong little critters, aren't you!"

She looks at the people around doing their thing as she retaliates with a gentle headlock. "Adorable. If a bit intimidating at first. I've interacted with my share of young animals and if experience tells me anything, they are mostly naturally curious. The unknown will likely interest them. Let's see..."

She suddenly has a berry in her hand - as if it were always there - puts it up to her mouth to whisper something, as if gently persuading it:

"Be my firefly, little one. Shed some light for us."

She finishes her incantation, puts the berry on the top of her palm, and smoothly blows on it. As if in slow motion, the berry flies off into the middle of the pen, where it explodes into dust and instantly turns into a small bush. Four thumb-sized insects emerge from the bush and start glowing a green light, each of them quickly flying above the bush as if dancing. The bush almost instantly whithers and fresh grass grows in its place.

Mimi looks over the situation and then down at her nice clean clothes and boots. She sighs. "Is it so much to ask that my clothes stay clean for an entire day?"

Turning to the others for a moment, Mimi says, "I know notheeng of 'ow to repair animal pens. If von of you ees 'andee een such teengs, den now might be a good time to put dose skills to use."

She turns back to the animals and watches the stegosauruses for a few seconds to get an idea of how they move. Mimi then takes her shortsword in hand and using her speed and agility, attempts to intercept the creatures and herd them together using the flat of her blade to avoid harming them.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27 (trained)

Wow, look at that! Mimi, dinosaur wrangler extraordinaire.

Nuvian observes the animal pen with a cock-eyed interest.

He moves forward to examine its construction, perhaps a few adjustments are in order.

"Ah yes - I don't know how that came... undone" Xila says to Nuvian.

She smiles as Grimmylow sneaks up on a stegosaur, startling it back into the enclosure that Nuvian is inspecting. (Success > One Wrangle Point. Nuvian - please roll a Crafting check to Investigate!)

Mimi manages to use quick agile movements to cut off the escape route of two other steggos, avoiding her shortsword only to be steered back around full circle. (Critical Success > Two Wrangle Points)

Cocking her head sideways, she watches Channary fascinate one with her light wisps, wondering how the fellow druid will seize the distraction. (Channary - please roll a Counteract Check to Wrangle!)

"Well I guess the job speaks for itself - you're hired" as if the situation wasn't obvious enough!

The woodpeck flies over to check in on what Nuvian is looking at... and starts pecking at it!

TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP...

Stegosaurus Roundup! (One)

Some of the dinosaurs have their spines wrapped in rope from the makeshift enclosure, while others are stuck in the thick mud left by the night’s heavy rain. Others simply run away from Xila as she tries to lure them to the enclosure, taking advantage of the space to play with each other. The young stegosauruses range in size from 1 to 2 feet tall, 3 to 4 feet long, and 30 to 100 pounds.

Between Rounds (see below), which represent about 5 minutes of time each, diversity of strategy is strongly encouraged. Repeating a skill or check bears a cumulative -2 circumstance penalty! Creativity is also encouraged, assessed against a DC 15 if the method is narratively feasible (as judged by GM), or lower or higher depending upon the player's description.

...

The Party is Up!

Channary tries to grab the beast again while it is distracted, but slips on mud and ends up failing, and almost falling to the ground.

Though her first attempt to corral the stegosauruses was a rousing success, it seemed that the creatures were starting to get wise to her way of moving. "Let's try a different approach."

This time, Mimi starts jumping back and forth from one foot to the other as she waves her hands in the air and makes vaguely stegosaurus-like sounds with her mouth. She's hoping that the animals will be so entranced by her performance that they'll stand still long enough for her to grab them.

Performance (Perform) vs DC XX: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

But the creatures are not fooled for even an instant and one of them goes so far as to bump into her and knock her to the ground. She sits there in the mud for a moment thinking, "Everyone's a critic."

Although his first attempt was successful and logic would dictate that he should stick with what works, Grimmylow doesn't have the patience to do the same thing twice.

Instead, he tries to find a clear path through the mud and lead some of the stegosaurus calves out.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Stegosaurus Roundup! (One/Two)

Channary's wispy lights, Mimi's song, and Grimmylow's mud-wrestling seem to fail to round up the loose steggos - chaos ensues as Channary's dinos run into the mud knocking Grimmylow over and he slides into Mimi doing her best dino impression, causing her to fall too!

...

...

The Party is Up!

I'm probably getting a little ahead of the group here, but since The Party is Up! here goes R3.

Mary stands up and tries to scrape some of the mud off herself; it is a lost cause. "Bah! Vat a shame. Deez boots veell never be de same again. De récompense better be vorth all dees trobel!"

The stegosauruses were clearly not aficionados of pantomime so Mary switches to a different approach. Since her mud covered and smelly clothing now makes her blend in better with her surroundings, she attempts to sneak up behind the stegosauruses and grab them before they can get away.

Stealth: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

Nuvian says Umber!

Distract that woodpecker so I can take a look at this pen.

Umber flies around the woodpecker doing various loops and acrobatics in the air.

Umber Acrobatics: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Nuvian tries to focus on the pen in spite of the woodpecker's distractions.

Crafting Check: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

"Umber" (Nuvian's Bat Familiar) and Woodpecker dance in the air together while Nuvian studies the enclosure, but comes up empty... (Failure)

R2 Actions:

Nuvian throws up his hands in frustration....

aww hell!..I'm no farmer!

So he goes over to the dinosaurs that are alluding Xila and tries to shove them back into the enclosure.

Athletics(Shove): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

Stegosaurus Roundup! (One/Two/Three)

Nuvian does his best to investigate the enclosure, but is distracted by the woodpecker and his own familiar as they tussle in the air. (Failure). Changing tacks, he takes his anger out by shoving a poor steggo back into the enclosure while it screeches in protest all the way. (Success)

Mimi meanwhile uses the mud-cover to sneak up on two more steggos, scooping one into her arms and scaring another back into the pen. (Critical Success)

...

...

The Party (except Mimi) is Up!

From a distance, Luz can be heard calling out,

"I came as soon as I saw your note." The voice comes from a dark-sknned Garundi male, with little or not hair. He pauses for a moment, sizing up each the situation, relying on his gut to guide him, rather than his gut. The investigator makes the owner of the enclosure the subject of his investigation, "Now who would put this here and why? Are they looking to capture dinosaurs"

R1
Craft +4

R2
Luz focuses on the dinosaur, perhaps knowing more about creatures might help control hem.

REcall Nature +5

R3

Finally, Luz attempts to use a trick that works on humans and see if can work on these creatures, and tries to convince them there is no cause for alarm.

Round 3:

Nuvian passes small rocks to umber.
Upon command Umber takes off from Nuvian's shoulders, and she flies up about 5' off the ground. She then drops the rocks on the hind end of the dinosaurs to startle them into running into the pen.

Craft: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Nature: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Round 3:

Grimmylow contemplates just talking to the dinosaurs to convince them to come back. He also thinks about giving them a rousing sermon about Sarenrae to draw them in. But, he's not sure either of those will be very effective with creatures with such small brains.

So, he tries running around them and shooing them back to the central area, again.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

I'm back. So round 2

After the initial failure, Channary tries something already proven with other young animals. Food. She finds a few branches with nice green colour and waves them around a bit. Once she has attention of a few dinos, she tosses them into the enclosure.

Nature: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

Stegosaurus Roundup! (Three)

The Roundup Continues!

Luz Lumino appears on the scene, and immediately gets to work doing "Craft" (Critical Failure), and using his knowledge of all things to soothe the rowdy steggos with his calm demeanor. (Two Successes)

Meanwhile, Grimmylow exerts a lot of energy chasing around the steggos, but only ends up tiring himself, and is soon sitting down, out of breath. (Failure)

At the other side of the pen, Channary's efforts to lure the steggos pays off in spades - they nearly swarm around her to munch! (Critical Success)

Nuvian...

...

...

...

Roundup Summary

...

...

The Party is Up!

Umber drops a rocks!

Attack Roll: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

And hits Channery on the head by mistake!

CLUNK

Since The Party is Up! I will assume that there are more than three rounds to the Roundup. The following is Mimi's Roundup (R4) action.

Mimi was so happy with the success of her sneak-up-behind-and-grab-em approach that she tries it again (with a -2 penalty for reusing her Stealth skill)

Stealth: 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (5) + 7 - 2 = 10

But it appears that the stegosauruses have gotten wise to her technique and aren't fooled this time. They dodge aside at the last second to avoid her grabs and she ends up face in the mud again.