GM Tyranius (PF2) Gameday X Lions of Katapesh (Inactive)

Game Master Tyranius

Tiger grabs the bandit and holds him so that Gizzard can interrogate him.

Itka easily puts the flames out on the last fire. Tiger picks the unconscious bandit up by his collar. It takes quite some time but eventually the bandit reawakens startled. His eyes widen in fright as he looks back and forth to several unfamiliar faces. "What happened? Who are you?" Quickly realizing his situation is not good, he struggles to free himself and finds there are just too many of you. "What are you going to do with me?"

"Why did you attack us?" Gawira looms over the bandit, playing the good cop. "If you answer all of our questions, we may let you go."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

"We were told to stop all reinforcements from reaching the work camp." The man coughs.

"Who told you to stop all reinforcements? Who?! We need a name" Tiger growls into the bandit's ear.

Intimidate(U): 1d20 ⇒ 20

Wow!

The man recoils in fear. "I..I am not sure who there are! I swear."

"What they look like? Where and when you meet them?"

"What can you tell us? I am in no mood for games. Some of my friends have been hurt and I do not like that. So you had better be telling us the truth!"

Tiger shakes the man for effect, somewhat liking the bad cop role.

Itka maneuvers into a spot where the hapless fool can see her as she marvels at Tiger's intensity. Scowling mightily at the discovery of an actual plot to subvert this progress, she remarks dryly: "Those poltroons abandoned you. Hmp. That's illuminating."

Gizzard sits cross legged in front of the woozy thug. "Well mister abandoned bandit. Or aband-it? You got a name? See there are lotsa things that we wanna know... and I suspeck that you know at least a little of the lotsa. If ya dunno who, maybe you know what they looked like? Or where ya met? When ya met? Why they want'cha ta beat up these poor kids? How they payin' ya?"

He rummages through his bag for a snack. "Hungry? I've got some fresh dried carp! Hard ta think onna empty belly. 'sides... once ya think clearly you probably gonna figure out that if your buddies left'cha here then yer empl... em... people who paidja ta do stuff... dinnit pay enough to make sure you all come back safe... so you prolly gonna want some help wif that."

Diplomacy + On the Case: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 5 + 1 = 24

He smiles. "So... how bout'cha pick a couple of those questions and give an answer or two. I think all the little ones here gonna be a lot happier once we got someone else to go poke with a pointy stick."

Also, I'll clue in the bad cop for +1 on his check

"N..names Brian." The bandit sits up and grabs the snack, slowly eating it. "I really don't know what their name was. He was a small halfling that seemed really pissed about that Bridge being built." Brian points off to a nearby cave. "We stuck our payment in there." You easily find the rocky lair where the bandits have stored these items. You find a weapons cache with bolas, a khopesh, and a fighting fan. 3 Treasure Bundles.

He truly doesn't know much more beyond that.

Gizzard grins. "Wonderful! See? You got 3 questions! You got the What, then Why, and How! Imma make sure the tribe dun go toooooo hard on you."

Gizzard considers the case at hand. He informs the tribe that Brian spilled whatever beans he may have had, but doesn't really bother to check up on his well-being much past that... not out of malice but out of a really short attention span.

"Hmp. We can't let him go. Either he'll turn on us or they'll find him and kill him for turning on them." Turning to the prisoner, she continues. "Brian. Hmp. We're going to bring you with us. You'll be tied up, but you'll be fed and kept alive." She continues in a low, rasping whisper so only Brian and those closest can hear. "If you're still and quiet, those with short attention spans are more likely to forget you're here. That'll make your life much easier. Hmp."

And with that, Itka pulls her rope out of her pack and gestures to Tiger and Jonas. "Hmp. One of you big strong boys want to do the honors? And who wants to take first watch on him?"

Tiger does the honors, using the techniques he learned in the monastery to ensure that items don't move.

"Friend Gizzard, maybe our new traveling companion would be interested in sampling your sue she? Or saw she mi..."

"I'll watch him for a bit. I'm not so strong but I'm good with ropework." Jonas adds quietly. He cleans the blood carefully off his sword before putting it away.

I probably inflicted cruel and unusual punishment on "Brian" by allowing Gizzard (and/or Grogggg) to test their culinary experiments on him...

Haha!

You wrap the rope tightly around Brian's wrists as Jonas leads him along behind.
After the ambush, nothing remains to be done but to take the wagons and complete the journey to the bridge camp. The surviving goblins regroup and pack anything they can salvage to continue the journey.

While many of the goblins at the work camp are covered in dirt and sweat, Zig stands tall and straight among them. He pours over maps of the surrounding area before speaking.

“It is good to see you. They call me Zig. I’m glad my father asked you to come here to help."

“We have been building a very important bridge. But every night, the big cats attack our camp. We leave out meat for them and they saunter right past it. Instead, they seem bent on filling their bellies with goblin flesh. If we move camp across the river; they cross over it overnight. If we light fires around the camp to scare them away, the goblins workers burn themselves in the flames. It’s a lose-lose situation!" He says in exasperation.

“Every few nights, the cats come back to hunt us. Everyone is terrified and that’s bad for business. With all this talk of some saber-toothed whatever coming for us in the night, we’re all too scared to finish our work. If someone doesn’t take these furballs out, I suspect the bridge isn’t ever gonna get built."

“These kitties aren’t natural. Whatever you need, you got it. I can give you workers to build fences. But fences alone aren’t going to be enough. Either the cats go, or this bridge is history. The only other answer is death.”

Brian leans in and whispers. "That halfling had a lot of cats. They seemed to listen to him, almost as if they could speak to each other." He says with wide eyes in fear of his life.

"Then we must take care of these cats, since anything else is not a solution. Do these cats come from a certain direction?"

"Hmp. Druids are known to have a special connection with nature. I wonder if this halfling is one of them. About how many cats come at once? Have you ever seen anyone else around during the attacks, coordinating them from the perimeter perhaps? Hmp. I may finally get to try out a spell I keep preparing." One side of her mouth twitches. Was that part of a smile? No... It couldn't be. Not Itka.

As a small halfling who enjoys the company of cats, Gawira looks concerned. "We'll get to the bottom of this, Zig. Could you tell us more about these cats? Were they big and strong? Sneaky? Or do they charge right in and make a scene?"

"This make Grog sad, Grog like to pet cats!"

He turns to Brian, "You have good info! Me glad you not die!"

"Hmm... maybe we can free the kitties? I like kitties too... they like fish! And they not dee oh gee esses."

Gizzard scratches his nonexistant beard. "So... we kill the halfling and feed 'im to the cats?"

After a pause he adds, "Right... no bein' murdery vagrants. So uh... well... make the halfling go away... prolly by killin him but not necessarily! Then hope the kitties go 'way nicely. Should prolly see if we can find which way they like ta come in... and if the halfling comes wiff em. Time for a little walkies 'round the camp?"

Gizzard spins in circles a few times until he's dizzy, then walks straight until he finds a clue.

Exploration action: Search for Clues!

Jonas looks thoughtful. "So do we get some rest, wait for an attack, fight it off and follow them back or do we go looking for tracks now and see if we can get the jump on them?" He looks towards Zig "When was the last attack? When do you think the next one will be?" He spins and tosses a dagger as he speaks.

"Oh, good thinking! If have time, see if we find them! If not, Grog say setup across bridge, can use bridge to slow kitties."

"Maybe we can wall off the entrance to the camp? Use the fencing material to seal the gate for the night. We should probably set a watch."

Can Gawira do a Nature check to see what kind of big cats generally roam the area? That may help us better get ready. Nature +7

"Good idea Loong! A watch would be great tonight."

Gawira looks around the camp and finds a few tracks that appear to be signs of several leopards. "The cats attack every few nights, grab a few goblins and drag them off into the night to east on their bones!" The goblin begins to beg. "Please patrol the perimeter and stop the kitties."

The areas of note in the camp are the supply depot (where tools and materials are kept for building the bridge), the mess hall (where Zig works and food is stored), the infirmary (where sick or injured goblins are cared for), and the tents where each goblin sleeps.

Fence Defenses - You can have the goblins help build up some fences to help fend off the feline attack. You have enough material for 4 sections of fence. You can also dig pits, though that will take 1 day for each 5 foot section. Since an attack just happened you feel that you have a couple of days to prepare. I placed four fence sections and 2 pits on the map for you to place in the camp where you want.

Gawira walks around the perimeter. "Leopards. Stealthy cats for sure. They'll be on us before we know it. I believe they are agile climbers too, so we should make sure to watch the rooftops diligently."

Where do we want the fences and pits?

"Regarding pits, can't the cats just jump over them? We can try building some places higher. Won't stop them, but it will give us time to muster a defense."

Gizzard rummages through the captured bandit's gear. "I uh... dun seem to have much things for fightin stuff far away..."

Did he have any weapons Gizzard might find useful?

After that he does the rounds with the rest of the party. "Prolly also should be settin watches. No 'fence on the guys here but I think if they keep gettin' hauled off in the night we prolly should be the ones up at night. Sleep all day an work all night? Hope the locals dun mind us bein noisy buildin' fences at night..."

Inspecting the lay of the land, Gizzard conjectures, "Doubt the fences or pits gonna hold off the cats much, but if we wanna slow em somewhere prolly wanna slow em 'round the tents. Hard ta protec the tents. Ann maybe put a pit near the entrance 'case the halfling walks in?"

Tiger pulls a javelin out from his quiver and hands it to Gizzard. "I can lend you one of mine for the meantime. "

"Maybe we should follow Gizzard's suggestion," Tiger muses, "we won't be of much use to the camp if we're asleep when the cats come."

"Let's get the materials together and then get some rest. I trust that someone will be able to help us folks that don't see too well in the dark?"

"Agreed. We will be of no use to anyone fatigued."

GM, are new wayfinders capable of casting a light spell?

"Sound good. Protect gobbo workers. Unless cats big enough to jump river we catch them crossing bridge."
He gets a dazed look on his face for a second.
"If they big enough to jump river we in trouble..."

"If they big enough to jump the river, this camp probably will not be here."

"Hmp. A thought. Zig said when they moved the camp across the river, the cats crossed the river. If the cats were dry when they attacked, that would mean they used the bridge to cross. We could use that as a choke point to hold them off. If they were wet, then they crossed through the river. There'd be no choke point, but we'd be able to track them back to their hideout better. Hmp. I'll go ask about wet cats." Itka nods at her logic, then limps off to ask Zig or whoever else if the cats were wet or dry when they attacked on the other side of the river.

"Well, the bridge aintnt finished yet... so the cats gotta be jumpin' something or comin' from another side. Plus the halfling gotta cross too. Less he's flying. Ooh ooh... We should make ourselves look like we work here! That way when they come in they think we weak prey... then BAM!" He punches his fist emphatically, then yelps in pain.

"Either way, they ain't gonna be dragging folks off and through the river so we should prolly make sure if they do catch someone they have a hard time makin' off with em. Maybe put the pits at the entrance. They sure gonna have no problem gettin' over em on the way in but if they gotta gobbo in their teeth they ain't going back."

I'm gonna say put the fence segments by the tents to try to drive them towards more defensible walled structures, and put pits to cover their escape. Gizzard is prioritizing safe gobbos over tools.

Grog nods at Gizzard.
"Sound good to me!"

Gizzard searches the bandit and finds a few useful items on the man. Shortsword (6), Studded Leather Armor (6), Shortbow (6), Alchemist Fire (3) Zig thinks real hard for a moment. "The cats were always dry. Cats don't like water, why would they be wet?" He begins to question your sanity.

Your tokens, fences (4) and pits (2) are on the map. Please place them where you would like.

He should have been questioning our sanity a long time ago. Gizzard would like to arm himself with the shortbow.

"Umm... guys... so like... I been told that I shouldn't set everything on fire. So uh... anyone else want the um... forbidden ingredient?"

Gizzard has issues with fire. He believes there are only 2 modes for fire. On and off. No fire, or total conflagration... nothing in between. If someone decides gizzard should have alchemists fire, expect full goblin.

Tiger's eyes widen at the sight of the alchemist fire. He recalled his fellow Pathfinder telling him about a goblin who wanted to burn a school down in Absalom.

"I do not know how to use such a device. Gawira, are you trained in their use?" He hands the alchemists fire vials to Gawira.

Gawira picks them up. "I'm sure I can make use of these, yes. Not my preferred weapon, but they're always handy to have."

I like Gizzard's idea. Feel free to move them!

"Hmp. It would be easier if we could bottleneck them coming over the bridge. But if this is what the group decides to do, so be it." Itka will help with the preparations as much as she can, but she's not exactly much good for manual labor these days. Partway through the day, after the party has been tramping around the camp destroying any nearby tracks, she grunts:[/b] "Hmp. Should we look for tracks out there and follow them?"[/b]

If we get a full night's rest, I'll readjust her prepared spells.

Moved the barriers and pits where I think Gizzard was talking about. Will hem them in to come to us, protect the tents on that near side, holes will prevent easy grab and go. Look good?

You spend the day setting up your defenses. On the first night after your arrival you find yourselves walking along the perimeter in search of movement. Itk is the first to hear the growl as a trio of leopards descend on the camp in the darkness. The goblins scream and begin to scatter, hiding in the tents as best as they can. Two of the lions approach from the north with another from the east.

Gawira confirms that these are indeed leopards and figures she might be able to track them back to their lair or at least have a good idea to.

Round 1
Gawira
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Leopards
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Itka
Gizzard (15/15)
Grog (Orange)
Tiger
Jonas

Grog looks at the defense they worked so hard to ready, "Well, that just disappointing. Grog may be upset enough to smack a kitty now."

Gawira hears the leopards approach. "Watch out. Here they come. Two from the north and one from the east."

The halfling tries to study the leopards as they approach. In particular, she's looking at the green one.

◆ Hunt Prey vs Green

◇ Recall Knowledge (Monster Hunter) + Outwit (Outwit)

Recall Knowledge (nature): 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 7 + 2 = 26

◆◆ Ready action: Hunted shot, when green leopard gets within range

Shortbow: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Shortbow: 1d20 + 8 - 5 ⇒ (7) + 8 - 5 = 10
damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Gawira knows that leopards can climb with ease. Able to pounce on their prey and maul them to death quickly. She readies her bow as the leopards climb the wooden pillars to get into the camp. Gawira sends an arrow into the western leopards paw.

Round 2
Gawira
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Leopards (Red -5)
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Round 1
Itka
Gizzard (15/15)
Grog (Orange)
Tiger
Jonas

Tiger lunges at the northern cat (green). He sets himself into his namesake stance and makes 2 claw attacks.

Tiger Claw #1: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Tiger Claw #2: 1d20 + 6 - 4 ⇒ (6) + 6 - 4 = 8

Tiger Claw Damage 1: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

◆ Stride
◆ Tiger Stance
◆ Flurry of Blows; Tiger Claw Attack

Grog sighs and heads towards the kitty with an arrow sticking out of it, leaving a clear view for Gawira to continue her work.
"Bad kitty!"

He then tries to thwack it twice.

great pick: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
p damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

great pick: 1d20 + 9 - 5 ⇒ (12) + 9 - 5 = 16
p damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Stride, strike x2