#5–22: Scars of the Third Crusade - Round Robin (Inactive)

Game Master NotEspi

Ninnic is happy waiting outside for the time being. He’s ready for there to be a betrayal and plans on hearing it off if possible.

"Did any of you see which window he was climbing out of?"

Ninnic will point out the particular window if asked. If the group speaks with him, he will point out the button that was dropped and picked up by Shen.

Sakura endures that he’s tied up properly!!

Tie Up DC 26 to escape:
If you have your target pinned, otherwise restrained, or unconscious, you can use rope to tie him up. This works like a pin effect, but the DC to escape the bonds is equal to 20 + your Combat Maneuver Bonus (instead of your CMD). The ropes do not need to make a check every round to maintain the pin. If you are grappling the target, you can attempt to tie him up in ropes, but doing so requires a combat maneuver check at a –10 penalty. If the DC to escape from these bindings is higher than 20 + the target’s CMB, the target cannot escape from the bonds, even with a natural 20 on the check.

She then lets him go.

“I apologize in case you are innocent. Please tell us your story once more! We will let you go if all is plausible!“

The man is struggles to get free, but gives up.

I'll go ahead and finish initiative here. Act as you wish.

"Not cool, people... I was trying to help you here, and I get this in return..."

He sighs. "Well, I was kidnapped by this demon creature... thing. I don't know what it is. It's running around town messing with people, and killing. I don't know why it took me here, but it held me here for a few days now."

"We're a little suspicious these days, you understand. You have my apology if our conduct turns out to be unwarranted."

The witch addresses the rest of the party. "Before we take him back to the sheriff, let's explore the house. There may be other clues here." She murmurs a quick cantrip and looks for magical auras on the captive and in the vicinity.

Zandu looks closely at their prisoner, trying to decide if he’s telling the truth.
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

A frown creases Zandu's forehead, and the coin he had still been fiddling with in his hand stops. "He is lying. About pretty much everything." The coin suddenly shoots from his hand and zooms over to the bound man, but stops just short of striking him in the forehead. It hovers in mid-air, edge toward the liar's head, and just stays there. "The truth from you now. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Intimidate: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (18) - 2 = 16

Shenendril is much more of a talker than a fighter. She's not in the least bit intimidating though she will try to look as imposing as possible to back Zandu up.

Intimidate: 1d20 ⇒ 9

She's really not intimidating.

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

The man turns his head and closes his eyes when the coin is headed for him, expecting a sharp impact. He opens his eyes and looks at Zandu

"I...", he starts speaking hesitantly. "There is-" a faint his can be heard, and the man stops, and looks around the room. "No. Nothing you can do to me can even come close to..."

"Why would I tell you anything, when you don't believe me, anyway?"

Shenendril approaches the man, sheathing her sword as she draws near.

"Tell us and try us. All of us have seen unbelievable things. We know that the Pathfinders didn't commit the murders here. We know something supernatural is involved. Tell us what you know and you can help us get to the bottom of things and we can help you escape whatever you're afraid of. Otherwise, you may end up in its thrall forever and you'll be the cause of the deaths of 3 innocent people."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

The man seems to be contemplating what you said. It seems he is just about to speak up, when Belthelgior flies in through the window.

"A crowd is coming from the south. They'll be here any moment, and seem rowdy."

Did Ilarien pick anything up on the captive using detect magic?

Sorry, missed that. He has a few potions that ping when detecting magic.

Shenendril curses...in Auran, when Belthelgior reports. She lets him hide in her hair, again.

"We should barricade ourselves in so that we can control the situation. If they just storm the place, there will be too much chaos for us to state our case. And we need to find out more from this guy, anyway," she says.

"Would Belthelgior be able to recognize any of the people we've talked to?"

Since I’m waiting outside, do I see the angry crowd heading our way?

Ninnic does not have the advantage of high ground, but you recognise a very distinct sound of a very disgrunled mob closing in.

Ninnic begins heading inside. ”Lock the doors! There’s a crowd on the way,” he calls out to the others.

The subtle hissing of wind that always attends the air elemental increases briefly.

She waves the group to join her in another room, leaving their bound captive behind.

"Ekira is with the group. Probably leading it, if I had to guess."

She lets them discuss that and rejoins the prisoner.

"Describe the person who held you here. What did they look like. Talk fast, we don't have much time."

As Ninnic runs inside and locks the door behind him, the man smiles a sly smile. "No. I will be dragged into the Abyss one way or another. Might as well get it over with. Have at you!"

Escape artist: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18

He tries to free himself from his restraints again, but fails. "Ugh. You make a mean knot, do you know that?"

As he is finished speaking, you hear heavy knocks on he door. "Open up! Justice has arrived!", you hear Ekira's voice from behind the door. "You have 10 seconds to come out, then we will bust the door open. Circle around the house, men. They will not run away again. And keep the civilians away, would you? We don't need further casualties here."

Looking outside the window, you see a crowd of people gathered in the street, with multiple militia attempting to keep them at bay.

Seeing the militia members there, Ilarien takes a deep breath and strides out of the house. "Yes? Justice for what, exactly?"

Ekira seems surprised when Ilarien walks out of the door. "You?", she asks after taking a second or two to collect herself. "Everyone in the house, out -NOW-!"

She points her longsword towards a group of idle militia and then towards the door. "You! Get inside inside, search the place, and throw everyone out the window if you need to. This building will be empty within the minute."

"As for you...", she looks towards Ilarien, and comes closer.

She steps back, and points her blade at the door again, then shouts for the crowd to hear "Who else is inside?"

In a louder voice, she calls out: "The rest of my group, of course. We've taken a captive alive, and he'd better stay that way until the sheriff can talk to him. We're not sure yet if he's the killer--that's for Dawnton's justice to decide."

Excellent. I wrote long post to follow up, but got the form resubmission message. I'll do it again. Just give me some time.

Ekira looks at three idle militia next to her. "Three of you, get inside, and get everyone out. I want the house empty within a minute."

They immediately enter the house to search the house room by room. You hear them rummaging thorugh the bottom floor, then one-by-one, they appear on the staircase. "Fiv-uh, SIX people inside! One restrained!", they shout as they move up the stairs to move everyone outside, by force if necessary.

When you leave the building, you see a circle of militia holding the crowd away from the door. "It's them!", someone shouts. "Pathfinders! I knew it!"

The crowd goes louder after a few short moments, and someone near the front rows screams at the rest of the crowd: "The murders started when Pathfinders came! Let them hang!"

"Yeah! Let - them - hang! Let - them - hang!", someone starts chanting. Within a few seconds, the crowd chants in unison, as their torches and improvised weapons jump up and down rhytmically.

Out of the blue, Tobias appears in the front, attempting to push himself into the corridor. He manages to get into the clear by forcing his way. He steps through the militia line, this time with his trusty blade to his side.

"Silence!", he screams at the frenzied citizens. He tries a few more times, and seeing it is pointless, he pulls out something from his pocket. He throws it up in the air, and covers his ears. The rune-covered stone hits the cobbles, and explodes into a loud, roaring sound of thunder.

The crowd stops chanting as they are stunned by the sudden loud sound. Tobias puts his index finger to his lips and he turns around for the crowd to see him. Once the ringing in your ears stops, Tobias addresses the citizens of Dawnton again. "Silence! I will have no mob justice in this town under my watch. Nobody will hang here without being able to explain their situation. Speaking of which..."

He turns towards you, and is about to talk, but the Varisian man beats him to it. "They tried to kill me! They entered the house, and tried to drop me from the second floor! When that did not work, they tied me up, probably to skin and hang me, like the man in Otto's fields! Help me?"

From the reaction of the crowd, he seems less convincing than he anticipated, but some faces seem convinced.

Ilarien clears her throat. "The killings didn't start with Pathfinders. Sheriff Tobias can tell you about the ones in the nearby towns, if you don't trust us. One thing's sure, though--this isn't a court. Let the Sheriff do his job."

Diplomacy check, hopefully to aid another: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

"You have to listen to Ilarien! We are no a threat and the Sheriff trust us." she says and tries to create trust.

diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

Aid another diplomacy 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (13) - 1 = 12

Ninnic agreed with the others. ”Weve tried to tell you since we got to this town that the pathfinders weren’t guilty and we have proof now.”

Shenendril adds her voice to those of reason.

"We will gladly surrender ourselves if the duly appointed administrators of justice find us guilty! But first we must be allowed to speak for ourselves."

Diplomacy (Aid Another): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

"Evidence?", the Varisian man turns his head towards Ninnic.

Tobias and Ekira do the same, and a few second afterwards, with a little glimmer in his eyes. "Might as well make this a trial. Present your case."

The crowd goes silent as they listen in to the 'courtroom'.

Naturally, the more details you can back up with physical evidence, the better.

Ilarien steps up. "We have at least two pieces of evidence. First, as we already told the Sheriff, we found an obsidian button in Otto's field where the first body was found. That field doesn't see a lot of foot traffic, and the button hadn't been plowed under--it couldn't have been there that long. This man has the same sort of buttons on his clothing, though we haven't had time to check if any of them are missing.

"Second, we have a set of letters, all in the same handwriting. The first one was sent to the nearest Pathfinder Society lodge, alerting them to an archeological discovery near Dawnton. The second is to the Sheriff, claiming that the author had seen the Pathfinders killing the second victim. The third is to the Pathfinder Society lodge again, informing them that their team had been accused of murder. The fourth is to us, claiming to be from a captive of the true killer. That one also provided the location of this house, which is why we're here now.

"Ekira, did you get a letter telling you that the murderer was here? If so, is it in the same handwriting?

"The letter that the Sheriff got claimed that the Pathfinders killed the second victim. According to the Sheriff, though, all of the stab wounds were from someone at least as tall as the victim. You saw the Pathfinders, though...two dwarfs and a halfling." She sniffs. "Were they standing on each other's shoulders?"

Then she steps back to give her compatriots a chance to add anything she missed.

”He dropped another button when he was trying to escape out the window. Shen, our sylph friend here, happened to pick it up. I bet it matches this scoundrel’s buttons and the one found in the field to a tee. Show them, Shen!”

Shenendril draws the button out of her pouch and shows it to both Tobias and Ekira before handing it to whichever one of them wants to take it.

Ekira shakes her head when told about a letter. "No, that was not it. I was told to look here by the Inheritor herself. Not an hour ago."

"You make good points. So far." Tobias reaches for the offered button, and comes closer to the Varisian man. His step is careful, but somehow confident at the same time. He holds the button firmly in one hand, and keeps his right hand close to his blade. "Show me your shirt, son. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.", he looks at the angry mob around him. "Well, not from me, anyway."

The Varisian man is reluctant, and looks around for a few seconds. Realising there's no point, he reveals the buttons on his shirt. Black buttons made of obsidian, with two of them missing.

Tobias keeps his face blank, and his voice calm. "Are you from Dawnton? What is your name?"

The man nods, and lifts his chin. "Dalton.", his posture changes from fearful to boasting. "Dalton Krune. No, I'm not from here. I was born in Varisia."

Tobias nods. "Alright then. Do you know anything about the recent killings in town?"

Dalton looks around for something, but does not respond just yet. Tobias nudges him verbally, but waits.

”Watch out, everyone! He’s slipped his restraints! No telling what he might try to do…”

"You are trying to hide something! Speak!" she says but then realizes the rope loosened.

”No, you will not escape!“ Sakura says and grapples the man again.

grapple: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

Initiatives it is, then. Let's consider that a surprise round.

Map is up, Combat starts

---- Round 1 ----

Once Sakura grabs Dalton, a booming voice is heard over the small square in front of the house.

The citizens of Dawnton immediately panic and flee, most of them drop their torches on the floor. Fortunately enough, they did not fall into anything flammable, and are simply burning on the dirt floor.

Initiative Blocks - Bolded can go - I will wait 24 hrs, then bot the people that did not post

Unknown voice
Ekira
Tobias
Shenendril
Ninnic
Sakura (grappled)
Ilarien
Zandu
Dalton (grappled)
Devin

Will, Ekira: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
WIll, Tobias: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Tobias decides to make a run for it, but Ekira stands still, assessing the situation.

DC 12 Will save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Folio reroll time!

DC 12 Will save, including GM stars bonus: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 2 = 8

OK, OK. I get the hint.

Perhaps it's because she speaks the language and knows something about what could be speaking, but Ilarien blanches, hitches up her skirts, and flees.

Will Save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

Shenendril reaches out to the occult powers at her command and summons a dog from another plane of existence.

Using my Servitor Focus Power. It acts as summon monster I but is a standard action.

The dog appears and takes a bite out of crime! Or at least a criminal.

Using Smite Evil

bite plus Flank: 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 + 2 = 18
Smite Bite: 1d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 = 6

Will 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

Ninnic readies an action to magic missile the source of the voice if it shows itself.

will : 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

She tries to pin the varisian man again.

Pin, controlling grapple +5: 1d20 + 7 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 5 = 28

“This is infernal and not abyssal! Is say: Leave this place, worms, or face the vanguard of Hells! What is that?!?“

Botting Zandu

TK Blast, Point Blank: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 7 + 1 = 122d6 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (2, 2) + 5 + 1 = 10 vs Pinned

Zandu's body suddenly coalesces with dark energy of the dusk, and he raises one of the torches with his mind. The torch immediately flies towards Dalton, and - as Sakura holds his hands behind his back - it strikes him in the gut.

MY BAD! The language was supposed to be Abyssal. Apologies, but moving on for now.

Dalton struggles to set himself free from Sakura's grip.

Escape artist: 1d20 + 15 - 5 ⇒ (5) + 15 - 5 = 15

When that fails, he looks at the Aphorite over his shoulder.

"This only ends in one of two ways. Either you kill me here, or I will eat your eyes for dinner. Do your worst."

I didn't see Devin post in a while, but I will delay him for now so that you are in the same block with everyone else. Once everyone else posted, I will bot him as well.

The disembodied voice in the area speaks again. This time it seems less malicious, but still somewhat commanding.

Immediately after that, Dalton attempts to set himself free one more time.

Escape Artist + Liberating Command: 1d20 + 15 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 15 + 2 - 4 = 28

He suddenly makes a series of slippery motions. And just like that, he faces Sakura, and it is now the Aphorite, who is held by the Varisian.

"I told you to do your worst.", he smiles visciously.

While Tobias is hiding behind a building, Ekira, looks at Dalson with a look that could pierce a stone wall. She pulls out her sword.

"It was you, then. Justice comes!", she speaks just as her sword bursts into white flame.

---- Round 2 ----

Unknown voice
Ekira
Tobias
Shenendril + Dog
Ninnic
Sakura (grappled)
Ilarien
Zandu
Devin
Dalton (grappled) (-16)

Ninnic uses his magic missile against Dalton.

Damage 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (2, 1) + 2 = 5

Hi GM, Escape Artist allows to end the grapple. A CMB roll must be made to change the control of Grapple I think.

Sakura 5 ft steps forward, draws her sword and then Sakura strikes the man.

Adamantine Greatsword, pa -1: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (19) + 8 - 1 = 262d6 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (2, 5) + 6 + 3 = 16
crit? : 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 92d6 + 9 ⇒ (2, 5) + 9 = 16

"You have to be stopped." she says in a neutral tone.

Ilarien continues to flee.

1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Ilarien, you can stop running away now.