GM Jhaeman's "Decline of Glory" (Inactive)

Game Master Jhaeman

Cursing their ineffective bows, the rough men throw them into the mud and advance with bared steel!

Each man is dropping their bow as a free action and then doing a double-move, drawing a longsword as they advance.

Initiative (Round 3)

Relgar
Petro
Humans
Nisek
Dogs
Stefan
Kurik
Jon Rooi

Bold should go!

Nisek makes a flurry attack on the blue dog, then steps closer to one of the bandits.

Unarmed Strike: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
Bludgeoning Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Unarmed Strike: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Bludgeoning Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

The vanara's martial arts expertise is too much for the second dog, and it collapses, unconscious!

Nisek's second unarmed strike hit and took the Blue dog to -1.

Initiative (Round 3)

Relgar
Petro
Humans
Nisek
Stefan
Kurik
Jon Rooi

Bold should go!

Jon steps forward, fixing his gaze on one of these humans. He bores into the man's mind, weakening his will and fixing him with murderous intent towards his ally.

Kurik move closer to the man in red. (double move)

One of the soldiers looks at his ally with eyes full of wrath!

Black failed the save and will take a lifetime of aggression out on Red soon.

Stefan is up.

"Surrender now!" the Witchwolf growls at the humans. "YOU DARE ACCUSE A SERVANT OF IOMEDAE OF BEING A CULTIST?!" he roars as he takes a five foot step to get inside the human's guard.
Intimidate: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (18) - 1 = 17
Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

The burly guard looks nervous as Stefan roars in his face!

An intimidate (to demoralise) is a standard action, as is an attack, so you can't do both unless you have a special ability. Since the attack would have missed, I'll go with the intimidate check. Red is shaken for two rounds.

Initiative (Round 4)

Relgar
Petro
Humans
Nisek
Stefan
Kurik
Jon Rooi

Bold should go!

Petro fires an arrow at the terrified warrior.

attack: 1d29 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 7 + 1 = 181d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 1 = 8
PB shot, precise shot...

The celestial eagle targets a new opponent gliding into position (5'step).

Fly check to move less than half or else land, DC 10: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

A holy nimbus of light appears as the eagle calls upon its holy power to smite evil and it lashes out with beak and claw.

Bite,Flank: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 2 = 9

Damage,Smite: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Talon 1,Flank: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 3 + 2 = 16

Damage,Smite: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Talon 2,Flank: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 2 = 7

Damage,Smite: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Relgar directs Shaggy forward seeing as well as one could in the mists with his darkvision. He tosses a ball of flame at the man (black) hoping this time to connect.

Produce Flame to hit touch, Drizzle: 1d20 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 3 - 2 = 8

Damage,Fire: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

Miss chance 1-20(low),mists: 1d100 ⇒ 13

Petro's sharpshooting drops one of the foes! Relgar's conjured eagle flies to harass the remaining guard, but his ball of flame gets lost in the mist.

Petro's attack hits and drops Red. Relgar, I've moved your eagle to attack Black, but it would only get one attack and it missed. The produce flame missed.

"Get off me you stupid bird!" shouts the Taldan, swinging his blade as hard as he can.

The celestial eagle gets hit and takes 7 points of damage.

Initiative (Round 4)

Relgar
Petro
Human
Nisek
Stefan
Kurik
Jon Rooi

Bold should go!

Nisek circles around and tries to hit the final enemy with a bit of distraction from the eagle.

Unarmed Strike: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 5 + 2 = 11
Bludgeoning Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

The eagle disappears in a flash of light.

@Nisek - The eagle is killed before your move so you lose your flanking bonus. Considering your roll it seems like a moot point anyways. :)

Kurik closes in on the man in black. (double move)

Stefan moves in to finish off the last human.
longsword: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Stefan's longsword cuts deep into the Taldan's neck, spraying blood that's soon washed away by the rain as the man collapses.

The sound of more dogs barking and the sight of torches in the distance reveal that the battle hasn't gone unnoticed!

Stefan's attack was a nat 20, so below I've rolled to see if it confirms and, if so, how much more damage it does. It's indeed a crit!

We are off Initiative. If you want to stick around, you figure you have about 30 seconds (five rounds) before whoever's approaching reaches you.

Stefan's crit confirmation roll: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
Stefan's additional crit damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Relgar motions to the bigger people in the party to quickly loot the bodies.

"Who are these people and do we wish to stick around?"

In the meanwhile he dismisses his Produce Flame spell which has been largely useless in these wet conditions. He places his Wand of Summon Monster back into his spring-loaded wrist sheath.

Nisek takes a quick look around, but does not want to stay to find out who else is coming.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

hearing the sound of dogs baying Stefan takes a quickly checks for any items that could identify the attackers.
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Quickly...let's get out of sight..we can find out who they are if we needed.... Petro says quietly.

The Pathfinders quickly search the bodies of their attackers!

Sorry, just checking on the plan, as I couldn't quite tell from the conversation above. Are you planning on hiding nearby to see who's coming or are you planning to escape toward Railford before whoever's coming sees you?

"These people are not part of our mission. We should head towards Railford."

Relgar begins to ride Shaggy towards the town.

"I agree, we should leave. But first, can someone help me stabilize these poor dogs? They are not our enemies...

Heal dog #1: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (15) - 2 = 13
Heal dog #2: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (1) - 2 = -1

Well, what did I expect? ;-)

As Relgar rides on, Kurik tries to keep the abused dogs from bleeding out. It looks like one will make it, but the other is close to death . . .

One of the dogs was only at -1 and made its stabilisation check; the other dog is now at -10 but is still alive.

That's fair,,,wasn't their fault... Petro says as he quickly covers the dogs' wounds with a piece of his cloak.

heal, untrained: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

as for the loot, just grab the longsword and the bow and arrows....

"I think it best we not stay here longer. Whoever is approaching can care for the dogs in our absence." Not wanting any of the gear, Nisek is ready to run at a moment's notice.

Petro manages to stabilise the other dog, and the Pathfinders escape the scene with just seconds to spare!

Pushing through the mire, it doesn't take long before you reach Railford--not that there's really much to see. Atop a hillock stands half a dozen small stone cottages surrounding a tall brick and timber building topped with a massive tin-covered water drum. A sign over its looming doors reads "Railford Distillery est. 4693". From a squat brick building sharing an adjoining wall with the distillery rises a long cylindrical chimney. A low, moss-covered cobblestone wall surrounds the entire property.

The shutters to one of the cottages is thrown open, and a booming male voice calls out: "By the gods we told ye scum to stay out of Railford, and we mean it!" An instant later, more shutters are opened from other cottages, and bottles and garbage start flying through the rainy night in your general direction.

Loot in PFS has no weight so clearly we will take all of it. If your character wants any gold at the end of the adventure then generally you will need to take the loot to sell although I do not know if the last encounter treasure will factor into it at all. I like playing in society but it does have the drawback of a set reward for gold and experience that is not linked to your individual character's initiative or performance.

Relgar understands the frustration of these people so he calls back to them.

Diplomacy check of 20 on a take 10.

"We are here to help. I understand that you have had a rough time of it."

"We are looking for the son of London."

"I think you misspoke, Relgar. We're looking for the son of Iodon, not London."

I completely understand that you misread the name. It also happened to me when I read the mission notes! Had to do a double take when I came across the name. ;-)

Kurik steps forward and raises his voice.

"Dear people of Railford. We mean you no harm. We just want to talk to the son of Iodon, nothing more. Also, as a token of good gesture, if any of are injured, I will heal them for free."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24

Petro holds his buckler over his head to avoid getting a bottle between the eyes. He watches over the more social types as they parley with the townsfolk.

"I am Stefan Mariano, warpriest of Iomedae! Why do you attack us?" the witchwolf shouts as he keeps his shield up to block the projectiles.

Nisek simply attempts to step between the projectiles and allows the others to do the talking.

Kurik's and Relgar's calming words seem to work wonders, and seeing a (war)priest of Iomedae lends credibility to the group. The front door to one of the cottages opens, and a grizzled Andoren comes out with a few other folk who look ready for a scrap if things don't go well.

"Name's Dalard Fritch," the man says. "You say you're lookin' for Becher? Maybe we can help and maybe we can't. Who are you, and whaddaya want with him?"

"Hi Dalard, I am called Relgar."

"It is simple really. Becher's father was a Pathfinder. Our society would like to set up a lodge here in the distillery to protect his son and to honour the memory of his father. Needless to say that your village would benefit from the resources and protection of the lodge as well so that is a nice side benefit as well."

The gnome pauses for a moment.

"I understand that you are mistrustful about outsiders and probably with good reason. So I understand that we have our work cut out for us. We are here to see if this something that would work for him and your people."

Sorry for the long absence, Thanksgiving was nice but then life happened, adding some complications. I'm back now for the present, though.

"We really only want what's best for you; Pathfinders know how to stay out of the way when we should."

"Who are you fighting against? Why this hostility?" Stefan asked.

I've had a rough welcome before, but this was definitely different.... Petro says with a shrug and a chuckle .as he checks to make sure nothing has stuck to him

Dalard scratches his beard, still looking a little mistrustful. "Well, if you're Pathfinders, pardon the 'warm' reception then. Soldier named Grald and his sellswords have been trying to claim Railford as some kinda noble charter land or something. It's all hogwash! But if you're after Becher, you've got a real problem. A couple of days ago, he and a few of his distillery boys went out into the swamps to find some kinda hidden deed left by his father that proves who really owns the land. Problem is, just this morning, one of Becher's men done stumbled back into town, awful sick with some kinda fever, tellin' crazy tales of walking corpses that attacked just as they got to the strongbox."

You've shifted Dalard's attitude one step. Could I please get one more Diplomacy check from someone taking part in the conversation?

Thanks for your patience--I should be back to posting more regularly now.

It's fine, Mister Fritch. There's two less of thos men to hassle you now. And walking corpses, eh? I know a thing or two about taking care of those monstrosities... Petro says as he nods in salute to the de facto head of the town.

diplo aid, I have no idea why I'm rolling: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (13) - 2 = 11

Relgar nods at Petro beaming with confidence.

"He has it right. We can take care of this problem and set your town right too. We just have to find, eh... or rescue Becher!"

20 on at take 10 on Diplomacy.

@Petro - An aid can usually never hurt so as long as you are not leading the negotiations we are good. :)

"Walking corpses? We should rush to their aid!"

Aid Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

Whoa there, big fellow...we're talking about a swamp. We have to be careful...lest they be laying in the muck and drown us as we pass. easy going wins this battle.

Relgar snickers at Petro's literal interpretation of Kurik's words.

"I think that he is affirming that we wish to help immediately and not that we wish to run into the swamp recklessly. It is a manner of speech."

"I will trust to your skills to keep us safe in the swamp."

Like the Paladin will be able to outstrip the party in all that armour anyways. That would be a switch. :)

Shaggy has no clue what everyone is talking about but he wants to participate in the conversation anyways so he barks in a friendly affirmative manner.

"Woof, woof."