DM Voomer's Age of Ashes

Game Master Voomer

Society: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

Yasamina waves her next to her head in a rejectful manner, shakes her head, and rolls her eyes. "Bah! You joining us, us joining you... What does it matter? The important thing is we will work together! Right?", she winks at the group. "That makes six of us. Maybe a few more? Where's the other strongman? The third person that wrestled. And there were other two..."

She looks around the room again, looking for Joran. But before anyone else can be 'recruited', the town council enters the room and the ceremony begins.

"Welp. Guess we're out of time. For now..."

She takes the nearest seat.

I took the liberty to drop Hornet and Oren next to us on the map. I hope you don't mind.

Dario quiets down quickly after the gavel hits the table and the event begins properly. Adjusting his glasses, he surveys the assembled council.

Society: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

They were certainly an assortment of people, probably important ones. Dario muttered to himself in frustration, a quiet chiding to not let pretty bartenders and servers distract him so much next time he was in a town properly.

The fact that there was only one petition was a tiny bit irritating; with so many around there was not nearly a chance to make a proper showing. His irritation was short-lived though; it wasn't often that a goblin tribe needed help from a town. Maybe it wouldn't be so straight-forward.

Overhearing Dario's muttered grumblings, Sulee replies, "At least you can see them." Jumping on the bench a bit and finding that this doesn't help, she turns to Caiten, "Hold me up, I still can't see." Then remembering the teasing from Dario earlier, "... If you would, please."

Caiten gently lifts Sulee and places her on his shoulder.

Society: 1d20 ⇒ 6

No problem at all. Thank you for putting me on the map

Oren scooches past Hornet and Yasami to take a seat on the bench. "Excuse me, pardon me."

Here we go!

Warbal glanced up at Cevendyll and gripped the gifted dagger tighter, drawing some courage from the little blade – though it made a few townfolk lean away as she passed by, whether consciously or subconsciously. Peaceful goblins was a relatively new concept, even to the folks of Breachhill who’d avoided the brunt of the Goblinblood Wars. Warbal made her way to the top of the dais and cleared her throat rather loudly. ”Esteemed councilors," she began, having memorized this first bit. She turned to face the crowd. ”Pros…probspecvit…soon-to-be heroes.” Well, mostly. “It has nearly being two weeks since Warbal is being able to talk with the Bumblebrashers. Moresoes, Warbal is having seen red smoke blowing from the top of the Citadel –”

Before Warbal can continue her petition, the door on the western side of the room flies open, as a young man, his eyes wide with panic, runs in shouting and waving his ink-stained hands. Billowing black smoke and flames follow him into the room. ”Fire! There’s a fire! Everyone flee! Flee for your lives!”

Panic strikes. The councilors begin to yell for calm, but the room instantly becomes chaos. People are falling over one another, getting pinned under flipped benches, children are screaming and being knocked away from their parents in the sudden stampede. They need your help, heroes. And some of that fire appears to have taken on a life of its own…

All this fire. This must be how it starts. I came just in time!

Now certain that he is meant to be here, Oren starts working to save the people! He decides that right now his energy should be spent saving the people instead of fighting the mephits. He calls out to the three people in the row that's in front of him and his cohorts.

"HEY! This building is on FIRE! Stop panicking, go out through the doors, and start searching for some water that can be used to put these fires out!"

"Caiten." Sulee says in a voice that clearly shows she is trying her absolute best to stay calm. "All that fire looks absolutely terrifying."

The town hall was made from wood, and the auditorium bedecked with wall hangings and curtains. Perfect fuel for the flame to consume, unfortunately. The fire spread into the room behind the panicked aide, bursting in at the wave of oxygen when he opened the door.

The panicked family in front of you listens to Oren's calm, commanding voice. "Right! The wells! We can try to start a bucket brigade!". The man ushers his two daughters ahead of him and around the crowd. Smoke begins gathering in the rafters.

Mephit #2 isn't here yet this round so that ends block 2. Block 3 you guys are up! When you use your actions to save villagers, you can move them south of the map.

Before the fire
Joran bursts through the entrance and nearly stumbles as he slams on the brakes. Not wanting to interrupt, he quickly looks around and jumps in the first open seat he sees near the back and to his left. Moved Joran to his current position.

Whew! That was close. I almost missed another one. I sure am glad I made it. Just in time too.

The town hall was made from wood, and the auditorium bedecked with wall hangings and curtains. Perfect fuel for the flame to consume, unfortunately. The fire spread into the room behind the panicked aide, bursting in at the wave of oxygen when he opened the door.

The panicked family in front of you listens to Oren's calm, commanding voice. "Right! The wells! We can try to start a bucket brigade!". The man ushers his two daughters ahead of him and around the crowd. Smoke begins gathering in the rafters.

Mephit #2 isn't here yet this round so that ends block 2. Block 3 you guys are up! When you use your actions to save villagers, you can move them south of the map.

Cevendyl is incensed – elementals don’t just appear out of nowhere to attack villages: this is magic!

Cev gets a dagger in each hand … and launches 1 at the mephit#1

TK Projectile: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 161d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 TK Proj (Dagger) ATK/DMG.

Couple things for Cevendyll: I didn't see telekinetic projectile on your pathbuilder sheet, did you swap it for something or am I being blind? Also, it has a range of 30 feet, so I don't think you'd get close enough this round to use it. If you want to try something else go ahead!

As soon as the door is breached and a man stumbles in with that fearful look in his eyes, the comrades around Dario may notice that the young man's hands were already full of weaponry. Like lightning, he drew his dagger and pistol in the same moment it took to take a breath. From within the flames, a writhing figure could be seen moving closer with baleful intent. Without another moment, the gunslinger was off and moving.

Into The Fray activates as I rolled initiative. It allows me two free interactions to draw a one-handed range weapon and a one-handed melee weapon. Since Dario can see the enemy, on his turn he gets a free Stride towards the enemy.

The gunslinger quickly navigates up onto the elevated platform, passing by the goblin as he ran. With a quick slide across the table, he lifted his pistol and aimed down the way towards the fiery creature. The hammer clicked back as he lined up his shot.

"Keep getting these folk out of here. I'll see what I can do." Stopping beside Quentino Pasadino, he nodded towards the older man. "Watch your ears for a moment, sir." His fingers gently squeezed the trigger with a unnerving calmness. Amidst the chaos, the sound of thunder boomed as the clan pistol erupted, firing its deadly payload.

Strike (Clan Pistol, 80ft Range): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Actions This Round: Stride (Free), Stride, Stride, Strike
EDIT: If I hit, then my class feat Sword & Pistol activates. They'll be flat-footed against my next melee attack until I successfully hit with a melee strike or it is the end of my next turn.

Just a quick note for everyone, being very clear with your actions and a quick note the first time you use something special like Dario did with his Into the Fray ability is suuuuuper helpful. The clearer you are with what you are doing, the better! ^_^

Earlier

Hornet's hackles bristle at the sudden disaster. Seeing a living form within the fire, and one man still dangerously close to it, she runs in that direction. At the same time, she tries to recall anything she can about the creature. She gets the feeling no one here will be safe until it's dealt with.
Arcana (recall knowledge): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

Actions: Stride, Stride, Recall Knowledge (mephit 1)

Caiten watches the room erupt into frightened chaos and contemplates what to do about Sulee. She is quite justified in being frightened of the fire.

He sees Hornet* run towards the front of the room and Dario go onto the stage and fire his Clan Pistol.

That is a very interesting weapon. I am not sure what he is shooting at though. I can't send Sulee out of the room on her own in this chaos. She would likely get trampled. I am not willing to take her out myself though. I came here to volunteer as a Hero. The townsfolk and the city council are in danger, and my new allies are engaging. I refuse to do any less - armed or not. I am also never going anywhere in this town without my weapons again.

But if I am to help my allies in combat, I will have to do so quickly before they all get too far away. Dario is definitely out of range now, and Hornet* likely is as well.

DM Fern wrote:

The town hall was made from wood, and the auditorium bedecked with wall hangings and curtains. Perfect fuel for the flame to consume, unfortunately. The fire spread into the room behind the panicked aide, bursting in at the wave of oxygen when he opened the door.

The panicked family in front of you listens to Oren's calm, commanding voice. "Right! The wells! We can try to start a bucket brigade!". The man ushers his two daughters ahead of him and around the crowd. Smoke begins gathering in the rafters.

Mephit #2 isn't here yet this round so that ends block 2. Block 3 you guys are up! When you use your actions to save villagers, you can move them south of the map.

Cevendyl is incensed – elementals don’t just appear out of nowhere to attack villages: this is magic!

Cev gets a dagger in each hand … and launches 1 at the mephit#1

[dice=TK Projectile]1d20 + 7; 1d6 + 4 TK Proj (Dagger) ATK/DMG.

EDITS

Yasamina looks at Caiten and Sulee. Her face has a combined expression of surprise and concern. "We have to get these people out of here. Can you help? Let the big boys handle the walking torches."

I know It's not my turn yet. Just planning some teamwork in advance.

”Warbal is not liking! Warbal is not liking!” The goblin’s cries somehow rose over the din, likely due to the screeching quality of her voice. Dario flew past her and she spun to see why the silly longshanks was running towards the fire, and spotted the creature as it emerged from the smokey hallway. ”Warbal is VERY MUCH not liking!” Dario fired and the creature shrieked, a sound akin to a kettle venting steam.

Warbal was near panic now. She couldn’t seem to will her feet to move, since nowhere looked safe. The nice elf who had inspired a bit of courage in her earlier and given her a dagger was suddenly nearby. He pointed towards the main exit and urged her to make haste, snapping her out of it. ”Warbal will get help! She held the gifted dagger out in front of her and ran screaming down the aisle, townsfolks pressing themselves out of her way to avoid being stabbed. She meant well.

The fire mephit’s screech faded, and it glanced down to see the bullet blasted away one of its legs, which was slowly reforming. With a second shriek, it took flight, clumsily flapping towards the man that wounded it. The face was all flames, and yet Dario could make out a long crooked nose, burning, baleful eyes, and a jaw full of very sharp teeth that were even now snapping towards him.

strike, jaws: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27
damage: 1d6 + 1d4 ⇒ (4) + (1) = 5 piercing plus fire damage

The creature chomped into Dario's shoulder, cauterizing its own bitemark.

Actions taken: stride x 2, strike
Everyone who has not gone yet, you're good to go!

The councilors rose from their seats quickly. Councilor Posandi was wide-eyed as Dario slid past him. "Watch my ears?" he asked, confused. He flinched as the shot was fired, belatedly understanding the warning. The five of them sprang into action, trying to usher the crowd to safety, though Jorsk looked like he'd rather help fight the creature.

"We have to get these people out of here. Can you help? Let the big boys handle the walking torches."

Caiten looks quickly in sequence from the Fire Mephit, Dario, Sulee, Yasamina, and the panicked children nearby. "Yes, getting these people out of here is a very high priority. We have some allies dealing with the fire creatures. I will help you."

Action 1: Command "Sulee, climb in your satchel. It isn't much protection, but it is better than nothing."

Sulee A1: interact (thank goodness for Manual Dexterity) to open satchel. A2: enters satchel

Remaining actions helping Yasami direct townsfolk

"Great. I know a hero when I see one. Let's go. The ones near the fire first, and hope they don't get bottlenecked at the entrance."

Yasamina rushes to the northwestern part od the seating area, and starts snapping the visitors out of shock.

Now I know you said 3 actions, but I'm not sure what you mean by saying 'same side of the room'. Is there a north/south or west/east half? Or northwes/northeast, etc quadrants? I definitely want to get the guy standing next to the fire first, and then however many we can that are closest to him. Are council members paralysed as well? Do we also need to take care of them? In either case - I can move 6 squares with 1 stride action, so I will not be able to reach to person near the fire either way, just planning the next turn at this point.

Crunch : 3x stride. Can someone move me? On the phone right now.

Somewhere there, Yasamina? You might be able to go farther even if you want.

Caiten follows Yasami across the room. A2,3: 2x Stride

I'm not sure what you mean by saying 'same side of the room'.

As written in the AP I think they mean left/right, but honestly, as long as they are near enough to you that it'd make sense for them to listen and follow your guidance, I am fine with it. The council members are going to start helping evacuate and starting a fire brigade on round 2, though they can only save one person at a time because they are not as cool as you guys.

Waiting on Lisi and Joran to post and then it'll be top of Round 2 and be Oren's turn again, so Oren, if you'd like to go in this block and post when you see this, that should be fine!

Quote:

I'm not sure what you mean by saying 'same side of the room'.

As written in the AP I think they mean left/right, but honestly, as long as they are near enough to you that it'd make sense for them to listen and follow your guidance, I am fine with it. The council members are going to start helping evacuate and starting a fire brigade on round 2, though they can only save one person at a time because they are not as cool as you guys.

Waiting on Lisi and Joran to post and then it'll be top of Round 2 and be Oren's turn again, so Oren, if you'd like to go in this block and post when you see this, that should be fine!

AND if you would be so kind as to add the Councilmembers to the Init Block, it would be super-helpful (mostly because Cev really wants Old Man Posandi to get the heck out of LOS ...)

AND if you would be so kind as to add the Councilmembers to the Init Block, it would be super-helpful (mostly because Cev really wants Old Man Posandi to get the heck out of LOS ...)

They are in block 5. They are plot-stunned this round.

I mean, did you see the sick desk slide I did? I'd be pretty stunned too. :P

so much for having him out of the way ;)

Just as Joran seems to catch his breath, a fire starts. Chewing on the inside of his lip, "Well this sucks." Joran shoots up out of his seat and turns to the family directly behind him. "Okay! We're all getting out of here safely, m-kay? And I mean everybody. Gonna need you all to remain calm and make your way to the Main Hall in a really quick but orderly fashion, understand? Good. Because I don't want anyone getting trampled. NOW GO! GO!" Joran quickly directs them toward the way out.

Those are my 3 actions. There's like 5 people directly behind me. I would guess 2 of the kids is who would go first. Is it 2 or 3 people we can save at a time? Well, whichever it is, I'd say the children go first. Or probably an adult with the children.

"People, don't leave anyone behind. Please help others out. Follow each other to the Main Hall," says Lisi, doing his best to project calm and order.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

Lisi then heads up on stage. Double move.

Somewhere there, Yasamina? You might be able to go farther even if you want.

Caiten follows Yasami across the room. A2,3: 2x Stride

That is great, thank you.

How many civilians are left in here?

How many civilians are left in here?

Plenty! The map is linked up above, though I haven't messed with the ones saved in this initiative block yet, will post in an hour or so during my plan time.

Yasami and Caiten fly into action, making a beeline for the people in the greatest immediate danger. The aide who ran in and warned everyone needs no further encouragement to flee, and makes his way towards the exit. Sulee peeks out from the top of Caiten's satchel, her eyes warily regarding the flames.

Lisitsei loudly calls for calm, and his words seem to have an effect as the people close enough to hear him regain some semblance of self control for the moment. Helping each other was the very core of Breachill's nature. They could do that! Greta Gardania gives a brief nod of thanks as he passes near her. For this next round only, people in the two middle sections of seats, near the aisle, can be directed to the exit with a single action instead of 3 (so two of you working together can each spend one action to save a total of 6).

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

Lisi, now in the center of the stage, notices angry red light and smoke coming from under the doors to the north, behind the president's seat...

Joran helps the family in the back out through the doors, the parents picking up their children and fleeing with them, making room for more to follow. I don't want to completely bog things down saving people to the point where it is tedious, so I'm going to let families get their kids out as a package deal. We'll amend the mechanic to rescuing 'adults' and the kids get out free with them -- I'd already done this with the family Oren saved in round 1.

Round 2 begins! Waiting on Oren before I continue.

Caiten glances briefly at the Mephit and Dario locked in combat and feels an almost instinctive desire to go and join the battle. Or at least assist in some way.

Dario is out of range though. As is Hornet*. Yasami is assisting me in getting these people to safety. Perhaps Lisitsei...

"Lisitsei, are you joining the battle against that flying fire creature, or do you have a different plan?

Oren is going to spend two actions moving towards the mephit and for his third action, he'll call out to the family of five sitting in the middle-left row.

"You guys too, get out of here and get to the wells!"

"I can do some harm to fire creatures today--but we need everyone out!
How many are left? Look to the northern doors--more fire!"

You hear it just an instant before it happens, right as Lisi calls out his warning – a sound from behind the councilors’ tables, coming from the double doors at the north end of the room, like a low roar. The doors burst open and a second elemental creature stands there. Bathed in flames from the hall, it inhales, and releases a gout of flames in front of itself, setting the area, including Greta’s chair, on fire.

Rounds until breath weapon recharges:: 1d4 ⇒ 4

Actions: Interact (open door), breath weapon (2 actions)

The rest of the flames begin to spread as well, hungrily devouring wall hangings and beginning to dance along some of the rafters above.
Each round a patch of fire will spread to a number of squares equally half the total square in that patch, rounded up. So the patch of 5 added 3 new squares to become a patch of 8, and now there is a second patch as well.

The family Oren calls to makes their way through the mob.

### Block 3: Cev, Dario, and Hornet are up! ###

Dario watches as the elemental approached, its leg beginning to reform from the elements around it. A scowl replaced that cunning smirk; he really hated fire despite working around it constantly. Upon horrid wings, it flew ever closer to the man who tried to keep it back to no avail.

"Agh! You ugly bastard!" Dario shouts as the creature latches on and sinks fiery hot teeth through the leather armor and into flesh. It readied itself for another bite but disengaged, barely moving out of the way of the blade in his hand.

"Alright then. I'll show you how we do it back in the Hold..." Dario growled, the breech-loaded pistol twirling in his grip as his fingers readjusted on the parrying knife in hand. In a flash, he struck out at the mephit.

Reloading Strike: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

Now because I had previously shot it, my Sword & Pistol feat does apply, which means that it is considered flat-footed against my melee attacks until I successfully hit or the end of this current turn. I don't think a 12 is going to do it, so I'll attack again.

The fluttering, little creature dives low as Dario goes high, missing it with his strike. He twists the blade around, aiming to bring it downwards.

Strike: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Excellent. -_-

Dario continues to miss, the burning pain in his shoulder distracting him as he finds himself unable to land the right hit. The attacks do provide him a moment though, as he twirls and fights, to prepare a paper catridge and pop open the breech for his pistol. Dropping it mid-strike, he twirls and catches the alchemical package into the loading chamber expertly and clasps it close. The creature is still fighting though and with the explosion behind him, he is beginning to feel the heat.

"I'm not one to complain but...it is getting just a tad bit dicey up here folks." Dario shouts to the others, parrying away more wicked bites as he becomes more defensive.

I am going to use my final action to use the Parry ability of the main-gauche, increasing my AC by one until the start of the next turn. That makes my Armor Class a 19 until next turn.

Actions: Reloading Strike, Strike, Parry

"I'm not one to complain but...it is getting just a tad bit dicey up here folks." Dario shouts to the others,

"Yes. It appears that you are injured, you are in danger of being engulfed by the fires consuming the building, and you are at risk of being surrounded by enemies. I recommend repositioning at your earliest convenience."

"Lisitsei, I and a few others are assisting the townsfolk. If you are going to assist the combatants, accept this before you go..."

"Hold on! I might be able to put out some of the fire." Hornet barks to her companions. She bounds up onto the stage next to the mephit, feeling the flames at her back. Quickly, she begins adjusting components in her armour. If she can overclock the arcane coolants just right, she should be able to...

Cold: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 4) = 9
The mephit gets a DC 17 basic Reflex save

A wave of frigid air rips forth from the seams of Hornet's armour, the gust blowing out some of the nearest flames as well as slamming into the mephit.

DC 17 flat check: 1d20 ⇒ 5
Because Explode has the Unstable trait, I need to make a DC 17 flat check after using it. On a failure, I can't use further Unstable actions until I spend 10 minutes repairing and adjusting my armour. On a critical failure, I also take cold damage equal to my level.

There's a short, pained yelp from the gnoll - she had miscalculated, and the interior of her armour had just dropped about thirty degrees.

Cevendyl moves forward up on the stage and casts TKP to attack the new threat.

TK Projectile: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 191d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7 TK Proj (Dagger) ATK/DMG.

Dario's blood sizzled and burned on the mephit's teeth, and it cackled, a sound like ripping fabric. Flapping it's wings, it moved erratically, Dario's strikes missing their mark. Hornet came in with her overloaded device, spraying coolant all around...

reflex save: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

... And the cheeky little bastard laughed again as it dodged that as well. But the blast did seem to smother a nearby patch of flames. Because of course it crit saves against an attack that would have nearly killed it outright on a fail.

The creature flapped its wings up and over Hornet, landing behind her. It inhaled, as the other has done moments ago, and unleashed a burst of fire at the two defenders.

DC 17 reflex saves from Dario and Hornet, please! If you have AoO reactions you can take one as it moves, note that unlike 1e you need a feat that grants it to you-- I'd check but on my phone and should be sleeping lol
fire damage: 2d4 ⇒ (2, 4) = 6
persistent fire damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1
round until breath weapon recharged: 1d4 ⇒ 3
actions= stride, breath weapon ( 2 actions)

Cevendyll has a bit more luck with the destructive newcomer, as his dagger, launched with the strength of his divine power, rocketed toward the Mephit and clean through it, tearing a hole in its ever-shifting form. It whistled shrilly in pain, and its gaze fixed itself to the handsome elf. He certainly got its attention.

Block 5, you're up! That's Joran, Lisi, Caiten, and Yasami, and Oren can go once they have.

A1: Cast spell. Caiten casts Stoke the Heart on Lisitsei.

"Yasami, the combat seems to not be going well. We should get these closest people moving and then consider assisting with the combat."

Remaining two actions spent assisting Yasami with the people in the first two rows of benches on the West side

Reflex: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Yasami looks around, seeing the another... Well, whatever that thing is... and looks at Caiten. "Alright, but what if there's more, and they will be coming every six seconds? Why six seconds? Well... I don't know, but I COUNTED."

She turns towards the front rows of the hall's western side. "Alright, people - I know it's a hot situation, but act like adults, and stop panicking. Grab your prescious little baby and CALMLY, meaning WITHOUT TRIPPING OVER YOURSELVES, please walk towards the exit. Remember, if you catch fire - and I am sure that will not happen, but if you do - just STOP, DROP and ROLL. Okay? Now, let's get those darlings of yours outside."

"Chop-chop! Don't have all day..."

Crunch : With Caiten's help, use 3 actions to move the 6 adults from the first two rows of the western side.

After ushering one family out, Joran looks to his left and to his right. There's so many. So so many... Got to start somewhere, Joran! There's no one helping those out on the other side... "GONNA NEED SOME HELP OVER HERE!" he hollers. He then turns his attention to the three people a couple of benches up in front of him and works to keep them calm. "Okay ladies and gent! Please do not panic! I see some other folks are on the way to help you! I'm gonna go help those on the other side of the aisle because it's mass hysteria over there and I don't need them trampling all over each other! If these other folk don't come and help you soon... I'll be back," he vows, giving them a firm nod.

Joran then quickly moves to the other side of the aisle. "Okay! I'm going to need EVERYONE to remain calm! I'm going to get you ALL out in an orderly, yet really quick, fashion so bear with me! You couple with the two children! And you lady with the lone child and the guy behind her! Head for the southern exit! I've got you covered so do not fear! GO! GO! GO!"