Against the Cult of the Reptile God

Game Master EltonJ

I was hoping to rest my feet a while longer. No chance of that now that Gothia is riled up, Tallen thought and let out an audible sigh. He looks puzzled glancing back and forth between the barkeep and the paladin, ”Try go whats? What are you going on about? I understand the cultist part but who or what are the try go things that have you so excited?”

"Bertram here (she motions toward the innkeeper) was just telling us what he'd heard about the cult," Tavern Tales tells Gothia while considering biting into an apple that had come with her bread and cheese. "He also mentioned that alligators have been slinking out of the nearby swamp regularly recently, even coming into the village." She tries to fit the apple into her belt pouch for later snacking before turning her one good eye toward the paladin again.

"And what are troglodytes?"

Turning to Bertram, the bard adds, "What do I owe you for the meal, good sir?" After paying up, she whispers to Sea Ranger, "I'm going back to have a chat with our young butter-churning friend--maybe find out what she knows about these strange goings-on."

Sea Ranger adds. "Bertram here told us the mayor might know more about what's happening here. If cultists are working together with monsters, and crocodiles are behaving unusually, it would seem to me that something is throwing the natural world out of balance here. And in ways that threaten innocent folk." The druid has heard tales of such creatures lurking in the swamplands of the Hold of the Sea Princes of course, and he tries to recall something notable about them.

When the bard whispers to him, Sea Ranger gives the woman a nod and replies in a soft voice. "Given what we've just learned, none of us should move around alone here. I'll go with you." Finishing off his beer, he settles up his bill with the meager copper and silver he has remaining in his pouch and motions for TT to lead the way.

TT slows down a bit after hearing Sea Ranger's warning. "You're right. Not sure why I was being so impetuous and careless--that's not like me. Who amongst our group do you trust the most? The paladin, of course, but...she can be a bit scary in her zeal. She still scares me a bit, to be honest. How about Brenfine? She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and a kind heart. I'll let her know where we're going, just to be safe. I think the two of us can handle a teenage girl and maybe her parents--let the others finish up their meal; they've earned it."

She gets up and scurries, a bit unsteadily, over to the party's other half-elf and whispers in her ear, "Sea Ranger and I are going to talk with a young woman on a nearby farm I saw churning butter when we first entered the village. In light of what we've heard about cults, and troglodytes, and crocodiles...I figure it's worth talking to her again while everyone else finishes their meals." The one-eyed bard gives Brenfine the location of the home she'll be visiting and finishes by saying the interview should take 15 minutes, tops.

"Bertram here (she motions toward the innkeeper) was just telling us what he'd heard about the cult," Tavern Tales tells Gothia while considering biting into an apple that had come with her bread and cheese. "He also mentioned that alligators have been slinking out of the nearby swamp regularly recently, even coming into the village." She tries to fit the apple into her belt pouch for later snacking before turning her one good eye toward the paladin again.

"And what are troglodytes?"

Turning to Bertram, the bard adds, "What do I owe you for the meal, good sir?" After paying up, she whispers to Sea Ranger, "I'm going back to have a chat with our young butter-churning friend--maybe find out what she knows about these strange goings-on."

Bertram says, "One silver for the stew."

The druid smiles a bit at TT's question. "Gothia means well, but yes, I agree she is intense. Besides, I'm not sure she'll want to leave the boy just yet, it sounds like he has a story as well. Brenfine is a good choice, but I'm sure we'll be fine." When he's given the cost of the stew, Sea Ranger suppresses a wince and drops a silver coin and 7 copper on the counter to cover the beer and stew as well as a small tip. Back to living off the land tomorrow, it seems...

He follows the bard out the door after she's spoken to the cleric.

Tavern Tale squares her debt as well; from the wince she gives when she pays to the skinniness of her coin pouch, Sea Ranger can tell she's in the same financial straits as he is.

The bard then leads the ranger to the nearby homestead to talk with the young woman she spoke with earlier.

If the teenager isn't still churning butter (I have no idea how long that takes), TT will knock on the door of the home and ask for her in general terms.

After hearing what the rest of the group knows, and watching TT and Sea Ranger slip out of the tavern, Gothia speaks to the remainder of the party.

"Come, let us go and speak with this Mayor. They need to call out their militia and search for this cult! Let's go!"

She heads for the door, assuming the others will follow. Once outside she makes a bee-line for the Mayor's home.

Perception Rolls
* Sea Ranger Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (13) + 12 = 25
* Vesica Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
The rest of you make a perception roll.

Can’t a fellow relax for a moment, the rogue lamented.

He hesitated a moment before he lifted his mug and finished his beer in one large gulp. With nod to the barkeep, ”Master Bertram that was the finest beer I’ve had in quite some time. I look forward to sampling more of your fine beers…. Hopefully soon.” Not trusting Gothia to negotiate a good deal he quickly turns to follow the paladin wincing as he walks,”Wait up.”

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

”Patience! Running to the mayor with demands will only cause problems and earn his ire. Instead we should approach as offering our help to investigate.” Krishka says, trying to calm everyone down. Then she pays the tab and heads for the mayor.

Perception Rolls

* [dice=Sea Ranger Perception]1d20+12
* [dice=Vesica Perception]1d20+5
The rest of you make a perception roll.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

Brenfine takes a deep breath, things moved very quickly and the party jumped off to action, not unwarranted action, but yet without due discussion and caution.

When Vesica whispers in her hear, Brenfine pats the young woman on the shoulder "Be safe you two and take care to stay together. I do not want to add either of you to the growing list of missing persons"

After Sea Ranger and Vesica have left, Brenfine walks over to Gothia. "I agree a visit to the mayor is needed, but lets temper our tone and see if they are open to our assistance first. Whether or not the mayor accepts our aide, we will investigate this problem. Children are in need of our help and we will not turn a blind eye." The priestess gives a pause for her words to sink in.

"Who wishes to come with us to see the Mayor and ask them if we can help in the town? In any case, we need to stay in pairs or larger to reduce our chances of being targeted."

BEFORE LEAVING THE GOLDEN GRAIN INN
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"Will do," TT assures Brenfine before heading for the front door with Sea Ranger.

I think I picked well choosing Brenfine as our confidant, the bard decides before heading outside.

Chestman follows along. The tallfolk seem to know where to head.

Questions
Q1. How far away from the Golden Grain Inn is the butter-churner's homestead? Can we see the inn's front door from there?

A1. It's about 150 feet away from the Golden Grain Inn. You can see the Inn's front door from there.

Q2. Do the lizardmen seem to see Vess and Sea Ranger?

A2. No, they don't. They have their attention on something else.

Q3. Is there anything nearby (house, bushes, etc.) that Vess and Sea Ranger can duck behind if they haven't already been spotted themselves?

A3. Yes, there is. The whole party can duck behind a house and not be seen.

Q4. Are the lizard men trying to be stealthy, and are they armed and seemingly ready for combat?

A4. Yes to both points.

Q5. If the rest of the party CAN be seen from where Vess and Sea Ranger are, have they already left to head to the mayor's house?

A5. No they haven't.

Sea Ranger's Questions:
If it's OK, I'll watch for your answers to TT's questions. But one more... are there villagers around reacting to the presence of the lizard men?
Some do. They hide in their houses. Since the Trogs are the ones kidnapping people.

In other words, are the lizard men sort of walking through the village like they belong there without causing any panic?

They cause panic.

Or is there just nobody around to see them?

They see them, but they are hiding in their houses.

Sea Ranger kneels down beside TT and whispers in her ear. "Quickly, go get the others. If they move on before you get back, I'll have Scout follow them. I won't move from here."

I hate to split up here, but one of us needs to go back and grab the others quick. Sea Ranger can send Scout after them if they move out of my eyesight.

Tavern Tale pauses a few moments, trying to count the lizardman raiders. Once it's safe to move, she gives Sea Ranger a somewhat worried nod before darting toward the Golden Grain Inn, moving as fast as a one-eyed person can.

Bursting through the front door, she looks at the rest of the party, who seem to be getting up to leave themselves. "Lizardman raiders!" she hisses, just loudly enough to be heard. She then gives the number of creatures she counted before rushing inside. "Sea Ranger's keeping an eye on them, but the lizardmen look like they're planning on taking captives--they're armed with clubs and saps!"

The young lady abruptly turns and races out of the room, checking for danger before making a beeline toward where she left Sea Ranger.

Vesica Perception Check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

"I saw three of them," Tavern Tale reports to the others. With a shrug she adds, "But there could be more!" Then she's out the door.

Tallen barely made it to the door, on the heels of the paladin, when the bard burst in with her warning. We haven’t even negotiated a price yet, he complained to himself.

He shrugged his shoulders and suggested,”We can probably wait here until they pass.

Might help us negotiate a better price if the town suffered another raid, the lad thought callously.

Brenfine's eyes go wide with the mention of lizardfolk, that knowledge filed in a few missing pieces of information. "Let's go!" she calls to her companions, her voice cracking like a whip "No more children will suffer while I draw breath. she utters with firm conviction as she heads for the door.

At the door, she glowers at Tallen and then gives a curt nod to the door, while hooding his gaze. Her expression grim and determined, she clearly intends the young man to come and help.

Gothia looks over to the priestess and nods in agreement.

Evil will be vanquished this day!"

Walking outside the paladin gathers up her sword and shield and calls out in a loud voice.

"GLORY AND HONOUR!"

The paladin rushes to where she was told the lizardmen were skulking.

Brenfine sighs, there is no subtly with Gothia, none at all!

Chestman is all for killing and rushes out with his great club ready

Krishka looks to the barkeep for their input. She isn’t one to jump to conclusions.

Assuming the barkeep confirms, Krishka will sigh as she walks out the front drawing her blade.

She lets the others get into hiding before calling out to the trogs, ”Oi! You are unwelcome here. You must leave now.”

Tallen tried to hold eye contact with Brenfine but sheepishly bowed his head and whines, ”What, I do.” Making his way out the door he draws his bow and shakes his head at the paladin’s lack of subtlety, she’s going to get us killed.

If there is somewhere for him to hide, before he is seen, as he makes his way towards the lizardfolk he will try to do that

Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Tavern Tale instinctively freezes in place as Gothia bellows her challenge; then she realizes that standing still while out in the open really doesn't qualify as 'hiding,' so she speeds up again toward where Sea Ranger was waiting.

"Well, I got the others," the petite woman announces in a breathless whisper. Her one good eye fixes upon the half-elf as she deadpans, "Now we sneak up and ambush the invaders, right?"

Sea Ranger spares TT a grin. "Yeah, I can hear that. We need to introduce Gothia to the concept of stealth. I like your plan, but it's probably out the window at this point. Though if they focus on her, then maybe we can come at them from behind."

So three lizardfolk we can see, have they moved out of Sea Ranger's line of sight before TT gets back? Did they hear Gothia, and if so, have they reacted? I'm thinking she (and probably Chestman) are going to charge into them straight on while maybe the rest of us can flank out to either side?

The trogs, seeing you come their way, get out their clubs. They can hear Gothia and her zealousness, that's for sure. They weren't prepared for her, as they came to kidnap more people.

The trogs yell, and run to meet both Chestman and Gothia in bright fashion. Of course, they weren't wearing any armor (AC 13). As Tallen goes into stealth mode, they don't see Tallen at all, their attentions are on Gothia and Chestman.

"I was thinking the same thing," TT replies. "That seems to be the smart play here...as long as there aren't another half-dozen or so lizardmen converging on the village from the opposite direction...or all these villagers have their yards fenced in."

Assuming the lizardmen are out of sight somewhere either behind the inn or somewhere down the road from it....

The bard suddenly sprints back toward the front door to the inn but past it, now traveling (hopefully) in the same direction the lizardmen were heading. She keeps moving quickly in that direction until she spots the invaders; then she slows down and starts stealthing.

I'll roll a Perception check to see if/when she spots the lizardmen and three Stealth checks for expediency. Plan is to get behind/in front of the trogs to pincer and flank them.

Vesica Perception Check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Vesica Stealth Check: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Vesica Stealth Check: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Vesica Stealth Check: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Your stealth was successful. The trogs don't see you sneaking up on them. You still have to decide when to strike, however.

I'll post a map based on where everyone is after lunch.

Brenfine dashes off after Gothia and Chestman, doing her best to keep up with the enthusiastic warriors, chanting a spell to aid them in the fight to come.

Cast Bless, 50'radius burst, +1 to attack rolls and fear saves. With a duration of one minute I'm hoping to cast it before the fighting begins.

The trogs don't see you sneaking up on them. You still have to decide when to strike, however.

My tentative plan is to close on the troglodytes and/or start a bardic performance (inspire courage +1; audible words and phrases), probably once the main party has already engaged (since stealthing takes time). Actual combat will likely wait a round before she can join in.

Sea Ranger isn't terribly stealthy, nor much of a front line fighter. He'll keep the lizard men in sight though, closing in behind them at a distance as they charge Gothia and Chestman. Once combat starts, I'll either use my sling or a spell at distance or close in for combat.

Here's a map of Orlane that gives you an idea of where everyone is.

Access denied on that map.

Any trogs headed my way? Do they respond at all to my challenge?

Same here, no map access.

Ditto. (But I'm trying to be patient. :) )

Me too. Sent in request for access

Access denied on that map.

Any trogs headed my way? Do they respond at all to my challenge?

Forgot to give everyone access. There, that should be fixed.

Yep, but I think Gothia has the right of it. Just request access. That way the GM can only grant access to our little group rather than making it Public.

Any trogs headed my way? Do they respond at all to my challenge?

Yes they did. One trog is making his way to you, he has to fight through Chestman Barrelhouse to make his way to you.

Sea Ranger moves between the two buildings and catches sight of the dwarf and the paladin bellowing her challenge. He stops there, whirling his sling in a tight arc to release if and when the lizard men appear in his line of vision.

Move that 10 or maybe 20 feet to the east (#3 and the one to the north, through that little gap between them), then Ready action to make a ranged attack with the sling he has readied. I think the range will be 50' or less.

I pictured everything in my mind's eye pretty much the total opposite of what I see on the map! Speaking of what I see on the map...I don't see Tavern Tale--or Brenfine, Tallen, or Krishka--on the map yet.

TT was circling around to come at the troglodytes from behind (either by circling building 4 and the un-numbered one to the north of the inn, or by looping past buildings 3, 5, and maybe 7 to the south).

I guess the route depends on which direction the trogs entered from (I was assuming from the east).

Brenfine was coming up behind Chestman and Gothia, some distance behind. Then cast bless.

so...roll for initiative??

Chestman beats up the Initiative!
init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

He moves up and attacksgreatclub: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 191d10 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8