GM Erich's #6-99 Under The Eye Of The Mantis (7-8) for Gameday XIV

Game Master Thereus, Silver Crusader

Yakuthiel will use his Reactive Strike when Red moves from ten feet away to five feet away.

Reactive Strike: 1d20 + 18 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 18 - 2 + 1 = 36for: 2d10 + 7 ⇒ (3, 7) + 7 = 17 non-lethal damage, and dumping him in the water also before he can get close enough to even attempt to strike.

Okay...if that predates my actions maybe I'll just Mountain Stance, move into Red's old space, and Shove YELLOW instead.

Yakuthiel clears the dock with aplomb.

The gun-blast singes the dockworker. He yells in pain "They're playing for keeps, y'all!"

The monk barrels through, sending another far into the sink.

The singed one continue to press, and just slides a sword into the brutish cook.

purple deception to feint vs Nagaikaze: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (7) + 15 = 22
purple shortsword (piercing) vs Nagaikaze: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (16) + 16 = 321d6 + 8 + 2d6 ⇒ (4) + 8 + (1, 1) = 14

Round 1 - Bold can act - Bless is up
Song Jun-Mei
Emdi -3 damage
Yellow Stevedore <enfeebled 2, in water>
Orange Stevedore -38 damage <off-guard to Emdi, in water>
Yakuthiel
Red Stevedore -34 damage <in water>
Dran'Tilt
Nagaikaze -14 damage
Purple Stevedore -16 damage
Prof. Whitegourd
Pink Stevedore

Professor Whitegourd calls down the lightning and zots orange.

Tempest Surge vs Orange: 4d12 ⇒ (6, 9, 10, 1) = 26
Basic Reflex DC 26. Clumsy 2 for a round on a crit fail.

Professor Whitegourd follows up with a Shield spell just in case.
+1 AC; Will block (hardness 10)

Purple hitting Nagaikaze would have triggered Emdi's Reaction. Resist 10 for Nagaikaze, and (19)+17-2 = 34 to hit for (3,4)+3 = 10 nonlethal.

The magical zap doesn't land cleanly. The final tough races down, stopping just shy of the swinging weapons and tosses his dagger.

orange reflex save vs TS: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (13) + 14 = 27
pink thrown dagger (piercing) vs Emdi: 1d20 + 16 - 2 ⇒ (13) + 16 - 2 = 271d4 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Round 2 - Bold can act - Bless is up
Song Jun-Mei
Emdi -3 damage
Yellow Stevedore <enfeebled 2, in water>
Orange Stevedore -51 damage <off-guard to Emdi, in water>
Yakuthiel
Red Stevedore -34 damage <in water>
Dran'Tilt
Nagaikaze -4 damage
Purple Stevedore -26 damage
Prof. Whitegourd
Pink Stevedore

athletics, shove vs pink: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24

headbutt vs purple, OG, bless: 1d20 + 12 + 1 - 5 ⇒ (18) + 12 + 1 - 5 = 26
damage, bludgeoning, nonlethal: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Jun-Mei moves into the fray and shoves the man with the pink bandana. With her glaive unusable for the moment she turns and headbutts the man in purple.

"Be careful. Don't knock out the men in the water. They could drown."

◆ Stride, ◇ release hand from weapon, ◆ shove, ◆ strike

Emdi is untrained in Athletics, so he'll just fire nonlethal arrows.

Emdi glares at Purple, and then fires at him.

Demoralize (Intimidation): 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (17) + 18 = 35 vs Will DC

Shortbow, Nonlethal: 1d20 + 17 - 2 ⇒ (8) + 17 - 2 = 23
Nonlethal: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (3, 2) + 3 = 8

Shortbow, Nonlethal, MAP: 1d20 + 17 - 2 - 5 ⇒ (14) + 17 - 2 - 5 = 24
Nonlethal: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (5, 2) + 3 = 10

Edit: Just saw that Jun-Mei posted ahead of me. If Purple goes unconscious, Emdi will change targets to the most wounded still on the dock. If nobody is left on the dock, Emdi will target the least wounded in the water.

↺ (first opportunity to do so)

Song Jun-Mei bullies her way around and Emdi follows up with a pair of arrows.

Two of the waterlogged toughs will swim to safer areas then clamber onto the dock, now only armed with their shortswords.

pink reflex save to grab an edge: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (1) + 12 = 13

Round 2 - Bold can act - Bless is up
Song Jun-Mei
Emdi -3 damage
Yellow Stevedore
Orange Stevedore -51 damage
Yakuthiel
Red Stevedore -34 damage <in water>
Dran'Tilt
Nagaikaze -4 damage
Purple Stevedore -48 damage <frightened 1>
Prof. Whitegourd
Pink Stevedore <in water>

Nagaikaze was just preparing to give Orange a thump using Stand Still but holds off, noticing that they are quite damaged already and possibly close to unconsciousness. He keeps an eye out for Red who is less damaged.

Strike vs Purple Stevedore (nonlethal, Bless): 1d20 + 18 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 18 - 2 + 1 = 34for: 2d10 + 7 ⇒ (4, 2) + 7 = 13 non-lethal damage If critical and he is knocked out, I will not shove him, otherwise, back into the water

If Purple Stevedore is knocked out, then attack Yellow, otherwise continue vs Purple

Lunge vs Stevedore (nonlethal, Bless): 1d20 + 18 - 2 + 1 - 5 ⇒ (14) + 18 - 2 + 1 - 5 = 26for: 2d10 + 7 ⇒ (8, 9) + 7 = 24 non-lethal damage If critical and he is knocked out, I will not shove him, otherwise, back into the water

If Purple and Yellow Stevedores are knocked out, then attack Red. If Purple Stevedore only is knocked out, then attack Yellow. Otherwise continue vs Purple.

Lunge vs Stevedore (nonlethal, Bless): 1d20 + 18 - 2 + 1 - 10 ⇒ (12) + 18 - 2 + 1 - 10 = 19for: 2d10 + 7 ⇒ (4, 7) + 7 = 18 non-lethal damage

With two expert thrusts, Yakuthiel drops the poor stevedore into the water to float, arms out.

Another stevedore swims for the farthest dock. Stand still attempt or reactive strike?

Round 2 - Bold can act - Bless is up
Song Jun-Mei
Emdi -3 damage
Yellow Stevedore
Orange Stevedore -51 damage
Yakuthiel
Red Stevedore -34 damage <in water or on dock?>
Dran'Tilt
Nagaikaze -4 damage
Purple Stevedore -98 damage <unconscious, in water>
Prof. Whitegourd
Pink Stevedore <in water>

↺ Uses his reaction from the Stand Still Monk feat on RED.
Blessed Falling Stone Strike#1 vs RED: 1d20 + 16 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 16 + 1 = 25 forBludgeoning, Nonlethal, Forceful: 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (2, 1) + 6 = 9

Professor Whitegourd move up between their allies and drags Purple up to the dock so they don't drown.

Having been previously stabbed Nagaikaze, hardens his stance even further and rushes to intercept ORANGE. He decides to try and soften him up a little in the hope he'll be more receptive to reason then. After a few swift swings he calls out to any of the Stevedor's who'd listen: " You'll be safer in the water, with a chance to parlay, than staying up here getting bruises!"
Action 1 ◆ Use Mountain Stronghold (AC increases to 29 until my next turn)
Action 2 ◆ Stride (W, SW, NW, W, N)
Action 3 ◆ Flurry of Blows
Blessed Falling Stone Strike#1 vs RED: 1d20 + 16 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 16 + 1 = 23 forBludgeoning, Nonlethal, Forceful: 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (4, 5) + 6 = 15
Blessed Falling Stone Strike#2 vs RED: 1d20 + 11 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 11 + 1 = 29 forBludgeoning, Nonlethal, Forceful: 2d8 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (1, 8) + 6 + 2 = 17
Damage combines. If either hits and damages I will attempt to use Stunning Fist - Fort save DC 23

Oops...Left RED in there. It was meant to be ORANGE.

No Reactive Strike -- they might give up. They should give up.

The dwarf begins to by firing towards the yellow one.

+1 striking flaming hammer gun:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (19) + 19 = 38

Crit Damage, electricity, fire:2d10 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 2) + 2 + 2 + 1 + (6) + 2 = 19

Fatal:1d10 ⇒ 2

Total: 40 Damage

Then he reloads and fires again.

+1 striking flaming hammer gun:1d20 + 19 - 5 ⇒ (13) + 19 - 5 = 27

Damage:2d6 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 3) + 1 + 2 + 1 + (5) + 2 = 18

Understood? Time for you to go away.

A lesson in contrasts as Dran'Tilt absolutely blasts one of the dockers while the professor shows a hint of mercy. The monk fortifies before landing two crucial blows.

The remaining stevedore climbs up on the dock. Do they have a plan in mind?

orange fort save vs stun: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17

Round 3 - Bold can act - Bless is up
Song Jun-Mei
Emdi -3 damage
Yellow Stevedore -58 damage
Orange Stevedore -83 damage <stunned 1>
Yakuthiel
Red Stevedore -43 damage
Dran'Tilt
Nagaikaze -4 damage
Purple Stevedore -98 damage <unconscious>
Prof. Whitegourd
Pink Stevedore

Emdi warns Yellow. "Why don't you guys just surrender?"

Demoralize (Intimidation): 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (2) + 18 = 20 vs Will DC

Seeing as they're unlikely to do so, Emdi fires two shots at Yellow.

Shortbow, Nonlethal: 1d20 + 17 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 17 - 2 = 35
Nonlethal: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (4, 6) + 3 = 13

Shortbow, Nonlethal, MAP: 1d20 + 17 - 2 - 7 ⇒ (18) + 17 - 2 - 7 = 26
Nonlethal: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (4, 1) + 3 = 8

Immobilized on a crit.
Deadly: 1d10 ⇒ 2

↺ (first opportunity - 15' aura, so Emdi covers the Professor, Yellow/Drantilt and Red/Yakuthiel, but not Pink/Jun-mei and not Orange/Nagaikaze)

Jun-Mei focuses her energy, extending the range of The Lady's blessing, then steps forward and shoves the closest opponent.

athletics, shove vs pink: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (6) + 12 = 18

◆ sustain bless, ◆ step, ◆ shove

Bless now extends 25 feet out from Jun-Mei

The stevedore braces against the shove and doesn't budge. Emdi's first arrow pin the docker's cloak to the pin, but the second drops him and he slumps awkwardly to the ground, hanging like a marionette.

The cornered worker tries to psych out the monk, but only makes things worse. His blade does find bone, at least.

orange deception to feint vs Nagaikaze: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16
orange shortsword (piercing) vs Nagaikaze: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (18) + 16 = 341d6 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

Round 3 - Bold can act - Bless 25' is up
Song Jun-Mei
Emdi -3 damage
Yellow Stevedore -94 damage <unconscious>
Orange Stevedore -83 damage <off-guard to Nagaikaze>
Yakuthiel
Red Stevedore -43 damage
Dran'Tilt
Nagaikaze -18 damage
Purple Stevedore -98 damage <unconscious>
Prof. Whitegourd
Pink Stevedore

Strike at Red: 1d20 + 18 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 18 - 2 + 1 = 19for: 2d10 + 7 ⇒ (4, 6) + 7 = 17 non-lethal, piercing damage.

If Red is down, then move 15 feet west

Strike Pink: 1d20 + 18 - 2 + 4 - 5 ⇒ (20) + 18 - 2 + 4 - 5 = 35for: 2d10 + 7 ⇒ (2, 10) + 7 = 19 non-lethal, piercing damage.
and shove him into the water

The lone worker on the far dock dodges all three of Yakuthiel's swings and steps forward to return the favor in spades.

red deception to special feint vs Yakuthiel (with free step): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29
red shortsword (piercing) vs Yakuthiel: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (19) + 16 = 351d6 + 8 + 2d6 ⇒ (5) + 8 + (3, 5) = 21
red shortsword (piercing) vs Yakuthiel: 1d20 + 16 - 4 ⇒ (5) + 16 - 4 = 171d6 + 8 + 2d6 ⇒ (3) + 8 + (5, 2) = 18

Round 3 - Bold can act - Bless 25' is up
Song Jun-Mei
Emdi -3 damage
Yellow Stevedore -94 damage <unconscious>
Orange Stevedore -83 damage <off-guard to Nagaikaze>
Yakuthiel -42 damage
Red Stevedore -43 damage
Dran'Tilt
Nagaikaze -18 damage
Purple Stevedore -98 damage <unconscious>
Prof. Whitegourd
Pink Stevedore

The dwarf reloads and fires towards the pink one.

+1 striking flaming hammer gun: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (6) + 19 = 25

Damage, electricity, fire: 2d6 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5, 3) + 2 + 2 + 1 + (4) + 2 = 19

Then he reloads again.

Nagaikaze's eyes blaze angrily at the persistence of the Stevedores, AND quietly and calmly sets about clobbering them.
Action 1 ◆ Strike vs ORANGE
Blessed Falling Stone Strike#1 vs ORANGE: 1d20 + 16 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 16 + 1 = 30 forBludgeoning, Nonlethal, Forceful: 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (7, 7) + 6 = 20
Action 2 ◆ Step (S)
Action 3 ◆ Flurry of Blows vs PINK
Falling Stone Strike#2 vs PINK: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22
for Bludgeoning, Nonlethal, Forceful: 2d8 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (1, 4) + 6 + 2 = 13
Falling Stone Strike#3 vs PINK: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
for Bludgeoning, Nonlethal, Forceful: 2d8 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (4, 7) + 6 + 4 = 21
Flurry damage combines. If either part of the Flurry hits and damages I will attempt to use Stunning Fist - Fort save DC 23

Looks like I accidentally left the Bless out of the second and third attacks. Apologies.

Emdi's reaction goes off on Red when he hits Yakuthiel.

@Emdi yes, it does... Deadly: 1d10 ⇒ 1

Emdi's retribution is swift and another worker is pinned to the dock. Dran'Tilt doesn't waste his lone shot. The monk finishes off one himself and starts to pummel on the other.

pink fort save vs stunning fist: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

Round 3 - Bold can act - Bless 25' is up
Song Jun-Mei
Emdi -3 damage
Yellow Stevedore -94 damage <unconscious>
Orange Stevedore -123 damage <unconscious>
Yakuthiel -32 damage
Red Stevedore -66 damage <pinned to post>
Dran'Tilt
Nagaikaze -18 damage
Purple Stevedore -98 damage <unconscious>
Prof. Whitegourd
Pink Stevedore -32 damage

Professor Whitegourd makes sure Yakuthiel isn't dropped by a stray crit and casts a small heal towards him to bolster his spirit.

Heal(1): 1d8 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

Professor Whitegourd also protects themselves with a shield spell.

The professor soothes the warrior and then keeps themself safe. Shaking a bit from the strain of the melee, the youngest stevedore tries the same tricks as his elders and lucks out with his swift sword thrust.

pink deception to feint (and step) vs Nagaikaze: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33
pink shortsword (piercing) vs Nagaikaze: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 331d6 + 6 + 2d6 ⇒ (3) + 6 + (4, 4) = 17
pink shortsword (piercing) vs Nagaikaze: 1d20 + 14 - 4 ⇒ (2) + 14 - 4 = 121d6 + 6 + 2d6 ⇒ (3) + 6 + (6, 3) = 18

Round 4 - Bold can act - Bless 25' is up
Song Jun-Mei
Emdi -3 damage
Yellow Stevedore -94 damage <unconscious>
Orange Stevedore -123 damage <unconscious>
Yakuthiel -18 damage
Red Stevedore -66 damage <pinned to post>
Dran'Tilt
Nagaikaze -34 damage
Purple Stevedore -98 damage <unconscious>
Prof. Whitegourd <shield>
Pink Stevedore -32 damage

Jun-Mei summons the power of the Everlight to protect her friend, Nagaikaze.

↺ glimpse of redemption vs pink.

9 points less damage to Nagaikaze and enfeebled 2 on pink

Dran'Tilt finds himself covered in chrysanthemum petals as Jun-Mei extends the blessings of the Lady still further.

She then grips her glaive and strikes at Nagaikaze's attacker.

glaive vs pink, nonlethal, bless: 1d20 + 15 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 15 - 2 + 1 = 31
damage, slashing, nonlethal: 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (6, 7) + 3 = 16
deadly?: 1d8 ⇒ 5

◆ Sustain bless, ◆ grip weapon, ◆ strike

Bless now extends 35 feet from Jun-Mei

With one powerful sweep, the glaive nearly fells the young one and Song Jun-Mei forces his surrender. Seeing the battle lost, the other tugs at his cloak (still pinned to the dock) and drops his weapon as well.

"We were just trying to get a bounty, surely you understand we meant no real harm to ye". he admits.

Combat Over!
Song Jun-Mei
Emdi -3 damage
Yellow Stevedore -94 damage <unconscious>
Orange Stevedore -123 damage <unconscious>
Yakuthiel -18 damage
Red Stevedore -66 damage <pinned to post>
Dran'Tilt
Nagaikaze -25 damage
Purple Stevedore -98 damage <unconscious>
Prof. Whitegourd
Pink Stevedore -69 damage <enfeebled 2>

Well done all, we now await the start of Act II in a few days. You have the benefit of a 1-hour rest while the ship unloads. Feel free to interrogate the stevedores more if you wish.

The cleans up his weapon, relises it and most of all lets a circle of smoke move in the air.

A bounty you say? Which bounty? Who hired you? What for indeed?

**HOUSE GM ANNOUNCEMENT**
With an influx of Pathfinders coming to the docks aboard the [i]Seekers’ Quest’s[i/] support craft, most of the docked courier ships and barges push off of the piers to make room for the incoming invasion of armed adventurers.

The Docking Procedures condition is now in effect.

Table GMs, you have 2 days to wrap up your current mission and prepare for Act 2.

Emdi uses his fishing rod to reel the unconscious stevedores out of the water. He'll threaten to put a live fish inside their shirt unless they talk.

"We were just trying to get a bounty, surely you understand we meant no real harm to ye". he admits.

"What do you mean? That the target of a bounty is here, or that you wished to be assigned a bounty to carry out?"

"Nah, the Mantis put out a bounty on any "armed group" that might be here to disrupt things. We were just protecting the port, see. Like I said, no hard feelinigs, after all, you all cleaned our clocks. Hopefully, you aren't here to mess with the Dispatch. They might clean yours..." The stevedore admits, freeing himself from the stuck arrow.

”We came here for the Dispatch too, but as you can see we have only just arrived. All this could have been avoided if we had been given better information about where we should go. Could you point us in the right direction please.”

Clearly looking to earn your favor (to ignore their transgressions), the stevedore responds to the monk.

"Aye, if you still want to tussle with the Dispatch lot, you should talk to this aiuvarin that goes by “The Curator.” He offers gold for information about the Dispatch’s activities and safehouses and always pays his debts rather than forcing compliance through threats and intimidation. I can make you a map to get to him, if you want."

"That would be of use to us. Have you had dealings with this...'The Curator'?"

"No. No. No. We'd have no use of that. But we have heard from others... he conducts his business from a back-alley moneylending house --- Baccara Holdings."

He limps over to the shoreline and sketches a crude map for you with his boot in the sandy dirt.

"There. That'll get you there. Not sure what mercenary company you all are with, but thanks for not killing or drowning us today. Good luck."

A circle of smoke…

Well we have the next station to go.

”How long have you been on the island and what do you know of it? We have heard negative things about what has happened to the previous settlers.”

”Did you receive any instructions about dealing with the awful Pathfinder Society?”
And then after hearing the response,
“We are the aw…We are the Pathfinder Society. I appreciated that you were pulling your punches to start with. If you wish to turn a page and join a more legitimate organisation you may wish to consider it.”

The stevedore continues to spill as he helps pull his unconscious mates further ashore.

"We've been here about a year, but no - we don't go outside of town. Not even out of the docks themselves really. Told not to. We've heard the same rumors you did. If you ask me, I think the Dispatch might even be in league with the dead that walk."

As the talk turns to Pahfinders, he looks confused.

"Don't know anything about that, like I said, we were just trying to pick up some easy coin. We saw the lesh and the girl and thought it might be easy pickins. You sure showed us what for."

Professor Whitegourd glares from behind their vine glasses.

"If you weren't targeting Pathfinders specifically, what were your instructions?"

"They said mercenaries might be showing up. Just protect the port..." he shrugs.