Alister Medvyed's page

Apologies, but life has hit a rough patch, and my motivation for my games is low. Not abandoning everyone, but please bot me as needed for now.

Fort Save (DC26): 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (19) + 18 = 37

"Come on. Let's hope she wasn't lying when she told us this was a way in. Or she didn't sell us out to the Baron for some accolades and minor life comforts." Alister casts Light on a stone and tosses it farther into the cavern. He looks around the place as he moves forward.

"Keep your eyes open for anything. Who knows what else is in here even if it really is a route to the castle."

"Here, let's try this instead." Alister pulls out a small key and inserts it into the lock. He taps it and send magic through the key.

Using a skeleton key to cast Knock on the lock.

Alister nods slowly. "Ok Satinder. Give us directions to this tunnel. If it can help us reach the Baron, then hopefully this will end well for everyone in this city."

Alister dismisses their discussion with a wave. "We can sort politics out later. The important thing is to see whether we can truly confront the Baron about his actions."

Alister studies her for a moment, trying to see if he can gauge her honesty in committing treason. "Perhaps we should talk somewhere more private?"

Perception +15 to sense motive

Alister stares hard at the woman, trying not to let his gaze slip to her figure. "You said yourself the brothel is doing quite well with all the foreign coin." He glances back towards where some of the mercenaries are surely seated. "If we knew of such people who would act against the Baron, surely it would be less business for you. But, I would be interested in helping the people of Fort Drelev. And if that means major things need to change..." He shrugs, looking expectantly at her.

Congratulations! Take all the time you need with mom and little one.

Alister considers this. "That could be devastating for us. But mercenaries have a major downside. They get very cranky if they're not paid." He taps his lips for a moment. "Perhaps we start a rumor that the Baron has run out of money and can't pay them. That he's been squeezed too much by Pitax. Either they desert or they turn against him. Either way would be an opportunity for us."

So sorry for you loss, Nick. Our thoughts are with you.

The statement about food alarms Alister. "They can't even feed their own people?"

"Let's find the others and see what they know. Then we can work on how to get into the castle to confront the Baron."

Alister bows his head, trying to keep his eyes low. "Many thanks, sir. Do you know where we might find a place to sleep for just a few coppers? Or maybe in exchange for work?"

He waves the group to follow him and then makes his way into the city. He tries to find a passer-by and bumps into them. "Oh, pardon me! We've just recently arrived. Do you know why the guard seem so surly? Is the city in danger?"

Gather Information +18

Alister whines and says, "Fine, but we don't have much! I mean, if we did, do you think we'd be coming here like this? I'm not even sure what we can eat!" He digs into his pants for his coins and produces 2 gold coins. "Please, this is all I have!"

Good luck recovering! I hope you feel better soon.

I'm going to be traveling this next week for work. I probably can post, but it may not be consistent.

Alister whines at the guard pitifully. "Closed?! By why? We need help and a place to stay! Trolls came and destroyed our homes as they fled something! We need a place to stay and food. Please, sir!"

He sudden seems like he has an idea. "We can work for our fill! Mend a door or clean a stall. I'm sure the Baron would want more workers in his city."

Diplomacy +18

"I think peasants make more sense. We could be people coming looking for safety from the trolls who have dispersed and are just roaming now. Someone they would overlook. We just need to get in and link up with the others. Then we can assess the situation and see where to go from there."

"Did anyone see what happened to the others? I think we should follow their lead and sneak in. I wish we had a way to contact them, then we would know whether it was worth getting inside. Aristu, you can still Veil us, right?"

Alister wheels his horse and gallops away.

Triple move to flee.

Right

Alister will wheel his horse and withdraw.

Alister motions and tries to force sleep upon the two facing off against Esteban. "Let's go!"

Heightened Sleep spell on Yellow and Teal adjacent to Esteban. Will DC28

"Mikhail, Get out of there!" Alister conjures a phantasm and send it towards the knight as his worst nightmare. He turns to Aristu. "Move it forward so Mikhail can get out, and we'll get out of here!"

Phantasmal Killer (Will DC28): 8d6 ⇒ (5, 6, 6, 4, 3, 1, 1, 6) = 32

Apologies. I was at a conference last week and got wiped out. I thought I had put in messages to all the discussions threads, but I missed some games.

Battle Cry lets Alister do a demoralize at Initiative. GM, could I do it to the Sergeant instead of the guards?
Demoralize: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (14) + 20 = 34

Alister lets out a sharp rebuke at the sergeant. "You're a disgrace to your name and uniform!"

Sorta back. Under the weather and with more guests this week.

So I guess we decided not to go in as peasants?

Alister is surprised by his brother's illusion, but tries to play along. He quickly moves forward to try and address the leader of the small group. "Best not to rouse him! If you let us through and claim not to have seen us enter, it will go much better for you. Or better yet, escort us to the tower and you'll have done your duty. I'm sure the Baron would reward you."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (13) + 18 = 31

Some long days this week as I host a workshop. I may not find time to post.

Alister nods. "Aristu, disguise us as simple farmers. Make us look destitute. Hopefully they'll let us in."

Ok, so who can disguise themselves or make themselves invisible? Alister has invisibility sphere, but it only lasts for 10 minutes. Maybe enough to get a small group past the guards, especially if there are some breeches in the wall.

Alister turns to his brother. "We need to get past the guards and into the town. We still don't know what is going on here. Something wrong. People are scared."

He considers a gamble. "What if just you and I go in under disguise? We see what's going on in town and then get out. At most, a second casting will do. And I can make us invisible and we fly out if we need to."

Yeah, I'm suggesting we split the party for scouting out the town.

Alister sighs at Sir Esteban. "To demand answers and hold Drelev accountable for the death he's caused. Perhaps to understand why he seems to have allied himself with trolls and attacked us." He glances over to the farms. "We have no quarrel with his people, though it would help to understand what has been happening and why they seem to fear us."

"What do you think? Should we go confront some terrified farmers to learn if we need to be assaulting this castle? Or can we capture a soldier or sneak in?"

Alister nods at Aristu's question. "Piotr, let's see what Corb can find out. If the town has fairly normal activity until we approach, it would point to them avoiding us in particular."

"I would hate to try and corner someone in their barn, but it could come to that."

Unless someone is offering to split off and try and infiltrate the town?

When you wake, Alister is already up as most of the group is used to. The younger Medvyed usually wakes early unless he's taking a late watch. He watches the sun rise and he holds and twirls a small iridescent disc with the shape of a large star on it. He smiles as the others wake. "The Lady Eristhea sends her blessings. She worries about us all."

As they pack up and head on towards Drelev, Alister tries to meet or approach any farmers or other travelers along the way to learn about Drelev and the Baron they are going to meet.

Gather Info, Diplomacy +18

Taking a bit of story liberties, but each night unless prevented Alister will cast Dream Message using his Dreamstone. This allows him to talk with Eristhea and keep her appraised of events. I picture her having one too, so they have a nightly session to talk and then explore each others' dreams for a short while. The Dreamstone also means he only need 2 hours of sleep each night.

Alister shakes his head. "They specifically designed the bridge to allow larger boats to pass through. If we made a permanent bridge, it might effectively be a blockade on their trade. Even with us demanding answers for the attack, I'd rather not strike that kind of blow just yet. I'm still hoping there's some explanation to all of this."

"Looks like we try flying. I can cast it on Avalanche. Estaban, you might need to lead him though."

Alister and Aristu can cast multiple Fly spells, so I think we're good.

"We can just fly across, though it might take several spells. Let's see if there's a suitable crossing though before we simply take to the air."

I think we have enough Fly spells for everyone if we need them. Not sure about the mounts.

"We can support her as an ally, not as a vassal. And the sooner we end this conflict with Drelev, the better off we'll be to deal with whatever politics are in the North." Alister nods at his Master of Coin for his monetary concerns.

Alister spends the evening writing a response to now Queen Jamandi. He offer his sympathies to her cause and against any oppression. He makes it clear that the Sword Marches, though very young, support her cause, but caution that she should not allow the conflict to spill into the Greenbelt. He does not offer any substantive aid to her fight. He adds that Drelev has attacked them without provocation, and that he is seeking resolution with Baron Drelev himself. But he warns her that Drelev may be untrustworthy.

Feel free to provide input to Alister during the evening if you wish.

"I was, my lord," says Alguin. "The Sword Lords have proclaimed Lady Jamandi queen and all Restov rejoices. Rostland will follow their queen as they did in the old days. I am sure that Her Majesty has sent riders to all her vassals, lord, but I only know of one other post that went beyond the borders, and that was to Baron Drelev. The rider went out at the same time I did."

Alister sighs. "Well, it would seem we have more topics to discuss with Baron Drelev." He nods when his brother tells the courier to rest for the day. "I'll have a response to you by morning. And if Lady Jamandi asks, we are headed to see Baron Drelev ourselves."

I don't want to decide the direction of the adventure for the whole group. One of the downsides of Kingmaker being that it puts one person in the spotlight and they can end up controlling the major points of the game. Alister values independence and self-determination, though he is concerned about bringing invasion from the north when Drelev seems to have declared war on them as well. But left to his own devices, he would probably declare support for Jamandi.

"Or we risk bringing open war to the Sword Marches. Invasion by Brevoy will be very different than a horde of trolls. We've been focused on the dangers of the frontier, mostly to the west and south. I don't think we're prepared for an attack from the North."

He sighs. "And if we don't declare, trying to remain neutral, what then? Leave Lady Jamandi to suffer her fate alone?"

Alister takes the scroll, reads it, and then hands it to his brother and the others. He turns back to the rider. "Were you there for this proclamation? Do you know how the people of Restov are reacting? Also, do you know if the Lady Jamandi dispatched riders to other areas?"

He turns to the others. "This is serious if it's true. We may have open civil war in Brevoy."

Perception on the note: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (16) + 15 = 31

"Then perhaps we should consider a more specific visit to Drelev to get to the truth of the matter. No reason to go through the Slough; that will just slow us down. We can go around it and to Fort Drelev itself."

In the evening after most of the somber festivities have died down, Alister assembles a council. "Let's do a thorough search of the commander's camp and belongings. We also need to know what other incursions or encounters people may have had nearby. Kern, you're the fastest. Can you lead a team of runners to check on nearby settlements? Particularly Khavatorov and the Vale. I'll contact Them tonight and see if there's any other word from Drelev."

He looks at the others. "I see a few options open to us. Right now, we have very little information. We could try to track the trolls back to where they came to see what we can find there. We could head south to meet with the fey and see what they know. Or we could simply head into Drelev in force and demand answers."

"Thoughts?"

Alister will use his Dreamstone and Dream Message to contact Eristhea overnight. It's only one way, but she should have a similar spell or Sending hopefully to contact him back.

"Yes, tonight we rest, honor our dead, celebrate the living, and take stock of what remains. We can address the problem of Drelev in the next few days."

Alister takes a deep breath and nods grimly. "Rest assured, Drelev will answer for this." He looks at the others, including the new defenders. "I want to consult with the others on how to approach this, however. If we simply strike back, it may spell the end for all of us. But it's not the first time, we've dealt with a threat to the Sword Marches. We will get to the bottom of this and make Drelev answer for using trolls against us."

Alister winces at the pain in his side. He gingerly touches his ribs. They were at least bruised if not broken. He looks up as Loy Rezbin enters with some of the other defenders. The Medyved bastard puts on a smile and greets the Mayor of Tatzlford. "Loy, I'm glad we were able to push them back. And these men were key? Thank you, gentlemen. Your bravery and skill are admirable. I'm Alister Medyved." He goes to shake each of their hands, and you note that he introduced himself without any title at all.

He gestures to the others. "Come, meet my friends. This is my brother, Aristu. The mighty and devout Mikhail. My master of coin, Piotr. And the master of the wilds, Kernithar."

Society: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (17) + 14 = 31

He takes in Fizz, Evindyl, and finally Sir Estiban. His gaze lingers on the man and his armor and sigils. "Well, you've proven yourselves quite useful. Perhaps you'll be our guests for a bit?"

"Loy, I know the town has been ravaged, but perhaps we can find something to celebrate our victory with? The people need something to lift their spirits and help them celebrate. I can have Eristhea send supplies if needed, but it'll be a several days."

Hope the recovery gets better! Hopefully the family is all getting better too.

Having spent much of his flying spell power on the previous troll fight, Alister hustles up the mountain, hoping to dash up quickly.

Triple Move

GM, Can Alister see either of the trolls from his position? I'm thinking maybe the tops of their heads. Does he get any better view if he moves east?

Yeah, let's see who we can get.

Alister hands his potions to Mikhail. "Drink up. We're going to cut the head off this attack."

Let's go for the leader

Alister casts a healing spell on Kern. "See if that big troll had anything on him, but we need to keep moving and burn as many more trolls as we can find."

Soothe (5th) on Kern: 5d10 + 20 ⇒ (4, 9, 9, 4, 10) + 20 = 56