Moved house but still interested if this gets going again. :)
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Questions: Any guests in deck yet or all at the wedding breakfast? Do we assume they may already be married?! Based on local customs (knowledge check if necessary) Are the guards going back and forwards patrol routes or around the whole.boat? Or are they standing still? Does it seems feasible to grab one guard and knock him put without the others barring or does that look impossible? If looping patrols could we pull them over the side and into the boat - with the help of a silence spell of course. Anyone else want to ask anything?
Glad to hear it. There was a decision to make no decision until we saw the boat. Now we're here :) I've got loads of ideas but need some agreement from others. Hopefully someone will chime in soon.
Did I kill the game? Or is everyone waiting for everyone else to post?
Wait! Before anyone else goes up there we need a plan. Can we wait for the guards to pass by here and pull them down here? A silence spell could help with the noise. Could we start a fire to distract everyone? We don't even know if the Groom is here. Or what's affecting him. Maybe we could capture the bride or Quinn himself if not here? Maybe if we grab one guard, take his uniform and then we can move around the ship more easily. I can change my face with magic to look like the guard. That could work? What we can't do it rush up there and start a bloodbath. Noone will forgive us then!
"Can we sneak into the wheel house, overpower some guards and steal their uniforms? I don't think we should just charge in. We should try and do it quietly if we can and get the young lord alone if possible. I can cast silence on an item to help us stay undetected.
Agna throw up your rope too so we can get up faster. hisses Alwrick.
Who's first?
Climb: 5 A rope with a wall to brace against, or a knotted rope, or a rope affected by the rope trick spell.
10 A surface with ledges to hold on to and stand on, such as a very rough wall or a ship's rigging. I guess you could apply:
Alwrick seems somewhat ill at ease crammed into the canoe. Digging through his bag he says"Cireth, I have a couple of scrolls of Spider Climb you can cast. I propose I cast invisibility on one of us and you cast spider climb. They can climb up and once the coast is clear they can drop down this rope. What do you think? Perhaps Vermathus is the best candidate? Whilst he speaks he brings out a scroll of spider climb, a silk rope and a small silver mirror and stows them safely on his person.
"I don't have any way to break enchantments. I have a potion of protection from evil though. However it could be a cursed item of course. Like a ring or an amulet. That won't be dispelled. We need to try and detect what's causing it. If the Quinns are Vampires and they have dominated him then break enchantment might not even work. We really need more information." Glancing at the Sargana "We may need to consider the possibility that that there is no magic involved. Sometime people just fall out of love.. ...but I don't buy it. I think there's more to it. It's early. How long do we have until the wedding? Must be a good few hours?"
Alwrick looks almost sheepish as he admits, "I care barely swin at all. I can cast invisibility up to three times per day though, it will last 5 minutes per cast. I think we have several options: We could try to get to Brant before the ceremony and either break whatever enchantment he is under or convince him to change his mind. We crash the ceremony and abduct him then do the same. This seems to me to be the highest risk plan but it may be our only option. Alternatively we could hide and cast spells from the sidelines and hope he shrugs off whatever enchantment he's under himself and doesn't go through with it. Of course we could do the third and then the second if it doesn't work. Any other ideas? We can work out the details later but in terms of broad approach. The only other thing I can think we could do it something to Quinns himself or his daughter. But I doubt that even if we capture him he'll confess. Whatever we do we need a contigency plan to get out if everything goes wrong. Maybe our best bet would be to try and get to Brant alone? He must get ready before the cermony. Could we get him alone and try to see if he's under some sort of spell?"
"So we're just going to march into town? I still think intercepting the groom would be easier. But if the plan is to go to the boat lets at least go in disguise. Maybe we should arrive in town separately and meet up somewhere to avoid arousing suspicion. Or try to sneak aboard the boat before the guests arrive?"
"I'm not sure its time to sleep yet. We may be able to avoid a fight if we try to speak to the young Lord and see if we can break whatever enchantment is on him tonight before the wedding."
Depends how suicidal Agna is feeling. :) Seriously though do what your character would do. "Dead." was totally the wrong thing to say, but so in character. I really liked that. There's so many ways to go with this. Whether she is now sorry, isn't sorry and doesn't keep quiet or she plays dumb all could lead to interesting consequences.
"He fell defending his family, outnumbered more than ten to one. He sustained wounds that would have slain lesser mortals outright, and yet still he fought on. He did not yield, but died with weapon in hand and a snarl on his lips. His name will live on with kith, and kin, and foe alike. His death was honourable and his place by the side of his ancestors in the feast hall is assured. It pains me to admit that we were duped into opposing you. I called to spare his life, but this one" Alwrick gestures with disdain to the captain"cried out for his head. I do not expect forgivness, for nothing can make amends for a brother slain, but I for one swear a solumn oath to seek justice for the crimes that have been commited and to do all I can to make amends for the part I played in the deed. As downpayment on the debt I offer this filth to you to do with as you will.
"Alright, lets go an see what the Orc have to say." Nudging the Captain Alwrick begins to walk forwards, keeping his hands in plain view, and his eyes open ready to dodge any arrows or shot fired his way.
Fixed an error in my character sheet, -1 AC due to Bracers not stacking with armour. Thanks Cireth :)
"I have a Protection from Arrows scroll if we think that might be useful. Can we speak to them by magical means?"
"Yes, all that and what's more that we hope to bring him to justice if we can. "
"So who is our spokesman and what do we tell the Orc? Simply the truth?"
Agreed. Also when the Orc see us, don't draw a weapon unless you absolutely have to. Alwrick checks the Captains bonds and gestures accross the river. "You next."
"I cannot speak Orc and I am probably not so eloquent a speaker as Cireth but do you think I would be better off speaking to them given the historic animosity of the Orc towards both Elf and Dwarf?"
The Orc clearly wanted to capture us. We need to prove to them our good intentions. Don't forget we were killing their families not 10 minutes ago. It's going to be hard enough to convince them that we're not trying to trick them, at least handing him over should help go some way to demonstrate we mean to make up for the wrong we may have done them.
Alwrick looks around suddenly "What of the drivers? Did any survive?" Pausing to think he adds Shall we load the Orc dead on the wagon to return them to their families for proper disposal?
As the Orc passes Alwrick's face hardens I agree let these others go, but they need to find a new employer. If they cross me again I won't be so forgiving. The Captain though, he needs to face justice. Let's go see the Orc. What do you others say?
Alwrick beckons the rest of the group over whilst keeping a close eye on the defeated foes. Once everyone is in earshot his softly speaks The way I see it we have a few options. If someone tries to kill me I don't ask them for more cash. I get even. We could take these scum back to the Baron and explain what happened. But I don't know if Lord Greaves will believe ill of Quinn, he'll wriggle out of it. Say his men pulled the wool over his eyes and that he's just an honest merchant. I think we need to go to the Orc and find out what on earth is happening. Something really strange is going on. But we need some concrete proof to discredit our former employer. Maybe we should start by healing the surviving Orc and seeing what he has to say? Once we know more we can decide what to do. I'm in favour of finding out the facts and then dealing with this lot accordingly.
Lore Master: (Ex): At 5th level, the bard becomes a master of lore and can take 10 on any Knowledge skill check that he has ranks in. A bard can choose not to take 10 and can instead roll normally. In addition, once per day, the bard can take 20 on any Knowledge skill check as a standard action. He can use this ability one additional time per day for every six levels he possesses beyond 5th, to a maximum of three times per day at 17th level.
Before the surviving henchmen recover their wits Alwrick yells: Drop your weapons. Lie on the ground over there! To the captain he yells No more blood shed. Surrender.
I honestly have no idea if we just drove off the villains or if the mounted guys were the Barons elite guard who had come to congratulate us on driving off the Orc. Be fun finding out though! :D
Enraged at this treachery Alwrick strides forward, drawing his rapier and unleashes a torrent of abuse drawing on his natural magical talent as he does so.
Blistering Invective:
School evocation [fire, language-dependant]; Level alchemist 2, bard 2, inquisitor 2 Components V, S Casting Time 1 standard action Range personal Area 30-ft. radius Duration instantaneous Saving Throw Reflex partial, see text; Spell Resistance special, see below You unleash an insulting tirade so vicious and spiteful that enemies who hear it are physically scorched by your fury. When you cast this spell, make an Intimidate check to demoralize each enemy within 30 feet of you. Enemies that are demoralized this way take 1d10 points of fire damage and must succeed at a Reflex save or catch fire. Spell resistance can negate the fire damage caused by this spell, but does not protect the creature from the demoralizing effect. Demoralise:
You can use this skill to cause an opponent to become shaken for a number of rounds. The DC of this check is equal to 10 + the target's Hit Dice + the target's Wisdom modifier. If you are successful, the target is shaken for 1 round. This duration increases by 1 round for every 5 by which you beat the DC. You can only threaten an opponent in this way if they are within 30 feet and can clearly see and hear you. Using demoralize on the same creature only extends the duration; it does not create a stronger fear condition. Shaken:
A shaken character takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. Shaken is a less severe state of fear than frightened or panicked. Catch on Fire:
Characters exposed to burning oil, bonfires, and non-instantaneous magic fires might find their clothes, hair, or equipment on fire. Spells with an instantaneous duration don't normally set a character on fire, since the heat and flame from these come and go in a flash.
Characters at risk of catching fire are allowed a DC 15 Reflex save to avoid this fate. If a character's clothes or hair catch fire, he takes 1d6 points of damage immediately. In each subsequent round, the burning character must make another Reflex saving throw. Failure means he takes another 1d6 points of damage that round. Success means that the fire has gone out—that is, once he succeeds on his saving throw, he's no longer on fire.
Noticing something being dropped from the swooping beasts Alwrick looses an arrow at the wounded hippogriff and another soon goes whistling after it.
His shots go wide as he in engulfed in flames. Dropping to the ground Alwrick quickly puts out the flames but not before getting a little charred.
Save the Orc! he screams as he rolls on the ground.
Conflicted as to whether the Orc are in fact a foe Alwrick holds his fire until he can see who rides on the back of the beasts and if they will use lethal tactics.
Alwrick moves over to the Orc keeping an eye on the henchmen to stop them trying anything whilst everyone is distracted. He also readies his bow to shoot once the Hippogriffs are in range.
Alwrick slowly moves closer to the group but remains silent for now waiting for the Captain to speak.
"A wise decision." Alwrick uses his wand to heal the Orc.
"Who speaks Orc? Can you translate for us?"
Addressing the henchman Alwrick says "The way I see it your hands are clean. The captain here may need to answer some questions but you, all of you..." turning to address the rest of the men. "...you've done no wrong in my eyes. Do you really want to jump into the fire with him?" he gestures at the captain.
Alwrick looks around to tally up the amount of wounded allies to see if he can afford to heal them all. "Where are the drivers? Do we send the wagons back to town? he asks.
Capture him, we can interrogate him! cries Alwrick.
Blunted arrows? Why would they use... Alwrick quickly dismisses the thought half finished.
Snatching arrows from his quiver Alwrick quickly looses two shots at the nearest pair of Orc.
Character built. I changed out Precise shot for Weapon Finesse as the standard 3 archers feats were boring - probably mechanically worse but a Bard who can't leap into the fray with a rapier really doesn't appeal! :) I should probably go back and calculate the skills but I'll do that some other time.
On hearing the warning Alwrick lunges forwards to the front of the Wagon. "Ambush." he hisses. Upon emerging into the fresh air Alwrick stands on the seat to get a good view of the area. He rapidly assesses the situation before launching into an elvish song of inspiration and gallantry.
Inspire Courage:
(Su): A 1st-level bard can use his performance to inspire courage in his allies (including himself), bolstering them against fear and improving their combat abilities. To be affected, an ally must be able to perceive the bard's performance. An affected ally receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls. At 5th level, and every six bard levels thereafter, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +4 at 17th level. Inspire courage is a mind-affecting ability. Inspire courage can use audible or visual components. The bard must choose which component to use when starting his performance. (Depending on the timing others may benefit this round from the bonuses. Initative roll in case relevant: )
Alwrick leans forwards and catches Abduls eye. *Cast Message* "Stay within 150 feet and we can whisper to one another Sir. The spell lasts around three quarters of an hour. If you were to come into site again briefly I can cast the spell again." With the words said he ducks back inside the wagon and decends into brooding silence once more.
Reading the prd entry for orc actually probably answers my questions. assuming we follow that of course. :)
Not sure really. Cravans have outriders but maybe that would put off the ambush? Then again lack of outriders might give the game away too. :) ----- A question OOC - What are Orks in this world? Vile totally evil demons that will murder you as soon as look at you? Or simply a different tribe, viewed with suspicion and dislike by the common folk but not fundamentally any worse than a different bunch of humans? Put it another way: My character is very open minded - a good foil to some of the others in the group I hope - so how do I view the Orc?
Alwric looks distinctly uncomfortable cooped up in the back of the wagon. He barely even cracks a smile at Cireth's antics. Several times he looks as if he's going to speak, eventually he growls "How much longer?"
Blood welling on his palm Alwrick grasps Quinn's hand tightly and smiles. "Don't worry Quinn, we'll get to the bottom of this and make sure everything turns out as it should". A keen observer would note that the smile didn't quite manage to warm the man's eyes. With the words said, and the pouch of gold pocketed Alwrick strides out of the room to follow Cireth. He half listens to the barmaid prattle on all the whilst thinking. There's something not quite right about that Quinn. No matter. For now we should try and find out what Lord Greaves son used to do in the forest. In a hushed tone that will not carry beyond the table Alrwick says "Cireth, does it not seem a little odd to you that the Orc lived in peace for many years and shortly after our employer arrives in town they start making trouble? I think the Baron's son stopping riding may be related somehow. But did he stop riding because something happened, or is something happening because he stopped riding? Either way I think we should try and speak to the young lords stable man. Maybe he knows where the boy used to ride out to. What do you think?" |