"I'd better suit up with my armor then, rather than get caught asleep and unprepared. Sleeping might be a little difficult, but I've slept in livestock stalls before, so...wake me at the first sign of trouble."
"We'll switch off then, three watches, with everybody doing two. Numbers aren't my strong suit, so if that works out..." Anton makes a show of counting on his fingers, then gets bored and finds a tarp to drape over himself to get some kind of rest in the weather. Within minutes he is softly snoring away, his shield and sword leaning nearby.
I was just curious if you're going to be doing a new thread for the next part of the adventure.
Oh, and don't worry about the pace right now. It's summer, and work is always busy for me right now, so my own PbP game kind of suffered a little bit from inactivity. I'll post often when I can, but I'm not worried about the game moving along kind of slowly at this point.
Anton nods to Tarric and chuckles. "As you wish. 'Loose lips sink ships'...something I heard somewhere once, I forget where."
Anton walks over to the captain, and tips his fingers to his brow in an informal salute. "Well met, Captain Walren. If you need a strong hand on deck, let me know."
Anton arrives, wearing a simple white shirt and deerskin breeches and some simple boots. A brightly colored Varisian kapena is loosely knotted around his neck. His armor and weapons are neatly packed on top of a ruck sack with supplies for the journey.
He nods at Yarroth."Don't worry, I don't get sea-sick. I think." Seeing Aeda, he smiles and waves hello.
"How long is the journey? I don't think I've ever been very far from Kassen my entire life. This is sort of exciting, really."
Anton, looking bleary eyed and hung over, is already sitting in the main hall when Drummer arrives. He is sipping at a weak soup, and drinking from a tankard, while alternately taking large gulps from a waterskin. He looks up at the bard and manages a nod and a weak smile.
"The barkeep said this was 'hair of the dog,' but to be honest, this soup tastes more like it has dog hair in it. Some bacon and eggs would be nice, but I don't feel like eating a damn thing right now."
He motions for Drummer to join him.
"If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to know a bit more about what you were discussing with that woman last night. I caught something about the people responsible for the desecration of the crypt, and if we can aid her in bringing them to justice, I'm in."
Anton nods at the rest of his companions, then meanders back towards the bar. He turns and says,"I'll be right...here. There's women to drink, and ale to..I mean there's ale to be dranken, and wom...I'll see you all tomorrow...morning? Make it late morning, noonish."
Anton spends several more hours at the tavern before retiring for the evening.
Since I don't have any important research or fact-finding to do (at least none that doesn't involve barmaids), is there anything else I should occupy Anton with before we set out on the barge to wherever we're going?
Anton saunters over to the group conversing with the stranger. "Well, so far I've won two arm wrestling contests, and got a slap from a serving girl. All in all, it's been a good night so far." He drains a tankard and sets in on the table, pulling up a seat. He doesn't seem too drunk.
"You're all awfully serious over here - what are we discussing?" Smiling at the woman talking to Drummer and Tarric, Anton tries his best to make a good first impression. "Apologies, ma'am. I'm Anton Viello, the immovable object of the group."
Diplomacy 1d20 ⇒ 1
Anton reaches over to take her hand, and succeeds in knocking over and spilling several of the drinks already on the table.
"Gods damn it." he mutters, mopping up the spill with his...shirt. "Next round is on me, obviously. So is this one, apparently." He slinks back into his seat, and decides to shut up for a bit.
"I'll head to the inn with Drummer. I can tell all the girls I am now entirely free of disease." He looks at the rest of the party for a reaction, then he chuckles. "See, this is why I generally let someone else do the talking. They like the brawn, but I'm not always so charming!"
"I'll wash the stink off later. Right now, there's free drinks to be had. If I'm going to be a hero, I'm going to take advantage of the perks" he says, whistling some old tune as he clanks off. "Maybe I'll see my uncle there and tell him he'll need to be finding some help for the farm. I think adventuring might be a more lucrative profession." he shouts to Yarroth and Tarric.
As he walks down the street he seems to be talking to himself at this point. "...drinking contest...with a dwarf...ha!"
Anton bristles at Tarric's matter of fact description of their eventual fate as undead zombies.
"Yes, as Yarroth said, I'd like to get rid of this horrible rot before any of my important bits fall off..." he says, itching his groin, then coughs.
"Like my shield arm, of course." he says, looking for somewhere else to be. "Oh, I'd like to pay my respects to Desna at that shrine, and thank the stars we made it out of there in one piece."
Turning, his voice trails off "If he requires payment, take it out of my share of what we found in the crypt..."
Anton seems relieved to be back among familiar surroundings. He nods his agreement as Drummer relates the story of their trials at the crypt.
"I also agree with Yarroth. I feel like I haven't slept in a week. I probably have grave rot, I lost my favorite shield, but I did get to meet a ghost and save a damsel in distress. All in all, kind of a wash." he says smirking.
Looking up at the mayor, and realizing who he's speaking to, "Sorry sir, it's just feels like a long time since I've been back. I did find a nicer shield though."
Yarroth, that's very generous of you. You can have my share of gold/treasure in return for the armor, and I'll pitch in toward some enchanted studded leather however I can. Also, proceeds from the sale of my old scale armor and masterwork longsword can go for that as well.
I get a nice +2 armor bonus with that chainmail, and a shield that will help me overcome my inability to hit anything when I'm using it as a weapon - at 1d8 damage too. So long heavy mace. I think the +1 longsword (I'm naming it "Kassen's Edge" or something equally dramatic!) puts my to hit modifier into double digits in some cases.
Sounds fair to me Drummer. I'm probably most interested in the +1 longsword and the +1 shield. As long as there's enough gold to buy me a couple of pints, I'm good. Treasure is fleeting, (so is ale) but glory is forever! :D
I'm basically planning on saving up a bit to get some nicer armor at some point, so that's really all I'm concerned about as far as party wealth.
Hit Point Roll 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5 (Favored Class)
So that puts me at 25 total hp at level 3. Not too bad.
I'll update the rest later. I take back what I said earlier about Improved Shield Bash, if I'm sticking with sword and board it seems to make sense, but I'll read over all my combat feats tonight and see if it does. I finally get that Armor Training that could have helped on those pesky Swim checks, too.
Anton speaks to Dimira, now vaguely recognizing here as a girl from the village. "We managed to destroy the skeleton with the glowing blue eyes, if that's what you mean."
Looking around the room, he sees Drummer trying to figure out if he knows anything about their defeated foe and what he was after. Seeing the broken chain, he says"I think it's probably safe to say that the undead were after some kind of amulet or something that was entombed with Kassen's body. What it was or does is beyond my knowledge."
"At any rate, that champion's armor and sword look valuable. We should take them, along with Dimira here, and the lantern lit with the Everflame, back to Kassen - the town that is."
Seeing Tarric, Anton takes the opportunity to make a good-natured jibe at the portly cleric. "Tarric, it was quite a fight. Too bad you missed the best part! Perhaps you could write a scholarly treatise on the best way to smash animated skeletons. I'll leave the epic ballad to Drummer."
Helping the girl to her feet, Anton uses the Everflame to light the lantern. "I think it is time to return home." he says.
Yarroth, if this were a real life game, I'd reach across the table and give you a high five. Nicely done.
Anton watches as the skeleton champion collapses. He seems in a daze for a few seconds, unable to believe that he is actually alive. Regaining his senses, he immediately kneels and sees to his fallen comrades. Seeing that Yarroth is attending to their wounds, he places his hand on Yarroth's shoulder.
"Will they be all right? I have another healing potion if it will do some good. Don't forget to attend to your own wounds as well."
Anton then looks up and sees the mysterious woman that he failed to notice before, since he was preoccupied with combat.
"Are you...I mean, are you all right? We've come from Kassen to retrieve the Everflame - and many of us gave our lives here. What is your name?"
The skeletal champion seems to be focusing on finishing off Yarroth, so Anton takes a two-handed swing for good measure - he can't see if Yarroth has hit the skeleton or not!
Yarroth, way to go toe-to-toe with this guy! If you didn't finish him, let's hope this does it!
Anton tries to take advantage of the champion's distraction, and tries to strike him for what he hopes to be the final time. Seeing Drummer fall to the ground, he screams "NO!"
Seeing his comrade fall interrupts Anton's focus however, and he swings wide.
Not sure if Yarroth or Tarric are flanking at this point, but it wouldn't have mattered anyways. I still have a potion of healing, so if either of you want to try to help Drummer, I'll try to hold my own with the champion and the remaining skeleton(s).
Anton is shaken by the sudden onslaught, but quickly regains his composure and sets to work smashing through the line of skeletons. "For KASSEN!" he screams as he swings at the skeleton with the glowing blue eyes.
Now that's a nice way to start out! I'm not quite sure where I'm at HP wise (16/20?). Not quite enough to pop a healing potion yet if Tarric is going to channel - but a possibility next round.
Anton looks over at Drummer and smirks. "Courage and stupidity are both sides of the same coin - at least that's what my uncle used to say. I'll leave the clever stuff to you."
"Aaah!" Anton, not seriously hurt but a little shaken, exclaims. "I knew it! Sometimes you decide to be brave and go first, and almost get pushed off a bridge. Eh."
"Maybe there's some kind of magic at work here - like we need to speak a pass phrase, or something. KASSEN! LET US THROUGH!" he shouts, not really expecting anything.
"More statues, a bridge over a deep pit, and some ominous looking doors. Nothing out of the ordinary here, right? Yarroth, you seem to be good at sniffing out traps. I'll stay back here with Tarric and maybe ask him to tell me about some esoteric something or other. Better yet, can any of you detect evil?
I'm not going to be a lot of help here yet, but it would seem prudent to check everything out before we go barging in!
"Let's tread carefully here - I mean that literally." Anton says, looking down at the excrement covering the floor. He wrinkles his nose as he walks slowly into the room, his sword grasped in both hands in a guarded posture. Looking up at the fissure in the ceiling, his voice lowers to a whisper."Something has been getting in here - from somewhere. Profound, I know.
He moves a bit faster to the passage on the north wall.
Anton nods at Yarroth - "I'm grateful to you nonetheless."
Anton smiles and slaps Tarric on the back, perhaps a bit harder than the portly cleric is used too. "Your offer is much appreciated, Tarric! However, I think I may simply use my sword with both hands for a while. I still have plenty of armor, but if things go bad, you might wind up needing that shield."
"I say we press onward to the core of this foul place."
I'm up for direct, but if you guys want to look around a bit more, I'll follow.
"Yarroth, I owe you one. There's still one of those bastards down in there though, and I let my shield drop as I was trying to get out of that pit." For a moment, Anton looks like he is seriously contemplating diving back in, but seems to think better of it. "Hadrick, the man who trained me, gave me that shield. I'm sure he would tell me I'm being too sentimental. Perhaps I'll find another one."
"Drummer, should we take a look at this wheel? I've already got some kind of malady from those zombies we fought back there, according to Tarric, but I don't want to get some kind of sickness from that mold either - best not to disturb it too much."
"Well enough." Anton says to Tarric hastily. Nodding quickly to Yarroth for helping him, he grips his heavy mace with both hands, raises it above his head, and tries to smash one of the skeletons."YAAAAH!"
Armor Training doesn't come into play until I hit level 3 (reduces AC check penalty by 1, increases max Dex bonus by 1) so it doesn't apply here. The net result is I make Swim checks in armor at +4 (-4 Armor Check Penalty for Scale Mail) It was one of the only strength based class skills I had, so I put some points into it. It still wouldn't have made a difference on the skill check dice roll, which was a 1! My last post was a goof on my part, should have been +4.
I'd consider it fair if I provoked attacks of opportunity while thrashing around and trying to get my bearings in the water, especially considering I can't seem to swim very well at the moment. I would try to grapple them, but skeletons can't drown, as far as I know.
"I'm not touching or going near those things, whatever they are." Anton says, looking at the strange plant growth in the western room.
"Do we take a look, or continue south? We can also try to quickly get through the mushroom room, but it looks like something in there might have killed those creatures."
"This whole place feels damp and stinks of death, like a swamp."
Not sure where we're at initiative wise - not meaning to cut anybody off!
Anton turns to face the remaining giant frog. Seeing how effective his powerful swing was against the first one, he attempts to put all of his strength into his attack again.
I misplaced my hand written character sheet, so I'm going through all my numbers again. I seem to have inadvertently adjusted my damage rolls up at some point (flanking maybe) and then didn't adjust it back down. I should only be adding the +4 STR modifier on damage rolls, the attack roll bonus is correct at +8. (BAB +2, +4 STR, +1 mwk longword, +1 weapon focus (longsword)) Sorry, I tend to obsess about the details. I want to make sure I'm doing everything right!
Trying to keep his momentum going from breaking the door down, while ducking from a limy tongue lashing out at him, Anton lunges at the frog perching on the sarcophagus lid.
"For Kassen!" he cries, putting all his strength into a savage downward slash.
Drummer finds Anton sitting in a corner, his arms wrapped around his legs tightly. He is rocking back and forth, muttering - "Some kind of magic...magic...so afraid...a trick!...just a trick...so very afraid."
Seeing Drummer he pulls himself together. "I just couldn't help it, you know? I'd never willfully abandon you all in a fight."
He proceeds with Drummer to the rendez-vous point.
Not sure what spell or DC I need to overcome to get back into the fight. Will save? Let me know if there's something else I need to do, or if I can do anything at all.
Anton sees the lowered portcullis barring the way, and starts looking for a lever or mechanism to open it, staying a cautious distance from the murky looking water.
Anton groans when he hears Tarric's proclamation. "Well then, I suppose we keep going for now, and find a priest or an experienced healer when we get back - we are going to make it back, I'm sure of that.
Anton puts his hand to his forehead, as if checking for a fever. "I'm not feeling too bad...yet.
"Yarroth, any idea who else would possibly want to venture into this forsaken place? If I find out they're responsible for raising these undead, I swear to Desna I'll know the reason why." he says, raising his sword menacingly.
"Let's investigate that pack over there, and continue onward through the door to the south"
Anton ruffles through the pack, looking for clues as to the identity of the zombies prior to their transformation.
Assume I show the contents to everyone, since I'm probably not going to make any useful knowledge checks.
