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...feeling helpless to aid any further.
"Find that queen!" Arimar hisses over their message spell, "At least she's crying out aloud so it shouldn't be too difficult." Famous last words...
"I wonder if those other arrows... the ones that killed the harpies... came from Elyas or not," Arimar whispers back to his friends after striking the incredible blow, "I, for one, would dearly love his aid in this endeavor. Let's try not to embarrass ourselves." He turns and favors his comrades with a wink before turning to the green harpy with a you're next expression on his face.
Arimar calls upon Sarenrae to sustain him that he may better stand up for his friends.
"Thanks for the lift," Arimar quips poorly as the flying energies fill him. He flies upwards a little, but mostly forwards towards the orange harpy , gripping his falchion in two hands once more. He slices into her with all he has, attempting to thin their numbers and reduce the threat to his friends.
Heh. I think the GM actually said it wouldn't, but I could have been misreading things... not to mention meta-gaming. I was just digging in the elbow, mate. ;-) * Reads up... no, he said 6+ not 5+. :-P
How the F*$& did we not think of this ahead of time? he scolds himself. We actually did consider it. We were making for the temple so we could use the roof and/or hard cover to force them in low (or at least close). Then Benaiah decided to roll instead of taking 10 on his stealth... ;-) Best laid plans and all that. It's all good, clean, butt puckering fun.
"Looks like we've got a bit of help," Arimar grins, "Gwen, get in cover, and let's take the offensive!" Arimar pulls out another javelin as he moves up and lets fly at the orange harpy, also vowing to smite her evil presence from the face of Golarion.
"If you could make me fly, Kaddren," Arimar adds, "Now would be the time to do it... their tactical advantage in the skies is not working for me right now, and I'll eventually run out of javelins."
"Back to cover!" Arimar calls out, retreating as far as he can, trying to be sure that Gwen also retreats before going too far.
"My friends, those are no ordinary harpies," Arimar grunts as he rips the arrow free, calling upon Sarenrae to ease his pain , "Retreat may be the best course of action, if we can manage it." Arimar gives a worried glance back the way they came. Arimar hurls the javelin in his hand at the nearest harpy and hopes for the best, imbuing it against evil creatures.
If everyone agrees to retreat:
Arimar starts heading back down the way they came Otherwise: Arimar makes for the temple as planned
Sorry for the delay. I had the early morning yesterday to post, and then no time at all.
"Get ready for them to take to the skies and attempt to charm us," Arimar warns, "They will resort to melee then. Best we get to the temple if we can. I'll harry them with javelins if they refuse to close." With that, Arimar draws a javelin from its sheath ready to hurl it or drop it as necessary if a harpy closes with him, holding his falchion one-handed in his left hand. He concentrates on the evil emanating forth, and vows to Sarenrae that he shall bring it to an end , while simultaneously focusing on his weapon to make its edge all the sharper .
Heh. Thanks mate. I don't mean to be pushy, but I think you know I have my gripes about Pathfinder. That said, we're playing it and you should never feel pressured to do anything other than whatever you like as GM. The more I re-read of 1st Ed, the more I really can't wait for the first weekend in May!
Arimar smiles and calls back, "On our way, heading through the temple." Taking a more circuitous path than he would otherwise , Arimar attempts to come in through the western side of the temple. He pays attention to whether or not the harpies come at them as best he can, preparing to sprint for cover or hold his ground as appropriate depending on how the harpies approach and how far away he is when they do. : Arimar decides to take it easy and not put too much effort in to staying quiet. That will inevitably lead to disaster as he's not that good at it anymore. He's somehow lost the skills of his misspent youth.
I'm curious, though, if I'd rolled.... -- [ooc]See, even taking into account my special relationship with the dice roller, it goes down eventually.
I think so. Let's go in through the temple. We can at least use the partial rooftops for cover from attacks coming from above and use the walls to make it hard for them to maneuver. Hopefully the distance, 'sound through a wall' and concealment modifiers help us out a lot here... as well as the modifiers for conversing and otherwise being 'distracted' by their current meal. Eep. Hold on to your butts. Oh, and as some food for thought going in to this situation... here's something grossly unfair about the d20 system... there's a 19 point variance, and with that, we have to each make a stealth check and they get to each make a perception check. That means we take the worst of 4 rolls and they take the best of 4 rolls. I think I've seen it house-ruled before as a single roll at the spotters' best perception modifier vs the sneakers' worst stealth modifier. Far more fair, given the range of the d20 system likely gives them a +15 (or greater) effective bonus on their check. Another option might be to force everyone in this situation to take 10. Anyway, just food for thought from a mathematical perspective. FYI, in AD&D 1st Ed, you find the party modifier. This party modifier has penalties for larger parties (penalties for listening and moving silently, since large parties tend to make distracting noises) and bonuses for small creatures, etc (since the smaller you are, the quieter you are). The roll is then on a D6 - which has a satisfyingly small amount of variance. Ah, the good old days. Whatever happened?
It's hard to get a lay of the land (slopes and obstacles and all). Would we have full cover from the harpies until we came past the sides of the temple? Is there a path we could take that would grant full cover? Also, does the temple have a roof of any kind? We could go through it instead and negate their flying edge. Also, make ready on those action points for the saves, boys. Gwen, might be a good idea to have a countersong ready if you have on that works on harpies.
"This is what we've been waiting for... remember we only need one carcass, the rest can be driven away," Arimar notes, a sinister grin on his face. When did destroying evil creatures become my only outlet for fun? "I'll take the southern side with Gwen, Benaiah, you should take the northern side solo so that we can get them in a pincer movement."
"Well, it looks like the best way forward is to actually go forward," Arimar shrugs, and makes ready to head in to the temple, "If anyone has a better suggestion on how to approach, I'm all ears... clogged up with beeswax ears, but listening nevertheless." Arimar shoulders his falchion, maintains his detect evil and waits for agreement or objection.
Fallout 4, surely. If it couldn't run the original, then wow. Also: "any confrontation you can walk away from without being afflicted by fungus in awkward-to-explain-in-delicate-situations is for the best" Loved that. Just loved it.
"Oh," Arimar adds at the last minute, almost forgetting that they could find Harpies here, "Earplugs in, everyone!" He smiles and shoves some beeswax into his ears. "If you agree, then head in and up whenever you're ready, my good Kaddren,"
Before approaching the hill, Arimar takes the time to gather the puffing and panting Benaiah and Gwendolyn. "Be at ease," he tells them, allowing the healing magics of Sarenrae to flow through to them, "It looks strange, but purse your lips slightly and take in long, deep breaths. Exhale almost immediately afterwards, keeping your lips pursed all the while. Be sure to breath into your diaphragm - your belly - and not your chest. That's it... keep it going." He is not sure if his tips are actually accurate, but it will at least get them concentrating on their oxygen intake. If all else failed, though, Sarenrae's blessing could be called upon again. As the companions approach the scene of the ruined temple, Arimar calls everyone to a stop. "How about another invisible approach?" he suggests, "Perhaps levitating to get a good view of what's going on inside the temple? We'll maintain messages like before."
The scorchingly hot tea brings back very uncomfortable memories as it sears Arimar's throat. For a moment, he is six again and back in Riddleport, the unsympathetic priests of Pharasma forcing hot coals into his mouth simply because he could command the undead. Visibly shaken, Arimar places the hot cup down and waits for it to cool while he eats the fruit. The flavors and textures remind him that he is no longer physically scarred by his experience and he thanks the Dawnflower once again for his salvation. "You are exceptional hosts," Arimar thanks Draslas, "The food, company and aid is more than we could have expected and it is all much appreciated. Your suggestion for watch sounds adroit. Let us get our rest and repeat this process tomorrow."
"These things are not inherently evil, or unintelligent," Arimar notes, "Since the threat to us is now over, I would have strenuous objections to killing them in cold blood, or with fire. I think it might be impossible to remove the mold without destroying them also in some way, but I'm certainly open to suggestions. Otherwise, let's just write a warning for others in as many languages as we know - which seems to be fewer than I used to know - and return to camp. Agreed?" As he waits for a response, Arimar flips through the journal. He is surprised to see that the pages are numbered and notes that it has opened on page 63, one of the few legible sections.
Arimar looks around at the fallen vegepygmies to see if any yet breathe. If they live:
Arimar channels the power of his goddess to staunch the loss of blood - or sap - from the half dead creatures. "All who come to the Dawnflower shall be healed," he intones, even though the vegepygmies would not understand him.
Arimar follows up by administering to his friends, beginning with Benaiah. "This should ease your wounds, as well as your raging soul," Arimar places both hands on the top of Benaiah's back and call's upon Sarenrae to both seal his companion's wounds, and soothe his mind.
"Shall we move on now?" Arimar indicates the remainder of the ruins, "I think there's still a lot to find here."
"Stay close," Arimar warns Gwen, as he rushes over to help Benaiah with his foes . Praying that Sarenrae forgive him for having so little mercy on these persistent fungus-creatures, Arimar slices into the creature trying to flank his friend.
Shortly after, Arimar realises that he is still wounded and prays that his goddess correct this small issue that he may better protect his friends.
I feel ya on that one, mate! Mine killed me so much that it carried over for an additional week. All good.
Arimar growls at the blue creature, which is clearly not getting the message. Perhaps this will dissuade them... He quickly touches the wounds the creature caused him, and utters, "Sarenrae heal me." The chant was unnecessary, but he liked to pray to his new goddess whenever possible. Quickly, his wounds begin to seal over.
"You cannot win, retreat now." Grinning, Arimar slices once more into the fibrous flesh of this odd plant-creature.
Heh. Much appreciated, mate! Also, maps make PbP tolerable when combat hits. I know descriptions are great, and I've tried a number of times to do without maps... but it really makes things much easier when there's so much time between rounds. I really do try to do without them on the tabletop, though. Asking for clarifications, etc, isn't as much of a pain in person. Maps really seem to limit GMs when it comes time for vivid descriptions, they (self included) tend to fall into the trap of describing the map or just presenting the map! PbP, though? Especially for Pathfinder? Let's just say, thank you for the map, John!
Arimar calmly draws his blade, advancing on an outer vegepygmy . "I don't know if you can understand, but it doesn't have to be like this," Arimar notes, "Retreat or die." To illustrate his point, he slashes deeply into the nearest mold-creature.
His attack complete, Arimar holds his blade back and points to the most obvious point of retreat. "Go. Or die." Giving them more than enough opportunity to save themselves... I hope Sarenrae approves.
"Nothing evil, not necessarily nothing hostile," Arimar does his best to put on a disarming smile, "I guess we should send Gwen up there first so she can calm any aggressive creatures down before the heavily armored of us arrive." Still grinning sheepishly, Arimar grabs onto the rope and hoists himself up .
Arimar doesn't draw his blade. Evil creatures were on thing, but if none were there then it would not do to act in a hostile way. That said, he studies the temple entrance for a while - not knowing who it is a temple to - detecting evil again and making sure to interpose himself between unexplored areas and their arcanist.
Hey boys, what's up? Wow, just saw Benaiah's post. And yeah, same deal for me on the no 'new' notification thing. Hating Paizo so f$#!ing much. Glad I only rely on it for one game and it's a game that I'm not GMing.
"When we get to the base, before we go up, I can detect the presence of evil creatures - such as the harpies - from the bottom," Arimar suggests over their message as everyone moves out, "That should at least let us know what we're likely to find up there." With that, the paladin waits for the advance party to get slightly less than charging distance away, and then moves off.
As they approach the eerie site, Arimar pops in the beeswax earplugs and says softly, "Now, remember, if you're in trouble, whisper." Noticing their halfling laboring more than she should be, Arimar asks her back quickly for a touch of relief. He lays his hands on the top of her head and asks her to breathe more deeply. "Okay, back to scout it out," the paladin smiles encouragingly and waits for the 'all clear' before he noisily sets off agin When they reach the cliff face, the aasimar lets out a long, soft whistle. "Well, even in plate mail, I can make it up there if someone can get there first and tie up a knotted rope. Let's see what we can do about staying behind the boulders first and then quietly - perhaps invisibly? - scaling the cliff to tie it off?"
Thanks for that. By the way, I've been having trouble posting up to now while just loading the page to read it. Paizo's timed out a few times for me. Will try to get a gameplay post up very soon....
"Okay, we'll put them in when we get close to a likely spot for an eerie, then," Arimar nods, "Though I haven't had much luck with noticing things as it is anyway." A wry grin creeps its way onto his lips as he remembers Gwen chasing the goat. "Kaddren, any chance you could have some prestidigitation handy?" Arimar asks, "If we clear out an eerie and take the harpies' things to plant in a giant camp, I'd rather not leave any evidence behind. Pretty sure that spell can clean up anything." He gives the arcanist a knowing wink.
Just to clarify the rules here (we went through this with RoW), cold weather outfit counts as "protection", obviating the need to save between 0 and 40°F. Below 0°, and saves are needed as standard (every 10 minutes with no protection, ever 1 hour with cold weather gear). Below -20ºF and we're f&%+ed.
I'm already as well provisioned for mountaineering as I can be. The others may need some extra supplies (especially tents for fending off the cold while we sleep). Essentially, though, Arimar will not get the drop on anyone. Oh, and we should also scout with our eyes and not our ears. Earplugs everyone!
"Thank you for setting all this up for us, Burgomaster!"
Arimar looks around the camp with a grin on his face. "Well, I can't think of anyone less suited to scoping out an area than me. Perhaps I and anyone else noisy can hang back while the more silent members of our party - perhaps including you or your rangers - scout ahead. We shouldn't be more than a hundred feet or so behind, just in case you run into trouble, but Gwen can set up a message-ing system so that we can quietly communicate over such distances. When we have the 'all clear' for an area, I can lumber into it with my size twelve boots. Sound good?" The paladin looks to the rest of the party and waggles his shiny, plate-covered leg noisily for emphasis.
"Okay, so scouting mission first?" Arimar asks, wanting to get a plan of action in order, "Let's see where they are located and what kind of forces we're looking at here."
"First step, though, is to survey the area. Probably best if we do it all together," the big aasimar sighs, looking down at his very un-stealthy armor, "And avoid any patrols as best we can. Looks like they do so in pairs... a pair we just might be able to manage or effectively flee from. Just don't forget that their missile weapons are boulders. Toe-to-toe may be the best way to engage these giants."
"I believe that so long as the giants think it's the harpies, the town is safe," Arimar asserts, believing what he says, "As for your previous companions, I used to eschew the company of paladins myself. That kind of behavior is reprehensible. Endangering your companions against their will is its own kind of evil. If something needs to die or to be brought to justice, then it serves no-one but your enemies to reduce your chances of achieving that end." Arimar shakes his head at the mention of these 'other' paladins, but something in the back of his mind keeps asking, Are you really worthy of Sarenrae's gifts?
"I did not suggest parleying with the harpies," Arimar notes, "Merely deceiving them into believing the giants attacked. As for broken promises, I would try not to make any promises that I am likely to break. Deception to gain strategic advantage is one thing - like feinting in battle - but giving my word and breaking it is entirely another. That was the old me. My life and the lives of those around me suffered because of it. "I would suggest that we don't attempt to talk with the harpies," Arimar adds, "They are the weaker of the two forces, so if we can get the giants angered enough to all-out attack them, that would leave their hold under-defended. Once we have the 'high ground' so to speak, then we could hopefully take whatever forces remained. We would need some idea of the lay of the land, though. Anything either Kaddren or you could do to aid us there?"
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