Artimus nods his head at Rasina's words and then nods a bit towards where Veren sits watching the sky. "Remember that the pain of losing his allies is something which Veren has been bearing since we met him, despite his demeanor. I know not how I will feel about this woman personally when we meet her, but I do know that because of us he now has the opportunity to have one of those allies who has been lost to him returned. I imagine that at this moment he is feeling much as you did when you saw that Nadeq was coming back, even if under circumstances which may not have been... favorable. I would not have any of us be lost, but I know that I would risk myself to give any of you that hope. I mourn the loss of our friend with all my heart, but I know that he felt the same and would not begrudge giving Veren this chance for a reunion."
Artimus looks up when the girl approaches and listens to her words. A sad smile touches his face and he shakes his head, reaching out to lightly touch her shoulder, trying to comfort her as he sees the tears stain her face. "No, I didn't know Montague well either though I would have been honored to. He joined us recently, leaving his brethren to stand at our side and while I knew him only a short time I have little doubt that he would have willingly laid his life down for any of us. He was one of us, as are you. You needn't question your decisions, they were made by us all, together."
"Indeed, I think we all need rest and then the brave Montague deserves the respect of a proper burial among his people. For tonight we should sleep and prepare for tomorrows travel as well as finding some time to mourn in our own ways. I am not a proper priest, but if any of you need support, I am here for you all, as sure in spirit as I am with my blade."
He lowers to kneel at his bedroll, beginning the process of inspecting his gear to ensure that there is no damage to them before starting to polish it.
"I will take first watch, longer if needed so the magically inclined can fully recover. I would appreciate a chance for rest today, this day has been draining for me as well." Its only with those last words that a crack can be heard in his voice at the irrecoverable loss of a teammate and his attention refocuses on his equipment.
Artimus looks to the others motioning them to close around him as he closes his eyes and focuses himself. "Let us clear our wounds, friends. Then we can press on. Can decide what our next steps are. Decide... How we can best respect the wishes of those we have lost. Once things are settled here, it may be time to return to the camp briefly. I believe Montague would wish to be returned to his brethren."
Artimus will burn his lay on hands to do 3 Channels to heal all the injured. If anyone else is still injured, he can lay on hands one more time after.
Artimus looks around at the others and nods. "Alia is right. There has been quite enough bloodshed now. We need to recover our own wounded now and then we can decide where to go from there."
He looks to the orc. "I understand your desire for your work and the goal you feel you may be achieving. You seem to agree that the previous head of the council was obsessive in her actions. We may be able to help you in bringing this oasis to life and helping it spread further, but we will not do it under duress. Release our friend back into our hands, and then tell us how we can help you and perhaps after this dark moment we will be able to find some sort of friendship after this hardship. For now though, we must have time to recover, mourn, and reunite Veren with his friend."
Seeing Montague fall and lie still, then a moment later Mikka hitting the ground, Artimus' mouth moves in a shout, something that were it not for the cloud of silence surrounding him would offend most of the gods of good.
Then he see's Mikka's chest move as she gives a bloody cough and realizing that she is alive he reacts on instinct, turning and dashing towards her to come to stand over her body, bringing the blade down on the smilodon to pulls its attention from the downed druid.
If the beetle is up for taking one I'll provoke an attack of opportunity from it as I pass. Otherwise, I'm going to try and pull the Smilodon's attention. Hopefully it works. I don't quite trust my lay on hands to bring you up, Mikka if you are stable. If someone else isn't able to bring you up by next turn I'll give that a shot.
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12 Attack roll with Power attack
1d8 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11 Damage
Using acrobatics to stand up from prone was something that was introduced in some of the complete books back in 3.5. I suspect its something most of us used in our games, but it was never core and thus not brought into pathfinder.
I just realized that I may have been grabbed my the smilodon with his bite attack before. If that is the case, then all my attacks would be 2 less to hit, but I still would have taken the same action to try and drop him. I didn't see a CMB roll from him with the bite, so I'm not sure if he succeeded or not.
The smilodon isn't the only one who seems to feel it can do some real damage with a full round attack, Artimus stays squared off with it, knowing that every claw or bite he takes is one less that his allies need to deal with.
He clenches his hands on the base of his sword and brings it up, striking hard at the creature with three powerful strokes of his blade.
With the last blow, knowing he needs to stay in the fight he focuses inwardly to try and shrug off some of his wounds.
4d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 2, 3) = 9 Swift Action Lay on Hands
Monty, if the smilodon goes down and you need it, you can delay until after me and I'll give you a lay on hands next round before we go charging at the others.
Chris, the 24 doesn't hit me, even with the charge, including haste my AC is normally 28. That should mean I'm not affected by the grapple, right?
Edit:Also, I just realized that I included my bulls strength but totally left off the charge bonus to hit in my above attack, so my to hit should have been 24.
Seeing Montague drop, Artimus looks up at Veren and calls out "Help the others." Before charging the smilodon. Moving through K4 to L5, provoking from the beetle as he goes if it is still interested in fighting with the orc down
He brings his sword up high over his head, striking down at the creature with his most powerful swing, hoping to distract it from finishing off the fallen monk.
Had Monteque taken damage previously? It looks like the 71 would put him at -12 normally with a 14 con, meaning if he was unharmed before then he is still save-able.
I was going to accept the silence spell on me, I won't be casting any further spells and if I am radiating silence I will be able to mess with the spell casters some.
Also, I did realize she turned into a whirlwind, but I didn't have a better way to refer to her then the 'female reclaimer', I still was planning to line up with her, seeing that she appears to be the biggest threat at the moment.
The Beetle's attack would miss even without the barkskin and Haste bonuses to my AC. Can you tell me just how good of an AC bonus the barkskin gave?
Definitely welcome back! Good to have you around again, Chris.
Artimus will raise his sword, bringing it down on the half-orc beside him, swinging with 3 power attacks and hoping to bring him down quickly.
He recognizes that the primary threats seem to be closer to the rest of the group, however, so whether the orc goes down or not he is 5-foot stepping to J3 in order to line himself up with the reclaimer female.
If the first or second attack drops the half-orc, then I am going to take the 5 foot step and the remaining attacks will be focused on the reclaimer male
Alright, map has been updated a bit to include some of the above suggestions. Hopefully the key will keep things from being too complicated, but I've distinguished each of the reclaimers seperately and made note of anything thats sharing a square.
Bah, I knew I was going to miss people, I'm too bad with names. I'll get you guys actually on the map once you tell me what square you wanted to start in. Otherwise, for now you are already on the map key.
Just to make things a little easier for us to visualize things I put together a spreadsheet to serve as a map, since I have no artistic talents at all.
That should let everyone see where things are and I'll add people and details as needed. Chris, if you want to be able to edit it instead of relying on me for that I can allow for that as well, but you would need to sign in to do so.
For me, I know that prisoners would be preferred, but I suspect we aren't going to have a chance for that. If its going to be a hard fight, taking a penalty on your attacks is pretty rough.
Also, if we are going to have a minute setup, do you mind if I burn a few lay on hands during that time? I can do it on myself as a swift, but I'd make sure the others were in better shape as well. I don't think artimus has anything else he would have been doing during that time and healing would be a priority.
I'm treating this like its a different creature than the other one, meaning that my smite is no longer in effect. If my smite is still in effect, then the attack roll is 5 higher and the damage is 7 higher.
Extra +1 to defense comes from my shield focus, Veren.
And I think you would have been right, Alia, I should have tossed bless weapon onto Veren during our prep but I think its too late at this point without losing a round where you guys could be getting pummeled.
Hoping that the beasts defenses may not be at the top of their game after having rushed so quickly towards them, Artimus raises his sword and gives a battle roar before dashing straight forward at the beast and striking at it with all his might.
Ok, so that will be smiting and power attacking as part of the charge. Lets see if the big guy is too hard to hit. Also if possible I'll try and get in there before the others to provoke any AOO so they don't take them.
1d20 + 15 ⇒ (17) + 15 = 32 Attack Roll
1d8 + 17 ⇒ (1) + 17 = 18 Damage(if he counts as an evil outsider, undead or dragon that is 7 higher for just the first hit I land, as per paladin errata
And just to make sure its all out there, for now my AC is 5 higher(30 this round, and then 32 after my charge is done)
Edit: Woohoo, possible crit because of the keen, so rolling to back below.
If its 40ft away, then I was going to smite and charge for my action. See if I can get it good and mad and focusing its attention on me instead of you guys. Pop him on the nose hard enough and with luck he won't draw too much blood from you guys and it will let you all get into a more tactical position.
The prep looked good to me, Chris, with the exception that during the extra round I would have had Artimus would have used his divine bond power to make his sword keen. Beyond that, I am perfectly fine with your assessment. What was the bonus the barkskin gave me, or will you keep track of that secretly?
"Indeed, this beast is foul and a blight on the land on its own. We may not be allies or agree in our ideals, but we can easily see eye to eye in this need. We will bring down this creature, Reclaimer."
Artimus shakes his head. "No, I'm afraid you aren't so close, Mi'lady. In truth I'm a farm boy, probably as out of my element in the big city as you would be. Rather than being here to try and enforce some city law onto you, I am here with the hope that we can see things from each other's perspective."
"I see what you are trying to do here, to bring life to this desolation and I respect that greatly. You are seeking to do good in the most effective way you can. Where our beliefs meet an impasse is that I find giving the desolation what it wants in exchange, more loss of life, only is going to lead to it being stronger. This land has a voice and a soul to it as I'm sure you believe all the world does. In this case though the soul has been corrupted, and each sacrifice you offer is making a deal with a devil. A devil never makes a deal it won't come out stronger from, but the trick is learning that before it is too late."
Artimus will step forward between the woman and the rest of the party, raising a hand in front of him to indicate peace. "We come to speak, as friends. As you know, we too travel with those close to nature who ensure we stay on the path even in this desolation. I think that even if our methods are far different, we may have similar hopes and goals in making this a better place. Will you talk?"
I held up because it looked almost like we were being thrown straight into combat. Does Artimus have a chance to try and get some talking in, or are they attacking immediately?
I don't have a particular problem with making a side trip to camp, though I think in this instance Artimus wold have been against it simply because we are on a time limit and from what I can tell we wouldn't have been able to get back to camp and here again by the time the druids were going to sacrifice their hostage.
Nadeq and Cris
Spoiler:
As far as the undead go, since I am sure that it will come up with a paladin and necromancer in the party, I don't think he is going to be as patently anti-undead as what you would normally expect. He was self-trained rather than having learned in a church or the like.
Its very possible you could bring him to your way of thinking that un-intelligent undead are more shells than anything. The biggest problem that leaves is that it still is a desecration of bodies, so he's likely against it for any good creatures unless it would have served their cause in life. Raising some peasants to help in the defense of their home would be something they would have desired in life to have done, but raising a small gold dragon's body we find just because it was cool to have would be very hard to justify in Artimus' eyes. Sending evil creatures back upon themselves is probably pretty easy to justify too.
Intelligent undead might be a bit more of a rub just because they are much less of a shell, they have souls still attached to them and keeping them as a controlled slave is going to be a rough sell.
In any case, Artimus isn't likely to be too happy about the undead when he first sees them, but trusts Nadeq enough that we can have discussions about it. I just wanted to make sure you knew where my mind was and that to me having a paladin wasn't going to be a group splitting decision with an undead specialist. I also wanted to make sure that Cris was ok with this interpretation and didn't feel it was bending the paladin's code too far.
Artimus will nod his head again to Alia's thoughts on tactics, dividing up can be dangerous but it will separate the druid's attentions as well if necessary.
His only real preparation is to take a moment to polish over his weapon and shield, a sort of meditation for him. At that point he will look to the others and stand. "Let us go."
Artimus will ride his horse(and let someone double up if needed) until near the forest at which point he will dismount and draw the horse into the cloak.
Artimus sits and listens quietly to the others, taking time to consider each of their sides and arguments before voicing his own opinion. Finally, as no new information seems ready to be unveiled he will nod his head towards Alia.
"I believe our ranger friend has it right. Trying to stealth away their captive seems unlikely to work on the home ground of the druids. If we approach directly we may be able to speak with them and state our case more plainly. If there is good in them, then we should seek to redeem it. If their intentions have fallen away out here in this wasteland and they will not release the girl, then we must fight them and we do not have time to seek reinforcements. We should ensure that they do not have this time either. Let us approach them directly, as you were supposed to bring us back with you, it is unlikely that will raise any alarm."
Artimus frowns at the discussion, listening carefully to the back and forth.
Message Even the good in this place is befouled. We must be careful going forth. We must watch even ourselves here it seems. Whatever we do, we bolster one side, a side which gathers down to smash down upon us as they do each other.
There is an admitted ease to the thought of working with these druids, we lose those who we have deemed less than desirable anyway and perhaps some of this wasteland is pushed back for a time. But it is a false ease as there is an evil in their work as well.
He looks to the goblin among us with this. Think carefully on this, friend Nadeq. You have proven your loyalty to us and you have my trust, but calling too strongly on the strength of the desolation is no less dangerous than calling upon that of this oasis, even if the power flows easily to you now. Whatever we do we must be cautious and move forward with our eyes open, knowing that each of our paths leads us further into darkness.
Message Indeed Mikka, if these were once those I may have called brethren of mine, even had they fallen from the way then I would hope that the rest of you would turn to my advice. In this I seek your aid. I will not leave our new allies friend to their sacrifice, but whatever advice or direction you may have on how best to accomplish this goal is something we all will take to heart.
Via Message "I'm afraid that I cannot abide by trading a life for another, no less lives. Those they seek to kill may be despicable in their own ways, and their results may be good, but that does not make their motives pure. There must be another way. Perhaps we can lead a feint and catch them off guard. Not likely for long on their home turf, but perhaps enough to give us an advantage. Do any of you with magical powers have a method of disguising us that we may pass for the dead?"
Artimus starts to raise his arms towards his friends as they approach when Raisina speaks. He pauses with his arms spread and decides to just go with it. "Of course, travelers, there are many dangers in this desert and it would be foul of us to deny others the shelter of the tree that we have found. Sit, but seek peace for know if you seek quarrel we have such in spades."
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12 Bluffing poorly, just trying to return the message that we are ready to battle whatever may be the danger.
Quick question for everyone, since I wasn't around when all the loot was being distributed earlier. I'm not so concerned about any of the given combat oriented gear, it looks like that went out to the best choices. My only question would be about the cloak.
Monty, do you have any real plans for using that as a weapon of sorts, or is that just something that was joked about? My thoughts for it is that I think I am the last one with a mount left, and I could really use it for mount transport, whether its letting the mount get in a hiding spot with us or just taking it down in the dungeon rather than leaving it to risk the elements at the entrance.
I had the thought earlier when we mentioned needing to press on and thinking about resummoning mounts that realistically we could have put my mount in there and summoned one for me as well, that way my horse could have just rested later and we wouldn't have had to deal with the fatigue.
If there is a real use for it otherwise, I'm all for that and giving items wherever they are best in the group. I'm just being protective of my horse and making sure he gets a voice.
Also, I'm glad that it didn't get wasted on the Hydra, but I wasn't completely without ranged weapons. Artimus had two throwing axes, one mythril and one cold-iron. I figured that with a quick charge of his divine bond that would have let me cover any given demon or devil if necessary.
Artimus looks around, taking in the scene of battle with consideration and a frown. Giving a slow stroke of his mustache as he is prone to when thinking he nods towards the smaller grave on the side. "Perhaps this is what has happened to our friend Nadeq? His stature would not require the same size tomb as one of mine. And while I do not know if any of our friends could cause fire in the way Durnast here can, I know that Mikka is known for her flames. She may have burned the bodies of the horses so that they would not rise again as ghouls." Making a final observation at the tree he glances to the others. "I do not know the ways of the nature folk. Could the tree be something caused by our Druidic companion? Maybe for safety or to create an area as a priest consecrates ground? In which case they may be nearby."
Whoo-hoo, first post is up now. I'll be reading the other thread right now to see just what the others may have gotten up to and maybe find out if my guesses were correct at all. Also, if I'm going to be carrying around this short-bow(and I really need to switch to a long one eventually! The man has pride!) then I'll probably be bothering Alia to help me practice whenever we aren't traveling and are both awake. Not something that needs to be played out or would have any game effects, but they accurately brought up a shortcoming in his abilities and he would do whatever he could to overcome that.
I'm offically at the point in the posts now where the threads split so I just need to read through the path my character has taken for right now, unless the other group's travels are pertinent. I'll likely read them anyway at some point for the story, but at least this will be enough to let me get a post in.
Its all been very interesting and I'm enjoying the group's dynamic. I think my only point of disappointment at all is that our local drunkard went the opposite way since I was seeing a lot of good RP opportunities for us to play off each other with us being so different.
Also, since I had to read through all the posts again I have been taking really simple notes on locations and characters as well as the general timeline that we have been going through. I was curious if the rest of the group would have interest in me putting it up in a real basic wiki, somewhere we could put the maps we have found so far as well as any information. I can start with all I've noted and anyone who wants to edit it can with their own personal interpretation or memory of the event. So much has happened that it is sometimes good to be able to look back and see just what we know about the usurer in one place, or when we catch a name we recognize but don't know, being able to see who he is.
I'm willing to put up the work for the design and the introductory info if others don't mind chiming in with their own ways of filling in my blanks.
Just as a side note- I either over-estimated my reading/time abilities for the day or underestimated the amount of posts you have done so far. I'm a little over half-way through the main thread and will put another couple hours in reading tonight which should put me at getting up a good post sometime early tomorrow.
You guys have really blown through posts! Very interesting so far!
I'm afraid that some health issues that looked like they were minor last week spiked up badly enough that it has required some hospital time towards the end of last week. Right now, I'm not totally sure where things stand in that regard, whether I am going to be back on my feet in a relatively short time or if I'm mostly going to be out of comission for a while.
Unfortunately, either way it means I will probably be off the boards for a few weeks at least or maybe longer. There is nothing life threatening for folks to be worried about, but I'm all drugged up while I'm dealing with this and it makes it really hard to put together coherant thoughts(this post has already taken forever to try and make myself focus to get through it).
I've really enjoyed all my PbPs and hopefully you all understand my disapearance and accept my apology.
Artimus lets out a pained grunt as he is struck by the blast of negative energy and then is swept upwards above the fireball. He shakes his head, looking around, unsure immediately if this is a result of friend of foe. When the swarm moves away he calls out "Lower me back! I cannot do much to harm this thing, but I can aid those who can!" He tries to will himself back down, grabbing up his sword when he reaches his feet again.
Seeing the woman who had come to his aid turned on, Artimus will forget his idea to burn the thing for a moment, instead rushing to her side, stepping into the swarm if need be, but if possible standing at its edge. "Find shelter, Mi'lady, we will vanquish this beast!"
He drops his torch and does a lay on hands on Raisina.If she is either fatigued or diseased from this thing, it should remove those as well. A level check is needed for disease, as per remove disease.
4d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 4, 4) = 17 Lay on Hands
Edit:I think just it being called a shadow brings undead to mind because of the other creatures there. I realized earlier on that it was more evil-outsider, but when it was first mentioned my initial thought was undead as well.
As noted on the discussion thread, sorry for being slow, I got held up by net problems. And drat, I hadn't realized until later that each of those attacks should have done 7 more damage if it was an evil outsider, the smite doubles its bonus damage.
Artimus nods his head towards Rasina as she asks if he is ok, flashing a quick reassuring smile even as he is injured.
He looks down at the swarm, unsure just what he can do to harm it. He calls towards the others, in case one of them is more knowledgable about such things. "Should flames hurt these beasts? Perhaps torches?"
Dropping his sword for the moment, Artimus will focus his energy to keep himself on his feet.Lay on hands myself as a swift
He then brings out a torch and tindertwig, sparking it to light to the torch, so he is ready to try and drive off the shadowy forms next turn.
4d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 1, 3) = 14 Lay on Hands
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19 Will save asked above
Artimus glances momentarily at the others as they approach, surprised at their assistance though it only adds to his determination. He eyes the creature grimly as he tightens his hold on his sword. "Indeed creature, wherever you would strike there will be those who stand against you. Even in a place of darkness like this."
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24 Will Save
He focuses his energy on the creature, trying to be rid of its evil. He directs a smite and power attack upon it with each blow.
Woohoo, if that was almost a critical hit and you got a 30 it means that when I smite him he'll have to roll a critical threat just to hit me.
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12 Attack of Opportunity with Power Attack
1d8 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13 Damage
Assuming its not undead or the bane effect kicks in. Not sure since its shadowy, but I assumed it was more demon/devil-ish
Artimus grunts as it hits him, though he is glad he took this stance because he suspects the cleric wouldn't have taken such a powerful blow nearly as well. He swings up at it, but the strike leaves him off balance and his return blow is a bit wild.
1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19 Fort Save
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29 Will Save
I am currently assuming the amulet of Natural Armor and having taken Jylan's sword. As I said before, if my previous blade is needed to be sold to get something I have no problem with that, until then I'll hold onto it in case adamantine is needed for something.
Artimus' eyes go wide when he sees the creature come racing in towards town. The woman who cries out from the center of the square draws him back into reality though and he dashes toward her, crying out for her to get down as he assumes a defensive stance above her.
Hoping she'll drop prone so I can take any hits that might come her way by standing above her. I am not sure on distances right now, so if I can get there in a move action, I'll take a full defensive action this round. If it takes more than that, I'll move as necessary to get there. I'm trying to wait to make sure we'll actually be fighting this and its not just passing overhead before using a smite since I was hoping to save my last one for when we go after Gurg.
