Ebenezer's page

Possibly Roine and Blackleaf have stopped checking this thread...

Thanks Mirni for offering to DM. If we can get players, I'm in.

That sounds good to me.

Looks like Zoo might be busy with some Pathfinder Society games. Whatever the reason, he's left his pbp games hanging for several weeks. Is there a usual timeout after which we either find a new GM or declare thread death? I've been enjoying this game so hopefully I'm jumping the gun, and the occasional unannounced break is normal on these boards.

Ebenezer prepares to cast an illusion of something sparkly and shiny on Talam's jacket. That way Talam can more conveniently take down large numbers of them with his hadoken without having to waste any move actions.

No not really :)

Ebenezer would ready a weapon if it could do more than 1 damage. Even with just a dagger, he has to worry about encumbrance.

He's been so busy showing off he's nearly out of spells, so thank God for Pathfinder specialist wizards. Maybe he can still distract some enemies with colorful lights.

Ebenezer readies himself by quietly stepping behind Blackleaf.

"The double doors should lead to the goblin leader. We could blitz him while we're still undetected."

Ebenezer heads to the western wall and listens at the double doors.
Perception 1d20+6=8

Ebenezer is relieved to see that Mirni made it into the stockade. He would grin, but the illusion giving him a mouth full of goblin teeth would just make it look nasty and scary instead of happy, so he contents himself with a sort of dopey smile and friendly wave. party of five :)

Sorry Ebenezer should not be dancing like a goblin. Ready to continue.

Ebenezer does a happy goblin dance. :)

I assume Ebenezer signaled Mirni, since I didn't see anyone else do it.

Once Ebenezer sees that Roine has the goblins' attention, he drops his concentration and signals Mirni. He leaves his "bird" to flap painfully out of sight on its own (the illusion maintains itself for a short time before ending), then he joins Talam inside the stockade. He is anxious to get anywhere the goblins will not see them.

Since disguise self lasts a half hour, I assume Ebenezer still looks just like a goblin.

Talam plans to head in right away. That's the plan any way

OK. (I think you mean the stockade, and no gratuitous pranks.) Is someone going to signal Mirni?

Ebenezer concentrates on the illusion, hoping to excite the goblins' cruelty but anxious to keep the bird far enough away to avoid scrutiny. He plans to follow last after he can see that everyone else is safely inside, undetected. That is, unless Roine or Blackleaf have anything gratuitous in mind :)

Ebenezer takes himself to an inconspicuous location out of view of the goblins playing Killgull and any others watching the bridge. Knowing goblin cruelty, he casts Minor Image to create an illusion of a large bird with an arrow in its wing struggling to fly, circling lower and lower as it falls towards the goblins below. When it hits the ground (at a distance designed to maximize the distraction) if any goblins still seem likely to notice anything in the direction of the bridge, he will make the bird squawk and flap around piteously on the ground always a little out of reach, and as a last resort, he will consider making it transform into a small, wounded dragon spitting fire, as though returning to its true form after it could no longer maintain the shape of a bird by magic.

He considers that this ought to give Mirni enough time to cross, Blackleaf enough time to make the most of his invisibility, and Talam enough time to plan the group's continuation and perhaps work a prank as well. He notices that Roine is preparing magic of his own, and hopes it will keep the goblins busy away from the party's chosen path.

Where are we trying to go? Into the stockade? Wherever it is, can we get the goblins to go somewhere else? Or topple a tower or set a fire or something the will cause the goblins consternation and confusion?

Ebenezer tries to assist Talam with his disguise as they cross the bridge.

Attempts the "Aid Another" action. I think that means I roll another disguise check?

assist Disguise: 1d20+3=7

I jumped ahead a wee bit so if their is something you planned on doing before stepping foot onto the bridge just add that to your post first.

I was planning to cast invisibility on Blackleaf, so he would be invisible for three rounds and crossing the bridge with Talam and Ebenezer. That way, he can either fight to defend the bridge, or find a place to hide before the spell wears off.

But first, I was planning for Ebenezer to cast disguise self, which lasts 30 minutes and gives +10 to the disguise check. I didn't include the -2 penalty for disguising as a different race, since the spell seems to cover that.

IC is down.

Disguise: 1d20 + 3 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 10 = 19
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

"I still think we should create a diversion on the other side to get Mirni across unnoticed."

With a grunt blackleaf says in a low tone"Not as much infiltration, as killing"

"Not as much getting killed, if we can get you across the bridge unnoticed. Maybe I should turn you invisible instead."

"Roine, how do you see this working? Talam and I could dress as goblins, you could disguise yourself with a spell, and Blackleaf could go invisibly, but that still leaves Mirni. How do we get her across?"

No one is interested in discussing the loot?

"As I said earlier, I could cross the bridge disguised as a goblin and tie a rope for the rest of you to climb from the water to the top of the island. The spell to change my appearance lasts about 30 minutes, and I speak the goblin language. Roine, I'm sure your reinforcements could hold the bridge, allowing us to cross without fear of goblin pranks, but what then? All the goblins would know that we had arrived."

"Of course I can become invisible, but only for a few minutes. What did you have in mind? Perhaps if we set a fire on the other side, the others might cross unnoticed."

"Roine, you're welcome to the cloak as far as I'm concerned. I think Mirni should have the wand. I wouldn't mind having a tree shape potion, except that I suppose it's not an illusion. It actually turns me into a tree? Mirni, is that safe?"

"Sorry, Mirni. I didn't stop to think about the jest from your point of view. No offense to you or your valiant companion." Ebenezer eyes the druid's Fire Pelt with healthy respect; the cat is much larger than himself.

"Mostly I think I just felt relieved. I hope we haven't alerted anyone yet."

"Of course not. We're as quiet as a drowning firepelt"

Ebenezer smiles.

Ebenezer was trying to hit the fire pelt, not the goblin, with the idea of lowering its AC against Blackleaf's attack, and giving it a 50% miss chance against Blackleaf.

Ebenezer hangs back, waiting for another chance to assist Blackleaf against the fire pelt.

Ebenezer points his finger at the cat and aims a shimmering ray of colorful light directly at its eyes (range 30 ft).

Initiative 1d20+3=21
Ranged touch attack (blinding ray) 1d20+4=21

"It acts like it's guarding something. Its young perhaps?"

Ebenezer squints into the darkness trying to count the eyes behind the cat and see what they belong to. 2x vision in dim light. He readies color spray in case the cat jumps.

"You might be right Talam. I could use magic to try to talk to it, but I'm not sure it's a good idea. I don't think it's a threat if we leave it alone."

He starts to back away from the cat.

Thanks Mirni!

Ebenezer tucks away his green gem. The pattern lingers a while, then wavers and fades out.

"We will be vulnerable on the bridge, and I always like to know I have a way out. I agree with Blackleaf."

Ebenezer continues to concentrate as long as it takes the others to put down all the dogs.

Ebenezer concentrates on the pattern. He can maintain it as long as necessary.

Ebenezer takes out his arcane bonded green gem to tap its power for a spontaneous casting of hypontic pattern and directs the spell at the center of the dog kennel from a distance of 130 feet.

number of HD affected in 10' radius spread: 2d4+3=9

EDIT: spell DC 17

"My color spray has a very short range. I'm afraid I'd start a commotion before I could get close enough. I could cast another hypnotic pattern at long range and possibly affect them all. Does anyone have a better suggestion?"

"Anyone else smell something like wet dog?"

"Yeah, I noticed it too." Ebenezer wrinkles his nose. "Could be a worg, although anything dog-like can probably smell us." Ebenezer looks around uneasily and tries to judge which way the wind is blowing (hopefully away from the dog and toward us).

Ebenezer follows the others.

Perception 1d20+6=24

As Blackleaf climbs out of the hole he claps Talam and Ebenezer arms "Thank you my friends. I think we may need to find another way in. Unless we use of of the dead goblins as bait and shoot that thing as it comes after the bait."

<gasping> "I didn't think we could lift you. I'm relieved that we got you out of there."

Ebenezer looks down the hole. "That's not a bad idea. I'd still like to know what's down there, even if you have to lower me to get a better look. If the creature attacks, I can dazzle it long enough for you to pull me up, and I don't weigh much. But I wouldn't mind lowering a goblin first to see what happens."

Ebenezer is still on the lookout for a bird, hoping he can talk to it and learn something about the island.

"I may be letting my curiosity get the best of me. If the rest of you prefer to scout the bridge, I'm fine with that."

Ebenezer looks down the hole again.

Ebenezer tries to help Talam haul Blackleaf back up.

Strength check 1d20-2=17

Not knowing that Blackleaf already sees it, Ebenezer whispers urgently, just loud enough for Blackleaf to hear, "There's something down there! In the water!"

Perception 1d20+6=22

Ebenezer worries about something happening while Blackleaf is down in the hole and becomes alert for danger.

"Sorry, no rope." Ebenezer has no gear at all, in fact.

"Do we want to scout the bottom of the shaft? There could be a cave down there. Is the tide low or high right now?"

"The goblins come and go freely and they aren't natural swimmers either so they must use the bridge.

I say we scout up to it and wait for the right time to cross."

"I agree we should scout the bridge before we settle on a plan, but I doubt that they ever leave the bridge unwatched. If we hope to surprise them we should consider other options."

"Also we don't know if the goblins have other ways of coming and going. I was hoping you could get a bird to scout the island for us to see if there is a place to land a boat and a way to reach the top, like a ladder or a tunnel inside the island."

"If there is nothing but a cliff all the way around, I could cross the bridge disguised as a goblin and tie a rope for the rest of you to climb. The spell to change my appearance lasts about 30 minutes, and I speak the goblin language."

"Roine, can you summon a water elemental? If so, can it convey the group safely across the water?"

I was following the GM's example of bolding dialog, but since it seems to be a GM-only convention, I'll follow the example of the rest of you from now on.

"We're wondering how to get from here to the island, but what if we turned the problem around and asked ourselves, how do the goblins get from the island to here? Could we trap them on the island if we destroyed the bridge? They must have another way. If so, could we use it?"

"If they have to swim across, they have a steep climb on this side, just as we would have on their side. Syl' could pick them off from this height as they struggle to get up from the beach. It's not unthinkable we could create a serious problem for them, or else learn of another way to the island. On the other hand, their leaders may become alarmed and escape, so we would fail the objective of our mission."

Standing by the dead goblins Mirni notices these are not Thistletop goblins but of the Birdcruncher clan. A little ways from home living in caves on the western edge of the Devil's Platter a large upthrust of limestone pavements which are bleak, stoney regions southeast of Sandpoint.

<assuming Mirni has shared what she noticed> I was hoping something belonging to these goblins might be useful for a disguise. Are these goblins welcome among the goblins of Thistletop?

... swim out in the crashing surf to the island then climb up out of the water to reach the top.

I have no talent for swimming and climbing.

You also see the end of a rope bridge at the island but not where it begins but by the angle of it, it must be way off to the west of you. Another tunnel leads out of this room to the west

Should we take this tunnel in the hopes of reaching the bridge? I think we will be easy prey for the worst of their pranks if we try to cross it. But I see no other way. If the rest of you think you can reach the island more directly, perhaps I could cross the bridge in disguise and meet you.

Or are we going about this the wrong way? Should we go back to Sandpoint and rent a boat? Perhaps I could cross the bridge and tie a rope for the rest of you to climb.

Mirni, what do you suggest?

Do we find anything valuable on the goblins?

Ebenezer is amazed at how quickly his companions dispatched the goblins. He holds his concentration, even though he knows the spell will last a while without it. He does not wish to be responsible for what the group decides to do with the last goblin.

He begins to feel afraid, alone in the tunnel. He walks forward until he is a few steps inside the goblin camp, where his companions can see him.

Ebenezer stays put.

Ebenezer stays where he is, maintaining the hypnotic pattern.

Ebenezer hears Roine's plan and begins to form a better opinion of his own chances for survival. An earth elemental... he thinks, and remembers the earth elemental gem in his pocket, thinking back to all the times he was tempted to use it before finding some other way out of his troubles.

Whispering, "How many are there? Should I call in reinforcements?"

Roine, it is comforting to know that you command reinforcements. If the goblins are close together, we may not need them yet. But I fear that it may not be so easy... something may go wrong. Then I hope your minions are swift and silent. We must not let the goblins know we are here.

Ebenezer steps forward to get the best view for his spell.

Ebenezer says, Blackleaf, I cannot fight, so I will try to fascinate them with an illusion. I can hold them as long as needed, so don't attack indiscriminately. Go for the ones that avoid the spell.

Initiative 1d20+3=19

Ebenezer prepares to catch as many goblins as possible in the 10 foot radius of the hypnotic pattern. He hopes that they are gathered closely around their fire.

Number of HD affected 2d4+3=7

EDIT: The save DC is Will 17, no verbal component. Range 130 ft, 10 ft radius area of effect. Duration: concentration +3 rounds

OK, from the above description of events, I assume Ebenezer didn't actually cast Minor Image yet, so I still have it for later.

Ebenezer knows the Goblin language and tries to hear what they are saying.
Perception 1d20+6=12

Ebenezer doesn't want the goblins to sound an alarm, so he prepares to cast hypnotic pattern if more than two goblins see them (he assumes that the others can be counted on to neutralize one or two).

EDIT: Ah, I missed the fact that Talam already chose the left tunnel. I was thinking the same by coincidence.

No one chose a tunnel? Hm, if no one else is going to choose, I'll say door number one: left.

Ebenezer's mind is wandering. He wonders if he could hide himself as someone's backpack. He imagines dying in a goblin ambush while Blackleaf rages to no effect in the cramped, thorny tunnel. If I die, it's all your fault he says.

EDIT: Never mind my tunnel selection if we're waiting on the results of Mirni's tracking.

I would feel safer if Blackleaf wasn't gimped by crouching in one of these tunnels. I fear goblin mischief ahead.

Ebenezer doesn't like any of the tunnels and will stay close to the others regardless of which they choose. When the group selects a tunnel, he will cast Minor Image of a crouching human scouting the chosen trail a little ahead of the group (complete with the sounds of tramping feet and the uncomfortable noises a crouching human makes). I like a little advance notice of goblin mischief, so a decoy may be just the thing he will say, unless the group forms some other plan that does not involve choosing a tunnel, in which case he will save his spell.

It sounds like we know there is a goblin lair on the other side of the thicket, so I assume we have all been updated by Mirni, or else this information was shared earlier in the thread (before I joined).

Ebenezer says quietly I think a fire is a terrific way to announce our approach. Talam, can you spot traps or alarms on the path as easily as you spotted this entrance? Ebenezer makes a deferential gesture to indicate that he is happy to let Talam take the lead. Maybe the rest of us can think of a suitable gift for our hosts?

Ebenezer looks at Talam to signify that he heard but says nothing. He strains to listen for Mirni and whatever may be happening wherever she has gone.

Perception d20+6=17

Ebenezer sees Mirni pass through the thicket like it isn't there. He touches the thicket to reassure himself that it isn't an illusion. Impressive, he thinks, but he is afraid to say anything because of what might hear him inside or on the other side of the thicket. I hope there is nothing dangerous in there, since she has cut herself off from the rest of us. He glances at the other party members to see if any of them share his concern.

Perhaps there is an animal nearby that could supply helpful advice. Ebenezer says nothing yet but is on the lookout. In particular he is looking for evidence of a burrow that he might call into.

Also, he suspects magic...

In Chapter 2 there is a machine that

Would this also give access to the appropriate feat pool at level up?

I'm unsure because: