Hey everyone. I'm so sorry for being MIA for so long, I intended to say something a lot sooner. Unfortunately, the move did not go as smoothly as I had hoped. I don't have either the place or the job that I thought I was going to have. I do have some friends helping me out, but I'm currently scrambling to get things back on track and I don't really know how long that's going to be.
I'll give you another update when the situation changes. I'm sorry I don't have better news, and I completely understand if people would rather not wait around.
Every time I think things are calming down, they start going crazy again. I'm going to be travelling for the next month, then moving into a new place after that. Sorry everyone, but I'm gonna have to leave the game on the backburner for a while.
It's been a while since we've needed a map
Finally! Third time's the charm, I guess.
If it goes down like that again, I'll post something to roll20, so check there if you can.
On the next floor up, you see several panicked and disordered goblins scrambling about. Two of them are fighting each other to get up the ladder to the roof, slowing each other down. A group of four are throwing anything they can get their hands on down the stairs, from rotten food and bones to torches and half charred scrolls. The last goblin is climbing through the window to try and make his escape.
Yes, it murdered the goblin quite effectively. My last post got eaten , but I'll redo it tonight
The first goblin was already shouting before you hexed him. It's the ones you haven't seen yet raising the alarm
I am corrected, the goblin does not see mess from the fight. Regardless...
You are able to take down the goblin before it is able to make it back up the stairs, but not before he shouts to his allies. From above, you hear echoes of "Longshanks! Longshanks! Sound alarm!"
1d20 ⇒ 1
1d20 ⇒ 8
Once everyone settles into their hiding places, Vitranna sets off a cacophonous spell that sounds like a bugbear getting into a nasty accident. You hear some movement and chatter from above but it's difficult to make out. After a few minutes, a single goblin takes a few steps down and pokes his head out over the side of the stairs.
In goblin: "Hey! Where is yous guys?"
1d20 ⇒ 15
The goblin narrows his eyes and sniffs at the air. He looks at the battle damaged table, fresh blood spilled all around it. Then, his gaze falls on Valeriya and he panics.
"Longshanks! It's the longshanks!"
Aside from their weapons and armor, the bugbears are carrying 30 gold between them. One of them was also carrying a potion of cure light wounds.
Viska sniffs at the air and picks up the scent of about six more goblinoids. However, the harsh smell of garbage overwhelms their scent and makes them difficult to pinpoint.
From what you've seen so far, the layout seems identical to the Broken Tower
As far as I know, the app has been abandoned. I heard someone was working on a replacement, but I'm not sure how far off that's going to be.
Miya(bot) whispers from the stairs. I hear movement, but don't see anyone yet. It doesn't look like they are coming this way.
Lera did go before Jolis in the initiative.
With two quick strikes, and a bit of extra help, Jolis is able to take down the bugbear advancing on Vitranna. With nothing in her way now, she can step forward and spear Grelda's opponent from behind. With one last swing, Grelda finishes the last bugbear.
Will save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14
Vitranna should get another action here before the bugbears go.
Jolis manages to take down one of the bugbears with one powerful strike, as Vitranna and Grelda fight their opponents.
Jolis, I'll give you flanking on your second attack. Let me know which one you're going after and roll damage.
If the bugbears survive the round
Attack vs Grelda: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Attack vs Vitranna: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Bugbears don't have much dex. Even flat-footed, they still have an AC of 16.
Jolis connects with his second swing, but the enemy is still on his feet. He draws the morningstar from his belt and takes a swing.
Attack vs Jolis: 1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 5 - 2 = 15
Damage: 1d8 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 3 - 2 = 8
The other two bugbears still on their feet go after Grelda and Vitranna
Attack vs Grelda: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Attack vs Vitranna: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Will save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Miya shifts into her human form on the stairs and draws her blade, ready to cut down anyone who tries to get past her. Before the bugbear on the ground is able to get up, Grelda brings her club down on his head a second time and he goes limp. Vitranna's spear comes close once again, but her target dives out of his chair just before it hits. Jolis is less lucky.
gm roll: 1d10 ⇒ 1
As Jolis moves in to attack, he steps in what looks and smells like some several weeks old fruit and starts to slip. He manages to catch himself just before he goes down though.
Jolis, anything else before bugbears go?
Bugbears are last. Party gets another round!
Is Miya still travelling?
While not the stealthiest approach, the bugbears are too preoccupied to pay much attention. They seem to chalk it up to Yud having more trouble than expected with the 'rats'. You reach the top of the stairs to see a group of four bugbears sitting around a table, with a fifth seat left empty. The room is spacious enough to manuever 6x6 squares but full of the mess and clutter one would expect to find in a goblin den. The bugbears are too focused on their food and games to notice you at first, but with nowhere to hide, it won't take them long to spot you.
One more surprise round. Call the bugbears 1-4 to pick your targets. And go!
Jolis moves in first, muffling the bugbear, but Yud starts to struggle and knocks his sword away with the club. Luckily, Grelda and Vitranna are ready, and with two quick strikes, he collapses in Jolis's grip. It's over before he can make a sound and the guards upstairs continue with their game.
Yud stomps downstairs, grumbling about the rats and dragging a club behind him. He moves over to fallen pile of crates, looking at the ground and around the corners. He doesn't seem to notice anything out of place...
Surprise round! Take your shots
Perception: 1d20 + 8 - 10 ⇒ (19) + 8 - 10 = 17
You move across the basement and ascend the stairs quickly and silently...or, mostly silently. Jolis is already halfway up the stairs when Grelda bumps into a precarious stack of crates, sending them toppling over. The commotion upstairs pauses.
"Whassat? Another rat? It's your turn to kill this one, Yud."[/d]
[b]"Fine, fine. Gimme yer club."
In her fox form, Miya is able to scout out the basement fairly quickly and without drawing attention. For now, the room is empty save for a few crates of food, alcohol, and other 'taxes' claimed from Ruin Village. It appears as if someone might be skimming some of the take for themselves.
There's a ladder in the basement leading further up, and you can hear some commotion coming from upstairs. From the sound of it, a bunch of rowdy bugbears settling in at the end of their guard shift. Jolis can understand their chatter; mostly arguing over dice games and who owes money to who.
I should be able to post tomorrow! I've mostly gotten things under control, I just need to get back to a computer.
I hope so too. I've just been in crisis mode for the last month. Nearing the end of the tunnel though.
Sorry again!
Finding the entrance to the tunnel is a bit trickier this time. This one is well hidden, but you're able to spot a rather unnatural formation of stones that conceal the entrance. With a bit of heavy lifting, you can get inside. This tunnel is slightly smaller, and in slightly worse condition than the last one you found. But it is serviceable, and will take you beneath the tower.
Soon, you're able to locate the trapdoor you believe will take you directly into the enemy base. Now it's just time to plan your next move.
Yes, the once per day part can be used for any knowledge skill. Taking 20 in geography-
Looking around the area, Vitranna can remember some of the notes that Richard took before and several of his mutterings about the tunnel. Using that, and the layout of the tunnels they were in before, she know that there's very likely a hidden tunnel within a mile of the groups location. Pinpointing it might take some time, but if found, it would give you an easy way in.
[Ooc]To clarify, this is a much smaller building than the research station and worn by age. There are no signs of a forcefield. Geo or Engineering might be useful though.[\ooc]
It takes a few hours for Valeriya and Vitranna to finally catch up with the others. While Miya's group waits in hiding nearby, they see four different bugbears appear at the top of the tower, watching one at a time in shifts. But none come or go from the tower during this time. It's hard to say exactly how many are inside. The only entrance is the closed wooden door at the base.
There are open windows starting about ten feet off of the ground, and then more on each level. You can sometimes see hints of movement or light coming from them, but nothing distinct from where you are. The tower is four stories tall, not counting the guard post on the roof.
To enact Miya's plan, you will have to find a way inside.
Good. Was planning to update later tonight or tomorrow, depending on how I feel.
Miya's group: Tracking down an outpost isn't too difficult. Whether it's due to their hubris, or simple carelessness, the enemy troops don't make much effort to disguise their tracks. You know you're close when you start finding crude goblin "art" etched into tree trunks. Early in the second day, you find another ruined tower, similar to the one you hid from the otyugh in. This one is not nearly as damaged though, merely weathered, not destroyed. Some paltry defenses have been put up. A wall of wooden spikes, about three feet high, surrounds most of the tower, but there are several gaps interspersed throughout. Good for slowing down a charging battalion, but not much good for deterring a group your size.
As you scout around, you quickly realize that the wall is mostly for show. Several other traps are hidden in the forest around the outpost. Tripwires set to release deadly spikes, camouflaged bear traps, and hidden pitfalls litter the area. Grelda comes close to stepping into one, but notices just moments before her foot came down. A larger group storming the place, or even just a careless scout, would likely be ripped to shreds.
The sun is setting as Miya's group heads into the forest for their "picnic". The immediate area around the village is relatively quiet, thanks to the hunters' diligent patrols. You have to travel several miles before you start to notice the first signs of danger. The road west is well-worn and littered with detritus from Grin's monthly caravans to and from the village. From what you've learned, this leads to an outpost very near to the palace, but you don't have any more information than that.
When Valeriya and Vitranna set out the next morning, they're able to pick up the trail (with Viska's keen nose helping them along), but the others have a head start. It will take some time to catch up.
Miya's group, how far do you plan on travelling before you stop? Do you plan on attacking the first target you find? Is Grelda using her marching song?
Hey everyone. Thank you for being patient with me so far. I just wanted to discuss a couple of things going forward.
First off, I just want to let you know that I have no intention of ending this game early. As long as I have players, I'm gonna keep it going. But work has been a lot more draining than I expected and I have much less free time than I thought I would. It helps that several of my other games are ended, so I can focus more on this one, but things will be slow going for a while.
So if you all are fine with less frequent posting, we can continue as we are, and it will just take a little longer to reach the end than I expected. But if you would prefer not to let the game drag on that long, then I can fast track us towards the ending. It just depends on what you all want to get out of the game.
Either way, it's likely that once we finish here, I won't be starting up another PBP for a while. So all of my RP focus is going to be here.
Currently late afternoon/early evening, about an hour before sunset.
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Let's just try to keep it daytime tv appropriate, if you please.
He's done for now. The group is all back together, so you can fill each other in
Are you all meeting back up now? Or is Jolis still with Subhash?
Miya Setsuko Fuyaki wrote: Maya looks at him.
"I am trained in the art of war, The way of battle says, if you have truck them enemy and unexpected blow, strike again before they can counter. Our next move then should be send a small tactical band to strike deep and hard onto there territory right away. Hurt them again and force them pull back and rethink. That will give your troops time to heal, and if done right cause mayhem for the other side All with risk of the the loss of a small force on the line.
Jolis will lead this force and I will support, we have the skills, all we need is a suitable target they will not expect us to dear to attack. Food supply lines or stock piles wold be good."
She says with out missing a beat.
The old man looks back at Miya, his eyes narrowed as if he were examining her for the first time. "It seems you aren't just speaking on a whim. You have put some serious thought into this. But you must consider the risks of your plan. If you misstep at any point along the way, we may not get another chance like this."
"I'm not going to order any attack just yet. I'm still going to do what I can to salvage my plan. But this has always been a town of adventurers and risk takers. We cooperate the best we can, but it's never been our way to try to control one another. If you can get the people to support you, then I won't stand in your way."
Stormspeaker Vitranna wrote: Nodding, Vitranna agrees and points to the map herself.
"Good scouting and intelligence would help. I don't know yet on the amount of time we have available, but the sooner we get some people out there, the sooner we have it. On my word Liz...I'll take the blame on this if I need to...please send two or three of your most trusted foresters and scout the enemy ASAP. Remember: NO retaliation. NO alarms. Tell them to back away to avoid any new confrontations as first priority. The enemy will be on alert now, so don't take any chances, especially if any new actionable intelligence comes to light."
Several hunters clamor for a chance to volunteer, but Liz silences them all with a sharp whistle. She chooses three she trusts most for the mission, and sends the rest to make other preparations.
"Like she says, this is a scouting mission only. You don't fight, you don't engage. Most importantly, don't let yourselves get caught. Take enough supplies for a week's trip. I'll see you when you return."
Once everyone has left to gear up for the mission, Liz turns to Vitranna and places a hand on her shoulder. "Don't get the wrong idea. I wouldn't do this if I didn't think it was our best move. If this does go south, it's not on you."
Stormspeaker Vitranna wrote: Looking oddly at the question, Vitranna nods.
"I took her magical crossbow bolt? Does that count as proof? We buried her magical armor at the location we killed her since none of us could use it. I believe one of the others took her magical weapon."
She pulls out the crossbow bolt to show them the item as proof.
The hunters mutter back and forth, some grinning excitedly while others still seem skeptical. Liz simply nods. She's spent enough time with Vitranna by now to trust her earnestness.
"They must have seriously underestimated you to put their necromancer in harm's way like that. Those undead were the central pillar of the enemy army. Without a replenishable fighting force, the enemy will have to be much more careful about how they use their resources now. That tips the scales back in our favor a bit." The ranger crosses the room and gestures for Vitranna to follow. She spreads a map of the island across the table and points to several locations around the palace.
"Our scouts were never able to make it past these points because of the undead guards roaming around. With them out of the way, we might be able to get a better picture of the enemy's troop movements."
Miya wrote: "That is interesting they will have to come to you, so you control the killing field, and you know they are coming that means you have the advantage, if It was I, I would turn this town into a Giant death trap. Let think think your running, pull them in and think their ranks. Have some make a bolt out of the town but you control the path, make that a death trap too. Thin them down until you out number them and then kill them all." Subhash scoffs. "Guerilla warfare. Yes, I had a similar plan. But it will be much more difficult to pull off now that you have raised the alarm. The enemy are on guard now, and it's unlikely they will walk into the same trap twice."
"The bigger obstacle is our own fighting force. Most of our fighters are still recovering from injuries suffered in our last battle, and the rest are too demoralized to even consider fighting back. Turning them into a capable army will take time."
Jolis wrote: Jolis looks to Miya and then back to Subash. "I'll..need to confer with all my sexy advisors, but Miya's plan has merit. Ironing out the details, you know."
The big warrior continues, "In the meantime, we have new notes and information about the other scientific sites to share."
Subhash nods and gestures towards the armor on his desk. "Very well. Clean this mess up and we can discuss what you've learned. But know that they expect to hear my answer within the week. I can't buy you any more time than that."
Hey everybody. I just wanted to let you know that I just started working a new job and it's been leaving me pretty exhausted. I'm supposed to have the day off tomorrow, so as long as I don't get called in last minute, I'll be able to catch up on posting then. If I do end up working, I will absolutely make time this weekend.
Looks very cool!
Sorry for the delays, it's been a busy week. I'll try to post tonight.
Subhash stops writing as the armor clatters to the desk in front of him. He looks up at you, clearly frustrated but holding back his anger. "So, you managed to kill her after all. I suppose I should thank you for that. You've eliminated a major part of their fighting force. However, you've also forced my hand before I was ready. My preparations are incomplete, and I no longer have a bargaining position that allows me to stall."
"Now I've been given an ultimatum. If I don't give her the globe and the friends of the man from Krypton, then the entire army is going to come down on this place. Yet I have no globe, and I have no intention of sacrificing you, foolish as you may be. So, what do you propose we do?"
I believe there were 10 skeletons, so 10 of each item. Remember that the armor all had the broken condition. You can sell them at half value, as normal.
It doesn't take long to conduct your business in the market. At the bar, Durga keeps Grelda's drinks coming for as long as she wants them to. He makes a bit of small talk, but he doesn't ask about where you've been or what happened to you. Everyone in the village has stories they'd rather not relive, including him, so he's learned not to ask too many questions.
Across town, the hunters welcome Vitranna back with smiles and food, eager to hear about her travels. One of the older men listens intently and takes notes in a worn journal. Once or twice, someone interrupts with a bad joke before getting booed into silence by the rest. But when at the mention of the Drow everyone freezes.
"You killed the necromancer..." one of them says softly.
Liz pushes the others aside and moves closer, looking serious. "Do you have any proof? An ear, a weapon - anything you could have taken off of her?"
In the Temple
When Jolis and Miya arrive at the temple, Erik finds them quickly. "Subhash has been expecting you. Please, come along." He leads you upstairs to a private study that you didn't see before, where Subhash sits behind a desk.
"I don't suppose either of you would like to tell me why I'm receiving death threats, would you?" he asks without looking up from his work.
Sure, we'll say it was. Who can remember.
"Safe travels, my friends. May the Mothers' blessings be with you."
Eilena and her sisters see you safely out of their territory. From there, the trip back to Ruin Village is an easy one. You are all stronger and faster than you were the last time you made this journey, and better equipped. When you arrive this time, the village is business as usual. The Market is busy and Durga's bar is open. Acquaintances greet you as you pass by, but none seem to have the time for an extended chat.
I'll let people take care of any shopping or other business they have now. I'll save that roll for when you leave the village.
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