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We've made it to Longshadow and now we part ways. Y'all, it has been a real treat playing at this table! I've had a lot of fun playing Gaius/Flopsy and interacting with the players here in a different way (our characters are quit different between games!). I wish y'all all the best here and irl!
Gaius smiles as everyone says their goodbyes. Flopsy just sticks out her tongue. "I've grown so much traveling with you all. I barely recognize myself anymore..." he admits. "We'll do our best for Longshadow and I know you'll do the same! Farewell and stay safe! We'll do the same, running away is what I do best, after all!"
"As to keeping an eye on some... key individuals, I think that Flopsy and I have some thoughts on the matter. We've been conversing and I think there is a lot we can offer the people of Longshadow by staying here," Gaius says. "We can organize things in town while everyone else takes the fight to the Ironfang camps, while also keeping an eye on it's people."
Well with Bluff as the first round skill, I think Lily is going to have to take this one! Looking back at the skills we listed above, Esperanza is our best shot at diplomacy and intimidate, Thorek at Sense Motive, and Gaius with Local. We don't have to go by best rolls if there are any in-character reasons to do it another way, just sharing what the numbers are telling me! :)
I'm partial to keeping it simple, especially with most of the characters not having much in the way of social skills (this is a wilderness adventure after all!). At a physical table, this would be a great time for people not involved to stretch their legs, get some refreshments, etc., but on PbP it can drag things out. Unless one of our faces would rather have a verbal duel (I've said my piece and will ride the wave no matter what!), I say we pursue the simple option.
No wonder Longshadow is in shambles, the Mayor is perpetually boozing! We've certainly got our work cut out for us now... Let's hope we've the same talent for patching things up as we do for disassembling Hobgoblins. Gaius twiddles his thumbs as the others get to the talking bit with the Mayor. So many ideas for how to improve this town, if it makes it through the siege. Infrastructure is crumbling, so roads, causeways, and bridges will need fixing. Think of the jobs that'd make! And the gold it'd bring in! Hmm...
I've seen this smooth parts like this along, so I say we get organized here before posting proper in the gameplay thread! Please reply to this post and add your PC's name to checks they can hit the DC 15 check. Local is all Gaius' got, so he's going to be trying to do a lot of aiding I guess! City Walls - Craft (Stonemasonry), Knowledge (Engineering), Profession (Stonemason). Internal Defenses - Craft (Alchemy, Carpentry, Stonemasonry, or Traps), Diplomacy, or Knowledge (Local). Gaius (Local +15) Militia Drills - Intimidate or Profession (Soldier). Siege Supplies - Profession (Baker, Cook, Farmer, or Trapper) or Survival. Townsfolk Readiness - Diplomacy, Heal, or Profession (Soldier).
"Heavens know Longshadow needs all the help it can get..." Gaius mumbles, calling the dilapidated walls to mind. "You've clearly been here longer than us, is there anything in the town that could be attended to?"
Gaius nurses a drink. I do NOT want to be the Mayor right now! He doesn't even know what's sort of Hell is coming for him, and that's before we factor in the Hobgoblins!
Gaius stands around and tries to look anywhere but at the hugging knights. A few moments in, he just turns around. "How long do these sorts of things last?"
Gaius is about to hand a dossier to Thorek when he Once they've had a chance to say their piece, he hands his information over to the Dwarf. "Sorry for being so slow..." he mutters.
BAAAABIIIIIIIIEEEEES! :D Congratulations to you and your wife! :D
"It doesn't feel fair to say, but it feels disheartening," Gaius admits. "All we've already done to give Longshadow their best shot, yet we arrive and, at least on first impressions, it seems like they aren't pulling their own wait! Not that it changes my intentions," he clarifies. "Time, information, and specialized help is all we can give them I think. Hopefully they are resistant to the news..."
"Perhaps their magic is limited? Or, perhaps, they wish to create a two-pronged assault? If I were in charge of a legion of able-bodied and well-organized minions, baiting anyone who can actually dispose of them into a disadvantageous position would be my first order of business," Gaius theorizes. "Even the best soldiers would be hard-pressed physically and practically to fight a battle on two fronts, not to mention the emotional stressors of knowing the enemy is in the same place as your home and loved ones."
"I think we have some choices ahead of us. The more time we give Longshadow to prepare for a siege, the better. But the more camps we're able to disable, the less they actually have to prepare for... I say we head to Longshadow to warn them, then work our way West, then North until the Ironfang decide to actually start their siege," Gaius suggests.
Gaius flinches and covers his ears at all the sudden screeching. As the metal bars bend, he smiles at the Gnomish prisoner. "See?" Prisoners freed, he begins scanning for magic.
"Sure thing, some of my friends are talking to those Harpies about, uh, your ownership. We won't be keeping you, but I don't think it is in anyone's best interest to make that known before the Harpies leave," Gaius tries to explain. I'll leave it to the others to talk about Hidden Hope. Don't want to get her too excited and tipping off the Harpies! Flopsy'd never let me hear the end of that one...
Having not actually gotten into the conversation with the Harpies, Gaius slips over to the imprisoned Gnome. "You, uh, susurrated?"
Gaius shares what he knows of these Carrion Brides.
"Mixed messages, Thorek, sir! I can't go back to you if you've already come to meeee!" Gaius wails as his beating continues. Leaping off the edge of the cliff, he rips a portal into the fabric of space and belly flops with a hearty into the dirt between two tents. He groans as he pushes himself back up. "Oh look, my wand!" He scoops up his Fireball wand off of the floor from where he unceremoniously dropped it earlier.
Gaius stares up at the singing Harpy. "Wooooow..."
Gaius' eyes glaze over a little and he cocks his head to better capture the most luxuriant sound waves that have graced his ears. "Good Heavens! Do you hear that? I must discover what marvelous creature is conducting this symphony! Perhaps it is an unique Fey variant!" he muses as he approaches the sound.
"I'll keep those Harpies busy!" Gaius promises as he launches a red hot bead from the tip of a wand. Hurtling towards the winged menaces, it strikes the middle one with a soft *thmp* before erupting into a huge ball of flame. He ducks between some tents before the bead's even struck.
Gaius has feather fall! Consuming a level 4 spell slot for 4 arcane points [7] Quickstudy Displacement into Heroism [6] for 80 minutes on Esperanza and Thorek. He casts Mage Armor, then Quickstudies [5] it into Feather Fall for an orbital drop of our frontline! Quickstudy Arcane Eye into Dimenion Door [4] and Heroism into Fly [3]. Right before the drop happens, he casts Extended Haste on the party. Ready!
Harpy duty it is! :)
The DC isn't great, but Gaius has that wand of Fireball! :) He also has a scroll of Black Tentacles to bust out. Since this looks like a big/serious fight, shall we take a second to coordinate buffs and tactics?
"Let's bring the fight to them!" Gaius cheers with a fist raised. "Magic to bolster fighting arms and fire to singe theirs, they won't know what hit them!"
Gaius turns to Thorek for a decision.
Shit mate, all my love to you and your family! *hugs* Do what you need to do.
In another thread, the GM mentioned they've got some family stuff going on which is impacting their posting time.
Gaius almost manages to take the full brunt of Thorek's thump, but does his best to look as tough as possible. He responds with his best guess at what a manly grunt would be. "Undari, while admittedly it would be through no risk on my end, I think the more we can provide Longshadow, the better off we will all be."
"That was horrifying! If we hadn't ended it now, imagine the countless citizens and would-be-heroes it would likely have laid waste to..." Gaius says softly. So many would have died. We were fortunate ourselves too, as Undari said. "Your whirlwind was a wonder to behold and no doubt the reason why we were spared the extent of it's Evil! Now then, what, uh, what's the plan again?"
"DON'T LET IT TOUCH YOOOOOU!" Gaius yells at Thorek. He starts casting another round of force bolts.
Gaius sputters and starts as Torrak gestures for him to hurry it up. I'm firing so many missiles already! I'm even using that loop hole I found for a whole other missile! What else am I supposed to do? "I'm doing everything I can," he mutters weakly. When Undari funnels the mist out, his eyes go wide. "Scatter!" he shouts, firing more arcane energy as he runs.
PPPPPFFFFFFF "All that really happens" If that isn't the understatement of the year! Did you look at the Trench Mist info? As far as I'm concerned, Undari is keeping us from what very well could have been a TPK!
Gaius reddens a little at Flopsy's order, on the one hand not sure at all what she's talking about and on the other uncertain if his friends will take that as some sort of insinuation. Nevertheless, he unleashes another barrage.
Gaius flinches at the undeserved chastisement, but does his best to power through. I'll pay for that later, I just know it! Unless the cloud takes me first... hmmmm... But then it might get the others! Resolved to save his friends, he unleashes a barrage of raw arcane that collide with Undari's new pet cloud.
Gaius shrugs, hands forwards and palms up. "Basically that. Unless you wish to die, there is no amount of time you should be spending in the grasp of the cloud. Caution is less exciting, but will likely win the day," he elaborates. Snapping his fingers, everything slows down from his allies' perspectives.
"Wind of enough strength should do it, but the cloud's movement independent of the wind suggests to me that this is more than it appears. It is worth trying though. If we can't handle what happens afterwards, we can always flee," Gaius points out.
"I suppose our intentions for the town will dictate what we wish to do about it. It doesn't appear to be going anywhere, so if we don't wish to send people back here, we could just go around it. Otherwise, I fear we'll have to move closer and hope our abilities can dissipate it," Gaius outlines.
Gaius thinks hard about what exactly he's looking at.
Just FYI to my fellow players, I asked a little more about the nature of the cloud in my spoiler to the GM :)
That can't be good... "Hey! Everyone! Bring it in!" Gaius whispers urgently. "Look there," he says, pointing to some trenches to the northern edge of town. "See the cloud? It doesn't move with the wind and is fierce with magic. I'm unsure what it is as of yet, but I'm wary of getting much closer. What should we do about it?"
GM: Is there a knowledge/spellcrarft to go with it? The not moving part suggests a creature, but if I were hellbent on razing a town, Cloudkill, even on scrolls, would totally be on the menu!
Gaius looks over the ruined town with a deep sadness. Hopefully we get to Longshadow in time before this is their fate too. How can anyone see this and think war is the answer?
Sorry for my absence, I got the goblins one day and then couldn't log in for the other!
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