Search Posts
For what it matters (to Krauz in particular,) Kazu also has an Oath against Mercy and I think that the archers took all their shots at him. His plan is definitely to track them down and put an end to them off camera at this point. The fact that they were aiming at Kazu (as far as I can tell,) should make it easier for Krauz to go along with heading off with the rest of the group perhaps?
Kazu frowns at the fleeing archers before returning to the group. "These bandits are making this area completely unsafe for travel in the area. They're well organized and could have been dangerous for less prepared caravans. I know that Akara's clan needs our help as well, but that should drow and xulgaths should be well within your abilities to deal with without me. I'm going to track down those that fled to their camp and judge their strength. If this was most of the group I can probably take care of them now, but if they have a stronger presence I'll get help from the guards back in V'run. Based on what they said earlier they'll probably be willing to mount a force to help me take care of this issue if I can bring good intelligence to them." "The rest of you should journey on with Akara for now. I'll catch up when I'm finished here if possible."
Inspire Courage: +2 Competence to hit and damage (from Vhinservun)
Kazu punches out at the archer in front of him when he fires his bow, but fails to take down the opponent. Gritting his teeth he then launches into another mobile assault on the remaining foes, his strikes less impactful than they have been so far, but still, he hopes, effective enough to take down the bandits. hit
Using Advancing Carnage to take a 5 foot step to the east and attack an opponent adjacent to the one I just hit (1st use of up to 4.)
Using Advancing Carnage to attack an opponent adjacent to the one I just hit (2nd use of up to 4.)
Additional attack using Monk Weapon Training.
Using Reaper's Momentum to make an free attack after reducing an enemy to 0 hp.
With the bandits directly in front of him now on the ground, Kazu whirls and faces those to the west of him. Pointing at them and yelling a warcry as he dashes across the battle towards them.
Kazu's AC for the round is 35 (-2 from berserking, +3 from tight focus.) If the two adjacent to Kazu make ranged attacks without taking a five foot step or some such they provoke attacks of opportunity, so I'll roll those in case they don't think of it. hit
hit
Dropping to the ground, Kazu pulls an arrow out of his leg and sniffs it, smelling the poison. Turning his glare at the remaining archers he cracks his knuckles and spits out a snarled, "I felt that." Inspire Courage: +2 Competence to hit and damage (from Vhinservun)
First save done Move 5 feet SE and shove the archer at 0 hp. Since they're wielding ranged weapons this shouldn't provoke attacks of opportunity.
hit
Using Reaper's Momentum to make an free attack after reducing an enemy to 0 hp.
Using Advancing Carnage to move 5 feet (to the east) and attacking an opponent adjacent to the one hit with the first attack (1st use of up to 4)
Using Reaper's Momentum to make an free attack after reducing an enemy to 0 hp (2nd and last time it can be used this round.)
Using Advancing Carnage to move 5 feet (to the northeast) and attacking an opponent adjacent to the one hit with the first attack (2nd use of up to 4)
Using Monk Weapon Training to make additional attack.
That should take out the one that was at 0 hp and five others leaving 3 to the east side and four standing to the west as far as the southern group goes.
Kazu's AC for the round is 35 (-2 from berserking, +3 from tight focus.) If the one adjacent to Kazu makes a ranged attack without taking a five foot step or some such, so I'll roll those in case they don't think of it. hit
Kazu grunts as the poison on one of the arrows takes hold.
Physical Resistance: At 4th level, if a martial artist suffers any effect that causes ability damage, ability drain, or temporary ability score penalties, the effect is reduced by 1 point. This reduction increases by 1 for every four levels beyond 4th (to a maximum reduction of 5 at 20th level).
This is about the best sort of situation for Kazu to do lots of damage (low AC enemies clumped closely together,) but I'm thinking that this will probably be his last fight and that he'll stay behind after this encounter. We're up to five characters which should be a good core, and Kazu is I think optimized differently from the rest of the group, whereas Vhinservun should fit the flow a bit better.
Joke's on them. Krauz works better when he's not out in direct sunlight!
Hearing the voice order an attack Kazu focuses on the enemies he's detected up the southern slop. Losing himself in a rage and letting out a battle cry to strengthen the resolve of his comrades, he then focuses on his arm and warps above the head of one of the archers lurking up the slope to the south. Stance (the one listed as current before combat started): Primal Warrior Stance (attacks count as two size categories larger)
(hits)
Using Reaper's Momentum to make an free attack after reducing an enemy to 0 hp.
Using Reaper's Momentum again (can only use twice per round) to make a free attack after reducing an enemy to 0 hp.
Using Advancing Carnage to attack an enemy adjacent to the first one attacked (the one to the SW, 1st use of up to 4).
Using Advancing Carnage to attack an enemy adjacent to the last one attacked with advancing carnage (2nd use of up to 4)
Second attack from Monk Weapon Training
Using Advancing Carnage to attack an enemy adjacent to the last one attacked with advancing carnage (3nd use of up to 4)
Using Advancing Carnage to attack an enemy adjacent to the last one attacked with advancing carnage (4th use of up to 4)
That should take out the one below Kazu, the one to his west, the one to his southwest, the one to his south, and the one to his southeast. The one to his east has 2 hp. Kazu's AC for the round is 35 (-2 from berserking, +3 from tight focus)
So I'm trying to figure out what makes sense for line of sight at this point. I'm planning on using Pouncing Teleport to get to and attack some enemies. With the ridges and the lip I assume that sight would be blocked to the bandit leader, so I won't be able to attack her easily this turn but please correct me if that's wrong. Would teleporting to directly above the bandits by the ridge and then using Float (description below) to stay above them and attack from higher ground be an option? Would that get around their cover? Float: Float: Until the beginning of her next turn, the drifting lotus unmoors herself from the bonds of the earth. She does not take fall damage, and falls at a rate of 60 ft. per round. In addition, she may turn a fall into a glide, moving an equal distance in a horizontal direction of her choice. Finally, she can choose to simply hover instead of falling, hanging in place until some other force moves her or until her next turn begins.
A warm up with some bandits in the wood to see what we do sounds just fine to me! Although we only had a total of one post by the party between learning of the route through the wailing woods with its potential bandits and our arrival there (so not a lot of chance to say we might be taking precautions,) I'm pretty sure that Vhinservun and Kazu are both untroubled at the thought of bandits, so they probably wouldn't have bothered with buffs anyhow (other than the all day ones which we'll start using the after this encounter.) For initiative, do you want us all to go in strict order, or shall the party act as we log in regardless of initiative until we get to the enemies turn in initiative (so Krauz, Kolvar and I just take our turns as we're able to at this point?)
How much of the map is difficult terrain for movement purposes?
I put Soto on the map and fixed it so that we're all at a reasonable place on the trail (and the map itself is re-centered.) I don't think that this particular group has anyone who needs to be protected by being in the middle or rear of the group, so I didn't work too hard to make sure we were tactically situated, but if anyone wants to change up our positions that's fine with me.
Letting the others talk, Kazu uses the voice that just spoke, the sounds of the arrows being nocked he heard before and his 120 foot darkvision to try to determine the precise location of an enemy, or even better, a group of them clumped close together.
On the way out of the Broken Arms Kazu taps Sotor on the shoulder and motions for him to come with the rest. "You're here to join the Companions, yes? Well here's your chance, but we're headed out the door. You should come with." Once outside the monk eyes the river dubiously. "We could probably find a boat, sure, but we can also walk and not need to bother with it. I reckon Krauz here can look big and scary enough as we go that people wouldn't even notice a kobold among us, especially if he stays in the middle of our group. We're not looking for trouble, and I'd rather not find it here in town, so shall we try to just take a casual stroll out the gates?"
Finally speaking up from the corner where he's been sitting, watching the others eat, Kazu grunts his agreement. "Berronar Truesilver certainly wouldn't want me to leave her people enslaved, so I agree. Let's set out to free Akara's clan and put down this threat from the Underoerth before it can gain a firmer foothold to invade the surface lands."
Thanks for the heads up on what's happening! I've been quite, but still about and watching with interest like the rest.
This looks like a fun adventure! I (Zorblag, should any care,) present Kersk, the Dwaven Geokineticist for your consideration. Role:
Kersk is a ranged or melee striker with the ability to do some scouting and trap disarming (though he will not be able to detect magic until and unless an item allows for it.) He’ll develop a closer and closer ties to the earth as the campaign continues, as well as branching out to other elements to suit our needs as a party. Personality/Outlook:
Kersk is a somewhat degenerate dwarf. His family has been exiled from lands he never knew for an unknown breach of honor committed by his maternal grandfather. He wasn’t born in Diamond Lake, but he arrived there very young and watched his parents continue to fall into bad habits and debt before dying in a mine accident. It’s given him a fatalistic view of things and a tendency to keep his head down and persist, not trusting others to have his back and generally looking the other way when things are going wrong that don’t affect him directly. He’s not one much for humor, not having had the chance to participate in it much throughout his life, and not having close connections to use it with, but on the occasions he does decide something is valuable he’ll fight hard for it. His recent awakening of his power and subsequent work with Nogwier are opening his eyes to the importance of fighting for a cause bigger than just what’s valuable to himself, but it’s going to be a journey to get there giving his starting place. Kersk is a (miserable, downtrodden,) product of Diamond Lake just waking up to the idea that there might be other options out there.
Background:
“You want to know about how the earth talks to me? What exactly I hear and how it guides me? Can’t say I really understand that so well yet, but maybe I can tell ya how I come to hear them. Guess I’d best start with how I come to be here at all. “Ma and Pa weren’t from round here. They left their dwarf lands round when I was born because of somethin’ Grampa Ord, that’s Ma’s Pa, did. Don’ know what it were, but it was bad’nough that we had to change our name to Hammullslagdam. Used to jes be Hammull. Don’t mean much to me, but I know it bothered Ma specially, though she’d never say why, exactly. “Anyhow, after leavin’ the old lands Ma and Pa wandered the wilderness as they’d say, fore they came to Diamond Lake here and settled in to make a life best they could. Turns out maybe tha warn’t the best choice, but nothin’ to be done bout it now,is there? They found work in the mine fer Dourstone, though he was doin’ em a favor at the time, but learned fast‘nough that he don’ do no favors to anyone. I was left on me own to make what I could o’ the town and the packs of kids. Tried some to fit in, goin’ near that old dead tree when the others did on a dar and spendin’ the night in the Whispering Cairn to show em I was worth it, but none of em ever liked me much. Most jes let me be if I didn’t bother em, but a few a the bigger ones’d seek me out fer a beatin’ when they felt like it. “In any case, Ma and Pa didn’t make much in the mine. I did what I could out in town, findin’ food and stuff to try to help us get by, but it seemed like every month they jus owed more to Dourstone and the company store. I learnt to be clever with me hands, openin’ locks to get at stuff when no one was around, or fixin’ broke tools fer other miners and the like. I know Ma and Pa skrimped out every copper they could in the mine and other odd jobs as well, but nothin’ we could do seemed to help ease that debt in any real way. “An then there was the cave in down deep in the mine. Trapped both Ma and Pa and Dourstone didn’t do nothin’ to help em out. Stead, he jes came and told me that as their son their debt was mine now, so I’d best get to the mine myself and start workin’ it off. Didn’t have no choice, did I? So that’s what I did. “Don’t know if you ever tried it, but minin’s hard work. Yeh get used to the lack a light and the stuffy air. Yer body builds up over time too, but it never gets easy. And the quotas Dourstone sets, well, I could meet em some days, but you’d miss em now and then and less some other miner had some ta spare it was that much less to pay off the company store. Not many miners in there had any ta spare most days, though when they did they were better about it than the kids up in town had been. Can’t say I made friends down in the mine, but at least those stuck down there with me treated me as someone worth workin’ with. “And then it happened to me to, same as it did to Ma and Pa. I was way back in one of the deeper shafts on account of I could be there without needin’ to burn a torch and use up the fresh air better’n most of the others. The supports in some of them older shafts is jes rotten, specially where the water seeps in and I hadn’t noticed how ready to go one was. Somethin’ musta knocked it, cause next thing I knew it gave way and I had me very own cave in trappin’ me all on my own, with no one goin’ to come dig me out. “I tried to dig from my end of course. Had my pick and shovel, but there was too much water; and everything I did seemed to cause more rock to fall, given’ me less and less space to work with. I could get some air from cracks to some other space deeper in, but my diggin’ was gonna get me killed if I kept at it, so I stopped. I stopped and I sat there fer what felt like days. Prolly, was, though I didn’t have no way of knowin’ the time exactly. I think I slept once, maybe twice? I was in there fer a spell fer sure, I can tell ya that. “And that’s when it happened, when I was sittin’ there alone, waitin’ fer the air to run out, or fer hunger and thirst to take me. That’s when the rocks started to tell me what I needed to do. They didn’t use words of course, not exactly. Can’t say there were even sounds, but them rocks was whisperin’ to me, tellin’ me wha to poke at and where to dig. Some of em even started movin’ fer me, movin’ where I needed em to go. Some of the time rocks still do. The details get a bit fuzzy, but somehow I made my way out of the mine, through the cave in and back out into the fresh air of the night. “After that I didn’t head back to town. Instead I made my way into the woods. I knew enough about gettin’ by out there from when I was young that I could survive fer a bit at least. Made my way out there fer a bit before old Nogwier found me somehow and took me back to Bronzewood Lodge. That old druid’s been talkin’ to me since then. He says that what I’m hearin’, what I can do now, has somethin’ to do with the Old Faith crumblin’. He says that I’m bein’ called to do something about the comin’, well, I’m not quite clear on what’s supposed to be comin’. He’s got his people out searchin’ fer some sort of unkillable zombies and I’ve gone to help a couple times. Never found anything yet, but we seen things out there that make me think he’s not wrong that somethings comin’. “Anyhow, I’m back here near Diamond Lake jes to see what’s what, ya know? I’m stayin’ clear of the mines and Dourstone. Old dwarf’d probably try to send me right back into the mine to pay off me tab and I ain’t up fer that jes now. I can still move the rocks around and I can still, feel I guess you’d call it, em talkin’ to me, tellin’ me I got something I need to do. So that’s what people mean when they say the earth talks to me. Now I jes gotta figure out what to do about it.”
Build: Kersk Hammullslagdam NG Male Dwarf Kineticist 1 Medium humanoid (Dwarf) Init +5; Senses: Perception +13, Darkvision 90 ft. -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 15, Touch 13, Flat footed 12 (+2 Armor, +3 Dex) hp 12 (1d8 + 4) Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +2 Special Defenses: +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities
Ranged
--------------------
Languages: Common, Dwarven, Terran
Benefit: You gain trapfinding, as per the rogue ability. If you already have trapfinding, you gain a +2 bonus on Perception checks to spot hidden mechanisms.l Poverty Stricken (Social): Your childhood was tough, and your parents always had to make every copper piece count. Hunger was your constant companion, and you often had to live off the land or sleep in the wild. Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus on Survival checks, and Survival is always a class skill for you. Reactionary (Combat): You were bullied often as a child, but never quite developed an offensive response. Instead, you became adept at anticipating sudden attacks and reacting to danger quickly. Benefit: You gain a +2 trait bonus on initiative checks. Vagabond Child (Regional, Urban): You grew up among the outcasts and outlaws of your society, learning to forage and survive in an urban environment. Benefit: Select one of the following skills: Disable Device, Escape Artist, or Sleight of Hand. You gain a +1 trait bonus on checks with that skill, and it is always a class skill for you. Criminal (Social): +1 Disable Device, Disable Device a Class Skill
Elemental Focus (Su): Earth Burn (Ex): At 1st level, a kineticist can overexert herself to channel more power than normal, pushing past the limit of what is safe for her body by accepting burn. Some of her wild talents allow her to accept burn in exchange for a greater effect, while others require her to accept a certain amount of burn to use that talent at all. For each point of burn she accepts, a kineticist takes 1 point of nonlethal damage per character level. This damage can’t be healed by any means other than getting a full night’s rest, which removes all burn and associated nonlethal damage. Nonlethal damage from burn can’t be reduced or redirected, and a kineticist incapable of taking nonlethal damage can’t accept burn. A kineticist can accept only 1 point of burn per round. This limit rises to 2 points of burn at 6th level, and rises by 1 additional point every 3 levels thereafter. A kineticist can’t choose to accept burn if it would put her total number of points of burn higher than 3 + her Constitution modifier (though she can be forced to accept more burn from a source outside her control). A kineticist who has accepted burn never benefits from abilities that allow her to ignore or alter the effects she receives from nonlethal damage. Kinetic Blast (Sp): Earth Blast (Physical; B, P or S) As a standard action, the kineticist can unleash a kinetic blast at a single target up to a range of 30 feet. She must have at least one hand free to aim the blast (or one prehensile appendage, if she doesn’t have hands). All damage from a kinetic blast is treated as magic for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction. Kinetic blasts count as a type of weapon for the purpose of feats such as Weapon Focus. The kineticist is never considered to be wielding or gripping the kinetic blast (regardless of effects from form infusions; see Infusion), and she can’t use Vital Strike feats with kinetic blasts. Even the weakest kinetic blast involves a sizable mass of elemental matter or energy, so kinetic blasts always deal full damage to swarms of any size (though only area blasts deal extra damage to swarms). A readied kinetic blast can be used to counterspell any spell of equal or lower level that shares its descriptor. A kinetic blast that deals energy damage of any type (including force) has the corresponding descriptor. Physical blasts are ranged attacks that deal an amount of damage equal to 1d6+1 + the kineticist’s Constitution modifier, increasing by 1d6+1 for every 2 kineticist levels beyond 1st. Spell resistance doesn’t apply against physical blasts. Gather Power (Su): If she has both hands free (or all of her prehensile appendages free, for unusual kineticists), a kineticist can gather energy or elemental matter as a move action. Gathering power creates an extremely loud, visible display in a 20-foot radius centered on the kineticist, as the energy or matter swirls around her. Gathering power in this way allows the kineticist to reduce the total burn cost of a blast wild talent she uses in the same round by 1 point. The kineticist can instead gather power for 1 full round in order to reduce the total burn cost of a blast wild talent used on her next turn by 2 points (to a minimum of 0 points). If she does so, she can also gather power as a move action during her next turn to reduce the burn cost by a total of 3 points. If the kineticist takes damage during or after gathering power and before using the kinetic blast that releases it, she must succeed at a concentration check (DC = 10 + damage taken + effective spell level of her kinetic blast) or lose the energy in a wild surge that forces her to accept a number of points of burn equal to the number of points by which her gathered power would have reduced the burn cost. This ability can never reduce the burn cost of a wild talent below 0 points. Infusion (Su): At 1st level, a kineticist gains an infusion wild talent from the list of options available based on her elemental focus. She gains additional infusions at 3rd, 5th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 17th, and 19th levels. By using infusions along with her kinetic blasts, a kineticist can alter her kinetic blasts to suit her needs. Infusions come in two types, each of which changes a kinetic blast differently: a substance infusion causes an additional effect, while a form infusion causes the kinetic blast to manifest in a different way. Each infusion can alter only certain kinds of kinetic blasts, which are listed in its Associated Blasts entry. Each time the kineticist uses one of her kinetic blast wild talents, she can apply up to one associated form infusion and up to one associated substance infusion. Some infusions change the action required to activate a kinetic blast or entirely transform the kinetic blast’s normal effects. The burn cost listed in each infusion’s Burn entry is added to the burn cost of the kinetic blast the infusion modifies. The DC for a save against an infusion is based on the associated kinetic blast’s effective spell level, not the level of the infusion. The DCs for form infusions are calculated using the kineticist’s Dexterity modifier instead of her Constitution modifier. When a kineticist modifies a kinetic blast with a form infusion and a substance infusion that both require saving throws, each target first attempts a saving throw against the form infusion. If a target succeeds and a successful save negates the infusion’s effects, the entire kinetic blast is negated; otherwise, the target then attempts a saving throw against the substance infusion. If a kineticist’s form and substance infusions both alter the kinetic blast’s damage, apply the substance infusion’s alteration first. At 5th, 11th, and 17th levels, a kineticist can replace one of her infusions with another infusion of the same effective spell level or lower. She can’t replace an infusion that she used to qualify for another of her wild talents. Kinetic Blade Infusion: Type form infusion; Level 1; Burn 1; Associate Blasts: any You form a weapon using your kinetic abilities. You create a non-reach, light or one-handed weapon in your hand formed of pure energy or elemental matter. (If you’re a telekineticist, you instead transfer the power of your kinetic blast to any object held in one hand.) The kinetic blade’s shape is purely cosmetic and doesn’t affect the damage dice, critical threat range, or critical multiplier of the kinetic blade, nor does it grant the kinetic blade any weapon special features. The object held by a telekineticist for this form infusion doesn’t prevent her from using gather power. You can use this form infusion once as part of an attack action, a charge action, or a full-attack action in order to make melee attacks with your kinetic blade. Since it’s part of another action (and isn’t an action itself), using this wild talent doesn’t provoke any additional attacks of opportunity. The kinetic blade deals your kinetic blast damage on each hit (applying any modifiers to your kinetic blast’s damage as normal, but not your Strength modifier). The blade disappears at the end of your turn. The weapon deals the same damage type that your kinetic blast deals, and it interacts with Armor Class and spell resistance as normal for a blast of its type. Even if a telekineticist uses this power on a magic weapon or another unusual object, the attack doesn’t use any of the magic weapon’s bonuses or effects and simply deals the telekineticist’s blast damage. The kinetic blade doesn’t add the damage bonus from elemental overflow.
Weapons: Dagger, Heavy Pick Other Gear: Monk’s Kit (backpack, a belt pouch, a blanket, rope, soap, torches (10), trail rations (5 days), and a waterskin), Thieves' Tools Treasure: 2 gp
|
