Laufey Gemshrike's page

Wow, that was handled badly. While I don't understand what might have been objectionable about Isabella's posts, your respective reasons for not wanting to engage with them are your own and none of my business.

However, your flat refusal to discuss the problem or suggest remedies is something I have never seen happen on the boards before. I do understand Isabella's departure very well. I'm not okay with a game where attempts to develop characters beyond basic functionality or to actually included elements of their background can be met with a hard stop by other players, and unwillingness to engage on the subject. Just humping on along to next kill monster X in room Y isn't the kind of game I find satisfying.

I'll be exiting the game as well now since recruiting is going to be required and finding three replacements will be no harder than finding two. Enjoy yourselves.

Yeah the weekend was Father's Day, and I had plans. Just now getting caught up with everything.

Laufey isn't quick to come down from the pillar. Her exertions have left her feeling drained and unwilling to attempt the climb down until she's caught her breath.

She hears a ruckus down below involving Isabella and Cade, but doesn't inquire until she makes her way down the pillar. Taking 10 on the climb for 17

When she approaches Isabella she sees no blood, making her assumption that the priestess is wounded seem unlikely.

in confusion Laufey asks her what is wrong.

"You cry out, but you are unwounded? We are the victors here. Why do you wail?"

In return for his cut, Laufey tries to run the goblin through with her sword.

Climb: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 7 + 2 = 22

Power Attack: 1d20 + 8 - 1 - 4 ⇒ (11) + 8 - 1 - 4 = 14

Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 3 + 1 = 11

Since the last goblin doesn't seem to want to come down, Laufey decides to go up. She starts climbing the pillar.

"I'm coming for you little bastard!"

Climb: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 2 = 17

Since the last goblin doesn't seem to want to come down, Laufey decides to go up. She starts climbing the pillar.

"I'm coming for you little bastard!"

Climb: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 7 + 2 = 20

Laufey treads over the body of the previous chief and calls to the other goblins.

"Which of you will claim to be chief now? I want to kill more than one goblin chief today!"

Her strike against the goblin beside Cade doesn't get through.

Power Attack: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (4) + 8 - 1 = 11

Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 3 + 1 = 15

Laufey continues to press her attack against the chief.

Power Attack: 1d20 + 8 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 8 - 1 + 2 = 21

Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 3 + 1 = 15

Laufey's follow up swing is not so well aimed and finds nothing but air.

Power Attack: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (5) + 8 - 1 = 12

Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 3 + 1 = 13

Laufey pushes aside the spell as if it were nothing and hacks at the goblin chief as he tries to stand.

The halfling is cool-headed in a pinch, but he sure talks a lot...

Will: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 6 + 1 = 27

Power Attack (AoO): 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (16) + 8 - 1 = 23

Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 3 + 1 = 10

"You won't have to greave for your lizard long!" Laufey barks back at the chief.

Power Attack: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (11) + 8 - 1 = 18

Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 3 + 1 = 12

Laufey rushes past Cade, ignoring the goblins on the pillars. She finds her zone as she goes, focusing on both strength and speed turned to killing. When she reaches the platform she strikes at the gecko with an overhand chop.

Power Attack: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (8) + 8 - 1 = 15

Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 3 + 1 = 12

Starting Rage, +2 strength, +2 dexterity. AC is 17.

Laufey doesn't expect it will change how things turn out one iota, but the goblin chief seems very self-satisfied, maybe enough to do some crowing about his greatness and his plans before trying to kill them.

Maybe he can tell us something worth knowing, something helpful before he dies.

"We came here looking for one of our kind, a woman named Nualia. Where is she?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

With a grim and determined expression on her face, Laufey nods her readiness to Talia.

Oh my Cade! I hope you're well and recovering!

Laufey nods her readiness to Talia.

Viking House? Tell us more!

I fine with going back for those other doors first. Aside from not bothering the dogs I don't have a strong opinion.

Laufey grimaces but nods affirmatively at opening the door. It will hve to be done eventually, and the time to do it probably won't get any better.

Laufey shrugs at Cade's question without saying anything. She stays close on Talia's heels with her sword at the ready.

Laufey agrees with Talia on checking the doors by the dog pen, but not the rest.

"Unless there is a woman named Nualia in that building guarded by the dogs, I don't care about it. We don't have the strength to waste on curiosity now, because we will need it later."

Laufey's already below 1/2 HP just getting this far. We need to lock this place down by being strategic about the fights we choose.

"I also think it is best to leave the dogs alone. If they cannot get to us, we will only be bringing more trouble on ourselves. It is the goblins who we must get rid of, as many quiet, quick kills as we can make before they all know we are here."

Laufey pulls the nice dagger from the wall, letting the wing fall to the floor.

"We should get something for our trouble."

After claiming the dagger, Laufey listens carefully for any sounds of activity. She figures wood won't block sound so completely as stone, and anything they can find out about activity in the fort might help them choose a direction to proceed in.

:Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

Sounds just fine to me as well

Laufey wraps up yet a couple more cuts and looks around. She wasn't able to tell much about the fort from the tower, but she tries to orient herself at least enough to choose a direction to go in.

Offhandedly she mentions "that's a fancy dagger" in reference to the one pinning some big wing t the wall.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Attack on other goblin.

Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 1 = 8

Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 1 = 8

But Talia said she opened the gate and we didn't hear otherwise. I'd never had agreed the open the door with the goblins on the other side if I'd known the gate wasn't opened.

Laufey is completely appalled to discover so late that the gates aren't yet open.

"Go get the damned gate open, I'll keep them busy" she growls at Talia before lunging at her opponent.

Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 6 + 1 = 26

Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 1 = 9

Crit?: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 1 = 25

Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 1 = 9

Begin Rage, +4 to Dex for +2 to AC. New AC is 18

Laufey descends from the tower and takes up position in front of the door. She gives Talia a nod to let her know she's ready.

Laufey remains in the tower and uses its height to look over the fort's interior, studying its layout and checking for activity.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Laufey Motions to Talia, then one of the goblins. She then motions to the other and herself. The she draws a finger across her throat. She pulls herself up and creeps over to her sleeping goblin. She waits, ready to deliver a coup de grace, until Talia is in place.

Stealth: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

And again

Eager to show she can serve some useful purpose, Laufey makes the climb along with Talia.

Climb: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Laufey leans on her sword for a few moments, wincing from the pain of the dog bites.

They were picking me apart and I did nothing useful. I'm useless, mother was right."

She walks over close to the gate to break the line of sight from the watchtower and leans against the wood sulking while the others check the goblins.

When they're done and it's time to move, Laufey nods at Talia's question. "Let's see if we can climb the wall somewhere near the tower" she suggests, enthusiasm lacking in her voice.

I still owe a fort save.

FORT: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

Of course.

Laufey keeps trying and failing to kill that stupid dog

Power Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 1 - 1 = 12

Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 1 + 3 = 12

FORT: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Muttering an oath under her breath, Laufey diverts her attention to to the dog that bit her, striking back at it.

Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 1 = 8

Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 1 = 8

Just friggin' fantastic that is.

Laufey reaches the far side of the bridge and goes left since Cade went right. I think she can just make it to where I placed her

Her attack on the goblin dog there comes to nothing.

Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 4 + 1 = 13

Rasmorn: I think I'd save Enlarge until a time when it's offering more to the situation. If Laufey can actually hit something, her damage should be plenty for this fight, and reach isn't add much right now either. On the other hand web strands burn!

I'm down and out with flu right now so it may be a couple of days before I post again. Please bot me as needed.

Laufey gives Cade the lead then follows him across the bridge.

Sorry for the lapse, I had a couple of long and busy days at work.

So, if we can step off the bridge on the far side we can continue with our original plan. Cade across first followed by Laufey and Talia? Everyone still good with that?

Perhaps I'm being overly cautious based on my previous time through. We tried to fight our way into an alerted fort and got mauled badly. Our first attempt ended with us retreating and cutting down the bridge behind us to prevent pursuit. The second time trying we went in through one of he seaside caves and managed alright.

It wasn't that we couldn't win a given fight, it was that they were so costly in HP we couldn't keep going and there was no place to pause and recover.

I'd say let's just burn the webbing if it doesn't take out the bridge. We need to be able to get a toehold on he other side. Otherwise whatever. If we need to just smash through I guess that's what we do.

@Cade: The only two ways I know of to remove the webbing is to light it on fire, or dismiss the spell. A fire would be fairly large I think, and very noticeable. Also since the webbing is on the far end of the bridge, and the bridge is rope, does the bridge survive?

Dismissing the spell after we've gone as far on the bridge as we can just puts us into a melee at the foot of the bridge, which will again be hard not to notice.

We are just as much affected by the web spell as the goblins and dogs, and can become entangled in it as well.

Either way it's hard to imagine we're not then facing an alerted fort containing a whole goblin tribe plus worse from the non-goblins such as Nualia.

It looks like the idea of gaining entrance to the fort through stealth is a dead idea. We may just have to grind our way through a very long combat and hope for the best.

Sorry, I'm still trying to get back to normal from the holidays. I'll get a post up tomorrow.

Honestly I'm not sure what we should do. The web didn't turn out like I expected, and it looks like we actually can't move off the bridge onto the other side right now. Any ideas anyone?

Happy Holidays everyone!

"Yes, you should be fastest so I think that is good" Laufey tells Cade.
"I will go with Talia next, then everyone else. This must be done quickly and quietly."

Sounds great to me!

Laufey shrugs at Cade's question. "We never looked anywhere else, so everywhere else. We have climbing gear."

Laufey watches the activity on the other side of the from cover carefully for a while. She also takes in the state of the bridge and the layout of the fort.

Take 20 on Perception for 28

After her survey, she pulls everyone back out of earshot of the fort for a discussion of how to proceed. She's completely aghast at the suggestions of how exactly to storm the fort. She shakes her head emphatically at such talk.

"That is not our way in anymore. Does nobody remember the bridge is set to collapse? We can't cross the bridge together because it will fall. We can't cross the bridge one at a time because we will be slaughtered by the goblins and dogs as we arrive. We can't look at the bridge to fix it because we will be noticed. At the very least the dogs will smell us."

"Even if the bridge was not trapped, we would have a fight on the far side. We would win, but the whole fort would be alerted. It is walled, gated, and there are guard towers. We would have the fort besieged, but then we have wasted all out strength by the time we force our way inside, if we even can. They can shoot us to pieces from the towers while we try to force the gate or climb over the wall."

"On the other hand, if they decide to come out to fight, we have a pitched battle against all the fort's defenders at once, with no retreat. It is a rope bridge that can easily be cut as we try to escape."

"The goblins are not even our real problem. They are simply what is between us and the real danger, that woman Nualia and her allies like Ameiko's brother and the bugbear. Much more dangerous. What good is it to fight through to them if we do not have the strength left to beat them?"

"We must look for another way to enter. Across the bridge is a last choice, if it is even a choice at all."

Sorry to pull the emergency brake on things suddenly, I've had a busy few days and couldn't get a post up sooner. Thistletop is a very different beast than what we've done before, we seriously don't want to take a hack and slash approach here.

Does that mean Laufey can try stealth again?

Stealth: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

"I don't know the word 'mutt'. I don't know" shrugs Laufey, who is getting irritated by the hedges that keep getting in her way.

Laufey voice has a tone that suggests she expected to be disappointed.

"Probably bad. Certainly not good. Since they came for the dogs they will know an enemy was here. By going back to town we invited this. It could not be helped. But they are goblins so maybe they have forgotten by now since they found nobody still here."

"I think they would have taken the dogs to the fort. We will not be able to avoid them like before. Too bad, it will add to our troubles. So it goes."

Laufey continues on toward the bridge, now taking extra care to watch for traps or ambushes.

Stealth: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

<Sigh>

Laufey has a couple of drinks, but she's feeling well beat up and soon opts for rest over recreation.