“A thief, huh?" Sandru looks at Ritti darkly. "I'd rather you didn't practice that trade while you're with my caravan. We Varisians have got a bad enough reputation as is." He folds his arms, looking at Ameiko with disapproval clear in his gaze.
Amaya considers Ritti carefully. "I have worked with thieves in the past. She does not seem any worse than them." A shrug. "I will keep an eye on her if it makes you feel better, Sandru."
Ritti says earnestly, with no small amount of pride, ”Sunt o fiică a lui Varisiei și știu căile noastre. Nu voi aduce pericol sau nu voi fura din tribul nostru. Fie ca fiecare drum pe care îl parcurg să mă ducă în IAD, dacă încalc această credință. Desna mi-a fost martor.”
Varisian:
”I am a daughter of Varisia and I know our ways. I will not bring danger to nor steal from our tribe. May every road I take lead me to HELL, if I break this faith. Desna witness me.”
Ameiko wrote:
Ameiko casts a brief glance at her sister and Sandru before turning her eyes back to Ritti. "I agree with Sandru to some extent. Getting caught stealing from people is not going to do us any favors... but if you're careful with who you target, and don't take anything from people who need it, I think we could use the skills of someone like you."
Ritti has a spark of hope. ”Ma’am, aside from ninjas, Frozen Shadows, Rimerunners, and demon kami, there’s no one here I’m interested in. And unless the Erutaki got houses made of diamonds, I don’t expect to be ‘working’ until we reach Tian Xia. If you’re willing to get me across the high ice, I won’t take a thing from anyone that you don’t know about. To that point…”
The thief empties her bandolier and pockets, placing three magical shuriken, five mundane shuriken, and a thunderstone on the snow. She braces for the cold and unbuttons her jacket displaying the magical Shozoku. She shivers a bit at the temperature, ”With Yuto’s approval, these are all the things I borrowed in the fort. I didn’t take anything else, not a single coin. This all belongs to you.”
She looks embarrassed. ”I hate asking a favor at the start of a relationship… but this ninja shozoku saved my life. I got some gear that does some of what it does, but not all of it. I was hoping you’d maybe trade with me? I keep the shozoku and I give you my magical cloak and bracers… and I’ll pay you the rest of the difference when I have the money? I figure I’d owe you…” She does the numbers in her head and blanches a bit, saying the outrageous figure quietly, ”8,500 gold coins.” She deflates. Who would trust her to deliver that kind of money?
I’m holding off responding to Andy until we know if anyone stops him from giving us the whole story.
He says earnestly "I-it takes co-courage to admit one's past mistakes. I be-believe in second chances, and I trust that you will well prove y-yourself in this adventure"
Ritti looks deeply uncomfortable. ”That’s a sweet thing to think but it’s not me, Yuto. Sure, I’ve made mistakes. Being a thief isn’t one of them – not by my reckoning. It’s a choice I made… and it’s my job.”
That total may change depending on how the conversation with Ameiko goes.
From Ritti's perspective, she was just 'borrowing' the Shozoku. So if Ameiko wants it back, it's hers. If she lets Ritti keep it, she will offer up her Cloak of Elvenkind and Bracers of Armor +1 in exchange. The Shozoku basically mirrors those functions plus a bit more. It isn't an even trade but at least Ritti will feel less indebted and those items can be doled out to people who could use them or sold.
Ritti weighs answers. Looking apprehensive, she opts for being truthful and hopes it doesn’t bite her. She puts her hands behind her back, like a schoolboy about to do a recitation. ”You should hear it now, before you make a decision… I’m a thief. But I got ethics. I don’t steal from my partners. I don’t rat people out… especially when they’ve helped me.” She offers a nod in the direction of Yuto, Torra, and Andy. ”I earn my keep. I'm good in a fight. I don’t cut and run when things get tough. And I only steal from people who can afford to lose a bauble or two… or other thieves.”
She takes a breath, ”So, your questions… I’d like to go with you. You’ll be the one to judge if I ‘should’ or not. If you leave me behind, I won’t rat or sell you out. I owe your folks that much, at least. And since Kalsgard is burned for me, I’ll be heading south fast. Them Frozen Shadows caught me once, that ain’t happening again. So, your secret is as safe as it can be, under the circumstances. But like a sage once said, ‘three people can keep a secret so long as two of them are dead’.”
Amaya wrote:
”I believe that they are not aligned with anyone who would do us harm at the moment.”
”Ma’am, I’m on my own. I’m not aligned with any guild or faction. It’s just me, Irori, and sometimes Desna.” She looks to the heiress. ”It’s your call, ma’am.”
"Uh, you lost me... ma'am." Ritti doesn't try to hide her confusion as to who could or couldn't be left behind, trusted or not trusted. "What do I think about what?"
Ritti wasn't sure what she was expecting a daimyo to look like... but Ameiko, speaking the unaccented common tongue and dressed like an ordinary person, definitely wasn't it. And accompanied by Varisians - her own people - no less!
She remains very still, feeling the insecurities of her 17 years, waiting to see how things played out.
Ritti shrugs - an indication that the matter is somewhat out of her hands rather than a sign of ambivalence on her part, "I'd like to. I need to get clear of those Rimerunners and Frozen Shadows... but it all depends on your liege. I'm guessing she says who gets a spot in the caravan. Some people don't sees the value in my skills. If you'd maybe put in a good word for me with her, I'd really appreciate that."
Ulf nods briefly at Ritti's words. "You got on their bad side, too, then?" He sighs. "My sympathies. I know how they can be."
Ritti stops in the middle of her kata long enough to express her exasperation, "Crazy, right? Just minding my own business, working a bit on the fringes (in the heart) of their 'territory' and they get downright unfriendly. A girls gotta eat, right? Then it's all bully-boys and ninjas far as the eye can see."
To keep warm, Ritti practices her katas and works on emulating some of the neat moves she saw the monks and ninjas use. They look a little comic with her buried in thick layers of winter gear.
Ulf wrote:
"So why did you rescue us?"
"Who me? I just got caught in the mix, so to speak. But I was happy to help."
Status:
HP: 31 / 41 | AC:23 / T:20 / FF:23 | CMD:27/27 (29 Grapple)
Stunning Fist (4): xxx
Ki Pool (4):
Boots (1):
Shozoku (1): x
Inspired (1):
Arrows (20): xxxx
Shuriken (5): xx
Shuriken Earthfire (3):
Thunderstone (1):
Effects: None
Ritti is updated and one step closer to becoming a legendary thief!
Before the descent, Ritti bundles up, throwing her winter gear over her ninja outfit. She puts a pair of goggles on her head, in case they prove necessary.
Ritti has a cold weather outfit and snow goggles. She also has a winter blanket if someone wants that for a wrap.
"My sight came back. Maybe I got lucky and didn't quite get blasted like they did... but I see fine now." She shrugs, the final decision wasn't her call.
"Gonna repeat myself here... can we give these folks a little time get their vision back? Assuming we get down the wall without a problem, we still have a hike and there are wolves - at least - out there."
"We saw your gear in the treasure room. We can retrieve it on our way out." She looks at the blind folks and does the math. "We could lead these folks out now... but with four of us and three of them, we'd be hard-pressed if we run into trouble. I hate to say it, but maybe we should wait until these folks can see a bit before we try to leave. Even if we do make it out of the keep, there's still the matter of getting down the cliffs. I wouldn't ask anyone to do that blind."
Ritti crouches down beside her friend, at a loss for what to do. "OK, sh!t, OK... Your sight will come back, mine did. Umm... let's just sit here for a bit while the others finish up." She holds the other girl's hand, "Thanks for backing me up there. I'm sorry you got blasted too."
Ritti gives the downed blindheim a very unladylike final kick before she moves back into the corridor to check on the blinded Atsuko. She puts a hand on her shoulder. "Hey. How are you doing? Can you see anything or just that nasty glare?"
Ritti slaps aside the claws of the croaker blocking the doorway, balls up a fist, and connects with two jabs into the Blindheim's ribs. "Right, ribbits, let's get this over with. You're out of tricks and I'm out of patience."
The Eye Beams limits depend on which version of the Blindheim you are using. The d20pfsrd (ToHC) version has this caveat: “A successful save renders the creature immune to the same blindheim’s eye beams for 24 hours” which I think is pretty typical for attacks like this.
But the Bestiary 2 version (on Aon) doesn’t contain that qualifier. It’s your call, I'll roll with the results either way. I’m going to default to being blinded in my post until you say otherwise.
To her credit, Ritti doesn’t panic when the treacherous third frogman catches her eye and makes her pay for it by blasting her vision away. Panic wasn’t going to help her anyway. It was fight or die… or maybe fight then die. In either case, she intended to make the frog in front of her suffer since she knew exactly where he was. Her strikes are strong but the frog is used to dodging blinded prey.
FULL: FOB @ GREEN
BOOM:
FULL: Unarmed Strike (crit: 20/2x | B)
Mods: FOB, Inspire Courage
HIT #1:1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 10 + 2 = 21 | DAM #1:1d6 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 5 + 2 = 8 : Miss Chance: 51+ is good:1d100 ⇒ 37 Fail
HIT #2:1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 10 + 2 = 21 | DAM #2:1d6 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 5 + 2 = 13 : Miss Chance: 51+ is good:1d100 ⇒ 49 Fail
Effects:
Mage Armor – 1 hr (50-ish mins)
Blinded – 1 hr
The creature cannot see. It takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class, loses its Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), and takes a –4 penalty on most Strength– and Dexterity-based skill checks and on opposed Perception skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Perception checks based on sight) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance)
I think you left me out of the order. I should have gone before the Blindheims. To stay consistent with the narrative, I’ll delay until after them and then act.
Ritti lets the frog-creatures come to her… and repays their attacks with a series of elbow-smashes and kicks aimed at delicate kneecaps.
FULL: FOB @ GREEN with Stunning Fist on first strike
BOOM:
FULL: Unarmed Strike (crit: 20/2x | B)
Mods: FOB
HIT #1:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23 | DAM #1:1d6 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6 IF hits – Fort Save DC:16 or Stunned for 1 rnd HIT #2:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22 | DAM #2:1d6 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8 IF he is stunned on previous hit, he takes an additional Sneak DAM:3d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 6) = 14 and is DI: Bewildered (-2 AC (-4 for Ritti) for 1 rnd)
Stunned: A stunned character drops everything held, can’t take actions, loses any Dexterity bonus to AC (i.e. sneak-attackable), and takes a –2 penalty to AC.
I already committed to opening the door, so I’ll live with the results…
Time seems to slow down… Ritti turns her head slowly at Torra’s warning even as the door cracks open. The thief’s look at the dwarf is a dawning realization that Torra is right. She was in too much of a hurry to find the captives. Her eyes shift to the door willing it to stop even as momentum carries it further open…
Ritti doesn’t ‘do’ bear-sized wolves. Nope. But given most of her allies are speaking Common and the wolf is speaking Skald, she decides it is moderately safe to translate. In Skald, she relays what each person says – assuming the wolf doesn’t indicate it understands them already. She adds her own two coppers at the end. ”We can fight… or you can be free and get an easy meal on your way out. There are plenty of still-warm ninjas to eat between here and the front door along with one I-don’t-know-what-he-was sorcerer. I’ll take freedom over captivity every time… and I was imprisoned here for a bit. Your call.”
Ritti is going to ensure the sorcerer is dead and doesn’t continue to heal before getting off him.
The thief rides the sorcerer’s body to the ground and strains, tightening her legs around the sorcerer’s neck wondering what will give first – his trachea or his spine. ”Like I said, you should have run.”
STAND: Maintain Grapple (Do Damage)
SWIFT: Strangler
OR
FULL: Coup de Grace
Honestly, I wasn’t even sure that DI applied to CMB/CMD until I did a site search and dug into the rules. If Atsuko re-ups Inspire Courage, please add +2 to both rolls.
Ritti hangs on to the sorcerer like a boa constrictor. She spins and brings her other leg to his neck. The thief locks her ankles and squeezes her legs, using the strongest muscles in her body to crush his throat.
STAND: Maintain Grapple (Do Damage)
SWIFT: Strangler + Debilitating Injury
Break Grapple vs. Ritti CMD 28: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (12) + 15 = 27 Just one short!
Yikes, he is buffed out! FWIW, I don't know if you included the Debilitating Injury penalty in your roll but it looks like DI does affect CMB and CMD (as appropriate). If you did include the penalty then he is even more scary (with a +19 CMB) and you can ignore this post! Here are the relevant rules, just in case.
Rulez Stuff:
DI Bewildered: The target becomes bewildered, taking a –2 penalty to AC. The target takes an additional –2 penalty to AC against all attacks made by the rogue. At 10th level and 16th level, the penalty to AC against attacks made by the rogue increases by –2 (to a total maximum of –8).
CMD A creature can also add any circumstance, deflection, dodge, insight, luck, morale, profane, and sacred bonuses to AC to its CMD. Any penalties to a creature's AC also apply to its CMD. A flat-footed creature does not add its Dexterity bonus to its CMD.
DI Disoriented: The target takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls. In addition, the target takes an additional –2 penalty on all attack rolls it makes against the rogue. At 10th level and 16th level, the penalty on attack rolls made against the rogue increases by –2 (to a total maximum of –8).
CMB When you attempt to perform a combat maneuver, make an attack roll and add your CMB in place of your normal attack bonus. Add any bonuses you currently have on attack rolls due to spells, feats, and other effects. These bonuses must be applicable to the weapon or attack used to perform the maneuver. The DC of this maneuver is your target's Combat Maneuver Defense. Combat maneuvers are attack rolls, so you must roll for concealment and take any other penalties that would normally apply to an attack roll.
After wrestling a statue, Ritti isn’t immediately discouraged by green boy’s growth spurt. She tries to head-butt the giant spellslinger while establishing a crushing grip on his thick neck with her leg. ”You were warned.”
STAND: Maintain Grapple (Do Damage)
SWIFT: Strangler + Debilitating Injury
Splashed with gore, Ritti is glad she pulled the ninja mask over her face. It kept the ninja viscera off her lips. She wipes the blood from her eyes and glares in the direction of the green sorcerer, growling at no one in particular, ”Help Yuto, I’ll handle green boy.”
She dashes forward, slides through the ninja gore beneath Andy, regains her feet, and confronts the sorcerer. She leaps on him…
MOVE: on map
STAND: Grapple
BOOM:
STAND: Grapple
CMB:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28
A grappled creature is restrained by a creature, trap, or effect. Grappled creatures cannot move and take a –4 penalty to Dexterity. A grappled creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and combat maneuver checks, except those made to grapple or escape a grapple. In addition, grappled creatures can take no action that requires two hands to perform. A grappled character who attempts to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability must make a concentration check (DC 10 + grappler’s CMB (12 for Ritti) + spell level), or lose the spell. Grappled creatures cannot make attacks of opportunity.
I don't know the ins-and-outs of this AP... but it seems like we are wrapping up the city-stuff and will be getting back on the road soon. It'd be a shame to bail now if we are about to get to an area where Andy will shine.
Invisible, Ritti slides through the open doorway and sizes up the situation. She dashes between Andy’s legs then dive-rolls past the ninja. She rises to flank him, only becoming visible as she tries to deliver a vicious punch to his kidney that impacts the nerves along the ninja’s spine.
MOVE: move through Andy’s squares and attempt to Acro through YELLOW’s square
STAND: Punch w/flank on YELLOW and trigger Stunning Fist.
OK, here is where the combination of rules gets ‘interesting’. I think it strains credulity that I could stealth and acrobatic roll through the ninja’s square without detection. But even if my acro roll fails, his AOO is still striking at an invisible target since I haven’t attacked him yet. I’m including the likely options as I seem them in BOOM.
BOOM:
Stealth:1d20 + 21 + 20 ⇒ (4) + 21 + 20 = 45 Moving while invisible
Acrobatics vs DC: Ninja CMD+15:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (20) + 16 = 36 acro at full speed thru opponent square
IF that roll fails then he gets an AoO. But according to the rules, I have total concealment so he can target my square BUT you can’t AoO a square. However, there are a number of unspecified factors that mitigate concealment. So, I think the middle ground would be saying that as I move through his space I had to make enough contact – or his clothes blew or something – such that I have not Total Concealment which gives his AoO a 50% miss chance or a 20% miss chance. Of course, if he can see Invisible then this is all academic.
Stunning Fist Fort Save vs DC:16 or stunned for 1 rnd.
A stunned character drops everything held, can’t take actions, loses any Dexterity bonus to AC, and takes a –2 penalty to AC.
DI: Disorient Sneak DAM’d foe takes -2 on TO HIT rolls (-4 vs Ritti) for 1 rnd
