Rojava Brishen's page

I'm feeling like we've reached the end of the line. There aren't many GMs left around here anymore, and the ones that are have their hands full.

This has been a very special game, for me at least, the one I'm saddest to see go after all this time. It deserves an obituary, so one last Ro style post to send it off. I hope I've been premature in posting it.

I'll miss seeing you all here.

And thanks to Jacob Tovar for letting me rip him off without him knowing it. ;)

Well, I'd heard a long time back that Poly had something come up and was temporarily away. But that was quite a ways back now. I'm thinking we're orphaned again.

Poly has been missing for quite a while now, not just here but everywhere on the boards. I have a total of three games with him and he stopped posting everywhere at about the same time.

Considering his frequency of posting right up until the stop around the end of October and his habit of giving notice if he would be away for a bit, this seems very worrisome to me.

Ro immediately jumps to her own defense. Perhaps she annoyed at being left out of the loop. But maybe it's just who she is.

"Well how am I supposed to figure any of that out if nobody bothers to tell me anything? It looked to me like Lia has suddenly decided to get rowdy. I thought it was a good idea to warn her that maybe a creepy little town out in the middle of nowhere make not be the greatest choice of location for her debut."

"Anyway, how do you know all the stuff? We've been here for what, two hours?"

Ro is obviously behind the others.

"What is all this about tattoos and barges? And what does this have to do with how Lia is dressed?"

Not knowing what's up, as soon as Ro sees Lia come in she leaves the bar to swoop in alongside her. She throws her arm around Lia's shoulders and pulls her away from the old man while shooting him a very nasty stare.

Pulling Lia along back to her spot, Ro has to ask.

"Why in all the hells are you dressed like that Lia? Look around, the people here are used to seeing anything like that. This is how bar fights start. Well, one of the several ways..."

"If you're wanting to start experimenting, you should have started back in Magnimar instead. I don't think people here bathe nearly as much."

"You look absolutely marvelous by the way."

Ro is getting tired of the conversation with Cesten.

"Look, I made you the offer that I think everyone will be alright with. If you don't want to accept it, I'll have to talk to the others first before I agree to anything. I'll bring it up with them."

She skedaddles off to Bottoms Up.

@ GM Poly: You do understand how insanely inflated 5 gp per night is for room, right?

Catching on that Cesten needs the business badly, Ro decides to counter offer.

"There are six of us you know. At 2 a night from everyone you're more than twice as well off as you would be by charging me 5, even if I was willing to pay that much."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (8) + 15 = 23

Ro nearly spits her drink out.

Five a night? I'll shop around."

Listening to Cesten makes Ro realize there is a really basic question she'd like to know the answer to.

"So they'd come and go that often huh? How far is the fort from here? It does seem odd they haven't been around."

When he asks if she's a customer, Ro looks at the mug in her hand then looks back at him. She also says something sarcastic, but instead she shrugs.

"Just arrived by boat. Gotta stay somewhere."

She's a little sorry that she went to Bottoms Up second. She likes the feel of the place more than The Turtle's Parlor, but she's already committed herself to staying at the first place.

On the other hand, she's less impressed with the quality of the news at Bottoms Up. It's not that nothing she hears is useful, she just doesn't have much faith in anyone present knowing what they're talking about.

Ro consoles herself in thinking there should be plenty of room for everyone to stay at The Turtle's Parlor since it's apparently almost empty.

After so long out in the miserable weather, Ro's first priority is spending time where it's warm and dry. For her that means The Turtle's Parlor and Bottoms Up. She hangs around both places, switching locations as needed to be where there are the most patrons at a given time.

She drinks slowly, chats people up, swaps stories, and generally passes the next few hours in a lazy, mellow way.

Diplomacy (What do you think has happened at the fort?): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (16) + 15 = 31

Time: 1d4 ⇒ 1

Diplomacy (Anything strange seen around or outside town lately?): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (18) + 15 = 33

Time: 1d4 ⇒ 4

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (13) + 12 = 25

Ro will pass on checks until Turtleback Ferry. She's not taking this trip seriously yet. Maybe she will later.

Okay, this is what Ro is picking up:

All Racial FBC will use Human to pick up spells. They must be one level lower than the highest level Ro can cast. This gives her 3 cantrips and 3 1st level spells.

0 = Oath of Anonymity, Grasp, Spark

1 = Saving Finale, Deja Vu, Liberating Command

The 6 skill points will be allocated like this: +1 Acrobatics, K Dungeoneering, Survival, Swim, +2 UMD

After thinking about for a longer time, I am going to choose the True Love (Rynshinn) story feat after all. I can just alter the story line from "You found love, only to have it denied by the cruelty of fate." to "You found love, only to have it denied by your fickle personality and fear of commitment."

Ro will certainly be at a deficit in terms of gaining the completion bonus now. But since I've been investing in that side-plot for so long, it really deserves to be the thing that gets a story feat. It fits Ro better, and also avoids repetition in characters' story feats if Karmid takes Enemy Cult.

I've added the campaign trait but I haven't allocated it to an enchantment spell yet. Ro only casts 2nd level and lower spells right now, and I will be choosing something higher than that for it.

I do have a question about the interaction between Archaeologist Luck and a spell. Archy Luck says this:

Archaeologist’s luck is treated as bardic performance for the purposes of feats, abilities, effects, and the like that affect bardic performance.

The spell Saving Finale works like this:

You must have a bardic performance in effect to cast this spell. With a flourish, you can immediately end your bardic performance when a creature within range affected by your bardic performance fails a Saving Throw, allowing the subject to immediately reroll the failed Saving Throw.

Will Archy Luck work for this spell?

I suppose if we're really trying to match a story feat to our characters in the way they seem to be meant for, the Enemy Cult feat is the best choice for Ro. It's also a good fit for anyone in the party really.

The Skinsaw Cult looks like a perfect match, and there's even a path to completion, assuming Xanesha and/or that sister is running the show.

It's a fairly powerful feat though.

You have crossed paths with a cult opposed to everything in which you believe.
Prerequisites: You must have encountered a cult whose general alignment is opposite to yours on at least one axis or who threatened your beliefs or way of life, or you must have the Angelic Encounter, the False Witness, The Omen, or the Terrible Secret background (all of which are found in Ultimate Campaign).
Benefit: Choose an appropriate detect chaos/evil/good/law spell that would aid you in opposing your chosen enemy cult. You can cast this spell twice per day as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to your character level.
Goal: Thwart the enemy cult, whose leader must be a challenging foe. You must deal that cult leader a decisive defeat, and additionally eradicate the cult or drive the cult from the area.
Completion Benefit: You gain a +2 resistance bonus on saving throws against evil creatures and a +2 deflection bonus to AC against evil creatures’ attacks. These bonuses double against evil summoned creatures.

Ro is a mutt, some Varisian and some Chelxian

That's a tasty little package you're giving us Poly! Thanks!

I don't think one extra, HP, skill point, and Orison is worth spending a feat on Eclectic to get. So, that's 6 levels for Ro.

I'be taken HP every time so far, so +6 skill points. I'll probably take 2 cantrips, 2 rounds, of performance, and 2 1st level spells. I'll have to look at spells before a final decision. I'm limited to 2 1st level spells though so I don't think I'll change my mind.

The story feat is kind of tough. I've only scanned them quickly but there's no ideal match. True Love might have been good, but Ro f%~@ed that up a minute before it mattered. XD

Magnum Opus would be ideal, but Archaeologist trades away Versatile Performance so it's rendered useless outside of pure RP. Not the worst thing, but a fallback option at best.

Prophet, Thief of Legend, and Truth-Seeker can all work in a way if one squints just right.

The feat will take some thought.

Wow Drasven, I hope you're alright. That's a lot of health stuff coming at you all at once. I'm keeping you in my thoughts.

It takes a couple of days but Ro and Fran find something near their old ease around each other. Soon enough they're spending much of their time together talking or trying to fish some. Ro has plenty to tell Fran about what has happened over the past few months.

Otherwise Ro spends some time writing away in her journal. Eventually she gets around to asking Shalelu why she's going to Fort Rannick, probing for more than pat answers from her if she needs to.

While Ro doesn't let any opportunities to get off the boat pass her by, she's only marginally interested in the places where they stop. Weirdly, to Ro's mind at least, she remembers or knows little about Wartle. It's the place she's been closest to in the past. Back when she was riding the circuit with her parents and Fran, they would stop in Nybor. It's close by Whartle, which is farther south, but from there they always turned north taking the road running parallel to Lake Ember. She supposes there's not much of note about the place, and it turns out she's right. Ro has a few drinks at the pub there, and considers the little town played out after the one evening out.

Whistledown is the place Ro is most excited to see. It doesn't disappoint in terms of walking about the see the place. Plenty of gnomes around always makes for livelier than average streets. While she doesn't know much about wind instruments, she does help Karmid find something to toy with. She steers him toward recorders over pan pipes (gasp!), and helps him pick out an instrument that's well tuned. She can also double the fun compared to Whartle by visiting The Azure Cup and Thagin's Rest in the evening.

Isurian falls in between Whartle and Whistledown, not as nasty as the former, but hardly as interesting as the latter. Ro thinks she detects something of the vibe Korvosa reputedly has: fiercely ordinary in its middle-brow, down-to-business straightness. After several drinks, Ro does perform a short set at the Two Waters Tavern with the big floppy purple hat she carries for such occasions out on the floor to catch any coins coming her way. She also scores a couple of vials of shiver, which she tucks away for some more opportune time to be adventurous. Fran would murder her if she found out she has the stuff.

K Local (Wartle): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13
K Local (Whistledown): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23
K Local (Ilsurian): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24

K History (Wartle): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14
K History (Whistledown): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25
K History (Ilsurian): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

Perform (Sing): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (5) + 15 = 20

I was hesitant about the song selection this time. It's probably the most instantly recognizable one I ever used, and I generally avoid that kind.

But, this is the Dolly version for sure, not Whitney, they hit differently. If you know the story behind her writing the song, it's actually something quite different than most people think. One read, the most common, is it's very romantic or sappy. But the one I prefer is that it's the ultimate "it's not you, it's me" excuse while you have your hand on the door opening it for a quick exit. XD

Ro agrees that the subject should be considered settled. Though she doesn't want to put any pressure on Fran to come just to please her, Ro is secretly pleased Fran will be going to Turtleback Ferry with them.

Ro is left with one pleasant and one very unpleasant task remaining. Of course she chooses the pleasant one first. She tracks down Karina Rotarescu at her address to give her a ticket to A Nymph or Not?, and to include any flirting she can squeeze into to meeting. She feels good about Karina; Karina makes her feel good. It's too bad she has to leave Magimar so soon.

Finally, the evening before leaving, Ro settles down with a bottle of wine to write a letter that is to be mailed to Sandpoint. She drafts it out several times, but can't ever get it the way she wants it. The beginning in particular remains stiff and distant. She can't get around that problem for some reason and it frustrates her. Finally though Ro gives in to the need to sleep. She seals the letter in an envelope to be dropped into the mail on the way to the boat the next morning.

Ro is happy to see Shalelu at the boat the next morning even if she doesn't know her well at all. She gives the elf a smile and wave as she boards.

When Ro hears why Fran wants to come, she becomes more serious. She finds a place to sit down, then looks Fran in the eyes.

"Do you remember the last Swallowtail Festival? Mom and Dad sent you up to come find me because they wouldn't take time out to come into town themselves? I go with you for a couple of hours so they can get a look to prove to themselves I still exist I guess, and then you're all off and on your way."

"That's how it's been since we were 12 and I first got dropped off in Sandpoint. I was never asked if I wanted to be left there, and after I was never asked if I wanted to stay. It never mattered, I guess. As long as I wasn't dead or missing that was enough, I was somebody else's problem. Whatever I might need, I should be getting it elsewhere."

"I mean, do you remember what it felt like when you all left that first time? We were always together; we had always been together. I don't know about you, but I thought I would die. It took a long before I didn't feel like that."

"Don't tell me mom and dad did that because of the mark, or something like that. You had one just the same as me. It was because I was more trouble, or less useful. That's all it was."

"When you came back that evening, it was the first time anyone had ever chosen me over something else. Maybe that's not what you were really doing, but I thought so. But then, a few days later, you're gone and all you leave is a quick note saying so. It was the same old thing as always. Everyone gets to decide what they want to do, and I get left to figure out how I'm going to adjust to it. And if I say anything at all about not liking it, I'm the problem. I'm the selfish one."

"All I wanted you to do when we found you at that shrine was to just say you were sorry, that maybe you hadn't handled things very well. That's all."

"I don't expect we'll be joined at the hip for the rest of our lives. I just want to know what's coming and why instead of being an afterthought."

"You don't need to come with us to make up for anything. I'd rather you understand why I don't like being blindsided and try to keep it in mind in the future."

Ro is so astonished by Fran that she almost thinks she must have heard wrong for a second.

"Wha... Alright. Good. Do you need any help packing, or are there things you need to get before we leave?"

Thanks for you great patience everyone. I'd planned to do more with the post, but sometimes just getting it done at all matters more.

Once the money is right Ro sees no further reason to engage with the Lord Mayor. She does however grab a platter boasting an entire uncut cake to take home with her. The next few upcoming days are looking to her like the kind of days where massive indulgence will be needed to offset considerable angst.

She takes care of her shopping starting first thing the next morning. It turns into a bigger chore than she had expected so that all that happens.

On the second day she goes to The Rose and Rake Theater, all the way over in Ordellia, to talk to Lady Annsa Shivarlu. Ro hasn't managed to think of anything particularly clever, so she tells her a slightly sanitized version of the truth.

She and some friends had originally come to Magnimar to solve a group of murders in Sandpoint, where clues pointed to the city to the south. They solved the case, which was high profile enough for the Lord Mayor to notice. Now the mayor is sending them to Turtleback Ferry on some business he needs taken care of. Ro isn't in a position to say no, or back out, so she's stuck having to leave in a couple of days without knowing exactly when she'll be back. Ro expresses her regrets and tells Lady Annsa she will do everything she can to make it a short absence because the show is very important to her.

Diplomacy (to not burn a bridge): 1d20 + 15 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 15 + 3 = 37

Finally, since she's already into the crappy stuff, Ro heads back to home and waits eating cake until she can catch Fran in her room. When she does, she goes to see her and opens with "You've probably heard, but in case you haven't, we're leaving for Turtleback Ferry the day after tomorrow. The mayor's sending us."

Ro has three things to handle: shopping, trying to tell Lady Annsa Shivarlu she's leaving before the play is finished with production, and telling Fran she's leaving.

I'll get a gameplay post in later this evening.

After all the chores are finished and people are where they're supposed to be, Ro changes her mind and does go buy some new clothes for the evening's dinner. With only a little time to make decisions, she chooses a white shirt of linen, along with a crimson doublet to go over it. She opts for a short style of the jacket, only coming to her waist.

She pairs those pieces with new black velvet trousers, tight but not as tight as hose would be, and a new pair of knee-high boots. At least it keeps her out and unavailable for any uncomfortable conversations Fran might attempt.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ro isn't much in the mood for a party after the day she's had so she's very happy to see that most of her goals for the evening are met right away without her having to do anything. Namely they are paid well, and the mayor does seem to take the Ironbriar and cultist thing seriously enough to prosecute them into the ground.

Since she is able to relax, Ro lounges slouched in a a chair for most of the ensuing conversation. She's feeling jaded enough about the mayor that she is neither surprised nor outraged at any of the things he says. He's a politician who has clawed his way to the top in an undoubtedly corrupt city, undoubtedly by corrupt means. What can anyone expect?

When the subject turns to what will be happening going forward into the future though, the talk starts hitting some rough patches. Ro respects the course both Flutter and Lia try to take, firm but polite and deferential. However, in this case with this man, maybe everyone can be a little more frank with each other. She picks up some bonbon type of thing and pops it in her mouth while Lia is trying to make the mayor a better man, then picks up another. But before she can get it into her mouth, Lia finishes, leaving her having to hold it. She doesn't get up, staying slouched in the chair.

"Here, why don't we take a step back and reacquaint ourselves with some basics before we go any farther."

With her free hand Ro digs out the lamia letter from her belt pouch and holds it out to the mayor.

"Read this. If you already have before, read it again."

She waits. When the mayor is finished, Ro continues with her point.

Mayor Haldmeer, you don't have to worry about that, well, worry about it as much now, because of us. We haven't been in Magnimar for a whole pair of weeks yet and in that time we've broken up the serial killer cult that has hunted in the city for years, nailed the judge who ran it despite all the protections his position gave him, and scared the lamia snake woman who wanted to skin you alive out of town."

"We get things done like nobody else you're going to find. You already know this though, which is why we're here in your house eating whatever these are."

Ro pops the second bonbon thing in her mouth pausing to chew and swallow before continuing.

"Big night for all of us. We can eat, drink, and slap each other on the back congratulating each other. But when the night's over, we're leaving without a care in the world, and you still have a bunch of problems."

"Those problems are personal, who may yet get skinned and made into a mask unless those lamia sisters are handled. You really might want to do something about that shrine. If you're not yet getting why exactly you're a prize for the lamia sisters, read that letter again closely. But, you're soul's condition is none of our business."

"You have problems here in town. Maybe people won't be so happy with how law and order, meat and potatoes security, has been handled by the city's authorities if too many details about recent events come out. You've brought that up yourself."

"You also have problems brewing way outside the city, and those are a real bind for you I think. I totally understand why you find those shoddy, backwater burgs that Magnimar claims hardly worth any effort. So far away. Worth so little. So much easier if you could just leave them to their own devices and send no soldiers, nobody at all in fact, just because they're in trouble."

"But, if you did nothing, they might decide they can just go their own way and ignore Magnimar. Or worse, if they're in real trouble they might decide to align with Korvosa instead to get the help they need. If that kind of thing started happening, civic pride in Magnimar would get hurt. The man in the street would be indignant. Korvosa is winning the pissing match at Magnimar's expense! Nobody hardly even remembers why the rivalry exists, but winning it still matters."

"On the other hand, if you send off a bunch of soldiers to Turtleback Ferry and Fort Rannick, it can't be kept secret. People might wonder what could be so wrong. Doesn't pair well with the delicate situation in the city right now does it? People could begin to think their future is hanging by a thread, that there's some disaster out there looming."

"So, I get it. You can send us quietly. We're dammed impressive, and let's be honest, you think we're the kind of yokels just come in from out in the sticks that you can puff up into doing what you need done to negotiate your tight spot right now for free."

"It's not that we don't appreciate the reward you've given us for unbidden, in fact unknown by you or your people to be needed, services rendered. We do. But We have seen this kind of money before, and we know our worth. Flutter and Lia proposed a perfectly reasonable system of compensation. If you can't or won't send troops now, that's on you depending on how things turn out in the end. But if you want us to go and check things out, we will be paid for it. We're not from Magnimar and civic pride for this city is very thin in our veins."

Starting up Archy Luck for the negotiations.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 15 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 15 + 3 = 28

So, the start of the new school year is right on top of us here. I'm new to working in a school rather than a branch office and the frenzied pace has caught me by surprise. Things will settle down, but I don't know exactly how long that will take.

For safety's sake I'm going to say that I'll be very busy for the month of September. I'll try to keep up on posts, but if you need to bot me to keep things moving along.

Works for me too!

I doubt an urchin would be lairing there. If they were they would have been completely urched by now.

Nah, she's not in a good mood.

My assumption is all this is taken place downstairs so I'm keeping Ro out of it. I haven't seen any references to coming back out yet.

<Sigh> Ro will go where Fran goes.

Ro glances up at Flutter, then busies herself looking at ruined building instead.

"Air, like you said. I'm ready to go, just waiting on everyone else."

Once she's outside, Ro finds a broken something or other, maybe a stone block or piece of pillar, to sit on.

"Chained up you mean. I took care of that and did my bit. You can handle it from here."

Ro goes on up the stairs and outside.

Ro drops her hand and stares in silence at Fran for a couple of seconds. Then, she turns around and walks away in the direction of the stairs.

Same as always. My family leaves me behind and if I don't like it, I'm the problem. Why do I ever believe that will change?

Ro's eyes narrow and her nose wrinkles, a little like they might if she smelled something stinky and was made about it.

"What? You slink out of town while I'm not around, but I'm supposed to take the 'come to Magnimar' tacked on to the end of your note seriously? It sounded more like a way for you to avoid feeling bad about yourself for ditching me than an actual invitation."

Ro uses that extended index finger of hers to poke Fran in the chest.

"You never even bothered to send a letter telling me where to find you."

Another poke.

"Was I supposed to come here and wander the streets until I happened to bump into you? How f~$%ing considerate! 'Come visit me if you can find me because I can't be bothered to supply an address!'"

Ro pokes again, and she's raising her voice as she works herself up.

"And then you actually have the gall to try and throw me not finding you in less than a week here at me as some kind of defense for your crap behavior?"

"You snuck out of town and left me a note? What was that about? You couldn't be bothered to take the time to tell me you were leaving face-to-face? How much trouble would that have been? You were staying in my room. You'd have to try harder to avoid me than to find me."

Ro has a hand up with finger pointed at Fran now.

As soon as Fran is free of the chains and on her feet, Ro grabs her in a tight hug. She completely ignores Karmid and Issengrim. After she releases Fran, Ro steps back and tells her "I'm really pissed off at you".

Ro curses and stops with the lock picks for a pause to get her head right and into what she's trying to do.

"Anybody bring any water?" she asks in general. She didn't since this just involved a walk in the city.

"If you mean 'know Xanesha' as in having her over for dinner went bad and ending in a fight, then no. If you mean tracking down a murderous cult that she turned out to be directing, then yes. When we met it was because we went to find her to take her out. Alright, be still again."

Ro gives the lock another try.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 17 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 17 + 3 = 38

Fran's reference to Sarenrae makes Ro realize how dense she's being. Of course it makes (some) sense to find Fran here.

Ro takes out her picks and starts working on the locks holding Fran chained after cantriping herself again.

"Hold still, this takes a fine and steady touch."

Ro starts conversing as she works.

"Oh, we came down for the usual, fightin' evil and all that. Funny you mention Xanesha. We had our own run in with her. Different context, but it also ended in tears. I suppose we're hunting her down now, slippery b@#%@ got away. How long have you been down here?"

Disable Device: 1d20 + 17 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 17 + 3 + 1 = 29

Includes Archy Luck and Guidance.

The voice sounded right enough, but Ro still has a really hard time believing what's she's seeing.

What are the chances? This doesn't seem right...

Of course it's possible Fran could be here as far as Ro knows, but the coincidence involved is hard for Ro to accept. The last, other, place like this room Ro has been in included a tiny devil, an imp. She can't be positive someone or something isn't screwing with her mind.

Ro approaches Fran and squats down right in front of her before dismissing her spell.

"Fran? What in all the hells are you doing here?"

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 8 + 2 = 14

Can Ro identify the voice? Perception or INT roll?

Perception: 1d20 + 12 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 12 + 2 + 3 = 35

INT: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Ro shoots a startled and puzzled look at the others.

"Give me a minute, I'll take a look."

After casting Vanish on herself, Ro creeps around to locate the source of the call.

Stealth: 1d20 + 18 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 18 + 3 = 25

Perception: 1d20 + 12 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 12 + 2 + 3 = 25

Starting of Archy Luck again.

Yeah, nothing really except it links back to Thassilonian Wizards.

It takes a minute for the mist to clear enough before Ro knows the outcome of her chancy attack. When she finds out, she relaxes with pleasure.

Damn I'm good. Lucky, but also really good.

She takes care as she walks in through the gate for a look around. When she notices the door she goes on over to give it a closer look. It's condition relative to the rest of the structure both intrigues and concerns her.

She will definitely be getting the door open, but maybe, just maybe, there should be some backup on hand when it's opened.

"Hey, real interesting door over here. Looks to be as new as when it was installed, which is weird."

Taking 20 on Disable Device for 37 if I can. No hurry as Ro is waiting for backup. If that's not possible she'll give herself a little Guidance before making the attempt:

Disable Device: 1d20 + 17 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 17 + 1 = 38

Ha! The only time I can ever roll a 20 is when it's overkill on a skill check. :p I guess that door wants to be open.

Ro: [ooc]55/60, heightened awareness, archeologist's luck?, studied target (mist wight), fatigued[b]

Yeah, Archy Luck is running, I need to re-up it this round because lingering performance ends. The mist wight isn't studied because the gargoyle was. However the wight will get this turn now if she can see him. I'll assume she can't but if she can get sight add +1 attack & +1 damage. The unidentified +1 was actually Bless from Drasven, which seems to have been mostly forgotten?

Ro doesn't back away quite yet, but she does shift slightly to the right, trying to get a better view. She knows where Issengrim's arrows went into the mist, and she heard them hit something. She doesn't have anything to lose by throwing, following his shots, just to see what might happen. After all, her starknife is now back on her belt.

She draws it again, peers into the mist along the line Issengram marked, and throws again.

Attack: 1d20 + 11 + 1 + 3 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (17) + 11 + 1 + 3 + 1 - 1 = 32

Damage: 1d4 + 5 + 1 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (3) + 5 + 1 + 1 - 1 = 9

Miss (high is good): 1d100 ⇒ 99

Perception: 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 12 + 2 = 30

Swift move to start Archy Luck, 5' step, Standard to attack, If sight on wight is gained, Move action for Studied Target. If it matters, Ro is throwing mithril again this time because it's the starknife she enchanted.

Ro cast Heroism on Karmid right at the start of combat

Ro hauls it back away from the noxious barrow wight, again not feeling great after its assault on her senses but not doing badly either.

FORT: 1d20 + 8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 8 + 3 + 1 = 30

She draws her mithril starknife and directs some magic into it, then throws it at the wright.

Attack: 1d20 + 11 + 1 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 11 + 1 + 3 + 1 = 28

Damage: 1d4 + 5 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 5 + 1 + 1 = 8

Move 10', Quick Action to enchant weapon, Standard to attack.

The extra copies of everyone Lia creates gives Ro enough confidence that a surprise attacking gargoyle would be confused enough to buy her time to get back to Lia if she needs to. Ro risks moving a few more feet away so she can see what Karmid is seeing.

K Religion (Identify the Creeps): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18