Same here, unfortunately. Just completely stressed out. I also haven't found Strom's voice in this game and I feel like a drag on the campaign.
Thank you for the game, GM Chryo. I'm bowing out. Best of luck to you all.
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"Thank you. Ah will endeavor to make good use of it," replies Strom. The druid busies himself the rest of the day inspecting the instruments of war that are built for the coming action. He lends a hand wherever one is needed.
Having his good work rewarded with a successful outcome, Strom relaxes on the grass next to Sage. The cat does not stir, its exertions wore the familiar out completely. He looks lazily at Severa. "Take my share and use it any way you see fit, but leave me enough for a couple good meals at the Inn." The dwarf closes his eyes and listens to his bobcat companion sleep, a soft purr that reminds him of his own efforts this day.
Strom rolls up his sleeves and sets to work, wondering how the local mages intend to stitch all of this magical energy together. He reckons it's not so different from how the old druid did it earlier, combining energies into a single spell. He gives it his best effort though the religion bit throws him for a loop. Sage sleeps through the entire effort.
Strom nods to the fellow druids. "Aye. Before the last attack Ah helped your elder druid restore the guardian to the town, giving of the energy Ah have, and Ah'm willing to do that again now. Is there a ritual or ceremony we'll be performing?"
Strom has no use nor appreciation of religion, though he does not dismiss out of hand the disciples of various gods and practitioners of holy (or unholy) magic. To the contrary, he respects anyone who helps those upon whom misfortune has visited itself. Strom himself has received and bestowed the benefits of healing magic many, many times. It's the point at which the dead are given life, or undeath, where he questions the morality of such clerics. But now a religion inclined toward nature, that was something he could understand, for isn't nature the source of life, and unto which the dead are returned? Indeed. Strom listens intently to Severa and likewise bows when she does. "Aye," he adds. "How can we help?"
Yeah, Japan has been near the top of my list for a long time too. Great account and sounds amazing!
Tell us about Japan!
Strom listens intently across a plate of food to Astella's news. The "big Spell" is noteworthy and once he has filled his ample belly and once Sage is done cleaning herself, he will investigate that particular need. "Thank you, Astella."
He almost doesn't notice as the bard takes a step toward the door and then returns, but it's none of his business.
He licks his fingers and follows a draught of ale with a quiet belch. "Come Sage, we should go see what the mages are up to. Severa, would you like to join us?"
Strom nods affirmatively.
"That's all well and good but you can see in the dark and we cannot." Strom speaks to the Ranger. "Can you confirm what it's saying about the riverbed?" Then he huddles with the others in his close group, out of earshot of the goblins and townsfolk. "If anyone else in this town had told us that story Ah'd be moved to tears, but coming from a goblin... Ah just don't know. This goblin is intelligent. It speaks the local language. It could easily be crafting a clever lie to lure us into a trap. "And we've been given all the coin they have to give for our efforts thus far. We'll be exposing ourselves to deadly risk for nothing but promises which they are ill-equipped to keep. If you want to be helpful and make a stand here, Ah stand with you, but Ah'm too clumsy to be worth much sneaking into the enemy fort. Perhaps the town has some sneaky types, like that ranger, but they haven't volunteered. The risk, and the choice, is yours."
That's good context, and I think underscores the importance of a ranger or druid to be monitoring the nearby countryside for threats. Strom's concern is that the Party members who are making the stealth run will be exposed near the fort. Strom has no points in Stealth so I assume he'll be doing the distraction, and I'm not clear on that part of the plan yet, and to be fair, I have offered no ideas. Metagaming a little, we're putting a lot of faith in the story of this goblin. I'm not sure what I think about goblins having this much humanity, although the leader riding a wyvern does sound terrifying. A Sense Motive roll may be appropriate, especially considering our diplomacy efforts were resisted and IC we have no idea if they were really successful. Looking at it another way, this goblin is very cleverly leading us into a trap - it's intelligent enough to speak more than one language - and we have not entertained that possibility at all. I am personally guilty of this.
"A day's walk?! And it's in the clear open upon a low hill, with visibility for miles around." Strom is incredulous. He looks at the town leaders but holds his sharpened tongue. Did you do nothing while an army of goblins occupied a fortification at your doorstep? "It being so close," he says instead, addressing the ranger and others nearby, "Ah expect you've already done some scouting, such as is possible. Are there any good approaches for our stealth-minded crew, or is every avenue exposed?"
Strom returns from lunch to find the group deliberating tactics. With the discussion about portable wooden barriers, he asks one of the tied-up goblins: "You there. Will there be sentries in the woods in advanced positions? What is the risk our ruse will be discovered before we arrive?" Sage sits at his feet and aggressively cleans her face with a paw.
Strom's not following this conversation. He doesn't know why they would divert and infiltrate Fairhaven. His time on the front lines defending Stone City was less subtle than whatever was just proposed by the ranger. At least she has the good sense to compensate them for the morning's exercise. "Very good. Ah could use a meal too. Sage and Ah will head to the store and then over to the tavern."
Yeah, it's not our town. We helped them repel an attack and got them a good threat assessment. They can decide what to do with that information. Some coin for our effort would be appropriate.
I've forgotten why we are in this town and how it relates to our current quest. It seems like we've done our bit here and more.
Strom considers what he might know about the flying beast.
The talk of freeing prisoners causes Strom to raise an eyebrow in the direction of the town leaders. This was news, if true, and represented an unusual bargaining chip. Alas, it is not his chip to play. "Tell us about your leader. How did he take power and what motivates him to menace these lands? Is it simple greed and bloodlust, or does he crave something greater?"
Strom nods affirmatively to Daniel. The young man is quite a mystery to the dwarf; not an hour ago he was hurling javelins at fleeing foes, now he offers them water. A conversation for another time. Anyway, at the moment the dwarf has more respect for these goblins than the local townsfolk, but to admit that would be bad form. He holds the jerky reward, waiting for the goblin's response.
"Silence!" Strom directs toward the peanut gallery. "Show your enemy respect and they may show it to you. Now be quiet or be gone."
Strom grasps his beard and tugs it lightly in a thoughtful manner. He expected the answer to his first question to be vague, and the information about the fort was something the locals here likely know already. He would confirm later. Strom continues speaking goblin. "How many is your number?" He takes a stick of jerky from his pouch and breaks it, then waits for them to answer.
As the goblin prisoners come to, Strom stands above them and addresses them in their native tongue. "See there?" he points to the pile of dead goblins. "Eighteen dead. And now look around. This town lost not a man today. You were beaten, and badly. Now Ah'll tell you a secret, Ah'm not from here. Ah come from Avlee by way of Stone City, and Ah'm not alone. Many have come in the defense of this town and of this country, and many more will follow. The town will not fall to you, not today or any other day. Do you understand?" Strom paces slowly in front of the goblins. "You are prisoners here, but so long as you cooperate and answer our questions, you will be cared for, and if you answer all of our questions fully and truthfully your lives will be spared. You may be able to return to your tribe and move on. But you will not attack this town again, or any other in this country." Strom begins his interrogation, rewarding responses that seem truthful and cooperative with food and water. For starters asks the following questions: "Where do you come from, and where do you assemble?"
Strom gives Sage a health check and grooms his animal companion. "There now, lass, you'll have an extra helping from the table tonight, even if it has to come from mah plate." He then checks on the goblins that have been tied up and fends off anyone who might try to execute the prisoners. "For now, they should be kept alive. They have information and Ah intend to get that out of them, but roughing them up more now doesn't help us." He'll attempt to revive one that looks like it's not too bad off, but he stops short of using magic to speed up the process.
With the goblins in full retreat, Strom summons Sage back to his side. "One more dead goblin won't make a difference except to spread the word that this town will not fall to the likes of them. Let them run." Considering the relatively poor performance he demonstrated during the fight, he has very little on which to hang his hat. Good for the town. A good result, anyway, which should buy time to investigate the source and cause of these attacks.
Apologies, on vacation at the family farm. Please bot me until next week.
Strom whistles and calls Sage back to consolidate the attack. "Sage, come back!" Then he summons another wolf to flank the biggest foe.
Strom moves forward to where he can see Sage. Meanwhile his companion and summoned wolf continue to press their attacks.
Hmm, I've been playing this wrong the whole time.
I'm not sure what the benefit of intelligence is if the animal is constrained to following trained commands and must be directed to only things the PC can see. RAW says an intelligent animal can decide for itself which enemy to attack; the example given is it can determine the weakest foe or even open doors unbidden. If I tell it to hunt or to stop a group of foes from flanking us, I would expect it to know what to do. If I told it to check for a foe attempting to get around us between those buildings I think it could do that as well. In my opinion, RAW gives you the leeway to decide what the companion can understand, and if it goes beyond simple instructions, a Handle Animal roll could determine success. If I fail, Sage is confused and does not act. That's a risk I would take. We haven't been doing that but I could agree to that.
With the new, larger wave of goblins now upon them, Strom finally releases Sage to the front of the attack. Sage leaps ahead and bites at the nearest foe. Meanwhile, Strom steps from behind the house and summons a wolf to tie up the big bruiser for a round.
Strom's enthusiasm dims as more goblins approach. "Steady, girl," he says to Sage. "There's plenty of fight left." The dwarf and his bobcat advance to engage the next wave.
"We're driving them back!"
Strom and Sage advance to attack the nearest remaining goblin.
The cat proves to be far more effective. "Keep at it!" encourages Strom. "More gobbos are on the way!"
Strom swings again and Sage bites.
With the previously entangled goblins advancing to attack Daniel, Strom takes his chain flail and swings it at the adjacent foe. Sage bears her claws and launches at the same goblin.
Unfortunately, both Strom and Sage miss badly, perhaps surprised by the ferocity of the enemy.
Sorry, I'm colorblind. Green, dark green, orange, against brown is impossible for me. Red, Yellow, Black, Blue, White is wonderful. Wider borders also helps a lot. Thanks.
I'm not sure what I think about the goblins running off the map. I get that the world is continuous but a tactical map is a confined space, or at least that's what I've always thought. There should be rules attached to leaving the map, such as combatants must return within X rounds or not at all. What's to prevent them from running all the way around the map to attack us from behind? Can we attack things or target spaces that are off the map? Can I attack, then move off the map to avoid being attacked and then return the next round to attack again? That's more or less what the goblins just did.
Unfortunately, Strom had been sequestered away from the town to recreate the guardian, and his lack of knowledge of the streets has caused him to waste a significant opportunity to slow down the invaders. All he can do for the moment is double back to where he started. 2x move.
Yes, thanks. How about you?
"Here we go," says Strom confidently. He moves forward, hearing the goblins speaking hastily opposite the row of buildings in the area of the attack. His short legs move him enough so that he has an angle around the corner of the southern house to cast a spell, entangling the goblins within. Sage moves with him to catch any of the goblins that can move with more agility through the mess of vines. Cast Entangle (yellow area on map). Duration 3 minutes. "Archers! Take them down!"
No worries.
Strom listens to the old druid and helps with the ceremony to create a new guardian. His first action is to introduce Sage as a friend, although he wonders if other creatures of kind need to have this step performed. Better to be safe when magic is involved. He does not say it, but he wonders if this was an effective use of spells, given the relative ease with which his own party defeated the previous guardian. The wooden wall trap seems like a solid idea although it appears to only serve when the invaders have already penetrated the town proper, and only if some number of them congregate in the square. Perhaps the wall could be used to seal the invaders inside the town and then it could be torched by archers and burn the invaders within. The town could be rebuilt but lives are much more expensive to bring back from the dead. He hopes the rest of the team are making headway and allowed their ideas to improve the fortification.
Traveling for work this week. Pbp will be limited.
Strom: STrom works in silence with the elder druid, learning what he can of the ritual while lending his magic when appropriate. Sage spends the afternoon hunting and cleaning herself and lounging in the sun.
I don't think there's anything wrong with your word choice. I have tried to play Strom as affable and in this event he felt truly insulted. I thought the angry old dwarf is the druid, and that's where Strom's temper was directed. If we want to keep going on this - not my preference - Strom thinks that putting all the blame on the lackey demonstrates a failure of leadership, and continuing to berate Strom reveals deep insecurity. If you were writing a novel those would be interesting character traits and our dialog could set the tone for more troubles with this town; it's a town that needs us but doesn't want us. The NPCs are desperate while untrusting. But in this context, as a player, I'd prefer to move ahead.
Druidic:
Clearly this older druid doesn't get out much. His manner is obnoxious. "Ah would say that in absence of leadership, the malcontents will have their way. "Ah have chosen to stay and help. Would you continue to litigate this settled matter? What is the wisdom in that? Ah fought in the last war and lost mah brother to it; Ah'll receive no lecture on the nature of grievances. If we are here to work then Ah'd like to get to it and be on mah way."
Strom stops and turns, his demeanor changed. "A little kindness and courtesy, that's all that was needed. Very well." Druidic: "Ah was most interested to find you and see how Ah could be of aid. Of course Ah will help in any way you need."
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