"I'm right here Brom" Talbot answered, stepping from behind the group. Let's see if anyone has left behind a trap to guard this tomb.
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Talbot follows suit with the other soldiers, investigating the nearby scream.
After drying his clothes and staging his gear for the night, Talbot grabs a spot close to the fire. Hungrily devouring his supper, the halfling nurses a flagon of luglurch ale while patiently listening to the commentary of the haggard wolfpointers. It's good to be around men who know the face of war as well as our company. It's obvious these soldiers have had a rough tour, despite the fact that the Goblinblood Wars have been over for some time. I guess burning down half the Chitterwood only partially solved Isger's burgeoning goblinoid problems. Although their morale is intact, I'm not sure they can handle another war, especially against an enemy who is already dead. Hopefully the Crimson Kings can get to the root of the matter, before it comes to that, but we're gonna need all the intel we can muster to face an opponent that doesn't sleep, eat or breathe. Finishing the last of his grog, Talbot stands and stretches. Before departing for bed, the tipsy halfling asks a single question. "So what do you men make of the rumors that the Widow Queen, Kaltessa Iyis is raising an undead army from the ranks of the deceased created by the Goblinblood War?"
After handing in a report composed mostly of barely legible notes and topographical sketches of the AO, Talbot visits the archery range for some much needed trigger time. Honing his skill with the crossbow, Talbot fires bolts from the camp surplus well into the evening. As the sun sets and it becomes too dark for training, the halfling marksman retires to his tent for a little supper and his nightly staging ritual.
Talbot nonchalantly strolls back into the cave. "What the hell is taking so long? We were supposed to leave camp ten minutes ago." Noticing the bloody corpse of the slain prisoner, Talbot recants his hasty jibbing, "Sorry, I guess she got out of hand huh? I knew there was something weird about her."
Talbot stands to the south west of the gathering space, watching the strange woman through his scope. If this wench tries anything funny I'll put her down like a rabid dog. Come on skank, give me a reason!
"While there are no obvious wounds, it looks as if these victims died a painful death. Perhaps a poisonous fog or a fell magic caught them unaware." Talbot commented to the others.
"Let's spread out and reconnoiter the area. There's got to be some intelligence here, we just gotta find it." Carefully moving in to the valley of the dead, Talbot periodically spys the distant gathering area through the new scope mounted on his crossbow, watching for any sudden movement.
"Good boy King." Talbot says while patting the enormous hound's head. While scouting the perimeter, Talbot finds a good stick to play fetch with, tossing it for King several times. remain undetected - detect threats -
"Got it Hangman. I'll see if I can round up some intelligence for us." Talbot exclaims as he heads off to meet the Eagle Knights.
After attaching his new sight to his crossbow, Talbot gathers the remainder of his gear and heads out for the inn. I wonder who our mysterious new benefactor is. Whoever they are, they obviously know the quickest way to a soldiers heart is to upgrade their loadout. I can't wait to get some triggertime, and put the dope on the scope. Gathering with the rest of the squad, Talbot has a hearty lunch. Knowing that in his line of work every meal could be your last, he eats his fill and urges the others to do the same. "Eat up soldiers! We might not get another hot meal for some time!" After lunch, Talbot pockets an apple and refills his waterskin for the coming maneuvers. "Private Flynn, reporting for duty sir!" Talbot exclaims while saluting Corporal Running. "Weapons and gear have been staged for combat sir, I'm ready to slay a dragon. What's our next move boss?"
After a little shopping, Talbot walks the camp lending a helping hand to the communal effort. As the halfling labors, he makes smalltalk with the survivors, trying to piece together the full story of the days attack. Doing his best to calm their nerves, Talbot remarks "Isgerians are a sturdy lot. It's gonna take more than a few gobbos and zombies to finish us!" As the sun sets, the halfling's belly issues a familiar gurgle. Gotta get some grub. Fighting really builds an appetite. Heading to the local inn, Talbot rendezvous with the Captain of the Eagle Knights. While enjoying a generous meal, the halfling rubs elbows with the Andoran freedom fighters, conveying his utmost respect for the liberators. Before departing for camp, he stands and gives a regal salute to the fellow soldiers, "It's been an honor and a pleasure to serve with you gentleman, may you future battles be valorous and victorious. In the name of Talmandor, glory and freedom!" returning to quarters, Talbot follows his normal routine of staging down his gear, then meticulously preparing it to go at a moments notice. Before bed, he attatches the masterwork sling purchased earlier at market to his crossbow, and sharpens his new acid bolts with his trusty whetstone.
Awesomesauce! Did you mean the normal variety? If so how much does it cost?
10 Masterwork Acid Bolt = 460 gp 1 Masterwork Weapon Sling = 100 gp Weapon Sling: This two to three foot long strap or cord can be attached to any two-handed crossbow or firearm, allowing it to be slung over the shoulder for easy storage. Masterwork varieties of the Weapon Sling exist, allowing the user to stow or recover their weapon as a swift action.
Talbot Gains: 1 Level of Rogue (Sniper)
Have not figured out what I'm gonna buy. Probably more masterwork bolts.
In a fluid motion, Talbot reloads his crossbow with an audible rack. Moving closer to Hangman, he coordinates with the Tian youth. "Hey Neko, wanna give me a hand? Let's see if we can free the big guy, they don't call him Hangman for nothing!"
Talbot swivels out from his hide, crossbow held at eye level. Moving at a brisk pace, he closes the distance between him and his targets. "Good work squad, I think we got the drop on em'. Let's focus our efforts, one target at a time." Following his own advice, Talbot targets the same creature Hangman attacked, sending a bolt whistling down range.
"All right soldiers, eyes on me. I'm gonna move south and look for targets." Skulking past the others, Talbot darts into position.
"Glad to see you've had a change of heart Hangman. Let's give those devil lovers a hand." Grasping his crossbow firmly, Talbot intertwines his forearm with it's sling, creating a tight brace of sorts for the weapon. Walking in a low crouch, he follows the hulking Andoran, eyes level with the barrel of his crossbow, watching for movement.
Still here. Map won't load.
As tempting as it was, to shoot the zombie battling Neko in the back while it was distracted, Talbot thought better of it and decided to conserve resources. "Use your blades and finish these stinking fleshbags! We gotta rally up and help those knights!"
Wrapped in sticky spider goo, Talbot wriggles nervously, attempting to free himself from the vermin's webs. "Damnit, I'm a sitting duck for those zombies. Gotta get out of these webs fast!"
Talbot's attention is quickly captured by the spider approaching from the south. In one fluid motion he swings his crossbow in the direction of the injured aracnid and fires. "Taste bolt you sneaky web-slinger!"
Aiming his crossbow at the pack of goblin dogs, Talbot fires a bolt at one of the injured zombie hounds.
Falling back to the safety of the concealing treeline, Talbot sheathes his shortsword and reloads his crossbow. "Look, riders from the northern and southern flanks approach! Let's finish these straglers and rally up!" sheath shortsword reload light crossbow
Watching the tide of battle shift in the enemy's favor, Talbot commences the withdrawl ordered by Corporal Running.
Also noticing the dogs approaching from the south, Talbot moves to strengthen the flank. "Looks like it's our job to stop the southern advance! Nice throw Skold, keep em' coming!"
Realizing his current weapon is unaffective, Talbot follows suit with the other squad members and decides to pull his shortsword. "I hear you Hangman, nice moves, switching to a blade myself. Looks like it's time for a little CQB."
"Damn, did you see that? I shot that thing square in the chest and it barely flinched! Anyone know how to kill these things?" Talbot screams in frustration.
"Yes sir, locked and loaded. Forming up the rear, As the adrenaline takes hold of the halfling marksman, his training kicks in and he instantly starts tactical movement towards his fellow squadmates. Moving with an even stride and slightly bent at the knees, Talbot takes up position behind some of his larger cohorts. "I see a lot of targets. Looks like we'll be earning our coin the hard way today soldiers!" Aiming between his allies, holding his breath for a few short moments, Talbot fires on one of the enemies lumbering in front of a nearby wooden structure.
Talbot moves up to the edge of the treeline, crossbow in hand ready to cover the withdrawl of his fellow "Lookout".
Before falling in with the others, Talbot combs the immediate area for the missing bolt he fired at the beginning of the skirmish.
After recovering his missing bolt, Talbot reloads his crossbow and resumes his position in the rear echelon of the squad keeping a wary eye on the foreboding woods surrounding him.
Like a leaf spinning on a summers breeze, Talbot gracefully evades yet another onslaught of snapping jaws. Continuing his tumbling trend, Talbot retreats with a backward handspring.
Narrowly escaping the dry snapping teeth of three beady eyed rat hounds, Talbot recoils from the dogs. Curling into a ball around his crossbow and rolling to his rear to put some space between himself and his opponents, the halfling springs back up in a defensive posture.
"Roger that sir, I'm locked and loaded and ready ta give em' the Nine Hells!" Talbot immediately bends slightly at the knees in to a low stance, swinging his crossbow up in to his line of sight. He makes a slow and steady fanning maneuver in to the open field on his right where he crouches amongst the tall foliage. Aiming at the approaching rat hounds Talbot notices the strange nature of his opponents. Normally these flea bags are rabid frothing mange hosts. These seem to have a blank expression... Strange... "Anyone know why they look so weird?" Not getting caught up in the unfamiliarity of his prey, Talbot holds his breath and squeezes the trigger of his crossbow letting fly a freshly sharpened bolt.
Just returning from his routine morning jog, Talbot overhears the Corporal addressing the squad. More gobbos huh? Awesome, a chance to use my new ammo! Better get back and check my gear one last time before we muster. Determined to do a final equipment check, Talbot strides through camp enthusiastically, the adrenaline of pre-combat jitters coursing through his veins.
I'll take a rear position. During the week of downtime Talbot spends his earnings on masterwork ammo and spends nights sharpening crossbow bolts with his whetstone. Purchased: 20 small sized masterwork crossbow bolts = 122 gp After a week of late nights toiling with the whetstone, Talbot carries 17 sharpened bolts and 20 masterwork sharpened bolts.
"You know fellas... I'm not one for politics myself. But if ya ask me these bandits turned revolutionaries are crazier than s#!thouse dire rats. I mean you basically have the Isgerian army to thank for the defeat of the Goblinblood Hordes, now these bandits want to start an insurrection in the middle of the gods be damned Chitterwood of all the places. I mean, I could really care less as long as my coin pouch stays full and as long as Isger is nothing but a thrall to Cheliax, I'm fighting for the side with the biggest church of Abadar if you know what I mean!" Standing armorless but never without his polished crossbow slung over his shoulder, Talbot swaggers over to the keg pouring himself a generous mug of cold suds to ease his troubled thoughts.
i'll pair up with you. Awesome! With our high perception scores we're not likely to get surprised. Gotta love good intel ;)
Talbot has the Lookout feat if anyone is looking to pair up.
As Talbot returns to camp, his first order of business is staging down his gear. Routine cleaning of his weapon and armor as well as replacing any missing items. Then he meticulously repacks his ruck and stages up his gear so it is ready to go at a moments notice. After tending to his gear, Talbot returns to the company of his remaining squadmates. "Well congratulations boys we survived! Another successful mission and we even got paid! Too bad One-Eye and my halfling brethren got transferred, I hope their next contract involves plenty of raw meat and face paint haha haha. I wonder who the new replacements will be? I hope we get some veterans from the Goblinblood War, I've always wanted to meet a real Eagle Knight of Andoran" The thought of one devoted to the cause of liberty makes Talbot smile.
First off, I apologize for coming across as if things weren't working. It is hard to step in after a game is already started and I could have been more tactful in how I approached the challenge of it. No apology required. I appreciate you volunteering your time, and understand as a CO-DM your gonna have a few guidelines. 2nd, to summerize the points raised from the previous thread: Most of you think that everything was going fine, and I can keep going with that, with a few exceptions I would like to throw out there for discussion. The dice rolling is something that I have found in other games really does save me time and allows me to update more often. For the combat posts, I can appreciate not wanting to do that entire block of text that I suggested, but round #, current vs total hp, and any other temporary effects not likely listed elsewhere would be helpful to keep everything straight. Otherwise, I am willing to keep going with what is currently being done as long as the pace of the game stays solid. Just wondering, are we gonna still use the dice roller for things like attacks, damage, skill checks, etc.? I'm fine with the round updating text. 3rd, if you have ideas of where to go from here, post them here. I wasn't expecting the sharp reactions that I got in the last thread, so in order to alleviate that in the future, I will try to be more aware of what the group is looking for. I see no reason why we can't continue where we left off. Bear should be returning soon. We still don't know if hangman is still in and Krathok has dropped out I believe. The Corporal, Declan and I are still waiting as Abitan and Hakon sneak off. BTW - I hope we are still adventuring in Isger, that was one of my initial selections when the thread started up. 4th, once we have a direction determined, I will probably try to recruit one or two more people, but I don't want to recruit more people until I know that the group is going to be intact long enough to justify it. Great! Get us some devout contractors. Reinforcements should be arriving soon and Corporal Running will accept nothing but the best!
As Talbot waits patiently for the shenanigans of his squad mates to pass, he draws an oil cloth from his pocket and begins to polish the stock of his light crossbow. From his handling of the weapon it becomes obvious that this halfling knows his crossbow, as he cocks it several times and makes a few minor adjustments to its inner workings. "Well I'm glad I didn't have to wrestle anyone" Talbot remarks. "If you don't mind me asking Corporal, What's our next move sir?"
"During the Goblinblood Wars the armies of Isger were forced to burn down much of the Chitterwood to root out the bulk of the enemy. My guess is that this clearing may well be the result of one such foray" Talbot replied to Declan in a matter of fact tone. "Although it does seem they missed a few gobbos in the process, huh Veto? Guess we'll have to finish the job!" Brandishing a smirk and a loaded crossbow, Talbot turns his attention to the cave mouth, watching for any sudden movement.
Also taking a page from a co-GM of mine can you folks list the magic items that you'd like to gain in the future? No guarantees that you'll actually get them, but it gives me an idea on what stuff I can try and seed into the game. Talbot is a sniper and I plan to eventually make the transition from crossbow to rifle, so obviously some type of musket or ammo would be helpful. Also items that help me stealth, as the others have pointed out, are always useful.
After gathering his recovered bolts, Talbot reloads his light crossbow and quickly catches up with the squad."Corporal Running, are we to follow the scouts, or are we going to investigate this cave sir?"
"Let's finish of the leftovers fellas!" Talbot exclaims with a look of determination. What we don't need is one of our enemies escaping and telling more of its kind about us. Better make this next shot count.
No problem, thank you boss :)
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