Begging everyone's forgiveness. My wife and I are in the middle of some big life decisions, one of which is getting the house ready for a move to Denver ... which also means my job role is shifting. so my time has gotten wonky. I'm still here and rolling; i'll try to keep things moving forward.
Secondarily, this section has the potential to really grind us to a halt. The DC's are high (20's and 25's across the attempts). So, how do you all want to handle this? Have someone pick a skill on the list, then go ahead and post everyone's AA's at the same time? (so we're not waiting on everyone to roll Assists for each attempt)
Kul-Amon, I still have you at -2 hp after that healing. Can you confirm?
Kul-Amon wrote:
"What was it? And why do you think it attacked us?"
It'd be Know (Nature) to ID the creature.
Further searches — magical or mundane — reveal nothing more about this room. None of the idols appear magical to Jikan's detection attempts, the unidentified wand, however, is another matter.
You'd need a skill check as normal to ID the wand.
Korum is able to pick up the trail easily after the fight, and (once the group is ready to move on) he points the way. Very quickly, however, the complexity of the maze exerts itself, obscuring this easy trail. The curving, branching halls of this structure are lined with the same stone as the natural caverns outside, and the arched ceiling meets high overhead. Nearly every surface boasts inscribed text—some of it delicate and flowing, but surrounded by a tangle of jagged and hastily etched scribbles. The endless twisting passageways inspire a faint sense of vertigo, as if the floor were swaying underfoot.
Now that you're in the maze proper, your tasks become a bit abstracted, looking more like a series of skill checks. It is, as far as you can tell, a large, complex, confusing set of corridors which you must use a few options to attempt to navigate. The group must make a series of checks, each time electing someone as the leader who will make their chosen skill check (with anyone interested and able providing Asists, if you wish). Each check reflects an hour of effort, and no character may make back-to-back checks as the leader. You have 4 choices:
• Follow the Minotaur's Trail: a Survival check to follow Nuar's tracks.
• Princely Perfumes: a Perception check to try to pick out stray details he may have unintentionally left behind.
• Solve the Maze: a Knowledge (Dungeoneering) check. Taking the maze head-on taxes the mind, but the insanity it causes also unveils fresh insight. PC's may willingly take 1d4 points of Wisdom damage, and in exchange receive a +5 bonus to the Knowledge (dungeoneering) check.
• Understand the Maze: a Knowledge (Arcane) check. A PC can take the same Wisdom damage trade-off outlined above on this attempt.
The little creature — faced with multiple threats — focuses its defenses on the row of brutish-looking half-orcs. This poor decision will be his last, as Yargul's booted heel cracks down on the base of its skull. With a sickening crunching sound, the thing's bulging eyes roll back and it collapses to the floor, its life quickly fading from its body.
The ambusher is down and dying.
Other than the creature's twisted little club, a wand sticks out of its grubby little garb. And now that the fight is over, you realize that there are little bone and basalt idols — 20 to be exact — crowding around the tiny shrines near the doors.
do whatever ID'ing, healing, or exploring that you'd like. I'll be able to push us forward later this afternoon.
The creature ducks, using Kul-Amon as a body shield against Shaya's attack. (It gains cover, from what I can tell.) No amount of cowering can protect it from Old Faithful, though, and a blast of arcane force catches it square in the chest.
INITIATIVE - ROUND 1
Bad Guy (17 damage)
Jikan
Dulcinea
Shaya
Yargul
Kul-Amon (8 damage)
Korum
Dulcinea failed to connect. The little creature snarls in frustration at the wall of bodies between itself and its elusive little quarry, so it pounces on the only weakness it can find. Stepping up, it flurries with club and maw, trying to overwhelm Kul-Amon.
Cool on the weapon, Korum. I'd assume everyone still has their weapons out given the bug-smashing episode. :)
(And thanks for the arrows. Very helpful. i removed them since your movement was solid ... and AoO free.)
Assuming Jikan is under 4 feet tall... Acrobatics, DC 16:1d20 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16
The little speedster smacks Kul-Amon in a gap in his armor along his ribs as it races past, leaving Korum far behind as it darts among the legs of the taller pathfinders then ends with a final, explosive leap that carries it up over Jikan's head.
Kul-Amon, you take 8 damage from the thing's club.
Korum, you have an AoO for it leaving one of your threatened squares (though no flank with the flat-footed Kul-Amon).
INITIATIVE - ROUND 1
Bad Guy
Jikan
Dulcinea
Shaya
Yargul
Kul-Amon (8 damage)
Korum
I just moved everyone forward onto the new section of the map.
Jikan’s efforts inspecting the vials prove insightful. He identifies two of the three as potions of cure light wounds. The third remains a mystery.
As Jikan and the stragglers catch up, Korum and Kul-Amon press forward into the new chamber. And while Korum can’t find any details supporting his dragon theory, the Nethysite finds the telltale signs of ritual in the way the little idols are decorated. The significance, however, remains elusive.
As Korum scans for information, though, something catches his eye. His instincts kick in. He squints into the darkness, following his gut.
There. Up on the wall. Near the door and above one of the strange shrines. A small humanoid clings effortlessly, silently to the wall. Skin pale as a slug's belly. Head, arms, and legs too large for its small frame. Korum's orcen eyes lock the thing's bulbous, red eyes for one extended heartbeat.
Then, without warning or sound, it launches itself at you, covering far more distance — and far less time — than you'd have expected. It lands, threatening the surprised Kul-Amon with teeth and club.
INITIATIVE - SURPRISE ROUND
Bad Guy - moved into position
Jikan (surprised)
Dulcinea (surprised)
Shaya (surprised)
Yargul (surprised)
Kul-Amon (surprised)
Korum - single action
Future Society aspirants will scratch their heads and laugh at this moment of levity among the smashed bodies, ichor-covered cave floors, and haunting ambience of this mission. Then again, Pathfinders have always been cut from a different cloth.
But, as always, the immediacy of the mission re-exerts itself, and right as the team follows Korum’s lead forward, something catches Jikan’s arcane senses. Buried under the sand near where the two beasties ambushed you, a few magical items reveal themselves: a scroll and three vials.
It’s a DC 16 Spellcraft or Perception check to ID the vials, but Jikan can ID the scroll via Read Magic, learning that it’s a Scroll of Lesser Restoration.
Once you finish any attempts at ID’ing the potions…
The group marches forward into the gloom. The natural caverns suddenly give way to worked stone and metal fixtures. Dangling glass balls flicker and cast a weak, greenish glow across the chamber. Ahead, a series of green-tiled, wide, terraced stairs slope up to an imposing bronze door, partly torn from its hinges. The stairs bear hundreds of symbols that seem to warp and flicker.
The reek of decay, along with a pungent, acidic smell fills the chamber. As you peer farther into the room, you squint to see heaps of bones and garbage scattered about. On both sides of the bronze door — barely visible at this range through the weak, green flicker of the room's light —numerous small idols sit in niches and nooks. Their clumsy design clearly contrasts the delicate swoops and strokes of this large room's walls and door.
A new area of the map is revealed. You're entering from the top. Go ahead and place your tokens and let me know what the game plan is.
The first thing Korum finds are tracks, a path that seems heavily traveled as of late and leads down a particular cavern branch and farther into the gloom. The second thing he finds is that not only are there minotaur prints along said path, but it looks like there was a fight or ambush. Then huge drag marks in place of the minotaur prints as it heads farther down that path.
And the third thing Korum finds is … well, whatever it was, it’s interrupted as Shaya grabs him up into an oversized headlock. Her booming laugh echos off the cavern walls.
Shaya's huge glaive slams into the ground, trapping the creature in place while Yargul does what folks have done to bugs for time out of mind ... stomps it under his heel.
Combat over!
The chamber goes suddenly still, filled mostly with the team's own breathing and the death-skitters of the two creatures. Now that the fight is over (and you have a moment to be a bit more perceptive), you notice that one of the little bug-creatures seems to have some kind of harness on it. Or, rather, the aged, well-worn remains of a harness that looks like it might have been put to actual use months ago.
A quick scan shows that there a number of cracks and smaller caves leading away from this one.
Despite the fact that the given map has an obvious route forward, it's not so obvious to your characters. You'll need to find your way forward through this area.
Dulcinea darts forward and slides the tip of her rapier into a crack in its hide, skewering it to the floor. Ichor sqirts out as it dies on the floor. Jikan steps forward to finish his Enlargening spell on Shaya, who explodes to twice her size. Jikan then flicks out his every-ready wand and sends a bolt of force into the remaining ambusher, its hide soaking up most of the damage.
One ambusher down and dying. One takes 2 damage from Jikan.
INITIATIVE - ROUND 1
Jikan
Kul-Amon (-6hp)
Dulcinea
Yargul
Baddies (A is down; B @ -2 hp)
Shaya
Korum (Delayed?)
- ROUND 2
Jikan
Kul-Amon (-6hp)
Dulcinea
Yargul
Shaya and Korum (I think) still to finish Round 1. Then Kul-Amon and Yargul in round 2 before the remaining baddy.
The two creatures — whose small bodies you realize to be slightly luminescent as they fully shed their sandy covering — ignore the advancing paladin to converge on the most immediate threat ... Kul-Amon. One brings its mouth-pincers to bear on his axe-wrist, just missing. The other, though, bites low, its hard pincers snapping momentarily closed on his legs ... shearing into a bit of exposed flesh.
Shaya and Korum — the crashing cousins — you're up! Then everyone can go directly into Round 2. Given the nature of combat and PbP, feel free to be proactive if you'd like.
Yargul strides cautiously forward, shield pushing the gloom back farther and farther. As he moves between the two piles sand, the softest hiss of sliding sand registers in his elven ears. His eyes dart towards the sound just in time to see two ... somethings disturbing the surface of the sand. The shifting of those somethings causes the sand to slide off their carapace, and he can just see the shapes of some kind of bug creatures just beginning to launch an ambush.
Yargul, you're up in a Surprise round, so a single action before they can spring their ambush. A few of you just missed the Perception DC, but you'll be up before the ambushers in the first full round.
Seems like a few of our group are having general busy-ness (totally understandable). But just to be crystal clear, you may have to get more proactive to get much more accomplished. I'm happy to be patient; just don't want anyone waiting on me. :)
Shaya continues the (uncharacteristically slow) half-orc advance, holding up her gem to push back the gloom a bit. The only movement she sees is the reflection of a slow ripple in the far water, making a faint ring of light that crawls across the walls towards her. Neither her eyes nor her paladinic senses reveal anything new or naughty. Her footsteps are met with silence.
Grandmaster Torch's instructions are surprisingly helpful, and — with Korum making an expert show of taking point in the dark caverns – the crew makes excellent time down into the dark depths. He quickly picks up a set of large, heavy hooved tracks, most likely those of the missing minotaur. But as Korum follows them deeper, the canny half-orc points out a string of tell-tale signs that there is more living down here than Nuar (if he still lives). Korum points out small tracks, well, smaller than any of your own save maybe Jikan's, and in greater numbers. There also seem to be what he thinks are signs of large insects of some kind. But there are also other ... less encouraging signs. Odds and ends from the surface. Torn scraps of clothing. Scratches in the walls that might be writing or might just be errant marks of whatever has walked these caves before. Then, littered here and there, are bones. Some from dogs, cats, or rats. Some seeming humanoid.
You reckon it's been barely over an hour — far less time than you think you could have spent wandering down in these confusing caverns without luck and Korum's expert tracking — when you come to something new.
The cavern opens from a bottleneck into a large, smooth cavern of striated blue stone and pale, sandy floors. The walls glisten with moisture, and a small pool sits on the eastern side of the chamber. All across the area, thick carpets of fungus blanket the stones.
The ball's in your court. How do you proceed?
(The Mappity Map has been updated for your convenience. Please place yourselves according to actions / marching order.)
One note, though: this area is completely dark. Korum and Shaya can make good use of their Darkvision, but everyone else will need to tell me what types of illumination (if any) they are using. If none, let me know, as well, so you all can stumble through the darkness with your orc-blooded teammates holding your hands. :)
Apologies for radio silence yesterday. You know how it is. Work. Work. Work.
Torch quirks an eyebrow at Yargul's followup question, but only shrugs enigmatically.
Dreng ignores Torch, instead giving a frustrated shake of his head. "Unfortunately, this has all come to light too quickly. We don't know what we don't know. Your group has proven resourceful and resilient ..." he pauses, quirking his head with a half-smile, "only other word that fits the word pattern is resurrection." He looks back at your assembled team, "Was that in poor taste? That was in poor taste. You'll do great."
*** Back to the present, in the tunnels ***
It is with those final super-encouraging words ringing in your ears — along with Torch's instructions regarding finding the mysterious maze's entrance — that you find yourselves ushered into the early morning Absolom gloom, then down into the sewers.
You're fairly certain it hasn't even been an hour since you passed below the streets of the Ivy District, through some sewer maintenance tunnels, and into the natural caverns mentioned in Torch's super-special notes.
DM:
2d6 ⇒ (1, 1) = 2
Long before the walls went from tool-cut stone to natural formations, any light sources from the surface were completely gone. Only those of you with dark vision can see through the gloom unaided. The shift from the smells of Absolom, then sewer, then ancient natural cavework leaves your noses reeling. And at this point, the only sounds are your own footsteps, gear creakings, and breathing echoing into a criss-cross of confusing caverns.
Korum, want to give me a Survival check?
Any actions or preparations anyone wants to make? And what's the marching order?
Also, please make any final purchases (string, chalk, personal burial plots) you deem necessary. :)
Neither "Nelk" nor his fellow guard so much as bat an eye. Truly they are a testament to stoics everywhere.
Torch gives a nod and smile as Korum appropriately anticipates his unwillingness to share his notes. "My notes," he starts with a playful emphasis, "refer to it as Delirium’s Tangle. The author claims to have once been lost in the maze ages ago and escaped by pure luck. I imagine it’s hardly the simple mines and crypts you’re accustomed to. The design sounds elven, but I haven’t finished translating everything. Perhaps you can enlighten me on your return.
"It lies below the Ivy District, but I couldn’t possibly tell you how deep, or even its surface relation. My notes only tell how to reach it, and even in that they’re needlessly confusing. Very few citizens of Absalom go crawling about beneath the streets, let alone below the sewers. Even I didn’t realize there were any natural caverns below the city; it seems a trifle unsecured to my mind. But even then, it almost sounds from my notes as if the Tangle somehow hides itself, or subconsciously steers people away.”
He pauses, collecting his thoughts before continuing, "The prize, though ... The notes mention a large hourglass of elven design. I believe this may be Izryen’s Hourglass, an artifact left behind when the elves first fled Golarion. It appears often in elven astrological writings, and sounds like a complicated timepiece. Should the Pathfinder Society have no interest," he concludes, looking back over at Dreng, "I’d love to add it to my own collection.”
Dreng rolls sleep-clouded eyes, "No doubt you would." His tone leaves no question as to whether the Society is interested in taking Torch up on his 'offer'. He focuses back on the pathfinder team, "I fear Nuar's time grows short.And you've exhausted the Scenario's freebie info. :DDo you have any other questions before you set out?"
Jikan ponders for a moment. "Anything else you can tell us about Nuar?"
Drang tries to stifle a jaw-cracking yawn, ceding the floor to Torch. The grandmaster shifts in his seat, seeming to pay more attention to his steaming feet than to Jikan as he answers. "He’s something of a local diplomat: officially, he represents Kortos’ minotaur tribes here in Absalom, but most of those tribes aren’t quite as politically minded as Nuar. He seems to know just about everyone, though. Very useful fellow." He quiets a bit, finishing with a discrete tone as if unsure if the rest is sensitive information or not. "And quite recognizable by his albino coloring.”
As Kul-Amon speaks, slow, confused frowns appear on Drang's, Torch's, and the DM's faces. The half-orc guards remain impassive. After an awkward moment, Grandmaster Torch shakes his head, "If you are asking if the maze is dangerous, I am afraid I cannot help you. I don't know of anyone who has actually been down there." He shrugs, "Other than our good friend Nuar, of course. I feel assured, though, that the good Venture-Captain feels you are up to the task." His voice becomes neutral, and he looks down into his own lap, "Why else would he send you?"
The descent down through the forgotten maintenance tunnels and natural caverns below Absalom has been mercifully uneventful, and offers plenty of time to think back on the events of the day.
Messengers found all of you (except the notably absent Klo) across Absalom before sunrise and summoned you to the Grand Lodge on orders from Venture-Captain Drandle Dreng. His milky, half-closed eyes, normally offering a bearing of regal decrepitude, instead looked sour as he apologized for the early hours and introduced a thick man bearing the scars of many horrific burns seated in a chair in Dreng’s office, his feat soaking in a small metal bucket of steaming water. Behind him stand two enormous, heavily armored half-orcs, their arms crossed over their massive chests and all four of their eyes constantly scanning the room for danger. “Pathfinders, this is Grandmaster Torch,” Dreng muttered sleepily. “He’s an... associate of the Society. We owe him a favor after that business in Sedeq, and it seems he’s looking to collect.”
“You wound me, my lord,” said Grandmaster Torch, leaving Dreng chuckling softly to himself in the background. “I come in the interest of the common good. You see, my good friend and occasional business associate, Nuar Spiritskin, is missing. You may know him better as the Minotaur Prince of Absalom, the head of the Taurean Embassy and something of a famous foreign dignitary, what with his assertions that he speaks for all Minotaurs everywhere. A collection of papers recently entered my possession that spoke of a grand maze beneath the city; naturally, my first instinct was to discuss the matter with Nuar. He seemed as intrigued as I and after I elicited his help, he set out at once for the maze. It has been several days, more than enough time for a minotaur to solve a maze, and I grow worried for my bovine chum.
“Clearly, I cannot take this matter to the guard. Poor Nuar would be scandalized if word got around that he couldn’t solve a simple maze. I can provide you with directions to this maze, called Delirium’s Tangle, if you promise to return Nuar quietly to his home. I’m even willing to let your organization keep the artifact I believe lies in the maze’s center. Some ancient, elven hourglass—my notes aren’t specific as to what it does. Just ensure the Prince’s safety.”
Dreng looks incredulous, but solemnly nods. “Nuar is a useful ally to the Society and a lost labyrinth below Absalom herself is too convenient to pass up. Take an hour to prepare and then head out. And be thorough; no telling what you’ll find down there.”
The VC gave you a few moments in case any further questions came up — either for himself or for the man with the burned face.
Ask away, if you have any. :)
And please, if you haven't already — let's all finalize our character changes before we return to the Scenario's "present" where we're slogging through the tunnels.
I think I'll go ahead and kick things off. So, now we begin...
PART IV: Delirium's Tangle
The next few weeks transition once again back to the usual tedium that is the life of a Pathfinder underling. Mostly training sessions broken up by busy work handed down by more senior members, but there are moments of free time. So you spend those free hours doing ... whatever you want, really. Reading, fishing, sparring, drinking, slacking.
One thing does become apparent, though. Over this time, you find your scheduled exercises and tasks see you more and more coordinated with this same crew. It seems the Society muckity-mucks are recognizing a certain synergy you all have when working with each other, and are training you similarly. So you find yourselves spending more and more time together, with one exception. Klo is gone as often as not, though with some poking and prodding the big fisherman reveals that Drang has ordered him into some special "anger management" training after the near-incident with the Deckland woman. "To tame that temper a bit," to hear it said.
Regardless, the absence is softened by the return of the warm, bubbly presence of Kul-Amon, who is quickly briefed on the details of your new team's most recent adventures.
I think it would be interesting if they gave us access to a collective bunk. I like the idea that we're being groomed as a team. Thoughts?
Which would be fine, but we havne't heard from Ember since December.
I don't know if we should cut our losses and move on or not. If we do have to, we're gonna need another DM, since SHaye is alive and kicking in this mug.
There is mention of you seeing a horse in your spoilered intro in the post above this one. That's not correct. The halfling didn't bring a horse into the arena with him. (It's a relic from the original intro for you... boo for bad proofreading.)
As Gregious's cry fills the arena, his shining armor bright amidst the startling white sands of Arena 2, Ran saunters out opposite him, the surprisingly tall halfling carrying a similarly tall longbow on his back, a quiver full of arrows at his hip and some strange blades coming off his right hand. Spiked Gauntlet on his shooting hand. A chain shirt peeks out from under his well-worn brown leather jerkin.
He answers his opponents cry with a quiet stare - whether simply observing or trying to intimidate - no one knows. The mismatched warriors strike quite a scene, Gregious in his burnished breastplate, sword and shield strapped on staring down the surpringly un-intimidated halfling in leathers and firs.
The crowd begins to roar just as the arena's magic engulfs both men, their vision swimming and feeling distinctly like even their relative positions have shifted. You realize where you were in relation to your opponent means nothing, as surely you have been teleported to a new location in the magic arena as it shifted appearances.
Your senses reel as the white sands blow and shift, the arena becoming something new…
Gregious:
Finally, your vision clears. Everything around you has changed. The arena is gone. The roaring of the crowd is replaced by the sound of your own heart beating, your armor creaking, and the faint sound of the wind whispering past the doors of the large circular room in which you now find yourself.
It seems to be some kind of ancient cathedral or shrine, all aged, dusty gray-whites stone. The broken ceiling is some 50 feet above your head, and sunlight streams from multiple holes in the roof, filling the chamber with ample light. Your field of view is hampered by a series of columns that run floor-to-ceilng around the outside of the room. There are also two huge doors, both of which are also floor-to-ceiling. The first is about 30 feet to your left and seems to lead outside. THe other, strangely enough, sits in the very center of the room. And you cannot fathom the reason for this strange location. Beneath these doors, inlaid into the stone floor in a mosaic of yellow and gold tiles is a giant face with what appear to be sun-rays radiating from it. Some old, forgotten god? you think as you look around for your opponent, who seems to have been teleported out of your line of sight, though you can just see his horse standing directly across the chamber from your current position.
Years of training kick in and your body reacts quickly, drinking in your surroundings in a heartbeat and preparing for the fight to come...
You have a new map (or will soon enough).
You have no weapons in-hand, and you have the initiative. The arena was chosen randomly from a set of three of them, with varying advantages/disadvantages for the two of you. And your starting position was also rolled for randomly.
For the sake of expediency, I will roll all reactive die rolls. This includes most perception checks, sense motive checks, saves, etc. If you want to use a skill proactively (which will always have some type of action necessary), you're responsible for rolling those. Obviously you are required to roll your attack and damage rolls. If you ready an action to attack, go ahead and roll those when you ready the action.
I will do my best to post between the posts of you and your opponent, to keep both players up-to-date so they can make informed decisions on their actions. But if at any time you want to make your decision regardless of whether I've had a chance to update, feel free, just know that you may not be acting on the most updated information… and I'm not responsible for that.
Also, spoiler your actions unless you're doing something so overt that the other person couldn't help but see/hear it. If you want to bellow out a challenge, feel free not to spoiler it. Otherwise, I'll be adjudicating the actions. Feel free to use as much flavor text as you want, and I'll do my best to copy/paste it so you can narrate your actions.
Good luck, Gregious. May your shield hold and your blade strike true.
Ran:
Finally, your vision clears, and everything around you has changed. The arena is gone. The roaring of the crowd is replaced by the sound of your own heart beating and the faint sound of the wind whispering past the doors of the large circular room in which you now find yourself.
It seems to be some kind of ancient cathedral or shrine, all aged, dusty gray-whites stone. The broken ceiling is some 50 feet above your head, and sunlight streams from multiple holes in the roof, filling the chamber with ample light. Your field of view is hampered by a series of columns that run floor-to-ceilng around the outside of the room. There are also two huge doors, both of which are also floor-to-ceiling. The first is about 20 feet to your right and seems to lead outside. THe other, strangely enough, sits in the very center of the room. And you cannot fathom the reason for this strange location. Beneath these doors, inlaid into the stone floor in a mosaic of yellow and gold tiles is a giant face with what appear to be sun-rays radiating from it. Some old, forgotten god? you think as you look around for your opponent, who seems to have been teleported out of your line of sight, though there certainly are enough places for him to hide in this big chamber.
Years of training kick in and your body reacts quickly, drinking in your surroundings in a heartbeat and preparing for the fight to come...
You have no weapons in-hand and your opponent has the initiative. The arena was chosen randomly from a set of three of them, with varying advantages/disadvantages for the two of you. And your starting position was also rolled for randomly.
[ooc]For the sake of expediency, I will roll all reactive die rolls. This includes most perception checks, sense motive checks, saves, etc. If you want to use a skill proactively (which will always have some type of action necessary), you're responsible for rolling those. Obviously you are required to roll your attack and damage rolls. If you ready an action to attack, go ahead and roll those when you ready the action.
I will do my best to post between the posts of you and your opponent, to keep both players up-to-date so they can make informed decisions on their actions. But if at any time you want to make your decision regardless of whether I've had a chance to update, feel free, just know that you may not be acting on the most updated information… and I'm not responsible for that.
Also, spoiler your actions unless you're doing something so overt that the other person couldn't help but see/hear it. If you want to bellow out a challenge, feel free not to spoiler it. Otherwise, I'll be adjudicating the actions. Feel free to use as much flavor text as you want, and I'll do my best to copy/paste it so you can narrate your actions.
Good luck, Ran. May your bow sing and your arrows fly true.
Excellent, Torinath! Here's his stats. He has some gold left over if you want to pick up any last-minute items, but you can't mess with what's already chosen.
In the arena thread, you can post from whatever avatar you want to, just let me know which one. I'll re-do the intro's for both characters, so expect that today or tomorrow.
As you all watch Gregious walk into the arena, you barely notice a group of four halflings saunter in… and you're even more surprised when you realize they all look nearly identical, even the girl. Thin, sun-tanned with sandy blond hair and bright brown eyes, the four joke constantly and eye the challenger board. You realize you recognize these four from the Arena 2 Billings Board… they help run it, as well as join in the fun from time to time.
These are my four stand-in Arena 2 NPC's. They'l be options for these off-fights where we have to get in the odd-numbered gladiator fight.
1 - Taz
2 - Zap
3 - Ran
4 - Shar
.
1d4 ⇒ 3
The tallest of the halflings lets out a whoop, pulling his bow off his back as he trots off towards the Arena 2 entrance. The other four send jeering calls after him, good-naturedly teasing him about how poorly he'll undoubtedly do.
Okay, one of you players has the chance to run Ran for me. Who wants to do it? I'll build him out, but you get the honors of pitting him against Gregious.
First come basis... who's gonna play Ran against Gregious?
Galdyn has forfeited due to absence. I'll be looking for another gladiator/npc glad/monster for him to fight so we can wrap up Round 1. More information in the Hall Thread.
Last call for Galdyn. If I don't get a post from you tomorrow morning here, then you forfeit your match, and Gregious will either advance or have to face somone/something else.
Galdyn, you back to being able to post yet? Not trying to rush you, but we are the last fight of this round, and I'm sure people are itching to move into round 2.
As i said in my spoiler to you, you're welcome to post out of order, but circumstances may change. After Galdyn acts, I'll verify with you whether you actually want to do that action or not.
Conditional spoiler for Galdyn... be honest, now!:
As you swing up into the saddle, you catch sight of your opponent across the room, and you appear to have caught him as he's still trying to recover from the disorientation of the arena magic.
As Gregious's cry fills the arena, his shining armor bright amidst the startling white sands of Arena 2, Galdyn walks out opposite him, leading his grand-looking horse behind him.
He answers his opponents cry with a quiet stare - whether simply observing or trying to intimidate - no one knows. The two warriors strike quite a scene, both armored heavily and bristling with weapons, both ranged and melee.
The crowd begins to roar just as the arena's magic engulfs both men, their vision swimming and feeling distinctly like even their relative positions have shifted. You realize where you were in relation to your opponent means nothing, as surely you have been teleported to a new location in the magic arena as it shifted appearances.
Your senses reel as the white sands blow and shift, the arena becoming something new…
Galdyn:
Finally, your vision clears, and you hear your horse stamping nervously a step behind you and to your left. It is a testament to the sturdy steed's training that he bears the disjointed magic of the arena's transformation so well. Everything around you has changed. The arena is gone. The roaring of the crowd is replaced by the sound of your own heart beating, your steed's steady, deep breath, and the faint sound of the wind whispering past the doors of the large circular room in which you now find yourself.
It seems to be some kind of ancient cathedral or shrine, all aged, dusty gray-whites stone. The broken ceiling is some 50 feet above your head, and sunlight streams from multiple holes in the roof, filling the chamber with ample light. Your field of view is hampered by a series of columns that run floor-to-ceilng around the outside of the room. There are also two huge doors, both of which are also floor-to-ceiling. The first is about 20 feet to your right and seems to lead outside. THe other, strangely enough, sits in the very center of the room. And you cannot fathom the reason for this strange location. Beneath these doors, inlaid into the stone floor in a mosaic of yellow and gold tiles is a giant face with what appear to be sun-rays radiating from it. Some old, forgotten god? you think as you look around for your opponent, who seems to have been teleported out of your line of sight, though there certainly are enough places for him to hide in this big chamber.
Years of training kick in and your body reacts quickly, drinking in your surroundings in a heartbeat and preparing for the fight to come...
You are not mounted and you have no weapons in-hand. You have the initiative, so go ahead and post your actions. The arena was chosen randomly from a set of three of them, with varying advantages/disadvantages for the two of you. And your starting position was also rolled for randomly.
if you choose to mount your horse on the first round, check the spoiler in the following post.
For the sake of expediency, I will roll all reactive die rolls. This includes most perception checks, sense motive checks, saves, etc. If you want to use a skill proactively (which will always have some type of action necessary), you're responsible for rolling those. Obviously you are required to roll your attack and damage rolls. If you ready an action to attack, go ahead and roll those when you ready the action.
I will do my best to post between the posts of you and your opponent, to keep both players up-to-date so they can make informed decisions on their actions. But if at any time you want to make your decision regardless of whether I've had a chance to update, feel free, just know that you may not be acting on the most updated information… and I'm not responsible for that.
Also, spoiler your actions unless you're doing something so overt that the other person couldn't help but see/hear it. If you want to bellow out a challenge, feel free not to spoiler it. Otherwise, I'll be adjudicating the actions. Feel free to use as much flavor text as you want, and I'll do my best to copy/paste it so you can narrate your actions.
Good luck, Galdyn. May your shield hold and your blade strike true.
Gregious:
Finally, your vision clears. Everything around you has changed. The arena is gone. The roaring of the crowd is replaced by the sound of your own heart beating, your armor creaking, and the faint sound of the wind whispering past the doors of the large circular room in which you now find yourself.
It seems to be some kind of ancient cathedral or shrine, all aged, dusty gray-whites stone. The broken ceiling is some 50 feet above your head, and sunlight streams from multiple holes in the roof, filling the chamber with ample light. Your field of view is hampered by a series of columns that run floor-to-ceilng around the outside of the room. There are also two huge doors, both of which are also floor-to-ceiling. The first is about 30 feet to your left and seems to lead outside. THe other, strangely enough, sits in the very center of the room. And you cannot fathom the reason for this strange location. Beneath these doors, inlaid into the stone floor in a mosaic of yellow and gold tiles is a giant face with what appear to be sun-rays radiating from it. Some old, forgotten god? you think as you look around for your opponent, who seems to have been teleported out of your line of sight, though you can just see his horse standing directly across the chamber from your current position.
Years of training kick in and your body reacts quickly, drinking in your surroundings in a heartbeat and preparing for the fight to come...
Your map will be emailed directly after this post is up.
You have no weapons in-hand, and your opponent has the initiative. The arena was chosen randomly from a set of three of them, with varying advantages/disadvantages for the two of you. And your starting position was also rolled for randomly.
For the sake of expediency, I will roll all reactive die rolls. This includes most perception checks, sense motive checks, saves, etc. If you want to use a skill proactively (which will always have some type of action necessary), you're responsible for rolling those. Obviously you are required to roll your attack and damage rolls. If you ready an action to attack, go ahead and roll those when you ready the action.
I will do my best to post between the posts of you and your opponent, to keep both players up-to-date so they can make informed decisions on their actions. But if at any time you want to make your decision regardless of whether I've had a chance to update, feel free, just know that you may not be acting on the most updated information… and I'm not responsible for that.
Also, spoiler your actions unless you're doing something so overt that the other person couldn't help but see/hear it. If you want to bellow out a challenge, feel free not to spoiler it. Otherwise, I'll be adjudicating the actions. Feel free to use as much flavor text as you want, and I'll do my best to copy/paste it so you can narrate your actions.
Good luck, Gregious. May your shield hold and your blade strike true.
Watchers:
Galdyn (and his horse) is blue. Gregious is red.
Map
more dm rolling:
Initiative (for simplicity, the companion will act on Galdyn's initiative)
Galdyn 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Gregious 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
That's fine. We'll go ahead and get started, and if it lags, then it lags, and we'll finish up when we can.
Final Round 1 Fight!
The same wood and stone thing limps its way back into the room, unspeaking as it points at Galdyn, then Gregious, then hikes one wooden thumb back towards the second arena, it's white sands nearly glowing in their pristine starkness.
Go ahead and report in on the this thread. If you want, you can go ahead and have your introductions made for you. As always, you willl have your weapons stowed, and Galdyn, you will be leading your horse in, instead of starting the match mounted.
Cool, but can you either chat with him or have him verify? I only ask because part of the last-minute check was to make sure we actually still had him on-board. I don't want to do all the setup to find out he lost interest in the game.
