speaking quietly to the others nearby
I shiver at Orislav's whispered words, but silently tighten my grip on my spear.
GM Chris:
Grumblenaught narrows his eyes, quickly sizing up the spear-bearing intruder, his thoughts racing, thankful once more for the advantages his dwarven ancestry grants him.
Yalka
It's a small stone fireplace, built into the ground, with a flue.
Grumblenaught
Not bleeding, but open, so you'd guess old and not healed.
He has no trouble navigating in the dark.
GM Chris:
Grinning widely, Grumble bellows"STEP YER ARSE AWAY FROM THE BACKDOOR, YE SNEAKIN' UGLY BASTARD, OR I'LL BE FEATHERIN' YE AGIN'!"
Grumblenaught, your bolt sinks into the flesh of the man's neck. It tears his skin, but it looks like the bolt just annoyed him. There's no blood.
Orislav:
Valdisara, Gunlar's a slippery little kid, and you did not grab him before his started into the passage out of the thicket. To follow, you'll either have to crawl for a few feet, or just cut through the wall of the thicket (a standard action). If you wanted to try a Diplomacy roll instead, Hilden would likely assist.
Deserach, there's definitely at least one shadowy figure out there, in I-10. Grumblenaught would appear to see him just fine.
It seems we have an initiative situation:
In the Hedges
Valdisara (Q4): 24
Hilden (P2): 18
Gunlar (P4): 17
Outside
Grumblenaught (rooftop, H15): 18
Martaug (boughs, M19): 13
Thing One (out front E21) = 12
Thing Two (in back I10) = 10
?? = ??
In the Farmhouse
Deserach (loft, G14): 21
Kara (ground floor, I15): 13
?? = ??
Orislav (I'm not sure. Could we say loft, G17?): 7
Yalka (ground floor, J16): 3
Feel free to post out of order, beginning with the line "On Initiative __:" You can post provisionally ("I attack Hilden if she's still up, otherwise I drink a potion of Fire Breath.") if you like. I'll try to interpret your actions is as reasonable a light as I can.
The creatures as flat-footed (AC 14) until their actions.
Seeing the boy start to slip away from her, the paladin tries reason one last time. "Gunlar, stop - you need to stay here with your mother, to help me protect her. The others will see to your father."
|
On initiative 21 I will do one of two things.
1st if the window is of the type that can be opened I will use a move equivalent action to open the window and a standard action to cast Acid Dart on the undead monster in I10 by my calculations he should be roughly 26.9 feet away from me so within the thirty foot range.
Ranged Touch Attack
1d20 3=9
Damage:
1d6 1=3
If the window does not open, or perhaps I do not have a good enough line of sight I will instead cast Mage armor on myself and then draw my scimitar.
Hilden calls after her son, "Gunlar, let her do her job. Besides, if she goes after you, who'll stay here with me?"
The boy stops, stands straight, and takes Valdisara by the elbow. "I -- I'll stay. But it's really hard, you know?"
In the Hedges
Valdisara (Q4): Attempts Diplomacy
Hilden (P2): Aids Valdisara
Gunlar (P4): Takes Valdisara's advice, and returns to the thicket, now at P3.
Deserach, the windows do not open. Mage Armor it is. So far as I can tell, there is no difference between the SRD version of the spell and Pathfinder.
Orislav, as you move down to the foot of the stairs, you hear something hit hard very close on the other side of the wall.
From the darkness under the loft, something leaps at Yalka, shaped like a human, but not so tall, with two pinpricks of glowing red eyes amidst the mispy darkness. It reaches out for her, but Yalka pulls back, and swings her two-ended spear straight through the thing as it flies past her. It lands on the ground next to Kara, in a crouch on all fours.
Orislav comes to ground and casts Light. His spell causes his sling stone to ignite in luminescence. The creature on the floor is clearly silhouetted.
Orislav:
In the Farmhouse
Deserach (loft, G14): casts Mage Armor and draws scimitar
Kara (ground floor, I15):
wispy thing = attack Yalka, miss. (now in I16)
Orislav (loft, G17): move down to J14 and cast Light.
Yalka (ground floor, J16):
"What... Is this?!?"
Attack Rolls: 21 & 17 (23 & 19 if Kara is flanking). If they hit: 13 & 6 damage.
On initiative 13, if my arms are within easy reach, I will withdraw from the shadow, and get them, arming myself. Otherwise, I will withdraw around the pit (if that's what in I16), continuing to act the farm wife, which may include screaming, etc., as would be fitting.
Yalka, great rolling! The spear passes through the patch of darkness, to little effect.
Kara, you can arm yourself as part of a move action. And the oven is built into the floor with a flue leading to the chimney.
In the Farmhouse
Deserach (loft, G14): casts Mage Armor and draws scimitar
Kara (ground floor, I15): moves to I14, arms, and ...
wispy thing = attacks Yalka, misses. (now in I16)
Orislav (loft, G17): moves down to J14 and casts Light.
Yalka (ground floor, J16): moves to K15 and strikes at the patch of darkness.
Muttering a spate of colorful obscenities beneath his braided beard, Grumble takes aim at the spear-bearer once again, hoping this bolt bites with greater effect.
I am assuming this fella is undead, thus immune to crits, but just in case: ...
Grumblenaught, you don't need the critical. He goes down. (Which is good for you, because I'd rolled his presumptive attack, which would indeed have been a critical success...)
And, Deserach, I apologize for not catching this earlier, but in your profile, did you memorize Mage Armor today? If not, was there another spell you wanted to cast instead?
Grumblenaught, you don't need the critical. He goes down.
Watching the corpse topple, the dwarf nods with satisfaction. "Right, an' I told yer what'd happen now, din't I, ye daft bastard."
Grumblenaught pauses a brief moment longer, to make sure his victim remains dead before moving to the south side of the roof, deep-set eyes scanning the grounds for a new target.
|
|
And, Deserach, I apologize for not catching this earlier, but in your profile, did you memorize Mage Armor today? If not, was there another spell you wanted to cast instead?
[ooc]Oops you are right I did not memorize it, so instead I will use a move equivalent action to retrieve a scroll of Mage Armor, and then cast it. Leaving my scimitar in scabard for the time being. [ooc]
And since I believe I am fairly early initiative wise in the round I will:
2nd round at Initiative 21 MEq: Draw scimitar. 5 foot step down the stairs to H14 looking into the chamber to see what is happening below me, and then if I see the source of the commotion casting an Arcane Bolt (standard) Ranged Touch: 1d20 3=15
Damage: 1d6 1=7
Martaug starts singing softly to the Green, telling it of his need of aid. He pulls the image of a wolf from his mind as he chants. "Corroteum dwueh haggatas'ma Loh misne."
I go full defensive as I try to remember as much as I can about Shadows (and where I left my trident- I'm forever setting it down. I really need to pick up a side arm.) I'll pass on as much as I remember by shouting the info for all to hear.
Martaug, Nature is broader and more manifest than what you see in the lands around you and the skies above. You begin your chant, and something --somewhere in the deeps of life-- hears it and joins in, asking permission to take the form of a wolf and join you under your command.
And so a wolf appears, its life in this realm as precious and ephemeral as a soap bubble. It turns to the Ulrich-thing next to it and attacks. Its teeth sink into the man's leg but it can't lift him up and trip him.
Ulrich tuns to the wolf in something like alarm. He calls out, "It seems we have a conjurer about. Well, I won't go down that easily. Not on my first night free in the world!" The air around his left hand seems to waver, like the air over a campfire, and he strikes the beast, hard. The wolf seems to shrivel from the blow, as well.
"Who's doing this, the boy? The wife? Show yourself!"
Deserach, you're in the loft of a farmstead dark enough to see out into the night, with only the embers of a cookfire several feet away to see by. It's too dark to read. Are you casting Mage Armor through your Arcane Focus instead?
Or, would you like to delay until Orislav casts Light? Or, for that matter, would you like to delay your action and attack with the Arcane Bolt?
And, help me out, please. How are you casting Arcane Bolt?
Everybody can see the light and hear Orislav's shouting, although probably not the details he gives: "It's a shadow! It's an undead spirit that drains your lifeforce if it hits!" So, something seems to be going on inside the farmhouse.
Outside
Grumblenaught (rooftop, H15): Nails the creature out back, dropping it.
Martaug (boughs, M19): Summons a wolf, which manifests and attacks.
Thing One (out front E21) = Attacks the wolf.
Thing Two (in back I10) Not so much.
?? = ??
Round Two
In the Hedges
Valdisara (Q4):
Hilden (P2):
Gunlar (P3):
Outside
Grumblenaught (rooftop, I15):
Martaug (boughs, M19):
Undead Ulrich (E21):
?? = ??
In the Farmhouse
Deserach (G14):
Kara ( I14):
Shadow (116):
Orislav (J14): casts Storm Burst at the Shadow.
Yalka (K15):
I yell out "My weapon do nothing! Orislav, if you holy man, call energy to harm this evil spirit!"
Hilden calls after her son, "Gunlar, let her do her job. Besides, if she goes after you, who'll stay here with me?"
The boy stops, stands straight, and takes Valdisara by the elbow. "I -- I'll stay. But it's really hard, you know?"
In the Hedges
Valdisara (Q4): Attempts Diplomacy
Hilden (P2): Aids Valdisara
Gunlar (P4): Takes Valdisara's advice, and returns to the thicket, now at P3.
Valdisara nods her head at Gunlar's words. "I know - sometimes the hardest things are the right ones though. Now, keep your ears sharp for sounds of anyone approaching, but remember, if you hear anything, let me know. We stand here together - no running off unless I tell you, OK?"
With that, the paladin turns her attention to what she can sense outside the thicket as she calmly holds her blade ready. As the sounds of battle drift towards her, she sends a prayer to Iomedae for the success of her comrades. Then her soft words change, and she begins to invoke her goddess's power to sense if any evil is near.
Kara will be moving back into melee with the thing after arming herself, to finish round one. In round two, she will be attacking the shadow.
Spooked by the menacing smoke creature that avoids her best blows, Yalka seeks to head for the door-way.
She heard a pounding sound from outside, and Grumble's Crossbow firing, so perhaps mundane enemies lie that way.
Sachiko bows to the man and in an even courtier's tone requests,"I am Sachiko from the house of the blossoming lotus, I was in attendance at your Mistress Urthula's party last month, I wish to speak with her, the matter is urgent, it inquires about protection from posions and venoms....Please it is in haste". Sachiko struggles to maintain her court composure as she is quite nervous and in a hurray. She hopes the woman remebers her and that she is as kind in private as she is in Publis
Valdisara, your first round of Detect Evil, pointing, presumably at the farmhouse, indicates that, yes, there is evil there.
Gunlar touches your arm and whispers "There's someone out there on the other side of the horses, I think."
In the Hedges
Valdisara (Q4): Detect Evil
Hilden (P2): Delay
Gunlar (P3): Actively Listen
--+--+--
Deserach, let's put you at H14; that's a 5' step, and Kara's already at 114. You read Mage Armor off the scroll, and the sigils shift and fade. Your AC is now 19. Excellent!
Kara, you advance to I15 and swing. you're not used to fighting in this kind of a dress, and it pulls your arm at an odd angle, causing you to swing through empty air. Next round, you'll be able to compensate, but ... you saw Yalka's spear go right through it.
The Shadow turns and attacks Orislav, moving into and through his square. (Kara, Yalka, and Orislav himself would get attacks of opportunity, but they would pass through this nimbus of evil.) Orislav, you can see two piercing red eyes in the shadow, and its features otherwise suggest a halfling, bearded, wearing nothing other than loose breeches, its features lurid in anticipation as its hand reaches inside your chest, , but the light you're holding disorients it. It lands on the top of the stove in J15, clutching the flue pipe that leads to out the ceiling. It appears outraged for an instant, and then its grin returns.
Orislav, you said you wanted to go "full defensive", which would add a +4 to your AC until your next turn, but would not allow you to take any other actions.
Right now, you're not sure what Storm Burst would do, never having experimented with incorporeal undead creatures. Did you want to experiment?
Or, you can follow Yalka's suggestion. Or take some other action ...
Speaking of our Kellid whirlwind...
Yalka, you charge south, out the door. There's nothing immediately in front of you. Let's put you at G19. That'll give you a chance to make a standard attack on the undead thing if it's still animate after Martaug and Grumblenaught have their way with it.
In the Farmhouse
Deserach (G14): Casts [Mage Armor[/i] from scroll, move to H14
Kara ( I14): Moves to I15, attacks the Shadow
Shadow (116): Attacks Orislav, moves to J15
Orislav (J14): ??
Yalka (K15): Moves outside to G19 and ...
Sachiko
The servant is relieved. Come, sit here in the foyer and make yourself comfortable." He leaves.
Five minutes later, Urthula appears, dressed --actually- not unlike some of the women back in your home nation, in a deep red kimono and black velvet obi, her hair pulled up and hidden in a black headscarf. She looks much older, and plainer, than she has at any of the other times you've seen her, and there seemed to be the flicker of movement under her black-cherry robes, suggesting that she might have a pet in there.
"Good afternoon. You give me great pleasure in your company today. Savid says you've come to see me about...poison? Does this have to do with that incident at dinner?"
GM
brandishes holy symbol (taking comfort in its presence)
"Feel the full hammer of the wind and be scattered as smoke before the might of Gozreh, Master of Storms!"
Orislav, you've already made the Knowledge check and reported what you know (Knowledge checks aren't an action, as you know, from pg 67.) The Attack of Opportunity against the Shadow would normally have been allowed, because the Shadow moves before your action. But in this case, (a) you didn't have a melee weapon ready, and (b) physical weapons don't seem to hurt it.
If you wanted to Channel Energy in round two, you could.
But that would put you at greater risk if the shadow were to attack you again in Round 3.
GM
Sachi bows before Urthula as Tian customs dictate. "Not exactly, Its Deputy Win, he has been bitten by what seems to be poisionous spiders as he was running after bandits and is fading fast back at the inn, he could really use assistance." Sachiko's eyes well up with large tears, "Also, some of us are going after these bandits and would ask...no beg for some anti-toxin in case our fates meet with the spiders in question.. Sachiko looks Urthula in the eyes, "I have seen you save the life of another, I emplore your assitance to save another and to prevent the potential poisioning of many more" Sachiko struggles fo rcomposure and awaits an answer trying to ignore the voice of grandfather "you are wasting your time Sachi Win is goin gto die, and your so called friends who have left are already dead, you have failed, you are useless". Sachiko bites her lower lip hard and draws blood hoping the pain will distract her from her annoying grandfather.
Sachiko
A slow, thoughtful smile crosses Urthula's face. "Does Madame Silk know of your coming here? Are you her agent in these matters?" she asks, carefully.
"And who are these ... people ... going after the bandits? Whose interests do they represent?"
She's still listening for your answer as she picks up a small handled bell from a shelf across the room and holds it in her hand, her back towards you.
Sachiko looks a bit stunned, No Madame Silk is not aware of my presence in these matters, as of late I have become a nuiecence to her and I am expected to buy my freedom back, my intrests are to gain that wealth. As of the others, I really have no ideas who they represent. But if it intrests you I can find that information out and report back to you. Sachiko shuffles her feet wondering what this antidote will cost her.
Sachiko shuffles her feet wondering what this antidote will cost her.
"Indeed." She rings the bell and turns back to you. As she does, you catch a glance behind her, on the shelves, of a small, red-leather-bound book, a tall, conical candle made of some pale bluish wax, and a mirror set in a crazy quadrilateral frame of brass.
"Sachiko,...
Those are the claims I make and they both are true to my knowledge. Please, I am unsure how much time Deputy Win has, and my new companions are already on the road, I assure you whatever political machinations that may be going on I am completely obtuse too, all I know is Madame Silk is upset with the unrest I bring to the customers at the Blossoming Lotus and she wishes her investment back...
Sachiko
Urthula's elven servant arrives, and she rattles off quick, hushed instructions, keeping her eyes on you. As soon as he turns and departs, she nods at you and says softly, "Then it is done, my child. If you should agree, I shall pay Madame Silk your, ah, freedom price, and --since I am loath to keep chattel-- I shall then keep you bound no longer, no strings attached.
"I would ask only a simple favor from you in return, easy to accomplish and harmful to none."
The servant enters again, bearing half-a-dozen ceramic-and-silver phials secured in a wooden rack.
"What say you, Sachiko? Would you consent to be free of Madame Silk?"
And deep inside, you hear your grandfather growl, "Tell her no!"
Yalka, fair enough.
You will need to stop your movmement in I13, both because the door is lower (goat-sized, it seems like) and because Orislav's light shines irratically out the doorway and window, and your eyes need to adjust to the starlight.
Ahead of you, perhaps twenty feet, lies a dead man, wearing a dark, loose-fitting garment. To your right, the horses are still whinneying, nervously. You hear movement in the rooftop, presumably Grumblenaught (although you can't see up there to tell) and you can see a brief flurry of motion that tells you there's something moving rapidly atop the berm. A preternaturally silent something.
In the Farmhouse
Deserach (G14): Casts Mage Armor from scroll, move to H14
Kara ( I14): Moves to I15, attacks the Shadow
Shadow (116): Attacks Orislav, moves to J15
Orislav (J14): full defense
Yalka (K15): Moves outside to I13.
We're still waiting for Grumblenaught and Martaug, and then we'll move to Round 3.
Sachiko understands one servitude from another, but she is too excited to escape Madame Silk, and more importantly the drooling men that frequent her brothel, she answers with a simple word "Yes"
Grumblenaught moves cautiously and quietly to the southern edge of the roof, sizing up the situation on the ground and reloading his crossbow.
Valdisara, your first round of Detect Evil, pointing, presumably at the farmhouse, indicates that, yes, there is evil there.
Gunlar touches your arm and whispers "There's someone out there on the other side of the horses, I think."
In the Hedges
Valdisara (Q4): Detect Evil
Hilden (P2): Delay
Gunlar (P3): Actively Listen
The paladin nods at Gunlar and says only, "I will check there - my goddess will show me if there is evil about."
Grumblenaught trots to the southern edge of the roof, sizing up the situation on the ground and reloading his crossbow.
Excellent! Grumblenaught, scanning the property, you see something running on top of the berm, just too far away for a good view through darkvision. About human-sized (smaller than a horse, larger than a fox) and moving faster than a dwarf, coming closer along the western edge, moving silently.
There's a ruckus in the house. The big folk are casting spells, knocking furniture about, and generally shouting to one another.
As you get your trusty crossbow reloaded, you see the wolf ripple like it was a reflection in a pool of water suddenly disturbed, and vanish like oil-soaked kindling thrown into a fire. And then the north door of the farmhouse bursts open and someone steps out into the night air, their form silhouetted in the light from the open door.