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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Things get dramatic.
10 Erastus
River Fork; Hex F5
Thorn River
Giles sighed. Though he was used to working alone in hostile environments, he was not one to abandon his allies needlessly. With the cold iron sword he picked up in hand, he hustled toward the fray going down. He came around left, hoping to cut off the monster as it moved down the bank away from Kyrie and Frodrick, carrying Miguel by the collar.
Stefan saw the monster grab Miguel. He resolved to get serious, focusing all his attention on the monster. He mentally steeled himself to putting every ounce of his effort into taking it down. He fired an arrow, glancing its leg at an oblique angle (-2dmg WHMT Injured). The young squire couldn't do much in a fight compared to his more experienced fellows, but he could be one more thorn in the monster's side.
Frodrick strafed in along the bank, keeping the water woman's most direct route into the river cut off. Jargon appeared around Kyrie's back, coming to the aid of her ward. She bit the horse monster on the arm, leaving harsh red marks when it wriggled free of her (-5dmg WHMT). Frodrick beat at the monster, trying to give Miguel an opening to escape.
The monster held Miguel in a strong, webbed grip. Despite Frodrick's efforts, the bard all but stopped struggling for a moment—instead he went for his belt pouch. He managed to pull out a small ball of wax paper containing a single glob of butter. Withdrawing his consciousness from his position, Miguel muttered the words to the spell, consuming the butter with a hiss. At once, his armour gleamed with a fresh coating of translucent magical grease.
The monster ignored the magical trick. With Miguel still within its grasp, it turned wrenched him and dragged him toward the river (-2dmg Miguel). Frodrick and Kyrie made their protests with shovel and axe, the dwarf finding the monster's slimy hide tough to piece. Kyrie's shovel pounded down on the monster's back (-7dmg WHMT Bloodied) but hardly slowed it down as it splashed into the water, pushing Miguel into water above his head.
Kyrie was not about to let Miguel be manhandled and taken away by another river monster again. She ran to the edge of the bank and stomped into the shallow water right behind the monster. When she caught up, the paladin clubbed it across the back of the head (-11dmg WHMT Near Death)
Zeran chased to catch up to the incresingly all-terrain melee, popping another bullet into his gun as he went. If this went well, he might not even need it. If not, it might be Miguel's best chance.
Frodrick 34/34 – Challenge [WHMT] (+3dmg, -2AC, +1attk allies), B
Jargon 19/19 – Defend: Miguel, B
Giles 29/29 – Divine Favour (5/10), Justice, 19 bolts
Kyrie 34/34 – Bastion of Good
Miguel 19/25 – Dancing Lights (5/10), Grease (1/30), Grappled, B, 19 arrows
Zeran 27/27 – 29 bullets#, -2G
Stefan 11/11 – Challenge [WHMT] (+1dmg, -2AC, +1CMD resist), 17 arrows
Uriel 13/13 – Mount
Water-Horse-Monster-Thing: Injured, Grappler
Bandit: Dying, Unconscious, 19 arrows
Will-o-Wisp: Still feeding from the mortal terror of death.
Posted on 2014-07-16 at 06:53:15.
Edited on 2014-07-16 at 07:35:47 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: It just so happens to be our obligation to murder anything that's being mean
10 Erastus
River Fork; Hex F5
Thorn River
Between the wisp's call to fight and Kyrie's warning, the naked woman hissed, angrier. “Mine!” she shouted, leaning protectively over the unconscious, dying bandit. At once her body began shifting.
Her face elongated to resemble that of a snaggletoothed horse while her already pale skin turned translucent and slimy. In an instant she looked like a tall, emaciated humanoid with the face and feet of a horse, but webbed, humanoid hands.
Giles threw a brief, annoyed glance at the wisp. He was not impressed that yet another fight couldn't be avoided. He put away his crossbow and drew his sword, but held his ground, watching the water horse from afar.
Meanwhile Frodrick was not about to take any guff from stringy-haired water monsters speculating on the chewiness of his hide. He called the attack on the monster, declaring his intent to see it dead or driven off from these waters. Then he put his head down and ran around the monster to cut off its escape back into the river where it might have an advantage.
It took a swipe at him with one of its webbed hands, but the dwarf deflected the blow with the edge of his shield. While it was distracted with Frodrick, Miguel came up by Kyrie. He tried to cut into its flank, but it twisted away at the last moment, causing his sword to glance off its slimy hide.
The river monster turned on Miguel, lashing out with its webbed hands. Miguel immediately went on the defensive, ducking the first, clumsy swing, but too slow to avoid the second entirely. The monster's hand glanced off his collar (-4dmg) and took hold of his body armour with a strength that belied its sickly appearance (Grappled).
Kyrie didn't need to focus her sight on the river monster to know that this was a weed that would need plucking. She wasn't sure a shovel was the right tool for river work, but she could at least take out its thorns. She stepped forward to smite the water horse with her shovel, calling up the divine power to act as a shield against evil. Unsurprisingly, her power took effect, and the protective aura washed over Miguel and Frodrick, and also the unconscious bandit.
Zeran spared not a moment, dashing to keep the monster in range. It was moving about too much for him to get a clean shot through Kyrie from here, but he crossed his fingers and took it anyway.
The humanoid monster horse let out a shrill, distorted cry between a horse's scream and a human cry of pain. The bullet struck home in its white flank, causing bright scarlet blood to leak from the wound (-11dmg WHMT).
Frodrick 34/34 – Challenge [WHMT] (+3dmg, -2AC, +1attk allies), Bastion
Jargon 19/19 – Defend: Miguel
Giles 29/29 – Divine Favour (4/10), Justice, 19 bolts
Kyrie 34/34 – Bastion of Good
Miguel 21/25 – Dancing Lights (4/10), Grappled, Bastion, 19 arrows
Zeran 27/27 – 30 bullets, -2G
Stefan 11/11 – 18 arrows
Uriel 13/13 – Mount
Water-Horse-Monster-Thing: Barely Injured, Grappler
BanditA: Watery Grave
BanditB: Unconscious, Dying, Bastion, 19 arrows
BanditC: Injured, Fled, 19 arrows
(I say, there were a couple poor rolls, but sure, they had to happen eventually. Better now than against the Stag Lord. Unless they're so bad now we never make it to the Stag Lord. (I kid, you guys are powerhouses). Challenge and Bastion activated, who wants to take bets how much longer the monster will live? Do I hear 3 rounds? That said don't forget about the bandit who is still liable of bleeding out even without mysterious women trying to wash them like a raccoon)
Posted on 2014-07-14 at 07:58:49.
Edited on 2014-07-14 at 08:04:35 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: In which nobody is remotely surprised.
“Water horse? Oh you mean my accomplice. I tell you, the old nag is as stubborn as a mule and bad tempered to boot. At any rate, it's got one meal to take care of already—shouldn't bother us at least for the moment. What topic of discourse did you have in mind?”
More or less right on queue, there was a disturbance from the river.
A wet, pale, naked woman, long dark hair covered in duckweed, emerged, dripping, from the dark water. She completely diregarded the Greenbelt Party and the wisp and trudged dripping straight for the bandit Kyrie had knocked out. She knelt down over the unconcsious body and placed both hands over the bandit's mouth and nose, suffocating her even as she bled out.
“H-Hey!” The wisp shouted at her.
The river woman didn't even glance back.
“Hey, I was savouring that! You already got one to yourself!”
The woman flicked her head dismissively, continuing her work.
“You see that? How dare she! Kill her!”
She looked sharply at the party for the first time and hissed, a sound very much like a sputtering water pump. “I would welcome the extra fresh meat,.” she said.in burbly Taldane.
Posted on 2014-07-12 at 18:53:47.
Edited on 2014-07-12 at 19:08:28 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: We're going to have to name this bugger if he shows up much more
10 Erastus
River Fork; Hex F5
Thorn River
Giles channeled his will into his weapons as he proceeded into range, calling upon the power to make them strike true. He saw that Kyrie had a dead shot at the woman on the left, so he pointed his crossbow at the right. The bandit almost saw the bolt coming in time to jump out of the way, but he was barely a second too slow. The bolt buried itself in his shoulder (-3dmg BanditC), interrupting him as he reached for another arrow.
Stefan, riding out on the left with Uriel, loosed an arrow at the woman, striking her upper leg (-2dmg BanditB). The two on the bank forgot about their comrade in the river entirely in favour of their own skins. The man in the river was offering absolutely no resistance as the black stallion dragged him under the water, vanishing from sight (BanditA Dead?).
The man on the river bank looked between Giles and Zeran, and the realization of his imminent death cross his face. Clutching the bolt wound in his shoulder, he simply turned and fled along the river. Zeran watched him run and mentally considered whether it was worth the powder or if there was any harm in letting one escape.
The short, blocky bandit on the bank never had that chance. Kyrie lifted her shovel as she charged in like some kind of a magitek excavation engine. The bandit woman's unconscious body rolled a few feet down the bank, stopping several feet short of the river edge as the 'oioing' of Kyrie's shovel faded (-11dmg BanditB KO)
(After Zeran decides to shoot or not; regardless the outcome)
Miguel and Frodrick jogged to catch up, with Jargon still watching his flank. It seemed the fight was already done.
Suddenly a sound very much like a deep, satisfied sniff emanated from the air above Kyrie.
“Ah, yes! Yes!” The wisp's unmistakable voice returned, apparently caught up in a passion. The familiar purple orb flicked into visibility with a contented sigh. “If I'd known you were here, I'd have brought them straight for you to deal with instead of splitting the meal with whatsit over there.” The wisp bobbed in the direction of the river, probably referring to the horse that had taken down the bandit.
Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 – Defend: Miguel
Giles 29/29 – Divine Favour (2/10), Justice, 19 bolts
Kyrie 34/34 – Charge -2AC
Miguel 25/25 – Dancing Lights (2/10), 19 arrows
Zeran 27/27 – 30 bullets
Stefan 11/11 – 18 arrows
Uriel 13/13 – Mount
BanditA: Dead?
BanditB: Injured, Fleeing, 19 arrows
BanditC: Unconscious, Dying, 19 arrows
Horse?: ???
(Battle... over...? Maybe you thought so until you read this but now you're not so sure.)
Posted on 2014-07-10 at 20:04:32.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Is there anyone here expecting that horse to turn out to be an actual horse?
10 Erastus
River Fork; Hex F5
Thorn River
Giles silently agreed with Frodrick's suggestion. Keeping low so as not to attract attention to himself, Giles moved ahead. He was close enough that he could reasonably fire at one of the bandits on the shore, but in the darkness he didn't have a clear shot. Instead he quietly chanted a spell to turn the odds in his favour.
In the back, Stefan turned to Uriel just behind him. He mounted his horse, bow in hand, then spurred the black gelding to ride around the left flank, coming up on Giles' left side.
The bandits on the bank were still too preoccupied with their cohort struggling across the river. In the scant twilight, the party could see as he came just up to the horse's flank. They also saw that the moment the man managed to get within arm's reach, the horse suddenly turned on him.
It kicked at him with its forelegs, striking him once (-6dmg) and seeming to stand on him holding him down as he struggled to breath. Throughout the whole attack, the man never screamed for help or shouted in surprise.
On shore the bandits were beginning to panic. One drew his bow and fired an arrow at the horse to no avail.
Meanwhile Zeran strafed right to match Stefan on the left, hoping to attract somebody into the range of his pistol while the others distracted them with a head-on assault.
Frodrick held back as Miguel cast, but Kyrie had no such patience for a fight that she was not already in the middle of. The farm girl charged forward with her shovel in hand, providing exactly the kind of target Zeran was planning on.
Even if by now the bandits were not becoming quickly aware of the party advancing on their rear, Miguel threw his spell-lights out over their heads, illuminating the entire bank and part of the river.
The other bandit on the shore whirled around in surprise. She grabbed her bow, but obviously couldn't see clearly into the party approaching in the half-light beyond the spell's radius any more than they before. She loosed an arrow at the dark shape of Kyrie charging forth, but struck dirt several feet wide of the paladin.
Flanked by Frodrick and Jargon on either side, Miguel followed up with the rest of the party, keeping up with Giles.
Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 – Defend: Miguel
Giles 29/29 – dL, Divine Favour (1/10), 20 bolts
Kyrie 34/34 –
Miguel 25/25 – Dancing Lights (1/10), 19 arrows
Zeran 27/27 – 30 bullets
Stefan 11/11 – 17 arrows
Uriel 13/13 – Mount
BanditA: Injured, Grappled
BanditB: Uninjured, 19 arrows
BanditC: Uninjured, 19 arrows
Horse?: Feelin' Murder-y?
(The swing of things is hard to get into after most of a month. Doing good so far, though.)
Posted on 2014-07-06 at 20:21:24.
Edited on 2014-07-06 at 20:25:52 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: You have no idea how aggravating this was to orchestrate for minimal confusion.
6 Erastus
Oleg's Trading Post
South Brevic Borderlands
Akrios' gaze darted between the shovel in the girl's hand and the green streak in her hair. He shot a glance at Dovan. The man in black did not bother to hide his rage at whatever trick was going on before him. Auchs, perhaps misinterpreting what was going on, merely waved back at Kyrie.
“Bah! This changes nothing! We will be back at the end of the month and you will give us your goods or we will burn this pathetic excuse for a fort to the ground!” Dovan spat. The five turned their horses to leave.
Akiros regarded Kyrie for another moment. “The Stag Lord is a fearsome man with a reputation for monstrous cruelty. You should know who it is you stand against before you are so quick to oppose him.” He spurred his horse with the rest, headed back for the forest.
Travelling B5-F5
7-10 Erastus
The Greenbelt Charter party set out at first light the next day. They went with the Levetons' blessing as the fort prepared itself for possible danger. The group traveled south around the edge of the forest and through the Kamelands. Unless the Stag Lord's camp was exceptionally well-hidden, there were only so many unmappd places that it could be.
As they went, the party discussed what their plan would be once the finally found the Stag Lord's base of operations. It was Zeran who realized that they still carried the case of herbal liquor that they found in the loot of the Thorn Ford camp—a little battered and dirt-encrusted for having survived a tornado, but nothing that couldn't be polished off.
On top of that, there were the silver stag amulets worn by ranking bandits in the Stag Lord's band. They had three in total, including the one Zeran carried with him. This, in addition to a little clever illusion magic worked up by Giles could make a good start.
10 Erastus
River Fork; Hex F5
Thorn-Shrike Rivers
Perhaps not by coincidence, the Greenbelt party started their search for the Stag Lord in the very place where a couple months before they had ambushed and captured a small crew of bandits. Before they even began to explore the area, though, they found their first evidence of bandit activity. Naturally, it was that evening.
The party kept a small cookfire as the twilight stretched toward dusk on the long, warm summer day. Just enough of a flicker to navigate their campsite and to warn wild animals away. Giles set up for first watch as the others settled down to sleep.
“Right, what's all this then?”
The disembodied voice made the party jump. It was vaguely familiar, but it didn't sound remotely like either Tyg or Perlivash, even if their nest wasn't far away in the forest.
“Well, if it isn't you chaps again!” A ball of purple light winked to life right in the middle of the camp. Giles recognised it for a will-o'-wisp immediately. What was it doing here? Normally the aerial aberrations preferred to lure travellers into danger, rather than kill personally.
“Why, if I'd known you lot would be in the area—ah, but I've already made plans for lunch. Speaking of which, could you put out that fire for, like, ten minutes? It's kind of throwing off my groove.”
The wisp suddenly rose half a foot into the air. “Oop, there's my cue, gotta go.”
Without waiting for a response it winked out. A moment later Frodrick heard the sound of voices, not too far away, behind one of the hills. Regardless about the wisp's 'groove', Frodrick killed the fire. “Weapons out, stay down,” he whispered to the rest of the party. He didn't know what was going on out there, but the chances their campfire would attract someone friendly in this wilderness were slim compared to the alternative.
In the darkness another campfire suddenly sprung to life down the hill, closer to the river. A lone jet black horse seemed to be tied down next to the campfire.
Coming over the hill in the twilit dimness, the party could barely make out three humanoid figures. They appeared to spot the campfire. “There, I told you he'd have a camp nearby. That must be his horse!” The party was just close enough to catch snatches of their hushed conversation as they passed, oblivious, toward the other camp.
“I'll be damned, that looks like a fine beast. You guys can have the rest of his loot, the horse is mine.” The second voice was a man.
“Yeah, well where did he go—we all saw the lantern come this way.” The third voice also a man.
“Must be down by the river, come, we'll get the jump on him,” the second voice murmured, distracted.
The three crept toward the campfire until the party could barely make them out anymore—no traveller ever appeared, but the party soon understood what the wisp meant by its plans for lunch. The man who seemed to be interested in the horse came clear into the light of the horse's campfire.
The horse did not stir as the bandit approached it carefully. It wasn't until he was close enough to touch it that the black stallion suddenly bolted out of the fire light. Unthinking, the man gave chase. His companions shouted after him, but their words fell on deaf ears as the fire winked out as suddenly as it appeared.
When the party's eyes adjusted again, they could see that the horse had run into the river swimming easily into deeper water, with the man not far behind, struggling to keep afloat as he followed.
The party was no longer certain who was supposed to be ambushing whom, but one thing was certain—it wasn't them this time, and that made for a rather pleasant change.
Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 –
Giles 29/29 – 20 bolts
Kyrie 34/34 –
Miguel 25/25 – 19 arrows
Zeran 27/27 – 30 bullets
Stefan 11/11 – 17 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –
(Incredibly late post away! After about a week of working up the time and energy just to start this post the first time it was sent to the void when my compy froze and sharted itself. I hope this will be sufficient. I am trying not to go quite so often for the cinematic approach with encounters, but sometimes it's the only obvious option to pull off a confusing scene without stopping every paragraph to check party reactions.
Anyway, cinema over, now you may fight. Or keep watching, if you feel like it. But either way, there are three bandits, an invisible wisp, and some kind of horse out there and who knows what else.)
Posted on 2014-06-27 at 22:00:19.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Time to Get Dangerous and Monologuey
Travelling
2-6 Erastus
Hexes: F2 – B5
In order to secure the heads as quickly as possible to guard against the possibility of lost value from decay, the party turned once again back to Oleg's border fort. They travelled north, giving a wide berth around the boggard's mire and taking the shallow ford across the Thorn River.
The weather took a turn cooler, and a breif midday thunderstorm brought the party respite from the otherwise hot work. Except for the change in season it was easy to forget they were already entering into their fifth month travelling and exploring the Greenbelt region—and they were almost done mapping the plot of land alotted to them.
With the map of the northern part of the Greenbelt almost complete, they were getting close to achieving one of the main objectives set out in the charter. One by one, too, they were dealing with the major threats in the region and making the land habitable. With hardly any sign of the bandits to the south, other than in stories of trappers and hunters unlucky enough to cross their path, their presense and control over the area was clearly diminishing, as well.
Of course, it was far too soon to start imagining that this colonization project would ever be 'easy'.
Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 –
Miguel 25/25 – 19 arrows, Ability Damage cured
(5 Erastus)
On the 5th day of Erastus, as the group travelled the northeast horn of the Narlmarches where they once found a patch of moonradishes, they found something to set them ill at ease. A Sootscale kobold, dead and covered in blood. This in itself was nothing new, but the manner in which the body was disposed—pinned to a tree with its own spear through its leather armour, hands and feet bound with twine, and covered in dozens of shallow cuts. The kobold looked as though it had been tortured to death. It could not have been very old—perhaps even that same day, maybe longer.
To make matters more interesting, that evening they were visited by some of the forest's rare non-hostile inhabitants. Tyg-Titter-Tut and her companion, Perlivash, appeared to the company at high speed, shooting out of the foliage. Their high pitched voices keening over each other in fright.
“They'rebackthey'rebackthey'reback!” shouted Tyg, landing next to Zeran. “Killthemkillthemkillthem!” Perlivash landed on Kyrie's head and clung there tightly.
After a few moments they were calmed down enough to speak one at a time and in full sentences.
“The mean biggenses, they're back! You came and you slew them foreverago, but they have returned!” Perlivash squeaked.
“They've come back for revenge! Round two! Take no survivors!” Tyg added. “They came, five of them, and the one—black like the heart of a demon—killed the scaly kobold one while the big-like-and-ox laughed. Their leader was frowny and grey and made faces at them, then they left. We were too scared to look! We were running home but then we saw you! You must kill them!”
The grig panted for breath. It sounded like the bandits were making a move, finally. Apparently not quite so cowed after the sudden and utter loss of their northern camp, they were not ready to relinquish ground to the invaders.
After the fairies were done their story (and any exchange you want to have) they left quickly, flying in the direction of their nest to the northwest. The guard that night was particularly tense, but nothing came to kill them while they slept.
6 Erastus
Oleg's Trading Post; B5
South Brevic Borderlands
Surprised to see the party back so early from their latest foray, Oleg was only too happy to increase the reward he set for a mated pair of tatzlwyrm heads he could mount. He gave the group half again as much as the bounty poster listed.
Despite the dire portents of the previous day, Oleg's post was not under any special alert. They had not seen heads or tails of any bandits in the area in the last two weeks since the feast of the Tuskgutter. Heeding the warning, though, Kesten briefed his guards to be on the watch for any suspicious activity outside the walls that night.
(Evening)
“Five riders from the south—they look to be coming from the forest!”
Kesten and his men quickly joined their comrade on the wall. After hardly a moment watching the riders approach in the twilight, Kesten ordered the gates to the fort shut. Luka and Tanya closed and barred the wooden doors at his command.
With a glance at the party he called for them to stay off the wall, but be prepared for a fight—if the riders didn't know the party was in, maybe they could work that to their advantage if things turned hostile.
Before long, Kesten called out to the riders. “Halt! State your names and business with this border fort!”
Through tiny gaps in the wooden beams that made up the palisade and door, the party was able to get a good look at the strangers.
Five men, as advertised, all mounted, two carrying lit torches.
“I am Akiros Ismort, lieutenant of the Stag Lord.” The man who spoke looked to be the leader of the party. He was the best groomed of the group by far, with a short, trim beard and greying black hair.
“These are Lieutenants Dovan and Auchs.”
“That's Dovan from Nisroch,” hissed the man on the right. He was dressed in black leather except over his several black tattoos, which he left uncovered.
The third lieutenant, 'Auchs', lived up to his name. He was either a small giant of a monster of a man, and if appearances were anything to go by, even stupider than he was massive. Both Auchs and Dovan flanked Akiros, with the unmentioned torchbearers completing the formation.
“And what does a filthy bandit outlaw like the Stag Lord think he wants with a respectable borderfort of Brevoy?” Kesten demanded of Akiros
“No need to play the fool,” Dovan cut in, “we happen to know your little adventurers are out and not likely to come back for another week. Don't worry your fearful little hearts, though. Even though we have you trapped like rabbits in a cage, the Stag Lord is not without his mercies—.”
“Dovan, that's enough.” Akiros told his fellow. The former shut his mouth with a bitter look.
“Our liege, the Stag Lord, has commanded us to deliver a message to the owner of this fort. I suggest he heed it well. Tribute will resume on the first of next month. He is prepared to overlook the previous transgressions of this fort, but the amount owed must be repaid in full—”
“The hell it will!” Oleg himself appeared at the top of the wall. “I will never bow to that craven bully again! Oleg Leveton bows to no master, you tell this 'lord' of yours that. Let him come tell us himself and we'll see how he likes it when he doesn't have a pack of cronies to hide behind.”
“You insolent cur!” Dovan reached for his rapier out of habit, but left it sheathed. “I will enjoy personally cutting that tongue out of your ugly head while you beg to make me your master.”
“Dovan.” Akiros said. The man in black shot his superior a withering glare, but relented.
“I hope for your sake that you change your mind before next month, Sir. We are only here to deliver a message. The next time we meet may not be on such friendly terms.”
At Akiros' command the group turned and left for the forest.
Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 –
Giles 29/29 – 20 bolts
Kyrie 34/34 –
Miguel 25/25 – 19 arrows
Zeran 27/27 – 30 bullets
Stefan 11/11 – 17 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –
Posted on 2014-06-07 at 22:20:23.
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Topic: Jade Regent Adventure Path
Subject: Try as I might, I couldn't find a place to fit in the word 'kid'
(Whether or not Alexis' intimidate attempt proves successful)
Nona sighed. Alexis' attempts to strong-arm the snake with threat displays were being less than effective and Zwei was grumbling. She needed to introduce a predator to the situation. What ate snakes? She knew a hawk that would produce an impressive sounding screech, but this boa was pretty big. She couldn't count on it being swayed by anything but the real-deal.
“If you think she's making a lot of noise out here...” Nona trailed off, concentrating on the magic first, snark second.
She pictured an eagle in her mind, tried to capture as accurately as she could everything she knew about it. Then she gestured to the green, misty swamp canopy. At her command, a loud, high pitched chirping resounded from the trees. Nona chose nothing too fancy—a simple shrieking call, set to grow slowly louder as if approaching over the next few seconds. This should be enough to convince the snake that a predator was inbound.
While her call went off, Nona walked up next to Zwei. “I might conjecture the reason you joined has something to do with the bounty money, or possibly perhaps because you could not resist the invitation of three ravishing beauties—”
“Three?” Sera chirped. “Fox and I and who else?”
“—Nevertheless, if you're having second thoughts, you're free to head back to town.” Nona ignored her familiar with a pointed glance at the offending bird. “That said, I'll let you in on a secret: the more noise Alexis makes, the less likely it is you or I will get mauled by a swamp-bear or something. Anything that isn't scared off when it sees her coming is going to try to bite her first. Say what you want about her, but she's terribly good at that kind of thing.”
“Regardless, I will do my best to comport myself in as minimally condescending a manner as possible while you are engaging in your stealthy endeavours, should you chose to continue to engage in this venture.”
(If necessary parts of this conversation can be transported to after the battle if the snake is still not swayed by our attempts to be non-hostile)
Posted on 2014-06-05 at 22:57:48.
Edited on 2014-06-05 at 23:10:40 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Jade Regent Adventure Path
Subject: The problem with having outrageous bonuses to initiative. Deciding whether to escalate matters or no
A snake. A snake on the bridge. Six minutes in, their first challenge in raiding the swamp would be to navigate a sodden old bridge without being consumed by the wildlife. Truly the tale of their goblin slaying adventure would go down in history.
Nona looked to the lazy flowing river. She did not care to get wet going around, even without all the possibilities of small bloodsucking insects or creatures that might be lurking in its depths.
Maybe if the snake was just sleeping they might be able to get past it without provoking it, then punt it into the river and run like lunatics? But no—Nona was pretty sure she could see it watching them. She tried to recall what she'd read about snake sleep habits—snakes do not have eyelids, but instead transparent lenses, and so sleep with their eyes open.
This one looked quite probably possibly awake. Maybe she could scare it away with a loud noise? Something about the atmosphere of the swamp made Nona not particularly keen on making loud noises, and besides it might just ignore an illusory sound anyway.
The mage was wrestling with possibilities when Zwei shot an arrow, landing just short of the now angry snake. It assumed a defensive posture, warning the group to back off and leave it alone.
“Ah, why hadn't I thought of that?” Nona mused aloud. “Simple. Direct. Makes a bold statement. Though perhaps 'please' may be the appropriate incantation for dealing with stray basking reptiles?”
Nona didn't have anything better to do than snark. She held her crossbow pointed up—she didn't want to be the one that inspired the boa to eat them all if there was still a chance of making it leave without confrontation.
“Hey, Alexis, you're good at making friends, right? Have a word with it. Maybe it'll mistake your armour for scales.” She threw a lopsided grin to her 'cousin' the guardswoman.
Nona waited to see what would happen before she decided to start unloading any of her arsenal at the snake that was until quite recently best described as 'not hostile'.
Posted on 2014-06-01 at 20:11:30.
Edited on 2014-06-01 at 20:12:22 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Q&A
Subject: Tatzlwyrm Loot
-Mwk Scale Armour (detect magic ping)
-Mwk Cold Iron Longsword
-Pewter Drinking Stein (unappraised)
-Silver Ring (unappraised)
-Jade Carving of Naked Elf Monk (unappraised)
-Map Scroll Tube (shows E2 on map = 1/2 mapping time)
-38 gold, 520 silver = 43.2G
Posted on 2014-05-30 at 21:08:12.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Looooooot
While Miguel was tending to Frodrick's wounds, the dwarf noticed something of a shiny glint from under the water that had nothing to do with the light reflecting off the river.
On further inspection the party found a skeleton, half buried in the mud just under the tatzlwyrms' den. Despite its apparent age, the suit of scale armour it wore appeared in remarkably good condition, if a little waterlogged, and its bony hand remained clutched around a masterwork longsword made of the same material as Tartuk's sickle—cold iron.
After a second to make sure the skeleton was of the non-animate variety, the Greenbelt party retrieved the armour and sword, and in doing so stirred up even more of the dead adventurer's equipment.
A rotting leather backpack, buried even further in the rubble and mud, came loose with a stash of more treasure. Inside the skeleton's backpack were handfuls of coins, a pewter drinking stein, a silver ring, a jade carving of a nude elven monk, and a watertight scroll tube, which proved to contain a partially completed and fairly accurate map of the northwest corner of the Greenbelt, seemingly indicating that the traveller had come from that direction and worked their way down the Skunk River from the headwaters.
The map proved to cover mostly areas that the party themselves had already explored, though it was missing the barbarian cairn that the fairies had marked on the party's map (yet to be explored), and included an area just to the northwest of the river ford they were at, marked as containing a large statue of the god Erastil. The map doesn't indicate what it might be doing out in the wilderness or any speculation on its relation to the (not found) Temple of Erastil.
Two cure spells and two lay on hands (+6hp,+6hp,+5hp,+8hp Frodrick 32/34)
One cure spell (+4 Miguel 21/24)
Posted on 2014-05-30 at 21:03:02.
Edited on 2014-05-31 at 17:52:45 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: What did I tell you. Loot to come.
1 Erastus
Tatzlwyrm Den; F2
Narlmarches; Skunk River
“Yer goin' to have to bite harder than that if you want a piece o' this old leather!” Frodrick bellowed. He tightened his defense up close. Now that he had the thing's attention, he would buckle down while the others destroyed it. With a command he directed Jargon to interfere when it attacked, so that it didn't find purchase (Frodrick Total Defense).
Stefan maintained his position atop Uriel on the nest. The area was getting crowded, but he still had a good position. He tried to put another arrow in the tatzlwyrm's tail, maybe stop it from climbing all over Frodrick, but as he fired, the wyrm moved and his arrow went into the ground.
Despite the bleeding wounds showing its condition, the tatzlwyrm moved like a dragon possessed by a mad frenzy. Continuing to ignore anything but the mounted dwarf, the male uncoiled, latching onto Jargon's armour as if to climb the horse in pursuit of the dwarf meat. It rose up to Frodrick's level, resisting his attempt to beat it off with his shield, and locked jaws around his midsection. The wyrm's long teeth punched through the broken scales in Frodrick's armour and made to eviserate him—if not for Jargon roughly shoving the wyrm off her, clubbing it with her head (-12dmg Frodrick 7/34; crit threat fail)
The female wyrm, meanwhile, was working to overpower Miguel. Bracing itself against Miguel's arms with each claw, it released its bite and breathed out a cloud of noxious vapour directly into his face. Miguel couldn't help but inhale a breath of it or choke (-1Str Miguel Poisoned). This was the very problem Miguel had warned the others against.
The female would soon learn, though, that she should have tried to kill the bard while she had the chance. Zeran could not wait for a better shot. He reloaded and fired again from where he was, trusting his aim to luck. Luck was with him on this shot. The large tatzlwyrm took the ball across the back of her neck, cutting off her poisonous breath attack with a cloud of blood spray (-8dmg Tatzlfem Bloodied).
Miguel coughed and his eyes watered from the poisonous vapours. For a second all he could see was distorted images, but when he could see clearly again, he very clearly saw Giles' sword cleave into the body of the male hardly five feet from him. The soldier thrust the tip of his sword into the tatzlwyrm's back just at the position of the arms (-11dmg Tatzlmale). The wyrm turned to Giles, as if noticing his presense for the first time. It half moved to snap at him and half shuddered, then collapsed (Dying).
One good dragon mortality deserves another. That was a saying, right? Miguel didn't care—he continued to swing, one handed, at the female holding onto him. He thrust his duelling blade again into its scaly hide (-7dmg Tatzlfem Badly Wounded). The combined wounds on its body were beginning to show their effect, but it showed no sign of giving up or withdrawing. Miguel worried that she might not actually fall first.
His worries were for naught, though. Kyrie, finally catching up, slogging through the river in her 35 lbs of armour, splashed up beside Miguel. With several moments' worth of anticipation built up in her tough body, Kyrie joined the fight with a grand slam. She poured her single-minded drive to protect into her swing, connecting the flat of the shovel with the side of the tatzlwyrm's head (-17dmg *crit* Tatzlfem). As her mate lay bleeding out next to her, the female wyrm's skull partially caved, flung sideways into the river from the force of the blow. She landed stone dead (Dead).
Frodrick 7/34 – Aid +2AC, Total Defense
Jargon 15/19 –
Giles 29/29 – 20 bolts, Destruction
Kyrie 34/34 –
Miguel 17/25 – 19 arrows, Grappled, Ability Damage -1Str (no effect), Poisoned (1)
Zeran 27/27 – 28 bullets, -2Grit
Stefan 11/11 – 17 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –
Tatzlwyrm: Dying, Male
Tatzlwyrm: Dead, Female
A moment later Miguel's body cleared of the lingering effects of the poison (Save), suffering no more than the slightest weakening in his limbs.
Miguel 17/25 – 19 arrows, Ability Damage -1 Str (no effect)
(Seriously, I rolled four 20s over the course of this battle, 3 of them revolving directly around Frodrick. For his initiative I got a 20 (adding up to a total initiative count of 20), then the male crit him, and then came very close to another if not for his boosted AC... the last 20, of course, was our showstopper, right when the female only had a couple hit points left XD)
(Note that despite what the description might imply, the damage to the female's head is not so significant that it ruins the potential for mounting. It just gives a little bit of a story to tell. Technically the bounty is only for one head, but I'm sure we can throw a second in for half off and come out with a good deal)
Oh, yeah, that's 300XP and 75 for Stefan. Also Loot.
Posted on 2014-05-30 at 20:27:35.
Edited on 2014-06-01 at 20:35:53 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Rocks fall, everybody dies.
1 Erastus
Tatzlwyrm Den; F2
Narlmarches; Skunk River
The draconic monster shrunk back as Jargon rose up. She stomped the ground around it, forcing it on the defensive. The tatzlwyrm hissed at the horse. Frodrick swung his axe roughly at the thing's head, not aiming to hit but to distract it from Jargon.
Stefan nocked another arrow in his bow as he guided Uriel across the thick of the nest behind the wyrm. He drew, aimed so that he didn't threaten Frodrick or Miguel, and loosed, driving an arrow into its serpentine body (-5dmg Tatzlwyrm).
Spurned on by anger and pain, the tatzlwyrm struck with vengeance. It lashed forward, up at Frodrick, giving the dwarf exactly what he wanted, but surprising his defenses. It came in under his upraised axe arm and clamped its jaws down on his exposed ribs and shoulder armour. Frodrick's breath was driven out of him and several of the metal scales popped off from the crushing force (-15dmg *crit* Frodrick 19/34).
Frodrick gasped for breath as the wyrm's lower body hefted up in attempt to wrap him. “Oh, no ye don't!” Frodrick smashed the butt of his axe into the tatzlwyrm's forehead. It released and dropped back to the ground, annoyed.
At that moment, without warning, the party found that the tatzlwyrm was not the only occupant of the large nest across the ford. A second tatzlwyrm burst out of the river, appearing suddenly from the nest debris immediately next to Miguel. This one was longer, at least 8' long. Before Miguel could react to defend himself properly, it—or more appropriately, she, the larger of the mated pair—latched onto Miguel's upper arm with her teeth. Automatically her tail wound out of the river and began to wrap once around Miguel's body (-8dmg Miguel Grappled).
Giles waded through the river, keeping his distance from the tatzlwyrm until he came up on the bank behind it, across from Frodrick. Undistracted by his allies, standing at an enemy's back, Giles was in his element. He took advantage of Frodrick's positioning to distract the wyrm while he lined up a precision strike for its exposed flank (-9dmg Tatzlmale Bloodied).
Miguel twisted in the tatzlwyrm's grip like a bardic monkey. He knew he didn't have much of a chance of getting out of her grip. He would have liked nothing more than to be out of the dragon's mouth, but failing that, he saw the utility in having a foe that couldn't dodge him as easily. It was merely a matter of who passed out from pain and bloodloss first.
Miguel hacked at whatever of the tatzlwyrm's scaly hide he could reach. His blade bit into her flesh at the same time her teeth held onto him (-9dmg Tatzlfem Injured). In his peripheral vision he could see Kyrie come up behind him. Reinforcements, to Miguel's relief—very few 'weeds' retained their thorns after Kyrie plucked them.
Frodrick 19/34 –
Jargon 15/19 – Aid +4AC
Giles 29/29 – 20 bolts, Destruction,
Kyrie 34/34 –
Miguel 17/25 – 19 arrows, Grappled
Zeran 27/27 – 19 bullets, -1Grit
Stefan 11/11 – 18 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –
Tatzlwyrm: Injured, Bloodied, Male
Tatzlwyrm: Injured, Grappling Female
(Aaand everyone is in melee range. Swords fall, every (enemy) dies. Of course, like last time you've actually out-leveled this encounter's threat just recently.)
EDIT: Zeran takes his shot from where he is. Luck is not with him and he misses, aiming to avoid Miguel from over range.
Posted on 2014-05-28 at 21:58:40.
Edited on 2014-06-01 at 20:37:30 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Jade Regent Adventure Path
Subject: Nona thinks we should get moving.
The group of would-be goblin exterminators paused before the tiny footpath leading off from the main road into the murky, swampy depths of Brinestump Marsh. Goblins, witches, marsh monsters, fireworks. All this and more lay inside those woods. Nona swallowed. Mercifully Serafina was either too cowed by the sight of the marsh, or too respectful of her master to speak what was on Nona's mind.
“We're all gonna die,” chirped the bird.
Or not. Wishful thinking at best.
Nona let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding and stepped forward. “Well, ladies? And Zwei.” She added the latter with a glance to the fetchling. She drew a bolt from her pouch and loaded it into her crossbow. “Are we going to stand here like a gaggle of timid livestock, or shall we proceed?” Nona gave the mechanism a tug until it locked into place.
She looked back down the New Fish Trail but didn't budge.
“Uh, forgive me if I don't lead the way. Goblins are notorious ankle biters and my shins have a terribly low tolerance for perforation.”
Posted on 2014-05-27 at 17:31:46.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Artificial Longevity
1 Erastus
Tatzlwyrm Den; F2
Narlmarches; Skunk River
Jargon splashed through the river and pulled up on the large islet. Frodrick reined her back at the top of the islet with a slight pressure with his heels. “Alright, you great beastie, you want a piece of this salty old dwarf? Well come and get it!” He banged his axe against his wooden shield, goading the dragon.
At the same time, Stefan drew his bow, riding hard along the bank. He took a shot which landed wide in the ground next to the tatzlwyrm. It hissed and snapped at Frodrick's squire, but never took its attention from the knight himself.
Exactly as Frodrick hoped, the wyrm sprung at him. It launched itself, clawing furiously, with surprising speed. Frodrick almost didn't have time to react—striking a glancing blow off the tatzlwyrm's scales as it tried to latch onto Jargon with its teeth.
Jargon's tough hide—both armour and natural—stopped its teeth from gaining a hold, but one of its tiny claws managed to draw a scratch (-4dmg Jargon).
The rest of the party ran to catch up to the showdown happening on the island. Zeran loaded his gun and ran to the riverbank while Miguel and Giles came up on either side of Frodrick. Giles silently called up his power to pronounce destruction upon the dragon in preparation for the battle as Kyrie crossed into the stream shallows behind them.
Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 15/19 –
Giles 29/29 – 20 bolts, dL, Destruction
Kyrie 34/34 –
Miguel 25/25 – 19 arrows
Zeran 27/27 – 20 bullets
Stefan 11/11 – 19 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –
Tatzlwyrm: Territorial
(So much not happening in this round. That said, you guys always seem to obliterate anything you can surround with massive damage output, so yay longevity XD)
Posted on 2014-05-25 at 07:42:36.
Edited on 2014-06-01 at 20:37:38 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Site of Future Tatzlford
Exploration & Mapping
1 Erastus
Hexes: F2 +25XP Each
(EDIT: There are only 30 days in Sarenith; it is the 1st of Erastus)
The tracks of the trolls were still clearly visible in the soft earth on the river bank the next morning. Though the giants were long gone from the area, across the river and on their way back to whatever lair they spoke of, the party nevertheless continued exploration with extreme caution whenever they spotted the tracks again in their travels, leading further up river.
Less than an hour after midday the Greenbelt Charter party came upon what was no doubt the 'crossing' referred to by the trolls. Along the west-flowing segment of the Skunk river, a several miles downstream from the boggard's mire, there was a natural choke point, form out of a series of sandy islets.
1 Erastus
Skunk River Ford; F2
Narlmarches; Skunk River
The trolls' tracks led up to the natural ford and disappeared into the river. Approaching the ford the explorers noticed an unusual amount of debris—thick piles of rubble, branches, and leaves—caught trapped by the narrow passages of the ford. If the piles of debris were more organised and better maintained, it might have been taken for a beaver dam across the shallows.
At least up until the point that it became obvious some of the branches were not branches, but piles of chewed animal bones. Whatever had fashioned the loose debris-strewn nest across the river shallows was a voracious predator, if the leavings were anything to go by—or worse, an extremely territorial killer, regardless of need for sustenance.
Miguel spotted it first—at the same time it spotted them. Poorly hidden but well camoflauged atop one of the sandy islets in the river was a 6' long reptile, basking in the afternoon sun. Giles and Frodrick caught sight of it immediately. It had a dragon-like spiked head, and a long serpentine body, with two stubby arms tipped with grasping claws.
“Tatzlwyrm!” Giles barked.
Frodrick spurred Jargon into the river, drawing his axe. “There on the little island. Cut off it's head and we'll have ourselves a trophy fer Oleg.” Jargon splashed into the river between the south bank and the larger islet.
The tatzlwyrm, half slithering, half dragging itself across the debris with its stubby claws, crawled across its nest to the far end of the large islet. Giles and Miguel leapt out of the carriage, drawing their swords. They ran down the sandy riverbank just to the edge.
“It's a kind of dragon—weak, but stronger than it looks,” Miguel called. “Watch for its poisonous breath. It'll try to grab you with its jaws.”
Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 –
Giles 29/29 – 20 bolts
Kyrie 34/34 –
Miguel 25/25 – 19 arrows
Zeran 27/27 – 20 bullets
Stefan 11/11 – 20 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –
Tatzlwyrm: Territorial
(It's so refreshing to fight monsters by day, don't you think? A lovely change of pace. Also for what it's worth, now knowing that this ford is here enables you to make plans to travel through this area to the west of the Skunk River, including heading north without going the long way around)
Map of the ford can be found ~here~
Posted on 2014-05-24 at 05:24:56.
Edited on 2014-06-01 at 20:37:24 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: A little something to put the fear of Ch. 2 in you.
28 Sarenith
Thylacine Pit; F3
Narlmarches
Kyrie waited patiently at the bottom of the pit. Without her armour she could probably have managed the climb out, but she preferred to wait the extra couple minutes until a safer route could be presented.
No one opposed Giles as he lifted the bound thylacine. The animal couldn't have been much more than a hundred pounds of lean muscle. It seemed to have tired itself out for the moment, and didn't struggle as he carried it away with Miguel's help, each carrying their sword in their free arm.
After five minutes of walking Giles called a stop. The men set down their bundle. Miguel carefully cut out the bolt Giles had fired. Kyrie would have done a better job of it, but it wasn't like the beast was particularly wounded. They just needed to keep the bolt from digging deeper when they released it.
“Okay, this may take more than one try, but once the spell takes hold, we'll have three minutes to untie it and get out.” Miguel told Giles. The soldier nodded and stepped next to the creature, keeping just back enough that the spell would burn out on the beast before it reached him. Miguel stood further back.
The thylacine shook off the first spell, but succumbed to the second casting. Giles worked quickly to retrieve Miguel's hemp rope. As soon as their task was done they ran.
Several minutes later they returned to the pit. Kyrie steadily climbed the rope out of the pit. With a notation made on the map and a couple minutes examining the scrapes on Zeran's leg to ensure it wasn't going to fall off spontaneously, the group carried on their way. (+11hp Zeran Full)
By the end of the day (+6sub Kyrie) (+6sub Miguel) Kyrie and Miguel tended to their own wounds with magic before retiring (+16hp Kyrie Full) (+8hp Miguel Full)
Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 –
Giles 29/29 – 20 bolts
Kyrie 34/34 – Grappling
Miguel 25/25 – 19 arrows
Zeran 27/27 – 20 bullets
Stefan 11/11 – 20 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –
Exploration & Mapping
29-30 Sarenith
Hexes: F2 --not finished exploring--
The next day the party moved west into the region marked on their map by a large bend in the Skunk River. Whatever the river smelled like, it was an excellent place to cool off and wash away the recent week's grime.
The summer solstice came on the thirtieth day of Sarenith this year. The first day of summer began mildly, with moderate weather as they explored the tract of forest, but the first summer night bore witness to a bone-chilling event.
Night (as it always seemed to be when these kind of things happened) on the solstice was warm and quiet. The sky was clear and the stars shone bright where they peeked through the forest canopy.
It was on Frodrick's watch that the night stirred with a loud shout of bestial frustration, resounding from somewhere not too far off.
The old dwarf quickly and quietly woke his companions. Whether or not the voices came any closer, they would gain nothing by waiting for whatever it was to come closer. As the rest of the party rose and gathered their equipment, Frodrick listened carefully.
What he heard made his blood run cold. More voices, at least three, maybe four, all growling in harsh tones. Worse, Frodrick recognised the language they were speaking. Giant.
With a soft word he commanded Jargon to stay exactly where she was. Frodrick didn't wait for the party. Taking care to keep a low profile between the trees, the dwarf climbed the hill in the direction the sounds were coming from. Just behind him the others quietly followed.
Over the top of the hill, laying on his chest, Frodrick saw exactly what he feared. Four large humanoids down the far side of the hill, walking along the edge of the river. While the party could only make out their forms in the darkness, Frodrick immediately recognised that stooped form, with arms long enough that they practically dragged on the ground when limp. They were trolls.
By the look of them, two males, and two larger females, each carrying a large bundle of what seemed to be deer, or perhaps elk. Only Frodrick could understand what they were saying, but he relayed the translation to the others later.
“Where's that damned shallows? My pissing arm is going to fall off.”
“You shut up or you'll wish it had. It'll be around here.”
“Why did we ever come this far? All this walking never did no good for no one.”
“If you hate walking so much, maybe we should leave you here!”
“Well I'm hungry. Why don't we just eat a little of the catch? No one will ever know.”
“You stupid meatbag, why don't you think with something besides your stomach for a change—hey, don't bump me!”
There was a brief exchange. It was hard to tell what was going on in the dark, but it seemed one of the trolls shoved another. There was a loud, meaty thock that echoed through the area, sounding disturbingly exactly like a side of beef being struck with a sledgehammer. It seemed like one of the females had punched one of the males in the face.
“Ow, my friggin' nose! I should tear your guts out for that!”
“QUIET, BOTH OF YOU. I should tear both of your guts out and tie them to the top of that tree over there. Now shut your gobs. The river shallows shouldn't be much farther.”
In tense silence all trace except the monstrous footprints by the river had faded. Whether it was just luck or that the trolls were too occupied with their own petty squabbles to be bothered, they had not noticed the party's camp at all.
Long after the trolls had gone, though, their impact remained. Four trolls. That was four of them, ostensibly working together. Probably with more wherever they were headed. Both male and female. Under normal circumstances trolls typically lived solitary lives, too bad-tempered to stand one another's company for long. Even in the rare occasion that they banded together in a small gang, it was rarely more than 2-4 members, and usually composed entirely of females and their young. Stories sometimes mentioned larger troll clans, but the very idea was rare and terrifying.
Their only relief was that if such a tribe of trolls was forming somewhere out in the wilderness, it would have to be much further south, and likely still very new. This close to the upper Greenbelt would have had the hunters talking of much more than stories of old Tuskgutter and the Stag Lord if indeed these trolls were from anywhere local.
Posted on 2014-05-21 at 23:17:45.
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Topic: Prometheans: Genesis - Q&A
Subject: Hehe
*finally remembers to find and copy down Dani's super powers into her character sheet*
I'm never ready for anything, but one day is just as good as another. I'm in no rush as it is, though. I know how real life can completely throw all sheets to the wind for stretches of time.
Posted on 2014-05-19 at 19:49:21.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Where's a girl gonna find a diamond-studded collar in this wilderness?
28 Sarenith
Thylacine Pit; F3
Narlmarches
Miguel passed his end of the rope up to Stefan. The squire tied his end to his saddlehorn while Miguel peered over the edge that Zeran fell down. With a mental shrug, he took a dramatic step into empty air.
Miguel landed harder than he intended. With a grunt, he flopped over (-3dmg, -6sub Miguel Prone). “That could have gone much better,” he groaned to himself as he reached out to Kyrie and the thylacine, doing whatever he could to help her restrain the creature. (+2 Grapple Kyrie)
Acrobatics: 1 + 7 = 8
With Miguel's help and quick hands, Kyrie took hold of the beast, forcing it down and pinning it with her body. The thylacine was strong, but she had the upper hand already. She quickly scanned it with her divine senses. By all appearances it was just a normal animal.
For another sniper, it might have been a one in a hundred shot, to hit his mark while avoiding pegging any of the others. For Giles, under the effect of his divination spell, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. His bolt found its way square into the thylacine's flank (-7dmg Thylacine).
Against Kyrie's hold over most of its body, the thylacine could do little but try to wriggle free. It twisted and struggled under her grip, but the farmgirl managed to keep her hold, if not by much.
Seeing that Kyrie and Miguel more or less had the situation under control, Zeran took to the rope. Braced against the rock face of the pit, he pulled himself up quickly, almost to the top of the hole.
Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 –
Giles 29/29 – 19 bolts
Kyrie 28(6)/34 – Grappling
Miguel 22(6)/25 – 19 arrows, Prone
Zeran 17/27 – 20 bullets, -loaded, Prone
Stefan 11/11 – 20 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –
Thylacine: Injured, Pinned
With Miguel's continued help, Kyrie took the end of the rope laying at the bottom of the pit and tied up the thylacine's legs and snout, immobilizing it, though it thrashed angrily. At the top of the pit, Stefan dismounted Uriel and came to the edge of the pit. He took the rope, still anchored to his horse, and began to pull the animal up and out.
While the squire went about the business of removing the beast from the pit, Miguel took to the pit wall and pulled himself out, slowly.
Climb Take 10 = 16
The thylacine was surprisingly light for its size and attitude. Stefan set the creature on its back, its legs tied up in a bundle over top. “Uh.” He looked around. “What should I do?” They needed the rope back to drop to Kyrie, but releasing the creature in its current state seemed unwise.
Posted on 2014-05-19 at 05:28:28.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: I think we have a few conflicting plans in motion. Why do 4 people need the rope? XD
28 Sarenith
Thylacine Pit; F3
Narlmarches
After a second to take into account what he just witnessed, Frodrick called to his squire. “Get some damn rope or somethin'!”
Miguel was faster. He jumped out of the wagon, taking off his coil of rope as he ran to the pit's edge. He stood back carefully and threw the other end of his rope over the edge, then braced himself back. Kyrie didn't have time to take the rope, though. She jumped without hesitation down into the pit.
With more than 180lbs of raw determination, Kyrie landed hard. She took the brunt of the fall on her feet, softening some of the impact, but it was too much of a drop to absorb all the force (-6dmg, -6sub Kyrie Prone).
Acrobatics: 9 – 5 = 4
The girl wasted no time resolving the dispute in the best way she knew how—redirecting hostilities and attention. Kyrie reached out to grab the animal. It clamped its jaws down on her guantlet, but failed to penetrate. Kyrie dropped her shovel and held the thylacine down with her other arm (Thylacine Grappled).
“Nice doggie, now just come with me and we'll get you out of here,” she grunted through her teeth.
With the party's only rope in Miguel's hands already, Stefan wasn't sure what he should be doing. At a loss, he decided to follow his master's last direction to the best of his ability. With a flash of inspiration, he guided Uriel to Miguel. “Pass the rope.” He turned his horse to face away from the edge of the pit, serving as a solid anchor.
Giles approached carefully on the other side, his crossbow loaded. He peered into the pit, taking his focus disk from his pouch. Even with the mess of people now occupying the area below, his spell would ensure a dead hit.
The animal snapped furiously. Maddened by hunger, it didn't care what Kyrie was trying to do with it, and simply snapped back at her with an audible crack. Zeran knew better than to waste this opportunity and quickly stood up while the beast's mouth was occupied.
Hoping to help Kyrie out with her predicament, he took his pistol and clubbed the animal across the forehead (-4dmg). The thylacine jerked back from the force of the knock-down blow, but didn't lose footing.
Finally, kicking into gear, Frodrick threw himself into the action. He rode Jargon as close as he dare lead her to the edge of the pit and dismounted. He saw what he wanted to do. He knew where he wanted to be. With his axe in hand, Frodrick sized up the jump.
Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 –
Giles 29/29 – 20 bolts, -loaded, True Strike (1/2)
Kyrie 28(6)/34 – Grappling
Miguel 25/25 – 19 arrows
Zeran 17/27 – 20 bullets, -loaded, Prone
Stefan 11/11 – 20 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –
Thylacine: Barely Injured, Grappled
Posted on 2014-05-18 at 07:24:56.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Congratz, you pissed it off... more...
28 Sarenith
Pit; F3
Narlmarches
Zeran will ready his weapon and toss a stone into the pit while shouting "Hello?" In both Common and Undercommon. If no response, he pokes his head over.
Zeran set down the reigns. He grabbed his pistol in one hand and hopped off the wagon. His hands ran automatically through the motions of reloading the gun. Keeping a safe distance back with his gun ready in his right hand, Zeran lobbed a stone into the pit.
The stone disappeared into the pit and landed with a sharp report a thump an instant later. The barking immediately started up at the stone's landing, angrier and lasting several moments longer than before.
Judging from the sound and the distance the stone feel, the pit was deep, but couldn't have been too terribly far.
Zeran called out, "Hello?" Then again in Undercommon. There was no response save for the yipping barking, still apparently upset over the deal with the stone.
(Addendum)
Zeran carefully approached the edge of the pit. He inched closer, peering down to catch a glimpse of what lay at the bottom. Finally he caught motion. About 20' down the wide hole he saw just the head and back of a large thylacine, standing on its hindlegs with forepaws against the side of the pit.
The beast came down off the wall, out of Zeran's sight. He moved just a little closer, now almost at the edge. He could just see the animal pacing frantically about. It must have fallen in, somehow, and was trapped down there, angry and hungry.
Directly across the pit from Zeran, on the opposite side of the mouth, he noticed the stone looked disturbed. He took a second glance at it—it seemed like there had been some kind of earth slide there.
Bollocks.
Zeran put two and two together at the same time he felt the ground go out from under his feet. He rested for a full half-second before the dirt fell completely away. Reflexively he made a jump back for safer ground, but he was a second too late.
Reflex Save: 6 + 6 = 12
The ex-pirate landed in a small shower of dirt, which did nothing to break his fall (-5dmg Zeran Prone). When he came to his senses an instant later, he saw the large animal standing over him. It looked like it hadn't had a decent meal quite recently.
Before he could muster so much as a 'nice doggie,' it clamped its very large jaws around his leg (-5dmg Zeran).
Zeran tugged frantically to pull his leg free from the creature. He was on the ground, trapped with a hungry animal. There was nowhere to retreat to in the hole—he simply focused on avoiding the animal's jaws. (Total Defence)
Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 –
Giles 22/29 – 20 bolts
Kyrie 34/34 –
Miguel 25/25 – 19 arrows
Zeran 17/27 – 20 bullets, -loaded, Prone, Total Defence,
Stefan 11/11 – 20 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –
Thylacine: Food?
(I'm having Zeran use his surprise round action to perform a total defence, but if when he has time to decide upon an action he feels more like going for the shot, or drawing a melee weapon, or standing, or pistol whipping, or any other possible action, I can easily edit this to reflect that. Keep in mind this ending may change by the time you perform your actions, though I doubt his decision will significantly alter your actions)
Posted on 2014-05-16 at 19:01:44.
Edited on 2014-05-17 at 20:30:05 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: On the Road Again?
Travelling
23-25 Sarenith
Hexes: B5 – E4
Vekkel Benzen arrived at the fort within a couple days, overjoyed to see the decapitated head of the beast that took his leg. The old retired hunter quickly set about hobbling around the post preparing the stock for the meat jelly.
Stefan spent most of the days when he wasn't occupied in some task or another following Frodrick around. The boy was well learned in horsemanship by now. Frodrick equiped him with a couple weapons and tested his skill. He proved to be a fair shot, and handy with his axe.
They discovered that Uriel, the faded black horse with the irregular blaze and the stockings had sometime in his life already been trained for war, and picked up on its old training with just a little refresher.
After about a week the group felt more ready than ever to set out once again. They travelled back retracing their own route north, crossing the thorn ford again. Stefan spared a long look when he recognised the site where the old bandit camp once stood. He quickly shook it from his mind, a chapter of his life now over.
Exploration & Mapping
26-28 Sarenith
Hexes: F3 +25XP Each
On the fourth day on the road, the Greenbelt Charter party plus one entered into a new area of the forest, the furthest south they had been in the Narlmarches. Contrary to their first sight of the forest, ambushed by the shambler months ago, they encountered no unusually hostile life. They knew the further south away from the border with civilization they strayed, the more wild and untameable the land, but so far they had not seemed to overstep any real or imagined line.
The sun rose earlier and set later each day as the longest day of the year approached. Nights were warm and days were hot, though the shade of the trees blocked some of the sunlight, and the temperature never rose to the point they were in danger of overheating again.
28 Sarenith
Pit; F3
Narlmarches
Early on their last day on this edge of the forest the Greenbelt party turned west on their last stretch away from the edge. After only an hour of travel the hot day was broken by a series of quick yipping barks.
After a pause, the barks repeated themselves. The sound came from ahead in the forest. Whatever animal or other beastie made them seemed upset by something. As they approached the source (hands close to weapons in case whatever it was decided it did not feel like entertaining company) they spotted a large round pit in the ground.
The pit was some ten feet across, and looked to be a natural formation caused by local erosion. The rocky shaft dropped deeper than they could see into from this angle, but there was no doubt this was where the sound was coming from. Even as they stood there, the yipping barks resounded again, coming from inside the pit.
Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 –
Giles 22/29 – 20 bolts
Kyrie 34/34 –
Miguel 25/25 – 19 arrows
Zeran 27/27 – 20 bullets
Stefan 11/11 – 20 arrows
Uriel 13/13 -
Posted on 2014-05-15 at 22:46:13.
Edited on 2014-05-16 at 18:49:19 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Q&A
Subject: Purchases
Kyrie has purchased:
Banded Mail Armour - 250G
Zeran has crafted:
Firearm Bullets (30) - 3G
Blackpowder (60) - 60G
Powder Horns (2) - 6G
I think Frodrick wanted to order some kind of barding but it has completely slipped my mind which, if any.
Posted on 2014-05-12 at 20:05:44.
Edited on 2014-05-15 at 21:07:53 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Jade Regent Adventure Path
Subject: The jig is up, and other chatter
“Chances are you already know my name, little bird, most people do around here.”
Nona smirked and raised her eyebrow but said nothing. Sera, in a tiny voice from her shoulder peeped, “The jig is up!” She waited patiently for Zwei to finish his drink.
“Zwei at your service. . . . I suppose I have nothing better to do—you may introduce me to your friends.”
Well, he seemed polite enough. Nona returned with Zwei as the other two were going over Fox's theories concerning swamp monster zombie witches and other possible combinations of those words strung in any order.
“Goblins using disguises? Forgive me if I don't put much faith in this. We are talking about a race of creatures who think writing steals words out of their head.”
“Regardless, I brought us some testosterone to balance out this company. Girls, this is Zwei. His skills appear to include drinking with a scarf on and being tall, dark, and mysterious, but I feel he will prove to be a valuable member to the team.”
“Zwei, these are the girls. The big one is Alexis. Her skills include hitting stuff and wearing armour for clothing. The diminutive waif beside her is Fox, with whom you shall be competing for status of most inscrutable member of the group.”
(presuming some short exchanging of pleasantries)
“I notice not all of us present are fully prepared to set out right this moment. In the interest of making efficient use of the remaining hours of daylight, I suggest those of use who are already prepared to leave can attempt some form of reconnaissance while those of us who are not—namely myself, can acquire the necessary provisions. I propose we meet back here in an hour.”
Nona stopped before she turned to go, “Oh, and Alexis—Brinestump is at least 3 miles out of town. I don't know how if you want to wear your armour for the whole trip. It's up to you if you think you can keep up.”
Nona ran up to her apartment, almost clipping poor old Miss Benson along the way. She quickly grabbed her pack with its various items assembled for travelling, threw her spellbook in, and nabbed her small crossbow with two boxes of bolts.
She paused a moment in her small room, trying to remember anything else she might need to bring. Some small part of her could not help but be excited at the prospect of adventure, regardless how domestic.
“Spending the weekend picking through a swamp. No wonder everyone thinks you're crazy,” she said aloud to herself.
“That and you're standing here talking to a bird.” Sera added. “Who is answering back.”
Nona made a sour face at her familiar. “Just don't get yourself skewered by a goblin arrow. I would hate to have to go to the trouble of finding a new familiar. It's just such a tedious process.”
Before she left Nona asked Deirdre to water her window plant while she was gone. She was back before the hour was up, ready to learn what other rumours about monster zombie witch marshes the group had managed to scrounge up.
Posted on 2014-05-09 at 04:28:37.
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Topic: Kingmaker Q&A
Subject: Bounty
By the way, the reward for completing the Tuskgutter bounty is thus:
Vekkel Benzen, the old retired hunter who lost his leg to the Tuskgutter a year ago has left with Oleg the bounty of his old mwk Longbow and 6 magic arrows. These arrows, it is said, are enchanted with the property of bane to animals.
Benzen is also coming to get the head, out of which to make a head cheese which the party is invited to share.
-Mwk Longbow
-Arrows of Animal Bane +1 x6
Posted on 2014-05-08 at 07:36:00.
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