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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Why don'tcha just crush the poor thing's entire worldview while you're at it? XD
8 Desnus
Hex F6 – Shrike River
Kamelands
Kyrie blinked and realized she was rambling, "Point I'm trying to make is, the only one you've mentioned who brought it up is also the same person who had the statue, and who is also essentially a stranger. Has there been anything to prove that he might be telling the truth?"
Mikmek's nodded, eyes wide. “Cursed kobolds turn yellow and die. Tartuk says when Sharptooth displeased, kobolds die. Must sacrifice bad kobolds. Strange, scary things happen—kobolds see things, hear things, bird say scary things, and no one want ask questions and be next sacrifice.”
”Has anyone checked if this thing is magical?"
Krii was too busy muttering things likely learned at his uncle's side in childhood to himself, so Miguel took the statuette. He turned away from the sorcerer so as not to get a false reading off his protections and murmered his magic.
After a moment he returned it. “Nothing but a bloody ugly lump of ivory. If there's a curse over the kobolds, this statue isn't part of it.”
The kobold listened to this exchange with growing dismay. “Not magic? Then how kobolds stop curse?” Mikmek started pacing frantically, muttering something in his own language, then stopped. “Sootscale know what to do. We must give to him. He decide.”
Posted on 2013-12-21 at 22:56:23.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Surprisingly healed up pretty well with Long-term Care
7 Desnus
Mite Warren; Hex E6
Kamelands
That morning seemed to go on for weeks, but the day was still very early. As the party returned to where the rest of the horses were tied they noticed that there was easily still enough hours left in the day to start travel back south to wherever this kobold tribe lived—and more pressingly, the nearest water deep enough to wash off the layers of dirt.
None too keen on spending another night in this field, regardless how good the future weather was supposed to be, the party set out again. Mikmek was given a spot in the wagon, eagerly watching the landscape from the driver's seat next to Zeran.
Using Mikmek's directions as a guide, the party stopped a fair distance upriver from the kobold caverns. It was later in the afternoon on a fair day and the dirt-caked party simply threw off their armour and waded into the river shallows, fully clothed. After much scrubbing and clawing at tangled hair and rinsing, the party was thoroughly soaked, but more or less clean.
With the sun going down and their energy already largely expended, the party decided to post a watch (a few yards further from the river than last time) and set up camp for the evening, with Kyrie working to tend to their wounds.
Frodrick 13/20* – Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp),
Krii 11/16 – Ability Damage: -6Dex (-3 AC, ranged attack, init, Ref, CMD)
Kyrie 16/21 – Ability Damage -3Dex (-1 AC, ranged, init, Ref, CMD)
Miguel 13/17 –
Zeran 19/19 – () 27 bullets
Mikmek: 4/4 –
+1000XP per Person (18 mites, 1 giant tick, 3 giant centipedes, 1 giant whiptail centipede)
8 Desnus
Hex F6 – Shrike River
Kamelands
The next day the party prepared to travel to the kobold caverns and return the kobold statue to the chieftan. Meanwhile Mikmek filled their ears with squawking, broken descriptions of how Tartuk, a strange purple kobold, came to their tribe three months before with his magic statue (he never mentioned the statue without a surreptitious glance toward where it lay, as if it might be angered) and told Chief Sootscale that the kobold tribe had been cursed.
According to the small warrior, Tartuk had been forcing the kobolds to sacrifice to the god of the statue, Old Sharptooth, and obey its every command (only audible to the shaman, naturally), lest the tribe fall victim to the curse. None of the kobolds like the strange shaman, but they feared him too much with the curse of the magic statue and the dire predictions of his talking raven to move against him.
Frodrick 19/22 – Ability Damage: -1Str, -1Con (no damage)
Jargon 19/19 -
Krii 15/16 – Ability Damage: -5Dex (-2 AC, ranged attack, init, Ref, CMD)
Kyrie 18/21 – Ability Damage -2Dex (-1 AC, ranged, init, Ref, CMD)
Miguel 17/17 –
Zeran 19/19 – () 27 bullets
Mikmek: 4/4 –
Posted on 2013-12-20 at 00:32:57.
Edited on 2013-12-20 at 00:41:59 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: I didn't think I should really bother you for actions too much for something like this.
7 Desnus
Mite Warren – Chamber of Torment/Prank Workshop
Kamelands
Mikmek took to the idea of killing the rest of the mites eagerly. He ran to the base of the shaft and looked back, waiting for direction or guidance. Kyrie assumed position next to him, ready to climb once she could see the root-holds more than 5' above her head.
Miguel directed his lights to the base of the shaft with a thought. Kyrie immediately started to scramble up, wasting no time. The bard followed immediately behind her, moving his lights to the top with them.
Kyrie glimpsed behind her as she reached the top. There were three mites, including the one who fled, standing behind a tiny catapult of bones and branches, set on a workbench. One manned the contraption, releasing it at their first target. The paladin turned away as something small, sharp, and metal struck her head painfully and fell down the shaft. She thought she felt her hair bleeding (-1dmg Kyrie).
The two other mites took advantage of the moment to channel their ruinous energies. Perhaps it was the result of weathering so many repeated attacks on her mind, or maybe simply the stress of a long, hard conflict, but Kyrie's hands started to shake uncontrollably. An overrush of adrenaline in reaction to the onset of the faceless anxiety was making focusing difficult (Kyrie Shaken).
Not one to let a little vague terror worry her, Kyrie clambered onto the ledge at the top. Wasting no time Kyrie straight up cut down the mite on her right (-8dmg *crit* Uurch Dying). The other, meanwhile, seemed to be realizing that its contraption didn't have nearly the stopping force he'd hoped.
Before he had time to worry about that, though, Miguel appeared over the ledge behind Kyrie, drawing his sword in the same motion he cut down the catapult operator (-8dmg Dingetooth Dying).
Zeran and Krii scrambled up the shaft behind them. They drew their weapons as they came over the top, Zeran going for the mite with his rapier. He thrust, but the small mite ducked under the blow, continuing to show remarkable good sense in avoiding death.
Finally the mite got his legs under him and scrambled for the exit again, barely dodging another of Zeran's thrusts and avoiding Krii's sickle in a mad dash to get out of the room.
Frodrick 13/20* – Cramped, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp),
Krii 11/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped, Ability Damage: -6Dex (-3 AC, ranged attack, init, Ref, CMD)
Kyrie 16/21 – Cramped, Ability Damage -3Dex (-1 AC, ranged, init, Ref, CMD), Shaken (1)
Miguel 13/17 (1) – Cramped, Dancing Lights (4/20)
Zeran 19/19 (1) – Cramped () 27 bullets
Mikmek: 4/4 –
Dingetooth: Dying
Mite P: Uninjured
Uurch: Dying
Kyrie started to give chase, but the natural upward slope of the exiting tunnel cut off Miguel's lights. Instead, Krii, closest to the door already, ran after it with his natural night vision.
The sorcerer quickly realized that the tunnel was the other direction from the initial fork that they'd entered on. He saw the mite at the peak just before it disappeared up the entry shaft of the warren proper.
Meanwhile in the small room filled with miniature workbenches covered in tiny tools, Frodrick finally managed to heave his girth to the top of the shaft, working so slowly thanks to the weight of his armour and the blood loss he'd suffered.
Zeran, glancing around for anything interesting in this last room, noticed a tally on the wall, written in the same crude undercommon as in the chief's war room. It said 'Days since last accident' with a number of tallies underneath, apparently restarted seven times, with the longest spree being no more than five days in a row.
Frodrick 13/20* – Cramped, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp),
Krii 11/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped, Ability Damage: -6Dex (-3 AC, ranged attack, init, Ref, CMD)
Kyrie 16/21 – Cramped, Ability Damage -3Dex (-1 AC, ranged, init, Ref, CMD), Shaken (2)
Miguel 13/17 (1) – Cramped, Dancing Lights (5/20)
Zeran 19/19 (1) – Cramped () 27 bullets
Mikmek: 4/4 –
Dingetooth: Dying
Mite P: Escaped?
Uurch: Dying
As the party caught up with Krii, they knew the one mite had escaped, potentially to live another day, maybe warning its comrades in the field to stay away from the old sycamore from then on out. Mikmek was delighted to find that the bigfolk proved their worth yet again in dispatching the mites so quickly.
The party climbed the shaft out of the warren, having gotten what they came for and rooted out any infestation that had been left, with the possible exception of a single monstrous gremlin.
The first of the group to surface, however, was met with a small surprise. As they squeezed out of the narrow gap under the roots of the tree, they beheld first Jargon's inquisitive wuffling nose and second the skull-smashed-in corpse of the escapee mite, presumably run afoul of Jargon's hooves when they surprised each other when, looking for Frodrick she found an ugly blue mug.
Frodrick 13/20* – Cramped, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp),
Krii 11/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped, Ability Damage: -6Dex (-3 AC, ranged attack, init, Ref, CMD)
Kyrie 16/21 – Cramped, Ability Damage -3Dex (-1 AC, ranged, init, Ref, CMD), Shaken (2)
Miguel 13/17 (1) – Cramped, Dancing Lights (5/20)
Zeran 19/19 (1) – Cramped () 27 bullets
Mikmek: 4/4 –
Dingetooth: Dying
Mite P: I wanted to surprise you.
Uurch: Dying
(Took one or two liberties with the selection of actions, but I don't think I had anyone do anything they would definitely not have. Except for miss. Seriously, after Kyrie's double natural 19 on the crit confirm, Zeran and Krii rolled 4-5-5 between them.)
(Gotta go help shovel some snow now, if there are any blatant mistakes assume I didn't actually make them and you are, in fact, hallucinating.)
Posted on 2013-12-19 at 03:12:31.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Braveheart? Close Enough.
7 Desnus
Mite Warren – Chamber of Torment
Kamelands
Inspired by the small warrior's determination, Zeran offered Mikmek the dagger that had once been so close to his heart--or at least gut. He accepted the dagger solemnly and slipped it into his belt--his only real piece of clothing.
"Sword will do. Much thanks." Mikmek nodded to Zeran.
Kyrie came forward with the vial of potion she carried on her. "Take this for your injuries." she said, her own wounds freshly touched up by Miguel's magic (+9dmg Kyrie 17/21). The kobold took the gift with a mixture of disbelief, suspicion, and gratitude. He sniffed the vial once before quaffing the potion (+3dmg Mikmek 4/4).
While his bumps and bruises were seared off by the burning energy of life, Mikmek listened to Frodrick's questions. "Mikmek sent by Chief Sootscale. Must get Sharptooth statue. Maybe save tribe from war."
Frodrick set his axe down and drew the bloodstained ivory statuette out. Upon seeing it, Mikmek's eyes lit up like a whelp on his hatchday--which it may as well have been given the gifts he'd received. The kobold jumped into the air with a cheer, shouting "Death to Tartuk!"
Like Poro, the moment he realized what he said out loud, he froze, horrified, looking about for any sign that his blasphemous words had been heard. He relaxed quickly, "Mikmek must take statue to Chief Sootscale. Will tallfolk help? Sootscale tribe offer many riches!"
Frodrick 13/20* – Cramped, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp),
Krii 11/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped, Ability Damage: -6Dex (-3 AC, ranged attack, init, Ref, CMD)
Kyrie 17/21 – Cramped, Ability Damage -3Dex (-1 AC, ranged, init, Ref, CMD)
Miguel 13/17 (1) – Cramped, Dancing Lights (19=>1/20)
Zeran 19/19 (1) – Cramped () 27 bullets
Mikmek: 4/4 -
Posted on 2013-12-16 at 22:50:09.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: This kobold ain't so ready to abandon ship.
Krii downed a potion and his body stung where the pincer wounds closed. Energy flowed into his limbs, revitalizing his stamina and giving him a second wind to carry on (+6dmg Krii 11/16). The stiffness refused to leave him, however.
Zeran regained his feet, dusting himself and spitting into the chasm after the centipede he could no longer see due to the darkness. The two took a minute to carefully examine the roots from the ledge, looking for which were safe and which weren't.
After a moment Zeran gave up. The tangle of roots was too great to pick out more than one or two of the knots—it was like searching for a bent needles in a needlestack. He decided he would play it carefully and leave it up to chance and his reflexes to get him across safely.
Climb: Take 10 = 11 Success
He was most of the way across the chasm and beginning to believe he would be lucky like Frodrick had been the first time when a root tore away in his grasp. He flailed to catch himself, but missed the next safe (he had been hoping) handhold. For a split second of terror he felt the panic of falling, but he just caught hold of the ledge before he fell too far.
The gunslinger pulled himself up with a groan. Too many close calls today. They weren't even being intentional about them. Just. Ugh.
Krii didn't relish the idea of having to be the next to cross, but he was even less willing to entertain the idea of crawling down into the chasm where the centipede ostensibly lay dying alone. As Zeran crossed he knew he more or less had an idea how to look out for the loops. If he just picked his way across slowly, he would be fine, he told himself.
He was right, too. The gangly sorcerer touched down a few moments later next to Zeran. They climbed the ascent into the next room where Frodrick was hacking at the roots that tied down the kobold.
The knots were shoddily done and it didn't take long for the kobold to be freed. As Frodrick began making plans to take the kobold out of the warren, it fell to its knees, pleading “No!”
With all eyes on (him?), the kobold looked up with wide, alarmed yellow eyes. “No, Mikmek fight too. Mikmek on mission, must not fail. Mikmek warrior—hurt worse before. Only need weapon.”
Frodrick 13/20* – Cramped, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp),
Krii 11/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped, Ability Damage: -6Dex (-3 AC, ranged attack, init, Ref, CMD)
Kyrie 8/21 – Cramped, Ability Damage -3Dex (-1 AC, ranged, init, Ref, CMD)
Miguel 13/17 (1) – Cramped, Dancing Lights (19=>1/20)
Zeran 19/19 (1) – Cramped () 27 bullets
Mikmek: Badly Wounded
Mite P: ???
(It is actually my understanding that at least Miguel still has his potion also—that being the one which Poro the kobold thief tried to steal two nights ago. The Q&A still lists Kyrie as having at least one, but I'm less certain about the veracity of this one.)
(Also, I may have misread it, but if Frodrick was planning to go backward out the dungeon, don't forget that he and Big Mac would have to cross the chasm again, as well as go it alone in the dark (which isn't difficult for a couple of creatures with darkvision, really). And also that Frodrick wouldn't have to carry him, since he is not so badly wounded he can't manoeuvre on his own. That said, I've read a couple interpretations out of that post so I'm going to shut up until I'm further elucidated.)
Posted on 2013-12-15 at 07:53:24.
Edited on 2013-12-15 at 07:55:34 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Spoilers, next room is filled with monstrous cockroaches
7 Desnus
Mite Warren – Centipede Chasm/Chamber of Torment
Kamelands
Frodrick was completely done with these mites' ugly blue faces for a long time to come. With a grunt he swung his axe back in a wide arc sideways and swung at about arm-level. The mite before him managed a startled look before it realized too late that it should have ducked half a second ago. Frodrick's axe slammed into the mite's throat with enough force to throw its body against the wall as the bulbous head rolled away. (-14dmg *crit* MiteR Dead).
While the centipede occupied itself with Kyrie, Krii fired a beam of ice at it, aiming far wide to aovid hitting Zeran, and creating a frost lining on one of the roots. The pain from the poisonous bite was beginning to subside, though he was still very stiff. (Poison End)
Zeran in front of him was still achieving limited success stabbing at the centipede's exposed side, striking the occasional gap in the shell, coming away with more purple-blue blood smeared on the tip of his rapier (-4dmg Whiptail).
For all that its strength was quickly fading, the centipede only seemed to be getting angrier and more violent. It lunged at Kyrie with surprising speed. She couldn't move fast enough to avoid the strike. The whiptail closed its poisonous jaws on the girl, squeezing the breath out of her and punching through weak points in her armour (-13 Kyrie 8/21). Her divine constitution fought against the poison entering her bloodstream, but soon she, too, found her limbs and muscles stiffening (Poisoned -3Dex Kyrie).
At the opposite side of the body, Zeran forgot to mind the whips as he worked to punch enough holes in the centipede that it simply stopped moving. With the more dangerous end focused on the other side of the chasm, it was easy to forget that he was not wholly safe. Zeran reacted at the sharp crack of a lash, just in time for the whiptail to wrap around his leg and pull it out from under him (-1sub Zeran Prone). His pride, if it could be said he had any, hurt far worse than anything the whip had done, but his leg stung.
For a brief moment, Krii and Kyrie met each other's gaze across the gap. Krii knew the spell he had laid on the centipede would be losing potency any second now. Somehow he communicated that urgency to Kyrie.
Centipede would not outsmart shovel. Kyrie looked the centipede in those red eyes. This was one bug she needed to squash. Ignoring the pain of the poison working its way through her body, Kyrie slammed the flat of her shovel up under the centipede's head, flattening it against the low ceiling (-12dmg Whiptail). While each of Kyrie's hits before had elicited sounds of exoskeletal cracking, none quite compared to the satisfying crunch as its head mashed against the dirt.
The centipede's legs jerked and its consciousness quickly faded (Dying). Without motor functions, the centipede's bulk dragged it down from the walls, sending it plummeting into the depths from whence it came (-6sub, -3dmg Whiptail).
Kyrie sighed from relief and exhertion, but the battle wasn't over yet. Behind her Frodrick and Miguel were still dealing with the troublesome mites. There were only two left but they continued to fight bravely... or not. As the mite they flanked moved to avoid having either one at its back, its companion turned tail and fled to the back of the room and up through a hole in the roof, thick with even more of the all-encompasing tree roots.
The remainder looked, startled, after its erstwhile companion, as if wondering why it hadn't thought of that first. It stabbed at Miguel half-heartedly, now looking about for an escape, but finding itself surrounded on three sides, with Kyrie blocking the chasm.
Miguel put a rest to its troubles with his duelling blade (-14 *crit* MiteM Dead). Finally, Miguel let the song die on his lips. He considered briefly chasing after the mite fleeing up the tunnel, but there were other things to attend to. Motion to his right reminded him of the kobold still trussed up to the wall, still alive.
The small soot-black and ash-grey was now looking at its rescuer suspiciously, uncertain about the providence of this change. Whatever the mites had done to it (her/him?), it looked rather badly bruised and scraped (Kobold Badly Wounded).
Frodrick 13/20* – Cramped, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp), Courage
Krii 5/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped, Poisoned (CURE), Ability Damage: -6Dex (-3 AC, ranged attack, init, Ref, CMD), Courage
Kyrie 8/21 – Cramped, Courage, Poisoned (1), Ability Damage -3Dex (-1 AC, ranged, init, Ref, CMD)
Miguel 13(1)/17 – Cramped, Dancing Lights (8/20), Inspire Courage (6)
Zeran 19(1)/19 – Cramped () 27 bullets, Courage, Prone
Kobold: Badly Wounded
Whiptail: Dying, Enfeebled (3/3) END
Mite M: Dead
Mite P: Uninjured, Out of Sight
Mite R: Dead
(Luckily if I'm correct in my reading of ability damage in Pathfinder, since ability damage is not considered a loss of ability score, Kyrie does not lose the benefits of her Dodge feat while she's under the effects of the poison (ability drain still works like this, tho'). On Kyrie's next round, before any further damage is taken she recovers from the poison.)
(As for the (currently) unnamed kobold on the wall, feel free to cut him down and attempt to communicate with him. If whoever's holding the statue brings it out to show, his eyes will light up like a child on Christmas. He speaks broken, but intelligible taldane, and fluent draconic.)
(I'm sure a lot of people are interested in a little healing right now, but Miguel only has one spell left and can only channel positive energy.)
Posted on 2013-12-14 at 21:29:58.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Some good shots in this round... nobody's dead yet, still.
7 Desnus
Mite Warren – Centipede Chasm/Chamber of Torment
Kamelands
Taking care not to leave an opening, Krii willed an arc of electricity at the behemoth as it turned to Kyrie, causing little more than a twitch of a dozen of its legs (-2elec Whiptail). Krii knew if the centipede came for him again he would not likely be so lucky. He stepped back as Zeran drew his rapier to cover the sorcerer. (-2Dex Krii).
The centipede was now twisted across the chasm to get at Kyrie. Zeran stabbed at the bit of its long segmented body that was available. Luckily the creature was so huge and its mobility so low it was wide open to all sorts of attack. Zeran drove his rapier between body segments (-4dmg Whiptail), though he couldn't be sure it was having a significant effect on the angry monster.
Kyrie held her shovel out before her defensively. She was prepared for the centipede to lunge at her and quickly sidestepped the stike, giving it only a facefull of earth as it struck the ledge beneath her feet. It clung to the wall on herside with its front legs while the whip-like tails for which it got its name flailed wildly at Zeran, lashing the burrow wall near his head with a startling force and a crack in the air.
In the room above and behind Kyrie, Frodrick and Miguel were holding off the mites. Frodrick swung for another blow, but the mites had learned to be wary of his axe, and they jumped back. Three lunged back with their knives. Frodrick simply held the two off with his shield, but Miguel was not as well defended. He dodged by inches a savage slash at his torso that backed him against the wall (-4dmg *crit* Miguel). Evidently these creatures were no lovers of Andoran marches. The fourth blighter in the back tried its trick on Frodrick, but the dwarf was having none of this mind-foolery nonesense.
With the pest's full attention now on her, Kyrie gripped her shovel white-knuckled. Centipedes are our friends, Kyrie's mahr told her. They're good for the plants and eat other bugs that we don't like. Somehow the paladin knew this was not the situation her guardians had in mind.
Evil creature or no, this monster was clearly a treat to anyone or anything that crossed it. Kyrie threw her weight into her thrust, ramming the blade of the gardening tool into the centipede's face, heedless of how close she was to the edge of the chasm. The blade did not penetrate, but there was a satisfying carapacian crunch that made the monster flinch back (-10dmg Whiptail Bloodied).
It was now Zeran was beginning to see the cumulative effects begin to take their toll on the monster. It was moving slower than a minute ago and its odd blue-purple blood was now showing up in several of its wounds, including its head and the spot where Zeran stabbed between its segments.
That said, the whiptail was still very much not yet dead, and still quite aggressive, hissing in irritation at the shovel-wielding girl. Miguel kept one eye behind him as he cut down another mite, forging an escape route body by body in case things turned sour quickly (-8dmg MiteN, Dying). He stepped in to fill its place, just a few feet from where the last living kobold remained trussed up, unmoving and unspeaking. Well, at least Miguel thought it looked more or less living.
Frodrick 13/20* – Cramped, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp), Courage
Krii 5/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped, Poisoned (2), Ability Damage: -6Dex (-3 AC, ranged attack, init, Ref, CMD), Courage
Kyrie 21/21 – Cramped, Courage
Miguel 13(1)/17 – Cramped, Dancing Lights (7/20), Inspire Courage (5)
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped () 27 bullets, Courage
Whiptail: Injured, Bloodied, Enfeebled (2/3), Ability Damage: -3Str (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD)
Mite M: Uninjured
Mite N: Dying
Mite P: Uninjured, Doooooom
Mite R: Uninjured
(Okay, so I totally fudged the initiative order, but told directly chronologically it would have been 'meanwhile in the other room' every other action, so I just grouped the two rooms' actions more or less together a bit.)
Posted on 2013-12-12 at 23:49:23.
Edited on 2013-12-13 at 23:21:54 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: So, uh, how's it going there? Workin' hard or hardly workin'?
7 Desnus
Mite Warren – Centipede Chasm
Kamelands
Krii thrust his hand, clawlike, down toward the darkness. He enunciated the syllables and from his palm he shot a glimmering black beam at the giant centipede below. The centipede was so large and it's confines so small it was all but impossible to miss, but nevertheless the monster seemed to resist the effects more than Krii would have liked (-3Str Whiptail).
“Look out behind! There's a big one back here!” he called to the rest on the other ledge.
Frodrick heard the warning. He knew the chasm couldn't have been as empty as it seemed. He summoned up his fury and struck one of the mites before him dead on the spot, splitting its head open with his axe like it were an oversized gourd (-18dmg *crit* MiteS Dead). The dwarf backed away from the rest, trying to work his way toward the chasm even as Kyrie and Miguel came in behind him.
Even squeezing as slow as it had to, the giant whiptail moved quicker than Krii expected, rushing up the steep 20' chasm wall before he knew what was happening. It was even bigger from up close than it had looked winding through the chasm. Its eyes almost seemed to glow red with malevolence as it lunged at Krii.
The centipede reared back to strike and Zeran, arm flying out as if by instinct, fired (-7dmg Whiptail). The shot blew a hole in the centipede's hard body, but only barely seemed to deter it. It struck with the speed and ferocity of a coiled snake.
The sorcerer could feel the hissing sound of his spell armour resisting the crushing strength of the centipede's pincers, but regardless how he struggled to get away, he was caught, the crushing force punching through his spell and puncturing his soft skin underneath (-11dmg Krii 5/16). The rush of paralytic poison was agony in his veins, despite the relative superficiality of the wounds, stiffening his limbs even as the monstrous vermin released pressure (-4Dex Krii Poisoned).
Life across the chasm was no easier, either, with the mites moving in to punish the warriors interrupting their fun. Miguel dodged a knife rammed at his gut while Frodrick took both of his attackers at the same time, denying one with his shield and forcing the other off with his axe (-2dmg Frodrick).
Kyrie, cut off from the front lines of the mites by their attempts to crowd the party on the ledge, turned to face the centipede's back. Watching carefully, as its upper body reared back from half-killing Krii, she wound her arms back.
“Hey, varment! Lookit me over here!” She swung the shovel hard against its exoskeleton to meet with a satisfying crunch, causing the centipede to jerk forward sharply (-7dmg Whiptail)
Miguel looked at the mites crowding around him and Frodrick, then back at the chasm where the giant centipede was menacing the whole span and putting Krii in peril. Hadn't they just got out of a situation a lot like this?
Regardless, Miguel always knew what was the best way for dealing with a little hard luck. He picked up another tune, this one a fast-paced march, hoping to inspire his allies to hurry up and finish things quickly. He only hoped his voice could reach Krii and Zeran back across the gap, so the magic infused in every syllable could inspire them with the courage to triumph.
Frodrick 13/20* – Cramped, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp), Courage
Krii 5/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped, Poisoned (1), Ability Damage: -4Dex (-2 AC, ranged attack, init, Ref, CMD), Courage
Kyrie 21/21 – Cramped, Courage
Miguel 17(1)/17 – Cramped, Dancing Lights (6/20), Inspire Courage (4)
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped () 27 bullets, Courage
Whiptail: Injured, Enfeebled (1/3), Ability Damage: -3Str (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD)
Mite M: Uninjured
Mite N: Uninjured
Mite P: Uninjured
Mite R: Uninjured
Mite S: Dead
Posted on 2013-12-12 at 04:07:06.
Edited on 2013-12-12 at 04:07:31 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Hah, and you thought the worst was already behind you. Suckers.
7 Desnus
Mite Warren – Chasm
Kamelands
Frodrick grabbed the straps of his shield and ran up the slope into the room, drawing his axe. Almost immediately he saw the crowd of about a half dozen mites, most carrying sticks, standing in front of a limp soot-black kobold who was tied to the wall with the ubiquitous roots. The kobold was the last in a line of four kobolds similarly trussed up, and the only still living, if limp and beaten.
The mites turned to Frodrick with hatred and hostility in their eyes, reaching for their knives. Four of them swarmed him almost as soon as they saw him, but their multitude of jabs and slashes bounced uselessly off his wooden shield and his hide armour.
Meanwhile Krii and Zeran watched for any sign of trouble while Kyrie finished her climb. The girl dropped from the roots. She had heard the cries, too, and up the slope she could see Frodrick holding back a crush of mites.
Kyrie picked the tool for the job as she burst into the room like an avenging angel. With a firm swipe she clocked the first mite she saw clean off its feet (-4Mite O Dying). It would not be getting up soon.
The two climbing guards looked to Miguel—he was next to cross. They turned behind them only to hear a last-minute “Coming through!” before the bard raced passed them and leapt across the chasm in a bound, landing with both feet planted on the opposite ledge and continuing his momentum into the fray between Kyrie and Frodrick.
They looked at each other. Yeah, they figured they'd prefer to take their chances with the false knots. Krii looked down into the pit once more to judge the potential fall.
Wait—he saw something. Something very big with very many legs. The sorcerer's eyes widened as he took in the size of the centipede crawling through the dark reaches of the chasm. It must have only just crawled out from whatever hellhole it resided, for surely Frodrick would have seen it the first time. The monster was almost thirty feet long with hundreds of legs, with a pair of long whip-like tendrils extending from what Krii could only assume was the back end.
Frodrick 15/20* – Cramped, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp)
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped
Kyrie 21/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17(1)/17 – Cramped, Dancing Lights (5/20)
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped (loaded) 28 bullets
Giant Whiptail Centipede: Holy Son of a Mother's Hairy Uncle George
Mite M: Uninjured
Mite N: Uninjured
Mite O: Dying
Mite P: Uninjured
Mite R: Uninjured
Mite S: Uninjured
(The whiptail is 20' directly below the middle of the chasm. It's a huge creature squeezing into the width of the chasm so it's slowed down, but looks obviously about to climb up to have a look at who's been crossing its bridge without paying the toll.)
(For the record, it's basically Krii's turn now, so he can choose whether or not to take up his ready action to shoot the centipede. Zeran, meanwhile, cannot see anything down there in the darkness).
While I'm on it, though:
Map of the Chamber of Torment ~here~
Posted on 2013-12-11 at 22:50:11.
Edited on 2013-12-12 at 04:05:24 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: That amazing dwarf on the flying trapeze
7 Desnus
Mite Warren – Chasm
Kamelands
As Frodrick was preparing to cross the chasm, putting his axe in its holder and moving his shield to his back. There was a faint sound coming from the room across the chasm, out of sight—was that whimpering?
Suddenly there was a sharp cry of pain. Frodrick tried to remember the kobold, Poro. Hadn't she mentioned something about other kobolds who had come this way? Everything before last night's storm seemed a distant memory.
The dwarf grabbed the first loop hanging from the ceiling, testing it's give and ability to hold his weight. It seemed sturdy enough. He began his crossing, not worrying about how far he was now above the ground and certainly not paying too much attention to the weakness in his arms.
Kyrie did the same close behind him, crawling through the roots hanging from the ceiling. Miguel for his part waited back on the otherside for a clear jump. As Frodrick reached the otherside crossed he sent his lights into the next room, illuminating the landing.
From the landing the ground sloped back upward into the next room, where Frodrick could hear a group of mites at sport. It sounded like they had noticed the party's approach though. Battle would be imminent, he guessed.
New Initiative
Krii
Frodrick
Zeran
Miguel
Kyrie
A shriek from behind him nearly gave Frodrick a scare. He whirled to see Kyrie hanging precariously by one hand, with a knotted root hanging free in her other hand. In just a moment he noticed what Kyrie had seen just before the root had pulled free—it had been cleverly tied to look sturdy, but the moment any weight was placed on it, it would slide free, plunging the hapless crosser into the chasm.
Luckily the paladin girl had caught herself on the other handholds before she had dropped.
Frodrick 15/20* – Cramped, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp)
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped
Kyrie 21/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17(1)/17 – Cramped, Dancing Lights (4/20)
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped (loaded) 28 bullets
(For those still yet to cross who may be worried about the future potential of snagging a false loop, you can always inspect the loops for a minute and see if you can pick out which are no good before you cross... or you can risk it and see if your chances (or at least reflexes, like Kyrie) are good. Zeran and Krii I have currently listed as 'readied' to fire upon anything from the next room that tries to disturb the climbers)
Map of the Chasm ~here~
Posted on 2013-12-10 at 07:31:14.
Edited on 2013-12-10 at 18:04:36 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: The Crossing
With the statuette and the coins pocketed, the party moved to the exit of the room. The ground sloped down until it suddenly dropped off. Those with vision adapted to the pitchblack of subterranean arenas could say that the chasm was only 20' deep, and the walls sloping down had more than enough handholds to make for an easy climb.
The chasm was only about 10' across, though positioning meant the gap to the other room was about 15' away and the crevasse ran in length far to the right and left. Roots hanging from the ceiling across the gap were tied into loops for foot and hand-holds, making the crossing also very easy.
(i.e. These 'very easy' mean that even a physically weakened person like Frodrick is now would have a very simple time pulling it off without any training if not distracted. There are basically three ways of crossing available; using the loops provided (easy climb), crawling down and back up (easy but long climb), or simply jumping across (difficult acrobatics). Either example of climbing requires two hands, thus sheathing weapons and using guige straps to hold shields. Unless otherwise specified, crossing will be done in Marching Order. Anyone who has other plans, or if anyone thinks the crossing should be made one at a time should comment.)
Posted on 2013-12-09 at 22:29:07.
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Topic: Kingmaker Q&A
Subject: War Room
Okay, so the War Room totally had just a bit of loot for your perusal.
Ivory Statuette (Kobold Statue) - value unknown
12 Small Spears - 1G apiece if kept and sold
--193cp (1.93), 120sp (12.00), and 32gp (32.00)
====45.93G
The spears are 3lbs each if anyone would like to carry them. Gold and Statue being added to the loot-o-meter.
Posted on 2013-12-08 at 23:45:11.
Edited on 2013-12-08 at 23:46:29 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: 9-10) Do it all over again!
7 Desnus
Mite Warren – War Room
Kamelands
The last of the advisors stabbed at Kyrie, holding off the attackers for its chieftan, but the paladin just flicked aside the knife with her shield. She slashed back with her sickle, hoping to cut this one down to give the rest a free run at the chieftan, but for once she didn't quite finish it (-3dmg MiteI, Disabled)
Zeran watched the tick go down. Well, at least it was done with. Now time for clean up. He turned to the mite beside him that had been stuck in the corner of the tunnel, failing more often than not at taking advantage of openings. He drew up his rapier again and simply stabbed it, by chance, straight through the bulging eye (-11dmg *crit* MiteH Dying), dropping it once and for all.
Zeran stood for a moment over the body. “Huh, didn't see that one coming.” He grinned and paused. Nah, way too cheesy. Well, they couldn't all be winners.
Miguel let his song fade away into the tunnels. The biggest threat so far had been dealt with. It was time to mop up and begin the recovery. Starting with that leader, before he had time to gather any more reinforcements. The bard chased around the last remaining advisor, who evidently did not feel well enough to object.
Miguel mentally charged his sword with a thought, then brought it down on the fleeing leader. It seemed killing foes as they fled for their lives was becoming a trend with him. He hoped it didn't mean something. Regardless, the chief fell much as others had before (-10dmg Grabbles Dying). The leader's body bounced down the slope at the back of the room almost comically, before plunging into a deep chasm that separated this room from the next.
With only one mite left, Krii's plan was simple. He advanced on the last straggler and finished it off (-3dmg MiteI Dying).
Frodrick 7/20* – Cramped, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp)
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped
Kyrie 16(1)/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17(1)/17 – Cramped, Dancing Lights (10/20), Shaken (5)
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped (loaded) 28 bullets, Shaken (4)
Grabbles: Dying
Tickleback: Dying
Mite H: Dying
Mite I: Dying
There was a moment of pause, everyone just breathing, releasing adrenaline. Kyrie simply walked over to Frodrick, put her sickle down on the mite's filthy table, and laid hands on him, invoking life and energy back into his body (+4dmg, +4dmg Frodrick 15/20*), before channeling the last of her energy into herself (+5dmg Kyrie 21/21). (EDIT: I forgot to add a bonus; Kyrie heals 5hp to full health on herself, not 3)
While she did so, Miguel moved his mage lights over to the table, forcing himself to keep busy to stave off the vague sense of dread that still had not worn off. The table held a mystery of piles of dirt and twigs and a few bloodstained rocks, seemingly meticulously arranged across the dirty red-and-white checked tablecloth.
Of more interest was the bloody ivory statuette, serving as a paper weight for a scrap of parchment. It was shaped like some kind of crouching horned devil, or perhaps it was supposed to represent some winged kobold deity. Either way it was a dead ringer for this 'Old Sharptooth' idol that the kobolds worshiped, as Poro described it.
Zeran took the scrap of paper. It was written in a very messy, almost illegible hand, but he recognised the undercommon. There were two columns, one labeled 'Us' and one 'Them'. According to the mites' records, the 'Us' column listed only 'kobold statue' and 'lots of spears and coins', while the 'Them' column was populated with an account of 'magic dust' 'lots of coins' and a 'shiny human ring'.
He checked under the table as his nerves began to ease off, finally. The big burlap sack he had spied earlier, true to his intuition, was filled with their treasure. Accurate as any human banker, the treasury held exactly as the list dictated, twelve small spears, hundreds of bits, links, and a few dozen gold crowns, as the Brevic people called them, ammounting to 45.93G (193cp, 120sp, 32gp).
Frodrick 15/20* – Cramped, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp)
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped
Kyrie 21/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17(1)/17 – Cramped, Dancing Lights (17=>1/20)
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped (loaded) 28 bullets
(No one has knowledge (geography), right? Anyway, I'll try to throw this into a loot pile later on the Q&A, but I've basically listed everything this room has of value already. When you're ready to carry on, you can explore the chasm on the other side of the room.)
Posted on 2013-12-08 at 23:30:21.
Edited on 2013-12-10 at 18:06:43 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: 8) The numbering of this step is probably going to turn into a smiley... (well, it didn't)
7 Desnus
Mite Warren – War Room
Kamelands
The last of the mites in the room swarmed Kyrie and Miguel at their leader's command. Now literally surrounded, thanks to the positioning of the one mite trapped behind them, the two were hard pressed to avoid attack. Each swing of their knives was getting harder to turn aside than the last (-3dmg Kyrie, -3dmg Miguel).
Kyrie did not have time for this. There were people that needed her help, and they were in her way. She reached out with her sickle and cut down another mite like she was bringing in the harvest (-5dmg MiteL Dying)
Zeran was reloading his mortal instrument, finally figuring out the perfect one-liner he should habe used on shooting the tick. It didn't matter now, only getting enough powder into the barrel to make sure the next shot was final. He concentrated on controlling the trembling in his hands and on not being stabbed by one opportunistic little mite.
Also suffering from shaky nerves, Miguel continued to belt out each note, keeping morale up when it was needed most. Frankly, Miguel was having trouble, whether due to the necromancy riding around in his skull or to the very real dire circumstance, seeing a happy ending to this tale. Kyrie was hacking through the mites as fast as she could swing her arm, and Zeran was preparing another devastating shot, but it seemed there was no way to stop the tick from feasting on Frodrick's life.
Miguel's sword arm was failing, and would fail him, he knew. If he tumbled through the gap in the crowd of mites he would only batter away uselessly at the tick's hide. The only weapon he could rely on in this situation was his voice. He eyeballed the distance between him and Frodrick in the spell-light that filled the cramped hole. There was no time for second thoughts, worst case scenario he could use his magic to put Frodrick back together again.
The bard threw back his arms and rose to a resounding quaver, splitting the very air in front of him with the crystaline note he sang. The shards of sound flew out in a cone, riddling the floor and ceiling with razor sharp fragments, blowing down two of the mites, and tearing into Tickleback's backside (-7dmg Tickleback, -5dmg MiteJ, -5dmg MiteK; Near Death and Dyingx2 respectively).
Krii let fly with a spell, but in his care not to hit Frodrick and hurt his survival further, the bolt of electricity was aborbed by the earthen wall. Frodrick knew his companions had done their best to help him and it was up to him. He raised his axe for what he knew would probably be the last time if he failed.
Frodrick brought his axe down on Tickleback's oozing body with a crunch. He struck a point between the plates making up the tick's many-eyed head (-5dmg Tickleback). Its legs gave a spasmodic twitch and it lost balance for a second. Tickleback's grip on Frodrick tightened and for a moment Frodrick thought it was going to finish him with its last legs, but as the blood oozed out of its every orifice, its grip faded until it collapsed in a heap.
Grabbles bounced and rolled off the tick's back as it dropped. He sprang up suprisingly quickly and thrust his trident up at Frodrick's face. Almost by instinct more than intention, Frodrick deflected the attack with his shield. The mite chieftan turned and fled after his unsuccessful attack, drawing a half-hearted strike from the dwarf that did little more than scoot him faster on his way (-1sub Grabbles). He ran, ignoring his last remaining advisor as he passed, for the lower back entrance to the room, calling out to the next room.
Frodrick 7/20* – Cramped, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp)
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped
Kyrie 16(1)/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17(1)/17 – Cramped, Inspire Courage (3), Dancing Lights (9/20), Shaken (4)
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped (loaded) 28 bullets, Shaken (3)
Grabbles: Uninjured
Tickleback: Dying
Mite H: Badly Wounded
Mite I: Uninjured
Mite J: Dying
Mite K: Dying
Mite L: Dying
Posted on 2013-12-08 at 10:28:00.
Edited on 2013-12-08 at 18:35:28 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: 7) Not your lucky number
7 Desnus
Mite Warren – War Room
Kamelands
The chief’s advisors heeded their leader’s call and moved in to surround and fill the gaps around him. Two took advantage of Frodrick’s predicament to stab at him with their tiny knives (-3dmg, -3dmg Frodrick 10/22).
In the crowded, cramped tunnel Zeran aimed his pistol experimentally. It was primed, but there was no way to get a clear shot at Tickleback, unless…
“Kyrie, give me some room, I’ve got an idea!”
While she was loathe to leave Frodrick’s side, Zeran sounded serious. Perhaps it was the nerves talking or he actually knew what he was doing this time. Either way, she left the tick alone and turned to the mite guard beside it. “Excuse me, little weed.” She cut it down with a flash of her sickle (-5dmg MiteF) and stepped over it, around Tickleback.
The moment Kyrie was free of the shot, Zeran took it. Taking care not to shoot either Frodrick or Kyrie, he tightened his focus at the last second and pulled the trigger. The shot flew true. The nugget of flying lead punched a small hole through the tick’s exoskeleton, not impressive on the outside, but judging from the cracking sounds, doing at least a fair amount of damage as it plunged through a slurry of organs (-10dmg Tickleback Bloodied).
The tick was visibly worse for wear after that shot, but Frodrick’s strength was beginning to leave him as the mite’s jaws clamped on his body. Miguel knew the dwarf was tough as old leather and at least twice as stubborn, but his strength wouldn’t last forever. Pretty soon something would strike vital and he would go down—though not yet, if he could help it.
Between the mite and Tickleback, there was no one around to pay attention to one humble bard singing a song, which suited him fine. Working the spell into his song as a clever refrain, Miguel placed his hand on Frodrick’s shoulder and channeled vitality back into his old body, giving him a rush of energy and a second wind (+9dmg Frodrick).
Amid all this confusion, the last remaining mite from the common room, who had been the one to strike at Frodrick as he ran passed, found itself quickly surrounded by tallfolk too busy to pay it any mind. All, except for Krii, now cut off once again from the frontlines. The sorcerer spied the mite, half cowering, half looking for an easy opening to shank an ankle.
Krii channeled an icy frost and fired on the mite from point blank range, delivering a nasty frostbite to one ear and most of the side of its head (-2cold MiteH). For whatever reason the mite didn't seem to appreciate this treatment, and launched itself, knife first, at Krii. It stabbed clumsily at Krii, who easily dodged.
With renewed vigour and energy, Frodrick bellowed. No overgrown parasite was going to finish the last of Clan Redbrew without some kind of a fight to show for it. He had a company to look after, now, he could not let death overtake him easily. He drew back his axe and brought it down over the tick's head. There was a satisfying crunching sound, and though the jaws around his body did not loosen, he could see the monster's strength flagging. (-7dmg Tickleback)
Frodrick's triumph was short-lived, however. Tickleback's serrated needle cut skin with every movement, drawing more non-clotting blood with each cut (-10dmg Frodrick 9/22). The giant tick tightened it's grip and pulled, dragging the dwarf with it. Miguel and Kyrie saw what it was trying to do, but their hasty attacks bounced uselessly off it's carapace as it turned to drag Frodrick back to its corner, behind the line of mites. (-1Str, -1Con Frodrick)
Frodrick 7/20* – Cramped, Challenge (Tickleback), Grappled, Ability Damage: -2Str, -2Con (-1 attk, dmg, CMB, CMD, -1 Fort, -2*hp)
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped
Kyrie 16(1)/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17(1)/17 – Cramped, Inspire Courage (2), Dancing Lights (8/20), Shaken (3)
Zeran 18/19 – Cramped () 29 bullets, Shaken (2)
Grabbles: Uninjured
Tickleback: Badly Wounded, Grab
Mite F: Dying,
Mite H: Badly Wounded,
Mite I: Uninjured
Mite J: Uninjured
Mite K: Uninjured
Mite L: Uninjured
Posted on 2013-12-06 at 22:04:03.
Edited on 2013-12-07 at 00:00:47 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: 6) ... AND THEN IT'S GOING TO EAT ME!
7 Desnus
Mite Warren – War Room
Kamelands
Though the party couldn’t see them very well, standing in the back of the room, group of mites that surrounded the table could see them fine from this angle. The four of them together channeled their natural power to bring ruination, their eyes bulging out. Once again Kyrie felt a duo of curses fall upon her, only to crash and fade like waves on a beach. Frodrick had a similar experience, throwing off the emotional manipulation with his strength of will, but Zeran was less lucky. The magic took effect and it became difficult for him to control his nerves.
Seeing the congestion of the tunnel before him, Krii decided to let someone more capable in a melee take point. Besides, he’d already mostly done in a giant centipede with his sickle himself today, that’d more than enough for any sorcerer.
Zeran seemed happy to comply, and so the gunslinger charged into the fray blocking the entrance to the next room, drawing his heretofore forgotten rapier. Throwing himself at the nearest mite despite, or perhaps spurred on in defiance of the magical fear, he split the belly of one of the mites in a deadly thrust (-5dmg MiteC Dying). He held his pistol still cocked in his other hand as a banner warning any who dare give him an opening to use it.
Not to be outdone in the forward charge, Kyrie cut down the mite that even as she struck had been looking to get behind her shield (-4dmg MiteE Dying). As she looked around, the crowding around the choke point was clearing. Unwilling to give up the slightest ground, she stepped past Zeran even as he was removing his rapier from his kill, braving an opportunistic strike that was scarcely more than a violent scratch as she did (-1sub Kyrie).
Miguel let his sword arm fall. Nerves on edge, practically doubled over from low ceiling, the fighting conditions were getting more and more uphill. The minions were falling fast, but how long would they last like this once that behemoth of a tick joined the combat? He pushed his doubts out of his mind. There was only one solution for a time like this. He started to sing.
His voice cracked on the first note, but he cleared his throat and belted out a hearty triumphant tenor. As Krii heard Miguel’s magically reinforced voice resound from the front lines, he saw his moment to act. The sorcerer dove in amongst the fighters, stopping short of all the way, and cracked a shot of electricity at the giant tick. The mite directly next to him was too busy dealing with Kyrie to take advantage of the opening Krii left, and the blue arc snapped at the tick’s face (-7dmg *crit* Tickleback), causing the monster to flinch and Grabbles to flail like a ragdoll on its back.
Grabbles shouted orders from tick-back, seemingly indicating to the advisors at the table that they should take a more active participation in the fighting or else take a less active participation in their necks, while the last remaining mites from the common room leapt at Kyrie with their shivs, battering uselessly at her shield and armour.
With almost nothing now left standing between the giant tick and his allies, Frodrick barrelled down the small slope between the rooms and landed directly in front of the monster, knocking aside a mite's knife on the way as if it didn't exist.
“Alright, beastie,” Frodrick told Tickleback, “Keep yer eyes on the pretty dwarf.” He called out to get his allies to surround the monster and hopefully bring it down before it could bring its full strength to bear. Krii had already blasted it hard, but it was still kicking strong and angry—to say nothing of the mite desperately clinging to its rocking back.
The tick seemed to be still angry about the lightning in the face, but Frodrick had blocked off any way to get at Krii and was belligerently preventing it from getting past. Not one to mince words, Tickleback simply lunged at Frodrick and took hold of him in its massive mandibles, doing a good impression of a bear hug (-8dmg +Grab Frodrick). True to its pesky annoying cousins, the tick pierced Frodrick's side and quickly began draining the dwarf of blood (-1Str, -1Con Frodrick), much to its victim's consternation.
Frodrick 16/22 – Cramped, Challenge (Tickleback), Grappled, Ability Damage: -1Str, -1Con, no penalty
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped
Kyrie 16(1)/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17(1)/17 – Cramped, Inspire Courage (1), Dancing Lights (7/20), Shaken (2)
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped (loaded) 29 bullets, Shaken (1)
Grabbles: Uninjured
Tickleback: Injured, Angered, Grab
Mite C: Dying,
Mite E: Dying,
Mite F: Uninjured,
Mite H: Uninjured,
Mite I: Uninjured
Mite J: Uninjured
Mite K: Uninjured
Mite L: Uninjured
(Frodrick is Grappled, which imposes a bunch of different details (but not as much as 3.5) which might make things difficult on him. Also difficult is the blood drain he is experiencing, which as of yet has imposed no penalties from Ability Damage.)
Posted on 2013-12-03 at 23:27:26.
Edited on 2013-12-03 at 23:39:24 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: 5) Seriously, what step comes next? I don't know what went wrong in 3!
7 Desnus
Mite Warren – War Room
Kamelands
Krii, for one, was not about to allow the mites to go without some cover fire for their retreat. He chased them around the wall in the room and fired a beam of frost after the straggler in the back just before it disappeared out of his sight down the passage. The mite took the attack full-on in the back, stumbling as its damp rags partially froze to its body (-3cold MiteA Disabled). It was too badly wounded to run far , now.
Zeran and Kyrie both gave chase after the mites, but neither took a shot. Kyrie kept up just on their tail and Zeran had the opportunity for a shot, but decided to save his shot for when he could be more certain about his aim.
Miguel commanded his light spell, dancing between the roots of the ceiling, down after the mites, illuminating much of the room below as he caught up. The walls of this room were lined with pegs, some of which hung with small, tattered cloaks with overlarge hoods, sized for the mites. Both Miguel and Kyrie could make out a quartet of four mites standing up from a rickety table covered in a rough, dirty tablecloth, each drawing their knives.
A fifth at their table, presumably their leader, marked by holding what might charitably be called a trident, turned toward the party. “Kill the intruders! They must not have our treasure!” Though most the party did not understand the words, a gap in his teeth made a sharp, pronounced whistling noise as he spoke. Then he left his advisors at the table and ran to the left side of the room, disappearing from sight by the curvature of the earthen wall.
Bolstered by reinforcements and their leader's command, the fleeing mites turned to meet the tide. Two mites turned and flashed their eyes open at Miguel and Kyrie. Again Kyrie shook off the vague anxiety, but this time Miguel was unable to resist, and the nameless fear took hold of him. Suddenly he couldn't quite keep his sword hand from shaking, and he felt claustrophobic with his back to the dirt and root ceiling (Miguel Shaken).
Another of the mites attacked Kyrie with its knife, but the girl was too quick with her shield to admit any strike so clumsy. Of the five surviving guards, two did not seem to know what to do. One, because it fell on the far side of the bottleneck, and could not contribute to the front lines of fighting, and the other because it was too badly wounded to fight, but had no safe retreat with its brothers and sisters now pushing toward it to fight the intruders.
At a loss, the frostbitten mite turned up to Kyrie and its eyes bulged—but she cut it down the moment it left an openning, not permitting any more of these magical shenanigans if she could help it. (-1 MiteA, Dying)
As all this action was going down, Frodrick finally caught up with the body of the group proper and inserted himself into the forward position next to Krii, daring that anything should attempt to push past the front lines and get to his ward without first going through him.
In part because his well adapted eyesight, his guarding stance, and even his stature closer to the ground, Frodrick was the first to see the thing coming from the left side of the next room. Grabbles, the 'Ticklerider', rode forth astride a bluish beast of a tunnel tick, bigger around than a dwarf. The mite chief clung to a shabby framework of twigs apparently designed as a saddle.
Grabbles directed the tick, 'Tickleback', to the rear of his column of fighters holding back the door, clinging to the rocking saddle as the beast moved. It seemed he was happy to let his warriors weaken the enemy first, before he charged in.
Frodrick 22/22 – Cramped
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped
Kyrie 16/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17(1)/17 – Cramped, Dancing Lights (6/20), Shaken (1)
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped (loaded) 29 bullets
Grabbles: Uninjured
Tickleback: Uninjured
Mite A: Dying,
Mite C: Uninjured,
Mite E: Uninjured,
Mite F: Uninjured,
Mite H: Uninjured,
Mite I: Uninjured
Mite J: Uninjured
Mite K: Uninjured
Mite L: Uninjured
(Just so you following along at home can keep up, A-C, E, F, and H are guards from the previous room, some of which are dead. I-L are Grabbles' chief war advisors. Also, heads up, I've been removing tags as they get forgotten, hence B and Q are missing like A will be next round; G is gone because not to be confused with Grabbles)
(The map is currently a mess of mites and you guys all crammed into that narrow passage at the bottom of your -Common Room- map and top right of your -War Room- map (below)). The table on the War Room map is indeed the one which is populated with advisers wielding knives, and Grabbles himself is just around the 'R5' icon)
(Heads up, the shaken condition imparts a -2 penalty to all attacks, saves, and skills. Further heads up, the tunnel tick is a medium creature, I know these descriptions aren't always descriptive of in-game statistical information)
Map of the War Room ~here~
Posted on 2013-12-01 at 21:26:03.
Edited on 2013-12-01 at 21:32:24 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: 4) Umm... is this supposed to be where we profit? They keep retreating...
Krii emerged from the tunnel, red eyes adjusting quickly to the light levels of the new room. He stabbed his finger in the air, seeing the mite that had sounded the alarm. With a sharp crack he shot her in the chest with a bolt of electricity, wounding her visibly (-2elec MiteQ Bloodied).
Zeran emerged from the tunnel, looking for targets, while Kyrie leapt forward with sickle in hand. The paladin stode into the thick of the battalion and cut down the breeder with a fell stroke (-3dmg MiteQ Dying) that seemed not to land as hard as expected.
(I decided there didn't really seem to be a feasible way to quickly combine rock+shield easily)
With his duelling sabre, Miguel came up alongside Kyrie and quickly cut down one of the guards with a single stroke (-4dmg MiteB Dying). The meagre confidence among the guards at outnumbering and overwhelming the invaders cracked under the first death, and vanished entirely once the numbers were closing in on even.
As one the population of the room turned tail and fled down the short, narrow passage into the darkness and adjoining room, just deeper in the warren. Their cries, including unimaginable expletives, were enough as though they had been the ones to face the combined forces of Krii's magic and Kyrie and Miguel's weapons, and not the two that lay bleeding.
As Zeran listened to their caterwauling, he picked out the name 'Grabbles the Ticklerider' and cries of 'leader'. Well, really the word in undercommon translated more closely to despotic ruler, but he hardly expected the mites to appreciate the subtlty—he barely cared when he was taught himself.
“I think that's their leader's room down there,” he said. “We should be ready for any nasty tricks when we go down.”
Behind him, Frodrick rolled down the tunnel at a hearty jog. He let out a huff that might have been partially inspired by a sigh at the sight of the mites' retreat. Whatever there was to be said for dwarves riding horses, he never had problems keeping up with the rest while mounted on Jargon's back. He reckoned they must be something like 40 to 50 feet beneath the tree now.
“I'm still here,” he told Krii, breathing moderately. “Ain't that easy to get rid of me.”
Frodrick 22/22 – Cramped
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Cramped
Kyrie 16/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17(1)/17 – Cramped, Dancing Lights, Total Defence
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped (loaded) 29 bullets
Mite A: Uninjured
Mite B: Dying
Mite C: Uninjured,
Mite E: Uninjured,
Mite F: Uninjured
Mite H: Uninjured
Mite Q: Dying,
Posted on 2013-11-30 at 08:55:30.
Edited on 2013-12-01 at 19:30:39 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: 3) ???
7 Desnus
Mite Warren – Common Room
Kamelands
Kyrie looked from Miguel up Frodrick for guidance.
“You got this one, lass,” he told her, “tell us what to do.”
Kyrie nodded. “Let's go in.”
Krii and Zeran crowded into the spiral tunnel justt behind her. Unhesitatingly, Kyrie moved into the next room, the light in Miguel's hands following just behind her while the others chased after them. Miguel took to the wall in a defensive stance just beside Kyrie in the entrance.
This room was narrower than the one above had been, but more occupied and far more crowded. Amid over two dozen hammocks and beds, and old window frames hanging like fine art from the walls, a half a dozen mites lay in scattered assortment, with the breeder standing above them, cursing at them to get up. The room was cluttered with all sorts of broken items, from wagons wheels to bits of bone and feather.
When inhabitants of the common room saw the intruders, and especially the light they bore with them, they leapt up with anger in their squinty eyes. Two dropped their broken stringed instruments and each grabbed a tiny dart from their persons. Two more beside them, who had between them a pile of rocks destined for the musicians picked up their tiny knives, while the final pair in the back dropped the torn book they were (ostensibly) reading to grab at their weapons.
Kyrie and Miguel, standing side by side at the entrance, were pelted with a volley of small iron darts. One deflected off the girl's shield and another missed Miguel narrowly, but each was struck once through their armour (-1sub Miguel, -1dmg Kyrie).
Then something unsettling happened from the mites that drew their knives—including Quoggy the breeder. Rather than race forward to attack, they stood rooted on the spot and stared at the two, as if in deep concentration.
Suddenly their huge bulbous black eyes sprung wide open, bulging hideously for a moment. Instantly a nameless and unplaceable anxiety dropped on Miguel and Kyrie's shoulders, as if something terrible somewhere was about to happen. The mind-affecting effect was weak, however, and both shook it off—Kyrie once for each of the two that attacked her—before it ever took hold.
At the back of the party train, Frodrick followed just behind Zeran on his way down into the tunnel between the rooms.
Frodrick 22/22 – Cramped
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Light, Cramped
Kyrie 16/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17(1)/17 – Cramped, Total Defence
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped (loaded) 29 bullets
Mite A: Uninjured
Mite B: Uninjured
Mite C: Uninjured, Doooom
Mite E: Uninjured, Doooom
Mite F: Uninjured
Mite H: Uninjured
Mite Q: Uninjured, DOOOM
Centipede B: Disabled (still alive, tho')
Centipded C: Disabled (this one, too)
(Since positioning is a little hard to describe in these odd between tunnels without creating run-on sentences about how so-and-so is just behind but not as close as so-and-such and etc., to be clear: Miguel and Kyrie are just barely within the entrance to the room. Krii is in the middle of the tunnel down, about where Miguel was moments ago, with Zeran still further up just in front of Frodrick, whose full movement speed brought him just inside the exit from the last room.)
(The passage at the south of the map given, by the way, though largely beyond the extent of Miguel's light, appears to be a wide, short tunnel down to the next room closely adjoined to this one.)
Map of the Common Room ~here~
Posted on 2013-11-29 at 21:44:45.
Edited on 2013-11-29 at 21:51:27 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: 2) Wreck the whole place
Krii, half stooped over thanks to the low roof, squinted at the mite. It was taunting him with the whole hanging-from-the-roof bit. He took his sickle and very aptly followed Kyrie's example, hooking the tip under it's belly and swinging down, tearing it from the roof as he did so. (-5dmg CentC)
The giant centipedes were both wholly chastised out of their aggression, now, and slunk back away from the group sluggishly. Zeran at the same time stepped back and prepared his next shot. This fight was as good as won, but if the mite's behaviour was any indicator, where would be plenty more marks where those had come from.
Kyrie knew this, too, and took off after the breeder before she could summon help. Unhampered by armour, Miguel outstripped her and disappeared into the downward corkscrewing tunnel—only the light from Krii's stone still shone back into half the hatchery.
The tunnel was narrow and the top too low like everything else in the wretched hive, but Miguel kept on until he saw the small mite. She glanced back, eyes squinting in the light, and hissed as rounded the spiral out of sight. The bard stopped when he heard her shouting something in a strange language. It sounded like she'd made it to the other room.
Miguel doubled back two steps up the sloping tunnel. Kyrie was just by the entrance to the room. The look on his face told her what she needed to know. Do they charge down and hope to catch them as they're still unaware, or do they hold up where they are? The question was simple—what would Frodrick do?
Frodrick 22/22 – Cramped
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Light, Cramped
Kyrie 17/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17/17 – Cramped
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped (loaded) 29 bullets
Mite Q: Uninjured, Reinforcements Get!
Centipede A: Dying
Centipede B: Disabled (still alive, tho')
Centipded C: Disabled (this one, too)
Posted on 2013-11-23 at 00:19:57.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: How to infiltrate a warren of mites: 1) Sneak in while no one's looking
7 Desnus
Mite Warren - Hatchery
Kamelands
The mite dropped the bowl and whatever disgusting contents it might have contained. She screamed something Zeran recognised as an attack at her pets and they dropped to the floor to charge.
Krii blasted a beam of frost at the first centipede (-1cold CentA), catching a pair of its many legs in a rivulet and freezing them together. This distraction proved fatal to it immediately, as the lead shot from Zeran’s pistol blew open a small, purple-blue blood covered hole in its side (-8dmg CentA KO).
It writhed and collapsed to bleed out almost instantly while the remaining two crawled over its corpse to attack. The one on the right, behind the breeder, took to the wall and came at Krii from the roof. It lunged at him with its massive mandibles just as he, quick on his feet, jumped back. The other charged directly for Kyrie. The paladin girl wasn’t prepared for its ferocity, and it cleared her defenses and sunk its fangs into her thigh before she could kick it off (-4dmg Kyrie 17/21).
She was swift to retaliate, however. As soon as she shook it off, she cleaved a deep gash in its underside with her sickle (-5dmg CentC) and suddenly it didn’t seem nearly as eager to fight. Miguel made an attempt to finish it off, and likely would have if the cramped confines of the warren had not made it so difficult to manoeuvre effectively.
Frodrick elbowed Krii. “I got yer back.” He thrust his beard at the centipede hanging from the roof. He was ready to throw interference with whatever attack it tried to throw his way, should it live long enough to do so.
Quoggy the Breeder never looked back as she ran deeper into the tunnels, screaming alarm and blue murder at the top of her lungs.
Frodrick 22/22 – Cramped
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Light, Cramped
Kyrie 17/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17/17 – Cramped
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped () 29 bullets
Mite Q: Holy Shit, Intruders! Out of Sight
Centipede A: Dying
Centipede B: Disabled
Centipded C: Uninjured
(Miguel, Kyrie, and Frodrick are in melee range of CentB, and Frodrick, Krii, and Zeran are in range of CentC, listed from top to bottom i.e.
M
K CB
F
V CC
Z
And Frodrick is readied to Aid Another should Krii be attacked by the centipede, increasing his AC even higher)
Posted on 2013-11-21 at 18:15:54.
Edited on 2013-11-21 at 18:19:30 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Right-ho
Frodrick chose a direction by the wisdom of the coin and proceeded down it, the rest of the group falling in behind him. He did not need Krii's enchanted light-stone, and his hands were full regardless, so it fell to Miguel to illuminate the dark tunnel for the rest of the human members of the party.
(MO: Frodrick, Kyrie, Miguel, Krii, Zeran)
As they descended, their boots quietly squelching in the damp mud, they noticed a foul aroma of damp and dung rising to overpower the scent of wet earth. Barely a few dozen muddy paces from the entrance they came upon an wide open room with large mounds of muck built up, dotted with pale white spheres each the size of a roast pheasant. Unfortunately the ceiling level remained little or no higher, and just as bad, the already mucky floor was criss-crossed with a network of overflowing rivulets running down from the entrance to the back corner of the room and deeper into the warren.
As the light from Miguel's stone shone into the room, it alerted the sole occupant--and the three giant centipedes she was feeding. The mite, whose back was to the door, leapt up from her small stool, squinting behind her at the hateful illumination. Around her the three six-foot-long centipedes reared up and issued a chorus of menacing hisses.
(I'll give you a neat map to look at when I have access to such programs, but for now the room is essentially 'L' shaped, with each branch about 30' long and 15' wide. The entrance is at the juncture, and the exit is past the centipede breeder and her pets (about 15' from entrance) at the end of the one arm. Roll initiative (jk, I'm rolling it up as I type this) with Krii going first; weapons are all drawn.)
Frodrick 22/22 – Cramped
Jargon 19/19 – Outside
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Light, Cramped
Kyrie 21/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17/17 – Cramped
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped, (loaded) 30 bullets
Map of the Hatchery ~here~
The left of the room is the entrance, the right leads deeper into the warren. The six mounds are large dung & compost & centipede egg piles and block movement except where they don't cover the whole square.
If the 'R2' square is (0,0), Quoggy the Breeder is there, with one centipede each on (0,1) (1,0) and (1,1) i.e. filling the three adjacent squares up and right.
The party is generally clustered around the 5 squares closest to the entrance.
Posted on 2013-11-19 at 18:23:33.
Edited on 2013-11-20 at 22:19:07 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Q&A
Subject: Sup. One Essay Down
I don't suppose you've seen, but on the Skype conversation I had defaulted to 'go left' like we had the first time around way back when. That said, in light of actual leadership decisions, right it shall be. With what sounds like the exception of Frodrick in the lead we'll go in Marching Order into the room at the end of the tunnel... when I have the freedom to post as such 
Posted on 2013-11-19 at 17:48:32.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Didja think that just because I'm trying to write 50,000 words in 30 days as well as two essays I f
7 Desnus
Mite Warren; Hex E6
Kamelands
Frodrick watched the steady rise of smoke from his pipe, climbing to the birds soaring high above. Miguel sang lightly as he did every morning, but with a certain jovial quality today, Frodrick thought. Or perhaps he was just being overly sentimental, with the dawn of a bright, if grey, new day with no one significantly harmed.
“Looks like we'll have good weather next couple o' days.” He announced as breakfast was finishing up. “Perfect timing, if you ask me, to round us up a couple o' filthy gremlins.”
They left the horses stationed near camp and walked on foot up the hill toward the tree. All five drew their weapons without a word as they approached. Krii wove his protections around himself and Zeran primed the firing mechanism on his firearm.
There was no sign of life from the tree, just as any other time they had passed the sycamore during the day, but nevertheless they watched for possible attack or ambush.
From up close they could see that, despite whatever had been thrown at it in its long life, the tree was actually still living, with the broken branch showing signs of life beneath the surface. By no means did it look healthy, a scarce skeleton of a tree that should have started budding by now in the season, but only the smallest of green showed on the branches.
Frodrick found the tiny gap in roots that marked the entrance to the underground den of the mites. Krii threw a stone he enchanted with a glowing spell into the hole and the party began their descent. It was a tight, unpleasant squeeze, but the group had no problem climbing down the shaft, overgrown with roots, twenty feet to the bottom.
It was cold, dank, and muddy at the bottom, and the moist dirt squelched between their boots, but it was by no means worse than anything else they had faced in the last twenty-four hours. Indeed, they brought in almost as much mud on their bodies as was already in the warren itself.
The chief problem, really, was a matter of scale. The tunnel that they found themselves standing in fell away deeper underground in both directions had been built to accomodate creatures much smaller than themselves. The roof was just as thickly packed with roots as the shaft of the entrance had been and was barely over five foot at best.
It seemed their entrance had gone unnoted. They had the choice of two possible directions to go, both ostensibly headed deeper into the warren. Conventional wisdom dictated that splitting up was an invitation for disaster, but they needed to choose one way. (Let's call them left or right, though strictly speaking it's a single one-way tunnel and such designations are arbitrary).
Frodrick 22/22 – Cramped
Jargon 19/19 – Outside
Krii 16/16 – Mage Armour, Light, Cramped
Kyrie 21/21 – Cramped
Miguel 17/17 – Cramped
Zeran 19/19 – Cramped, (loaded) 30 bullets
(Once again, cramped (formerly called 'hunched') is a condition indicating your relatively restricted manoeuvrability, reflected in a -2 penalty to all attack rolls. Additionally, for people who have more than one weapon to choose from I went with what I think was the default—namely Kyrie's sickle and shield combo, but also Frodrick axe-shield, Zeran pistol, Miguel sabre, Krii sickle. Lemme know if I assumed wrong.)
EDIT(S): First I forgot to account for Kyrie's health increase, then I forgot to account for the damage she took, then I added in the use of 1 of her 4 uses of lay on hands/day and she healed back all 5 missing points of health, so she's full. Again.
OH YAY ANOTHER EDIT: I figured it would be helpful to give you a little cross-section sort of dealie.
Rejoice.
Posted on 2013-11-07 at 06:00:02.
Edited on 2013-11-07 at 18:38:42 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: So, did everyone have fun, or what?
Krii steadily pulled himself hand-over-hand up the length of the rope while the rest ducked down to take full advantage of whatever shelters there were available. Kyrie remained half-standing as she tried to reach Krii to pull him in faster, lest the tall, gangly man become a short-lived kite in the storm.
Miguel ducked down and covered his head, focusing his mind intently once more—refreshing the lights that were just beginning to dim in time with his incantation creating new ones, centred on the tip of the rope, to guide Frodrick should the rain be blurring his vision even worse than it was the rest of the party. A few feet beside him the ethereal purple glow of the wisp vibrated from under the edge of the wagon, but if it was making any more of its commentary he couldn’t hear.
Kyrie watched for Frodrick in the scant light at the end of the rope even as she held it for Krii still beyond her grasp. The moment she saw the dwarf’s hands clasp, first one, then the other around the rope, she immediately heaved on the rope, dragging Krii nearly a meter into Zeran’s reach. The hardy paladin pulled the remaining slack hand over hand until it was taut between her and Frodrick.
The thunder itself was barely audible over the growing roar of the distant tornado, but even more impressive still was a tremendous -crack!- from the direction of the mite’s sycamore. There was no time to watch or confirm through shots of lightning whether the tornado had uprooted the tree, or merely the surrounding winds torn a branch down.
Regardless, it was not flying branches that were the most threatening thing in the skies—a meaty thump smacked off the top of the wagon and a shadow sailed over the party’s heads. It bounced once more off Kyrie’s shoulder, knocking the girl’s breath out of her lungs and rattling her senses momentarily before its passage rolling alongside Frodrick revealed it to be the corpse of a mite. It was impossible to say whether it was among the four formerly sharing their shelter, or another entirely stupidly caught out at night in the storm.
Though the body passed quickly, its effects did not. Kyrie stumbled and looked like to fall as she struggled to regain her balance. It was thanks only to the rope that she stayed on her feet (-7dmg Kyrie). Frodrick, taking a second wind (or perhaps a third by now), bellowed some form of dwarven warcry or else merely a guttural roar of adrenaline. The force of the wind half lifted him to his feet, hands firmly gripping the rope, and through sheer stout fortitude pressed his way more than a dozen feet toward the group, bracing once more as he saw Kyrie snap to attention.
With a final heave by all members, and much fiddling of numbed fingers, all members of the party were well secured and huddled together against the wind in the meagre shadow of the wagon (which, impressively, chose by some fortune not to catch the wind quite so harshly as it had done earlier).
Minutes that seemed like several subjective eternities passed before the tremendous roar died out gently, followed a couple more minutes later by settling winds and lightening rain. Too exhausted and relieved to give more than half a damn collectively, the party began to pass out one by one as the wisp emerged from the wagon.
“Don’t mind me, I’m just going to see if I can’t scrounge up a snack or two among those little blue fellows out there.”
7 Desnus
Mite Warren; Hex E6
Kamelands
Kyrie 8+?/13+?
Morning came grey and perfectly calm. As the party rose they began to survey the destruction. Besides their wagon upended next to them, whatever equipment they were not still wearing on their person was scattered over the hills as far as they could see.
What equipment they did have on their person, of course, was so thoroughly covered in a layer of dried and drying mud that Miguel couldn’t help but laugh out loud, recognising in Frodrick a somewhat racially insensitive character he had witnessed on stage only a few years back.
Frodrick, for his part, hardly noticed a single thing amiss when he saw Jargon Hooves, messy and unkempt as he but otherwise no worse for wear, leading the party’s mounts back to camp from the southwest.
Breakfast was delayed a couple hours, as individual party members rode out in retrieval of supplies and equipment. Despite this, spirits managed to remain somewhat elevated under the general sense of having just collectively survived the wrath of nature.
The sycamore for itself still stood in the distance something about a mile away, though a large branch hung on a thin peel of bark from the tree, broken almost completely.
XP: 350 Each, which I believe brings everyone well into Level 2, so get on those character sheets. If you need help levelling up, I believe there is a chart to guide you, and also when I am not working I can be of assistance.
Posted on 2013-10-15 at 17:43:01.
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