[PF] Red Hand of Doom - IC - Nova Wurmson

[Novawurmson]

It's been weeks since leaving the port city of Korvosa, where a grizzled old adventurer in a seedy rooftop house in sold an improbable group of adventurers a treasure map leading to a location called "Vraath Keep." The man told you with a sneering grin that the forlorn ghost of a noble still guards an improbable treasure trove - one big enough that it would still be worthwhile after being split five ways.

After trudging through the aptly-named Endless Plains and wandering aimlessly before find the eastward trail that has taken the group through the Wyrmsmoke Mountains and into a backwoods part of Isger called the Elsir Vale, you're beginning to have your doubts.

You're definitely on the Dwarfroad as it passes through the Witchwood - that much is certain, but Vraath Keep seems to be nowhere to be found. The town of Drellin's Bridge lies close by; perhaps the locals will better know where the ruin lies. Perhaps they'll also have a real shelter - one that can keep the blazing sun and whipping, searing wind off your skin for a few hours.

As night falls yet again, the party begins to talk a little...

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OOC Thread

[mucco]

As Iddu turns to his companions, the symbol of Iomedae's sword carved on his sturdy breastplate glimmers under the setting sun. He points at the village just half a mile away, and explains: Well, that's a village. I mean, a village! There might even be an inn in there, and a bed! Can you imagine that? I am literally dying to get some rest in a soft bed.

Iddu looks very tired from the long trip, despite his strong physique. He clears his throat and, broadly gesticulating, he starts describing his ideas. In my opinion, our first priority is to find a shelter, and a warm meal. Then, we rest and first thing in the morning we find someone who knows about Vraath Keep. It's a friggin' keep, someone is bound to know it here. Even if it's a ruin now. I'll expect it'll be a ruin, if there's ghosts inside. So, we find someone who knows, and then we set off to loot it, simple as that. Killing ghosts will always be a plus, of course. Undead aren't good for anything but plaguing the lands.

[Daftendirekt]

"I care little about walkers," the white-skinned, white-haired elf replies as she gazes down at the town, shrugging uncomfortably in this ridiculous southern heat. It was unnatural; she couldn't even see her breath in front of her! "I am here to find goblins and destroy them."

Although the climate was hot, her demeanor was cold. She had no room in her heart for warmth anymore, with everything and everyone dear to her now gone, burned away into ashes.

[The-Mage-King]

Slackening the reins connected to the horse pulling his wagon, Slavomir streches slightly.

"Hey, I offered to let you ride in the back of the wagon, but, noooo, you have to walk!" He says, smirking as the vehicle continues rolling down the path.

"But anyway, I think it's time for another scouting attempt. Is anyone willing to take over steering this for me while I do so?"

[Daftendirekt]

"If scouting needs doing, I am more than capable. However, I doubt that a small town such as this requires scouting. I am sure we can merely head in; it looks peaceful enough. However, looks can be deceiving."

[Circle of Life]

Davram travels mostly in silence, hood of his rough grey cotton robe down, but face and hair obscured entirely by bloodied bandages, save for two tiny slits for his eyes. A constant flow of barely-audible words streams from him, a mantra in a horribly complex language, any given snippet of which seems incapable of being spoken by a mortal tongue.

A pall covers the air around Davram, a darkening to the world, a stillness not born of mortal things. It is not a wicked pall, but clearly unworldly, like a misty shadow that trails along just behind him. His mount is likewise odd, if not so clearly distinguishable as the shadow; covered from nosetip to long, dragging tail in heavy grey cloth, the thing lurches along at a respectable clip, heavy shuffling sounds rising with every step. No matter how the thing ponders along however, Davram sits firmly upright in the saddle, untouched by the clumsy motions. A faintly unpleasant scent comes from the mount, tinged with something sweet and perfumed, like a fresh midden heap liberally splashed with rosewater to ease the stench.

"There are things that remain unseen from the air, Slavomir Byr," Davram breathes, a whispery, raspy voice that somehow carries further than his perpetual rote. "I would send a hound to scout with your avian, if you allow. Guiding your wagon should prove no more tiresome than riding atop this creature; I will see that nothing goes amiss while your attention is... elsewhere."

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Davram is maintaining the rote to keep his Shadow and dragon zombie animated, as well as the Recitation of the Unclouded Eye, which will let him and his undead see the exact HP of any enemy they can detect thanks to his Eye of Vitality feat.

[stack]

Thrace shrugs as the others talk about scouting the village. He speaks with a bass growl. "It's a village. No smoke, no cries of panic. A nice boring village to get some food and sleep."

He stretches theatrically. "Which may be the only thing we get out of this lousy trip. Treasure maps and fool's gold. A fool's errand. Helping people is well and good, but if they can't pay their bills they should have the decency to say so instead of this map nonsense. At least then we could get something out of them."

He rubs his smooth head with his hand, short two fingers. "But if you insist on scouting, go ahead. The bird should be plenty though, don't want to scare them."

[mucco]

Iddu pouts. Thrace, you're being melodramatic. Sure, they might have made up the entire story, but would you do it to a group of adventurers that can come back and kill you without effort? Nah, this map must be authentic.

You could argue that there won't be anything valuable, but it speaks of ghosts. If there are ghosts, at the very least there will be corpses of unprepared adventurers! Don't be pessimist.

[stack]

Thrace chuckles, a gravely rumble. "So hoping for ghosts and the corpses of our foolish predecessors is optimism? What a world."

[mucco]

What, are you scared? Laughs Iddu. Hey, guys, the Orc is scared!

[Circle of Life]

"Fear can be an excellent mentor," Davram notes quietly, idly running a gloved finger over the bloodied outline of his mouth. "Wise men know that courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to temper their reactions with its guidance."

[mucco]

Oh, c'mon, back me up! I don't want less than motivated companions when it will come to fighting. And what you said about fear, well, it only assures that you'll never go out a hero. There are times, in our lives, when we must set fear aside; because there are bigger plans for us. Iddu gazes at the landscape, almost lost in his vision.

[stack]

"<Grunt> If you think me afraid, then you know we less well than you ought.I've faced as many foes as any of you and acquitted myself, as you know. Heroics are well and good in their place, but I'd rather have a full belly and a heavy purse than a charred corpse and a song about me. Let's get to this bloody keep just to shut you up."

[The-Mage-King]

"Thank you, Davram. Glad that there's someone here who finds my talents useful. Though I think just letting my hawk scout is for the best. Raises less attention, and all."



With that, Slavomir slows the wagon significantly, offering the reins to the necromancer (of sorts), before reaching for his glove, then the cage.


After situating the bird on his gloved hand, a brief glowing surrounded both man and hawk. Giving a sharp whistle, Slavomir let go of the hawk's rope, sending it into the air.

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Handle Animal to get hawk to use trick (Seek): (1d20+5)[9]. DC 10.

Manifest Sense Link (Forced) on hawk. Hawk has Will save of +2, so I'll roll it for the bird. (1d20+2)[20]. DC is 16.

[Novawurmson]

The hawk glares at its master insolently and preens its feathers. It glares all more at the attempt to establish a psionic connection. Clearly, it's not as well trained as that travelling Varisian salesman promised.

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You may take ten on your next Handle Animal check.

[Daftendirekt]

The pale elf sighs, rubbing her free hand down her face in exasperation. This bickering was pointless.

"Tell me again why we are standing on this hilltop trying to send a bird to make sure that peaceful-looking town is indeed peaceful?"

Tired of standing around, she begins moving down the hill, bow held at the ready with an arrow nocked despite what she had just said about the apparent safety of the settlement.

[mucco]

Iddu silently follows, with his pack mule loaded up with the strict necessary. He is satisfied with Thrace's reaction. The best armies always had unity and a common purpose, and for some it was the hate against their general that united them, he thinks. Better this than nothing, definitely.

[Novawurmson]

As the party moves closer to the town, they notice what looks like a building to the right of the path perhaps 100ft away.

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Roll Perception checks.

[Daftendirekt]

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Will do. (1d20+8)[17]

[stack]

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perception (1d20)[20] (can't login to check mod, will edit later)

I have found that it can help to keep things moving if the DM makes some rolls, perception, initiative, sense motive, etc.Do it however you wish, just thought I would mention it.

"Never know, the peaceful town might have been overrun by hot food and warm beds. Can't be too careful"

[Novawurmson]

The road crests a small rise and descends into a dusty grove in a large, shallow dell. An abandoned farmhouse, partially visible through the trees, stands on one side of the road. You've passed a dozen spots much like this one already today, but this one feels wrong. Then you glimpse the glint of mail through the brush by the side of the road. Fierce warriors - tall, hairy humanoids with wide mouths and flat faces are waiting in the trees, bows drawn, teeth gritted.

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In case everything is not clear, the characters are marked by color and first letter of first name. "M" is the mule. "R" are the humanoids with bows drawn.

Because the party spotted the ambush, there will be no surprise round. Initiative goes Slavomir=> Thrace => Elaiza => Iddu=> Davramos

[mucco]

Iddu shouts: Ambush! I'll try to hold the left hand side, you deal with the right ones. Let's show them how we hick their sorry behinds! Ulph Dastudr!

As Iddu speaks words of magic, his muscles bulge. He then moves toward the closest enemies, spear in hand.

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Standard action: cast Bull's Strength.
Move action: move two squares to the SW, getting in reach of two "R" enemies with my spear. I draw the spear as an action combined with the movement.

A note on initiative: I know it's not my turn, feel free to postpone my actions to the necessary order. I'm posting for convenience. Also, please note that my character rolls initiative twice and takes the best result.

Eventual AoOs in case they're needed (I hope so )
If any of the foes attack with their bows, here is my attack.
Attack roll: (1d20+7)[15] (crit: (1d20+7)[19])
Damage: (1d8+4)[12]

If any of the foes, instead, tries to move away and provokes, I will instead use my Stand Still feat to stop him from moving.
CMB check: (1d20+6)[9]

[Novawurmson]

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Note that the dark green brush is difficult terrain. Iddu's got plenty of movement to spare to get there, though.

Rolled initiative a second time and rolled lower than the first, so the original stands.

[The-Mage-King]

Catching sight of the humanoid to his left, Slavomir lets out a groan, before sending a psychic bolt over to meet the poor soul's skull with a crack.


"Right! Hope you don't mind this fight getting started ahead of time!" He calls out, smirking at his pun.

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Fully augmented Mind Thrust, aimed at the humanoid up 3, over 5 from Slavomir.

It gets a Will save (DC 17) to negate, and takes (5d10)[34] damage if it fails. Got 19 PP left.


Also, the tag on the map is broken. Add a "]" at the end.

[Daftendirekt]

Her cloudy grey eyes catching movement off in the trees, Elaiza dashes forward, distancing herself from the group as she draws her bow. Skidding to a halt, she looses an arrow into the trees at the nearest shape. She smiles grimly as her arrow flies true as possible.

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Elaiza

Move Action: Move 2 squares southeast.
Standard Action: Fire my bow at the top middle enemy. (1d20+10)[30] (1d8+2)[4] plus Skirmish (2d6)[12].

+1 to my AC from Skirmish.
+4 damage if it's a goblinoid, +2 if it's an orc (from Favoured Enemy).
+3 more damage from Knowledge Devotion (I'm assuming it'sa humanoid)

EDIT: O_O first attack is a nat 20, and maximum skirmish damage! That's two nat 20s in the first encounter (one in OOC for stealth). Wonder how long this can hold out.

[stack]

Thrace steps forward, whips falling into hand and uncoiling. A crackle sounds as electricity dances down its length, the hint of ozone subtly filling the air as the finely crafted leather arcs overhead, lightning dancing along its length.

"You chose the wrong travelers to ambush. You will not do so again."

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move down 15' (3 square), swift to put shock on his whip (5/6 arcane pool left)

arcane strike w/ shocking grasp at the enemy to the left (15' reach w/ whip)
attack (1d20+10)[30]
damage (1d4+2)[4]
shocking grasp (charge will be held if its a miss) (5d6)[7] electric
shock (1d6)[3]

[Novawurmson]

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Since Davramos goes last, I'll go ahead and fill in what's happened so far. Thanks for the help fixing the map, btw.

Davramos and Elaiza are quick to identify the assailants; from their well-crafted arms and armor to their strange orange skin, there can be no mistake - hobgoblins!

Iddu rushes into the brush to take a forward position. Slavomir's puns fall on deaf ears. The hobgoblin doesn't seem to have reacted to the psionic assault; some people just can't take a joke, you know?

Elaiza's bow sings as it sails through the air, then buries itself deep in the creature's right eye. It slumps over, still clutching its bow, a look of deep surprise on its face.

Thrace steps forward and snaps his whip with a sound like thunder. The hobgoblin collapses in a scarred heap, on the brink of death.

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In the interest of complete accuracy, Davramos is able to detect that Thrace's hobgoblin is at -15, making it possible it will die on its stabilization roll.



Updated map incoming posted.

[Circle of Life]

Davram's voice rises like a booming peal of thunder as he swivels his head, taking in the scene. "Ashalakash'eraptuur'eeshtalanera!" It is a simple command, as far as the primal language of all things goes, and he makes a sharp gesture as the final syllable leaves his lips. The misty shadow near him streaks off in a blur, becoming slightly less insubstantial as it leaves his body, a halfway-human thing of semisolid darkness, trailing off into misty nothingness from the waist down. It closes the space between Davram and the furthest enemy in the span of a heartbeat, raking claws of shadow at the hobgoblin there, clutching not at flesh, but at the thing's very heart.

A second sharp command sends Davram's mount rocketing forward toward the remaining foe. There is a flash of red and pink, then large, leathery wings the size of most village houses rip free of the dark cloth covering, their pale membranes torn with ragged holes in more places than not, beating once, twice, as they propel it forward at great speed. The thing shakes the covering free from its head as it nears the hobgoblin, and a streak of red and pink and ghostly white lashes forward, a great maw of rotting flesh and ragged teeth.

Davram swings free of his mount without a thought, leaping from the thing's back to land just beneath it's maw. Spinning, he delivers a right hook straight toward the hobgoblin's face, guided more by the power of the true words of magic than by any real skill.

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Davram switches from the Recitation of the Unclouded Eye to the Recitation of the Wise Man, giving him a 1d8 unarmed strike, adding +1 to his unarmed strike attack and damage rolls, and adding Intelligence to his unarmed strike attack rolls. Rolls in OOC thread, success.

Shadow charges the southernmost hobgoblin, left side. Charging strength drain attack (incorporeal touch): (1d20+6)[13] (Edit: add +2 for charge) for (1d6)[5] strength damage.

Dragon zombie partial charges the southernmost hobgoblin on the right side, biting it (dragon has reach). Charging bite: (1d20+15)[25] for (2d6+12)[14]

Davram swings down from the saddle (fast dismount, rolls in OOC thread, success) in front of the dragon, adjacent to the hobgoblin, and gives it a punch to the face: (1d20+15)[34] for (1d8+6)[8]

[Novawurmson]

The dragon zombie cruelly bites off a glistening chunk of the hobgoblin's side. Davram's blow strikes true and brings it within an inch of its life. The hobgoblin barely dodges the ghost-like claws of the shadow, but it has only bought him a little time. With a grim determination in his eyes, he drops his bow and draws a blade.

"Blasphemer!" he cries, but his blow clanks ineffectually off of Davram's armor.

The archer in front of Iddu narrows his eyes. "Spellcasters! The orc-man uses elf-magic! Bring him down, bring him down!" he shouts in Goblin. Iddu strikes at him as he lets the first arrow fly, but to no use. He knocks another arrow and shoots Thrace in the stomach.

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Thrace takes 12 damage from the arrow.

With Davram out of the way, the hobgoblin has a clear shot at Slavomir and quickly launches two arrows. The first misses, but the second buries itself in his torso.

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Slavomir takes 9 damage from the arrow.

The third glances frightened at the corpses of his allies. "We need backup! We've lost two already! There's too many of them!" he calls out in Goblin. He begins firing his own barrage of arrows, hitting Thrace once.

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Thrace takes 6 damage, for a total of 18 damage for the round.

As the hobgoblins shout, a loud baying echoes throughout the clearing. Two massive dogs, almost as tall as a man, with dull red coats and fiery eyes charge onto the field. Breathless from running, they are unable to do anything but snap and growl menacingly. From the sounds in the forest, more reinforcements are coming...

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[mucco]

Iddu laughs. Goblins! Who wanted to kill some? Here they are for you! The Light may guide you in this combat! Tiichi!

A burst of blue energy encompasses the playing field, bolstering the confidence of everyone. Go get those archers quick, their arrows are painful!

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Standard action: cast Bless. Every ally not immune to mind-affecting effects gets +1 to attack rolls and saving throws vs. fear.

I want to keep myself within spear range of the goblin.
AoOs if necessary, as the last round
Attack roll: (1d20+8)[25] (crit: (1d20+8)[18])
Damage: (1d8+4)[5]

or
CMB: (1d20+7)[17]