3.5 Homebrew IC

[Freshmeat]

Zadeck Ysaron

"A magical weapon, you say?"
Zadreck looks curiously at the mace in Nevar's hands. "Hm, who would have thought...It does explain why that bandit wanted it so badly though. Maybe you should look it over more thoroughly tomorrow, just to be on the safe side. For all we know it might be cursed or something."

The paladin watches as Eranti counts the gold pieces with unbridled joy, and fails to hide a smile himself. He crouches down to pick up one of the gold pieces, and holds it up to his eye.
"Doesn't look like a fake to me. Well, I suppose everyone's okay with, hm..." Zadreck pauses for a second to think "7 gold pieces and 5 silvers then?"

[obliged_salmon]

Eranti

7 gold, 8 silver, 7 copper, Eranti says, pointing to the 15 other silver pieces, with two copper left over for group expenses. Eranti refocuses his attention on the magic mace. Now why would someone enchant a pointy stick? I guess priests use them, so maybe a priest enchanted it. He ought to enchant my feet instead, though, I stubbed my toe on a tree root during that fight.

[Wiz]

Nevar

The wizard chuckles.

At this point, a more detailed examination would take an hour of time, and several components I don't have... including a rather expensive pearl. Still... even if it has the least possible permanant enchantment that could be on it, it's worth a good 1000 in gold.

He looks the weapon over and stows it in his mule's saddlebag.

Still, I do harbor a hope that someday I might render more accurate assessments of such with greater alacrity and without such cost.

[Severedevil]

Canran

Finding nothing of value himself, Canran oo's and ah's appropriately at the others' finds, and grins avariciously at the magical mace. "Kind of a clumsy weapon," the goblin notes critically, to no one in particular, "but it's prob'ly worth a lot of money."

He frowns. "We still need to get to the fort in time, though. Let's keep going." Canran is eager to depart as soon as the animals are untangled and calm enough to continue.

[Alebeard_Thunderax]

The other end of the clearing has a similar trail to the one you used to enter. This trail quickly leads you onto what you believe to be the original path. It is wide and clear and fades off into the distant north.

[Freshmeat]

Zadreck Ysaron

The paladin nods and begins to stuff everything they decided to take along into the mules' saddlebags, making sure not to put too much load on either of them.
Looking back at the now-silent clearing, Zadreck frowns for a second, and then heads over to where the two bandit corpses lie. He takes the tarp, covers both ruffians with it, and then rejoins the others in silence.

[obliged_salmon]

Eranti

Awfully messy way to die, I say. I didn't pick it for them though. Eranti hums to himself as they continue to follow the original path. After some time, he asks, So what god do you worship, Canran? We of the prairie honor the wind and the rain. Devotion to a single being has always intrigued me.

[Wiz]

Nevar

The wizard looks thoughtful.

I've no objection of course to moving on as quickly as possible... but, do you think the old man was in with the bandits? Would it be wise to leave him back there?

[Freshmeat]

Zadreck Ysaron

"I don't think he had anything to do with this, and even if he did, there's no way we could prove anything. I say we just move on. We can't afford to waste any time."

[Severedevil]

Canran

So what god do you worship, Canran?

The goblin's gaze snaps to Eranti, and for a split second the halfling can see his eyes wide with fear. Then the moment ends, and he's Canran once more.

"Oh! Gods. Right." Canran's hand clasp together unconsciously, and his thumbs vie gently for supremacy. "I'm sort of fond of Diana. She's the goddess of the moon and hunt. They're both good things."

Canran nods his agreement with Zadreck, stepping slightly away from Eranti and a discussion of deities. "He'll probably just sit there for a while, wondering what happened. We won't get in trouble for not being caught, or anything." He shrugs. "Let's go."

[obliged_salmon]

Eranti

Eranti looks bemusedly at the frightened goblin and ponders his response. I knew a girl named Diana once. She was pretty, but not very smart. My cousin Meltene wanted to marry her, but she told him he wasn't handsome enough. In the end, though, she wound up marrying a handsome stranger who ran off with half her family's good ponies. No one would touch her since then. Seems a silly name for a goddess. What about you, Zadreck, do you worship a particular god?

Eranti feels somewhat less mirthful since their recent fight. He's not sure if he was ready for the harsh necessity of killing real people, this being his first real battle and all.

[Alebeard_Thunderax]

As you discuss each other's respective religious affiliation, you continue along the path. It goes off in the proper direction, but is delightfully free of old men and fallen tree. You pass no other travelers, and it seems that few venture this way in any event. If there is a fort out in these woods, it is no small wonder that nothing has been heard from it in weeks. You begin to wonder if you have been sent on a fools errand. Regardless, the sun begins to sink, casting the world in an orange glow.

[Freshmeat]

Zadreck Ysaron

The paladin squints his eyes at the fading sun, and stops.
"It's getting late. We need to start looking for a place to set up camp."

Zadreck rummages through his backpack for a moment, and soon produces a crudely-drawn map from it. Several patches of dirt cover the crumpled paper. With a confused look, he turns the map sideways, and then back.
"So, do any of you know this place? Are we close to a town or something?"

Spoiler

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Knowledge (geography), or perhaps an intelligence check to try and figure out the map (which is so bad, I suppose it probably gives circumstance penalties). Either way, both checks are unmodified (straight 1d20's).

As for the religious discussion, that'll be something for another time I guess. I don't really feel like breaking the continuity here by replying to a 'past' event, only to suddenly shift to the present and react accordingly.

[Wiz]

Nevar

The wizard shakes his head, "I'm afraid I don't know this area. Camping outdoors might be best... we should set watches."

[Freshmeat]

Zadreck Ysaron

The paladin nods, unable to make heads or tails of the map. He looks around for a moment, and then leaves the path, heading towards a small clearing.
After stamping a bit with his foot on the ground - to make sure they wouldn't rest in a deceptively muddy patch or worse, ant nests - he turns to his companions.
"To me, this seems like a decent enough spot. After our run-in with those bandits, I'm pretty sure that we should indeed set a watch, just to be safe. If it's alright with you guys, I'll take first."

[obliged_salmon]

Eranti

Eranti pulls out his bedroll, lays it neatly on the ground and promptly flops into it. I'll do second watch then, g'night gents. He mumbles and falls asleep almost immediately.

[Wiz]

Nevar

The wizard pulls out his bedroll and makes sure it's on a patch of dry ground. "I'll take last watch." He unsaddles the mule, setting his equipment aside. Ties the beast up and gives it a nosebag of feed, then throws a blanket over him before taking to his own sleep.

[Severedevil]

Canran

Canran knows as little as anyone else about the woods, but is happy to make camp and get some sleep. As he makes his own bedroll, Canran counts the watches. "Does that mean I don't have to take a watch?" he asks. "I can see when it's dark, so I'm okay to take a night-time watch."

Regardless of his watch schedule, Canran will arise about halfway between dusk and dawn and step a short distance away from camp to sit crosslegged, watching the moon. Placing his longbow on the ground in front of him, he draws an arc in the dirt, completing the circle started by his bow. For about an hour the goblin sits crosslegged in the center of the circle, looking at the moon, until finally he stands stiffly, stretching his legs, and wipes the circle away. Taking his bow, he curls up in his bedroll, asleep once more.

[Alebeard_Thunderax]

The party manages to set up camp just in time to see the sun's last rays disappear from the crimson sky. The sky revealed is clear and luminous. You could lose hours to counting the glittering gems which pepper the heavens. From in between the trees, a bright full moon is visible.

A small fire is fed by some dry brush and fallen branches you find in the immediate vicinity. You have enough fuel to keep a modest flame, and warm the party through the mild night air. Zadreck positions himself to take the first watch.

At some point he drifts for a moment. He snaps back after only a minute, but realizes that it should be time for the change of watch. Just as he is about to rouse his companion, he hears a snapping sound from the woods. Just outside the firelight, something is moving about.

[Freshmeat]

Zadreck Ysaron

Zadreck raises his head ever so slightly at the unexpected sound, unsure what to make of it. Although he's willing to attribute it to a small animal scurrying about, or a fallen tree branch, he quickly rules these options out, as neither of these would create such a distinct snap.

Not making any sudden movements, the paladin keeps his ears pointed, while surreptiously looking from side to side.

Spoiler

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Spot/listen check, both +1.

[Alebeard_Thunderax]

As Zadreck strains to pierce the darkness beyond the fire, the creatures make their way toward the camp. The brush rustles and snaps, and allows for the passage of four black bears. They are now tenatively circling the edge of the firelight, but do not approach any further. They are not exactly being stealthy at this time. It is very likely that the rest of the party has awakened.

[obliged_salmon]

Eranti

Eranti (presumably) wakes from slumber, slowly gets up and eyes the bears anxiously. He whispers, Zadreck, do you see four black bears circling our campsite? Because I see four black bears circling our camp site...!

Eranti quickly sobers up and searches about for a means of escaping the threat, such as a tree to climb or something the party could hide in that the bears couldn't reach. He looks over at the mules to see how they are handling this situation. He digs in his pack and finds 3 rations, probably not enough to ward the bears away, and running while they were distracted might not work so well in any case.

He whispers any ideas? to his companions and trains his senses on the bears to detect change in behavior.

[Freshmeat]

Zadreck Ysaron

The paladin blinks in surprise at the impressive sight of four bears entering the clearing. For a moment, it's almost as if he stands frozen at the campfire, though then he quickly glances over at his companions to see if they were aware of this sudden turn of events, or were still asleep.

Finding them all still in one piece, Zadreck slowly stands up, trying not to make any sudden movements, and reaches over to the campfire...
As the bears draw near, he carefully takes a burning piece of wood and throws it in front of them, hoping to block their path.

Spoiler

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If they draw back in fear, Zadreck will throw a few more.
If they respond... unfavorably, he'll climb the nearest tree, pronto.

[Alebeard_Thunderax]

Eranti notices that the mules, up until this point silently asleep, have now been roused by the commotion. They begin to bray frantically and tug at their lines.

Zadreck's hand begins to blister from holding the hot burning wood, but he manages to toss it in front of the lead bear. Whether the reaction is unfavorable is up to him to judge. The burning brand hits the ground with a thud and a shower of sparks. The bears balk momentarily, then the lead stands up on its hind legs and bellows at Zadreck.

OOC: I guess Zadreck has never gone camping. Pffft, paladins...

[obliged_salmon]

Eranti

Eranti cowers at the bear's challenge, and looks in askance of the spellcasters, perhaps their arts can attend to the situation. He also slowly walks to the mules' location, attempting to calm them. At the same time, he happens to catch a whiff of dried meat and his eyes widen considerably. He frantically digs in the packs for the ham Zadreck had placed there earlier. Finally finding it, he holds it aloft before the bears enticingly. You'd like this ham, wouldn't you? he says as soothingly as possible. He attempts to stay out of reach of the bears, but moves to the edge of the campsite. From there, he throws the ham deep out into the wilderness.

Spoiler

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Provided that Eranti has time to do all this before someone stops him, has a different plan, or the bears attempt to maul him. If the latter happens, he will, um...cry.

[Alebeard_Thunderax]

The lead bear stares Eranti down and licks its muzzle. When he tosses the ham, it flies a few yards and gets tangled in a branch. One of the bears goes up to the tree and begins gnawing on the salty treat.

The lead bear shambles up to Eranti, it whuffles, stands on its hind legs once again, and brings its forepaws down in a vicious swipe...

[Wiz]

Nevar

Wakes and stands, waving his hands in an arcane gesture and tossing something into the air.

Spoiler

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Cast Color Spray, try to catch all 3 bears in it if possible (sans the bear going after the meat).

[Severedevil]

Canran

Blinking into full wakefulness, Canran stares in confusion at the boldness of the bears. "Aren't they supposed to be scared of us?" he demands of Zadreck. "Shouldn't you be able to scare them away?!"

Raising his voice, Canran shouts at the bears in an angry tenor. "Aren't you supposed to be afraid of us?" he points his finger accusatorily. "Aren't you supposed to run away?"

If the bears do not retreat, Canran will withdraw the thunderstone he purchased earlier and look for something to throw it against. If he can find no hard surfaces to safely break the stone against, he will run up to the lead bear and smash the thunderstone with his fist.

[obliged_salmon]

Eranti

Eranti, now quite terrified, will take any available opportunity (bear distraction due to loud things and bright flashes) to hide in a bush somewhere, provided he is still alive after the bear swipes at him. He tried his best with the ham, but rogueish tricks seem to be of no avail here.

Spoiler

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If the party decides to fight the bears, Eranti will try to grab his crossbow and snipe from the bushes.

[Freshmeat]

Zadreck Ysaron

As the situation grows worse by the second, Zadreck decides to interfere more directly, as per Canran's suggestion. Averting his eyes from Nevar's colorful spell, he draws his greatsword and moves towards the nearest bear that doesn't look blinded, stunned, or worse.

The paladin takes a deep breath, and - while training a fierce stare on the creature - he bellows out as primal a roar as he can muster.

Spoiler

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Intimidate check (+3).