Amara Solo

[Gorgondantess]

The sun beats down on you as you stand at the edge of the forest, nothing but caked desert wasteland before your eyes... they swim with exhaustion and boredom. Guard duty is never fun, but it's better than the alternative. When the authorities of Port White came to you to hire you for the army, it wasn't tempting- the pay was mediocre, with long, boring hours. Of course, the promise of being forced into the labor camps if you refused sweetened the deal. So now you stand here, skin burning, shoulders sagging, clothes drenched in the heat, before the cool, tempting forest. Inside there are countless hunters and gatherers, largely gnolls- a colony of Port White. Before it was an endless source of exotic fruits and furs- now it's one of Port White's only food sources outside of ocean fishing. As you feel you're just about to pass out, you hear a noise behind you- it's another guard. He hands you a much needed waterskin and tells you your shift is up. You're to report to the main camp- apparently the locals are getting restless again.

[Karm]

"It's about bloody time, mate," says Kip Blackwell, taking the waterskin and drinking deeply. "I was getting past parched. I suppose I'd best be off. Try not to nod off out here. I'll catch you up later for a few pigs."

Kip sets off from his dusty perch, back towards the main camp. He steps lightly as he makes his way through the hot sun, glad to be done with guard duty. Wonder what the natives are up to? he thinks to himself.

pig- ("pigs ear") beer

OOC: Do you prefer present or past tense?

[Gorgondantess]

As you are speakign after taking the swig, the other man's face grows suddenly listless, dazed. He falls to the ground with a groan, a dart stuck in the back of his neck. You look around the area for the source, finding... nothing. It had to have come from the trees, but everything is dark inside...

[Karm]

"Goddamn it," Kip breathes and draws out his sword and shield. He reaches down and checks to see if the man is still breathing all the while straining to see into the darkness of the trees. Kip pulls out the dart from the man's neck and holds it into his field of vision.

Is a knowledge check to identify the source of the dart possible?
Edit: also I'll keep my posts shorter (ie to one action or so) so I don't ninja you.

[Gorgondantess]

I don't care about tense. Longer posts are better- ninjaing is ok, and besides I doubt it will ever happen. Also, could you post your character sheet for easy reference? or better yet, put it in your sig.
You reach down to find the man very, very dead. The dart won't budge, but with a wrench it comes out, along with about a pound of brains and gore all over your hand. The gore completely covers it, sticking on, and as you try to get it off you hear footsteps, running at you. You look up, to find nothing, and can't think of what's going on- then it hits you. Literally. A fist appears by your chest, and a dart inside it. Your chest, I mean, not the fist. With a flash the fist is gone, and in shock, the dart falls out, along with about a pint of blood, splashing to the ground. The next thing you know is a boot on your back, kicking you face first into the ground, and the sound of metal...
15 damage. Luckily, you win intiative. Y'know that one flaw you took, inattentive? I'm going to make sure you understand that these flaws are flaws. They hurt. The way the dice rolled, you would've made your listen check by enough to hear the guy and negate sneak attack damage, though he still critted you. No, you're not prone, it's just for flavor.

[Karm]

Kip's large frame, caked in blood, whirls around to face his attacker. Without a thought he slips easily into punishing stance. His center of gravity shifts low as he squats, and the blade goes up high over his head. He swings the blade down with all of the force that he can muster towards his attacker and a forceful grunt escapes his lips.


Cunning Insight (1 Inspiration Point) +3 (lvl) Knowledge check for Knowledge Devotion to gain insight bonus to attack and damage rolls dependent on Knowledge check (see "Other Notes" on character sheet)
Punishing Stance (-2AC, +1d6 damage per attack)
Stone Bones - if attack lands gain DR 5/Adamantine
Cunning Insight (1 Inspiration Point) +4 Competence to attack.
Cunning Insight (1 Inspiration Point) +4 Competence to damage.

You're making rolls for me?

[Gorgondantess]

Kip gets up to find himself face to face with an eight foot tall gnoll. It stands hunched over, hissing with a huge, curved sword in its hands- and it leaps through the air, screaming, and swinging the blade. It is easily sidestepped, and with one quick blow, Kip hacks its head clean off, to roll to the floor.
Hmmm... doesn't the factotum's inspiration give an insight bonus to attack and damage rolls? Insight bonuses don't stack, so then wouldn't the knowledge devotion be rather useless to use on top of that? I may be wrong- my crunch-fu is weak- but in the end, for now, it doesn't matter. You have a dead gnoll either way (a max damage crit- 29 damage in one blow. VERY nice.)

[Karm]

Factotum's cunning insight ability (surprisingly) is a competence bonus and knowledge devotion is an insight bonus so they stack. Insight bonuses applied to different rolls should stack as well ie +insight to attack and +insight to damage stacks with +competence to attack and +competance to damage.

Badly wounded Kip looks around in a frenzy for any other possible assailants. While he does this, under his breath he mutters an arcane word and one of the moonstones on his belt buckle glows brightly for a second. The light lingers for a moment then diffuses gradually away from its source and into Kip's body, warming him and easing his pain. One of the three bright moonstones on the belt is now dull and colorless. "Hellfire and tarnation! What the bloody hell was that!?! I've got to let the blokes at camp know about this!" Kip says to himself.

OOC: Use one charge from belt of healing to heal 1d8 damage. If Kip sees no other immediate danger then he will field strip the Gnoll and his fallen comrade of any useful supplies that shouldn't fall into enemy hands. He then sets off for the base camp. Flaws make a character more interesting. Lets just hope they don't make him dead! :)

[Gorgondantess]

You find, on the gnoll:
4 perfectly balanced, curved darts, with mother of pearl inlays on an ebony handle, not including the ones that were previously in the back of the guard's head and in your gut.
A heavy curved blade- maybe a large scimitar, or khopesh. Looks just to big to be used very easily with one hand.
A chain shirt, filthy and gritty and rusty but with good steel
A hip flask with some foul, acrid liquid
Nothing else of note. He travels light.
The guard:
A standard issue broadsword- it's in good condition but rusty, and has probably never seen a fight.
Some standard issue mail, in the same condition as the broadsword.
Standard issue steel shield. Ditto.
Around his belt, a pouch with some dried roots to snack on, and another waterskin.
A roll of scrolls, on which are some of the prayers to Lord Hefan, god of proletariats, farmers, and hard labor, along with the iron ball that is his holy symbol- small, simple, and dense, just like his worshippers. This man was probably a harvester or the like before the war, just about Hefan's only following.
He travels equally light, simply because he really doesn't need anything else. Camp is only an hour away.

Skipping forwards.... (if you want to specify having done somethign on approach, do so.)
You make your way over to camp, and can immediately see smoke in the air. You recognize it as coming from the camp. As you get nearer, you can hear shouts... screams... finally, the camp is in view. You are greeted by a guard, bodiless, his head impaled on a stick. And it's on fire. As you watch, a large gnoll runs down a fleeing guard, sticking an axe in his back. A grubby man rapes a screaming woman. The workers are rioting, tearing down buildings. One of them throws a flask, in the nearest one, and it explodes into fire; you can feel the shockwave of force and heat. A man flies out of it, glowing... though it could just be the flames. He lands with a thud, past the looters. He gets up with a grunt, and limps towards you holding his side; it's oozing blood, pattering to the ground. As he nears, you can better make out his features through the smoke; tall, lean and sharp featured, wearing a beaten white jerkin and pants. You notice chain through the tears on his shirt, and he has two blades strapped to his back. He's definitely higher born- apart from the soot, relatively clean and well groomed; with long, now tangled dark red hair and elvish features. He gets within ten feet, and holds up a hand, then collapses to the ground. He struggles, getting up, and finally manages a sit, of sorts. He's stopped bleeding by now. "Damn... they've pretty much taken this place over. One of the more charismatic gnolls, after a few more died of exhaustion, made it clear to them that though they were'nt trained or equipped, they outnumbered the guards by a long shot. Within the hour, we were overrun... Can't say I blame them for fighting back, though, but I don't want to die... and it looks like they've noticed us." He gets up, with far more composure than before, and draws a blade, holding it in front of him against a mob of fifteen or so. They're all sprinting at you, screaming; most carry stones and sticks, but one's taken a broadsword. As they near, he makes a gesture, says a word, and holds out his other hand; a jet of fire streams out, incinerating three of them. They all back away, wary looks in their eyes, and form a semicircle around the two of you. "You gonna stand there like an idiot, or help me put these animals in their place?"

[Karm]

Kip was at 12 Hp before he used his belt of healing. If he was below 19 he would have used another charge as he approached. When he saw the bloody figure approaching him he would have cast Magic Weapon (+1 enhancement bonus for 3minutes) on his longsword and held his longsword and shield in his hands. He would also of course taken a full round action to recover all of his maneuvers as soon as the first fight ended.
"Well, well well, what have we here?" Kip shouts to the gathered group of gnolls. "I say, if you lot saw fit to give us a hand, and end this before it goes too far, the Port White 'thorities would probably forgive you right quick. There might even be a reward in it for you. Make no mistake though, if you keep up these shenanigans there will be a heavy price to pay, it'll be your blood." While he is shouting this he slowly turns so that his back is facing his new found ally. He again slips into punishing stance by holding his sword high for effect while he speaks, and prepares for the attack that is likely to follow.


Knowledge Devotion - Knowledge (Local) +9
(1IP)Bluff check <Cunning Knowledge> +4
Punishing Stance (-2AC +1d6 damage)
Prepare an action to attack the first gnoll that steps in range with the following modifiers
Magic Weapon +1 atk/dam
(1IP)Cunning Insight +4(atk)
Stone Bones - if attack lands gain DR 5/adamantine for 1 round

If that attack is not successful then he will use the counter (Wall of Blades)against the gnoll wielding the greatsword replacing his AC with an attack roll. He will spend (1IP) to increase the result of this attack roll by +4)

So currently prepared attack is
+1,+2, or +3 atk/damage rolls (Insight) Knowledge Devotion
+1 atk/damage rolls (Enhancement) Magic Weapon
+4 atk roll (Competence) Cunning Insight

if attack connects gain DR 5/adamantine for 1 round
2 IP spent.

Hopefully the bluff check will work and they will rally to my cause (that cause being the continued living of myself)!

[Gorgondantess]

They're a mix of orcs, half orcs, gnolls and humans. On goblin and a hobgoblin as well.
the first heal belt use: full 8. You're at 20. I'm going to assume you used it again, just to be nice; you're at 24 now.
BTW: you're fighting a bunch of commoners. Punishing stance? BAD idea.
All of them gape a bit, with the realization that you're both powerful warriors... their attacks put them in danger... but with the knowledge that they outnumber you both six to one, they all charge at once. First, they reach the man in front of you; with the flick of a wrist, he flings a shining orb into the nearest's face. It glows green, and when it hits, it hisses violently; the man falls to the ground, screaming. The next one gets a blade stuck in his eye, and another one decapitated. Nevertheless, the onslaught manages to push the man back, and as he fights, his blades get stuck in bone and the like; he's almost overwhelmed.
9 peasants remaining....
The first to come up to you is a grubby, hairy man, stocky and ugly, holding a hatchet. He runs, he swings... he misses, and you cut him down.
8 Peasants remaining...
A second peasant runs up, carrying a rock. He swings it down, but you deftly dodge to the side... running right into the biggest gnoll you've ever seen. He stands at a bare minimum of eight and a half feet tall, hunched over, stocky, and rippled with mucle. In his hands he carries an ugly, rusty pick- more a tool than a weapon- but a feather duster could be deadly in those hands. He knocks you to the ground with a grunt, then as you get up, swings the pick in an uppercut. It catches you on the side, a clumsy blow, didn't even cut through the mail, but plenty of power, sending you reeling. Your skin is pinched my the mail, and you can feel a trickle of blood; a rib sticks out of your skin, sensitive to the touch, even though your adrenaline dulls the pain. In the other corner, you see a blast of light, as two more peasants are sent flying, then a shout of pain from your comrade. A few more peasants attack you, and you dodge most of their attacks, though one brings a rock down for a glancing blow on your head.
13 damage. You're at 11 hp. Be glad it wasn't more. FYI, if you weren't in punishing stance, you would've only taken 2 damage this round. DO try to avoid the gnoll, dearie. Once you're down to just him, and even before that, fight defensively; you'll need a terrible roll to miss one of these guys, and other than the gnoll with your inspiration points you can usually kill them in one blow. Or, just do your own thing.

[Karm]

Hmm, bad read on my part. Well, point taken, exit punishing stance and take a swing at the nearest enemy that isn't the gnoll. Did you take into account my DR 5/adamantine when calculating damage? 13(23 without DR) seems really high for 2 hits.

Injured but standing, Kip grits his teeth and swings his sword at one of his attackers. As he does this, Kip shifts his weight downward leaving less of his body exposed. The blade glints in the flickering light from the fires as it arcs down towards the man's chest.


Exit punishing stance
[1IP] +4 to damage
Prepare to use counter Wall of Blades- make an attack roll use result (or AC whichever is higher) in place of AC (use 1IP to increase attack roll by +4) if the gnoll attacks him.
DR 5/adamantine is gone now

[Gorgondantess]

Sorry. 7 damage, not 13. However, this round you take 13 damage, for a total of 20. Might I advise a defensive action next turn?

You hack down, splitting one man's shoulder open; it spits blood into the air.
6 Peasants and a big, nasty gnoll remaining....
Another man charges at you with a club, but misses clumsily as you dodge away. Once again, you run into the huge gnoll, as it swings the pick; it hits you by the neck, sticking under your collarbone. You feel your left arm go limp as it flings yo away, wrenching out the now gore-encrusted tool. In the other corner, blood flies, and two more peasants fall.
4 peasants and a big, mean gnoll remaining....
At this point you're probably thinking "Like, OMG! This guy is, like, really powerful! I'm at, like, 3 hps! Gorgondantess is mean!" I'll have you know that you are fighting a flind gnoll +1 level of warrior with a greatclub. He has 20 strength. And has gotten lucky. The other peasants are 1st level commoners-1st level warriors, all with improvised weapons and none with more than 14 str. They simply serve to set up flanks for the gnoll, really.

[Karm]

Did you roll the counter for me to use my attack roll instead of my AC? That was my defensive action.

"Prepare to use counter Wall of Blades- make an attack roll use result (or AC whichever is higher) in place of AC (use 1IP to increase attack roll by +4) if the gnoll attacks him."

So when the gnoll attacked me I should have gotten to make the following roll.

1d20+4+6+X (based on the result of my knowledge devotion check, so at least +1) and used that as my AC. I wouldn't have made a build with such a bad AC if I didn't have some things built in to counteract it.

If the result of that was less than 20 then I would spend an IP to make my AC 20, by using Cunning defense.

Let me know if I still have only 3 hps left.

I don't think you're mean. It would be funny if my character were to die this early in the game though. Especially when it's level 1 commoners and warriors trying to overcome DR 5/adamantine and a situationally 20+ AC :)

If I am at 3 hps I will fight defensively +3 AC = 19AC refreshing my maneuvers and attacking one of the remaining peasants spending an IP to boost my attack roll. I will also use 1 IP for cunning defense to further boost my AC to 23 on attacks vs the gnoll.

Regardless I've spent 6 IP and I have 7 left for this encounter. If the gnoll is a 1st level warrior with 20 str he should have a +6 to hit. If we were playing at the table, everytime you said the gnoll is attacking you I would either spend an IP to boost my AC to 20 (in which case he still hits on a 14 or higher, 35% of the time) or use the counter to make my attack roll.

Some of the mechanics for this character are a bit complicated, so it makes sense that we're having some issues to start with. It's very hard to play a factotum without knowing the results of the rolls/making them yourself, since you have so much control and decision about whether to improve the results of those rolls.

I'll post IC once we get these mechanics figured out.

[Gorgondantess]

He rolled a 19. You made the counter, and rolled a 3. Nuff said. In the future, if you would like to use IP for something, just say so; if it turns out he would have missed, we'll pretend it never happened.

[Karm]

Kip staggers under the lucky hit of the gnoll. He calls upon his training to assume a tight defensive stance. Keeping his eyes on the huge form of the gnoll he makes a cautious stab at one of the peasants still standing.


Fighting defensively +3 AC (dodge) (19 AC)
1 IP - Attack nearest standing commoner <cunning insight> -4 for fighting defensively +4 for cunning insight.
1 IP - If attack connects cunning insight +4 to damage
1 IP - Cunning defense +4 AC vs gnoll (dodge) (23 AC vs gnoll)
5 IP remaining. (6 if attack vs commoner misses)
Hope for some lucky rolls :).

[Gorgondantess]

You lunge out to stab at the last peasant, a lithe gnoll; you run him through, and he falls to the ground, bleeding. Suddenly, you feel a chunk of metal collide with the side of your head; you spin through the air, falling to the ground, and as your vision darkens, you find the gnoll advancing on you, bloody pick raised...
You wake up once more to a very similar world. However, the previously combative gnoll sits on the ground, slumped over, a dazed look on its face and a still oozing slice across its neck. The elvsih fellow stands over you, chanting incantations, light streaming from his hands; your wounds close before your eyes. Soon, you're feeling quite better... the elvish one reaches out a hand, and lifts you up. "C'mon, let's get out of here... this place is done for. When I was in that building, I was getting food to leave with... it's right here in this sack. It should last us to Port White. Let's go."
The gnoll rolled another 17, and then 12 damage. Luckily, you stabilized immediately. You've taken enough cures to get up to 16 hp. From what you've seen, you can tell the man has training in both arcane and divine magics.

[Karm]

"Blimey mate, I..." Kip begins, then thinks the better of it, "Right-o. Let's make tracks." He mutters another quick incantation and the last moonstone on his belt goes dark as he and the stranger make their way from the blasted camp. Kip knows well the way to Port White, but with the hint of danger lurking all about he steps carefully and stealthily. He makes no attempt to converse with the strange elf who clearly saved his life until they are far from the military camp...

When they finally reach a place of apparent safety, Kip speaks up, "Look mate. I obviously owe you my life, and for all of your help I thank you. But all the same I'd like to know the handle by which my personal savior describes himself. In deference, I will present mine first, it's Kip Wellington." After speaking these words, Kip extends his hand in the traditional manner of Port White, and awaits the elf's moniker...

Last charge used on Belt of Healing to heal 1d8 hp. 3 New charges at dawn. Thank god for that elf. That was one lucky gnoll! Nice fight. Sorry it took me so long to post, school's a bitch.

[Gorgondantess]

You flit off into the forest, finally coming out into the wasteland. It's early evening now, and things have cooled down a bit. The elf prowls along, leading the way. You fully realize that even if you were to sprint the whole way, you couldn't reach Port white before midnight. So, you trudge across the hard ground, for hours, until it is nigh on pitch black out. The elf spots out a rocky pile that creates a kind of a hangover, above a pool of water and surrounded by exotic plants- an oasis. He leads you over, and together you start a fire.
After your talk, he holds up a hand, smiling. "It's all alright. I couldn't leave a fellow to just die. Think nothing of it. My name is Arod, and I'm a servant of Stonil."
The next morning, you're woken up by Arod. It's barely dawn. "C'mon, we've gotta go. The desert's not safe during the day." He hands you a few strips of salted pork, then springs up and jogs off into the distance. Time goes by slowly as you run off, and progressively the day grows hotter, and hotter, and hotter. You see little but shriveled cacti, piles of stone and dry, yellow plants. You come across a cougar and a ridiculously large scorpion- about 5 feet long- fighting, but you manage to skirt away from that. Finally, you make your way onto some long flats, completely dry and empty. It's almost noon- just a couple hours- and very, very hot.
"Damn... we need to go back. we can't traverse this area at this time. Let's go and rest." With that, you move over to another rocky area, this time far less grand- just a bit of shade- and lie down against the heat. You sit a few hours, trying to make it through the hot noon, when you hear noise- wheels. Arod motions for you to follow, and looks over the rocks. You climb up yourself, and burn a hand on the heated things. In the distance, you see an unmarked caravan of wagons, all pulled by raptorlike beasts. It's about 100 yards away.
You're at full health by next morning. Stonil, you know, is a relatively unpopular god. Patron of freedom, justice, self empowerment, and individuality, very egalitarian. Values skill and talent.

[Karm]

"Can't make out a bloody indicator of what these chaps might be doing in the blasted desert. I wonder what your keen elven eyes might spy, Arod, old boy?"

Kip scans the scene attentively, attempting to glean some sort of sign as to who the owners of this caravan might be. He wracks his brain for any scrap of information regarding local trade routes he might find. "I suppose steering clear would appear the safest course, but I'd not say no to a bit of news regarding the uprising. It didn't seem localized...
I don't believe I could stomach a full scale revolution," Kip laughs uneasily as he says this last. He looks at the elf and raises an eyebrow.


If it would do any good I'd like to make a knowledge check (local) without cunning knowledge to find out who might have a caravan passing through the desert here and where they might be going.

[Gorgondantess]

Caravans are often taken through the desert, carrying supplies. You have no reason to be wary of them... but in these times, you can never be too careful.

[Karm]

Sorry, I have an exam coming up soon, I will make a post ASAP, but it might be a while.

[Karm]

"Well, Arod. I suppose there's nothing for it, mate. We'd best see what this caravan's about. At the least we should inform them of the trouble, so they've fair warning. Let's do our best not to alarm them though, we don't want any trouble." Kip looks to Arod for agreement, then sets off towards the caravan, the hot desert sun beating down on him. The two approach the caravan with their hands clearly visible away from their weapons so as not to provoke any guards that might be on lookout.

"Hail, friends!" Kip calls out in a friendly tone, as they approach the caravan, "What news have you?"