The Order of the Keys

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

CASTKinamae Hurasi (http://www.thetangledweb.net/forums/profiler/view_char.php?cid=34117), half-elf rogue! A dedicated and master of the subtle arts!
(Played by Dark Apprentice)

"Well, I wouldn't know about master, but... what the hell. We'll go with it."

Kato Masahari (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=181962), martial artist! A spinner of beautiful feats of acrobatics and strength!
(Played by Carrion Pidgeons)

"It's nothing, really. No, I mean it; don't watch!"

Garland Redfletch (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=184008), Ranger! Bows and guile combine to make him the perfect huntsman!
(Played by Crosswinds)

"The best strategy is the most direct. Shoot it until it stops moving."

Piklit'aklish... 'akitaghil... Khuwakowrldfvjdjkvb... Piklit (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=184032), goblin cleric! A wandering desert-dweller guided by Ishtar's passionate energy!
(Played by Jair Barik)

"Actually my friends call me Steve..."

Eli Pluto (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=181434), Bard! Cool and laid back, his jazzy tunes inspire the hearts of all who hear it!
(Played by EnderChant)

"As long as they keep swingin' hard, man."

Gipp White-beard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=183981), ancient kobold! Uses reactive fighting techniques developed over eons of quiet observation!
(Played by Tackyhillbillu)

"Some people buy cars, some people quit their jobs, I go on a suicidal adventure with people who in all likelihood would kill me on sight if they met me out in the wilderness."

The Caravan.

That's the name that was hastily given to this ever-shifting band of roving salesmen, performers, craftsmen, tourists and nomads. They make their rounds from country to country, bringing with them wares, stories and news from around the world. Nobody seems to be personally responsible for The Caravan's formation, nor is is steered by any particular itinerary. A critical mass of people simply happened to be going in the same direction one day, and ever since more and more have been showing up and coming along, attracted to the excitement. When a group nears their destination and breaks off, they are soon replaced by other random travelers.

Currently, The Caravan is en route between Azure City and Cliffport.

Having been in the band together for over a week and through all sorts of weather, our heroes have all seen each other around. Kinamae and Gipp found it to be a perfect jumping-off point for new adventurers. For Eli, it's a great place to jam with other bards while moving between cities for gigs. Kato heads northward to advance his mission, and Piklit just sort of joined the caravan without really thinking about it, because of his nomadic instincts.

Garland, on the other hand, is here at least partially because he's being paid. A family of aristocrats has hired him to guide and protect them in their travels, and to help offset the cost of food with those survival checks of his.

Unfortunately, it would seem no amount of hired protection can completely protect one from one's own stupidity. The children of Garland's clients wandered off into the Dim Woods at dusk. As the sun sets, their screams pierce through the murmuring of the tiring crowd.

Who will answer their cries?

[Crosswinds]

Garland

"Typical, really. I can't spend my first level hunting rats in an endless sewer. I have to actually use my class skills."

The ranger scoured the area where the kids were last seen, looking for tracks. Of course, the setting sun only served to aggravate him by casting dark shadows over the area.

"Wouldn't it be a funny coincidence if some other PCs showed up out of the blue to help out? Hint, Hint."

Search [roll0]

[Tackyhillbillu]

Gipp White-Beard

Gipp poked his head up, a pretty badly blackened fish hanging from a skewer. It was a pretty paltry thing, but he had som bark, along with some moss, so he was pretty full.

"Really, this is the adventure hook? Finding some kids?"

Gipp sighed, and stood up, grimly shaking his head.

"Back in my day we had proper adventure hooks. Evil Villains, Fair Damsels, Wise Old Men in Villages. Not some stupid kids getting lost in a forest. This worlds gone all topsy-turvey. I blame... confound it, who am I supposed to blame again?"

Gipp sighed, getting up on his Pony. He certainly wasn't walking to find some stupid children if he could ride.

[Devixer]

Kinamae

Kinamae was starting to try and choose a good spot to sleep on (maybe a nice soft patch of dirt this time, that rock hurt his back a bit,) when he heard the screams of children. Fatigue gone, he looked in the direction of the sound. He supposed, as quest hooks went, it was better than kobolds attacking nobility.

"Finally, a chance to use this level!" Kinamae briskly walked towards the noise.

[carrion pigeons]

Kato Masahari

Lightly napping in a hay wagon near the back of the caravan, Kato jerked awake at the sound of screaming. Frowning, he squinted into the trees, trying to see what had happened.

Screaming in the woods! I think I'm going to have to take this totally seriously and not treat it like an excuse to play hero. Sensei would be proud of me!

So, in the spirit of total seriousness, Kato ran off slightly laterally to where he had heard the noise, in the hopes of coming up around the side, where hopefully no one would see him and get the wrong idea. I can't make myself appear gallant at all, or someone might try to do me a favor in return. Which would be very bad.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[EnderChant]

Eli Pluto
Eli's hat is tipped over his face; curls of smoke snake around the brim as he plays some pitz (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtvKJaItYmA) on his violin. When he hears the screaming, he tilts his hat up off of his face and gets to his feet. He picks up his bow ("For the violin, man. Not for arrows.") and begins to walk towards the screaming, playing a march (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5MLNMgpywk) as he walks along, following his ear.

Seeing as Eli is a bard, if nobody minds, I'll insert youtube links of what he's playing at the time.

[Jair Barik]

Awaking from a nap Steve is slightly disconcerted by whats going on. "Whu? Hwu? Thwu? Honestly officer I thought she was a prostitute... What? Oh DM fiat right! Huh? I feel slightly fatigued.... Oh come on! It was a 5 minute nap in medoum armour! That doesan't count! THAT DOESN'T COUNT!"

grumbling and cursing under his breath Steve walks off towards the sound of the screaming children picking up his weapon, shield and holy symbol on the way.

"Grumble...stupid.... grr... Religious duty doesn't dictate I should have to do this.... Knowing my luck if I stay with the caravan it gets raided..... If one more person mistakes me for a true Goblin I swear..... I mean come on, if you drew them shorter then it would be much more obvious I'm medium sized...."

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"out way, weirdo goblin!"

Steve is shoved aside by a stereotypically angry-looking half-orc wearing the simplest of white t-shirts and tan shorts. He and a woman in a tie-dye knee-length robe are running towards the forest at full tilt.

"Hey, you're a cleric, right?" says the latter. "Please help us find my husband! I'm not sure what kind of trouble he might be in out there..."

They push past the rest of the party in a similar fashion, save for Kato, who's kept his distance so far. "what you stand round search for?! can't see hear that way?!"

That wasn't a typo. He continues to sprint towards the screaming.

"I think he wants you to try using survival?" says the lady to Garland as she lags behind the more athletic green guy.

Mere seconds later, one of the voices in the scream parade is silenced, though between the similarity in the voices and all of the other ruckus it takes a DC 12 listen check to notice this.

[Jair Barik]

[roll0]

"Oooohhh passed a listen check. ... Man that felt pointless.... I mean does it really make any distance wether one persons popped their clogs and on their way to dirt city, I'm still going to go check on whoevers left..."

moments later Steve's 16 points of wisdom kick in and he realises something he should have earlier.

"Wait a minute? Husband? I thought those were childrens screams?! I mean I'm pretty open minded about this but, well, aren't you a bit old for them?"

he says this whilst continuing to make double move actions towards the sound of the screaming (talking is a free action after all and he's not been toooooo verbose)

[Crosswinds]

Garland

Garland dusted himself off as he watched the Orc and woman sprint off into the distance.

"Yeah, I'll make a survival check. I'll make a survival check right up your..."

The ranger followed the two into the forest, grumbling something about finding the brats and tying them to the inside of the wagon when it was all over.

Listen [roll0]
Survival [roll1]

[[...Dammit, Garland.]]

[Devixer]

Kinamae

"...Well, that was a little rude. How would you like t if I..." Kinamae then decided they weren't worth it, and that he had much bigger fish to fry. He sprints in the direction of the noises, hoping he wasn't too late. For the quest, of course.

Listen: [roll0]

[[Whoo... Barely made it.]]

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Wait a minute, husband? I thought those were children's screams?! I mean I'm pretty open minded about this but, well, aren't you a bit old for them?"

"What?! Oh, no, he just sounds like a little girl when he's scared..."


Kato, entering the woods from another direction, fails a spot check and nearly falls over as a sticky white net falls over him. Fortunately, his ranks in balance just manage to let him avoid that particular fate. Less fortunately, he's still covered in obnoxious webbing. (-2 on attack rolls, -4 dexterity, cuts movement in half. He can try to break, cut, or shake them off.)

The trap's maker begins to climb down a tree just to his left. It's a small spider, that is to say, a spider the size of a halfling, which actually makes it improbably big by spider standards. One might go so far as to call the hairy black creature, 'monstrous.'


At the same time, the half-orc trips and falls flat on his face, and finds difficulty getting back up. "oof! hey! uh!"

He has one leg suspended in another spiderweb, this one anchored to two trees like a hammock. He is then quickly set upon by a pair of the monstrous spider's less imposing, cat-sized cousins.

Most of the party is not too far behind the NPC, ranging between 20 and 80 feet from the scene depending on their sense of urgency. Tie-dye is hanging out at the 40-ft. mark. Kato is nearby enough to bring his plight to everyone's attention, but is about 80 feet away from the rest of the party or the half-orc.

[ROLL INITIATIVE.]

[Devixer]

Initiative: [roll0]

[Crosswinds]

Garland

Initiative [roll0]

[Tackyhillbillu]

Gipp

[roll0]

[carrion pigeons]

Foolishly not having his weapon readied, Kato lacks the means to cut the webbing. I should be able to break it still, though. I have a pretty decent strength modifier. He attempts such.

[roll0]

[Jair Barik]

"You know I would of taken improved initiative and all if it weren't for the fact that everyone but humans needs to actually be careful what they chose at low levels! If I ever meet another lvl 2 human fighter I swear....grumble, grnnnasa, Unearthed arcana my arse...."


[roll0]

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Rolls:Collective NPC initiative: [roll0]
Collective Spider initiative: [roll1]
Kato's strength check: [roll2]
Eli's Initiative: 21 (rolled off-panel)

Initiative Order:
{table]Count|Participant
22|Kinamae
21|Eli
20|Gipp
18|SPIDERS!!!
17|Kato
15|NPCs
14|Piklit
12|Garland[/table]

Kato can feel his bindings starting to give, but the spider is just quick enough to have some fangs in him before he can properly react... assuming nobody else intervenes by then, of course.

Half-orc seems to be in a similar pickle.

Feel free to strategize; talking is indeed a free action, after all.

[carrion pigeons]

Whoa! Would you take a look at that spider! As he peered at the creature, Kato immediately regretted not studying the monastery's monster manual when he had had the chance. I wonder if it's hostile? he pondered. He absentmindedly picked at the webbing still covering him, as he watched the spider advance.

Growing uncomfortable with the halfling-sized monstrosity's palpable air of menace, he fumbled at his waist for his weapon. "Hey, get back! I've got a weapon here, and you aren't gonna like it if you get much closer!" This was accompanied by a medium-to-good attempt at a snarl.

[Devixer]

Kinamae was still sprinting in the direction of the screams, now noticing that one voice was now silent. After a few seconds, he noticed a human entangled in a bunch of webs, with one of the bigger spiders he's seen approaching it. He moved a little closer, got out his bow, and made sure he was within thirty feet. He nocked an arrow and shot it at the spider, while whispering, "Sneak Attack."

Attack Roll: [roll0]

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

[EnderChant dropped out via PM.]

Kinamae shoots a bit early, and the arrow comes up short.

Eli plays a toe-tapping battle theme in the background on his violin, taking a little bit of the stress out of the situation. As this takes up both of his hands, it doesn't seem like he's going to do much else for the rest of the encounter.

[insert Gipp's action here]

The spider moves in and chomps down on Kato's arm, dealing all of 1 point of damage but causing one heck of a nasty welt. He gets to make a fortitude save against DC 10.

This provocation drives Kato to rip off the webs immediately, which eats his action for the round.

"argh!" Half-orc flails, trying and failing to fend off bites from his own spiders.

"Dude, don't you get a bonus to break free if you have a surface to walk on?" shouts Tie-dye as she runs over to assist.

"huh?"

Just then, the web snaps unexpectedly and Half-orc falls flat on his face.

[carrion pigeons]

Aargh!

[roll0]

[Tackyhillbillu]

Burning Blade, Blistering Flourish, Wind Stride, Shadow Blade Technique

Stance: Child of Shadow

Gipp sighed and rushed over to the Spider, whipping out with his Quarterstaff and sticking straight for the creature. Behind the Spider, another shadowy version of the weapon struck as well.

"Giant Spiders? I eat things that are scarier then you!"

[roll0] To hit
[roll1] To Crit
[roll2] Shadow Blade Technique

[roll3] Damage
[roll4] Shadow Blade Technique

Gipp has Concealment, giving all attacks against him a 20% Miss Chance.

Gipp Takes the Shadow Blade Technique Roll, which means he doesn't get the 1d6 damage. So he does 2 damage this round.

[Jair Barik]

Running headlong towards the spider Steve yells a war cry that even the hardiest most battle hardened, hard warriors of hardness would be shocked by. "I may or may not hit you with my feeble weapon!!!!!!"

... I said shocked by, as in they wouldn't expect it.... yeah.

Charging at the spider Steve brings his sickle on it pondering why on earth he didn't buy any ranged weapons during character cre-, during the last visit to town.


[roll0] to hit (Weapon finesse)
[roll1] damage


"Huh... well what do you know, I rolled more on my damage dice than on my to hit dice.... Wow I suck."

[Crosswinds]

Garland

Getting run over by a half-orc obviously did wonders for Garland's initiative roll. When he reached the area, all the spiders were locked in combat.

"Now I'm really glad I took Precise Shot as a feat." He said as he nocked an arrow and let it fly into the spider Steve was fighting.

Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[carrion pigeons]

Kato, having plenty of time to think and yell while he tears away his webs, shouts the following to the other adventurers in the woods:

"Is this a fairly accurate map so far?"

As it starts

|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|K|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|S|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|N|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|S|
|E|_|_|_|_|_|_|T|_|_|G|_|_|_|_|H|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|A|_|_|R|_|_|_|_|S|

K=Kato
E=Eli
N=Kinamae
T=Tie-Dye
A=Garland
R=Random Goblinoid Thingy
G=Gipp
H=Half-orc
S=Spider

End of Round 1

|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|K|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|S|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|N|_|_|_|_|_|_|G|S|
|E|_|_|_|_|_|_|T|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|H|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|A|_|_|_|_|_|_|R|S|

K=Kato
E=Eli
N=Kinamae
T=Tie-Dye
A=Garland
R=Random Goblinoid Thingy
G=Gipp
H=Half-orc
S=Spider

"I'll note that the second two spiders and Tie-Dye haven't moved yet, so that might change the map. I also guessed on some of the relative placements, if anyone objects to where I put them compared to where they actually are, I can change it."

Once the webs are mostly off, Kato finally manages to get his weapon off his belt, too.

[Jair Barik]

"Hey! How come I'm P and the spiders are S? Why not identify them with some generic term like M for monsters or B for badguys? I get why I'm P but you dont actually know my name yet really...."

[carrion pigeons]

"Well in that case, I'll change it to R for Random goblinoid thing. Happy?" Kato shouts as he gets bitten, the distraction causing him to fail his Fort save miserably.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Thanks for the map!

Gipp konks out one of the tiny spiders.

Kato takes 1 point of strength damage from the poison.

Garland encounters some difficulty lining up his shot as his apparent comrades seem intent on getting in the way.

Tie-dye is leaving this to the professionals for now.

The bard continues his song.

Top of round (in color!):

|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|K|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|S|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|K|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|G|S|
|E|_|_|_|_|_|_|T|_|_|G|_|_|_|_|H|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|R|S|

{table]Count|Participant|symbol
22|Kinamae|K
21|Eli|E
20|Gipp|G
18|Spiders|S
17|Kato|K
15|Half-orc/Tie-dye|H/T
14|Piklit|R
12|Garland|G[/table]

[Devixer]

"Damn it! Just the time for the arrow to dramatically hit, and I miss!" Kinamae considered getting his short sword, but decided not to. His Strength penalty was not kind in combat. Instead, he draws another arrow and lets it fly towards the spider.

Roll (to hit:) [roll0]

Roll (for damage:) [roll1]

[Tackyhillbillu]

Burning Blade, Blistering Flourish, Wind Stride, Shadow Blade Technique

Stance: Child of Shadow

Gipp shrugged. One of the Spider's down he supposed. He hadn't hit it very hard.

"You know, the whole wise kung-fu master schtick is fun, but I really wish I could have a better weapon that a freaking stick. What's wrong with a Wise Kung-Fu master who just happens to carry a Greatsword? He seems far wiser then me, at the moment,"

Gipp switches to the other Spider, and strikes at it with the Quarter Staff. He could have used his talents to make it more powerful, but at the moment, he doubted that was necessary.

[roll0] To hit
[roll1] To Crit

[roll2] Damage
[roll3] Crit

[carrion pigeons]

Do not view until Kato's turn!
"Can't say I didn't you give you fair warning," Kato said, completely seriously. Still concerned about the screaming that had drawn Kato into the woods in the first place, Kato decided to attempt to end this encounter quickly.

Flurry of Blows:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Jair Barik]

"As if I'm going to waste a spell slot on a spider..."
Steve swings at the spider a second time.


[roll0] to hit (Weapon finesse)
[roll1] damage

[Crosswinds]

Garland

Garland muttered a curse under his breath as he nocked another arrow and let it fly into the closest spider.

"Hit this time, dammit."


Hit [roll0] (Precise Shot)
Damage [roll1]

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

[roll0](spidey)
[roll1](lil' spidey)
[roll2](1/2-O)

Kinamae gets in a much better shot, but the twitchy spider hops out of the way, hisses at the rogue and turns to spray some webbing at him in retaliation. While it's distracted, Kato manages to bury a Kama in its thorax, and that's the end of Big Spidey.

Lil' spidey hisses at the two-and-a-half savage humanoids flailing at it and takes another bite of the one that's prone on the ground. Half-orc wails and pries the little blighter off of him before barely stumbling to his feet. "limbs... feel... sick..."

Garland's precise shot feat pays off big time as he picks out the flanked arachnid. His arrow strikes true and the critter goes down in a splatter of spidery goop.

Tie dye rushes up to Half-orc. "Bug, are you alright? Maybe you should go back to camp... Those wounds look pretty painful, and I want to save my spells in case someone is dying out there..."

"n... no. I help. limbs are fine," Bug lies.

[Jair Barik]

"Well I'd call that a success! of sorts Are we owed some sort of quest XP now for... oh wait, yes the other people ummm.... skeedadle..."

Steve realising that precious rounds of movement could be being wasted here runs off in the direction of the screaming once more, quest xp can wait till the quest is actually completed...

[Crosswinds]

Garland

"As much as I'd like to stay and chat, my employer's kids are still out there."

Garland races after the Goblinoid toward in the direction of the screams.

[carrion pigeons]

Kato was still very concerned about the screaming, but the half-orc didn't look so good. "Moving will just make the poison spread faster, Mr. Bug. I really think you'd be better off lying still until we can get you some help, or at least until we know how many HP you have left."

Kato glanced around in search of some kind of herb that might leech the poison from the man's wound.

[roll0]

Oh right, I forgot, Kato smacked his forehead. I don't really know anything about the outdoors.

[carrion pigeons]

Kato's face suddenly started to itch fiercely. He reached up to touch his face, but paused as he felt the hair sprouting from his face at an incredible rate. Within seconds he had developed a four-day growth. He leapt up and started scratching at his cheeks, while yelling, "Aaahhh! Getitoffgetitoffgetitoffgetitoffgetitoffwhat'shapp eningtomeee!"

Purely by coincidence, the direction he flees is not too far from the direction of the screaming everyone had been so concerned about, earlier.

[Devixer]

"Oh, no, he's gonna get himself hurt, and I'm proabably gonna get blamed. Not a great start to my career." Kinamae followed after the monk, shouting, "Hey! Get back here before you get hurt!"

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

[Sorry about the delay. I know what comes next, but was too busy to post until now.]
No doubt, Kato's new problems stem from:...a reaction to something that he randomly ate in his ill-advised attempt at counteracting the poison. It was an herb that he found on the ground, but he'll need to roll to remember what it even looked like if it comes up later.

During the fight, the two screams have now been reduced to one... and as you're running, none.

Steve and Garland quickly approach close enough to the source to see why. Fortunately, the victims did not stop screaming because they were dead. Unfortunately, it was because they were just thoroughly cocooned by an even bigger spider than the previous three - one as big as a man.

As we approach, everyone can hear the muffled cries of the hostages as they squirm in their prisons. One of them - a full-grown elf - can be made out quickly as he's less thoroughly covered - you've caught the spider in the process of preparing him. There are five other, smaller cocoons hanging from the monster's expansive web system, three of which are writhing. It'll take a spot check to make out any of their contents.

The scene consists of a clearing, with our heroes showing up at one end and the spider standing in front of a huge stretch of web hung across the other. Garland and Steve are first in line, with Tie-Dye not far behind. Kato, in random freak-out mode, has caught up with her.

Bug has stubbornly decided to come along, but has noticeably slowed down; apparently the poison had been particularly hard on him. He is in the back with Kinamae.

Eli shows up in the back rank as well. Without saying a word, he continues to follow you all around playing his violin. Naturally, everyone just seems to accept this.

Top of round:

|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|c|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|c|_|
|K|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|c|
|_|_|_|K|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|S|C|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|R|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|c|
|H|_|_|_|_|_|_|G|_|_|_|_|_|_|c|_|
|_|_|_|T|_|_|_|G|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
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|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|E|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|

{table]Count|Participant|symbol
n/a|Boss Spider|S
22|Kinamae|K
21|Eli|E
20|Gipp|G
17|Kato|K
15|Half-orc/Tie-dye|H/T
14|Piklit|R
12|Garland|G
n/a|Cocoons|C/c[/table]

[Jair Barik]

Steve attempts to spot see what is in the cocoons worried that some of them may contain dead bodies [roll0]

Looking over his level one spell list and his domain powers he quickly concludes that he really needs to buy some sort of a ranged when next in town.

[carrion pigeons]

As he sprinted into sight of the largest spider he had ever seen in his life, or in fact even imagined, Kato realized that this was one of those defining moments that his sensei had always talked to him about. Here he was, with a surrounded by giant, scary-looking spiders that were surprisingly easy to kill given their size, something trying to crawl out of his chin for no reason he could discern, which was probably making him look ruggedly handsome. But instead of all of his fear stacking up on itself into something huge and impossible to manage, he felt it all condense into a tiny point of what might be called hysterical tranquility, or possibly, placid terror. He was still gibbering, nothing was going to stop that (especially not with that nasty welt on his arm, still). But somewhere deep down inside himself, the idea swelled up that his fear was all a result of things around him that might go away if he thrashed at them enough.

With that thought foremost in his mind, he focused on the biggest problem he could see, and prepared to charge.

Kato will make a charge attack (at the spider, not at his beard) on his turn, screaming all the while, with the the kama. I'll let the good Dr. make the rolls when the time comes so as not to spoil the suspense.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

The spider sees the charging Kato and instinctively reacts by throwing a web at him. [roll0] (with range penalty)

It misses.

Garland probably shoots the spider? [roll1]

It dodges.

Gipp probably attacks the spider?[roll2]

He'd miss too, barring some nifty swordsage moves. Don't you love low-level encounters?

Kato rolls a 10 (not pictured) on his attack roll, and just manages to hit the creature with his +2 charging bonus. He rolls a 2 slashing at it with his kama, for a total of 4 points of battle damage. Unfortunately, THIS spider can take the hit just fine.

The goblinoid takes the round to examine the cocoons from a distance, with some success. He determines which ones contain children and which ones contain dried-up bones and rubbish. These are marked on the map. He can see that one writhing cocoon is different from those, but doesn't really know WHY it's different, or what might be inside.

Tie-dye stays back and stares at the cocoons along with Steve. "Oh, no," she gasps as the solution dawns on her. She points at the mystery blob from behind the ranger. "That glob of webbing is its egg sac! Be careful!"

Half-orc has a tummy ache. Eli is doing a little jig.

Kinamae presumably stalks into position to sneak attack the easily-flanked spider in the coming round.

Yes, I know that was all completely out of order. Whatever. Kinamae gets to go first this coming round.

Top of round:

|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|k|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|K|j|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|e|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|K|S|C|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|R|_|_|_|_|_|G|_|k|
|H|_|_|_|_|_|T|G|_|_|_|_|_|_|j|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|E|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|

{table]Count|Participant|symbol
22|Kinamae|K
21|Eli|E
20|Gipp|G
17|Kato|K
17|Boss Spider|S
15|Half-orc/Tie-dye|H/T
14|Piklit|R
12|Garland|G
n/a|Cocoons|C(elf)/k(kid)/j(junk)/e(spider eggs)[/table]

[Devixer]

Kinamae, having already got into a convenient attacking position, nocked an arrow on his bow and fired. "Sneak Attack."


To hit: [roll0]

Damage:[roll1]

Sneak Attack damage: [roll2]

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Big n' Crawly is still standing, but it's surrounded, stumbling, and has an arrow sticking out of it now. Having no intelligence score, it even missed its attack of opportunity from the point-blank shot. (Kinamae had to move one square closer to the thing to get the flanking bonus.)

[Jair Barik]

Getting the feeling the spider might go down easier than he expected Steve moves in and hacks at it with his sickle to try and get himself some good ol' fashioned xp glory
life experience no wait thats pretty much the same as the first thing....
money? nooooo
spider eggs
children
warm fuzzy feeling inside of himself for having done a good deed with no selfish or alterior motives related to a semi-abstract concept of killing things causing you to get stronger.... yeah that'l do


[roll0] possibly an extra 2 if he can flank somehow
[roll1]

[Crosswinds]

Garland

"1st level is such a joy..." Garland muttered as he shot another arrow toward the giant spider.

"Big mama's got to bite it before we take care of the eggs. She's a much more dangerous threat."


Hit [roll0] (Still Precise Shot)
Damage [roll1]

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

With a flash of his scary farming tool, Steve finishes off the spider, making the last shot unnecessary. The creature falls with 5 Xs on its face and a few more scattered on the ground.

[carrion pigeons]

Kato left his kama stuck in the spider's thorax as he ran over the top of the thing, and immediately started punching and clawing at the clumps of webbing behind it.

Spot check to see if Kato manages to gain a clue which of the webs would be the most likely to be threatening:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Jair Barik]

"Woooooooo! I am a spider killing machine! In your face you ugly monster! Ha!" remembering creatures don't actually die at 0 hp and doubting he did over 10 damage Steve proceeds to coup de grace the spider (after a short victory dance over its corpse [roll0] perform dance check) then decides to help sort out the whole kids in cocoons situation.

[Crosswinds]

Garland

The major crisis averted, Garland begins to help Kato rip apart the cocoons, taking care to aviod the egg sac Tye-Dye pointed out earlier.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Eli plays a victory theme to go with Steve's victory dance. Together, they have a modified result of 25 on their pointless fun check.

rolls for me:[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]


"Honey!" says Tie-Dye, approaching the gift-wrapped elf. "Are you alright?"

"Mmph," says the elf.

"Oh, right."

Garland finally cuts out the webby gag around his mouth. "Gasp! *cough* ptui! Oh, baby, am I glad to see you!"

Tie-dye gives her mate a big hug despite the cheesy line.

Bug shows up to assist, and with Kinamae's help and Steve's direction (and his sickle) manages to slit open the leftmost cocoon, which is hanging about 5 feet in the air.

"Aiee!" A chubby little 8-year-old girl falls out onto the ground with a solid thunk. "Uuugh, owww..." She looks pretty roughed up - probably at zero hp.

While there, the rogue and goblin find that some of the junk in the next web over seems shiny and perhaps valuable.

Gipp and Kato get to work on one of the webs to the right, with similar results, except this time the kid is a suspender-wearing, unconscious lad. Slice! Thud!

The next web over from them is more dusty and less shiny.

[Jair Barik]

"Ooooh valuables..... Wait whats the average wealth by level per encounter for level one?... None of this is going to be magic is it? I mean not even bag of tricks level magic. I'm right aren't I? Who even uses the valuables tables for loot anyway...."

Despite his reservations Steve still has a look over the pile of rubbish treasure the party have gained through defeating the giant space flea boss.

[Devixer]

"Who cares, it's loot! As long as it gets me some gp's, I'm good." Kinamae headed over to the web and started trying to rip it apart, hoping that Strength penalty of his wouldn't be too bad.

[carrion pigeons]

"Everyone okay?", Kato asks, breathing hard. "Looks like we'll need to carry the kids back to the caravan."

Kato contemplated the final two clumps of webbing. For completeness' sake, Kato went back to retrieve his kama and then used it to rip apart the un-shiny clump of webbing at the far end of the web.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

The left cocoon contains a skeleton wearing some rusty armor and a longsword. The sword seems usable, though it glints in the light a bit funny and has developed some green specks around the edges where it needed sharpening anyway. As you crack open the wrappings to release the loot, a bunch of silver coins fall out onto the ground. It continues to shed coins like a piñata until you've collected an even 200.

The one on the right needs a search check from someone. As you search, Bug walks up behind you. "what's this rummaging?"

After alternately embracing and helping to unwrap her husband for a bit, Tie-Dye is reminded about the beat-up little kids. "Ohmygosh! I almost forgot! Cure Light Wounds!" she heals the unconscious kid, who starts to wake up. A "Cure Minor Wounds!" gets the girl back on her feet.

[carrion pigeons]

[roll0]

As Kato searches, he idly answers Bug's question. "Well, first and foremost, rummaging through spider discharge is just a good habit to get into. In this particular case, it's a man-eating spider, and it isn't right to let the remains of sentient species lay around where any evil cleric could raise an army of undead out of them." As Kato sees the coins pour from the first clump of webbing, he adds wryly, "Plus, you know, the loot. It'd be a shame to let 200 silver pieces go to waste."

Turning his attention to the children, Kato asked, "You guys alright? What were you doing out here?"

[Crosswinds]

Garland

"They weren't listening to their parents is what they were doing."

Garland walks over to the group, obviously annoyed by the entire situation.

"Now, let's get back to the caravan before we have the entire Monster Manual on our tail."

[Jair Barik]

"I'm not an evil cleric and I have no intention of raising armies of the dead and I'm not even high enough level to do that yet and i don't have the death domain or the evil domain or the undeath domain and it is a racist stereotype that all Goblinoids are evil despite the fact that Orcs goblins and hobgoblins generally are.... Oh wait, you were just making a general statement right? Heheh he... he.... Sorry..."

By the end pf his rant Steve is pretty much out of breath.

"oooh money" but not entirely.
"Huh, an exactly even number of coins. Thats... convenient. Fifty each then eh?"

Assuming nobody (and no NPC) objects Steve takes fifty silver coins.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Yes, sir," sigh the noble kids. They follow Garland out, still a bit wobbly from their strength damage.

Bug watches Kato muck through the webs until he eventually produces a wallet full of gold - 50 gp, in fact. "oooh," admires Bug. As Kato walks off ahead of him, Bug considers the monk's advice.

"I'm just so relieved," says Tie-dye as the group begins the walk back. "You know what? I think that we should all swing by the Big Tent and have a feast to celebrate."

"Uh, I don't really think I'm up to that right now, hon..." the elf can only walk by leaning on his wife's shoulder at this point.

"Well, okay, sure."

Cut to the Half-orc as he examines the last cocoon for shinies.

"Tomorrow night, then," says Tie-dye. "Our treat! A big party to just kick back with the knowledge that, through the random encounters, even after getting rolled up into big spider crepes, everyone managed to make it through okay!"

RRRRRRIIP!

Right on cue, Bug screws it all up and quickly finds himself covered in hand-sized baby spiders.

...and everyone gets to roll initiative again.

[Crosswinds]

Garland

"Dammit. Kids, get behind me."

Garland makes a motion to accompany his statement as he turns to face the spiders.

"Jeez...Natural 1, huh?"

[roll0]

[carrion pigeons]

Aaargh, I'm such an IDIOT! Kato thought as he readied himself again. Who am I to be giving advice to anyone? It never turns out well.

[roll0]

[Jair Barik]

[roll0]

"Spiders... More spiders... Grrrreeeat."

[Devixer]

"Hoo boy. This looks like a lot of fun."

[roll0]

[Jair Barik]

Reaching out a careful finger Steve pokes Bug while trying to avoid spider bites. "Sanctuary"

((Cast sanctuary on Bug))

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Spider Will Save: [roll0]

All of the spiders fall off of Bug and start to spread out along the ground. "yay!"

"Oh, smart!" notices Tie-dye. "A lot of those enchantments could only target so many at a time, but a sanctuary can ward off every single spider that tries to attack!"

The elf shows a concerned expression. "Er, actually, I think vermin are technically immune to mind-affecting effects..."

The spiders proceed to resume crawling all over Bug and Steve.

[More rolls:]
NPC:[roll1]
Spiders:[roll2]

[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]

"Bug, run!"

The half-orc beats the spiders in initiative by a little bit, so for what it's worth, he stumbles out of the fracas before they latch back on. The goblin doesn't, so he can expect a few bites. (1d6 damage, make a fort save.)

[Jair Barik]

Fort save [roll0]

"ohhhh its a swarm of spiders as opposed to numerous tiny sized spiders... Stupid 3.5 monster manual... I mean... ArrrrrrhhHHAhahaahAH Get em off get em off!!!"

Steve forces a DC 10 will save on everyone within 15ft to avoid face palming

[Crosswinds]

Garland

[roll0]

Garland manages to resist the urge to facepalm.

[Devixer]

Will Save: [roll0]

Kinamae almost considers facepalming, but soon dismisses the idea. Instead, he readies his shortbow, considering the factors of shooting into a melee and regretting not taking Precise Shot.

[carrion pigeons]

[roll0]

Kato's hand starts to rise, but he just manages to avoid hitting himself in the face by dropping to the ground and sitting on his arm.

"I'm not sure I can hold myself down for long, guys," he says through clenched teeth.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Damage to Piklit: [roll0]

"Stop, drop and roll!" Says the little boy.

"Don't listen to him! That'll just make it worse!" says his sister.

Tears stream down the half-orc's face. "so sorry! didn't mean! all fault!" he blusters.

"Well, it's not so much because it's a swarm as because the spider's brains are too simple to process -"

"Honey! Please!" says tie-dye.

"Sorry," says the elf. "So, uh... area spells can work, right?"

"That's true... dammit, I didn't prepare burning hands today!" She turns to the adventurers. "Did you guys bring any splash weapons with you? Or a lantern? Or something?"

[Jair Barik]

"Errk! Umm help any time would be welcomed, already on less than half my hp, only level one, am kinda dying here."

Steve quickly concludes that these creatures as a swarm are likely invulnerable to a parching touch and furthermore are neither oozes nor undead.

...well thats him out of ideas, hopefully somebody else has some means of harming it, preferably without killing him.

[carrion pigeons]

"I wonder if the Pied Pip--I mean, Violinist--over there could lure the spiders away, somehow?" Kato asked, waving at the guy with the violin. Nothing else was coming to mind, though he'd be happy enough to attack the spiders whether or not they were on the goblinoid. He was still feeling pretty nervy, and his hand was starting to fall asleep from sitting on it.



[OOC: who's turn is it? Kinamae's?]

[Devixer]

"I can't go after them. Either I'm shooting into a melee, or I've got a Strength penalty to deal with."

[Crosswinds]

Garland

"Funny thing about being a ranger. You tend to either stab or shoot things. Unfortunately, that doesn't exactly help in this case."

[carrion pigeons]

"Hey, at least you have Wild Empathy. What's a monk supposed to do, besides just attack the friendly monster and hope the spiders die first?" Kato paused. "Actually that gives me an idea, albeit almost definitely a bad one..."

Assuming Kinamae skipped his turn, and that Kato is next and not Gipp or Eli, Kato will initiate a grapple with Steve and try to crush a few of the spiders that way. Additionally, he'll make an Unarmed Strike with his fingers at the spiders if it seems to be possible to do so without hurting the goblin...too much.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2] with maybe a circumstance modifier because I'm using fingers and not feet, hands, knees, or elbows? Also, I'm assuming Eli is still playing his song, but if not, then adjust accordingly.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

[I'm foregoing initiative for this one, since it's just more convenient to let people use ideas in the order they come up with them.]

Kato jumps in and gives Steve a big hug. He could squish some of the spiders that were on him, but this would also hurt Steve with subdual damage. Either way, Kato shields Steve to same degree from additional spider problems, though now he's in the swarm himself.

"Well, there's always Plan R..." says the little girl.

"Plan R?" asks her brother.

"RUN!" she shouts to the spider-laden adventurers.

[Jair Barik]

"Sounds good to me!"

Steve runs out of the spider mass with his bag of swag trying to get as much distance between him and the pests as he can.

[Devixer]

"I also find myself in favor of that." Kinamae begins to run away, suspecting that he will be doing this a lot in the future.

[carrion pigeons]

Disappointed that the spider-covered monster didn't want to wrestle, Kato attempts to escape as well.

[Crosswinds]

Garland

"Well, where the kids go, I go."

Garland follows the kids and the other adventurers out of the forest, cursing under his breath about "bloody vermin swarms."

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Escape proves not to be much trouble, as the little blighters soon break pursuit to devour the corpse of their mother, fight each other for supremacy, or just wander off to start building their own webs. Whether or not you get XP for this remains to be seen. ("I mean, the swarm was dispersed, technically...")

Thanks to Eli's musical heraldry, the group gets back to the camp to much fanfare and back-patting. The kids are delivered to their parents in working condition with only minor structural damage, while Tie-dye and company bid everyone a good night, remind you to remember about tomorrow night, and return to their tents to hit the hay.

Anything that anyone wants to do before sleepy time?

[Jair Barik]

"Well that was something of a success! Ummmm who are you people?"

[carrion pigeons]

"Bug, let me give you a piece of advice: never, ever, take my advice on anything. It just isn't a good idea." Having fallen into a pretty bad mood due to not being able to wrestle his way to victory, Kato stalks off towards the rear of the caravan, hoping to avoid any kind of public recognition.

[Jair Barik]

"Well that explains!... Absolutely nothing..."

[Devixer]

While looking at Kato, Kinamae says, "...What a weird person. Anyway, the name's Kinamae," he says while offering his hand to Steve.

[Jair Barik]

Steve accepts the mans hand.

"My name is Piklit'akitaghilaniski Khawokuhoogichikuk. Umm... but most people call me Steve."

[Crosswinds]

Garland

After Garland ensures the safety of the kids, he returns to converse with the other PCs. He manages to catch their introductions just fine.

"Thanks for your help." he said, "My rolls were all over the place in that fight. My name's Garland, by the way"

[Jair Barik]

"Just Garland? No surname?"

Steve looks slightly shocked at this.

[Crosswinds]

Garland

"I have a surname." Garland explains. "But I haven't used it in years, in the woods we tended to stay on a first-name basis."

He removed one of his arrows and flicked the red fletching in the low light.

"My surname is Redfletch."

[Jair Barik]

Steve looks slightly bemused by this.

"Soooo did you change your surname to redflech for dramatic effect or did your parents force you down a specific career path because they felt your surname should be relevant to your actions? I asume your some sort of Ranger or ighter then?"

[Crosswinds]

Garland

Garland looks obviously annoyed by Steve's comment.

"Neither." That seemed like all he wanted to say on the matter. "What about you? What's a Goblinoid doing in a humanoid-populated area?"

[Jair Barik]

"Eh. You know how it is. Medium sized species monarchy in a turbulent poilitical area where you can hardly bat an eyelid without the borders shifting. 1% tax rise on the price of bat guano and you have a rebellion upon your hands with the King and Queen having to run away to distant lands in a vain attempt to avoid assasination and the political intrigues thatr plagued every day life."

Steve sits down upon one of the carts at the end of his little speech.

[Crosswinds]

I have nothing left to do.

[Devixer]

I don't either.

[Jair Barik]

"But I kid. I'm a priest really." with that Steve goes off to rest for the night. (nothing left to do now)

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

[Sorry about the wait. I think I'm going to have another week-long gap soon, too, so be warned.]

Everyone rests soundly until the following morning, recovering damage, getting a point of strength back, and generally being surprisingly productive for being asleep. The next day is spent mainly on progressing the Caravan's trek forward.

As the sun sets and people start to slow down, the big tent is erected, stuffed with buffet tables, and opened up to everyone even tangentially involved in the previous night's incident, which apparently includes some people that none of you have never even seen before. Eli and a couple of other bards play some appropriate background music, which people sadly have trouble dancing to because this is a visual medium. Luckily, a few glasses of wine seem to alleviate this problem.

Garland's clients are quite happy to augment the festivities, and insist that he comes along. Anybody else does have a choice as to whether or not they join in, but one would imagine that few have the mental fortitude to pass up this much free food.

[Jair Barik]

Steve is more than happy to have free food but he also keeps an eye for the people he met yesterday to see if he can find them again.

[carrion pigeons]

There's no way Kato would pass up free food, so he shows up...wearing a fake mustache and a pair of glasses. Hopefully no one will recognize him and he can pretend yesterday never happened.

[Crosswinds]

Garland

Considering his clients pretty much forced him to come, Garland is at the party, stuffing his face at the buffet table.

[Jair Barik]

"Hey you made it!" Good to see you here! You know I had a craaaazy thought. Adventuring. Party. Wadaya say? Good money, high mortality rate? Eh, eh?"

Steve is very clearly drunk.

[Devixer]

Kinamae was at the party, holding a glass of wine, occassionaly taking a sip, and surveying the other partygoers.