Life before Honor (IC)

[CaeruliusVentus]

The triangular land of Keto is not doing very well. Strange rumblings disturb the awkward peace that has ruled for centuries. The number of skirmishes between the three armies have been on the rise. Is it a desire to end the century old stalemate that drives the provinces to escalate, or is there something more sinister going on.

Geography

Keto roughly resembles an isosceles triangle pointing to the east with the two equal sides being about 250 miles and the long being 354 miles. To the west is an ocean and to the east are mountains. In the north the mountains are rounded and low, becoming sharper and taller as they curve south. Beyond the mountains is a desert.
In the center of the country (or slightly to the left of it) is the Heaven Palace of the Divine King. Part city and part fortress, the king resides quietly guarded by walls, soldiers, and tradition. Anyone attacking the king or not paying the yearly tax would be attacked by the other forces and likely wiped out.
The rest of the country is divided into three provinces. To the north is the largest province of Sun. To the south is the forest province of Moon. To the east is by far the smallest province of Earth.
The rulers of Sun and Moon have openly sought to gain control of the Keto, but neither can overcome the other if Earth steps in against them. Earth has remained quietly neutral and plays both sides against each other.


Sun

Sun is mostly overgrown plains and foothills with an occasional large river passing down to the ocean. It's cities are built on hills and ornately decorated. It's army (army of shadows) is discrete, but still tends more towards acts of strength and brute force than the other armies. The country is ruled by a council of generals that keep the people in a constant state of military readiness.


Moon

The province of Moon is mostly shrouded beneath a tropical forest that is interlaced with rivers. The army of rivers focuses on movement, stealth, and means of debilitating opponents using poisons and traps. Their ruler is a figure of legend and mystery. He is said to be crafty and vicious, but the province has thrived under his rule.


Earth

Though smaller than the rest, the army of steel in Earth is the most technically advanced and have developed a special technique for binding a soldier to there tools so that the two become stronger. The highest form of this technique involves the warriors giving their energy to their bonded item and living on to aid their descendants. Their rulers are those who wield such items of the wisest ancestors, and each new generation adds to the collective wisdom.
The capital sits in the east nestled in the mountains and is shielded by a swath of forest. There are a few roads that lead out of the mountains, so the use of horses has been developed to make the passage faster.


Since only cities can be protected and farming is easy prey to raids, much of Keto has become overgrown with plants. A trend that is supported by the military forces since it makes it easier to hide. The animals that live in the different climes have become wild and larger. Their favorite meal is often an unwary or injured soldier.

The party is squad of three lesser rank soldiers with a slightly more experienced soldier as the leader. You have known each other since you were little, but now you are ready to start your role in the military.

[CaeruliusVentus]

The three of you stand side-by-side in a line before an impressive wooden desk. Behind the desk is an equally impressive woman flanked by two aids. To the far right of the line is a fourth person dressed in gray clothes with a very large blade on his back.

The woman behind the desks speaks, "Squad 34, you have been assigned to work under the Blue Blade*. Here is your first mission to be completed in five days or less." She hands a sealed piece of parchment to the person on the end of the row, who promptly leads the way out of the room.
In the foyer he turns and introduces himself, "As you heard, my military name is Blue Blade. I graduated from the academy a few years ahead of you and achieved the rank of Corporal last year. We can get to know each other on the way. Now to our mission." He opens the seal and reads the paper before handing it around.


Mission Rank: D
One of our outlying scout stations was attacked yesterday. It was believed to be a simple raid and the posted scouts were able to escape. You will go to the outpost and secure it until replacements arrive.

(encrypted coordinates are given for a spot near the Sun border)

Special targets: none


*everyone in the military goes by a code name. Those that have an ancestral weapon change their name to that of the weapon.

"Gather your things and meet me at the city gates in 30 minutes."

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye nods and goes to gather his supplies and load up his horse "Whisper". On the way he tells his friend Whoosh to go scout out the trail ahead, and the outpost too if it is close enough. As this is just a preliminary scouting Hawkeye advises that Whoosh keep her distance and act naturally.
Upon arriving in the stables with his supplies Hawkeye informs Whisper that they are going on a trip, and asks "How have the groomers been treating you lately? Good food and diligence I hope".

MP: 8/9 - Hawkeye used Speak with animals to help understand Whisper's response.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Whisper is quite happy. The people of Earth are skilled with raising horses and they are kept in top condition.

[Ahus]

I require no preparations, save the acquisition of provisions.

[darkillini]

Chained hearing they would be going off soon heads to the stables to see his horse trotter, and make sure all his gear is securly straped to the him. Seeing hawleye there as well he tries to strike up a conversation,
how are the animals doing? Have you told them our task?

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye replies "The horses seem to be doing fine. Whisper tells me that he is well taken care of. I already sent Whoosh out to check the status of the outpost, so we should know what's going on there long before we arrive. I almost hope it's been overrun. Scardashi pines for battle". Hawkeye finishes loading himself and Whisper while he talks to Chained.

[CaeruliusVentus]

While Chained and Hawkeye are in the stables they see Blue Blade tending to his horse, though he isn't putting much on it besides riding gear. After a while an attendant brings another horse over to him with riding gear.

[darkillini]

Indeed the swap lord would relish being in such a great battle, the tales would be legendary for sure. mentions Chained as he notices Blue blade tending his horses. do you know anything about this Blue Blade who were following?

[canjowolf]

"Well, he's our superior officer. He's done well enough to be given an artifact. And he seems to have two horses, but I'll ask Whisper what he's learned from the other horses." Hawkeye asks whisper about the two horses Blue Blade is leading. To Chained he says "Perhaps we should ask our commander what his plans are for this mission."

[darkillini]

that seems to be a prudent course of action, however we may wish to wait until your bird returns with information. He most likely will change his orders based on that current situation that is observed replies Chained who shrugs as he says this.

[canjowolf]

"Whoosh probably won't be back for a day or two, So we should probably leave before then. If there's a major problem we can always tie a letter to her leg and send her back here. She's not just pretty, but smart as well. Oh, and only one of those two horses is his. I am going to go see what his plans are. Forewarned is forearmed you know."

Hawkeye, having finished saddling the horse, walks over to Blue Blade and says "I noticed you have two horses there. Would you like some help preparing them for the road?"

[Ahus]

Ronin accompanies the others to the stables and silently waits while the others prepare their equipment and beasts of burden.

[CaeruliusVentus]

"The second horse is for Ronin. We will need to move quickly in getting out of the mountains, so we will all use horses until we reach the outer stables. At that point we can decide whether to still use the horses or to continue on foot. The stable attendant has already prepared the horse, though you could bring Ronin over here."

[canjowolf]

"Sir, Ronin is a monk. He can run almost as fast as a horse so long as you don't ask him to carry anything heavy. Traveling in the mountains where a horse could step in a crack or catch a stone Ronin would probably travel faster than a horse. Not that I disapprove of bringing an extra horse. After all, they're very helpful when it comes time to plow under the remains. If you know something about construction or engineering I bet the extra horse would be useful reinforcing the defenses of the outpost as well. But I think that it would be a mistake to put an unskilled rider on a horse when he can run just fine. On that note, do you have any talents that we should be aware of sir? I can talk to animals and have already sent an avian scout to survey the target zone. I expect her back in a day or two, and she shouldn't have any problem finding us along the way."

[Ahus]

Sir, our friend is correct I can probably outrun these horses, particurlarly on uneven terrain. However, I presume that once we arive at the outpost we will encounter some hostilities for which it would be prudent to be fresh. Likewise should one of the other horses come lame on our travels it would be prudent to have a backup so that the lame horse may rest without slowing our progress. For these reason I shall be happy to take to the saddle.

[CaeruliusVentus]

"I am aware that you can outrun any of us, and that will be a great boon. However, the horses can run for most of a day with only occasional rests and we will need that longevity to get out of the mountains by this evening. After that we will be moving more cautiously and the need for horses will decrease.
As for my abilities, I can take on anyone in a full fight but I specialize in taking out those who rely on invisibility. As well as some skills to keep the rest of you alive if things get rough."

[darkillini]

Ahh so were taking a lovley ride through the mountains, reminds me of the time I rode the entire paved mountain trail in one afternoon, was a lovley time, beutiful weather that day, and I must I had no trouble riding the entire day, being as skilled at riding as I Am. says chained as he puts on a large self assured. Grin.

Bluff check[roll0]

[CaeruliusVentus]

"I didn't realize you had that much experience. When we get on the road, I'll have you take the lead. If everyone is ready, let's head out." He begins leading his horse out of the stable and toward the front gate.

[darkillini]

sadley I must decline the lead position, for I truley do not work in groups often, solo acts have I normally been. And when you do work in groups follow don't lead I was taught by my mentor. mentions chained as he directs trotter in the direction blue blade takes towords the front gate

[Ahus]

I would be more than willing to take the lead.
Ronin, says throwing one leg over the horse that he has been provided, missing the stirrup and continuing the ground on the other side, with sufficeint grace that a casual onlooker might think that he intended to do so. Ahem. Climbing back up and remaining seated this time, he continues.
Were it not for my general lack of experince with these animals, nor idea as to the direction of our destination.
As they move out Ronin's horse rides uncomfortably close to Blue Blade's, causing Blue Blade's horse to swish its tail nervously.

[CaeruliusVentus]

"A noble gesture, but if our expert rider won't take the lead then I will. Besides, I have a few more eyes to watch the road and know the way well enough. We'll ride single file, and try to stay on the horse." With this last line he spurs his horse to a quick trot.

Further down the road, the horses speed up to a traveling canter. The path follows a smooth lane carved between tall cliffs that manage to keep the trail in shadows most of the day.

Two hours later, the cliffs fall away and the party is able to rest in a clearing with a stream for the horses to drink from.

[Ahus]

as the group continued up the path Ronin and his horse generally became more comfortable with each otherand the horse took up a position slightly trailing Blue Blade. Ronin seemed to be getting the hang of this whole horsemanship thing, however, upon entering the clearing and seeing the stream Ronin's horse bolted from under him to the cold water. Ronin was able to remain seated on the beast less due to his minimal ability to ride, or even his exceptional ablility to balance himself on any surface, and more because his legs had become formed to the horses shape and would not move on their own. When the horse stopped short and abruptly dipped its head in the stream for a drink, it made it very clear whom was in charge of the riding arangement. Ronin dismounted gingerly and groaned streaching his legs.
armatura Ronin says quietly as he steps away from the creek. You can never be too cautious.
Leaving his backpack strung to the saddle, he walked, bow legged, to the side of the trail such that the majority of his body would be obscured by a bush... There he stood whistling to himself...

Refeshing Mage Armor

[darkillini]

despite his earlier boast it can easily be seen that chained is not used to riding trotter. he can keep the same direction and speed as the rest, but he is not comfortable in a saddle at all, only having traveled with the horse in the past allows him to maintain control, as he normally walks beside trotter, who normally just carries the packs.
upon reaching the stream he attempts to dismount, fails miserably and ends up splashing in the stream when trotter goes to drink. upon gracefully standing up (some combination of a handstand and flip) he says "I meant to do that, its just a little hot out today and I felt like a quick dip." looking around at the others he quickly asks "has anyone seen any signs of anything out of the ordinary? I know we are still close to home, but we should stay wary"

[CaeruliusVentus]

"You are right that we should be ever watchful, though this glade is constantly watched by senses keener than our." Blade says with a slight tone of awe. "Besides we have bigger issues to deal with. With the exception of Hawkeye, we aren't going to be any good in a mounted fight. When we reach the stables at the foot of the mountains, we should leave the horses and only take one for carrying the supplies."

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye, after traveling with the main party for most of the day, says to Blue Blade "I'm willing to ride ahead in a scouting position if you'd like. As a leader I assume you have some way of contacting us over a small distance, like a horn or telepathy or something. Also, I don't know if they told you more than they told us, but I was under the impression that we were supposed to clear the outpost and make it more defensible afterward in case the enemy sends reinforcements.
I may not be very smart, but I do know that when it comes to moving 200 kg rocks that I'd rather have a horse and a pulley than try to do everything by hand. Also, I'd rather not leave the horses alone in the stable. Anyone who can take out an outpost can probably kill a few stable hands as well. If you're afraid for their well being than I say we leave the majority of the horses alone with Whisper in the woods. He's pretty good at getting other horses to do what he wants. Then, after we secure the outpost, I can ride the pack horse down and collect the rest of the horses to help reinforce the outpost structures."

"So, do you want me to scout ahead?"

[CaeruliusVentus]

"I forget that this is your first mission outside the mountains. The stables are more akin to a heavily guarded fortress that acts as the gateway to the mountain trail. Our horses will be as safe there as anywhere in Keto. The outpost by comparison is an outlying building that is hidden in some natural feature of the land. Usually when attacked, the scouts retreat to a better position and await reinforcements. We may have to retake the outpost or simply screen it for any traps left behind. If we needed to build anything, I assume the magistrates would sent a rock style soldier with us. I would have you scout, but a lone soldier is a tempting target. So we'll stay together until we get close to the outpost."

[Ahus]

Sir, May I suggest that Whisper, at least, remain with us. As you said Hawkeye would likely be pretty good in a mounted fight, I can keep up with Whisper on foot. Between the two of us we could very likely out pace any but the fastest Sun horsemen, should they try to flee.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Looking over at Hawkeye, "Certainly no reason to restrict your movement options. Whisper can stay with the group and the rest will go on foot." Blade stands up and moves to his horse, "Everyone ready to go again? We have about two more hours before we reach the stables."

[Ahus]

Ronin splashes some water on his face and takes a sip from his hands before climbing back on his horse.

Hawkeye, if Whisper is so good at getting other horses to do what he wants, do you think you could have him tell this guy to be a little nicer to me... Ronin says patting his horse's neck.

[darkillini]

aye I'm ready to go, if we run into any fliers when we get their I'l take um. mentions chained as he preforms an acrobatic remount onto trotter's back.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye looks at Ronin and asks "What do you want the horse to do?". He then hands Ronin a small bag with apples and carrots inside. "When we stop try giving the horse a carrot and rubbing it down. At least then he'll be more comfortable around you." He turns in his saddle to address Blue Blade "I'm fine with leaving the horses in a guarded fortress. Whisper is a warhorse though, not a pack mule. He can't fight effectively if he's carrying too much weight. That said, I think we can bring him along if Chained will deign to carry his own gear."

When they next stop Hawkeye will attempt to calm down Ronin's horse and determine what training it may have.

Handle Animal check: [roll0] - calm horse;
[roll1] - determine training

[darkillini]

carrying my esential gear shouldn't be a problem, il probably leave a few things at the stable. Id like to keep moving swiftly so im only going to bring a light load mentions chained as they ride on.

[CaeruliusVentus]

The sun is setting as the rock walls of the path give way to an old forest. Within a small clearing a short ways ahead is a low hill with a cave opening facing you. Blade signals for everyone to remain quiet and follow him in. He dismounts and leads his horse down into a smooth-walled passageway that quickly curves into an ark until you are walking toward the capitol from which you set out earlier. When the mouth of the cave is well out of sight, lamps appear along the wall and illuminate the tunnel well enough that shadows are not a problem.
After 10 minutes of walking, the tunnel suddenly opens up into a crater back in the mountains. Before you is a fortified stone structure surrounded by open grass fields. Blade speaks with the guards near the mouth of the tunnel and exchange something. Turning back to the party, "Welcome to the hidden stables of Earth. We will be staying the night here before heading out in the morning. First we should see that the horses are taken care of."
He leads the way to the gates of the fortress and then to the actual stables.


There isn't much to explore here as the place is military in nature and has only the basic buildings and amenities. Take what actions you want to, and then we can fast forward to the morning. Ask anything you want to know about the place in the OOC thread.

[canjowolf]

After seeing to the horses Hawkeye found a quiet spot to rest, meditate, and recover his energies. While meditating he began the mental exercises that prepared him for the possible carnage of the next day. This mental conditioning was a ritual practiced by his tribe whenever they prepared for battle or traveled on a long hunt. It drove away compromising feelings like pity, doubt, fear, and the sickness that comes with extreme violence, leaving behind a cold, calculating, unhesitating killer.

Yay for run on sentences!

[darkillini]

Chained after leading trotter to the stables and brushing him off/ feeding him decided to go look around the area. finding that there were no real locations to spend an evening really enjoying ones self, Chained decides to grab his bed roll from his supplies and hit the sack for the evening. returning to the stables he once again makes sure trotter is alright before grabbing his gear and hunkering down to sleep.

[Ahus]

Addressing BlueBlade, Sir, am I safe to presume that thescouts from the outpost would have returned here upon their escape form thier opposition? If so I would like to seek them out to learn what I may of the circumstances of their conflict as well as an approximation of the number of and capabilitirs displaied by their assailants.

Ronin slips off to the canteen in search of one of the scouts, after checking arround he learns that one of the men there named Binder was one of the men at the outpost.
Umm, Pardon me Mr. Binder, Sir. I hear that you were at the outpost that was recently overrun by the forces of Sun. My companions were sent here to assist in it's recapture. Unfortunately whatever information that was reported to the capitol has not been relayed to us. What can you tell me of the ones whom participated in the attack? How many? What weapons? Any displays of supernatural abilities? The like.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Sorry, I missed that you updated your post.


"Good to meet you, sit down and have a drink. We don't get any good drink out here, but enough to pretend that we are safe and celebrating. Now about the attackers. Well, I only saw three coming out of the trees but there are probably more. We left before they drew weapons and they didn't seem keen on sticking us full of arrows or bolts. As for any supernatural, they were mighty quiet but that could just be good sneaking."

During this time a goblet has been set in front of you with a thin reddish liquid. A sip reveals it to be little more than water that has been flavored with some kind of berry.

[CaeruliusVentus]

For the sake of keeping pace, I will skip to the next morning. If you want to talk to the scout more you can do it in the OOC thread.


The next morning, most of the party sets out on foot with Hawkeye mounted and Blades horse carrying supplies. Beyond the stables, the way becomes darker and more congested as the forest closes in around you. In the shadows you catch glimpses of large shapes moving occasionally, though they keep their distance. Around 2 o'clock Hawkeye's winged friend returns.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye casts speak with animals and asks Whoosh how she's doing. He also asks her what she saw near the outpost and if she has seen anything interesting or large on her journeys of the past two days. Hawkeye also gives her some meat.

[darkillini]

As they head towords their destination chained notices Whooshes return to the group. Interested in his companions animal friend he asks, "what does your feathery friend have to share? and will wait until hawkeye has gotten an awnser from whoosh to be awnsered himself.

[Ahus]

Ronin asses the large figures moving in the shadows. They do not appear to be an immediate threat. However, he remains on his guard.

FYI, Spot +14 to see if there Ronin can tell anything more about the creatures in the darkness.

[canjowolf]

After saying something to the bird Hawkeye turns to answer Chained. "She didn't see anyone milling about the outpost and she apparently hasn't seen anyone skulking about in the woods near us. She said something about a cat though so if the outpost was hit then they probably didn't kill everything inside.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Around 3 hours later, Blade stops everyone and says "The outpost is just ahead. Hawkeye and Ronin, you go ahead and scout the area. If you don't find anyone, return here. Do not go into the outpost alone. If you get in trouble, blow this whistle and we will provide backup. Chained, you find a place to hide near here with the horses while I scout around the outpost."

He hands over a small metal whistle to Ronin and vanishes. A moment later the plants are disturbed by an invisible figure.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye straps on his buckler, strings Scardashi, knocks an arrow, and proceeds to sneak around the area, looking for signs of an enemy.

Rolls

Hide: [roll0]
Move Silently: [roll1]
Search: [roll2]
Spot: [roll3]
Track (if needed): [roll4]
Initiative (if needed): [roll5]



Edit: Looks like I should have brought some elfy stuff of sneaking better.

[darkillini]

one whistle if you want us to storm in, two if you think we will need to group up first.
having said this chained will take the horses into the woods around them. And be on guard for interlopers.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Hawkeye and Ronin:

The ground rises into the steep side of a hill. Above most of the trees is an older and much taller tree. You sense nothing in the area although clearly someone moved quickly through this area recently. Approaching the great tree, you see that there is an unusually easy to climb arrangement to the branches and a rather odd bulge in the trunk about 30 ft up.


Chained

As you get to a spot away from the path, you become aware that the horses are agitated.

[darkillini]

"whoa there guys, don't need you running off on us now do we." whispers chained to the horses, not being a huge animal person, he dosn't know much he can do to calm them down. Then again if they are spooked, there must be something around him. Better be safe then sorry later he mumbles to himself taking the horses to a nearby tree and tieing their leads to it. "now this is gonna be a little disorienting for you guys, but hang in there with me. he says to the horses trying to get them ready for what he is about to do. once he says this is will conjure a globe of assassin's darkness around them. A pure black sphere appears in existence surrounding their area, nothing can see into it, and inside of it other then chained.

spell descrip:
7 minute duration (spell on page 95 of complete scoundrel, 40 foot radius centered on us, total concealment from those outside the sphere, as anything outside the sphere cannot see into it at all. all those inside other then me are blinded. I can see as if illuminated by a bright light within the area.)

[CaeruliusVentus]

Chained

The horse, initially scared by the darkness, calm down a little but are still agitated. The reason for this becomes apparent when, 30ft away from you, a serpentine head rises from the ground in much the way that a boulder doesn't. It begins moving in your general direction.


Hawkeye

You hear a cry from Woosh that generally indicates alarm. Woosh is still flying above the tops of the trees.

[Ahus]

With a silent nod to Blue Blade, Ronin heads into the underbrush off to Hawkeye's right. just before he completely disappears from Chained's view you hear him whisper Aramatura and notice a faint shimer cover him from head to toe before he fades into the background.

Using mage armor from ring
Hide [roll0]
Move silently [roll1]
Spot [roll2]

ooc: Sorry about the delay had a crazy weekend and valentines day with no power due to ice storm.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye taps Ronin on the shoulder and makes a circle in the air with his pointer finger. He then slips stealthily into the wood to see if he can find the source of the alarm.

[darkillini]

well now this looks fun, it seems like it wants to play in my special playground I've made, well there are some rules here, first you don't get to see, second... you get weaker! chained thinks to himself. As he points a finger at it and shoots. A ray of enfeeblement at the serpentine creature.

Ranged touch attack (crature is flat footed as well due to being blind)
[roll0]
Str damage [roll1] for 7 minutes can't reduce below 1 str.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Chained

Since the groups are separated, please post your actions in spoilers.

The snake begins to close faster and in a more determined way. The horses are scared to the point of thrashing about and trying to break free.

With a burst of speed , the snake strikes out at your general area. and bites Hawkeye's horse before pulling it back and curling around it. You hear the sound of bones crunching as the horse lets out a horrifying sound.

(OOC) Snakes use scent and other senses to track prey so the assassin dark doesn't provide total concealment. Though the target that got hit was randomly determined.



Hawkeye

You start into the woods, but before you get far you hear your horse making very desperate and altogether not good sounds. You can pinpoint the sound is coming from near where the group split up.


Ronin

See the description in above posting for what you see. Shortly after Hawkeye heads into the woods, you hear the sound of battle from where you came from.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye's Action

Hawkeye sneakily circles back towards the camp looking for a reargaurd. He trusts Whisper to be able to fight or run away from most things and it doesn't enter his head that the horse guard would tie up the trained warhorse and prevent it from doing anything. He also casts cat's grace along the way.

[darkillini]

im going to be assigning my dodge on the snake until something else makes sense to. (+2ac vrs it)
blasted snake im the one you should worry about says chained trying to draw its atention away from the horses.

Full attack on snake
attack 1 [roll0]
damage phys [roll1]
dmg acid [roll2]

Attack 2 [roll3]
Dmg phys [roll4]
acid dmg[roll5]
then 5 foot step away from horses to a spot 15 feet from snake no move silent trying to draw away from other horse.

[CaeruliusVentus]

(OOC: Essentially everyone is back in the same area (and on the same init). So no spoilers, but keep in mind the seeing difficulties.)

Hawkeye moves through the brush and encounters a larger area of pure darkness. Sounds of struggle are coming from it and the smell of blood is starting fill the air.

Inside the darkness, the snake hisses as the chain bites into its skin. While moving closer, it loosens the grip on the horse before striking out at the source of its pain. The massive head is quick but not accurate, and it crashes into the trees to the right of Chained.

[canjowolf]

Well, fighting in magical darkness is not really his thing, so Hawkeye circles around the area looking for scouts or ambushers who might be waiting for the darkness to drop in order to pounce.

[darkillini]

Noticing hawkeye circling the area Chained will shout, Hawk Huge snake! will drop darkness sphere next chance i get be ready!

swift action: activate travel devotion
continue declaring dodge on snake.

full attack on the snake again
attack 1 [roll0]
physical damage [roll]2d4+6]
acid damage [roll1]
attack 2 [roll2]
physical damage [roll]2d4+6]
acid damage [roll3]

5 foot step away from snake to 15 foot range, and away from last horse again.
*edit screwed up physical rolls will put in ooc

[CaeruliusVentus]

The snake makes another attempt to strike Chained but to no avail. Granted only Chained can see it, but the snake is not looking so good.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye knocks two arrows and prepares to attack the creature in the darkness. He is too focused to wonder where the rest of his group is.

[darkillini]

Well if it looks hurt might as well finish it..

Chained shouts "its almost dead il drop the darkness if it gets a grip on me"

Dodge on snake
Full attack again on snake
attack 1 [roll0]
Phys dmg[roll1]
Acid dmg[roll2]

Attack 2[roll3]
Phys dmg[roll4]
Acid dmg[roll5]

[CaeruliusVentus]

With a resounding thump, the snake crashes to the ground. The remaining horse continues making its alarm known, but the snake gives no signs of life.

[darkillini]

Chained will whack the snake to make sure its dead, then dispell the darkness sphere, and say to hawkeye "Its dead, it attacked when I raised the dark sphere around us, I think I ruined its ambush. Unfortunatly it struck out at me and the horses and conected with your horse, it was over in a flash, it crushed the poor beast. Im sorry hawkeye I couldn't stop the thing in time." saying that he will walk over to the downed horse and see if there's any life left in it at all, if there is he will burn his 3 daily charges from his healing belt to heal it. "did you or ronnin see any odd shaped lumps around when scouting, this beast rose after looking like a large stone."

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye continues to scan the surrounding area for signs of life and says "I've only seen shadows, and I'm not sure where the other two got off to".

[darkillini]

Seeing the horse coming around, chained mentions to hawkeye. plesent surprise you horse should be fine now, might want to calm (her/him) down though a bit, that snake may have crushed a bone or two when it grabed it, also might want to see if they sense anything else about.

[CaeruliusVentus]

As if on cue, Blue Blade appears out of the air with the sword in his hands. From behind, you can hear Ronin coming down the hill.

"Well done with the snake. I was on the other side of the hill when I heard the commotion. Are the horses safe?" He says.

Edit: There is no other sign of life in the area, and Woosh has calmed down. The horses will take more effort.

[darkillini]

Aye they should be, almost lost one when the snake initially struck, but the bugger held on long enough to get healed after. You see anything around the base? as chained says this he walks over to the giant snake and looks if there are any markings on it or anything. did any of the scouts from the area mention the huge suckers?

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye attempts to calm the horses by whispering words in a reassuring voice and putting his hands on their noses.

Handle Animal: [roll0]

[CaeruliusVentus]

The horses become manageable but still scared.
The snake has a brown and grey pattern to it. The colors blend in well with the dirt and rocks in the area.

"There wasn't anyone on the other side of the hill or in the area that I could sense. Snakes like that and other monsters are common enough in this area, that they tend to get ignored. It must have been the horses that attracted this one. What did you find at the top of the hill?"

[canjowolf]

"The only thing of note that I noticed was a treestand in a big tree that looked like it could be a scouting post. Maybe Ronin saw more".

Hawkeye proceeds to skin the snake and put it's meat into bags with herb to dry and flavor it. He hasn't heard anything about monsters being toxic to eat, and the skin might be semi-valuable if he finds time to tan it.

[CaeruliusVentus]

"Good, that is all there should be up there. It doesn't appear anyone stayed behind to ambush us. We should go check out the outpost, and make it secure until the scouts return. Chained, you and Ronin take the lead while Hawkeye and I see to the horses. Be careful, there are probably traps inside the outpost." Blade begins the task of calming down his horse.

[darkillini]

Chained begins to move towards the area hawkeye and blueblade indicated as the location of the outpost Sir, if you had to guess what do you think they would set up, trip wires? or pits? just wondering since I have little experience with traps. chained uncharacteristically asks, missing the chance to speak out and exaggerate. He is clearly drained from facing the snake over twice his size, and is not in his normal messing around mood. he will stop once the tree is in sight.

[canjowolf]

It probably takes a while for Hawkeye to finish cleaning the snake, but after that he helps Blue Blade with the horses and inspects Whisper for residual damage.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Whisper has some broken bones that will need to be tended to later, but the healing has removed any immediate danger.


Blade looks over the tree, "There may be trip wires, but they will probably use scroll bombs since they are easy to set up quickly. I can find them easier than most, but I'm not the quickest at reacting. That would be you, Ronin. I'll climb up to one of the branches, and then you climb up there to collect the traps. With the help of Blue Blade, I'll sense if if you get all of the traps." He gives a quick description of scroll bombs (see ooc) before climbing the tree to a spot below the bulge in the trunk.

[Ahus]

I will clear a path for us.

My concern with scroll bombs is that, if I remember correctly, you have to cut the writing out without disturbing the ink in order to disarm them. Can you burn the writing out?

[CaeruliusVentus]

"You would need to be very precise and that means getting close anyway. If you can locate the traps, any that aren't set off by your presence I can take care of."

[CaeruliusVentus]

For Ronin

You enter the outpost and find a spacious wooden room with rough wooden furniture. Mats cover the floor at various points and several forest themed hangings are on the walls. A bookshelf is on your right, but there are only 4 books on it. A table in the middle of the room has a piece of carved wood with an intricate design carved and painted on it.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Ronin disappears into the outpost. 3 small explosions later, he sticks his head out apparently unharmed and motions to Blade. The two re-enter the outpost and you here a sword slicing. Blade appears and motions for the rest to come into the outpost.

The outpost is a magically formed room within the trunk of the tree. Through the lingering wisps of smoke you see basic furniture made of wood and simple decorations on the walls. The outer wall is ringed with small windows that are designed to give the maximum view over the surrounding area.

Ronin is unharmed, though there is are pieces of wood on the table that appear to be freshly cut.

"It appears the attackers didn't care much for the place or were moving quickly, since they didn't take much time for an elaborate traps. The scouts should return by tomorrow, so we should do our best to fortify before getting rest."

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye unloads the horse and stores his arrows in strategic locations around the area. He then begins sharpening wooden branches with a hand axe to create faux-javelins and tying them up in the tree. He plans to use them to distract the enemy if they are attacked before the scouts arrive.

[darkillini]

Chained will go about erasing any signs of occupation he can find from the outside not being good at fortifying a single location, he tries to conceal the location of the location.

[CaeruliusVentus]

The night passes quietly and without incident. The following day around noon, Hawkeye notices a light flashing in the woods. The light does not appear to be moving.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye confers with the other members of his group and points out the flashing light and asks them what they think about it. While doing so he keeps an eye out in case it's a trick to get them to drop their guard.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Blade moves to the window and stares out for about a minute. "It's the scouts. The pattern of the flashes is a code. Here, I'll send the response." His sword, which was on the other side of the room, disappeared and reappeared in his hand. Holding it in front of the window and flicking it backward and forward to reflect the light through the window.

Eventually he put the sword down, "They'll be here soon. Set the defenses aside, but don't put them away just yet. Ronin, go find a place to hide and watch. I'll go down and meet them."

[darkillini]

this is a little odd mentions chained to hawkeye once blade is out of earshot, when did we find out about the scouts signal? Your more the scouting type, did you ever spend anytime with groups like this? Is this the normal type of singal they use?

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye glances at Chained and says "Yes, flashing lights make good signals because they are relatively hard to intercept and it is much easier to find the supplies to make a light signal than it is to find a person who can send a signal with their powers. I've never seen someone use a sword to signal though. They don't really have enough surface area or the proper shape to direct light where you want it to go. Normally you would use a mirror. Also, light signals are so common that our enemies may have broken our code and are trying to trick us. The scouts were supposed to come back soon though, so do not worry about it too much. Just stay watchful as we always are".

[CaeruliusVentus]

Several minutes later, 3 figures emerge from the tree line and move toward to outpost. One of them is soldier you spoke with at the stables. Blade approaches them, and they proceed to talk quietly.

Blade motions for everyone to come down.

[darkillini]

well let's go says chained as he heads to the door, carefully steping past the cut wood blocks that were the traps, unsure if they could blow again or not. As he reaches the door he calls back don't forget to close the door behind ya, wouldn't want any snakes getting in while were gone would we?

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye goes with the others.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Even as Hawkeye and Chained climb out of the tree, the scouts are climbing up. When the party is once again united on the ground, Blade motions for everyone to follow him as he returns to where the horses have been kept.

Once on the road again, Blade explains that the switch out was done quickly so that they wouldn't have too many people out in the open at one time.

It will take a while to get back to the stables, but the sun is shining and the worst of your job is done.

[CaeruliusVentus]

The ride back is accomplished in a quiet and austere manner. Everything proceeds smoothly at the stables and the journey to the city is a similarly somnolent trip. Soon enough, you are passing through the gates and heading for the military center to report success.

The tall officer behind the desk takes Blades account of the mission and hands over collection of paper. As Blade leads everyone out he begins handing out the parchment. Each one is a bank note for 400 gp for completing the mission. (these can be used like gp without issue as long as you are in the city)
The last piece of paper is the next assignment.


Now that you are familiar with how outposts generally work, you will attack a sun army outpost at ((coordinates listed)). The latest intelligence says the outpost is in a plain hidden by an illusion.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye asks if Blade will be coming with us again and if he has some way to see through illusions.

[CaeruliusVentus]

"I'll likely be with you all for a while longer. As to your other question, I'm not good at breaking illusions but this sword specializes in that sort of thing."

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye says "Understood" and buys about 100' of silk rope and takes whatever actions he needs to to get whisper into good health. He also plays with Whoosh if there is time and says "I have everything I need".

[darkillini]

I myself am also currently working on a method to break illusions, however at this point it still evades my use, perhaps by the time we reach the location, I will have figured it out.

[CaeruliusVentus]

After making whatever preparations are necessary (post it in the OOC), the party finds itself one day out from the stables. The first day was easy going as the weather was sunny with a quick wind. Now the wind has become stronger so that the must contend with gusts of wind strong enough to check the horses.

Currently the party is traveling through a forest, dodging between trees to avoid the wind.

Hawkeye:

You think you see something that isn't quite right.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye looks up to see if Whoosh is circling over anything and looks to the other animals to see if they are nervous.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Woosh does not appear to be reacting to anything in the area. Everybody, however, reacts when a wall of darkness rises from the ground in front of the group.


we are using group initiative and they will act first once everyone has marked their place on the map.
Battle map (https://spreadsheets0.google.com/ccc?authkey=CJ2azcQL&hl=en&key=t6IvlxgtCMI-LGdDE1Y7LaA&hl=en&authkey=CJ2azcQL#gid=0)

you should be able to edit it, so pick a square, color it, put your name on it.

[darkillini]

chained jumps off foreword of trotter once the wall rises cursing sonofa crap, trotter get back trying to direct trotter to retreat.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye turns Whisper and rides to flank the wall of darkness (edit: along the orange trail assuming the wall appeared in front of blade and Ronin). He gets out a pair of daggers to throw at any enemy that presents its self.

[CaeruliusVentus]

An arrow hits Blade and lodges in his shoulder while a crossbow bolt sticks itself in Ronin. Two more missiles fly through the air, but they miss their targets. Because the attacked, two figures can now be picked out where they were hiding in the foliage.


Now you act. Blade and Ronin will act after you post.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye throws both dagger at person one.

[darkillini]

I'l make it an attempted fast dismount [roll0] dc 20, if fail dismount= move action.

swift activate travel devotion,

if passed above: move action: move to L13, and attack person 2.
attack roll [roll1]
damage [roll2] phys
acid[roll3]

if fail move to L13= standard action.

chained gets 5 Aoo/ round in 10 foot range around him.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Hawkeye's daggers bounce off of the tree near th target. Chained succeeds in dismounting quickly, but his attack misses. Blade moves before swinging his sword and drawing blood from person 1. Ronin moves up and punches person 1.

Person 1 steps back and breathes a cone of icy water that freezes on everything it touches. Blade takes the damage but Ronin evades.

Person 2 vanishes for a moment before striking out with a small blade against Chained. The blade strikes true for 14 damage. Another figure appears behind Chained after attacking with a blade for 15 damage.

The wind this round is normal.

[darkillini]

ouch. time to try something else

free: anklet to j15

standard : activate healing belt all charges for [roll0] healing to himself

move+ travel devotion move to F6 (60 foot movement) no aoo from what i can currently see.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye draws out his handaxe and maneuvers whisper in preparation to charge person 1 next turn. He also yells at the trotter to try to get it out of harm's way.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Blade moves to Chained and touches him with a glowing hand.

Cure critical wounds
[roll0]


Ronin takes a 5ft step and uses flurry of blows and lands 1 punch.

Person 1 drops the bow and draws a short sword. The subsequent swing misses.
Person 2 vanishes from view. Person 3 vanishes and reappears in a different place after firing a bolt at Hawkeye. The shot hits for 12 damage.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye charges person 1, preferably in such a way that he can flank it with Ronin (I'm including a +2 flanking bonus in my roll below).

[roll0]

[canjowolf]

Probably should have included damage in the above post. I also forgot my mount modifier of +1 to hit (higher ground) so that should have been a 27, not that it should matter. What armor do the attackers seem to be wearing?

Damage: [roll0]

[darkillini]

Chained turns towords person 3.
I've had enough of your nonsense bolts
points a finger at a spot near him and summons a globe of assasin's darkness to cover the area. (I marked the center of the 40 foot radius sphere on the map. Il try to color map soon)

Swift move to I1 to try and get aoos vrs person 1 (7 turns of travel devotion left)

[CaeruliusVentus]

Chained

I changed your movement because Hawkeye's move hadn't been marked yet. It should be a roughly equal position.


Ronin flurries, but only lands one hit.
Blade concentrates for a moment before vanishing.

Person 1 tries to cast something, but gets beaten into the ground by the AoOs.
Person 2 and Person 3 can't be seen at the moment and they do nothing that can be identified by the rest of the group.

[darkillini]

Chained moves next to hawkeye and touches him with a glowing hand
cure moderate wounds
[roll0]
say when your ready and il drop the sphere, they will be able to see us again, and vice versa he whispers to hawk

[canjowolf]

"We should take care of this one first" says Hawkeye as he full attacks person 1.

Attack 1: [roll0]
Attack 2: [roll1]
Crit Confirm Base: [roll2]
Damage 1 [roll3]
Damage 2 [roll4]

Hawkeye takes out Scardashi, his bow, and strings it. He then readies himself to fire at the enemy when the darkness falls. Once he is prepared he says "I am ready"

This would probably take 2 or 3 rounds, so I don't know how you want to handle it. I imagine that it would take at least a full round to string the bow.

[CaeruliusVentus]

While in reality you would need to go through stringing the bow, but RAW doesn't make the distinction. So getting ready only takes a single turn.
I guess we can say the bow is magical so it can be strung all of the time.


Ronin gets set to charge once the darknesses is lifted.
The sound of a blade swinging through the air rings out louder than you would expect.

After that, silence comes from the darkness.

[darkillini]

Chained moves to J13 (move+ swift move) to the inner side of the assasin darkness sphere to see the interior before he drops the darkness.
what does he see on the interior of the sphere, since he cast it? planning on droping the sphere if nothing about to strike him

[CaeruliusVentus]

He sees Blade seemingly fighting with thin air.

[darkillini]

Chained assumes a total defense position(+4 ac if im not mistaken), and mentally dissmisses the darkness sphere.

[CaeruliusVentus]

+4 unless you have 5 or more ranks in tumble in which case it is +6.
Dismissing a spell(-like ability) is a standard action though, so you can't take a total defense this round.


The darkness clears to reveal Blade standing in a fighting stance surrounded by no-one.

[canjowolf]

Haweye keeps his bow ready and continues to look around the area, seeking the distortions that sometimes reveal a camouflaged or invisible creature.

[darkillini]

Chained looks towords blade and says where can you see those two? while he readies himself to lash out at any enemy that apperes within his range. (Ready action, other then aoo to attack first enemy that apperes within his range.)

[CaeruliusVentus]

Ronin moves up by Chained. Blade moves and swings his sword, which extends to 10 ft for a fraction of a second and returns with blood on the edge. "Right in front of us..." he manages to get out before.

Just then, both figures appear as two bolts fly at Chained. One misses, but another one hits for 13 damage.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye shoots a trio of arrows at person 3 as he activates the bow's magical powers of death and destruction.

Rolls

Attack Roll 1: [roll0]
Attack Roll 2: [roll1]
Attack Roll 3: [roll2]
Crit Roll 1: [roll3]
Crit Roll 2: [roll4]
Crit Roll 3: [roll5]

Damage Roll 1: [roll6] + [roll7]
Damage Roll 2: [roll8] + [roll9]
Damage Roll 3: [roll10] + [roll11]

Well, that should be a grand total of 25 damage on the first arrow, plus more if the other arrows hit. Yay for crits :smallbiggrin:.

[darkillini]

Chained uses his active travel devotion to swift move to H15. Before whipping the swamp lord several times at person 3

attack1 [roll0]
damage [roll1]+[roll2]acid

Attack 2 [roll3]
damage [roll4] + [roll5] acid

[darkillini]

forgot to add dmg modifiers add 6 to both physical damage rolls

[CaeruliusVentus]

Not sure how you are getting the critical being 25 damage. From my understanding the damage would be 3d8+1d6+12.


Between Hawkeye's first arrow and Chained's onslaught, person 3 dies in a pitiful way.
Blade eviscerates person 2 in an unpleasant manner. Ronin looks around to see if there is any other signs of life.

The wall of darkness fades into the air.

((end tactical))

[darkillini]

Wasn't a critical was a full attack, travel devotion let's me move my base land speed as a swift action, allows me to still make a full attack after the movement.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye proceeds to loot the bodies of the dead, especially looking for any messages, orders, or possible unactivated scroll bombs.

For the crit I did (4+4)x3+1=25 which is (1d8+4)[physical]x3+1d6[shock].

[darkillini]

Chained checks to see if anyone needs any light healing, then goes to help hawkeye find some form of orders/ identification on the men.

cure moderate wound on self [roll0]
7/10 ability points left for the day

[CaeruliusVentus]

((the comment was to Hawkeye. sorry for not clarifying))

Hawkeye

The rules seem vague as to whether it multiplies dice or the result of the first dice. I think it works out more evenly to multiply the number of dice (treat it as hitting multiple times). In this case it didn't matter.


Person 1 is wearing studded leather and has a longbow and a shortsword. The other two have no armor, but they each have a crossbow and a kukri. Between them there is 20 arrows and 32 bolts. You find an empty bottle of poison.

Chained finds a rolled up piece of paper on one of the people. Opening it reveals a page of strange figures that looks like some kind of code.

[darkillini]

was it the kuhkuris that damaged chained? Im assuming it was since they are small blades.

Chained goes to take one of the kukris. tis a good blade to hit me well, I think il take it as a reminder to not just charge

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye claims three arrows and takes an ear from anyone that he actually brought down (the way the deaths were posted I'm not sure who finished off who for the most part). He also dismantles the right hand of the bowman so that he can't shoot things in the afterlife, keeping the pointer finger to feed to Whoosh later. He then gathers the horses and checks to see if Whoosh is doing anything notable.

When he has done all that Hawkeye gathers with the rest of the group to contribute to any discussion.

[darkillini]

do any of you recognize this code? I've been trying to figure it out as he shows the coded message.

whatever knowledge or skill check to understand it

[CaeruliusVentus]

The markings don't give up any secrets to anyone in the group. "We can take it back and let the intelligence office handle it. They are better at this sort of thing. Gather up what you want from the bodies. We will push on until we find a good spot to rest for the night and continue tomorrow."


I have in-laws coming into town, so I may not be able to post often until sunday.

[darkillini]

Chained will take both the kukris and see to trotter. im ready to leave this place.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye attempts to locate his missing daggers, then joins the group on its way back home.

[CaeruliusVentus]

The rest of the day is uneventful. You find a stream with a stand of large bushes nearby. Blade instructs Hawkeye to tether the horses and get them ready for the night. Meanwhile, he takes out a rope and uncoils it on the ground. A bit of concentration later and the rope begins to rise on its own until the end vanishes into nothingness. "We won't be able to have fire tonight, but we aren't likely to be discovered. Do what you can to heal up and then follow me up the rope."


Rope trick, so everyone sleeps in an extra dimensional bubble.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye does as instructed and asks if they will be able to hear things in the real world from inside the rope space. If so he instructs Whoosh to call if anything dangerous to horses or people approaches the camp, although since it's night time Whoosh is probably going to be sleeping.

[CaeruliusVentus]

"We will be able to hear and see out of the space, so we can keep watch for danger. But anything passing through will be unaware of our presence."

[darkillini]

im set for the night. mentions chained as he turns from taking care of trotter. he reaches the rope and jumps up letting his hands not grip the rope the first time. opps now how do i use this? he mutters as he slides down. and stares at it confounded nah im just kidding he quickly states and climbs up

[canjowolf]

Once ready Hawkeye climbs the rope and does his turn at the night shifts, resting when not on duty.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Blade pulls the rope up after them once everyone is inside. Whether the rope trick helped or not, the night is quiet.

The next morning the party continues on the way and makes it to the edge of the Sun territory. Before them is a wide plain with tall wild grasses.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye continues his scouting duties, and tries to feed Whoosh surreptitiously, as some people would take offense to the feeding habits. He also checks for animal tracks as part of his scouting duties, although they may not have time to go hunting on this expedition. With the relatively open plains he trusts Whoosh to notice anything dangerous long before it reaches them, barring teleportation and other shenanigans.

[darkillini]

well at least they may not see us coming with the grass. sadley we can't see them either... i say we just burn the whole field, you know even the playing field says chained in jest, with a large smile on his face.

[CaeruliusVentus]

The grass, as noted by Chained, is a bit of a challenge. The horses will have no trouble moving through it at any speed, but any such rider would be easily seen. On foot a small character would be completely covered, while a medium character would be somewhere in between.

In discussing it as a group, you come to the following conclusions:
Anyone out in the open is likely to be spotted by Woosh.
The hideout is either somehow invisible or hidden in a natural feature.
Blade can find something invisible, but has to get close to it first.
If the outpost is occupied by scouts like those of the Earth army, then they will run at the first sign of an attack.

[darkillini]

again, I say we burn it, at least a small portion, the scouts should have to investigate at least. When one comes then we jump him, we may even be able to see him coming through the long grass is we hide back in the trees.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye is leery of setting fires saying "Fires are dangerous. They have to be getting supplies somehow. I don't suppose that scouting squads normally employ teleportation logistics or food creationists do they? If not we might be able to ambush their supply caravan to get the location of the base. Do we want these scouts alive or dead?".

[CaeruliusVentus]

"Creating food is relatively simple for those trained in it. Teleporting over anything but short distances is much rarer. Most scouting groups are designed to be self-sustaining, so we can't count on a supply train. As for fire, it might make our job easier but would land all of us in serious trouble back home. Doing anything that major could spark an all out war between the armies and leaving the Earth to blame. Our purpose is to be discrete and precise."

[darkillini]

what would you estimate the probability of them seeing invisible units at? questions chained, slightly dejected at the idea of no fire. for I've got an idea if its unlikley that they havve that capability.

[CaeruliusVentus]

"Now that is more rare. Even if they can see invisible things, it will only be at short range. Someone invisible could get pretty close."

[darkillini]

good, because i have the ability to allow one to fly, which would takeout any obnoxious moving gras givaways. you both ahve the ability to go invisiable. I suggest we put these to use along with my granting flight ability, to have you two scout out the area from above. It should allow you to get a good arial view, and it could allow you to find the base without detction.

[canjowolf]

"Do any of you have an idea as to what to look for to find an invisible outpost?" asks Hawkeye

[CaeruliusVentus]

"Depends on how powerful the illusion is. If we are lucky it will just be an oddly shaped empty patch in the field. Since the horses will have the advantage in this terrain and that is Hawkeye's specialty, how about I search from the sky with Woosh while the rest search on the ground. If we can get close enough to spook them, we can probably take them in an open race."

[darkillini]

I should join you in the sky, I would be a hinderance on the ground as I don't ride in combat.

[CaeruliusVentus]

"If Hawkeye can provide you with invisibility, then that should be fine."

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye casts improved invisibility on Chained, himself, and the horses. He also casts cat's grace on himself and one enchantment on his arrows.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Hawkeye

If you are using your abilities for all of it, that would be 17 energy or 3*4+2+3.
Since you have 9 energy when you are full, that would mean burning 8 con to bring you to 6.
Is that what you were intending?

[darkillini]

when did using any of our abilities start using more then 1 point for each one? That's what I've been assuming, from what I read of the initial proposed system?

[canjowolf]

I also thought that it was 1 energy for each spell.

[CaeruliusVentus]

I maybe should have emphasized it, but here is the text from the original post:

Each player will, at creation, choose a progression of spell like abilities similar to the set of spells in a cleric's domain (ie one every 2 levels). These spells can be chosen from any spell list (arcane or divine) except warlock. A material cost at or below 100gp can be ignored but anything more than 100 or with an xp cost will still need to be paid every time the ability is used. Using one of these abilities costs 1 energy per spell level. A character's energy is refilled each day after a full night sleep.
A character's energy pool is character level + Int mod.
A character that has run out of energy during a day can burn constitution at a rate of 1 con score = 1 energy.

[CaeruliusVentus]

This is assuming Chained uses fly on himself and Blade.


While the two fliers move invisibly through the air, the other two stay on the ground follow a small distance away. You would have to be pretty high up above the ground to see the path through the tall grasses of the two walkers.

The view from the air may be pretty, but is not going well. Despite moving quickly and having started near the best guess for the outpost, there is no sign of it. The ground is surprisingly filled with hillocks, but so far all of them have been without remarkable life.

It is Chained who first catches something out of the corner of his eye, though nothing concrete. He and Blade move closer to investigate and Blade uses his sword to try to see through any invisibility. The consensus is that the particular is inhabited by soldiers and is protected by a weak glamer.

Edit:
Blade signals for Chained to get the others while he circles around the other side. Once the group is together, they should attack and he will join in from the other side.

[darkillini]

chained circles back and flys down to hawkeye.

queitly he says we've found the location, we're to attack from the front blade will circle behind.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye sneaks into position and looks for enemies to shoot with his bow.

[darkillini]

so me and hawkeye both have greater invis on, so we can attack and stay invis

Chained flysat a low altitude near hawkeye, ready with his chain if anything comes up.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Ronin takes on a brownish hue and sinks down into the earth.

Batlle map (https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArOt4Os9vP74dHlYN3pjZG1TR0Q1UzdpbTFIWmEwO VE&hl=en&authkey=CNi2_1M#gid=0)


Is anyone going to make the first move, or will you wait to see what happens?

[darkillini]

we still never got an awnser on wether alive or dead is the mission here. wouldn't casulties result in it being an act of war?

[CaeruliusVentus]

Thanks for the reminder. I must have missed the question.
The world is in a kind of cold war where the mutually assured destruction is in the form of an all out war. Whoever starts the war has to fight the other two and none of them is strong enough to do that. Small skirmishes and casualties are normal and the only hope of keeping the balance. The three armies are declared enemies of each other and technically in a state of war. No one wants to do something big enough to spark an all out war for the reason above. Killing some scouts is nothing. Setting a large fire that would burn up most of the Sun's land could escalate. Using a major ability to directly attack the an enemy city would be the nuclear option (think tornado or tsunami).
There really is shades of gray in this world, but you aren't likely to accidentally set off a full war.

[canjowolf]

Are those distances horizontal or elevations? Also, Hawkeye tries to get close enough to see if anyone appears to be home.

[CaeruliusVentus]

The distance in parenthesis after a name are elevation. The numbers associated with the different colors are the elevation of the ground above the surrounding plains.


The hill seems very normal. No signs of life are apparent.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye moves forward and up the hill until he encounters a barrier. He tries to keep feeling the ground ahead of him so as not to fall into any invisible pits while he does this.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Hawkeye

As you get close to the foot of the mound (10 ft away), your mind feels something pushing against it but you are able to resist it's tug. A moment later, the earth rises up around you in the form of a hand and it grabs you. You are grappled.


Everyone else

As Hawkeye moved toward the mound, you are surprised to hear the sound of someone walking through the crunching grass.


Now in tactical (they won initiative).
The air flutters for a moment before it is filled with the sound of weapons clashing and armor crashing.
Go ahead and act.

[darkillini]

chained hearing the noise of battle will fly foreword to J16+15 ft and ready an action to launch a ray of enfeablement at the first enamy he sees (while staying invis due to the greater invis :smallamused:)

[CaeruliusVentus]

Chained sees a earthen hand reaching out of the ground and looking like it is holding something, but it is empty.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye attempts to escape the situation that he is in.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Make a grapple check.

[canjowolf]

Grapple Check: [roll0]

[CaeruliusVentus]

Hawkeye succeeds and is able to escape the grapple with a move action left.

[canjowolf]

He moves away from the hand, to the right.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Ronin gets hit with a backlash of DM memory as the tunnel speed is correctly replaced with damage reduction from the spell he used. He appears in the grass near the others, but still with the earthen hue.


Ronin moves up to the hill and stands in preparation for an attack (total defense). Blade becomes visible and charges the other side of the hill.

An explosion of fire erupts from the other side of the hill where Blade is.
An opening appears in the hill and two figures can be seen in the space inside.

[darkillini]

i believe figure 1 triggers chained's readied action.
if so
ranged touch attack [roll0]
str damage [roll1]

*edit dang the rng hates me recently 2 2s.. comon low touch acs lol

[CaeruliusVentus]

The ray misses. Chained make a reflex save.

Chained focuses to extend the debilitating ray, but in the clashing sound coming from the air itself is too much and his concentration falters. Since the ray never appears, his presence is still secret.

Smoke is coming up from the other side of the hill.

[canjowolf]

Hawkeye examines the two figures to see approximately what type of armor are weapons they are using and prepares to let loose with a rain of arrows.

[CaeruliusVentus]

Both are arrayed in dark cloth and glints of metallic weapons are occasionally seen in the gloom of the hill.

Edit: you can attack if you wish.

[darkillini]

sorry missed that it flipped abck to our turn, and ive been busy this weekend. sorry again.

chained will fly to I14 (+30) to see over the building as to whats causing the smoke on the other side (just his move action, what he sees dictates rest)

[CaeruliusVentus]

He sees a growing fire in the grass on the other side. Something big exploded, in your reckoning.

[darkillini]

hmm. Big bada boom he thinks to himself as he readies an action to shoot a ray if one of the guys inside comes out.


sorry had exams last week, and the game completely slipped out of my mind,

[CaeruliusVentus]

Ronin moves forward to try and stop the two in the hill. On the way he lets out a cry of pain that is barely audible. Unfortunately, his attempt to trip fails.

Blade doesn't emerge from the fire on the other side of the hill.

The fire erupts in a burst of blinding light that extinguishes the fire and fails to blind anyone.

Two figures emerge from the back of the hill and make a run for it. Chained's ray misses both of them. ((rolled a 2)) The two figures are only 30 ft from the hill.

A spike of stone fills up the entrance and the two figures disappear inside.

Next up.

[darkillini]

they went out the back! chained says and flys after the two who ran off. If they get inside of range he will assasin darkness around them to blind them

[CaeruliusVentus]

Chained is able to get close enough with a double move (though the spell has medium range and is centered on a point. So you can move and then cast it around them.)