Birth of a Nation (Solo RHoD for OMG_PONIES)

[ghostaxe]

OOC knowledge, please read but don't act on:


Please refer to the map on page 9 of RHoD. Note that the army has been changed from goblins to orc. Other things are also changed to keep the game fun, but the game will roughly follow a RHoD-like experience. Two important changes of note: First, Dennovar is much bigger than in the original RHoD, being a metropolis (population 200,000). (Brindol is still roughly the same size, however). Second, the Elsir River is a commercial route, through which iron and minerals mined in the Wyrmsmoke Mountains are transported to Brindol, where it is then delivered by land caravan to Dennovar. There is also a major human port metropolis of Dreenal about 200 miles to the northwest of the Wyrmsmoke Mountains.

Iberim, Adalia's father, had gotten wind of news of an orcish uprising in the west, near the Westdeep and the the Wyrmsmoke Mountains. Orcs from the Westdeep have traditionally lived off the land, following nature's customs, while orcs in the Wyrmsmoke Mountains typically were employed by large companies as miners and prospecters. For many decades, these two groups of orcs have had only sporadic contact, to the point where their languages had diverged, so that a forest-dwelling orc can barely understand a mountain-dwelling orc.

Thus, Iberim was quite disturbed by reports that the two groups of orcs have begun to merge. Whispered rumors have been spreading that a highly charismatic young orc has been uniting the traditionally oppressed orc miners and the technologically backwards forest orcs, to build a new orc nation.

Iberim, as ruler of the seelie in Marth Forest, is a bit concerned about what an orc nation next to his realm would mean, and while he doesn't necessarily oppose it, he certainly wants to be sure that the nation isn't strong enough to envelope his domain.


Milo, you are currently heading northwest from the little town of Drellin's Ferry. Your future father-in-law Iberim ordered you to head to Brindol to seek further instructions from the human Lady Verrasa Kaal. Lady Kaal was nice enough to you (she even had her maids give you some yummy cookies!), and simply asked for you to investigate the Orc activity in the Wyrmsmoke Mountains. You are to report back to her afterwards. According to Kaal, there are some orcs causing trouble in that area, and you are to see if it's just the usual miner disgruntlement, or if it's more.

Please describe how you're travelling (Flying or walking or riding a horse).


Also, I'm assuming that your Ring of Protection +1 *is* the engagement ring. Don't lose or sell it!


Milo's character sheet (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=10253), for easy reference

Other game link (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10418067#post10418067)

Recruit post for the record:

I've been wanting to play a solo game of Red Hand of Doom for a while... RHoD has quite a few memorable NPCs, and it'd be fun to role-play in an unrestricted manner given the setting. But good DMs are hard to come by, so I'm willing to also DM a solo game of Red Hand of Doom in exchange.

Requirements:

- Must post multiple times a day.
- Must have decent understanding of D&D gameplay rules.
- Must have decent mastery of common sense.
- Must be able to tactically control monsters well in combat, and make dynamic modifications to monsters.

Accepting on basis of the above four.

Below are the (tentative) 16. I'm open to changes to any of these though.



1. What game system are you running (D&D, Call of Cthulu, Palladium, GURPS, etc.), and if applicable what edition (Original, Classic, Revised, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th, etc.)?

D&D 3.5

2. What 'type' or variant of game will it be (i.e. "Shadow Chasers" or "Agents of Psi" for d20 Modern)? What is the setting for the game (eg. historic period, published or homebrewed campaign setting, alternate reality, modern world, etc.)?

Red Hand of Doom. Monsters will be powered up and played intelligently. Certain areas and NPCs will be altered to provide more flavor.

3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?

Exactly 1 player, who will also serve as my DM in a parallel game.

4. What's the gaming medium (OOTS, chat, e-mail etc.)?

Forums.

5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?

RHoD is supposed to be for a 6th level party which is ECL 10, but since I assume we'll be pretty well optimized, let's say 7th level. We'll count as ECL 8 for the purposes of experience gain (i.e. you start with 28,000 xp and need 36,000 xp to get to level 8).

6. How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with?

Standard for ECL 8 (27,000).

7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?

I'm thinking... Core + Complete Series + Races Series + Tome of Battle. I'm open to discussion, of course.

8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?

In the interest of keeping things slightly sane, let's say nothing with a level adjustment or monster HD.

9. By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points?

5d6b3, 6 times. If you don't like them, use 36 point buy. Roll for HP past 1st level.

10. Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so?

Mechanically enforced.

11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?

Standard multi-classing rules.

12. Will you be doing all of the die rolling during the course of the game? Will die rolls be altered, or left to the honor system? If players can make die rolls, which ones do they make, how should they make the rolls, and how should they report them?

Do all rolling in-thread (for both player and DM). Spoiler tag it if the other person shouldn't see.

13. Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules.

I'd rather not have the Polymorph line of spells. Let's also not have Leadership... I was thinking we could recruit NPCs along the way if so desired without the feat. Also, since we're soloing, let's allow 2 flaws.

Finally, I'd like to use a variant of Action Points. Each level, you get 5+(lvl/2) action points. You can spend a single Action Point as a free action to add 1d6 to a roll (attack, skill, save), or alternatively add 1d6 to your AC against 1 attack. If you use an action point, you no longer auto-fail on natural 1's (or if you're using it to boost AC, the opponent no longer auto-hits on a natural 20).

You can spend a feat on Action Surge, which allows you to spend 2 action points as a free action to gain an extra standard action.

14. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?

That would be nice. With solo games, it's much easier to work in the backstory to make some truly unique encounters.

15. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?

Probably mostly hack+slash and RP.

16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?

I have most books, but not Dragon or Dungeon magazines. I'm open to discussion for sources.

[OMG PONIES]

Ever since Iberim had trained Milo on how to fly, the little man's feet had barely touched the ground again. The training had been long, hard, and painful. "Come now, little Milo," he would chide, "just throw yourself at the ground and change direction.". Broken bones, cuts, bruises--all kissed back to health by his Adalia. Every last wound had been worth it, if only for the selfish gifts of learning to fly and spending his rehabilitation days with the love of his life.

The cold sting of the wind in Milo's eyes reminded him to blink, snapping him back to his present reality: a stinkin' scout gig. He was never much for the old look & listen, but he had sworn his service to Iberim, so he decided to perform the job to its fullest. His eyes looked down over the wood, scanning for any orcfolk, especially the mixing of woodos and minos. If he squinted just right, the woods went out of focus, painting a portrait of Adalia in various shades of green & brown. Milo floated above the trees, squinting in all odd ways to distort his current scene into more pleasing pictures.

[roll0]
[roll1]

We can do that, but in my backstory I had intended that Milo & Adalia already be engaged. However, it would make more sense for Iberim to not even allow Milo to propose until the job has been done.

[ghostaxe]

OOC:

Milo is engaged to Adalia already. In Seelie culture, there is an exchange of gifts (in this case rings) during the engagement. Milo's Ring of Protection is his gift from Adalia.

Milo's out here because the seelie fae customs are that the groom must prove himself in an arduous quest given by the bride's father... or so Iberim has told Milo.


DM only:

Orc 1:[roll0]
Orc 2:[roll1]
Orc 3:[roll2]
Orc 4:[roll3]
Orc 5:[roll4]
Orc 6:[roll5]

Wolf: [roll6]


As Milo flies a few feet feet above the tree line, he suddenly notices a road blockade up ahead. Not that the blockade would inhibit travel by a flying halfling, but he found this a bit odd.

Momentarily afterwards, a sharp voice cries out, "Halt!"

Milo looks down, and sees that there's an orc in full plate mail on the ground addressing him, about 50 feet in front.

"Halt!", repeats the orc. "You may not enter beyond here, these are now orc lands. We don't want to hurt you, so I will ask you to please turn back."

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/9251/encounter111.jpg

[OMG PONIES]

That makes sense; I thought it might be something like that. Milo will be sure to cherish and protect it, then. On to mechanics-related issues, all of my invocations are currently active, so any ranged attacks against me have a 20% miss chance. Also, Beguiling Influence is already accounted for on my char sheet. Which reminds me--do you want separate Bluff checks for each untrue item, or will one for each general deception suffice?

Milo stopped advancing and hovered in the air. He cleared his throat and spoke with alien eloquence--another souvenir from his training among the fey. "Aye, sir," he said to the orc with a polite nod. "I mean no trickery, which is why I attempt entry by the road and not over the forest. The Strongheart tribe has sent me as an ambassador, as we wish to make an ally of the orcs. As such, I come to seek an audience with your people. We wish to know how you are faring, and in which ways my tribe might aid you." With that, he lowers to the ground and bows slightly. "My name is Luckyfoot Beardgrabber, or simply Lucky. May I ask your name and title, sir?"

[roll0]
[roll1]

[ghostaxe]

OOC:

One check is usually sufficient; if I feel there need to be further checks, I'll roll for you.


DM only:

Sense Motive: [roll0], even though Milo has already succeeded.


The orc waits for you to approach and says, "Pleased to meet you, Lucky. I am Homorose. I am surprised, for Sir Goron's plans have been kept quite secret. You halflings sure are well connected. May I please see some identification papers, or some signet of your status?"

Homorose the orc seems remarkably well-spoken for an orc. You see that he has a morningstar and a shield strapped to his back, but he seems to have no intention (yet) of drawing them.

To the side fork up ahead, you see a small cottage, with some smoke coming from the chimney.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo is on the ground; I mentioned it in passing in the last post. Also, I'll be posting in your IC tomorrow morning--I'm just tossing your map together. I usually use Excel and upload it as an image, but I love your map. What did you use to create it?

Unfazed, Milo smiles and continues. "I expected this might cause some trouble, Homorose, but the Chief insisted. There are unseemly folk about, as I'm sure you've seen guarding this post. My Chief didn't want me to have any papers on hand for fear or capture. He thought any captors might torture my destination out of me, thus exposing our plan for an alliance and your plans for expansion. To keep your matters private, 'tis best to keep ours private as well, no? You understand--who am I to question my Chief?"

[roll0]
[roll1] whoops, meant Diplomacy

[ghostaxe]

Oops, didn't notice that. Will fix.

I use Autocad and Illustrator. Left over from my high school drafting classes from way back.


Homorose creases his brow. "It's true that wild animals are a danger, and further west, there are some gnoll bandits, but it's unusual that you have no evidence at all other than your word.

Ah, I know. If you are who you claim to be, and represent the halflings as an ambassador, then tell me the last name of our leader, and where on the Wyrmsmoke Mountains our base is. If you answer correctly, I will personally escort you to Major Mojan, who will see to it that you receive an audience with the Great Leader.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo moves closer to the orc, laughing and shaking his head. "That's the joke of it, Homorose--my chief didn't tell me any of that. He just told me to follow the road until I found orc country, then ask for a diplomatic audience. Only our highest-ranking officials have that information, while I'm just on a need-to-know basis, following orders. You know how that can be, right? But just imagine the promotions we'll get...Milo and Homorose, pioneers of the strategic alliance between the halflings. We'll be the ones giving the orders!". Milo smiles widely, but curses himself in his head. Had to find the only shrewd woody, didn't I? Might need to pull out the old Sparkle Eyes soon if this goes much further south.

[roll0]
[roll1]

Moving to be about 15 feet from Homorose, and readying an action to manifest Psionic Charm if he gets hostile. Will DC 14 to resist.

[ghostaxe]

Homorose's frown deepens, "I'm most sorry to say that I cannot let you pass then. As a diplomat who doesn't even know the name of our Great Leader, this seems at best negligent of your tribe, and at worst insulting. Please, return to your tribe, and tell your chief to come visit the Great Leader personally. We orcs would not imagine sending a lowly scout on a mission to the Strongheart Tribe, and would similarly request equal respect from you."

Homorose hesitates and continues, "You don't seem like a bad sort, so I'll give you this word of advice: your chief probably doesn't like you much if he sent you alone with this little information. Odds are that he had simply wanted to see you killed by bandits. Maybe you accidentally offended him in the past?"


He's already considered Friendly to you, so Charm would not help. Milo would know that.

Milo is currently in square J2.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo rises 20 feet up in the air, as his voice takes on a booming, commanding quality. "Tread softly, Homorose. We have a great possibility before us; let's not squander it for the sake of protocol. Would you rather be known as the orc who forged your people's strongest alliance, or the one who stood in its way?"

[roll0]

Ready action to eldritch blast Homorose if he gets hostile. Also, I'll update your IC in the AM, when I can update your map.

[ghostaxe]

You take a -4 to being 1 size smaller than Homorose, but pass the check with flying colors anyway.


Homorose is surprised by your sudden aboutface in attitude, and after considering his odds against a flying opponent who somehow seems to radiate dark powers, replies in a small voice, "Well... ok, I guess you can go on... I'll pretend that you flew by a quarter mile from here, and we couldn't catch up... "

[OMG PONIES]

I wasn't trying to scare him outright--more of a social intimidation. Also, is the -4 size penalty RAW, or is it a house rule?

[ghostaxe]

+/- 4 per size difference is actually RAW.



Special

You gain a +4 bonus on your Intimidate check for every size category that you are larger than your target. Conversely, you take a -4 penalty on your Intimidate check for every size category that you are smaller than your target.


I didn't really see a social intimidation as valid there, since you passed yourself off as someone who wasn't in the "need to know" category, so it's unlikely you wielded enough political power to punish Homorose through his higher-ups. (That, and you took to the air, which Homorose interpreted as, "Look, I can Fly. I can probably also do other things too.")

If you would like to further interact with them, we can back up to right after Homorose spoke... I just assumed you wanted to continue going forward.

[OMG PONIES]

That all makes sense. I wanted to get the Great Leader's name out of him if possible, but otherwise we can move on.

[ghostaxe]

Ah, most excellent. There is indeed a significant opportunity to gain more info from that encounter. Backtracking, it's your turn to react.


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TWUWlZdb6eI/AAAAAAAAADo/QFgMpBhCQU4/s512/Encounter1-1-1b.jpg

[OMG PONIES]

Milo floats back down to the ground. "I didn't mean to scare you, Homorose. I can't travel by myself, though" he sighs. "No, no, I'll be killed on sight, which will most likely start a war between the Stronghearts and the orcs. Nobody wants that. Tell you what: how about you tell me the name of your Great Leader and the location of your mountain base to...jog my memory. Then, you can tell Major Mojan that I passed your security clearance when you introduce me to him, and he can go about his proper business of promoting you. How does that sound?"

[roll0]
[roll1]

The roll here can be for Diplomacy or Intimidate, since I don't know which is better. I'm trying to retain a friendly demeanor, but take command of the conversation. Basically, I don't know which I'm trying to drive him more with--the fear of causing a war or the hope of getting a promotion.

[ghostaxe]

dm only:

[roll0]

Attacks:
[roll1] [roll2]
[roll3] [roll4]
[roll5] [roll6]
[roll7] [roll8]
[roll9] [roll10]
[roll11] [roll12]

Init:
[roll13]
[roll14]
[roll15]
[roll16]
[roll17]
[roll18]
Homorose [roll19]
wolf [roll20]


Homorose considers for a moment and decides it wouldn't hurt to tell you the obvious. "The name of our great leader is Sylvester X of couse. But even I don't know what his real last name is. As to the position of our base, I really don't think I should tell you that. Security and all, you understand. A lot of the humans want to keep us orcs as slaves and indentured servants forever, so many would wish harm of the Great Leader.

But I really would turn back right now if I were you. With no credentials, you're not going to get far even if you can fly. At best, you'll be captured for questioning. At worst... Well, let's just say that even though the Great Leader has ordered us not to kill anyone, there are orcs whose hatred exceed their reason. Though you're a halfling and not a human, they may still vent their rage on you.

I cannot escort you to Major Mojan; I'm needed here to turn back other travellers."


You just barely made your diplomacy check there. As a note, I usually will do opposed Diplomacy checks when the other also has ranks in diplomacy, and you incur increasing penalties to try to get more and more out of the same NPC.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo smiles and can't help but sigh. "I understand, Homorose. You've got to stick to your post. Is there anything you can give me to serve as a badge of some sort? Anything I can show the Major to vouch for me?"

[roll0]

Opposed Diplomacy rolls definitely make sense. Eek, a 1?

[ghostaxe]

Homorose shakes his head resolutely. "I'm definitely not going to give you something that encourages you to go on, Lucky. Or Milo. Or whatever your real name is. If you want to go in that badly, go. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Milo actually said Milo a few posts back, which I penalized accordingly for diplomacy and bluff.

[OMG PONIES]

That's what I get for not proofreading. Geez, that's dumb.

Realized that he may have been caught in his deception, Milo nods quietly and takes to the air, flying down the road.

[ghostaxe]

Congratulations. Award yourself 1200 xp.


dm only:

Last encounter was CR 7 (2000xp), -40% for bypass

encounter [roll0], high = no encounter
spot [roll1] (oops, was +5 in addition to that. So roll is 15.)
listen [roll2]
spot [roll3]
listen [roll4]


As Milo continues flying towards the Wyrmsmoke Mountains, he comes to an area where the trees thin out. A little distance away, a small river runs, and a bridge is built over it for those pitiable folk who have to walk using legs.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TWcpxikdF1I/AAAAAAAAAEE/HO8evMSNrNQ/s512/Encounter1-2-1.jpg

[ghostaxe]

dm only

attack: [roll0] (oops, 75 ft away so no range penalty, +2)
damage: [roll1] + [roll2] (-2 for damage reduction)

Miss chance 1d100 = 4, miss.

hide after: [roll3]

Milo init: [roll4]
Gordie init: [roll5]
Mirg init: [roll6]

attack: [roll7]
damage: [roll8] + [roll9]
attack: [roll10]
damage: [roll11] + [roll12]

hide after: [roll13]


Milo was daydreaming (or late-afternoon dreaming, as the case may be) of Adalia again when his thoughts are rudely interrupted by an arrow grazing by his chest, deflected only by Milo's dark power. The burning trail left by the arrow informs Milo that he is up against some pretty decently armed opponents this time.

As Milo's thought turn from those of love to those of revenge, he realizes that in his daze, he didn't catch a good glimpse of where the arrow came from... only that it generally came from near the bridge.


Milo's up first on Init, please inform if you want to use action points at all.

[OMG PONIES]

Post coming. I don't know if you already accounted for it, but please keep in mind that Entropic Warding gives ranged attacks against me a 20% miss chance.

[ghostaxe]

Doh! I remembered your damage reduction, but forgot that. And the miss chance actually worked in this case. Post soon to be edited.

[OMG PONIES]

I’m unclear whether or not a flying creature can use the run action. If so, Milo will fly to J16, facing back to the forest to see if he can establish line of sight to his would-be sniper. If not, Milo will fly to K8, utilizing a double move.
Milo tumbles through the air as he narrowly escapes the cruel bite of the arrow. He tries to spy his attacker, but can’t manage to keep his bearings while he flips and spins away from the flaming ammunition. Evasive maneuvers, he reminds himself as he darts toward the bridge, just like Pops taught me. His mind drifts back to the courtyard where he learned to fly, and Iberim’s joyous laughter as he hurled various fruits, vegetables, and small animals in the air towards Milo. ”Come on, little Milo!” he would shout, ”You’ve got to be quicker than that! Here comes an old pumpkin…”

[roll0]

[ghostaxe]

The Fly spell specifically says not, but reading the description of Fell Flight, I would rule that you can run while flying. Standard double-rate of descent / half-rate of ascent applies.

Since you don't seem to be online, so I'll assume you're at your standard 20ft above ground.


As Milo zooms toward the river and bridge, he notices that the river is about 10 feet below ground level, and the bridge is at ground level. Frantically looking everywhere he could think of to identify the position of his attacker, he nevertheless fails to see any moving beings.

dm only

attack: [roll0]
damage: [roll1] + [roll2] (fire) (-2 for Damage reduction)
miss chance: (1d100)[49] >20 = hit

threat roll: (1d20+8)[21]
extra damage: (2d8+14)[22]

attack: [roll3]
damage: [roll4] + [roll5] (fire) (-2 for Damage reduction)
miss chance: (1d100)[58] >20 = hit

hide after: [roll6]


As Milo continues to peer frantically around himself, two arrows emerge from underneath, through a small gap in the bridge planks. The first arrow strikes through Milo's buttocks and kidneys until it finally stops in the liver (crit for 34 damage) while the other skewers Milo's thigh (10 damage).

The overwhelming blood loss and organ damage is too much for Milo, and his unconscious body floats down to the bridge. As the world blacks out around Milo, he vaguely hears two orcs conversing from beneath...

"Homo not doing his job well. Letting many through.*Snicker* Homo. Is half-man dead? "

"Not quite dead. Not quite alive either. Mirg is not sure. Great Leader says not to kill. Tie him up and try to heal him."

OOC:

Uh-oh. You just took 1 arrow crit and a normal arrow hit for 34+10=44 damage, which puts you at -5 HP. (Maybe I shouldn't have given Gordie a Lesser Crystal of Energy Assault...)

The threat roll was 21, but you were flat-footed from running, so your AC was 16. Conceivably, if you use an Action Point and roll a 6, your AC could become high enough to make it a normal hit.

Also/alternatively, you can use an Action Point to automatically stabilize, and the orcs won't kill you (they have instructions not to kill people, but they can't control it too well at times..)

[OMG PONIES]

Haha, I guess my hand is forced. I feared that sneaky monsters would be Milo's downfall. I've got my second character ready if Milo dies. Also, you probably know to include it already, but I'm hoping you forgot either the 20% miss chance or the DR 2/cold iron (not that it helps much, but still). I'll use an action point to auto-stabilize and take the opportunity to have a little vision, if you don't mind. At the end of the scene, Milo is unconscious but stable.

The world grows dark around Milo, and he feels like he's sinking into a tub of Gram's old cocoa. Thick enough to chew, it bubbles and glugs around Milo's limbs, pulling him down into the beautiful, warm darkness.

And then he sees her. Wings flapping and sending soft rushes of cool air to carress him, Adalia descends from the darkened heavens. She kneels beside him as he unknowingly sinks further toward the grave. Tears run down her cheeks.

"Stay?" she half asks, half pleads.

The warm, thick feeling flees Milo's extremities. He tries to raise his arms to embrace his betrothed, but he is unable to do so. Instead, he merely smiles as everything fades and his ears begin to ring.

[ghostaxe]

I did remember the 20% miss chance this time, but forgot the damage reduction :smallconfused: OK, you take 44 damage, and are at -5. Will edit above posts shortly.

(I'll refrain from telling you the exact setup of the ambush then. It's... clever :smallbiggrin:)


Milo slept and dreamed. He dreamed nice dreams of the wedding, and he dreamed nightmares of orcs barbequing his corpse over an open fire. And while he dreamed, his wounds slowly healed.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Milo suddenly awakens to a violent jostling motion. Opening his eyes and hoping that the scouting expedition too was just a bad dream, Milo quickly realizes that he's been bound hand and feet, and also gagged. While he still sports two large wounds, the bleeding has been blanched, and Milo's life is no longer in danger.

As Milo recovers from the excruciating pain, he takes note of his surrounding. He was in a wagon, probably being transported somewhere. The uneven road was likely the cause of his awakening.

A human and a halfling were also on the wagon, bound and gagged. The human woman was in her mid-twenties and had a stern look. She also sports two broken arrow wounds. The halfling was late-middle aged, wore spectacles, and generally didn't seem the sort to adventure. Unlike the woman, the halfling shows no outward signs of wounds, but nevertheless has not awoken.

The woman sees that you're awake, and tries to communicate by blinking her eyes in some strange pattern. Unfortunately, Milo has no idea what she's doing, and simply thinks she has a facial tic (failed Sense Motive).

---

Some 2 hours later, the wagon stops, and an orc... the one Milo recognizes as Homorose, opens the back door. "Well now, Soranna and Milo. We have now reached the outskirts of Drellin's Ferry. Remember that we could have killed you, but chose not to. Respect our might and mercy, and accept the formation of the new orc realm."

Homorose and some escorts are then heard walking off. Some five minutes later, an arrow strikes the patch of ground directly beside the wagon, and with the impact comes a loud BANG of a thunderstone.

Town militia cautiously approach the wagon, and when they recognize the woman, immediately move to untie the three of you. Others run toward the town clerics, who come and heal you to your full health.


Though none of Milo's equipment appear to be missing, 50gp out of his 60 gp are no longer there. It seems some unscrupulous member of the orc band helped himself.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo brushes himself off and nods in gratitude toward the cleric healing him. "Ey," he says, turning to Soranna, "may want to flag those healers to be checkin' your eyes, methinks. 'Twas something a bit queer with 'em in the caravan. Still, my thanks for your legup. Whooboy, they sure came runnin' for ya. You their queen or somesuch?" Gone is his perfect elocution, replaced instead by the familiar affectations of speech he learned from his tribe.

[ghostaxe]

Soranna gives you a condescending look, and tries her best to ignore you.

The halfling, on the other hand, is much more open, "Since you also braved into the now-Orc lands, you must be an ally. Captain Soranna is the leader of the militia around these parts. Well respected in Drellin's Ferry for keeping the peace and protecting travelers and merchants. The two of us... ah, how rude of me. I'm Sertieren... the two of us were going to check on the ore caravan. Usually it comes the 5th of every month, but it's already past the 9th today..."

"10th," added Soranna coldly. "We've clearly lost a day."

The townspeople around nod, and Sertieren continues, "Ah, pardon me, 10th. The good captain Soranna and I were going to check up on them, when we encountered the orc chap named Homorose. Friendly guy..." At Soranna's dark look, Sertieren amends, "I mean, polite guy, but wouldn't let us pass whatever we said. So Soranna had me cast a couple Fly spells to pass by, and then..."

"We were ambushed. Hunter killer orcs. No doubt they've already gotten to the caravan. Look, you also have arrow wounds, so you're clearly a halfling of some skills. We can't let this orc menace be. Won't you work with us to see what we can do about them?"

[OMG PONIES]

Milo snaps to attention and salutes Soranna, showing the respect his initial interaction with her was lacking. ”Chief,” he addresses her, ”apologies on that whole ‘queen’ mix-up earlier, a bit dizzy from the arrows. I don’t know how much skill my scars are showing—a more apt chap would have not gotten himself nicked, right?” The Halfling begins to laugh, but stops at the searing pain it causes up and down his left side. ”As for the orcs, I’m on an old look & listen myself to see what they’ve got cookin’ in that kitchen. I’m supposed to be reporting back, so I don’t know if I can…”

Milo thinks to himself and realizes that, at this current point in time, he didn’t have much to report. He thought of Iberim mocking him for his wounds and limited information—he thought of the humiliating, gut-wrenching pain of Adalia seeing that. He’d rather have the arrows again. Instead, his thoughts turn to how Iberim might react if he allied himself with Soranna. If he not only found out more about the orc uprising, but neutralized the threat singlehandedly. Pops would let Milo marry Adalia for sure, then. Hell’s bells, he might even shake Milo’s hand! And then, they’d go hunting together and raise the hounds and share brandy and Milo could call him Pops to his face and…

”I’ll do it!” Milo pipes up. ”I’m your man, Chief. What’s my assignment?”

[ghostaxe]

A thin smile rises on Soranna's face, "Good to see you're enthusiastic, but a forward assault isn't going to work against them. Clearly, Homorose and then the archers are not the extent of their defenses. First, what's your name, and who do you represent? Are you with the Strongheart tribes?

"Cutting off our ore supplies. Just think of it! No more pots, no more pans, no more silverware! Clearly the Strongheart tribes wouldn't want to see that happen, right? Can you mobilize any more halfling forces?

"Norro!" Soranna forcefully addresses a middle-aged man dressed in relatively fine robes. "Don't you have contacts in Brindol or Dennovar? Let's get some messengers ASAP to see if they can provide any help."

In the mean time, we need to continue scouting them, and not get close to killed this time around. Sertieren, I want you to start brewing some potions of Invisibility and Fly ASAP. Brother Derny, same thing with Potions of Cure Light Wounds and Cure Moderate Wounds. Use funds from the town treasury."

"Um, excuse me?" A plain-looking dark-haired woman standing in the sidelines, timidly speaks, "Those funds are taken from our taxes for repairing roads and bridges... is it really fair to use that to craft items you personally would use?"

"Nonsense!" flares Soranna. "Norro's the town speaker, and decides how to use the treasury in a method that's most beneficial to Drellin's Ferry. And this is what Norro thinks would be best, right?"

The incoherent mutterings of the balding man Soranna addressed earlier is enough to show anyone who's in charge here.

Soranna claps her hands and then tells the crowd to disperse, the ad-hoc meeting adjourned. She then leads Milo to a relatively private area in the Old Bridge Inn and asks, "So, what are your abilities? Archery? Magic? Enormous wealth of magic items? If you want to come with me on the next expedition, I'll need to know everything you can and cannot do. Also, any particular ideas on how to deal with those archers?"

[OMG PONIES]

Milo’s grin becomes less eager and more sheepish as he admits, ”Name’s Milo Brushscrubber, and I’m afraid I don’t represent much of anyone save myself. Strongheart by birth, aye, but I’ve not seen my tribe in a few summers now. Been travelin’, done fell in love and stayed away too long. Can’t speak much to what the Stronghearts want and can’t mobilize much myself. If you send a messenger to the tribe with word that the orcs have attacked one of their blood, may be enough to rile the chiefs to action. I can go personally if you’d like, but can also stay here to assist.”

[roll0] to conceal the fact that he’s working for Kaal (and, of course, Iberim).

Honestly, I didn’t give much thought to Milo’s actual relationship to his tribe. He left suddenly a few years back, but I don’t know if the tribe would view that as wanderlust or bad blood.

Milo maintains a straight face, but winces internally at Soranna’s reaction to the dark-haired woman’s question. He steps forward to address the townswoman, smiling widely. ”Ma’am,” he says, ”what the Chief is trying to say is that stopping this orcish threat is a proper use of your hard-earned tax dollars. As a preventative measure, the potions will ensure that we can stop the orcs from invading and, not only damaging our roads and bridges, but taking the lives of our beloved citizens. Can’t we agree that this expenditure is in the best interest of the entire town?”

[roll1]

Turning back to Soranna, he nods slightly. ”As you can see, Chief, my primary skill is communication; I can often help people see eye to eye. Furthermore, I’ve got some field artillery training, and I can zap pretty much anyone I can see. Speaking of, I think the damned orcs nicked me from under the bridge—I saw that there was some space between the water and the bridge itself. If I buzz the shoreline, I can fly myself under the bridge and get a clear shot lined up on them. The bridge was just hiding the little buggers last time, but now I know they’re there. If someone came with me, we could ambush both of them, maybe even take one in for questioning. What do ya say, Chief?”

[ghostaxe]

I'll assume that Milo was pretty much a nobody when he left his tribe. As such, he probably would have a hard time mobilizing forces, unless he can convince the Elders that it would be necessary for the continued survival of the tribe.


The woman Milo spoke to seems somewhat mollified, but it's clear she still has concerns about Soranna pseudo-martial law.

From inside Old Bridge Inn, Soranna replies "A talker, eh? I'm afraid that probably won't be of much help. Orcs are savages to the bone, and even if that Homo guy fancies himself civilized, it doesn't change that you won't be able to prevent the others from making a necklace out of your teeth.

Field artillery?" Soranna frowns. "We probably want to scout their movements discreetly, so I really don't see taking a ballista or catapult with us."

Soranna sighs. "Looks like I wasted my time by assuming too much. Maybe it's best if you use that silver tongue of yours to get reinforcements from your tribe, and whoever else will help us fight this orc menace.

After all, we wouldn't want to waste precious Potions of Fly on you when you can hardly hold a longsword. No matter how good you are at speech, I doubt you can talk the ambush team at the bridge into dropping their bows."

[OMG PONIES]

Milo shakes his head, chuckling slightly despite the pain. ”Sorry, Chief, I wasn’t clear: I am the artillery. No ballista, no trebuchet, just me. I can demonstrate if you’ve got a marksman’s range. Also, you won’t need to be spendin’ your potions on me.” At this, he levitates a few inches off the ground to prove that he can fly under his own power.

Once he has reached a sufficient height and hovered for a few seconds, he floats back to the ground and resumes his stance of attention. ”Now, I’m not one to disobey a direct order, so I’ll go to my old tribe if you want. I just don’t know how long that trip’ll take and how much good it’ll do—the orcs might be upon you by the time I return. What if we send a messenger to the tribe, but I remain here? I’m not much for the look & listen, but I can see that which magic hides from others, and I’m dying to show those orcs what a decent shot in the vitals really feels like. So what do ya say, Chief?”

[roll0]

[ghostaxe]

DM

milo attack roll: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]

AC: 10 (base) - 5 (DEX) - 2 (object) + 12 (size) = 15

(Fine size objects are described as being up to 6" tall, and have a +8 size modifier to AC. The shot glass is probably 3" tall, so one size smaller at Fine-, and not covered for size AC. I'll rule that it's +12, unless it's RAW somewhere?


Soranna considers Milo's words carefully as she finishes her drink. "No need going to a range. Hit this shot glass, and you get the job."

Soranna tosses the 3-inch tall glass carefully towards a corner of the room.

Milo concentrates and points his finger at the shot glass as soon as it leaves the woman's hands, and an instant later, the glass is disintegrated into a shower of fine sand particles.

Soranna applauds, clearly impressed. "I'm glad to see my initial estimates were correct. Indeed, your talents would be wasted for a simple diplomatic mission. And it's so much the better that you can fly on your own accord.

Looks like we won't need quite as many Potions of Fly then. Tell me, what other equipment do you think you'll need? Drellin's Ferry will provide what it can to combat these orcs... within reason. We will ask Sertieren and Derny to craft their items through the night, so that we can depart tomorrow morning if necessary, after a good night's sleep to recover from our fatigue."


You may request Scrolls or Potions up to 3rd level, with price totaling no more than 1500 gp. Soranna will... "requisition" these for you and make sure you have them when the two of you depart in the morning.

[OMG PONIES]

"That's brill, Chief, thanks a mill!" Milo exclaims. "I'll need a handful of scrolls: one of stone shape, a clairaudience/clairvoyance, one invisibility, two alter selfs, three reduce persons, two benign transpositions, one nightshield and--" Milo falters for a second and says the last scroll sheepishly, "one desecrate?"

If you don't want to allow Alter Self (since I know you said you didn't want polymorph in), I'll just change up my order to three invisibilities.

[ghostaxe]

Er, perhaps I should have said wizard and cleric spells of up to 3rd level. No artificers around to make you bard spell scrolls. No scrolls of scrying available here.

Also, note that I will be defining "interaction" with images fairly strictly; basically, all creatures get a save when they first see the illusion, and get another save (free action up to once per turn) if they have reason to suspect that it's an illusion (e.g. If their ally says so.).


Feel free to edit your post to change shopping list.


Soranna shrugs. "An undead orc is no more an abomination than a live one, so at least I have no qualms against Desecrate. I should be able to find you a scroll. However, see to it that you use only orc corpses. Also, keep your undead out of Drellin's Ferry... If I get any complaints, I'll have to disavow knowledge and destroy them.

[OMG PONIES]

Shopping list updated in my previous post.

Milo nods in assent, "Aye, Chief," he says, "I'll keep 'em out of town. I won't be raising anyone for a while yet, but I've been studying the possibilities for some time. When the time comes, I can park 'em in the woods outside of town or in the water to act as guards against any sneaky orcs. But..." he kicks the dust a bit, hesitating before asking a question he knows will be unpopular, "can we just say, between us, no human undead? I've heard tales of some powerful creatures round these parts that may be able to serve as even stronger allies than some zombified orcs. I don't want to scare the good people of Drellin's Ferry, so I'll keep 'em away, too, but is it okay if I animate some of the nastier monsters...once I learn how, that is? They'll be under my complete control, of course; no worries about stampeding skeletal bears. The orcs are the only ones with something to be afraid of." He snickers slightly, thinking longingly about Iberim's handshake.

[roll0]

[ghostaxe]

Yeah, no Alter Self. A Crucian has a friggin' +8 to natural AC; there's no way I'd allow that for a 2nd level spell that lasts 10 minutes per level. I've been guilty of using that before...:smalltongue:


"Bears, lions, giants, whatever. As long as it's not a civilized people.. no humans, no halflings, no elves, no dwarves, no... well, maybe half-orcs are fair game.

Get some sleep. We'll be leaving first thing in the morning."


The game time is approximately 8pm. You now have the opportunity to interact with other citizens of Drellin's Ferry. Please state if you would like to seek out anyone in particular. Otherwise, I'll proceed with you and Soranna.

[OMG PONIES]

Oh, I wasn't going after the cheesy forms like a teenage mutant ninja turtle. I just wanted a reliable way to make myself look like an orc for prolonged periods of time, since I now realize that I could have simply walked into the orc territory with my social skills and knowledge of the Orc language, if only I had a face to match :smallbiggrin:. Fair enough, though--make it three invisibility scrolls.

Milo scoffs and nearly spits out his drink. "Wouldn't dream it, Chief. Halflings to me are humans to you, savvy? Any which way, I'll be snuffin' the candle of the day, ready to roll out before dawn or at?"

[ghostaxe]

DM only:

events during the night: [roll0]

Jarett speaks with Norro, Brother Derny, Kellin, and other people of note. Some are beginning to believe that perhaps the orcs don't really represent a threat to Drellin's Ferry, and that Soranna is overstepping the line with her own personal hatred of orcs.


The next morning, Siertiren delivers the items you requested, and the two of you set off through the Witchwood into the new orcish lands once more. As soon as you and Soranna leave Drellin's Ferry, Soranna prepares herself for combat, drawing two short swords. One has a ruby embedded in its hit, while the other has a sapphire; both seem to give off a faint visual aura.

As the two of travel, it becomes immediately obvious that Soranna is, in some ways, the exact opposite of you; she snaps to attention at the faintest sound of a twig snapping, and she is solidly grounded in reality. Most of her words are discussion on how to best synergize your abilities in the event of combat, and how the two of you can best frustrate the orc clause.

Before long, the two of you arrive at a familiar sight... the road block where the both of you had first encountered Homorose. No one appears to be present at the moment, but there is a large sign on the road.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TXKGUHJ0-6I/AAAAAAAAAEo/d0ew-wFtZrU/s512/Encounter3-1-1.jpg

Soranna speaks, "Careful! Last time there were ambushers here. I don't sense any today, but that doesn't mean they're not here.


I assume Milo is still flying?

Also, if you want to masquerade as an orc, I would allow Major Image to do that (provided that you continually concentrate on the image, of course).

[OMG PONIES]

Yes, Milo is flying unless otherwise noted. Also, I'm leery of using Major Image due to the saves. He'll just look like a halfling, then.

Milo raises an eyebrow. "Aye, chief," he whispers, though he doesn't remember any ambushers. "What are my orders: interrogate or exterminate?" Milo tries to draw nearer to the sign, hoping to read what it says.

[ghostaxe]

Soranna grins in an almost cruel look. "They're orcs. Of course we interrogate first, and then exterminate."

As the two of you approach square I5, you can clearly make out the words written on the huge billboard.

"Beyond are orc lands. Pardon our construction, the road is projected to reopen on the 24th of June. Until then, no one is allowed beyond this point. Trespassers that survive will be stripped naked and returned to Drellin's Ferry."

dm only:

soranna listen [roll0]
soranna spot [roll1]


Soranna walks up to the sign and spits on it. And then her ears perk up. "Prepare yourself. I vaguely hear enemies about."

Soranna puts away one of her blades, and draws a potion with the same hand, ready to quaff it the moment any enemies appear.


Please declare any actions Milo takes right now.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo maintains his position slightly above Soranna. "You just tell me where, Chief," he whispers. "You'll spot 'em before I do."

Can an Eldritch Blast do nonlethal damage? If so, do you take the normal -4 penalty to attack? If so, Milo will ready an action to Eldritch Blast the first enemy he sees.

[roll0] for Knowledge Devotion (with Collector of Stories) as a nonaction
[roll1] +2 from Know Devo, another +1 if within 30 feet from PBS
[roll2] +2 from Know Devo, another +1 if within 30 feet from PBS
Mortalbane 4/5 remaining today

If not, Milo will ready an action to demoralize the first enemy he sees with a move action (possible via his Fearsome armor enhancement).

[roll3]
Against all enemies within 10 feet (Never Outnumbered skill trick)

[ghostaxe]

You can do a non-lethal Eldritch blast and take the -4 to hit penalty, but not if you apply Mortalbane to it. But it doesn't matter, because there's no combat yet.


After the two of you futilely await an enemy to attack you for five minutes or so, Soranna sheepishly shrugs and says, "Well, maybe I'm just too edgy. Let's proceed."

As you fly over the sign and Soranna walks around it, suddenly the trees and grass appear to spring to life around you, grabbing at you and Soranna.
Milo manages to avoid their grasp, but Soranna is clearly entangled. (Milo still moves at half speed through the entangled area though.)

Round 1:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TXVIoYmSKgI/AAAAAAAAAFY/xR-fPMnxn2A/s512/Encounter3-1-2b.jpg


Soranna Init: [roll0]
Milo Init: [roll1]

Soranna Ref: [roll2]
Milo Ref: [roll3]

Turand Init: [roll4]
Lars Init: [roll5]
Orcs group 1 Init: [roll6]
Orcs group 2 Init: [roll7]
Dire Wolf Init: [roll8]


You hear the whooping war-cries of the orcs almost instantaneously afterwards. One orc, a leader by his looks, leads the charge towards you, as he twirls a spiked chain about himself menacingly. Directly following him are two large wolves baring their teeth.

dm only:

Area after sign had Alarm (mental) casted on it. As soon as Soranna stepped onto the other side, Turand was notified, and triggered his readied action to entangle centered on sign.

[OMG PONIES]

Was appearing their initiative, or are they yet to act? Also, how tall is the blockade (or whatever the large black object is)? Final question: can we safely assume that I am psionically focused at the start of each day until I expend my psionic focus, or must I declare and roll each morning? If it makes a difference, I can take 10 and make the check.

[ghostaxe]

I think it's safe to assume you're always psionically focused at the beginning of every encounter.

The appearance and movement of Lars and the dire wolves were their actions (they beat you in initiative). It is now Milo and Soranna's turn.

As a side note... how would you like me to handle Soranna? I can give you her character sheet and ask you to run her reasonably, or I can run her.


The road blockade is made of logs and stones and some dried mud. It extends about 10 feet high.

[OMG PONIES]

Okay, cool. I don't mind you running Soranna (after all, she's an NPC). However, if it makes your bookkeeping easier, I can run her. I leave the decision in your capable DMing hands.

Milo flies up to the blockade, hovering just above it to keep an eye on the approaching enemies. Rats, he curses himself under his breath, if only I had a spot more of range. He lines up the best angles on his foes, aiming for their vital organs and awaiting their approach.


No action: Knowledge Nature check for Knowledge Devotion
No action: Knowledge Local check for Knowledge Devotion
Move action: fly to H-1 (15 feet up)
Swift action: activate Gloves of Eldritch Admixture (1 charge)
Standard action: ready action to blast first enemy that comes in range (lethal damage if wolf, nonlethal if orc).

If wolf triggers readied action: 29 vs touch AC for 30 damage & 6 fire damage.
If orc triggers readied action: 25 vs touch AC for 24 nonlethal damage & 6 fire damage.

ROLLS:
[roll0]
[roll1] with Collector of Stories
[roll2] +2 from Know Devo, -4 if against orc (nonlethal)
[roll3] +2 from Know Devo
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]

[ghostaxe]

Soranna disregards the vines and branches tugging at her, and quaffing her potion and then forcing her way forward toward the newly arrived combatants, albeit slowly, while drawing another potion. Shadows seem to gather about her as she moves.

Two well-hidden orcs reveal their positions from their trees and throw their javelins at the flying Milo. One javelin is deflected by Milo's dark powers, but the other javelin strikes the unsuspecting Milo for 2 damage. Immediately afterwards, Milo's outstretched finger course-corrects, and fires at one of the orcs. The orc goes down instantaneously, unconscious.

dm only

Attack: [roll0] vs. flat-footed AC
Damage: [roll1] (-2 dr)

Attack: [roll2] vs. flat-footed AC
Damage: [roll3] (-2 dr)


4 more orcs charge towards the action, with javelin in one hand and a falchion in the other.

Round 2:

The leader orc, seeing that Milo and Soranna are struggling against the entangling foliage, drops his spiked chain, draws a javelin, and hurls it at Soranna. "Dumb human and halfling can't read Common? You stupider than an orc!"

The javelin, however, is deflected by an unseen mystical force.

dm only

Attack: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]


Meanwhile, the two dire wolves charge into the entangled area, heedless of the danger. Both manage to fend off the plants reasonably well.

dm only

Reflex: [roll6]
Reflex: [roll7]


Behind a neighboring tree, Milo and Soranna notice the chant of a spell starting to be cast (marked Turand on map).

Spellcraft DC 17:

Summon Swarm


Soranna quaffs her potion in hand, and draws her other short sword as she moves with unusual speed around the wolves and toward the orc leader. Shadows continue to gather about Soranna, making it difficult to pinpoint her exact location.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TXWS-IIN9GI/AAAAAAAAAGA/dpDrdVI10ko/s512/Encounter3-1-3.jpg

Milo, make another Reflex save or be Entangled.


FYI, Milo's initiative has decreased because his readied action was triggered.

[OMG PONIES]

Is the caster in the tree (G13) or behind the tree (G14)? The map and the descriptive text seem to contradict. Also, is Milo able to attack the tree, making the caster fall (or at least causing some violent motion to distract its casting)?

[roll0] That's not good.

[ghostaxe]

Sorry, the caster is behind the tree in G14, the javelin thrower is in the tree. The tree provides cover to the caster.

In the future, let's default to map taking precedence over descriptive text when there's a contradiction.

We've previously agreed that Milo can take a run action while flying. In the case of the Entangle spell, it only makes you unable to run or charge on a failed save (which Milo did fail this time around).

On the other hand, if Milo leaves the area, he automatically breaks free of all effects.


High tree branches ensnare Milo. Take a -4 penalty to Dex and -2 penalty to attack rolls.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo takes aim at the orc leader, sending a bolt of eldritch energy flying towards him. He struggles to stay aloft, but moves over the blockade.

Swift action: Activate Gloves of Eldritch Admixture (1 charge)
Standard action: Eldritch Blast Lars for nonlethal damage, 13 vs touch AC for 26 nonlethal damage and 10 fire damage.
Move action: Fly to G1.

ROLLS:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[ghostaxe]

Please note, the penalty to dex and attack roll are cumulative, so Milo is taking a total of -4 to his EB attack rolls from the entanglement. Your attack is actually 11 vs touch.


Lars laughs as he contorts his body to avoid the blast. "Halfling bad at aiming too."


Rest of round coming soon. Giving you chance to use action point.

[OMG PONIES]

Yeah, I will use an Action Point. I keep forgetting about them. Please keep in mind, however, that 1d20+5 was correct last round.

+5 BAB
+1 Size
+5 DEX (but see below)
-4 nonlethal damage
-2 entangled
-2 (from -4 DEX penalty)
+2 Knowledge Devotion


So the touch attack is still a 13, plus...1? :smallfurious: Of course.

[roll0]

The eldritch blast ricochets off a nearby tree, bouncing towards Lars.

[ghostaxe]

Oh, right, I forgot about your Knowledge devotion. (I did belately remember your DR and concealment this time!)

Unfortunately, I think Lars has cover vs. you, so a 14 touch attack roll will not hit.


As the Eldritch Blast ricochets from behind Lars and then strikes to hit, Lars releases a roar of rage, but does not fall.

"Milo, you imbecile, what are you doing!? One prisoner is enough, you can kill the rest!" shouts Soranna.

Orc #2 draws another javelin and hurls it at Milo, and the other 4 orcs that joined the party late also approach Milo and hurl javelins. Only 1 of them hits, however, for 3 damage.

dm only:

#2 [roll0]
[roll1] (-2 for DR)
[roll2] >20 = hit

#3 [roll3]
[roll4] (-2 for DR)
[roll5] >20 = hit

#4 [roll6]
[roll7] (-2 for DR)
[roll8] >20 = hit

#5 [roll9]
[roll10] (-2 for DR)
[roll11] >20 = hit

#6 [roll12]
[roll13] (-2 for DR)
[roll14] >20 = hit


Round 3:

Lars, the orc leader, picks up his spiked chain and approaches Soranna while taunting, draws a Potion and quaffs it. His wounds look visibly reduced afterwards.

dm only:

Healed 12 HP (plus 12 nonlethal).
Lars at 36/36, with 14 nonlethal damage.




He taunts at Soranna, "Mirg likes Human women... I will subdue you and give you to him as a present!"

He then shouts to the others, "You guys! Focus fire on the halfling!"

dm only:

dire wolf reflex: [roll15]
dire wolf reflex: [roll16]

dire wolf attack: [roll17] (with flank)
[roll18]
miss [roll19]
trip [roll20] vs soranna [roll21]

dire wolf attack: [roll22] (with flank)
[roll23]
miss [roll24]
trip [roll25] vs soranna [roll26]

bats reflex: [roll27]
damage: [roll28]



The dire wolves, in the mean time, still appear to be doing well against the foliage. They circle around Soranna and leap at her from both sides, both of them tearing large wounds in her flesh for a total of 24 damage. One of them furthermore trips Soranna, and the woman is thrusted head-first into the menacing grass.

Turand finishes casting his spell, and a swarm of bats appear and zoom towards Milo. The bats latch themselves onto Milo, draining his blood for a total of 4 damage. Additionally, make a Fort save DC 13 or be nauseated for 1 round.

Turand then rushes forth and casts another spell.

Spellcraft DC 17:

Mass Snake's Swiftness


Orcs #3 through #6 react to his spell, and hurl another volley of javelins at Milo. Two of them hit for a total of 7 damage.

dm only:

#3 [roll29]
[roll30] (-2 for DR)
[roll31] >20 = hit

#4 [roll32]
[roll33] (-2 for DR)
[roll34] >20 = hit

#5 [roll35]
[roll36] (-2 for DR)
[roll37] >20 = hit

#6 [roll38]
[roll39] (-2 for DR)
[roll40] >20 = hit


Lars laughs and shouts, "You best be surrendering just about now, foolish human and halfling. We can call off the wolves."

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TXabcbvr-DI/AAAAAAAAAGw/2HdDlvf4fus/s512/Encounter3-1-4.jpg

[ghostaxe]

Soranna realizes she's in a terrible situation. Drawing upon her primal survival instincts, Soranna begins to foam slightly at the mouth while she draws a potion of Invisibility and quaffs it. The wolves swipe at her as she does so, both hitting for an extreme 30 damage. It is apparent that only due to her sheer force of will does she manage to down her potion and stay conscious.

dm only:

dire wolf attack: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]

dire wolf attack: [roll2]
damage: [roll3]




Hrm. I think the Cleric -> Druid change was OK, but the Hellhounds for Dire Wolves may be too much.

[OMG PONIES]

Does the fact that Milo’s 15 feet up do anything to negate Lars’ cover? If I’m drawing it out right (and I don’t know if I am), the tree in K1 is providing cover assuming that Milo is on the ground and chooses corner (-1,-2)(H,I) for determining cover. However, since he is 15 feet up, the line does not pass through the tree unless said tree is more than 10 feet tall. Is it?

[ghostaxe]

Hrm, good point about that. You can pick any corner of your square, so you can actually pick the point 20' up, rather than 15 feet up.

Alas, I did not pre-determine the height of the trees, so let's go with small trees being 10 ft high and large trees being 25 ft high unless otherwise noted. I will change the last round shortly.

Previous post and map edited to reflect changes.

[OMG PONIES]

[roll0] against nausea. :smallfurious:!

[OMG PONIES]

So, fool that I am, I just realized that I can only Intimidate creatures that I’m threatening in melee combat. Since that will be next to nobody, can I retrain Imperious Command for Empower SLA, move my Intimidate skill points, and remove the Fearsome enhancement to my armor? Can I do that now, or must I wait until I level? Alternatively, can I intimidate foes at range?

Milo coughs and sputters, flying to G3 in an attempt to rid himself of the swarm of bats.

[ghostaxe]

Since you have not yet used Intimidate in combat, I'll allow you to switch it out right now.

However, you do not qualify for Empower Spell-Like Ability:



The creature can only select a spell-like ability duplicating a spell with a level less than or equal to half its caster level (round down) -2. For a summary, see the table in the description of the Quicken Spell-Like Ability feat.


As your Eldritch Blast is considered an spell-like ability that's 1/2 of your class level, you can never take Empower Spell-Like Ability for it (well, unless you take 4 levels of something else, then take Practiced Spellcaster in Warlock).

By RAW, you cannot Intimidate at a range (I thought there was a feat that allowed this, though I can't find it right now). I will wait for you to finalize character changes before proceeding with next round.

[OMG PONIES]

I thought that there was errata to Complete Arcane that made an unaltered Eldritch Blast always count as a first-level spell, thus eligible for empowering by a 6th-level warlock. I'll have to check the errata file when I get home, since it's blocked at work. If I can't take that, are you okay with Flyby Attack?

[ghostaxe]

Indeed, you appear to be correct. (I hardly ever check erratas, unfortunately.)

So you can take Empower SLA (3/day). FYI, you may also take Flyby Attack. Next turn coming soon.


The five orcs snicker at their opponents' incompetence. Orc #3 goes and checks on the status of orc #1, and shouts out in Orcish, "Grubar is fine!"

The other 4 orcs judge that Milo can take a bit more of a beating, and continue launching javelins at him. One javelin hits for 7 damage

dm only:

#2 attack: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]
miss: [roll2]

#4 attack: [roll3]
damage: [roll4]
miss: [roll5]

#5 attack: [roll6]
damage: [roll7]
miss: [roll8]

#6 attack: [roll9]
damage: [roll10]
miss: [roll11]


Round 4:
Lars shouts out in Orcish, "Turand, tell your wolves to be more gentle with Mirg's prize!"

Turand utters a guttoral sound that Milo cannot understand.

Lars continues, "That bastard halfling who hit me though... no mercy!"

Lars drops his spiked chain and hurls a javelin at Milo, but misses.

dm only:

Lar attack: [roll12]
damage: [roll13]
miss: [roll14]

wolf reflex: [roll15]
wolf reflex: [roll16]

wolf attack: [roll17]
damage: [roll18] (nonlethal)
miss chance: [roll19] >50 = hit
wolf attack: [roll20]
damage: [roll21] (nonlethal)
miss chance: [roll22] >50 = hit

Bat damage: [roll23]


The wolves, hearing their commands, continuing raking their forelimbs at Soranna's last seen position, though their claws have been retracted. One of the swipes seems to connect.

Turand casts a different spell, and the shape of Soranna is outlined by a ghostly green light. Soranna is clearly unconscious already.

Spellcraft DC 16:

Faerie Fire


The swarm of bats continues to pursue Milo, biting him for 1 point of damage. Make another Fort save DC 13 or be nauseated or 1 round.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TXbuUeg7fPI/AAAAAAAAAHA/zOk6DOSqGd0/s512/Encounter3-1-5.jpg

[OMG PONIES]

I will take Empower SLA. I wanted Psionic Meditation, but then saw the 13 WIS requirement. Grr. Rolling Fort save now, turn coming soon.

[roll0]

[OMG PONIES]

Milo pictures the face of his Adalia, drawing upon his inner reserves to shake off the stench of the bat swarm. However, the foul aroma still overpowers him.

[roll0]

Edit: aw, geez. Still nauseated, Milo flies to F5.

[ghostaxe]

Well, if it's any consolation, Turand wasn't concentrating on his swarm, so they'll dissipate in this next round.


The squad of orcs move to get a better shot and continue their javelin assault. Again, one javelin hits for 4 damage.

The voice of Turand the druid can be heard, "Surrender now! Otherwise, we can't be responsible for what happens!"

dm only:

#2 attack: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]
miss: [roll2]

#3 attack: [roll3]
damage: [roll4]
miss: [roll5]

#4 attack: [roll6]
damage: [roll7]
miss: [roll8]

#5 attack: [roll9]
damage: [roll10]
miss: [roll11]

#6 attack: [roll12] (cover)
damage: [roll13]
miss: [roll14]


Round 5:

Lars laughs as he realizes the situation is under control, and shouts, "Drop to the ground, now! Hands above your head!"

He picks up his spiked chain, and approaches Milo's position.

The wolves sniff at Soranna, and upon realizing that she's unconscious, stay their current positions, ready to swipe at her again should she rise.

Turand moves, and appears to be readying an action.

dm only:

Cast Obscuring Mist if attacked. Total concealment by Obscuring Mist would negate the attack.


The swarm of bats disappear as rapidly as they appeared.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TXbwqAGkpGI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/B58zBY0-V2s/s512/Encounter3-1-6.jpg

[OMG PONIES]

Milo flies to the other side of the nearest tree and shouts at Lars, ”You and I have unfinished business!” He raises his finger towards the orc, tracing the path of his shot. Excellent, he thinks, a clear shot. Better make it count. He times his shot perfectly, waiting for his hand to steady in the pause between exhaling and inhaling. A bolt of arcane energy courses through Milo, extending down his arm and through his outstretched finger as it rockets toward Lars.


Swift action: Activate Gloves of Eldritch Admixture (1 charge)
Move action: Move to H5 (obtaining cover against all but Lars)
Standard action: Empowered Eldritch Blast (nonlethal damage) vs Lars

14 vs touch AC (includes action point) for 37 nonlethal damage and 7 fire damage.

Gloves of Eldritch Admixture 0/3 charges remaining today
Mortalbane 5/5 remaining today
Empower SLA 2/3 remaining today
Not psionically focused

ROLLS:
[roll0] (includes +1 from Point Blank Shot)
[roll1] x1.5 (includes +1 from Point Blank Shot)
[roll2]

[OMG PONIES]

Aw, gee. I can’t win for losing, huh? Hopefully this does more than its usual +1.
[roll0]

[ghostaxe]

Any chance of getting an update on the other game soon?


Lars dodges your initial attack once more, but as he turns to dodge the reflected blast, he is not quite quick enough and is immediately struck down, unconscious.

Turand takes control of the situation and shouts, "Drop to the ground and surrender right now, halfling! You have 5 seconds! Otherwise, I'll give the word and my wolves will tear your partner to shreds!"

He then turns to one of the orcs and commands in Orcish, "Nabb, go tell Koth."

The instructed Orc scampers off at full speed (he is 30' off the map in the direction pointed). The other orcs gather around Turand, and the mass of orcs shift their positions to see you better, and then tensely await your actions, gripping their javelins tightly. (All are readying actions).

dm only:

#3 [roll0]
[roll1]
miss [roll2]

#4 [roll3]
[roll4]
miss [roll5]

#5 [roll6]
[roll7]
miss [roll8]

#6 [roll9]
[roll10]
miss [roll11]


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TXe8VjrILGI/AAAAAAAAAHg/KyP11_7v3hU/s512/Encounter3-1-7.jpg

[OMG PONIES]

My sheet has been updated with my new feat, skill points rearranged from Intimidate to Bluff and Knowledge (local), and new items (Rod of Eldritch Power, Wand of Wings of Swift Flying, 5x scroll of reduce person, 5x scroll of benign transposition). I was tempted to snag a wand of Wings of Cover instead of the rod & wand, but I found it a little too cheesy. Also, Milo will be flatfooted quite a bit and thus unable to activate it.

Milo takes cover behind the tree again and activates his healing belt. ”Okay, okay,” he calls from the branches. ”We’ll surrender, but call off your wolves. Once they’re at least 300 feet away from me or my captain, I’ll come to the ground. No sense surrendering just to get torn asunder, right?”


Free action: Fly to G5 (5-foot step)
Standard action: Activate Healing Belt (2 charges)

ROLLS:
[roll0]
[roll1] like there’s any way I’m surrendering…

[ghostaxe]

Your current purchases look fine (I didn't do the math to make sure the value is preserved; I'll trust you to that.

A wand of Wings of Cover would not work, because Wands are spell trigger items, and those take at least a standard action.



Activating a spell trigger item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.


I don't think you can take a 5' step at the moment, because of the Entangle spell (which effectively taken the terrain difficult terrain), but you can move as a Move action.


Readied actions are triggered. The orcs launch their javelins at you when you do not drop to the ground as demanded by their leader, and start moving. One javelin hits for 3 damage.

Turand shouts back, "Last chance! You're in no position to bargain. Drop to the ground, now!"

The orcs hold their positions and appear to be readying new actions.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TXlYGtr5-WI/AAAAAAAAAIA/4Mm6ZsywWw8/s512/Encounter3-1-8.jpg

dm only:

attack: [roll0]
d: [roll1]
miss: [roll2]

attack: [roll3]
d: [roll4]
miss: [roll5]

attack: [roll6]
d: [roll7]
miss: [roll8]

attack: [roll9]
d: [roll10]
miss: [roll11]

[OMG PONIES]

Hmm, I thought I read somewhere in MIC that wands, etc. take the same action to activate as the spells they're replicating. I'll have to see if I can find it.

After taking a deep breath, Milo emerges from behind the trees. Hope this works, he thinks to himself as he hovers next to another tree. "Flee!" he shouts at the wolves in Orcish, "I'm the threat, not her!" With that, he unleashes a bolt of lethal energy at one of the creatures, hoping to scare both away from Soranna.

Move action: Move to I4
Standard action: Mortalbane Empowered Eldritch Blast vs. Wolf 1

ROLLS:
[roll0]
[roll1] (5d6+2d6 empowered+2d6 Mortalbane)

[ghostaxe]

Hm, I do remember reading about some controversy regarding that. By SRD rules (which I'm inclined to follow, because I can access that away from books), however, wands take the casting time of the spell with a minimum of 1 standard action. Hence Wands of Nerveskitter would also not work.

Also... the wolves don't understand Orcish. They understand the guttoral sounds that Turand the druid was speaking.


Your action triggers another volley of javelins, one of which hits for 5 damage.

Milo's Eldritch blast impacts the side of the large wolf, tearing a hole through its side. The smell of electrolyzed fur and flesh fill the air, but the attack apparently missed the wolf's vital organs, as it still stands and angrily glares at you, while waiting for a command from its master.

Turand shouts, "You've been warned!"
He then grunts in communication to the wolves, and the wolves tear Soranna to pieces with powerful bite attacks. Her head and limbs are ripped from each other in a crimson spray of blood.

The orcs continue their javelin assault, while repositioning themselves. This time, they all miss though.

dm only:

w1: [roll0]
d: [roll1]

w2: [roll2]
d: [roll3]

orc: [roll4]
d: [roll5]
miss:[roll6]

orc: [roll7]
d: [roll8]
miss:[roll9]

orc: [roll10]
d: [roll11]
miss:[roll12]

orc: [roll13]
d: [roll14]
miss:[roll15]


Turand is still readying an action.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TXlzKRczSuI/AAAAAAAAAIM/bbeSRwCoukY/s512/Encounter3-1-9.jpg

[OMG PONIES]

Milo should be in I4, though the map shows him in H4. Also, I would like to appeal your ruling about 5 foot steps while entangled. The entangle spell and the entangled condition never mention that the area becomes difficult terrain, just that an entangled character can move at half speed. From the SRD section on 5-foot steps:
You can only take a 5-foot-step if your movement isn't hampered by difficult terrain or darkness. While Milo's movement is indeed hampered, it is not because of either reason listed, so I would argue that he can take a 5-foot-step. However, I will respect whatever ruling you make.

Also, in regards to the question about wands earlier--I found the section I was remembering. It reads as follows:

Activating a spell trigger item takes the same amount of time as the casting time of the spell that the item stores... It doesn't matter right now, but I just wanted to provide it FYI.

Man, I was afraid that Soranna was going to die no matter what I did. I don't know why she didn't try to 5-foot-step out of a flanked position, but whatever. Maybe her death will give the people of Drellin's Ferry a reason to take the orc threat seriously. Next time I have an NPC ally, though, I'd like to try my hand at running them as well (if that's okay with you).

Milo dodges behind the nearest tree and, snagging a potion from his Haversack, imbibes the whole thing. Even though his wounds are stinging and his head is spinning from the death of Soranna and his own impending demise, he hears his Gram's words echo in his head: If there's one thing Stronghearts ain't, wee Milo, 'tis weak. You're a strong lad, and lucky, too. A faint smile crosses his face as he begins to shrink even smaller than he already is.

Free action: 5-foot-step to J3 (receiving cover from the tree in J4...maybe total cover against Turand and orc 5?) If you rule that Milo still cannot take 5-foot-steps despite my appeal, he will simply stay put.
Move action: Draw potion of Reduce Person
Standard action:Drink potion. Milo's DEX increases by 2, his STR decreases by 2, and he gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and AC. Because of this and other factors, his attack* and AC** penalties from being entangled are effectively negated, leaving his AC at 21 before cover bonuses.

*-2 attack, -2 [from -4 DEX], +1 size, +1 [from +2 DEX], +2 Knowledge Devotion=+0 total
**-2 [from -4 DEX], +1 size, +1 [from +2 DEX]=+0 total

[ghostaxe]

Ah, sorry about the position.

I don't have a strong feeling regarding the 5' step. If you think you should be able to take it while Entangled, then that's how we'll play it (of course enemies will also be able to do so).

I was under the impression one couldn't take 5' steps while Entangled, so that's why I didn't have Soranna move before or after quaffing the Potion. But I don't think that would have mattered, because the Dire Wolves have Scent.

Sure, you can play the NPCs, although I reserve an override in case the action you have them make isn't one I think they would reasonably do.

Moving to J3 provides cover, but not total cover, and only if you're no more than 5' into the air (since the tree is 10ft tall). (A tree only 10 ft tall isn't going to be more than 1 foot wide.) So you don't actually receive cover this round (since you said you were 15' up).


Turand commands, "Bonfey, get Lars up." He then grunts another command to the wolves, and they turn, a bit reluctantly, towards to corpse of Soranna. They each grab one of Soranna's short swords gingerly in their maws, and are preparing to return to their trainer.

"Fool! You cannot hope to prevail against us!" taunts the druid as another javelin hits for 2 damage. The other orcs are looking a bit concerned though.

One of the orcs feeds Lars a Potion, while the other three continue hurling javelins despite their suboptimal position. Lars is still unconscious though.

Turand is still readying an action.

dm only:

a [roll0] (+4 no cover)
d [roll1]
m [roll2]

a [roll3] (+4 no cover)
d [roll4]
m [roll5]

a [roll6] (+4 no cover)
d [roll7]
m [roll8]

h [roll9]

Lars HP: 32 / 36, 47 nonlethal


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TXphV9GM-CI/AAAAAAAAAIY/zzeqrccv8B0/s512/Encounter3-1-10.jpg

[OMG PONIES]

Makes sense. I just realized that the 5-foot-step business didn't matter much--since Milo has a BAB greater than +1, he can draw a weapon (or a wand) as a free action during a move. :smallbiggrin: However, I just realized how much of a dunce I am--right now, my UMD while using Deceive Item is a flat 20; that's good enough for wands, but 1 short of success on a 1st-level scroll. :smallannoyed: I thought it was 15+spell level for scrolls, oy.

"I'm not hoping," Milo sneers as he flies backward, towards the barracade. As he moves, he pulls a wand from his pack and activates it. His wounds begin slowly stitching themselves together as he takes shelter behind the branches and calls out, "I'm knowing."

Free action: Draw wand of Lesser Vigor while moving.
Move action: Move to J1 (still 15 feet up).
Standard action: activate wand (taking 10 on UMD check via Deceive Item for a result of 20).
Regain 1 HP, coming to 14/39.

[ghostaxe]

Um... Are you sure? Considering how Creen died, and now that you're tiny?

[OMG PONIES]

Good idea...I thought those wolves were farther away last time I looked at the map, though. Guess my eyes are playing tricks on me. Milo moves back to J1, but stays 15 feet up. Post edited

[ghostaxe]

The wolves carry Soranna's blades to their master, and drops it at Turand's feet. Turand picks up one of them, but is still careful to ready an action against Milo.

The other orcs hesitate... it is clear that they are running short on javelins, not at all having expected to use so many against a single target. They almost seem to be waiting for Milo's flying magic to end... but they do seem ready to hurl at moment's notice.

A different orc feeds Lars a potion.

dm only:

[roll0]

Lars HP: 36/36, 40 nonlethal


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TXuvqIxjvkI/AAAAAAAAAI8/MSpCLHJCZ3E/s512/Encounter3-1-11.jpg

[OMG PONIES]

Position error again; Milo was in J1 to start.

Milo double-moves to N3.

[ghostaxe]

Sorry about that. I think I actually moved you, but then made another change I didn't like, and then undid one step too far... :smallannoyed:

Map has been retroactively changed.


Turand is visibly growing annoyed that Lars still doesn't wake. He draws a potion, drops it on the ground, and commands an orc to feed it to Lars. The potion seems to work its effect on Lars, and he opens his eyes painfully. When he realizes that the situation is still ongoing, he immediately stands up, and grabs his spiked chain from the ground.


The other three orcs are still poised to strike at you with their javelins, and the wolves are futilely licking the wounded one's wounds.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TXuwirV9bCI/AAAAAAAAAJA/5eoLzoVl1Wg/s512/Encounter3-1-12.jpg

One of the orc whispers, "Are the reinforcements really going to come on time?"

"Shut it! That'll be 20 lashes for you when we get back!" whispers back Turand.

dm only:

[roll0]
Lars HP: 36/36, 32 nonlethal.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo flies over to one of the taller trees, taking cover behind its branches. He curses under his breath when he sees that Lars is back up, but develops a plan. He draws a wand from his pack, a gift from Adalia."Save one charge for your trip back to me," she had said...and he will, he promises himself as he activates the wand--he will.


Move action: fly to N5 still 15' up (gaining cover/total cover?)
Free action: draw wand of Wings of Swift Flying while moving
Standard action: activate wand (taking 10 via Deceive Item for a result of 20).

Now, I think this increases Milo's current speed to 25' (20+30=50/2=25). If you're feeling generous, it might increase Milo's speed to 40' (10+30=40). Your call.

[ghostaxe]

Sorry, I'm going to have to say that your speed increases to 20+30=50, but that's divided by 2 for Entangle. On the other hand, you're almost out of the Entangle, so I don't think that matters much.


Lars roars when he sees that the orcs are not firing. "What are you cowards doing! Attack him or I'll attack you!"

Lars then leads the group in moving and hurling javelins at you. Bolstered by their leader's words, 2 of the orcs' javelins hit for a total of 10 damage, even though their leader missed. Turand follows the group, but still is readying an action.

The morale of the group appears to be returning, since their leader is conscious once again, and they have managed to score another two hits on you.

dm only:

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]

[roll9]
[roll10]
[roll11]

[roll12]
[roll13]
[roll14]
2 rounds of ammo left for 3 of them, 3 rounds of ammo left for 1 of them, and Lars has plenty.


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TXz3_R3YEdI/AAAAAAAAAJM/rgpfyS5gp0I/s512/Encounter3-1-13.jpg

[OMG PONIES]

Milo flies into the open, burning the day's last charge from his healing belt.

Move action: fly to L9.
Standard action: activate healing belt (1 charge).
Free action: regain 1 HP from lesser vigor, coming to 16/39 HP.

Milo is no longer entangled!
Rolls:
[roll0]

[ghostaxe]

"For the great leader!" shouts Lars as they continue their onslaught of javelins. From your new vantage point, you see that most of the orcs are down to their last javelin after this assault; one orc has 2 left. Lars, on the other hand, seems to still have plenty left.

The javelin from Lars painfully strikes your side for 9 damage, it seems that Lars is their leader because of his strength, rather than some arbitrary metric. Another orc's javelin hits for 8 damage, you sense that the latter got lucky and hit one of your more important organs.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TX0BeXsi5MI/AAAAAAAAAJY/yhLGHC7U2fo/s512/Encounter3-1-14.jpg

dm only:

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]

[roll9]
[roll10]
[roll11]

[roll12]
[roll13]
[roll14]


Turand is still readying a spell.


Edit:

Your AC is 23 now, correct?

Oops, didn't see that one was a crit threat before.

[OMG PONIES]

Damn crit. Milo falls unconscious, at -1. [roll0] Milo drops to -2, but Lesser Vigor brings him back up to -1.

[ghostaxe]

Er... you still have action points left, no? Would you like to use one, either to try to negate the hit, or to stabilize automatically?

[OMG PONIES]

Geez! I keep forgetting those. Action Point to try negating the hit. [roll0] And to answer your previous question, my AC is 23 before action points.

[ghostaxe]

As Lars' javelin impacts Milo's body, Milo's dark aura seems to disintegrate the javelin mid-flight.

"Coward!" roars Lars. "Your tricks cannot save you every time!"

(hit negated.)

[OMG PONIES]

"Not every time," Milo says and smirks, "just this one. Too bad you haven't got any." He lets another bolt of energy fly toward the orc, hoping to take him out once more.

Standard action: Empowered EB vs Lars (20 vs touch AC for 33 nonlethal damage)
[roll0]
[roll1] x1.5, +3
Move action: fly to Q2

[ghostaxe]

dm only:

[roll0]


As Milo releases his bolt of energy, suddenly Turand, who had been doing nothing all this time, springs to action. His spell completes just a moment before Milo fires, and the entire battlefield is covered in mist, as far as Milo can tell. Milo's energy blast is released, but Milo has no idea whether it hit or not.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TX6joV9FdbI/AAAAAAAAAJk/1U-2--jPox4/s512/Encounter3-1-15.jpg


You may change your move action now if you wish.

[OMG PONIES]

I'll leave my move action unchanged. I thought the readied action might be a line of sight blocker like that, but didn't expect it to trigger on a shot at Lars. Hmm...I believe it's the orcs' action now?

[ghostaxe]

Turand barks out a command in Orcish, "Grook, to the south! Ugor, to the north! Find him!"

Moments later, an orc emerges before you out of the mist, he shouts, "I see him, he's just east of me, 15 feet up!" before launching his last javelin at Milo.

Another orc shouts, "I don't see him."

Two more orcs follow the first orc's voice, and hurl their javelins at you as well. All of the javelins miss, however.

From inside the mist, you hear sounds of the dire wolves on the move.

dm only:

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TYLmiUuNcVI/AAAAAAAAAKE/CkYuMu6WAgk/s512/Encounter3-1-16a.jpg


Due to the mist, you cannot see in the area between the two blue lines past the fog.

[OMG PONIES]

Thanks for tracing LoS; it's really helpful!

Milo smirks at the orcs emerging from the mist--foolish underlings didn't need to be kept alive for questioning. He lets an eldritch blast fly at a nearby orc before taking cover behind a tree. "It's useless, chaps," he calls to the remaining orcs in their native tongue. "I don't run out of ammo."

Standard Action: Eldritch Blast vs. Orc 3, 26 vs touch AC for 27 lethal damage.
[roll0]
[roll1]
Move action: fly to S,-4 (15 feet up)

[ghostaxe]

Milo's blast strikes the orc (#3) square in the forehead. An instant later, the orc's head explodes in a gush of grayish-red cerebral fluid like a overripe watermelon.

A panicked orcish voice shouts from the far side of the mist, "Run for it, boys! Lars and Turand already fled!"

The two remaining orcs you see before you, frightened by this turn of events, head straight into the mist.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TYOzuQTsEGI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/54txfqNdQaM/s512/Encounter3-1-17a.jpg

[OMG PONIES]

An instant later, the orc's head explodes in a gush of grayish-red cerebral fluid like a overripe watermelon.

Is it wrong if I think that's awesome? Also, a question before Milo takes his next action: would a move to (P,-2) cause Milo to be entangled, or would I be outside the area of the spell? I'm trying to get to Soranna's body to retrieve anything I can use to show the people of Drellin's Ferry that she's gone and they need to take this threat seriously.

[ghostaxe]

Hm, good question. For these area effects, I'll rule that the 5' square is considered affected if more than half the area is affected.

(P, -2) looks like its more than half-filled with Entangle, so it will cause you to be entangled.

But it doesn't really matter, because the orcs are fleeing now to their second line of defenses. Unless you want to chase them down, we're out of combat rounds.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo flies over to Soranna's corpse and, once he's sure the orcs and wolves have retreated, lowers himself to the ground. He fights off the twining vines and branches to get to the captain's position, shaking his head slightly at the sight.

[roll0]

He scours Soranna's body for any identifying item he can stick in his pack--a signet ring or monogramed weapon, for example. His eyes keep wandering to her severed head; he didn't want to bring back such grisly evidence, but if the situation demanded it...

[ghostaxe]

As Milo searches Soranna's corpse and pack, he finds several items of note, including:


1 chain shirt with Soranna's rank and emblem embroidered on the left chest region.
1 heavy shield
1 bubbling green potion
2 bright pink potions
2 pale purple potions
4 lime green potions
1 bubbling orange potion
31 gp.


Additionally, strewn over the battlefield are:

1 decapitated orc corpse with:

1 longsword
1 studded leather armor
[roll0] gold


1 unconscious orc with:

1 longswords
1 studded leather armors
1 pale purple potion
[roll1] gold


Also, [roll2] javelins that missed you do not appear to be quite broken yet.

And three huge pools of blood (from Soranna, wolf, and orc).

You could probably cut Soranna's rank and emblem embroidery from her chain shirt.


Award yourself 1500 xp for overcoming this encounter.

[OMG PONIES]

Sorry, submitting my Iron Chef build occupied most of my day after a busy weekend. Proper update coming tomorrow.

[OMG PONIES]

After a few moments, Milo’s healing and shrinking spells wear off, and he returns to his normal size, slightly battered but still standing. He scoops up the potions and all of the gold he can find before approaching Soranna’s body. ”Sorry, chief,” he mutters before taking the rank and emblem from her sleeve. He also uses her sword to gingerly cut a lock of hair from her decapitated head, praying that someone in Drellin’s knows how to raise the dead.

The Halfling sticks all of the potions, gold, and reminders of Soranna’s sacrifice into his sack, then takes advantage of the fact that his swift flying spell is still in effect to return to Drellin’s Ferry. Hopefully they’d take this seriously once they saw what these orcs had done to the captain (and what they’d nearly done to Milo as well, bless his stars—nearly killed by orcs twice in two days!). He steels himself before taking to the sky, ready for any other challenges that stand in his way.

Milo takes a lock of Soranna’s hair, the rank and emblem from her chain shirt, 1 green potion, 2 pink potions, 3 purple potions, 4 lime potions, 1 orange potion, and 49 gp. He’ll take 10 on his Concentration check to become psionically focused before flying back to Drellin’s Ferry (double moving every round if he can get there quickly). If not, he’ll use the run action as much as possible without getting fatigued/exhausted.

Gloves of Eldritch admixture 0/3 charges remaining today
Healing Belt 0/3 charges remaining today
Empower SLA 0/3 uses remaining today
Mortalbane 4/5 uses remaining today
Action Points 3/8 remaining

[ghostaxe]

FYI, you missed two magic items there. I'm surprised you didn't take everything in your Haversack.


Milo arrives back in Drellin's Ferry shortly before noon. The town guards at the gates recognize you with a nod, and open the door for you to enter the town.

The town seems to be on and about its usual noon-time business. There is a slight din in the market area from various merchants trying to peddle their wares or crops, and from others just chatting. The river is less active than usual, now that boats carrying ore from the Wyrmsmoke Mountains have stopped coming.

[OMG PONIES]

Argh, freaking Detect Magic at will! I knew I was forgetting something I wanted to do. Oh well, it would have been magic weapons/armor that I’d most likely be holding until selling. A lesson for the future.

Milo approaches the nearest guard, his face straight despite his panic. ”I must speak with the town speaker. Where can he be found?”

[ghostaxe]

The guard looks to you quizically and replies. "Norro? He's probably at his home, still sleeping. The guy never gets up before noon these days. Really, no need to. Captain Soranna takes care of everything of importance around here."

The guard gives you Norro's address.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo flies to Norro's house and raps on the door. "Speaker?" he calls, "we need to speak...privately."

[ghostaxe]

As Milo approaches Norro's abode, his is escorted inside by Norro's servants. When Milo makes it clear to the servants that it's a matter of crucial importance that Norro must be woken and informed of immediately, the servants hesitantly go and awaken the Speaker.

Norro comes out to greet you some 15 minutes later, in a half-dressed state. "Ah, so, Milo was it? *yawn* I thought you set out with Soranna this morning? No problem if you changed your mind... between you and me, I think Soranna's taking this whole 'orc threat' thing too far. Sure, her brother was killed by orc bandits some eight years ago, but that's no reason to discriminate against all orcs. They make good servants and laborers."

[OMG PONIES]

Milo says, "Yes, speaker, but I'm afraid she might have been right about this threat." He waits for the servants to leave (and asks them to if they don't). Then, the halfling pulls Soranna's insignia from his haversack. "We encountered a band of orcs near a barricade. They dropped her almost instantly. They asked me to surrender, but fool that I am, I tried to save her. This threat is not only serious, Speaker; it's severe. You need the people of Drellin's Ferry to be prepared. I didn't leave much of a trail flying, but they've dropped us here before...they know where Drellin's is, and I fear the worst. Will you help train the people while I learn more about the situation?"

[roll0]

[ghostaxe]

"Oh... Oh my. The good captain... killed you say? This is most shocking and worrying indeed. But she was only killed for intruding into the Orc lands, right? Perhaps we should just let them be? Or do you think they'll be a danger to Drellin's Ferry? But if we organize efforts against them, they may attack us in retaliation.

This is most troubling! What do you think we should do? But wait, don't say it now, I can't hold the fate of Drellin's Ferry in my arms alone. We must call a Town Hall meeting and hear the peoples' opinions!"

Norro then gives command to his servants to place posters throughout Drellin's Ferry that a Town Hall Meeting will commence by the market at 7pm that night. All are welcome to attend, and several men and women of note are given prominent panel positions at the center stage. Milo, as you have brought the information about Soranna's death, will also be given a center stage position.

Please declare any actions you take before the Town Hall meeting (you have about 8 hours).

[ghostaxe]

Town Hall minigame rules:

Town Hall minigame.

Debate leaders: Milo (PC, +3), Jarett (NPC, -3)
Rest of Panel: Norro (+1), Brother Derny (0), Sertieren (0), Kellin (0), Delora (0) [convinced at +3 or -3]
People: (-1), [convinced at -10 or +10].

The game proceeds in rounds, each of which lasts roughly 10 minutes. In each round, Milo acts first, and then Jarett. There will be a 10 minute restroom break every 2 hours (12 rounds).

On each's turn, Milo or Jarett has two options: Convince the people or convince one member of the panel. In both cases, it's an opposed diplomacy check (opposed by the other group).

On your turn, you lay out an argument and then roll a diplomacy check. Panelists who support you will also roll to support. Anyone at +2 or +3 attitude gives a +1 circumstance bonus per 4 points of check result (so 23 would give +5, 24 would give +6). Anyone at a +1 attitude gives a +1 circumstance bonus per 10 points of check result. You will similarly be opposed by a similar mechanism.

The DM may adjust the scores by anywhere between -8 to +8 (depending on the strength or weakness of your argument), but usually it'll be between -2 and +2.

If you win the check, you adjust the target's attitude by 1 unit. If you win the check by 10 or more, the target's attitude changes by 1+(x/10), where x is the number that you won by.

Panelists who reach +3 or -3 attitude cannot be influenced, as they've already made up their minds.

*****

Feel free to look up some info on who Norro, Brother Derny, Sertieren, Kellin, Delora are from the Book, as that's more or less public knowledge (if you take some time in the afternoon to do so). Info on Jarett should not be known by Milo though. Also, be aware that some alignments of the panelists have been changed from the book.

Feel free to ask any questions about the system before we begin.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo tries to plead with the inept leader, though he knows it will be to no avail. ”There are no orc lands, speaker! You can’t simply erect a sign on the road and kill those who pass it. If we let them be, that sign will move closer and closer to Drellin’s Ferry. How long until they close off the part of town that lay across the water? How long until they drive the people you care for from their homes? How long until some poor, unfortunate soul in Terrelton is handing his superior our personal effects? Call your meeting if you must, but I beseech you: start the town guard training the able-bodied men of Drellin’s to defend their town. It may not buy us certain victory, but it will buy us something far more precious—time.”

[roll0]

After discussing the matter with Norro (if the Speaker has anything else to say before the meeting), Milo will try to find a shop that will identify his new potions. He’ll also go shopping for a scroll of reincarnate or raise dead, if one is available anywhere in town. Next, he pokes around town to see if there are any temples. If so, he will enter and inquire about the possibility of resurrecting the dead [locally, not in the grand cosmic sense]. Finally, Milo will keep an ear out in the proper places to subtly learn what he can about his audience (specifically the other panel members). He remembers meeting Sertieren, but doesn’t know much about the others, particularly Jarett. If Iberim had taught him one thing, it’s to research your enemies as much as your position before a debate. After a time of social research, Milo tries to sniff out the town library/archives/what-have-you to research some more about the town of Drellin’s Ferry itself (specifically, any harsh times in its history).

[roll1] for where I can find a way to raise the dead (scroll, caster, etc)
[roll2] for info about Brother Derny
[roll3] for info about Sertieren
[roll4] for info about Kellin
[roll5] for info about Delora
[roll6] for info about Jarett
[roll7] for info about Drellin’s Ferry found via research

I don’t know if Drellin’s Ferry has anyone powerful enough to raise dead, but reincarnate is only a 4th-level druid spell. I’d be willing to work out a barter with any local merchant who might have one (700 gp as per the SRD). Also, I’ll read about the panel members in the adventure, but I’ll skip over Jarett. The checks are above are to see if I can learn anything further about them—likes/dislikes, greatest accomplishments, etc. I’m not trying to learn their deep, dark, secrets, but just to enter casual conversations (or listen in on any around me). I don’t know if Knowledge: Local is the best skill for research, but let me know if you want me to use another.

[ghostaxe]

dm only:

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]


Unfortunately, Milo does not find any Scrolls of Raise Dead or Reincarnate after checking with both Brother Derny's Temple of Pelor and the local druids. Avarthel, the leader of the druids around these parts, is not in town today; it's possible he can cast or has a scroll of Reincarnate.

Brother Derny: Brother Derny is the head of the temple of Pelor. He is generally known for being quite preachy, but generally is liked by the people of Drellin's Ferry... if his presence and speeches are kept in moderation.

Sertieren: The halfling wizard specializes in protective magic. He is not particularly sociable, and dislikes people who try to haggle with him for prices.

Kellin: Kellin is the leader of the Shadowbanks clan. There are rumors that not all of the Shadowbanks businesses are entirely legitimate or ethical, but nothing has been substantiated. It has been whispered that Kellin is a skilled herbologist, and that he has a well-stocked greenhouse in the outskirts of town.

Delora: Delora is an ex-adventurer who decided she didn't want to risk her life anymore. She has no real job, and instead seems to be living off her previous adventuring treasure.

Jarett: Jarett owns a sundries shop and is generally well-liked by the people. She is known to make people feel at ease, and seems to have one of the sharpest memories of anyone in town, remember personal details about every single one of her customers. It is known that Jarett and Soranna are on bad terms; most people in town tend to secretly side with Jarett, as they see Soranna as a bit too zealous and oppressive. (Jarett was the woman who raised the objection earlier about Soranna appropriating town funds for her potions and your scrolls.)

Drellin's Ferry: Drellin's Ferry is (or so far has been) a growing town. The Elsir River provides much in the way of commerce, as many ships pass by Drellin's Ferry. There are many kids in Drellin's Ferry, as the citizens are rapidly procreating so as to settle the nearby lands. Humans are predominant in Drellin's Ferry, followed by Halflings.

Drellin's Ferry, many many years ago, was a much bigger city than it is now. However, over the course of a few days, the Elsir River flooded and many of Drellin's Ferry's inhabitants drowned or saw their homes destroyed. It has been speculated by some that the flooding was not a natural disaster, but rather precipitated by magic.


Brother Derny tells you that the Pale Purple potions are Cure Light Wounds, but does not know any of the rest of them.

Please clarify how you would like to Identify the potions. Using Identify as the spell will cost 110 gp (10gp for casting, 100gp for costly material reagents). Spellcraft DC 25 also will identify a potion; if you ask someone to try to identify it via Spellcraft, it'll be 5gp per attempt, and please list who you approach to do this.

[ghostaxe]

Please let me know if you wish to buy anything or otherwise prepare for the meeting.


As the appointed time approaches for the Town Hall meeting, one of Drellin's Ferry's first in many many years, the marketplace venue has become packed. Milo, by a very rough estimate, estimates more than 1,000 members of the audience... presumably even some of the people who are living in the outskirts have come to town to hear the debate.

Alas, it does not have the expected gravity one would expect of a debate concerning a major threat to the town... several opportunistic vendors have set up food and drink stands in the markets, selling fried chicken skewers, corn on the cob, and various other foods typically seen during town fairs and festivities. Others have even set up various "shoot the kobold" games for children to play.

All audience activity hushes, however, as you and the other panelists approach the brightly lit and elevated center stage, and take your seats.

Seated from left to right are Jarett, Kellin, Sierteren, Norro, Brother Derny, Delora, and Milo.

Norro stands approaches center stage. "Ladies and gentlemen of Drellin's Ferry, I am your town speaker, Norro Winston. We have not had a Town Hall meeting for quite some time now, and alas, I regret to inform you that tonight's meeting is not on the most auspicious of topics. Milo Brushscrubber, who recently traveled with Captain Soranna down the Dawn Way, brings news. Without further ado, I present to you Milo."

Norro then nods and motions for Milo to take center stage and speak his piece.

Round 1a:


Attitudes:

Kellin 0
Sierteren 0
Norro +1
Brother Derny 0
Delora 0

Populace -1

Please give a brief description of what you've seen and what you propose that Drellin's Ferry do, and then take your action of trying to convince either a panelist or the populace. Norro will support you.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo would have asked Sertieren to identify the potions via Spellcraft if possible. Because he has heard that the wizard doesn't like people haggling with him, he does not dispute the 5 gp per attempt fee. Assuming that Sertieren is successful on all attempts, that's 20 gp (bubbling green, pink, lime green, and orange potions).

Milo begins by apprising the audience of the situation. "Many wars begin with petty squabbles over taxation, ideals, or a multitude of other reasons. This one has instead begun with the senseless slaying of Captain Soranna. We were sent on a simple mission, to scout the orcish expansion occurring to the West. However, we were greeted by a war band who wanted nothing more than our blood.

I was lucky enough to survive, but the Captain was surrounded by horrid creature's at the orc leader's command, and their claws cut deep. She was dropped almost instantly, and killed when I attempted to save her. My quick thinking allowed me the opportunity to escape and come back here to inform all of you that the orcs are not stopping their expansion. They will come to the doorstep of Drellin's Ferry. The only question is: when?"

Milo then turns to Delora, the ex-adventurer. "In my brief time in Drellin's Ferry, I have already heard much about your exploits. Your tales of heroism are legendary, as are the tales of the loyalty between you and your companions. In my short stay, Captain Soranna had become an ally of mine, and I had to stand by and watch her suffer a grim demise at the hands of these villainous orcs.

Tell me, if you will, what fate would befall those orcs if they had mercilessly slain one of your band?" Milo pauses for dramatic effect, as well as allowing Delora an opportunity to answer.

If she mentions that she would avenge their death:
"As surely as you would rise up to avenge your fallen comrade, we must avenge the death of Captain Soranna. Now, this is not a call for blood, but a call to arms. We must defend ourselves against the coming orc invasion--and it will come. We must ready ourselves to resist their waves of murder, to show them that the people of Drellin's Ferry are strong, and that Soranna's legacy endures."

If she does not mention that she would avenge their death:
"No matter your course of action, you would not return home, leave the door unbarred, and wait for them to come, would you? No, you are a shrewder tactician than that. You would find a defensive position, secure it, and prepare yourself to fight...to win. Drellin's Ferry is our defensive position, and we can train these people to defend it with ease, to protect the lives to which they have grown accustomed."

[roll=Diplomacy]1d20+19/roll]

[OMG PONIES]

Grr, messed up the roller. [roll0]

[ghostaxe]

It's 20gp regardless of whether he succeeds or fails- 5gp per attempt, which involves running some reactions with spell components, I'm imagining.


dm only:

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
--
Norro support: [roll4]
Jarett counter: [roll5]

Jarett offense: [roll6]
Norro counter support: [roll7]


The wizard informs you that the bubbling green potion is a Potion of Expeditious Retreat and the orange potion is a Potion of Fly. He apologizes that he is unable to definitively identify the others, however.

---


Could you edit your previous post to also give a general description of what happened, before you talk to Delora? Norro has not said anything yet about the situation, and so the audience would be completely confused.


Delora stands up and speaks, "Well, of course I would want to avenge my friend and compatriot. They're just orcs, after all, not some horrible dragon-lich. It should be doable." Her mood darkens as she hears that Soranna has been killed. "I agree, we should definitely exact revenge on the orcs who killed Soranna.

Jarett stands up and starts as soon as Delora pauses. "Just a moment, Delora. While the death of Captain Soranna certainly is regrettable, I fail to see why this should involve the town... or you. Soranna had bad blood with the orcs; everyone knows that. In her misguided and obsessive bias, she confronted them, and was killed. I think we have no doubts that Soranna would have aimed to kill any orc who stood in her way?

Avenging friends and companions is certainly admirable, and I would not think of holding you back from your duty, Milo. But the townspeople of Drellin's Ferry are just people, not warriors, nor lifelong allies of Soranna. Why should they risk almost certain death fighting the orcs who mean them no harm in the first place?"
(Jarett's counter diplomacy score: -31)

Norro waits his turn to speak and begins hesitantly. "Well, Soranna was acting Captain of Drellin's Ferry, it does seem like the orcs killing her cannot bode well for Drellin's Ferry."
(Norro's support score: +2)

Final score: 35+2-31 = +6, success.

Delora nods to Jarett. "Thank you for your voice of reason, Jarett. Drellin's Ferry can always count on your wisdom. In this case, however, I fear I must side with Milo. Though Captain Soranna herself might have been impulsive in deciding to offend the orcs, the simple fact that they killed her, rather than imprisoning or wounding her, seems to mean that they do not come in peace."


Attitudes:

Kellin 0
Sierteren 0
Norro +1
Brother Derny 0
Delora +1

Populace -1

[ghostaxe]

Round 1b:

Jarett seems disappointed by Delora attitude, but quickly recomposes herself and starts speaking once more, this time to Brother Derny.

"Brother Derny, as both a servant of Pelor, and as a citizen of Drellin's Ferry, what do you think of the impacts of war on Drellin's Ferry? Would it win? Would it survive? Would, in short, any member of Drellin's Ferry actually benefit from war?"

"War benefits no one," replies the priest. "There have been ample records in history where war has utterly decimated villages. Why, in fact, even for the winners of a war, all too much the victory is Pyrrhic, with too much loss of life and economy. About 450 years ago, the Empire of..."

"Yes, thank you," continues Jarett, determined not to let Derny go off on one of his history lectures in the middle of her precious time. "Now, let me ask you this: what do you think of orcs? Not their looks or their hygiene.."

A few chuckles arise from the audience, but Jarett ignores them and continues, "But their rationality, and their overall outlook. Certainly, there are bad apples of every race, but do you feel that orcs, as a whole, are evil and irrational enough to kill every human they run across? What good would that serve them, if all of the human cities and nations banded together to fight them? Surely war would be a lose-lose situation to all parties involved?"

"It's true," replies the priest. "Though orcs are quick to anger and not the brightest humanoids, they have served well for the past few centuries as laborers and servants. They, like everyone else, wish for upwards socioeconomic mobility, but the vast majority would do so through proper channels and hard work. Why, just the other day, I was talking to an orc.."

"Yes, thank you," interrupts Jarett once more. "Finally, I would just like to say that I've personally been to the road block and talked to one of their leaders, a fine orc named Homorose. He was amiable enough, and told me that the ore trade from the Wyrmsmoke Mountains will resume in a few months, as soon as they've sorted out the new management. The orcs are simply claiming the wilds that no human has ever bothered to settle... the dregs of the continent, if you will. Why must we deny them that?"


It is now Milo's turn to produce a counter-argument to influence Derny. Norro and Delora will support you.

Also, slight rules change. I think making people go to +10 or -10 might take too long, so let's do to +7 or -7 instead?

[OMG PONIES]

Milo smiles and approaches the priest. "Brother Derny," he begins, "You yourself have said (and wisely so) that war benefits nobody. But tell me, in your studies of history, which villages have been decimated by war: those that were aware and prepared for the situation, or those that blithely turned a blind eye to the dangers around them? No examples needed, Brother, just choose one please." Milo waits for the priest's short answer, then continues.

"It is those who do not prepare that are utterly defeated. The question is not whether Drellin's Ferry will win or benefit from a war; it will not. The question, instead, is whether Drellin's Ferry will survive the coming war. The answer to the question is in your hands, Brother Derny. If we do nothing, the orcs will come. Some of your prayers may help to heal the wounded, but you know that we have no way to raise the dead here. Our numbers will dwindle and fade, and Drellin's Ferry will not survive.

What we do have, though, is a way to prevent the citizens of this great town from dying in the first place. Certainly you and other residents of this town have magical sources of protection. When the orcs come, will they tear through this town on their way to the rest of the Elsir Vale, or will they find Drellin's Ferry adequately protected? Will they be driven back? Will we survive? If we protect ourselves, we shall endure.

On the matter of the orcs themselves, I agree that not all of them are irrational. I met Homorose myself, and he was quite civil. However, educated and rational evil can be even more insidious than the chaotic, irrational evil. For instance, Mister Homorose was kind enough to allow me passage into the orcish lands. However, he was also shrewd enough to omit the fact that snipers were waiting beneath a bridge--an omission that nearly cost me my life.

This, then, becomes a moral question, Brother. Which is worse: the untamed evil that knows nothing else, or the civil, rational mind that conciously chooses evil? Indeed, it is the second, for theirs are minds that are able to see what is good and still go against it. They have chosen to begin their settlement in the wild, but we have no indication that they have also chosen to remain there politely. In fact, we have evidence to the contrary; their murder of Captain Soranna shows us the types of choices they will make in the future--indeed, the choices they are already making."

[roll0] +5 from Action Point (see below), for a total of 32.

[OMG PONIES]

Eek, that Diplomacy roll wasn't too hot. I'll go ahead and drop an Action Point on it as well, just in case: [roll0]

[ghostaxe]

"Well, " starts the priest, "I think there are plenty of examples in history of both. Why, take the War of the Sharn Succession, for example..." You cut him off around this point.

Delora chimes in, "It's true. When I was adventuring, it was almost always a good idea to be proactive and offensive rather than reactive and defensive."
(Delora Counter Support: -1)

Norro timidly adds, "Surely we can't ignore the fate of our good captain?"
(Norro Counter Support: -1)

Brother Derny considers all the arguments and responds, "Thank you for your council, Milo, but I'm afraid I fundamentally don't agree with one of your assumptions: that orcs are in themselves evil. Is it not infinitely more likely that Homorose simply did not know of the ambushers? The ambushers did not kill you or Soranna last time, so is it not more likely that Soranna's death was the unintentional result of an escalated fight, or perhaps a most unfortuitous strike that killed rather than grazed as intended? Pelor teaches that we must treat each other with respect and kindness, and part of that kindness is in believing until convinced otherwise that others also are willing to show kindness."

Final Score: 40-32-1-1 = +6, success (on Jarett's part)


Attitudes:

Kellin 0
Sierteren 0
Norro +1
Brother Derny -1
Delora +1

Populace -1


Round 2a:

It's now Milo's turn to act.


Note that if you try to convince Derny (or if Jarett tries to convince Norro or Delora), the target still contributes support to his own influence.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo nods to Brother Derny with a firm smile, but he is all frowns in his head. Rats, could have used the priest on my side, he thinks. Oh well, let’s see if I have any better luck with Sertieren.

The halfling turns toward the wizard and begins his next round of rhetoric. ”Sertieren, you too have met Homorose and, has been said, I believe you found him to be very polite, isn’t that so? However, you were also met by less polite orcs, leading to our first meeting—battered and wounded, dropped on the outskirts of Drellin’s Ferry like discarded carcasses. Do you remember their words to us? They commanded us to ‘respect their might and mercy, and accept the formation of the new orc realm.’ Does that sound like kind-hearted orcs who are just looking to make a homestead for themselves? Or does that sound like the violent, imperialist edict of what could become a terrible kingdom if left unchecked?

As one who specializes in abjuration spells, I would probably be preaching to the choir to remind you that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So tell me, will you aid us in using your magic to defend Drellin’s Ferry (and your shop)? Or would you rather wait until you must barter and haggle with those that remain once the orcs have torn through town? If you act now, you will receive your asking price for any spellcasting or defenses, I swear to it. If you wait, however, you’ll have to listen to people who come to your shop for healing spells as they lament how much cheaper Brother Derny would cast the same spell. Preparing a defense will not only save you from the heartache of seeing your home destroyed, but the headache of trying to recuperate thereafter, am I right?”

[roll0]

[ghostaxe]

-2 penalty to check; incorrect approach for Sierteren. While he's a bit miserly, he seriously dislikes it when people point that out to him. (I decided what they were motivated by and turned off by in advance.)


dm only:

Delora support: [roll0]
Norro support: [roll1]
Jarett counter: [roll2]
Derny counter support: [roll3]


Delora and Norro glance at you as if you've tripped a landmine, before quickly adding on your behalf,

"Ah, what Milo means to say is, 'We're sure a noble wizard such as yourself would certainly help Drellin's Ferry in its time of need, but a little help now may mean more than a lot of help later.'"
Delora support: +2

"Yes, yes! By helping the town, everyone will sing your praises!"
Norro support: +1

Brother Derny laughs and rejoins, "'Tis the sign of a greedy soul to mention money. The orcs didn't hold you for ransom, nor stole your money last time, right, Sierteren?"
Derny counter support: -1

Jarett stands up and takes to the center once more. "Sierteren, I must beseech you to consider rationally. If Milo were correct--not that I or anyone rational would believe this to be the case--but if he were correct, and the orcs mean to raze Drellin's Ferry, clearly your shop would be ruined, but surely a powerful wizard such as yourself would have no trouble escaping with your life, perhaps to set up a new shop in Brindol or Dennovar.

But think of the potential upside. If the orcs actually come in peace, and seek to establish trade, they would certainly want to employ you to help transport Ore, mark their goods, and whatnot. If rumors were to spread to their ears that you wished ill of them, then they may choose to make do without your arcane magic support."

The halfling wizard looks peeved, but fortunately, his annoyance appears to be unfocused and directed at both you and Jarett. "Hmph. You guys think I only care about money? I've got plenty of money, and plenty of spells. Just to prove it to you, I'm of a mind to offer spellcasting services for free to aid in the efforts of fortifying the town!"

Jarett and Derny simultaneously sigh at the childishness of the wizard.

Final score: 29+2+1-23-1 = +8, success


Attitudes:

Kellin 0
Sierteren +1
Norro +1
Brother Derny -1
Delora +1

Populace -1

[ghostaxe]

Round 2b:

dm only:

Jarett: [roll0]
Derny support: [roll1]
Norro counter support: [roll2]
Delora counter support: [roll3]
Sierteren counter support: [roll4]


Jarett addresses the last completely undecided member of the panel.
"Kellin, as the patriarch of the Shadowbanks clan, surely I can count on you to accept the reality of the situation: that the orcs represent not a source of threat, but rather as a source of opportunity for trade, collaboration, and friendship. Early in the days of Drellin's Ferry, there were those humans who opposed the immigration of halflings. 'They would ruin our economy!' shouted some. 'We'll have to have halfling-sized inns and furniture and everything... such a waste of time!' shouted others. But in the end, humans and halflings did quite well together in Drellin's Ferry, and those prejudiced humans were proven wrong in their concerns.

Today, we face a similar situation, only with orcs. We have no real reason to fear them except fear itself. They're declared, both to me and on their posters and letters to the town, that they want to re-establish trade after reorganizing. Think of the employment possibilities for your youths when the orcs ship tons upon tons of never-before seen rare plants from the Westdeep! Surely you would not work to actively prevent such an exciting future by alienating them now?"

Derny chimes in. "It's true. Remember that Avarthel is a half-elf... there were those who didn't like elves and half-elves either, but he's helped out Drellin's Ferry a lot during times of harvest."

[OMG PONIES]

Milo shakes his head as he steps forward. ”Yes,” he says, ”think of the opportunities. The young minds you have sculpted as part of the Shadowbanks clan could be indentured servants, slaves, or worse. Jarett paints a beautiful, optimistic picture of the way business could be, but you and I both know the way it truly works. Competition is fierce, and those who wish to remain on top must remain defensive. If the orcs want to send ambassadors or traders, I am not suggesting that we attack on sight. Indeed, I would welcome such interactions.

Instead, I am suggesting that we tap the various talents of Drellin’s Ferry, including your clan, to defend that for which all of you have already worked so hard. Because of what I have seen, I fear that the picture Jarett paints is more impressionistic, and less realistic. My opponent claims that the orcs wish to re-establish trade and join forces, but I am here to tell you what I have experienced first-hand. The orcs have begun negotiations by barricading a main trade route, they have made their opening arguments by lodging two arrows in my innards, and their initial offer is on the table with the spilling of Soranna’s blood. While it is true that their signs offer promises of road re-openings and safe return of trespassers to Drellin’s Ferry, the reality of the situation is much darker. Do you wish to attempt negotiations with a party who uses such brutish, strong-arm tactics from the start? Or would you rather deal with those who treat you fairly, paying you the respect you deserve? We tried that with the orcs—they murdered Soranna, and nearly killed me as well. Twice...simply for setting foot on the land they claim as theirs. Those are not the actions of a group open to trade and interaction. They don’t want to negotiate, they want to rob. And when someone tries to steal from you, do you invite them into your vault, or do you secure your valuables and prepare yourself to surprise the thief?

Allow me to clarify a point my opponent may have created as a straw man, building it up simply so he could burn it down: I don’t oppose immigration—I oppose invasion. I myself am not a native of Drellin's Ferry, and I owe the town a debt of gratitude for its hospitality these past few days. If orcs want to earn an honest living among us, that would be one thing. But if they want to expand their borders to include Drellin’s Ferry, that is something for which I will not--and the good people of this town should not--stand.”

[roll0]

[ghostaxe]

Delora nods in agreement. "You can't be too sure that the orcs come in peace as customers."
Delora counter support: -1

Sierteren adds, "You can't seriously think the orcs will be only good for us..."
Sierteren counter support: -1

The town speaker, "Think carefully upon this, Kellin. Halfling are not the same as orcs; the prisons of Brindol and Dennovar are disproportionately filled with the latter."
Norro counter support: -3

The elderly halfling stands and addresses both of you. "Thank you both for your advice. I feel that there is much more I need to consider before deciding which is the correct path to follow. While you are correct in saying that this could be a great business opportunity, Jarett, Milo also has a good point about their intentions. Even if they don't want to enslave or kill Drellin's Ferry, it's likely that added demand and competition could influence our economy in completely unpredictable ways."

Final score: 32+1-1-1-3-32 = -4, failure (on Jarett's part)


Attitudes:

Kellin 0
Sierteren +1
Norro +1
Brother Derny -1
Delora +1

Populace -1


Round 3a:

[OMG PONIES]

Milo nods at Kellin, continuing with a much softer tone. ”Aye, there is definitely more to consider. Not to bog you down with more possibilities, but think of the business opportunity before you if you choose to aid Drellin’s Ferry now. Yes, doing business with the orcs might prove profitable in the long run, assuming the best case scenario. But think of opportunities present in the short term, here and now, if the Shadowbanks clan were to help the town ready itself against an attack. The Speaker may be able to hire you or some of your employees as security consultants. Your workers could train the city watch in various tactics or serve the individuals within town as bodyguards. I’m sure our merchants would value the Shadowbanks presence as on-the-spot security for their storefronts. Nobody expects any of this to come for free, Kellin. They’re all will to pay a fair price for the excellent service your clan provides.

You could do quite the comfortable business, without relying on the demeanor of any outside parties. If the orcs come peacefully, fantastic! You’ve already established your new businesses, and they could serve as clients, employees, or affiliates themselves, leading to some minor expansion of the Shadowbanks portfolio. But if the orcs do not come peacefully—and I assure you, they do not, think of the lasting impact of your work. ‘Who kept your town safe when the orcs tried to invade?’ people from all over the Vale will ask. ‘The Shadowbanks Clan!’ our citizens will proudly say. New clients will be clamoring for your services from Dennovar to the Westdeep. Now that’s expansion!”

Must I spend an action point now, or can I wait to see if my argument is a success or failure before spending one?

[roll0]

[ghostaxe]

we've been applying action points retroactively, so let's just formalize that and say you can always wait until success or failure is known before deciding.

Oh, it looks like I forgot to define what happens if you tie. In that case I'll reroll Milo and Jarett's diplomacy checks as a tiebreaker.


Dm only:

jarett: [roll0]
Derny: [roll1]
ser:[roll2]
Norro:[roll3]
delora:[roll4]


Jarett steps up to the podium and starts her speech. "Milo, you might fancy yourself a great adventurer and warrior, but please understand that most people in Drellin's Ferry has neither the inclination nor the skills to be fighters, and that includes the vast majority of the Shadowbanks clan. Kellin, as patriarch, you certainly want your youths to be employed, but more importantly, you want them to be alive, no? Would you rather have them trade peacefully with orcs... And, yes, risk lower profits from increased competition, or would you rather have them off unnecessarily fight those three times their height, in a mad hope of expanding your businesses into security?

I believe that the orcs mean to trade wih us peacefully, but anyone can be driven to hostility with enough provocation. If Drellin's Ferry arms to the teeth and hold a halberd to the necks of every orc trader or diplomat that comes, then of course we will have war... An entirely unnecessary and avoidable war."
Jarett counter: -28

Derny nods his head sagely. "It's far better to avoid war altogether, rather than fight even a winning war."
Derny counter support: -1

Sertieren starts to speak, but then suddenly seems to forget what he was going to say, and sits back down.

Norro counters, "Halflings aren't the best warriors, but they make great scouts. Surely deploying some stealthy members of the Shadowbanks clan to patrol the surroundings can't be a bad idea?"
Norro support: 1

Delora adds, It's up to you, Kellin, but do you really want to lose a son or grandson before moving to action?"
Delora support: 1

Final score: 28+1+0+1-28-1 = +1, success

[OMG PONIES]

Milo wags his finger at Jarett and can't help but add, "Don't make me out to be a warmonger, friend. I'm simply stating that this war is inevitable. Welcoming the enemy into our gates will simply mean death, whereas making sure our gates are secure may save dozens of lives that would otherwise be needlessly lost. I'm not advocating that we hold a blade to anyone's neck, but that we hold a magnifying glass up to our existing defenses. That is all."

[roll0] Why not?

[ghostaxe]

Just so you know, you probably won't level up from this meeting, so you may want to consider saving a few AP for the next combat encounter.

Also... Jarett has a few more tricks up her sleeve.. Don't think you've won already.... *mwahahaha*


Kellin says, "I suppose you're right, stranger. A little subtle increase in Drellin's defenses could be invaluable in the remote chance that we're attacked, and can be waved off as simple remodeling if the orcs do come in peace."


attitudes:
Norro +1
Delora +1
Derny -1
Sertieren +1
Kellin +1

People -1


Jarett speaks to you, Milo. "Just a moment, Milo. Perhaps I'm a bit confused on what exactly you're suggesting. Exactly how many additional guards are you proposing? What kind of defenses do you propose we build? How exactly are you planning on avenging Soranna - an expedition into Orcish lands? And most importantly, how were you planning on financing these efforts? Are you suggesting that we form a militia and practice swordplay when there are fields to be tended, construct watch towers when we could be repairing roads or the granary, and send our best guards out to attack orcs in their home? Even if you convince Norro to go along with this, certainly you don't it's fair that the people sacrifice their time for nothing except your paranoia?

Norro how much funds do we have left in the town treasury? You don't need to give a detailed amount, but it can't be much after Soranna appropriated from it last time. So anything you propose would require a tax increase, would it not?

You've made many suggestions and points, but they are so vague. Please give us a more clear vision as well as a cost breakdown."

(She's targeting Norro.)

[OMG PONIES]

Yeah, but if I burn through action points now, I won't have to keep remembering them until I level. :smallbiggrin:

Milo smiles. His opponent was on the defensive, lashing out with a series of quick questions to try to shake his footing; if she had anything solid, she'd have followed one line of discourse. Her rapid-fire approach required a bit of softness to lighten the mood. "I'd be happy to answer your questions, Jarett. In order, it's zero, none, no, none needed, no, no, none of your business, and no." The halfling pauses for any confused laughter from the members of the panel or the crowd.

The smiling little man shakes his head softly and adresses the Speaker. "In all seriousness, speaker, we must both present a fair accounting of the costs associated with our views. We will not require additional guards, but the possibility of our existing guards serving an extra hour of overtime here or there. While we must keep a vigilant watch, I understand that the need for rest and family time is paramount. No additional defenses need be built, if we inspect and bolster the defenses we currently have. No expedition is needed--I am speaking solely of the people of this town being aware and ready to defend themselves. No additional financing is needed to raise awareness-we're doing that now, simply by discussing the issue.

There's no need to form an army, but we all must give some of ourselves. The town watch may keep longer hours some nights, while the townsfolk might want to practice martial arts for an hour a day or so. There are already towers and vantage points available, free of charge, and nobody needs to leave the city limits. I myself will travel back to the orcish lands to attempt diplomatic resolution, while the people of Drellin's Ferry remain alert--hopefully waiting for nothing but my happy return."

At this point, Milo turns to the crowd. "People of Drellin's Ferry, I don't ask you to sacrifice your coin. And I don't ask you to sacrifice your time for nothing, but to invest your time in order to insure that Drellin's Ferry may remain as free and peaceful as she currently is...to build a lasting legacy of a town that is as safe as it is friendly."

Milo pauses a moment for effect and turns to Jarett. "You question the costs of my position, but attempt to skirt the costs of yours. If Drellin's Ferry does not take this threat seriously, she will pay in the blood of her sons. Surely, neither you nor I want to see that happen. Think of the costs that rebuilding this fine city would have if we were to ignore the looming orcish threat. The cost of rebuilding walls, towers, and roads, for certain...but also the cost of refilling empty seats at mealtimes, the price of pain. I would like to hear what you have to say in regards to those costs.

The town coffers are not on trial here, as I will not need to tap them in order to prepare the city. No tax increase would be required; all I ask is that the people of Drellin's Ferry be willing to aid one another in order to protect themselves. Citizens who wish to purchase magical or mundane security may do so from Sertieren or the Shadowbanks, upholding my promises to them. However, nothing shall be forced upon the town or its pillars. I am not demanding tithes--I am asking for volunteers. Who's with me?"

[roll0] to counter. Eekcrapsonofa.

[ghostaxe]

Dm only:

jarett [roll0]
derny [roll1]

Ser [roll2]
Norro [roll3]
delora [roll4]
Kellin [roll5]

[ghostaxe]

A few polite chuckles emerge from the audience early on during your speech, but quickly the crowd's mood turns sour as they hear you say "martial arts."

"You can't be serious!" shouts a wide-eyed member of the audience. "You think to have us fight swords and axes with our fists!?"

Brother Derny guffaws at your words, and then stands to deliver his rebuttal. "Your suggestions waste the people's time and offer nothing in return! Martial arts, hah. That reminds me of the time when the people of Dennovar went on their tulip madness, 110 years ago. Why, the good citizens wasted so much of their time growing their overpriced tulips in hopes of earning a quick buck that they let their businesses flounder and fall. It's no different here; martial arts won't repel invader, if there even are any, and it is time people could be spending on more worthwhile endeavors.
Derny support: +2

Delora considers standing to speak, but holds her peace and allows the next in line to speak. "Alas, friend," whispers the ex-adventurer to you. "It's not realistic to say that there won't be any costs. We'll need weapons and armor."
Delora counter support: -2 0 (does not agree with you)

Norro speaks to the audience, albeit in a much smaller voice than before, "Protecting the town is everyone's duty... and some physical exercise can't be bad for anyone..."
Norro counter support: -1

Serterien shouts out to the interrupting audience member, "Oh, quiet you! With my magic of course we'll have weapons for you!"
Serterien's (bluffing) counter support: -1

Kellin stands and speaks, "In times of need, we must share with each other. Weapons that we purchase today can be probably returned for at least half of their price two months from now if it does turn out to be unneeded."
Kellin counter support: -2

Final score: 30+2-20-1-0-1-2 = +8, success (for Jarett)

Norro vacillates a bit further and mutters, "Well, it's true, I guess. We will have to levy some new taxes to arm the people, if we're seriously afraid of an orc invasion and want to defend our homes. And we would be the laughingstock of Elsir Vale if we bought 2000 longswords that end up seeing no use. But more importantly, the orcs certainly would hear of our militarization, and that might actually prompt them to attack..."

Norro looks to Milo again, "I'm afraid Jarett raises an important point that we cannot afford to overlook, Milo. How do you propose that we deal with this?"


Attitudes:

Kellin +1
Sierteren +1
Norro 0
Brother Derny -1
Delora +1

Populace -1


Round 4a

Milo's turn.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo turns now to the audience. "There are many who can fight off entire armies with naught but their bare hands--mystic monks, those who have harnessed the powers of the mind, and great wizards like Sertieren himself. Let us not delude ourselves--you are not them. Or should I say: you are not them yet. The mightiest warrior starts out as naught but a strongman, and the most sagacious wizard begins as one with a thirst for knowledge. This is where you stand, people of Drellin's Ferry; you have talents, and you can learn various others in order to defend your beloved city. This requires no coin, but a sacrifice of your time. If no orcs come, as Jarett insists will happen, all the better. In that case, the people of Drellin's Ferry have simply spent a few hours toward the end of education. No neighboring lands can take that as a harbringer of war. If the orcs do come--and they will, once they grow too large for their borders--then the people of this town will be more aptly able to defend themselves.

Here I'm trying to hint at feat retraining--that the citizens can spend some time to learn some feats that might be helpful. If they agree, Milo's got some ideas in mind.

In my research of this fine town, I have seen that your population has been steadily rising. The orcs, too, have been raising a new generation. However, rather than the population of a small town, we are talking about the formation of a nation. Will the Wyrmsmokes be large enough to contain them? Maybe...at first. But as they grow, they will seek to expand. I don't know if they have yet realized this. If so, they may already have forces headed our way. If not, they soon will. Even if this is their noble aim--having homes for their children--they will fight to the death in order to provide for their young. We cannot fault them for this, as we would do the same. We should do the same. Let us prepare ourselves for that coming fight, if for no other reason than to ensure that your children can keep the homes you have all worked so hard to provide for them.

I do not intend to send you blind and poor against an eagle-eyed and fully-armored force. Instead, I shall put my money where my mouth is. We've all heard tell of Old Vrath's Tower, the haunted keep that hides many a treasure. I intend to sojourn there, collect the treasure, and return with it. I shall single-handedly fund the defense of Drellin's Ferry. All I ask is that you stand by me as I do so."

[roll0]

Post edited to reflect new line of argument.

[ghostaxe]

I've tried to refrain from making too many adjustments; the only two so far were the -2 for Sertieren and the lack of support from Delora.

I'm not really sure training them to become a Wizard, Cleric, or Monk within the course of a few weeks is feasible (in my mind, that takes years to get your first PC level). PH2 has rules on retraining feats, which is probably your best bet. Most of Drellin's Ferry's 2400 people (including outskirts) are Commoner 1. Let's say the ones really capable of militia work are aged 16-45, and average life span is 70. So that's 40% of the population, or about 1000 people.

Commoner 1 has proficiency with 1 simple weapon, but no proficiency with armor. 75% of the population are humans (who get 2 feats), and 15% are halflings. Crossbows are simple weapons, and cost 35 gp each, so that would run the town about 35,000gp to arm everyone with a light crossbow, which is probably too expensive. On the other extreme, clubs are essentially free, but the townies won't last long unarmored in melee vs. well-armed orcs.

Untrained hirelings make 1sp per day, so that's 35gp per year. Let's say they usually pay 20% tax, so that's 7gp per year. Of course, the people would hate to pay any more taxes, but you could probably get 3.5gp per person with some forcing, 7gp max.

Of course, the easiest way would be for you to accumulate that wealth somehow... :smallamused:

EDIT: You would take a heavy penalty for your Diplomacy check if you propose to have Derny or Sertieren train the townies in their arts, because everyone realizes that's not feasible. Feel free to change above post.

[OMG PONIES]

Thanks for the heads up--will begin editing. Question, though. Is the legend of Vrath's Keep common knowledge in your world? Milo's about to offer to put his money where his mouth is, funding the defenses with anything he can loot from the haunted tower...I just want to make sure he'd actually know about it.

[ghostaxe]

Milo has heard about the legends of Vraath Keep.

There will also be other events where large amounts of wealth/gear can be accumulated, as well as accompanying moral dilemmas.

[OMG PONIES]

Above post edited to reflect new argument, which is best summed up as this: people of Drellin's Ferry, retrain your feats while I loot Vrath's Keep. :smallbiggrin:

We can keep the town hall minigame going--Milo ran out of good arguments for a while, but I have some I could pull out now...while he's a strong diplomancer, he's not exactly a genius when it comes to civics & economics. Alternatively, we can pause the town hall until Milo returns from the Keep, if the citizens of town would rather continue after seeing that he's got the goods.

[ghostaxe]

Let's pause it here (save your arguments though!), because you'll be at a great disadvantage if we continue... some people don't believe Vraath Keep's treasure at all, and others will think you can't do it.

For retraining feat purposes, you'll have to elaborate how much time you wish to spend for talking to the people to convince them that Skill Focus[Profession(Farming)] is less important than, say, Toughness or Weapon Focus.


dm only:

Jarett:[roll0]
Derny:[roll1]
Ser:[roll2]
Kellin:[roll3]
Delora: [roll4]

[ghostaxe]

Jarett speaks to the audience, almost gleeful at the line of approach you've chosen. "Certainly, I'm sure Brother Derny or Sertieren would be willing to train them to be priests or wizards, just as Delora would help to train them to be fighters. I myself have some experience with bows and would be willing to help. But come on, there's 1 Brother Derny and 1 Sertieren and 1 Delora and 1 me, and 1 you, surely you don't think we can do a good job of training classes of several hundred each, do you? One doesn't become a pugilist in the matter of weeks... as I'm sure you know, our fine guards have had some 5, 10, or even 20 years of training and experience. Even the most sagacious master and the most enthusiastic student cannot hope to achieve that in a matter of weeks.

As for the fabled treasure of Vraath Keep, certainly we would love it if you could retrieve that and share it with the people! But seriously speaking, I doubt you'll find much more than cobwebs and crumbled stone there. There even exists rumors that the place is haunted by a ghost, and for your own safety I would urge that you think twice before you embark on your foolish journey (no less into Orc lands, and Lord help us if you get into another fight with the orcs!).

Your suggestion of exercise might be well taken... Brother Derny, might I ask that you hold daily seminars past dusk to initiate those who are interested into the clerical arts?"

Jarett counter: -30

Derny responds immediately, "Why, certainly! I will begin tomorrow at the Temple of Pelor, and I suppose lectures will run for 3 hours. Initially, we will cover topics such as the Cosmic Balance, as well as the Planes of Existence, and how Pelor's influence over the Gods and the mortal realms have steered our lives towards the light. The initial War of the Gods was savage; the God Kronos slew his own mother, and the Gods we know of today rose up, who are the children of Kronos, rose up in anger to avenge their grandmother. Some gods, however... "

"Yes, thank you Brother Derny. People of Drellin's Ferry who yearns to learn the arts of healing, please be there tomorrow night to hear the rest of this exciting historical and deific tale!"
Derny counter support: -2

Serterien pouts a bit, "A few hundred? Well, I suppose that at least one of you lot will have some wits and make a suitable apprentice, and it's past time I took one, I suppose. I'll likewise hold a course tomorrow night."

The audience does not seem to respond well to Sertieren's implication of their average intelligence.
Serterien support: 0

"You are not alone, Milo. I have said that I will help to finance your operations and I mean it. I will match any contributions you make to Drellin's Ferry, up to 5000 gold pieces."

The people are shocked at Kellin's announcement, but a wave of disbelief soon follows... it seems that the people are doubting that Milo will contribute anything at all.
Kellin support: 1

"Swords and shield practice with me tomorrow at dusk, right here at the market. You won't become a professional soldier, but you will know how to swing a sword correctly, and maybe it'll help with swinging sickles during harvesting."
Delora support: 2

Final score: 26+1+2-30-2 = -3, failure.

[ghostaxe]

Jarett continues, "The evening has grown quite late, Speaker Norro, and I suggest that we put off the remainder of this meeting for another day, possibly after Milo returns. However, I would just like to point out one simple fact in conclusion: The Wyrmsmoke Mountains is a central supplier of iron and metals of all sorts. With the stopped shipments, the prices of weapons will be zooming sky high soon. If we are serious about Milo's suggestion of arming ourselves, we would do well to put in an advance order right now, while supplies still exist and prices haven't yet reached their peak. As the Town Speaker, might I suggest that you should personally carry out this mission of heading to Dennovar to secure the order? Certainly, I think you are the only person here that everyone will unanimously agree on is safe with the town funds. Though I would hope that no one here would embezzle, in practice any other envoy would be vetoed by some. Certainly, you will have an escort of guards.

Unless, of course, you agree with my initial point that arming ourselves is completely unnecessary..."

[OMG PONIES]

Milo smiles and nods, glad to have a respite from this debate. "Aye, we'll reconvene upon my return. I thank you for your generous offer, Kellin. I won't disappoint you, people of Drellin's Ferry. My noble opponent would send our town speaker away unaccompanied, and doesn't bat an eye when I sojourn bravely into a haunted castle. Please, remember her blatant disregard for safety when we continue this discussion."

[roll0] if needed.

Psh, NOW I roll well. Ready to fast forward whenever you are.

[ghostaxe]

I won't bother rolling, since she can't beat you even on a nat 20.


The conversations die down as Norro says a few final words, and the people disperse.

Very early next morning, a half-elven druid knocks on your inn door and introduces himself.

"I am Avarthel, a druid of these lands. Some of my colleagues have mentioned that you have been looking for me to cast a spell... Reincarnate. It, in fact, is within my capabilities to cast this spell, and I can have it prepared tomorrow. But I must say that I am reluctant to cast it for you... those who die pass on to the afterlives that they deserve, and only in the most dire of situations should magic to restore life be used at all. If you still intend to violate the natural cycle of life and death, I will require a donation of 600 gp, which I will use to maintain the lands about here. Additionally, you must gather the 1000gp worth of oils and reagents needed for the spell.

With that, he bows and leaves. Please state your actions for the day.


I'm looking forward to the Reincarnation! Much hilarity will ensue if Soranna becomes an orc or half-orc.

[OMG PONIES]

Tell me about it! I'm really crossing my fingers for the possibility, just because of how hilariously awesome it would be.

Milo bows to the druid. "Thank you, friend. I can understand your reasons, but answer me this: is it reasonable to bring back Captain Soranna? She was unjustly slain before her time, and when her town needs her most. Does that fall under your definition of dire situations? I shall take your words to heart, but if I still feel that this is the right course of action, I shall seek you out upon my return from Vrath's Keep."

Milo spends the rest of his time in town finding the best cartographer to acquire a map of The Witchwood, specifically Vrath's Keep (if he can find any interior maps, all the better). Also, he spends time asking the townspeople about anything they've heard surrounding the possibility of treasure in Vrath's Keep.

[roll0] for any information about treasure in the keep
[roll1] to haggle for the best prices on the maps he finds

[ghostaxe]

time: [roll0]
time: [roll1]


Avarthel bows neutrally and unemotionally replies, "It is my understanding that Captain Soranna chose to participate in combat against the orcs of her own volition, with the understanding that death was a possibility. I understand your loyalty and friendship, which is why I still offer my services... but as a matter of principle I felt obligated to inform you that I do not agree."

As Milo wanders around town gathering information, he receives quite a mix of receptions: some who are gibbering in fear from Milo's staunch warnings the previous night, some outright disdain and mistrusting Milo as an outsider, and yet others asking Milo if he could teach them whatever combat abilities he possesses.

There appear to be no shortage of rumors concerning Vraath Keep. Most of them agree that it is haunted by the ghost of Amery Vraath, who was slain in battle against giants. However, there is disagreement concerning whether his spirit remains restless to protect his treasures, or to seek vengeance on the giants. Regarding the treasure itself, it is known that Vraath was a wealthy landowner, and probably had no shortage of hidden caches of wealth--however, in the hundreds of years that have passed since Vraath's death, numerous adventuring parties have searched the area, and turned up nothing--this seems to defy rumors both of Vraath's ghost and of spectacular wealth. Some people mention a ranger named Jorr who live on the outskirts of town; they further suggest that Jorr has been to Vraath's Keep himself in his youth, only to find nothing. Many people that Milo talks to seem skeptical that Milo would do anything but return emptyhanded... if he returns at all.

After some time, Milo finds 2 maps of the Witchwood and the Wyrmsmoke Mountains. After a good hour of haggling, Milo finally manages to convince the shopkeeper to sell the maps to Milo for 2 gold and 1 silver, instead of the list price of 4 gold.

Both maps agree on the overall layout of the area, and show Vraath's Keep in the same location, but they diverge with regards to the details of some of the paths (you now have the map shown on page 22 of RHoD).

[OMG PONIES]

Milo sets out to find this Jorr fellow people kept mentioning. If he was going to travel through the Witchwood, he wanted to go with somebody who had a degree of familiarity with the area.

[ghostaxe]

dm only:

CR 8 challenge, half complete: 2400xp * 0.5 = 1200xp



Award yourself 1200xp for generally doing well in the Town Hall debate.


It is early afternoon as your flying takes you to the ranger's abode. You notice a large sign about 200 feet away from what looked to be Jorr's cabin. The sign reads,

"KEEP OUT!
Private property of Jorr. Trespassers will be mauled and shot at. Those who survive will be fined."

The cabin is about 30' by 50', and you notice 3 rather large dogs or wolves wandering about, eying you with both curiosity and suspicion. It is way too far for anyone in the house to hear you from your current distance.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo floats gently up until he is about 20 feet up--high enough to be out of the canine's reach, but still close enough for them to see him. He reaches into his pack and pulls out some of the rations from his adventurer's kit, looking for any small portions of meat he might have. He takes it (or anything that might lure the animals) and holds it out to them, still out of reach. "Ay, pups!" he shouts, "who wants some treats?"

Milo's hoping to get the dogs barking enough to draw Jorr's attention. It is worth noting that Milo is NOT moving onto Jorr's property.

[ghostaxe]

The dog-wolves bark at each other, almost as if conversing, before one dog gingerly steps toward you. She stops about 50 ft away from you and stares at you. She does not seem interested in your food offering, but rather in how you seem to be flying. You would almost venture to guess that the beast before you has more than animalistic intelligence.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo raises an eyebrow, impressed by the possible intelligence of these creatures. "Aye, friend," he says to the dog, "fetch Jorr? I need his help."

[ghostaxe]

The wolf considers for a moment, and lets loose a high-pitched howl. Some moments later, you hear a voice to your right, some 100 feet away, though you can't pinpoint the source.

"You can fly.. I take it you're not one of the usual city-slickin' pranksters then. One of Sertieren's whelps, perhaps? Still, you have the manners not to enter my lands uninvited, so I suppose I can entertain you for a few moments."

An arrow flies out from a tree near the source of the voice, and strikes the edge of the sign, some 5 inches from the top. An audible click is heard, and the arrow bounces harmlessly off the now-indented portion of the sign.

Jorr walks out from his hiding position and pets his wolf. He is a man with graying hair and a sinewy face. His simple blue tunic seems to protect little, and you would reckon that his primary defense is his stealth. The gleaming black bow strapped to the man's back is clearly strongly magical, a proud prize from his youthful adventuring days. The wrinkles on his face and arms inform you that Jorr, while probably still quite a capable archer, may be past his prime. He pets his wolf and speaks to you.

"By the way, neither Velvet nor my other friends will take food you offer.. They're far tooo smart to eat anything prepared by anyone other than me and themselves.

Now, what is it that you wish to speak to me about?

[OMG PONIES]

Milo smiles. ”Treasure,” he says. ”I intend to use the treasure hidden in Old Vrath’s place to see to it that the people of Drellin’s Ferry are comfortable and safe. I’d like a local hero familiar with the Keep to accompany me, since my powers of perception can be a bit…lacking, to say the least. As an adventuring partner, you’d be entitled to a fair cut of the gold, of course. Naturally, I don’t intend to waste your time; if we travel there and find no treasure, I’ll pay you 50 gp and 2 potions of Cure Light Wounds (good on you or your beautiful canine friends). Not a bad haul for a few miles’ trek, right?”

[roll0]

[ghostaxe]

No worries. Here's (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=10695) Jorr and Velvet's character sheet. You can go ahead and run them in combat. Note that Jorr has very low HP!

Also, he'll help you out in combat, but he's mostly a surprise attacker, and is very poor at direct confrontation. He will risk his life to save Velvet, but will not do so for Milo (yet). He will generally continually move around with his Skirmish ability and take only standard actions to fire. If directly targeted by attacks, he will retreat to new cover and heal up before continuing.

Velvet is potentially the more combat-effective of the two; however, she does not respond to Milo's commands at all (though she can understand Milo). Velvet is the daughter of an awakened wolf Jorr saved in his youth, and they two are great friends. In combat, Velvet has two options: she can directly attack and take advantage of the Wolf's innate Trip ability (which is at +9, thanks to her large size), or she can grapple with an impressive +16 modifier. Velvet has human-like intelligence and can recognize which opponents are dangerous spellcasters, and will preferentially target those.


Jorr shakes his head sadly, "Ain't nothing there but some petrified giant bones. A few friends and I explored that place back 30 years ago, and we search every square inch of the place. Didn't really think that a 'treasure' from hundreds of years ago, with that much public knowledge, could survive till today, did ya?"

Jorr then sighs in despair, "Reduced to being mistaken for a tour guide for petty gold pieces... how far I've fallen! But, it's safer this way...

Kid, let me tell you this: collect enough money from adventuring and then retire when you've saved enough. Everyone eventually screws it up and dies if they continue. All of my friends... Jimmy, Orlan, Pirinna..."

Jorr seems especially sad at the mention of the last name.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo gives Jorr a look of concern. "Aye, chief," he says, "good advice. Can you tell me more of Pirinna's tale...if it ain't too hard?"

Sorry, still very intent on continuing our games. Between the most recent Iron Chef and some RL things, I've just been crazy busy. I think I may pull the plug on the zombie game, since I let it flounder.

[ghostaxe]

Yeah, I think the injury mechanic just doesn't work too well for PbP... it makes combat entirely too long.


Jorr looks at you, as if wondering if you're making fun of him, but decides that you're probably sincere, if inept at word choice.

"We were adventurers... called ourselves the Midnight Shadows. We travelled from city to city, looking for villains to crush. Pirinna... she was a sorceress. She and I were both in love... but the target of her affections was Orlan, not me. Orlan, meanwhile, was an idiot, and knew only my feelings for Pirinna. The joker'd go out of his way to set up alone time for me and Pirinna, not know that he was breaking Pirinna's heart every time he did so.

We fought dragons and we fought demons and we fought undead. Though sometimes things looked dangerous, we always managed to come out alive. And so we thought we were invincible. And of course, then we bit off more than what we could chew. Our quest was to eradicate some ogres that were pillaging the outskirts of Moiran, and we were dumb enough not to do our homework and realize they were led by an ogre-mage.

Orlan got grappled and was on the brink of dying. I knew Pirinna would never smile again if Orlan was to die, so I baleful transpositioned myself to take his place. But Orlan died instants later anyway from the Ogre-Mage's cone of cold. And Pirinna, dear Pirinna, was so overcome with grief that she baleful transpositioned to take my place. And so, I was the only one of the group to make it out alive.

Have I thought about raiding the ogres again later to recover my friends' bodies? Certainly. But they were too strong for me. And then Pirinna appeared in a dream and told me to stop... she told me that I'd eventually get myself killed, and she didn't want to see that.

After that, I've been living here, as both a hermit and a coward. But alive."

Jorr sighed.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo shakes his head. "Porting in to take your friend's place don't make you yellow, chief," he says. "It makes you damned near a hero, and it makes me feel all the better to be working with you. We'll be shrewd; if we find too much to handle at the Keep for some odd, we'll fall back. Sound like a solid? If so, we should be heading to the Keep."

[ghostaxe]

Jorr blinks and starts protesting, "But I never agreed..."

He halts as he notices Velvet barking softly and looking at him with some anticipation. "Oh, fine! I guess we can spend a couple days and head to the Keep. You'll both be disappointed though; there's really nothing there. You there, what's your name? Come on in and have a cup of tea while I make some preparations."

The hermit leads you into his cabin, and prepares some wild herbal tea for you. The taste is bitter and only marginally improved by the pinch of sugar and cream he added. Some twenty minutes later, Jorr re-emerges with Velvet. Jorr continues to wear his camouflaged tunic, while Velvet now sports a chain shirt barding.

"Nasty, right? Sorry, but I only have 1 Prestidigitation spell left today, and I figure it'd be better to save that for dinner. Well then, let's get going."


IIRC you said you wanted run Jorr in combat?
Also, let him know if there's any spell you would like him to prepare, although his spell choice is limited.

[OMG PONIES]

I'd like Jorr to prepare the following spells today:
0-level

Acid Splash: as the only level 0 conj spell, he's got to prepare at least one.
Acid Splash
Acid Splash
Prestidigitation: since you said

1st level

Guided Shot
Lesser Orb of Acid
Lesser Orb of Acid
Lesser Orb of Acid

2nd level

Invisibility
Invisibility
Rope Trick


Milo squints and shakes his head to clear it after tasting the tea. "Ain't so much nasty as strong, chief," he says. The halfling extends his hand to Jorr and proffers his name: "Milo. Fixing to set out whenever you're ready. If there's nothing, we'll know it. If there's something, we'll find it. Right, chief?" He drinks the dregs of his tea and places the cup down gently. "That should do it. Let's head out, on alert. I'm not much for the old look and listen, but it seems you two have it covered. Speak anything outside of Common? We may need a tactical language."

I know Jorr speaks Elven from his sheet; just trying to get him to say so.

[ghostaxe]

Jorr needs to have a 2nd level conjuration spell; Invisibility is Illusion and Rope Trick is Transmutation, and the only conjuration spell he knows is Baleful Transposition. Would you like 2 Invisibilities, or 1 Invisibility and 1 Rope Trick. He prepared the latter to rest in safety.

Also, to prepare new spells, he needs to rest for 8 hours -- the current character sheet gives his current prepared spells. That's why he was asking if you wanted to set out right now, or to rest and set out in the morning. Currently it is Day 5.

Day 1: Milo goes into the Orc lands and gets shot at.
Day 2: unconscious
Day 3: Milo returns to Drellin's Ferry
Day 4: Milo and Soranna travel into Orc lands once more; Soranna is killed and Milo returns to town. Town meeting.
Day 5: Milo travels and meets Jorr.


Jorr responds, "Well, Pirinna taught me some Elvish, but that was many years ago. I probably won't impress any native speakers, but I can understand and speak basic things. But Velvet here doesn't know it though, she only comprehends Common.

Now, hold on. I said there was no treasure there, but that doesn't mean there's no danger there. Plenty of hazards, including bandits, wild beasts, and monsters as soon as you get a bit further into the Witchwood. We'd best be prepared."

[OMG PONIES]

"Aye, we'll be in Common, then. We can set out now; I trust you have your magics ready?"

My bad; I thought Rope Trick was conjuration. That's what I get for not checking. However, Jorr DOES need to have at least 1 0-level conjuration spell prepared, and right now he has 0. He can use Acid Splash or Caltrops (if you are cool with Spell Compendium entries). Does he have a spell stored in his bow? Also, I am unfamiliar with the Mighty property (and why the number 12 shows in the bow's title). Can you elaborate, please?

[ghostaxe]

Hm, I didn't realize that the extra specialization spell also applies to 0th level spells as well. OK. He also has a Caltrops prepared for today.

He currently has an Empowered Lesser Orb of Cold stored in his Bow. The Mighty 12 just means he can apply up to +1 STR to his damage (I think that notation is leftover from 3.0). It's not a magical modifier, it's just under the Composite Longbow entry.

Are you heading out right now (with his current spells) or waiting until the morning so he can prepare the spells you wanted? Oops, sorry, need to read your post more carefully.


Jorr nods. "We're ready. We should be able to get in a good few hours of traveling before dusk. If you want, we could travel through the night and probably be there in the early morning tomorrow, or we can pitch camp somewhere in the Witchwood."

[ghostaxe]

DM only:

random encounter chance: [roll0], >50 = hit
random encounter type: [roll1], p.22 of RHoD, 79 = 1d2 trolls.

Jorr Spot: [roll2]
Jorr Listen: [roll3]

Velvet Spot: [roll4]
Velvet Listen: [roll5]


As the intrepid trio walk/fly into Orc lands once more, Jorr's knowledge of the overlooked trails easily allows the group to cirmcumvent the roadblock imposed by the orcs. As the skies turn orange and then dark, Milo and Jorr are traveling through a stretch of barren hills. Suddenly Velvet's ears perk up and she barks in attention. Jorr also hears something, but does not see any targets. He has his bow at the ready.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TcMOUDdc3tI/AAAAAAAAAKo/Sa134t6oApU/s512/Encounter4-1-1.jpg

The entire area is considered rough terrain for Velvet and Jorr (but not for Milo, who's flying). Rocks are impassable, but may be climbed with a DC 17 Climb check. Milo does not see anything out of the ordinary.

Initiatives, please.

[OMG PONIES]

How tall are the rocks?

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

"Sons of a hydra's heads," Milo mutters under his breath. "Can't we just travel in peace? What is it, Velvet?"

[ghostaxe]

You are traveling through a makeshift path carved out by a river that's currently dry. To your sides, the walls of the mountain fade away from you at a 45 degree angle (5' of height every 5' of lateral distance). The smaller rocks obscuring the path are roughly as tall as they are wide.

dm only:

troll init: [roll0]


Round 0, surprise round:

Velvet takes a moment to sniff the air, and then barks towards the rock to the northeast. It is now Jorr's turn. Jorr, likewise, had heard a sound originating from behind the rock at M2.

[OMG PONIES]

Jorr mutters a few syllables, and his bow begins to glow faintly. However, he stays in place.

OOC: Jorr casts True Strike. Can Milo act at the same time?

[ghostaxe]

Milo may not act yet.


Just as Jorr finishes casting his spell, a loud roar emerges from the northeastern rocks, and its source emerges perched atop the highest rock (about 30 feet above your level): a giant of a being with mottled grey-green skin and a crooked nose, wearing an oversized chain shirt that clearly looks to be roughly patched together by hand from several smaller pieces of armor. His hands are bare of any manufactured weapons, but somehow you get the feeling he is quite capable of tearing you apart with his bare hands, if given the chance.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/Tcl2WgWh-aI/AAAAAAAAAK0/1nLDpcCDUOY/s512/Encounter4-1-2.jpg

Knowledge Nature, 1 roll (for each character with Know[Nature]):

DC 12:

The monster is a troll.


DC 16:

The monster is a troll. He regenerates most damage very quickly and can only be killed by acid or fire attacks.



Round 1:

Velvet, Jorr, and Milo may now take their actions.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo furrows his brow as he studies the creature. Right. A troll, he thinks to himself, before adding aloud: "it's a troll, chief. Blast it with acid." Milo lets loose with a scorching Eldritch Blast. Jorr moves along one of the rock faces (to E0), then unleashes an arrow from his bow that crackles with the power of magical ice. Velvet stays in place.

19 vs touch AC for 48 damage, 33 vs AC for 12 damage, 16.5 cold damage, and 3 acid damage. Total damage if all attacks hit = 79.5

Rolls:
[roll0] with Collector of Stories
[roll1] +3 Knowledge Devotion
[roll2] (+1 Point Blank Shot +3 Knowledge Devotion ) x1.5 = 33 damage
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7] x1.5 = 16.5 cold damage
[roll8] acid damage

[ghostaxe]

dm only:

attack roll (wob): [roll0]

attack roll (full power attack, charge, rage): [roll1] (-2, no charge... can't combine with Climb)
Damage: [roll2]


The troll roars in anger as Jorr's acidic arrow hits him and melts a small chunk of his flesh. He glares at Jorr with meaningful vengeance in his eyes as Milo lets loose his attack. As the blast soars toward the giant just about to hit, suddenly the troll concentrates on his left claw, and deflects the incoming blow with it.

Martial Lore DC 17:

Wall of Blades


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/Tcl-47uenWI/AAAAAAAAAK4/10p43fJts3Y/s512/Encounter4-1-3.jpg

The troll roars again, and seems visibly stronger as he climbs down the ledge and then rushes forward to attack Jorr. As he makes his mighty swing though, he misses, and Jorr is safe... for now.

Round 2:

It is Milo, Jorr, and Velvet's turn again. Note that the troll has 10' reach, while Velvet has 5' reach.

[OMG PONIES]

Jorr suddenly disappears from in front of the troll, reappearing mere moments later behind Velvet. The ex-adventurer takes cover behind the wolf and nocks an arrow. Milo sees that this confuses the troll, and fires off yet another Eldritch Blast at the creature. ”No bouncing this one, ey?” he shouts.

Velvet steps delicately forward, allowing Jorr the moment’s opening he needs to fire another arrow at the troll. As the arrow bites into the creature’s skin, Velvet stands on its hind paws and attempts to start a grapple with the creature.

22 vs touch AC for 42 damage; 15 vs AC for 15 damage & 4 acid damage; 9 vs touch AC for opposed grapple DC 33.

OOC actions

Jorr: Abrupt Jaunt to (E, -2). Move to (G, -4). Ready action to attack troll when Velvet moves.
Velvet: Delay until after Milo
Milo: Empowered Mortalbane Eldritch Blast vs. troll
[roll0]
[roll1] x1.5 = 34 damage
[roll2]
Velvet: 5 foot step to (E,-1)-(F,-2) triggers Jorr’s readied action
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]

Sorry, but I accidentally opened the Martial Lore spoiler. Can the “effective AC” of Wall of Blades be used against touch attacks? It doesn’t specify in the text of the maneuver; you just use your normal AC or the attack roll. I can pose the question in the Simple RAW thread if you’d like.

[ghostaxe]

I'd always assumed that the effective AC from Wall of Blades also applies to touch AC, and was a must-have for any fighter-type who doesn't want to succumb to an Empowered Ray of Enfeeblement. You can go ahead and post on Simple Q&A . Don't worry, I'll try not to overuse any tricks.

Also, please note that the Troll can still reach E,-2... this is one of the corner cases regarding length that's explicitly mentioned in the PHB for large creatures with reach. I'll assume Jorr knew that and Abrupt Jaunted to D,-2 before moving to G,-4.


As predicted, Milos Eldritch blast slams into the troll. Instead of searing a hole through its body, however, the troll's tough hide seems to diffuse the powerful blast away, though the skin darkens (nonlethal damage). The troll grunts in pain, but it does not otherwise affect him.

Jorr's arrow bounces harmlessly off the troll's homemade armor, and the troll manages to agilely dodge Velvet's claw swipe. It does not hesitate in redirecting its anger toward the new target before him, and unleashes a powerful flurry of blows against the intelligent wolf.

dm only:

Power Attack 2
claw [roll0]; [roll1]
claw [roll2]; [roll3]
bite [roll4]; [roll5]
rend [roll6]


Both of its massive claws rip through Velvet's armor, as does the giant's sharp teeth. With a powerful war-howl, the giant rips with all its might, and forcibly tears Velvet into two (Velvet takes 51 damage). Jorr gazes upon the scene in stunned horror, as if his worst nightmares are being relived. After dispatching the wolf, the troll lumbers ominously towards the two of you.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_MDQ3-r1wO0Y/TdGbpioW15I/AAAAAAAAALQ/NeTLkIqEI_g/s512/Encounter4-1-4.jpg

[OMG PONIES]

The Wall of Blades question has been posed here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196174&page=17); the answer that I got indicates that the maneuver is of no use against touch attacks like Eldritch Blast. Post forthcoming depending on what this changes.

Also, it's of minor importance, but Jorr can jaunt to E, -2 and then move without provoking AoOs, since Velvet provided cover (and thus negated the troll's ability to take AoOs vs Jorr).

[ghostaxe]

I've look through the arguments on the Simple Q&A thread and I feel there were two main arguments: (1) EB is weapon-like, not a weapon, so shouldn't be counted as a ranged attack, and therefore WoB cannot be used, and (2) that WoB specifies only AC, and not touch AC.

I find (1) unconvincing, because I think by designer intent EB is supposed to count as a ranged attack, and affected by things like Entropic Shield. On (2), it's not clear -- I could see arguments either way, so I would think this is a DM call. Currently, I'm still leaning towards letting WoB affect touch AC, but we can wait for a bit to see if anyone raises any new arguments in Simple Q&A.

We've discussed before, but soft cover only applies against ranged attacks. Velvet's presence does not hinder a melee AoO by the troll.

[OMG PONIES]

Jorr casts Invisibility and disappears from the troll’s sight. Meanwhile, Milo continues with his familiar routine, and sends another blast of arcane energy howling towards the troll. ”Aye, beastie!” he shouts, ”Shoo! It’s just me and you now, and I ain’t seen no wings on ya. Scram!”

25 vs touch AC for 31 damage.

OOC:

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2] x1.5= 25
[roll3]
[roll4] if needed, trying to scare off the troll.

Daily uses:
Mortalbane 2/5 remaining
Healing Belt 3/3 remaining
Empower SLA 0/3 remaining

Jorr is in E, -7. If the troll has a way to see him, tries to attack, and bypasses his concealment, he will use Abrupt Jaunt to teleport 10’ back from the troll.

[ghostaxe]

Need to check something on RAW Q&A. Will update as soon as I get a response on that.


The troll's roar of rage is abruptly ended by Milo's powerful attack on the giant, and a resounding CLUNK follows shortly thereafter as Milo's foe crumples to the ground.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo is surprised that the creature has dropped, but remembers the campfire tales he has heard about trolls springing back to life. Acid or fire, he reminded himself, curses that I didn't learn that Brimstone Blast when Pops offered to teach me. He calls out to Jorr, "We need more of that acid damage to really finish it off!" The guide obliges by springing forth and launching an arrow straight at the unconscious beast. Milo withholds his fire, waiting to see if the creature rises so he can drop it once more.

19 vs AC for 13 damage and 6 acid damage.
If the troll regains consciousness: 17 vs touch AC for 31 damage.

OOC/ROLLS:

Milo readies an action to Eldritch Blast the troll if it regains consciousness.
[roll0]
[roll1]
Jorr moves to G, -4 and attacks. If the troll is somehow able to attack him on its turn, he will Abrupt Jaunt 10' back from it.
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

[ghostaxe]

Jorr arrows pierces into the troll's flesh. The skins heals around the arrow, but the area where the acid splashed seems to stay broken. Jorr continues firing arrow after arrows into the beast, even after it's clear that the troll is far beyond the grave.

"Velvet... damn foolish pup. Tried to tell you... that's what happens when you go seeking adventure."


Since Jorr's bow can do acid damage for free, let's just assume Jorr finishes off the troll after sufficiently many rounds.

You would have had a much harder time if the D&D rules on Diehard weren't so silly... you can be at -100 HP and still be fighting, but 1 nonlethal damage at -1 HP will knock you out >_<

Milo gains 467xp and Jorr gets 600xp.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo stands back, allowing Jorr his time to grieve. ”She died as she’d have wanted, Chief,” he says, hoping to provide some consolation, ”protecting her best friend. Shall we continue on, or would you rather we take some time to bury her?” As Milo speaks to Jorr, his eyes can’t help but scan the troll, looking for anything of value.

[roll0] to console Jorr
[roll1]

[ghostaxe]

The giant, now a few mounds of flesh and bone in a pool of acid, does not seem to have much treasure on him, other than his chain shirt. Milo looks around the immediate vicinity, but does not find anything of value.

Jorr cries for a good ten minutes before collecting himself. Velvet was too heavy for him to carry, but he quickly find out that he can just barely drag her along. "I need to go back to my ranch. Velvet needs to be buried there. I can accompany you to the Keep afterwards if you like, but nothing's stopping me from going back right now."


It is around 6pm on Day 5. If you choose to return to Jorr's ranch and then double-back, you'll lose about 2 days. Otherwise, Milo can continue on his own. From Milo's map, it looks to be only about 1/2 a day until you reach Vraath Keep.

[OMG PONIES]

Oy, while my character thinks this threat is serious, he’s a bleeding heart. It’s going to mean that the Horde crosses Skull Gorge, but so be it.

Milo nods, with tears in his eyes. ”Aye, chief, I know what it is to have a bond like that,” he says with one hand over his ring. ”And I can only begin to fathom the pain of losing it. We’ll take her home together.” With that, he takes the side of Velvet dragging on the ground and lifts with all his might, hoping to ease Jorr’s load.

[ghostaxe]

dm only:

Encounter: [roll0]
Type: [roll1]

Encounter: [roll2]
Type: [roll3]


You and Jorr walk back towards his ranch in silence; the normally reserved ranger is clearly even more introverted in the wake of the death of his close companion. A few sounds startle you on the way back, but they turn out to be just forest wildlife wandering a bit close.

The evening sun winks out of existence, and soon that purplish hues fade to darkness as night replaces day. Please state your sleeping arrangements.

[OMG PONIES]

Are we back at Jorr's ranch yet, or somewhere in the wild?

[ghostaxe]

No, you're still in Orc territory in the wild. It took you till near dusk (from morning) to get to where the troll was, so you'll only make it a small portion of the way back. Jorr needs 8 hours of continuous sleep if he wants to regain spells in the morning.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo looks for a spot to camp for the night. "Aye, chief," he says to Jorr, "You settle down for some solid sleep. I'll keep watch 'til you wake, and then I'd like a spot of shuteye myself."

[ghostaxe]

dm only:

Milo Listen: [roll0]
Milo Spot: [roll1]
Milo Init: [roll2]

Jorr Listen: [roll3]

Monster Hide: [roll4]
Monster Move Silently: [roll5]
Monster Init: [roll6]


As the night continues, Milo suddenly snaps out of his reverie when he notices a disgusting looking spherical creature lumbering towards him. Jorr, though he was sleeping, also snaps to attention as he hears the creatures movements. The creature was so intent on approaching the two of you silently that it lost its focus, and Milo gets the first action.

The creature is roughly 50 feet away.

Knowledge[Dungeoneering] DC 15

The creature is a gibbering mouther. Act fast! Otherwise his nonsensical mutterings may confound you.


OOC:

Not going to bother making a map, unless you roll horribly there probably won't be a need.

[OMG PONIES]

Aw shucks, I forgot Jorr had Rope Trick prepared. That probably would have been a better place to sleep, but only for 6 hours. Assuming we win this fight, can we continue our rest in a Rope Trick, or would Jorr need a full 8 hours again?

Also, I forgot I had the Gloves of Eldritch Admixture last fight--could have put some more hurt on that troll. Oy, I need to keep a closer eye on these sheets.

Milo takes to the sky, with a vertical move straight up in the air. While Jorr can barely grab his bow and stand, he manages to squeeze out a quick shot at the creature as Milo hits it square in the chest with an eldritch blast. "Any idea what this is, Chief?" Milo shouts.

22 vs touch AC for 33 damage and 9 acid damage.
9 vs AC for 9 damage and 4 acid damage.

OOC:

Milo flies 20 feet up and fires and eldritch blast.
Jorr draws his bow while standing from prone and fires an arrow.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]

Daily Uses:
Mortalbane 1/5 remaining
Healing Belt 3/3 remaining
Empower SLA 0/3 remaining
Gloves of Eldritch Admixture 1/3 remaining

[ghostaxe]

That was closer than I expected. Maybe I have unrealistically high expectations of your damage output.

I think it's mentioned somewhere that if you wake up in the middle of sleeping to fight, it costs another hour of sleep? So Jorr would only need another 7 hours of sleep.

Alas, Rope Trick, unlike Alarm, only lasts 1 hour per level, so with Jorr's caster level of 6, that's 6 hours. Unlike you want to burn his Sudden Extend on it.


Your shot just barely manage to knock the being unconscious, and Jorr's shot is deflected by its pseudo-hide.

Jorr looks at the creature and spits, "Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before, but these woods are filled with strange creatures.

[OMG PONIES]

Milo coup-de-graces the creature with an eldritch blast, then turns to Jorr. "Aye, chief," he says, "does any of your magic conjure up a safe place for us to catch some sleep?"

Sudden Extended Rope Trick sounds mighty fine.

[ghostaxe]

Jorr sighes. "I do, in fact. Maybe we should just have hid there until the troll passed, rather than having Velvet pointlessly die."

The aged ranger incants a spell on his rope and tosses it into the air; one end seems to catch an invisible hook and he then proceeds to climb in.

****

Morning arises uneventfully, and the two of you continue travelling back toward his ranch.

dm only:

[roll0]
[roll1]


As you arrive safely back in the outskirts of town in the mid-evening, Jorr turns to you and somberly says, "Would you kindly leave me alone with Velvet for a few hours? Maybe go say hello to your friends in town. I'll be ready for travel in the morning, friend."

Please state your actions for the evening.

[OMG PONIES]

Hmm, I'm stymied what to do here--can't really return to Drellin's empty-handed just yet, and setting out for the Keep alone would mean I just wasted my time with Jorr. I need to think about my next action. Meanwhile, any XP for the last encounter?

I see that you haven't been on since my last update. I hope that everything is okay, and just want you to know that I would love to continue upon your return.