(INC) Tutorial Game

[Andrew Markham]

Welcome to something random! A random game with no real explanation necessary, to introduce you to the basics of Pathfinder D&D! I hope you enjoy, and don't worry about making mistakes here.

Scenario: You are a warrior mercenary in the kingdom of Glorificus! King Princeton has called you into his chamber to learn the details of your next assignment. You enter the castle and are escorted to the king's royal chamber. You see the king standing within awaiting your arrival. He is a noble-looking human, 5'8", with graying hair and mustache. The door stands open, and the steward motions for you to enter.

(Post a physical description of your character as you enter the royal chamber and begin speaking to the king. What do you look like? What do you do? Do you bow, or stand, and what do you say? Write as if you are writing a story. When you are done, I will respond.)

[palupton]

Standing just outside of the door, the woman hesitates before she steps forward into the room, beyond the steward that motioned her onward.

"Your Grace, you sent for me?" she says as she moves her long, red-auburn, braided hair behind her left shoulder. She is a few inches taller than the king, and while clearly a bit tense, stands in a slightly relaxed looking stance, hands down by her sides. Her eyes are resolutely fixed on the floor in front of him.

[Andrew Markham]

King Princeton nods with approval at your averted eyes. You have shown him proper deference. He begins to brief you on your mission.

"As you know, it has been decreed in our kingdom that vampires suck- ESPECIALLY when they sparkle! So I was greatly displeased to hear that there have been reports of sparkling vampires in the Dreadflower Woods to the northeast. Unlike most woods, these woods aren't actually haunted in any way, which is why vampires are apparently living there. I want you to remove these vampires from our kingdom by whatever means you feel are appropriate. You will be paid 200 gold pieces in advance, and another 500 gold should you bring back proof of your success. Do you accept this mission?"

[palupton]

Faeoryie shifts her weight slightly from one foot to the other while she considers her answer, her armor making a soft tinkling noise as she moves. She only takes a second to decide, and then nods her assent.

"I'm honored to be considered up to the task, Your Grace. Is there anything specific that you require as proof of my success?"

[Andrew Markham]

"Well, that depends on the methods you use, now doesn't it?" His voice seems to contain some amusement. "Use your best judgment as to what is appropriate. In the meanwhile, you may wish to use some of that money to purchase traveling supplies, as the forest is nearly a day's journey. The merchants in the city will surely sell you whatever you require. I wish you good fortune, warrior." He gestures for you to be dismissed.

The steward at the door is willing to escort you to the merchant quarter of the city. There you may spend your 200 gp on whatever supplies you require.

(You will need mundane items and supplies to survive in the wilderness. You may, if you choose, purchase a mount for use. Information on what is available can be found here: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/goods-and-services

Everything there can be purchased by you at normal price. Post your purchases, and anything else you might want to do before leaving.)

[palupton]

"Thank you, Your Grace." She bows slightly with her arms locked to her sides before making eye contact with the steward, nodding, and turning to exit the room.

In the merchant's part of the city, she makes a checklist in her head of the things she might need on her journey, and takes her time shopping around. Once she's satisfied, she makes her purchases, packs her things to be ready to go, and tentatively plans to walk to the forest. She takes a moment to stop in the local tavern for a good meal before she heads out on her journey, and then makes her way to the outskirts of the city.

Fighter's kit, 9 gp
Bathtub, Collapsible 15 gp
Blanket 5 sp
compass 10 gp
Hammock 1 sp
Tent, small 10 gp
Heatstone, 20 gp
Bread, 2 cp
Cheese, 1 cp
Meat, 3 sp

[Andrew Markham]

You leave the city and head northeast towards the Dreadflower Woods. Make a Spot check to see if you spot any animals or monsters on your way. (Roll 1d20+Spot)

[palupton]

[roll0]

Faeoryie looked around as she headed towards the woods, looking for any signs of unusual activity as she got closer.

[Andrew Markham]

Faeoryie travels until near nightfall uneventfully. She enjoys the fresh natural smell of the world. As the sun is close to setting, she hears a strange groaning noise. To her left and straight ahead, she sees shambling figures. They smell of death, and their flesh hangs from their bones, but they are kobold-shaped. It appears that two kobold zombies have appeared, and they want your brains! Roll initiative!

(I will roll initiative for everyone- that's just what I always say at the beginning of combat. Initiative determines the turn order for combat. You roll 1d20+INIT, which is generally your Dex mod. In a forum game, it is generally easier for the DM to roll initiative for everyone.)

Initiative:
Faeoryie: [roll0]
Kobold zombies: [roll1]

(This is the battle map. Mine has coordinates, which are a convenient way to handle PC movement.)

http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah308/silversoul255/tutorial1-1_zps345356e3.jpg

(So here are some basics about combat. Combat takes place in rounds. Each round every character gets a turn, in an order determined by initiative. When it is your turn, there are three things you can do: a standard action, a move action, a full-round action, and a free action. You can perform one of each of these in a single round, which is about 6 seconds of real time.)

(A free action takes almost no time. Speaking is a free action you can take at any point during the combat, even if it is not your turn, though keep in mind that it is only 6 seconds of speaking. There are other class abilities or magical abilities which also count as free actions.)

(A move action means you can move up to your Speed in one round. Your speed is based on your race, and can decrease if you are wearing heavy armor. As a human, your base speed is 30 ft, which means you can move 30 feet per round and still take a standard action. Each square on the map is a 5 foot square. The rule for moving diagonally is that the first diagonal is 5 feet, and each diagonal after that is 10 feet. Also, if you did not have your weapon drawn, drawing your weapon is generally a move action. Let's assume in this case that your weapon is already drawn.)

(A standard action is something you can do in a few seconds. A single attack is a standard action. You may perform a standard action before or after your move action, but not during. In other words, unless you have a special feat, you must move and attack, or attack and move.)

(A full attack means you forfeit your move action so you can take multiple attacks. As a 1st level Fighter, you do not have any extra attacks yet, so this is not an issue. But a higher level character gains multiple attacks, but only when they are full attacking. Even when full-attacking though, you may take a 5-foot step.)

(One last very common thing is attacks of opportunity. This is one of the most complicated things in the D&D system, so we will get to it later. For now, let's assume it's your turn.)

(For more details and a chart about what actions you can take, go here: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Actions-In-Combat)