The New Adventures in Uma - IC thread

[planswalker]

These are troubled times for the land of Uma. Monsters have been swarming up out of the wilderness and encroaching on settlements with increasing frequency. Rumors of a dark power orchestrating these seemingly disparate groups together towards a singular purpose persists. To make matters worse, a dragon, not seen in these parts in a thousand years has been spotted flying through the sky at night. Some claim that this is the end of days.

You and your partners find yourselves in the gates of the village of Blacstone, the last settlement in Uma's western region to hold out against the monster attacks. Should it fall, the monsters will have a clear shot to the heart of kingdom. In these desperate times, heroes are needed.

The last week, the three of you have come together to find yourself in a bit of an unusual companionship. While the three of you are all quite different, fate seems to have thrown the three of you together. As the troubling times have been getting more troublesome, y'all feel as if things are about to start happening.

Then, one morning, a pair of soldiers walk into town bearing the king's personal colors. Every native of the village recognizes the two: Bill and Murray Jergun, twin brothers who enlisted with the army ten years ago. The two have risen through the ranks and have earned the ranks of captain and lieutenant respectively. They have become the pride of Blacstone: bonafide war heroes.

While everyone was glad to see them, it is troubling news indeed if the capital has seen fit to send two elite officers out here, yet is too strained for manpower to be able to send the troops such officers would normally command.

Without engaging anyone in town as they enter, the two march to the lone tree in town and put up a notice:



By Royal Decree of the Crown:

In concern for the recent unrest that has arisen in the forest of Ardryl and the surrounding lands, the Crown has seen fit to dispatch two officers to train and organize a new militia in Blacstone. Captain Bill Jergun has been authorized to conscript, dismiss, promote, and demote citizens for this militia with unilateral authority. This measure has been put in place in response to the growing threat in the outlying lands and will remain in place until such time as this danger has been resolved.

"Now, people, I'm going to be honest with you." Bill announces in a rich baritone. "The Crown has seen fit to give me a lot of power in this matter, but I'm not looking to turn my home village into a military camp. For the moment, I'm looking strictly for people who would like to volunteer to be organized into groups to go and do something about this. So, then, is there anyone in the village brave enough to take a stand against the darkness?"

[Rizban]

Tom thrusts himself almost violently to the front of the crowd to be sure he's first to speak.

"Aye! Let us smite these heathens of Destruction and drive back the darkness! Praised be the light of Creation! I volunteer!"

[planswalker]

Bill is quite pleased to see such an eager volunteer. "Welcome! I'm glad to hear that. If you can just give me your name, good sir, I'll officially appoint you our first conscript."

[Rizban]

He thumps his chest with his fist and proudly says, "I'm Tom Herman!"

[planswalker]

"Well then, Herman, welcome to the army. Anyone else?"

[Rizban]

Tom turns and scans the crowd, looking for familiar faces. Spying one, he points and calls out.

"Peter! Peter Timbergale! Peter there is going to volunteer. Aren't you, Peter?!"

[Thundercracker]

"I volunteer," Letho said, emerging from the small crowd which has begun to gather around the tree.

"Army or not, this is my home, and I'll be damned if I sit quietly while someone else risks their life to defend it," he said, striding confidently to stand next to Tom.

[planswalker]

Murray turns to see you and says, "You! You're the fellow who got kicked out for hitting an officer, right?"

[Thundercracker]

"He hit me first," Letho replied, "and I refused to apologize for defending myself or those unable to defend themselves. You asked for volunteers, and I have military training."

[planswalker]

"Well, either way, it makes no difference out here. Just know that if you turn around and hit us, we'll be hitting back. Like you said, though, we've got bigger problems out here."

[Thundercracker]

"Fair enough," Letho replied, taking his place next to Tom. He glanced at the man and nodded.

physical description: Slightly above average height, with cropped brown hair and matching eyes, with a seemingly ever present scruff on his face. His equipment is dirty and scuffed from travel, but his weapons appear to be maintained in good condition. He has a scimitar strapped to his belt, and a sleeve, probably containing a bow of some kind, slung across his back.

[AdamSmasher]

There goes my idea for an intro post!

Mad Pete Timbergale had sauntered up to the tree with half of the rest the village at the pair's return, scratching away at the stubble he carried from forgetting to shave three days in a row. He was always fidgeting somehow.

He had black hair, green eyes, and, despite all the time he spent in the sun, a lack of color to his skin that could only be achieved by family tradition. Being a backwoods priest, he wore mostly the same clothes as everyone else. His wrists, belt, neck, and hair, however, were ornamented with bones, totems, and feathers all paying homage to the circle of life.

Pete was presently engaged in chatting up one of the village's elder women, who was trying very hard to remain stately and suppress a giggle. Hearing his name draws him back in to the scene.

Everyone was looking at him. That new bloke was pointing a finger. Was this about the pies that had gone missing?

"It wasn't me."

[planswalker]

Upon seeing you, Bill runs to embrace you. "Little Pete! I'm so happy to see you again after all these years! How has life been treating you?"

Murray, on the other hand, asks, "What wasn't you?"

[AdamSmasher]

"Willy!" Pete shouts, neglecting to hear any question of his honor from Murray. "I go away on a mission trip and you run off for a decade just before I get back! How are ya!? I've been keeping an eye on the village, 'cause someone has to. It's thankless work, I tell you."

[planswalker]

"Good to see you too. I take it you and Tom are friends?" Bill says.

"Now then, is there anyone else?" Murray asks. The crowd remains silent.

"Well, Murray, I guess we'll just have to make do with these three for now."

"I guess so. Now, then, welcome to the Blacstone Militia, you three. Quite frankly, you three are three more than we were expecting. That said, we have a task we'd like the three of you to do. There is a merchant who was making his way here, but his wagon broke down. I'd like the three of you to go out and assist him if you can. Drakus, I believe his name is. He is an antiques dealer."

[AdamSmasher]

"Oh, yeah. Tom's one of the good ones! Probably."

Pete attempts a sly wink at Tom, but it ends up more of an overt one. At some point after that, Pete enters the Blacstone militia. He's not entirely sure when he volunteered, but he's also not the type to worry too much about the direction he's headed.

"Antiques Dealer." He says it with the weight of the world, because 'antiques' and 'artifacts' were synonyms to Mad Pete. "Whereat?"

[Thundercracker]

"Peetie? That you?" Letho asked, squinting at Pete.

Murray interrupted with information on their first task though.

"Merchant?" Letho asked, "which direction and how far? What about the monsters?"

[Rizban]

Tom looks at the other two volunteers suspiciously then turns to the two officers and resolutely says, "Yes, sir, I'll head that direction immediately. Any other pertinent information we need?"

[planswalker]

"He's about a half-day's walk due east of here. I don't know too much more. All I got was a message from a raven that his wagon had broken down in Pike's Clearing, and he needs help. Part of y'all's job is to find out more.."

[Thundercracker]

"My house is in the way," Letho said, "meet you on the east edge of town."

Letho jogged off and stormed into his father's house, throwing items into his pack. He scribbled a note to his father, telling him he'd volunteered to help defend the town, then bustled back out the front door to meet up with the others.

[AdamSmasher]

Pete squints up at the sun, and traces a path down the sky in the direction of Pike's Clearing. With a couple counted steps and some mumbled mental arithmetic, he reaches a conclusion. "Nope. Too far. Hey Perry! You got some horses?"

He turns to Bill and elbows him in the side, bobbing one eyebrow up and down with a smirk. "Proper militia men ought to have horses."

[Rizban]

"I have a mule and small cart. I'll be using that."

[planswalker]

The balding, middle-aged inkeep named Perry says, "Sure. Old Mary and Highmane would love the exercise. Five silver to rent the two of them for the day."

[AdamSmasher]

"Old Mary!" He shouts, marching on over to Perry with an ear to ear grin. "Saddle them up! The Militia will take them." He replays the words in his head. "For a day." He replays them again. "At least."

[planswalker]

Very well. Provided that someone gives Perry the silver, he brings around the two old nags.

"Well, there you go. Safe travel on your mission."

[AdamSmasher]

Pete takes the two horses, collects his supplies from his home, and heads to the eastern road from the city where he waits for the others.

[Thundercracker]

"Horses? Think we'll need them?" Letho asked, upon seeing Pete.

"Better same than sorry, I suppose," he said, "are they yours?"

[AdamSmasher]

"They need exercise and my shoes need rest." He kicks his foot up and wiggles his toes, an effect which is totally lost beneath the leather of the new boots he had had made just a month ago.

"They're Perry's, they were getting stable crazy. This is Highmane." He points to the unburdened horse. "And this is Old Mary." He pats his horse on the head and tousles its mane.

[Thundercracker]

"Har, good thinkin'," Letho replied, "How'dyou know Tom?"

[Rizban]

Tom, meanwhile, has prepped his mule to go and is waiting just outside of town on the road when the other two finally arrive.

[AdamSmasher]

"That Tom, he's a kidder. Heard he'd smite me if I ever slipped up. Joke's on him, though, because Old Mary here is surefooted as a six legged billygoat."

With that, Letho and Pete converge on Tom's position and ambush greet him.

[Thundercracker]

"Still, I'm glad he's here to help," Letho said, "I don't think he'd actually smite you..."

Letho sounded unconvinced, even to himself.

"Hail Tom," he said as they arrived just outside the edge of town, "anything stopping us? Let's be off."

If nothing immediately becomes apparent that would cause them to delay, Letho takes point and begins heading in the direction indicated by captain Murray.

[planswalker]

Traveling on horseback as opposed to walking, the three of you arrive in Pike's Clearing in about two hours. You find a man sitting in a wooden chair with a pair of poles on the side. The bald, stooping man with a sharply pointed head is snoring in the mid-morning light. A pair of identical-looking young men stand beside the man. No one is visibly armed. Behind them and to the side of the clearing, a large wagon lies on its side, a dozen or so sealed wooden boxes littering the ground.

[Rizban]

Tom motions to Letho. "Well, go tell them why we're here. Quit dawdling."

[Thundercracker]

"Patience Tom," Letho said as he surveyed the scene.


spot take 10 for 16
Satisfied that there wasn't an ambush waiting, Letho dismounted and walked up to the trio.

"Hail," he said, "my name is Letho, of the Blacstone militia," he said, "you look like you could use some help..."

[AdamSmasher]

Pete slows Old Mary to a walk and ambles around the scene of the wreck. After a moment, he whistles. "How'd that happen?"

Do any of them look hurt?

[planswalker]

No one looks hurt, and y'all spot nothing immediately dangerous nearby.

As you begin to speak, the old man wakes with a start. "Wha-what? Are you the ones who've come to help me? I was expecting someone... stronger."

[Thundercracker]

"We may not have the strength of ten bulls, but we will do what we can to help," Letho said, "what happened?"

[planswalker]

"Followers of the goddess Kaliba attacked us on the road. They looted our wagon and stole the Sun Cross from me. If you want to help, I'd like you to go find them and get it back."

[AdamSmasher]

"Not The Sun Cross!" He gasps.

Bringing Old Mary around, Mad Pete confers with the other two militiamen. "What's the sun cross?"

All he has prepared are healing spells

[Rizban]

Tom walks up behind the other two militiamen as they address the man, listening for a moment.

"Sir, I must call you a liar. No priest of the Goddess would attack a helpless merchant."

[Thundercracker]

"Maybe the priests weren't really priests, and they were lying," Letho offered, "what's the sun cross?"

[Rizban]

He turns angrily at Letho. "And no priest of the Goddess would lie either!"

[AdamSmasher]

Mad Pete and Old Mary do a little circle.

"Maybe the priests weren't really priests, and they were lying," Mad Pete says to no one in particular, watching some birds flit around in a nearby tree.

[Thundercracker]

"No doubt," Letho replied, "we should hunt the impostors down. Which way did they go?"

[planswalker]

"The Sun Cross is a relic from when Kaliba first rose to power. It was thought lost a generation ago, but I have found and recovered it. I know it seems contradictory, but I swear to you, it was priests of Kaliba who attacked us on the road and stole The Sun Cross from me. If you return it to me, I promise to reward you."

"They fled to the south. I'd watch out. I heard that there was a nest of giant wasps that direction."

[Rizban]

"There is someone lying here, and I intend to find out just who! Do not leave this spot until I return with proof of the guilty party."

With that, Tom turns his mule towards the south, naturally expecting that his allies would be equally incensed by these insults against the Goddess' clergy and follow without need for further discussion.

[Thundercracker]

Letho turned his horse and rode quickly to catch up with Tom.

"I might be goin' crazy," he said quietly, "but I do remember hearin' something about a holy sun cross of the goddess. Might be that old peddler was lyin'."

He scanned the ground for signs of their quarry.

survival: take 10 for 18

[AdamSmasher]

As Tom storms off, Pete takes another idle look around the scene. "You three need help righting the wagon? You ought to get to town before nightfall."

It's usually about this time that Pete's lackadaisical demeanor starts to rub off on people.

[roll0]

[planswalker]

The old man laughs harshly. "That won't be a problem. I haven't left this chair in ten years. Not since the ruins of Orical collapsed on me and smashed my back."

You do indeed find a trail of humanoid shoe prints heading in a generally southern direction.

[Thundercracker]

Letho continued on South, following the faint footprints.

"They came this way. I've picked up their trail," he said, studying the ground, "c'mon Tom."

[planswalker]

The party follows the footprints for about an hour undisturbed as the trail continues to head due south.

[roll0]
I need spot and listen checks for all

[AdamSmasher]

"Right, then. Have fun!" He clicks his tongue and points towards Tom and Letho off looking for tracks; Old Mary happily trots off after them.

The antiques dealer could handle himself, Pete muses. He must have some powerful artifacts in that cart if he can summon identical golems. It was probably the chair he refused to leave.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[planswalker]

okay, those rolls are good enough that I'm not going to bother holding things up further waiting for Riz's rolls. They won't change things.

As the three of you travel, things are quiet. Then, things become dead silent. Not long after, the sounds of footfalls can be heard off to the right. About 300 feet out, y'all spot a trio of goblins heading this way.

[Thundercracker]

Letho held a finger up to his lips to indicate to the others they should be quiet. He then pointed out the three goblins.

are goblins considered some of the monsters plaguing the village, i.e. Either kill on sight or flee for your life?

[Rizban]

The moment the goblins are pointed out to him, Tom leaps up in his cart and shouts at the goblins.

"Hark, yonder goblins! Are you followers of Kaliba or Arkhang? We seek so called priests of Kaliba to deal harshly with vile accusations against them!"

[planswalker]

The three goblins, apparently unaware of y'all's presence before then, give a start as Tom breaks the silence and shouts. Upon recovering, their only reply is an incoherent war cry.

roll for initiative

[Thundercracker]

Cursing under his breath, Letho struggled to ready his bow as adrenaline surged in his veins.

initiative: [roll0]

[AdamSmasher]

[roll0]

"Well, I guess that settles that." Pete sighs and then smiles, his eyes rolling up in to the back of his head. His mouth starts to speak in a babbled ancient tongue before stopping abruptly. "Old friend, could I borrow a moment of your time?"

He smiles again.

"Oh, good."

Plucking a bone out of his hair, he throws it towards the goblins. In the air, the bone bursts in to a ball of purple smoke and cyan light. From this, a pair of powerful wings and sharp talons emerge and take to the air, revealing the form of a great eagle. The bird's colors are muted and shifted towards violet while its eyes glow brightly with a cyan light. Though apparently solid, one could swear they could see the bird's skeleton through its feathers.

The eagle screeches and takes to the air.

Full Round action, but they're awfully far away. I can write the bird's actions next round.

[Rizban]

Remember that Tom gets +2 AC if the goblins are members of The Serpent Sects.[roll0]

Tom takes a moment to belittle his targets for being so bloodthirsty instead of embracing the power of Creation before he charges at the nearest goblin, swinging his arm in a powerful backhand.

Spine – [roll1] – [roll2]

[Thundercracker]

Letho finally got his bow out and let loose a single arrow from where he was standing.


attack one of the goblins not in melee if possible: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]

[planswalker]

The goblins manage to beat everyone in initiative order. They close 120 feet of the distance between y'all in the opening round.

Pete begins to summon. It will resolve next round.

Seeing as the goblins started 300 feet away, Tom finds it difficult to close the 180 foot gap remaining on his turn. He can, however, advance by 60 feet in order to close that distance. Assuming the melee character wants to do that, he does it or any lesser amount he wants. If he does not, then he won't.

Letho fires an arrow, but the distance does him no favors. His shot goes wide.

On their turn, the goblins run another 120 feet closer. Provided Tom decided to advance last round, one of the two is in melee range of him and the others are 5' behind and to each side. If he didn't advance, they're those distances plus however the distance Tom didn't advance closer to them.

X=60-T

where X is their distance away from Tom (well, for the first one. The other two will be 5' behind that) and T is the amount of ground Tom covered last round)

[Rizban]

Tom, with his speed of 40, will move only close enough after the goblins' first movement to be able to still charge at them when they get close enough.

Crossing his arms in front of his face, Tom pounces upon them, decrying their poor life choices, striking with both spines at the goblin leading the pack.

Spine – [roll0] – [roll1]
Spine – [roll2] – [roll3]

[Thundercracker]

Letho advanced forward and let fly a second arrow, aiming for the goblin on the right.

move 40' closer, distance 140'
Attack: [roll0]
Damage[roll1]

[AdamSmasher]

Pete's Eagle bursts in to animation twenty feet ahead of him and twenty feet above him. It immediately spies the goblins and, smelling blood, dives down to finish off one of the wounded ones.

[roll0], [roll1] plus [roll2]

[AdamSmasher]

Its talons strike true, carrying the chill of the grave with them.

[roll0], [roll1]

Pete, meanwhile, draws his sling and idly whips a bullet at one of the goblins not in melee. Old Mary, nervous about the fighting, retreats outside of the goblins' charging distance.

[roll2], [roll3]

x2 for Dive + x2 for Crit = x3, right? If not, [roll4]

[planswalker]

Pete's eagle is summoned and dives at the goblins, Since it acts first and none of them have been injured yet, it goes for the lead goblin. While its talon strikes true, it does not manage to critically injure the monster, its talons just barely missing the thing's lung.

Pete stays 65 feet back from the goblins, which puts him at a -2 penalty with his sling due to distance, which causes his shot to glance off the goblin's chain shirt.

Tom, having gauged his distances carefully, charges forward and delivers a solid blow which finishes off the goblin that the eagle had injured. Unfortunately, his second strike misses.

Letho, meanwhile, seems to be plagued by ill luck as his second shot also goes wide.

The two remaining goblins give out inarticulate screams as they step forward and swing at Tom with their short swords. One of them gets in a very luck hit which slashes Tom for [roll0] damage.

[AdamSmasher]

"Give 'em hell!" Pete shakes his fist angrily at the goblins, cheering Tom and his eagle friend on.

His eagle takes an aerial five foot step and lands in a flanking position with tom. It jumps up and flogs the goblin mercilessly, tearing away with talon and razored beak at its face and arms.

[roll0], [roll1], [roll2]

[roll3], [roll4], [roll5]

[roll6], [roll7], [roll8]

[AdamSmasher]

The spirit eagle it totally pumped up by Pete's cheering.

[roll0], [roll1], [roll2]

[Rizban]

"Pray to Kaliba now for salvation! You may yet find it even in death!"

Tom turns to full attack the goblin not being savaged by the eagle.

Spine – [roll0] – [roll1]
Spine – [roll2] – [roll3]

[planswalker]

This time, one of Bloodtalon's strikes pierces the gob's lung, leaving the thing barely unsteady on its feet. The other attacks miss, though barely.

Tom strikes at the other goblin and lands in a solid blow that it will definitely feel in the morning, provided it lives that long.

since this is the next thing to happen in initiative order, I went ahead and resolved it. Still waiting for Riz and Adamsmasher

the reasoning still holds true, but Riz ninja'd me, and it was Thundercracker that I'm waiting on.

[Thundercracker]

Letho advanced again, moving to within 100' of the goblins and loosing another arrow at the one he'd missed twice already.

attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

I'm afb at the moment. Anyone recall offhand what the range is for skirmish to take effect? 30' or 60'?

[Rizban]

Skirmish is the same as Sneak Attack: 30 feet.

[AdamSmasher]

The eagle, with both talons bloodied, continues to flog the poor helpless goblin. If the goblin goes down, the eagle will take a five foot step to strike at the other.

[roll0], [roll1], [roll2]

[roll3], [roll4], [roll5]

[roll6], [roll7], [roll8]

Pete, meanwhile, has occupied himself with fussing over Old Mary's mane and making sure she's comfortable with all this fighting. "Really, Mary, they started it."

[Rizban]

Tom full attacks.

Spine – [roll0] – [roll1]
Spine – [roll2] – [roll3]

[planswalker]

Letho advanced again, moving to within 100' of the goblins and loosing another arrow at the one he'd missed twice already.

attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

I'm afb at the moment. Anyone recall offhand what the range is for skirmish to take effect? 30' or 60'?


The eagle, with both talons bloodied, continues to flog the poor helpless goblin. If the goblin goes down, the eagle will take a five foot step to strike at the other.

[roll0], [roll1], [roll2]

[roll3], [roll4], [roll5]

[roll6], [roll7], [roll8]

Pete, meanwhile, has occupied himself with fussing over Old Mary's mane and making sure she's comfortable with all this fighting. "Really, Mary, they started it."


Tom full attacks.

Spine – [roll0] – [roll1]
Spine – [roll2] – [roll3]

With a rather successful rain of strikes against them, the remaining two goblins succumb to their wounds and all three lie bleeding on the ground.

600 xp each

[Thundercracker]

Letho moved forward cautiously, looking around for other goblins who might have heard the sounds of combat and come running.

[Rizban]

"Shameful. Death could have been avoided had they but been willing to speak with us. But, really, what can you expect from those who worship Destruction?" says Tom as he gives Pete a suspicious sideways glance.

[Thundercracker]

"Indeed," Letho said, approaching the bodies, "though usually the offer of talk with a goblin is only a ruse to allow his friends to ambush you from behind."

The scout kicked the weapons away from the defeated creatures.

[AdamSmasher]

When the last goblin falls, Pete directs Mary over to the goblins. "Thank you, my friend. I won't keep you." With a wave of his hand, the eagle dissolves in to mist.

Arriving next to the others, Pete hops off of Old Mary and sets about applying pressure to the goblins' bleeding wounds. "Don't just stand there, start making tourniquets or slitting throats. We either stabilize them or grant them mercy."

[AdamSmasher]

Forgot my Heal rolls.

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

If any of them look like they're about to slip away, Pete will apply a charge from his healing belt. Unless, of course, Tom bashes all their heads in.

[Thundercracker]

"Whatever you do, be quick," Letho said, surveying the area, "I don't want to linger here while our quarry keeps moving."

[planswalker]

Now that the rush of combat is over, the usual silence of the forest has resumed. Y'all detect no more goblins nearby.

As you are tending to the goblins' injuries, one succumbs before you can stabilize him, though the other two look like they'll make it.

Beyond their three small short swords, they each had a small wooden shield, though the injuries have left their cobbled-together hide armor rather worthless without major repair.

Should y'all search them more thoroughly, one of them had a set of very finely carved granite dice worth [roll0] gold or so. The "ones" on the six dies all depict the holy symbols of six different ancient Destruction cults.

They have a total of [roll1] 1500 gold among them.

In addition, one of them is carrying what looks to be the remains of an adventurer's backpack. Inside, you find a pair of smokesticks, a tanglefoot bag, a scroll, a potion, and a set of masterwork thieves' tools.

[planswalker]

try more like [roll0] gold...

[Rizban]

Tom eyes Pete warily.

"And what do you plan to do with them once you've stabilized them and bound their wounds? Leave them here unconscious and unguarded for wandering beasts to slaughter and consume just to save your conscience a little guilt? Or perhaps we should abandon the merchants in need, whom we have promised to aid, to carry them back to the village for imprisonment and execution... or torture?"

[Thundercracker]

Letho quickly searched through the goblin's packs.

He handed the dice to Tom.

"You'll know what to do with these," he said.

The lockpicks he kept for himself.
"What's the rest of this stuff," he asked, searching through their packs.
As he came across the gold, he gave a low whistle at the quantity of coins in the <sack? chest?>.

"Where do you suppose they were headed with that?" he asked, "should we wake one of them up and ask him?"

[AdamSmasher]

Pete looks around between the three of them as Tom yammers on talking about something he had heard but that no one had said. "Who's got rope? We could stick one on the back of each horse. They might know something about their village they could tell us. They might not be so bad!"

He picks up one of the goblin shortswords, really just a dagger in their larger hands, and rolls it across the ground to Tom's feet without bothering to look at him. "If that's agreeable to everyone."

When Letho pulls out the sack of gold, Pete barks out a laugh. "I'll take that one." It was only fair, after all, seeing as how Tom got the cool dice and Letho got the hair pins.

"Maybe they were gonna buy some antiques."

[Rizban]

Tom sighs.

"And when they slither free of their bonds and steal your horses, what do you plan to do then?"

[AdamSmasher]

"What am I thinking? We'll put them in the cart!" He hoists one up and puts it over his shoulder like a sack of flour. "You won't mind, will you Tom? They'll be sleeping like babies for a good long while."

He starts walking towards Tom's cart. "If they're too much trouble we could just bash them over the head with a rock and leave the bodies for the wasps."

[Thundercracker]

"Petey," Letho said, "it just tried to kill you, and now you want to take it with us? It's not like a pet hamster, if it wakes up it could very well try to kill us again, or kill the horses, or scream for help."

[AdamSmasher]

"Look, he's sound asleep." Pete bounces the goblin on his shoulder like a big baby. "He'll be out all day. And he might know where his village is."

Pete turns around, the smile gone from his face. "My Lady doesn't mind killing. But if they're going to die lets do it now rather than leaving them to waste away. They could be useful and for the time being they're harmless. There's an itty bitty chance they'll even turn over a new leaf and lead long, productive lives. But their fate is in our hands now. So make a choice: slit throats or tourniquets."

[Rizban]

"Ah..." says Tom, understanding lighting up his face. "Now, that makes sense. You wish to interrogate them on the location of their village so you can wipe out the entire infestation. Perhaps I have misjudged you some, Pete, though I still question your sanity in following the ways of Destruction. In that case, I can support this course of action."

[Thundercracker]

Letho did his part, stowing his bow and picked up one of the goblins, dumping him in the back of the wagon with the others.

"We should bring the gold back to tthe village, we can use it to help arm the people and defend against the monsters," he said.

"A discussion for later," he said, "let's be off after the thieves."

He took point again, following the trail of their quarry.

[planswalker]

The three of you continue for another mile or so before you come to an abandoned monastery in the middle of a clearing. A set of glowing runes surround the location, shedding a warm orange glow over the place ten feet or so from the walls. The single door stands open and inviting.

[Rizban]

Tom attempts to identify the significance of the runes, though his relevant knowledge is somewhat lacking...

[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2] (Untrained)

[AdamSmasher]

"Alright then! It's settled!" The smile pops back on to his face like it never left. He gently lays the goblin down in Tom's cart and pats it on the head. "We should find a way to bind them, though."

He saunters back over to Old Mary and pulls himself up in to the saddle, making sure to give her a few scratches on the jaw where she liked. When they reach the monastery, Pete dips deep in to the shallow well that is his knowledge.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

He presses a finger to his lips for quiet.

[Thundercracker]

Letho moved closer to take a look at the runes, and if he (or anyone else) can't make heads or tails of them, he moves forward to inspect the doorway.

knowledge dungeoneering: [roll0]

knowledge anything else (whatever is applicable): [roll1]
check the doorway for traps, search: [roll2]

[planswalker]

Pete is able to tell that this glowing circle is some kind of binding or ward, likely defensive in nature.

Unfortunately, the three of y'all's collective knowledge on much of anything related to it is pitiable. Y'all think there's probably something religious about it. Probably.

Letho's investigation reveals that there are no traps hidden within or around the circle. The circle itself seems to be acting as protection.

[AdamSmasher]

Pete points towards a stick on the ground and makes a poking motion, grinning at Letho.

[Thundercracker]

Letho took a look around to see if the trail entered into the monastery or continued past it. He will point wherever the trail leads.

survival: [roll0]

[Rizban]

Tom looks at the rune ring for a moment before grabbing one of the unconscious goblins and tossing him onto the runes, then immediately ducks, shielding his face.

[planswalker]

Letho took a look around to see if the trail entered into the monastery or continued past it. He will point wherever the trail leads.

survival: [roll0]

The path y'all had been traveling indeed crosses right over the glowing runes and into the monastery.


Tom looks at the rune ring for a moment before grabbing one of the unconscious goblins and tossing him onto the runes, then immediately ducks, shielding his face.

As the goblin's head touches upon the edge of the ring, a resounding thud is heard and the goblin's unconscious body slides down harmlessly.

furthermore, the runes light up an a voice declares:

Access to the sanctuary is only granted to the followers of the goddess Kaliba. Move on, stranger.

[Rizban]

"Ah, wonderful. Let us leave the bound goblins here on the outside, and we will tether the animals within. That should keep the filthy buggers from running off with our supplies."

Tom dismounts and begins hauling the remaining goblins from the cart before anyone can say a word otherwise.

[Thundercracker]

Letho looked at Tom as if for an explanation.

Letho looked at the runes incredulously, then attempted to step over them, pulling back if he encountered resistance.

[planswalker]

While he experiences no pain whatsoever, the moment Letho's foot touches upon the edge of the ring, a resounding thud is heard and all forward movement stops abruptly.

furthermore, the runes light up an a voice declares:

Access to the sanctuary is only granted to the followers of the goddess Kaliba. Move on, stranger.

A moment later, a middle-aged old man in a brown robe limps over to the doorway from inside the monastery. "Oh, real infidels this time. Glad to see you folks."

[Thundercracker]

"I'm not an infidel by choice, I just haven't seen the light yet," Letho replied.

[AdamSmasher]

When Tom grabs the goblin and readies to throw him, Pete frantically flails his arms about making faces like he's in the middle of a bull's pen. These immediately dissolve into him sighing his face into his hands when the goblin goes airborn.

He looks up as the priest exits and smiles. "I saw it! It seemed very nice. Hello!"

[planswalker]

"I'm sure none of you are, I'm sure. Unfortunately, this barrier is inviolate. Which, quite honestly, is likely to end up killing me. My brothers and I weren't able to activate the ward protecting this place before the goblins came and killed everyone else. I only barely managed to activate the Sun Cross in time to force the last of them out. I'm too injured to survive on my own, and I refuse to abandon the holy relic I guard here."

[AdamSmasher]

"You're hurt? I have some healing magic if we can figure out a way to cross the barrier." He thinks about it for a moment. He could just throw his healing belt in and give him the command word, but this old man was an admitted thief. Pete knows what they say about thieves.

"Hey Tom, you're no infidel, right?

[planswalker]

As y'all are talking, the runes glow once again, there is the now-familiar reverberation, and the voice declares once more:

Access to this sanctuary is granted only to disciples of the goddess Kaliba. Move on, stranger.

a dc 10 spot check will detect the rat that set off this trigger a few feet to the side.

"Well, there are only two means past this barrier, according to legend. One is to be a true and wholly devoted disciple of the goddess Kaliba. The other is to be bearing a holy symbol consecrated to Kaliba that has been blessed by the Sun Cross itself. My brothers and I had been planning on reviving this site as a safe point against the growing darkness. Unfortunately, Father Olsan only managed to consecrate one holy symbol before the goblins struck. Now, this barrier is maintained only so long as I do not cross outward. For reasons I'm sure you can fully understand, I have chosen to die defending this place rather than allow infidels to defile the relic."

[Thundercracker]

Letho listened intently, looking for inconsistencies in the priest's story.

sense motive [roll0]

[planswalker]

your request for a sense motive roll is noted.

however, since that's actually kinda the whole explicit reason why sense motives are rolled secretly to avoid having the metaknowledge of how well/poorly you rolled impact how you respond, I hope you'll pardon me for having disregarded that roll and rolled secretly for you.

You sense no deception in this man. While you do honestly believe his is a member of the party that stole from the antique dealer, he also seems to be a genuine believer in the rightness of his cause.

[Rizban]

Tom scratches his chin a moment before asking.

"What's a sun cross?"

[planswalker]

"The Sun Cross is a holy relic of Kaliba, a symbol of Light and Hope. It had been entrusted to my order at our founding, but it was lost twenty years ago. We have at last tracked it back down, and now that these dark times are upon us, it seems that its powers are needed now more than ever."

[AdamSmasher]

Pete thinks out loud while Old Mary starts meandering about looking for choice clover to eat.

"What's the point of a holy stronghold way out in the middle of the woods? This would be a lot better in a town."

[planswalker]

"The ancient bindings were laid here ages ago; we don't get to pick where ancient magics are placed, just whether or not we can activate them. I guess the Sun Cross could be used to power other rituals in other holy sites, but this is the one that's active. It's the one my order has now given its life to establish."

"Either way, since the goblins made off with the only amulet that would let one of you pass through, it is a moot point."

[Thundercracker]

"It wouldn't happen to have been three goblins, looking more or less like these three?" Letho asked, gesturing to the defeated trio.

[planswalker]

"Those three could have been a part of the raid on us, I'm sure. The pack that attacked us numbered about 15."

[AdamSmasher]

Pete hops off of Old Mary and kicks a stick into the barrier.

"If you stick a hand out, I can heal you. You'll die slower, then."

He takes a good look at this 'middle aged old man' and makes a puzzled face. "Hopefully twenty to fifty years slower!"

[planswalker]

"I guess it can't hurt to try..."

He seems unsure what will happens as he hobbles over to the runes and stretches his hand until the tip of his finger is just across the line...

[AdamSmasher]

Pete smiles a genuine smile.

"This'll tingle a little."

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. With a musical hum and an intricate wave of his hand, he taps the tip of the man's finger with his own to bestow a Lesser Vigor.

13 HP over the next 78 seconds.

[planswalker]

As soon as your skin is about to touch his, a now-familiar sound is heard and your contact is stopped just short:

Access to this Sanctuary is granted only to disciples of the Kaliba. Move on, stranger.

"Well, thank you for... trying. If you don't mind, I'm going to lie down now. See if I can manage to rest before something else triggers the ward." The man limps back inside.

[Rizban]

"His order gave their lives to retrieve the sun cross? Does that mean he's the only one left alive in there? And who killed them? The merchant? Is that lying merchant in league with the goblins? This only leads to more questions. I say we answer these questions the best way possible... with steel!"

[Thundercracker]

"I say we hunt down the remaining goblins," Letho offered.

[Rizban]

Tom looks to Letho with newfound respect. "That may just be the most sensible thing I've heard all day."

[Thundercracker]

"Which way did they go?" he asked the man before he limped back into the sanctuary.

Letho looked around to see if he could pick up their trail.

survival take 10 for 18

[planswalker]

While the man doesn't bother to tell y'all which way the goblins went, the trail is painfully obvious to follow on the other side of the building. You count at least a dozen different tracks from goblin-sized feet heading in a generally south-eastern direction. The goblins are making zero pretense to hide their trail.

[AdamSmasher]

Pete harrumphs when the barrier prevents his healing, holding on to the spell instead.

"Hold on, guy." He unclasps his belt and tosses it at the barrier, watching it slide down impotently to the ground. "Healing belt. The command word is rutabaga!" He smiles.

"Only with a funny accent. Roo-TAH-be-GAH."

[planswalker]

Unfortunately, it seems that the fanatic would rather ignore your well-intentioned help and go rest than try once more to overcome the barrier blocking the two of you.

while I'm going to cut off the "how to get around the barrier scene" here, I'll be giving y'all 250 xp each for it.

[AdamSmasher]

Pete watches the old codger limp off into the temple and huffs. He puts his hands on his hips and spins to face his comrades. "Well! I never."

He snatches his belt back up and cinches it back to his waist.

"Alright." He says, waving around the hand holding his Lesser Vigor spell. "I can wake one of our little friends up if we want to ask about why they're causing so much trouble."

"Or... It would be a chore but I could hold on to it until we need it."

[Thundercracker]

"Alright, I can speak goblin," Letho said, drawing his scimitar.

He checked one of the fallen goblins for weapons, made sure he was tied up well, then held the blade under the creature's neck.

"Go ahead, wake him up," he said.

[planswalker]

The goblin is still unconscious, secured, and disarmed.

[AdamSmasher]

Provided no protest from Tom, Pete delivers the spell.

[planswalker]

The goblin awakens and gives an initial inarticulate growl as it takes in its surroundings.

[Thundercracker]

Letho applied a bit of pressure to the scimitar blade, enough to give the goblin a sense of what would happen if he resisted.

"Why did you and your kind attack the men earlier today," he asked in the goblins guttural tongue.

[Rizban]

When Lethos speaks in goblin, Tom's lip curls in disgust ever so slightly without him even realizing it...

[planswalker]

Surprised to be spoken to in his native tongue by an outsider, the goblin says "Draak is coming!" before realizing what he said and clamming up.

[Thundercracker]

"Who is Draak?" Letho demanded, "tell me and you might live."

intimidate, take 10 for 9 plus applicable modifiers.

[planswalker]

"Draak is Draak!"

btw, y'all this is a VERY busy week for me. I promise to try and log in an update 1/day if I can, but if I miss a day, I promise nothing has happened, I'm just very busy

[Thundercracker]

"What does Drakk want?" Letho asked.

[planswalker]

"Draak will make us great! Draak is mighty! Draak will kill all! We will be rule in fire and blood and power!"

You detect that there are religious overtones to this rant

[Thundercracker]

"Seems like Draak is some kind of idol for worship," Letho said in common, "they were probably after the cross."

[Rizban]

"Tell them Draak is a heinous false god and will be destroyed. Tell them no one in their right mind, particularly upstanding individuals like us... or most of us anyway, would ever want to serve such a despicable thing as Draak. Tell them also to give us the location of their village immediately so that we might purge its filth from this world."

[AdamSmasher]

Pete listens along, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I don't think he'd like that. Try asking him why they attacked! And what territory they're claiming."

[Thundercracker]

"We want to know more about Draak, where is your village?" Letho asked in goblin.

[planswalker]

"Draak is everywhere! He is why we go to war! When we prove we are worthy, he will appear!" Upon asking about his village, you seem to break him from his fervor and his response is to spit in your face. "Find it."

[Thundercracker]

"It doesn't want to tell us where it's village is," Letho translated, "kill it now, or let him go and follow him?"

[AdamSmasher]

"You can't just ask where their village is." Pete tuts. "Bop him on the head and we'll follow their tracks. If that fails we'll figure out a way to fool him in to leading us home."

[Rizban]

"Lie to him. They do that all the time, so it should be fair play. Right? Convince him to help serve the greater Good or put him down."

[AdamSmasher]

"I don't know about you," Pete ponders, "but I've never had any luck inspiring people with a sword to the throat."

[Thundercracker]

"What about the ones who attached the priests?" Letho asked, "I say we tie these up here and go after them first."

[planswalker]

The goblin says something very ugly about your mother that is best left untranslated while the three of you discuss this.

[Thundercracker]

Letho slammed the pommel of his sword into the goblins forehead until it passes out, then proceeds to tie it up.

"We're not getting anything else out of them," he said, "let's go."

[AdamSmasher]

Pete winces when the goblin is struck. "Follow the trail, then? I'll have you know I'm two spells down for the day and I haven't had the chance to ask my Lady for anything other than cures for snakebites and bruises. Tackling a village might be a bit difficult."

[Rizban]

"Oh? Is that so? I say we destroy them while we can. If we can catch the raiding party before they return to the village, we won't have to fight them all at once. The longer we tarry, the harder this will be. We should go now!"

[Thundercracker]

"I agree with Tom, we cannot delay," Letho said, "stay and watch these three if you like, but I'm going after them. Though, I'd rather you were with us."

Letho begins to drift towards the trail, clearly eager to be after the raising party.

[planswalker]

Provided that the three of you follow the trail, it becomes clear that the raiding party splits itself off into four groups of three to scout out their trail for possible targets, gathers itself together, and selects one to attack. This method seems to have them doubling back over the same area multiple times as they don't seem to be making any specific progress towards a goal.

You suspect that you'll gain about three hours' progress on them for every hour you pursue them, at least. Even more if the likely three remaining groups gather to pursue another target.

[Thundercracker]

Letho considered the options.

"If we can catch another group of three, we can whittle them down without having to fight all nine at once," he said, "I say we keep moving, and this time we try to take them by surprise."
He glanced over to Tom.

"Unless your Lady requires you to demand surrender of her enemies before fighting," he added.

[AdamSmasher]

Whatever the course they take, Pete saddles up Old Mary and follows along bird watching.

[Rizban]

Provided that the three of you follow the trail, it becomes clear that the raiding party splits itself off into four groups of three to scout out their trail for possible targets, gathers itself together, and selects one to attack. This method seems to have them doubling back over the same area multiple times as they don't seem to be making any specific progress towards a goal.

You suspect that you'll gain about three hours' progress on them for every hour you pursue them, at least. Even more if the likely three remaining groups gather to pursue another target.

Tom attempts to track whichever group contains the leader of the raiding party.

[roll0]

[planswalker]

Unfortunately, your ability to read tracks doesn't quite seem to extend far enough to reliably pinpoint where the leader would be within a particular group of three of them, but it is certainly sufficient that you can reliably track down any one of the three groups from the next time they split apart. You won't be able to be sure that the leader will be located in that group, but you can be sure about reliably tracking any one of the three groups down if you wish.

[Rizban]

Tom chooses to follow the tracks of group [roll0].

[planswalker]

Group 3 splits off from the others at their latest meetup spot about two hours' travel down the path. It heads due west while the other two head south for a bit before one breaks east and the other west.

While they're not within sight yet, you suspect you'll be upon the group within about a 20 minute pursuit, half that if you don't bother with caution.

how does the party wish to approach them?

[Rizban]

10 minutes sounds good to Tom. He's usually not one for caution...

[Thundercracker]

"We should try to sneak up on them," Lerho said, "else we could find the tables turned and be ambushed ourselves."

[AdamSmasher]

Pete follows along on Old Mary, contributing relatively little to hunting process. "It wouldn't be very polite to startle them." He thinks about it for a moment. "It would be funny though."

He has enough spells to summon an eagle for each fight, but nothing after that.

[Thundercracker]

If Tom refuses to try to be quiet, Letho grumbles and follows about 30' behind, notching an arrow to his bowstring as he does so.

[AdamSmasher]

Pete hops off of Old Mary and, taking Letho's lead, tries to be [roll0] as they approach the goblins.

[Rizban]

Tom, though perfectly capable of hiding does not attempt to hide, but he also doesn't charge heedlessly into the goblins.

[planswalker]

The party, unable to decide to all approach stealthily, nonetheless just simply walk up to the trio of goblins, which don't notice them at first as the trio spots them 100 feet out. One of the three goblins is wearing significantly better armor than the rest and has a silver amulet around his neck featuring the holy symbol of the goddess Kaliba.

assuming y'all want to fight them, roll for initiative, and post the surprise round.

[Rizban]

[roll0]

Tom waves and calls out to them.

"Ho there! Hail, and well met!"

They are too far distant to charge at them, so, once again, Tom will wait until they come closer...

[Thundercracker]

Initiative: [roll0]

Letho dropped his forehead into his palm for a second then notches an arrow to his bowstring, drawing to his cheek but not loosing until the goblins act in an aggressive manner.

[Rizban]

"Now, now, Letho. Calm yourself. Can you not see that their leader wears the holy symbol of Kaliba? Surely these pious individuals can mean us no harm."

[Thundercracker]

"You sure it didn't steal it from someone?" Letho asked.

Still, he let the bow slacken somewhat, settling for a half-draw.

[AdamSmasher]

Pete nonchalantly [roll0] himself behind a tree before the goblins see Tom.

Can you ready a spell with a casting time of one round? Like start it and maintain concentration until the moment you want to fire it off, if at all?

[planswalker]

it's not a readied action, but you can cast all but the very last components of a spell and then "hold the charge" to finish casting at a later time as a standard action. If you begin casting any other spell, you'll lose the charge, but you can take move actions as normal and non-casting standard actions... are best avoided, but some are still available to you. (if you get into that, I can dig out the rules, though, tbh, your best best if you go this route is to just double-move until you get to the right spot to discharge your spell. Oth

That standard action, once available to you, can then be readied as normal.

Adamsmasher, seeing as how you neglected to roll your initiative, I rolled it for you off-site and you got a 10. Update me with your modifier in your next post. Fortunately, order shouldn't matter this round, but I really will need it before I can resolve round 1

Pete tries to hide himself behind a nearby tree, which what's likely mixed results.

Letho at first decides to ready his attack, only to be talked down to a half-draw by Tom.

Tom decides that because he sees a holy amulet of Kaliba around a goblin's neck while trying to track down a goblin who stole a holy amulet of Kaliba, this goblin must be a follower of Kaliba, and his teammates go along with this.

The goblins, for their part, upon being addressed, scream incoherently and draw their weapons as they charge at you. There is now 40' separating y'all from them.

[AdamSmasher]

I missed the part about the initiative roll. My bad!

Behind that tree, Pete starts casting as Tom nears the goblins. "Oh, yes, hello again. More goblins. Would you? Thanks!"

He holds it until the goblins predictably attack and lets it burst into a spectral eagle that cuts through the canopy towards the action. Immediately, it dives on the weakest goblin.

[roll0]
[roll1], [roll2]

[Thundercracker]

"Can we attack them now??" Letho asked as he moved forward, loosing an arrow as he did so.

close to within 30', attack the goblin with the holy symbol.
attack: [roll0]
damage: [roll1] + skirmish: [roll2]
Apologies for the delay, I thought I had posted but it didn't happen.

[Rizban]

"Letho... I am now somewhat convinced that these goblins may be the ones we were tracking rather than devout followers of Kaliba. It should therefore be acceptable to smite them." He nods sagely as if imparting the deepest wisdom imaginable.

Assuming he has room to charge on his initiative, Tom will charge the leader goblin, attempting to pounce upon it.

Spine – [roll0] – [roll1]
Gauntlet – [roll2] – [roll3]

(-2 on each attack if unable to charge)

[Rizban]

Nat 20 on that gauntlet...
Gauntlet Crit? – [roll0] – [roll1]

[planswalker]

I still need to know your initiative modifier, Adamsmasher. That 10 was the raw roll, not the total. With Letho at an 11 total, it matters.

Pete begins casting a summons, which will resolve next round.

Letho lets forth a disappointing opening shot.

Tom charges directly into the fray and meets the goblins head-on. While his spine fails to connect, he launches a direct hit into the goblin's nose with his gauntlet, breaking the already-unshapely thing and drawing first blood!

The leader responds by striking at Tom, whose armor deflects the wound.

The leader's two minions take on a flanking position to Tom's sides and swing a pair of blows his way. The second one, taking advantage of their flanking position, manages to sneak in for [roll0] damage.

[AdamSmasher]

Sorry, he has a +2 if I remember correctly. I wont have sheet access all weekend.

[Thundercracker]

"Hang on Tom, I'm comin'!" Letho said, dropping his bow. His scimitar sprang into his hands almost on its own and he charged at the goblin between him and Tom.

Free: Drop the bow
Free: Draw Scimitar
Charge Attack, flank the goblin with Tom: [roll0]
damage: [roll1] + [roll2] skirmish
Crit confirm (if necessary, 18 or better) [roll3]
damage: [roll4] + [roll5] skirmish
AC is 14 until next turn.

Edit: would have been nice if those attack rolls were reversed...

[Rizban]

Laughing mirthfully, Tom 5-ft steps into a flanking position around the leader with Letho, if possible. If not, he'll at least step out of the middle of the melee while tearing into the leader.

Will attack before or after moving, depending on when he gets the flanking bonus.
If he can't flank, both rolls are -2.
Power Attack for 3.

Spine – [roll0] – [roll1]
Gauntlet – [roll2] – [roll3]
Spine – [roll4] – [roll5]
Gauntlet – [roll6] – [roll7]

[planswalker]

... the dice just LOVE y'all this fight.

Pete's summoned creature arrives and strikes at the goblin on Tom's right, who is scored a decent blow.

Letho leaves his bow behind as he grabs up his scimitar and joins the melee, adding another injury to the flanking goblin that the eagle hit.

Tom manages to deliver a pair of solid blows that, when combined with the epic punch from last round, nearly down the leader right there.

The lead goblin, fearing for his life, takes a step back and drinks from a glass vial. Instantly, [roll0] hp worth of damage is healed away as he lets his minions try to soften this mad warrior whose attacks can't seem to miss.

The minions, for their part, continue to flank Tom, and one gets in a solid blow for [roll1] damage while the other almost drops his blade in a clumsy swing.

[Thundercracker]

Letho continued attaching the goblin he flanked with Tom

[roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[AdamSmasher]

Pete's Eagle, blooded and eager for more, is forced to land. As soon as it's talons touch the ground, it hops back up to flog and rend the goblins around it.

Eagle will five foot step into the most advantageous position. It was hovering directly above the goblin it charged, now it's got to land. It'll attack the lowest health targets until they hit 0 HP, then move on. It'll flank if it's smart/capable enough.

[roll0], [roll1], [roll2]
[roll3], [roll4], [roll5]
[roll6], [roll7], [roll8]

Pete, meanwhile, meanders closer to the fray (within 30 feet of Tom) and ducks behind another tree. "Hey Tom! How ya feelin? You need some healing?"

[Rizban]

Tom steps forward and swings his fist at the leader once more, but at the last minute, he unballs his fist and grabs the leader by the face, throwing his weight into the goblin while sweeping at its legs. Should the goblin go down, Tom drops himself onto its chest, arm spines downward.

[roll0] – [roll1] [22] (accidentally added the +4 from Improved Trip twice...)
[roll2] – [roll3] (Improved Trip)

[roll4] – [roll5] (Full Attack)

Glancing over his shoulder at Pete as he rolls back into his fighting stance, Tom shrugs and says, "Hey, sure, after we're done here."

[Rizban]

Assuming a 15 hits his Touch AC, and he fails to beat an opposed 22 on the check...

If he attempts to stand or otherwise provokes, Tom will AoO him.
[roll0] – [roll1]

Edit: Well, the good rolls had to run out some time...

[planswalker]

The eagle manages to get in a good, solid blow after re-positioning to flank with Letho, whose own blow, with the eagle's help flanking the enemy, lands and finishes off the bloodied foe.

Tom successfully trips the leader and impales him on a spine while the enemy is prone. The leader does indeed stand back up after managing to dodge the blow Tom throws his way as he stands. It seems his luck has changed, though perhaps not as much as it would take for him to survive this encounter. His own return strike is so abysmal that it is not worth mentioning.

The other minion, however, gets in a solid strike against Letho for [roll0] damage.

[Thundercracker]

Letho grunted as he took the blow, and dodged back out of reach and around the melee to flank the leader with Tom.

tumble to avoid aoo: [roll0] otherwise Letho has mobility.
Attack leader: [roll1]
Damage [roll2] + [roll3] skirmish

[Twrbs883]

Tom, meanwhile, has prepped his mule to go and is waiting just outside of town on the road when the other two finally arrive.
{scrubbed}

[Rizban]

Tom attempts to shove the goblin's leader into the dirt and keep him there.

[roll0] – [roll1]
[roll2] – [roll3]

[roll4] – [roll5]
[roll6] – [roll7]
((If he goes down on the first attack, the second is just a normal attack vs prone.))

[AdamSmasher]

My bad, I thought we were still on last round.

Pete, seeing an Opportunity for Greatness, rushes out from around the tree. Pulling out his shortspear, he plunges it straight through the remaining minion, killing it in a single perfect blow.

The Eagle, at the same time, hops up towards the minion and takes advantage of Pete's flanking to flog the somehow still moving corpse with beak and talons.

Pete takes a move action to provide a flank and attacks.

[roll0], [roll1]

The Eagle takes advantage of the flank and Releases the Beast.

[roll2], [roll3], [roll4]
[roll5], [roll6], [roll7]
[roll8], [roll9], [roll10]

[AdamSmasher]

I fully expected Pete to roll double 1s.

[roll0], [roll1]

[planswalker]

Pete and his eagle dig into the last standing minion and turn it into a very messy, dead affair.

While Letho's attack itself does not come close to landing against the leader, he does provide Tom with a tactical advantage which, with this aid, is sufficient for him to pull off another round where he trips the goblin leader and leaving him prone once more. This means that Tom's second blow injures the goblin and leaves him almost down again.

Figuring that trying to stand will likely cause either one of his opponents or the other to get in the free hit it would take to off him, the leader instead rolls 5' to the side and stabs at Letho, who almost casually steps around the clumsy blow.

[AdamSmasher]

"Oh, my." Pete draws his spear out of the goblin's back, feeling terribly violent.

Being the highest in initiative order, he and his eagle both rush over to intercept the goblin leader as it rolls away. The Eagle hops on top of it and digs in a talon, charging for +2 if it can, Pete readies an action to dismiss the eagle if the leader is about to die. They've won, as far as he's concerned.

[roll0], [roll1], [roll2]

[Thundercracker]

If the leader is not down:

Letho danced away from the leader's blow and brought his scimitar down in an overhand chop, attempting to finish the fight.

attack: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]

[Rizban]

Tom also moves 5 feet to move into a better position to attack the goblin leader.

[roll0] – [roll1]
[roll2] – [roll3]

((Assuming Letho also took a 5-ft step to allow maintaining the flank or someone else provides flanking, +2 to attack rolls)

[planswalker]

The three of you land a blow each, and the fighting ends as your last foe is defeated.

850 xp

[AdamSmasher]

Putting us at 4700 each, right? Might have double counted.

Pete immediately checks for signs of life in the goblin leader. If he finds them, he will act immediately either with a Heal check or Healing Belt charge, depending. "This big fella ought to know something."

The spirit-eagle, making the most of its time in the mortal realm, hops over to one of the goblin underlings and starts pecking idly at its eyes.

[planswalker]

Unfortunately, the leader is very, very, very dead.

[Rizban]

Tom quickly grabs he amulet they were sent to retrieve and holds it aloft in victory!

[AdamSmasher]

Pete sighs, rubbing the blood off on his clothes. "Thank you." With a wave of his hand, he dismisses the eagle back to its home just as it plucks one of the eyes gruesomely from its socket.

"Three more, then?"

[Rizban]

"So... you mentioned something about healing?"

Tom is at 16/23. He's only down 7hp, so it's not critical that he be healed at the moment, but if he takes another hit or two like the last, he'll definitely need a touch up.

[AdamSmasher]

"Hmm?" Pete looks up from the morbid scene at their feet, scratching his stubble. "Oh yeah!" He smiles his biggest and sidles on over to Tom. "Here you go, big fella! RUTABAGA!"

He slaps Tom on the back for [roll0].

[Thundercracker]

Letho retrieved his bow then jogged back to the others.

"Hunt down the rest before they figure out these ones went missing?" he asked.

[Rizban]

"Well, Letho, I suppose that would be the right thing to do, but wouldn't it also be wrong to leave the poor merchants unaddressed and unprotected in the wilds too long? Both options seem to have some right and some wrong, so I think it's pretty well a wash. I'm for just going back to the temple place to return this relic to find the other relic or whatever it is we're meant to be doing..."

[AdamSmasher]

"Oh, don't worry about them! They said they'll be fine. He's got a magic chair that summons golems for him." Pete checks the goblins to see if any survived. If they did, he presses the artery in their neck until that changes.

Then, he starts looking for loot.

[Thundercracker]

"If we hunt them down now, it's six less goblins we have to fight later," Letho said, "and they won't be able to bring reinforcements."

He kept watch as Pete rifled through the dead goblins' belongings.

[Rizban]

"Well, if you want to spend the next day or two tracking and hunting, I suppose that's fine. You did bring supplies, right?"

Tom pulls a trail ration out of a belt pouch and starts chewing on some jerky as he back tracks the trail they followed to get here in an attempt to find one of the other two trails that lead off in different directions...

[AdamSmasher]

As if on cue, Pete's stomach growls audibly as he rummages through the goblins' possessions. "Maybe one of 'em has some biscuits."

[planswalker]

you find [roll0] gold pieces among the three of them, silver rings y'all estimate to be worth [roll1] or so, a small citrine cabochon worth [roll2] gold, and a coral cup of intricate design worth at least 200 gold, provided you find a buyer.

In addition, it appears the goblins had raided some poor wizard's laboratory, as they had a potion, three scrolls, a wand, and a vial of antitoxin on them.

[AdamSmasher]

"No biscuits."

Pete harumphs and gathers up the rig, cabochon, and cup. "Dibs." He takes a peak inside the coin sack and whistles, showing the other two. "We'll have to divvy it all up at the end of the day."

[Thundercracker]

"Alright, let's move, before they realize what happened, maybe we can catch another group of three before they link up again," Letho said.

adamsmasher you're marking down the moot on your sheet?

[Rizban]

"All I'm saying is we've had several fights already today and no idea how many more we'll face before night. We've already been pursuing these goblins for three hours and will take about that loing just to get back. We waste more time and resources here, and it'll be night with tasks left unfinished before you know it. Once more, I must stress that we should finish recovering the relic and merchant today and should get to that without wasting additional limited resources, like spells."

[AdamSmasher]

"Merchant's fine!" Pete yells, rooting through goblin loot with his back to the two of them. "'s got golems."

"That priest ain't coming out either." He pulls off one of the goblins' socks and measures it against his own foot. He is disappointed.

[Thundercracker]

"Alright alright," Letho relented, let's go check on him.

[Rizban]

"Pete, I have no idea what you're talking about... I'm starting to wonder about you... more so than usual anyway.

It doesn't matter if the merchant can protect himself or if the priest is trapped in his own sanctuary. Chasing after these goblins when we have an assigned mission is dereliction of duty! Are you seriously saying that we should just abandon our mission to go off on a frivolous hunt?"

[Thundercracker]

"It's not frivolous, these things are dangerous beasts and every one we don't hunt down might hurt or kill someone I know later," Letho replied, "but you're also right, we have a job to do, so let's do it quickly and maybe we can catch up to the goblins later or at least get this gold back to the village so they can put it to good use."

[AdamSmasher]

"What's dereliction?"

Pete stands up fully, hands on his hips. He scans the area for a moment, trying to judge how thick with life the area was. These corpses would go to good use feeding some local wildlife, he hoped.

"Alright, lets be off, then." Not one to argue, Pete goes along with whatever they-

Where's Old Mary?

...

Oh, there she is.

"C'mere, you old nag." He smiles and retrieves her from behind the safety of a copse of trees.

[planswalker]

As best you can tell, there is indeed wildlife in this forest and unattended carrion will not remain that way for long.

The three of you return to the monastery. Just as it is within sight, you hear a reverberating: ACCESS TO THIS SANCTUARY IS RESERVED ONLY FOR THE FOLLOWERS OF THE GODDESS KALIBA! MOVE ON, STRANGER!

[Rizban]

"It's not frivolous, these things are dangerous beasts and every one we don't hunt down might hurt or kill someone I know later," Letho replied, "but you're also right, we have a job to do, so let's do it quickly and maybe we can catch up to the goblins later or at least get this gold back to the village so they can put it to good use.""We have eliminated the raiding party's leader. Those who remain are likely to be disorganized and head straight back home as quickly as possible. I doubt they will regroup too quickly. As you say though, their presence should be reported. The faster we complete our task, the faster we can return to town and spread word so that the village isn't taken unawares by a goblin raid."


As best you can tell, there is indeed wildlife in this forest and unattended carrion will not remain that way for long.

The three of you return to the monastery. Just as it is within sight, you hear a reverberating: ACCESS TO THIS SANCTUARY IS RESERVED ONLY FOR THE FOLLOWERS OF THE GODDESS KALIBA! MOVE ON, STRANGER!
Tom walks up to the barrier and prods it with Kaliba's holy amulet.

[planswalker]

The barrier is silent. In fact, you find that your hand actually is allowed to cross the barrier while you're holding the amulet.

[Rizban]

Tom returns to his cart and urges his draft animal through the barrier.

[planswalker]

Since your animal is not wearing the amulet, it finds that, upon touching the barrier, it responds with:

ACCESS TO THIS SANCTUARY IS RESERVED ONLY FOR THE FOLLOWERS OF THE GODDESS KALIBA! MOVE ON, STRANGER!

[Rizban]

Tom will walk through the barrier, reach back through with the amulet in his hand, attempt to place it onto his mule, and then guide the animal through behind him.

[planswalker]

Provided that the mule is indeed touching the amulet the whole time, it is possible to bring it through the barrier as well.

[Rizban]

Tom indeed does so.

"Well, that seemed to work. Want me to reach back through for you, or should I try tossing it through?"

[AdamSmasher]

Pete follows along to the shrine. He chuckles when he hears the warning voice, imagining another rat bumping its head like last time.

When Tom sticks his hand through the barrier, however, Pete slaps his hand against his forehead. He had completely forgotten that the amulet would let someone through. (So did his player.)

"Tom!"

He hops off of Old Mary and jogs over to the barrier, unfastening his belt and holding it up to the barrier.

"Rutabaga!"

[Thundercracker]

"Toss it to me then," Letho said.

He took the amulet, put it on, and attempted to walk past the barrier.

[planswalker]

Once the amulet is tossed to Letho, he is also able to pass through the barrier without problems.

Provided that the entire party wishes, this technique can be repeated until everyone is through.

At this point, the three of you and any livestock you wish have now successfully crosses the barrier without triggering any more of the following:

ACCESS TO THIS SANCTUARY IS PROVIDED ONLY TO THE FOLLOWERS OF THE GODDESS KALIBA. MOVE ON, STRANGER.

The monastery now lies open and quiet before you. While the door is closed, it is also clearly unlocked, its resident likely trusting the previously-impassible supernatural barrier far more than a simple lock.

[AdamSmasher]

Once he's passed the barrier, Pete makes haste to find the priest and give him a good, old fashioned positive energy infusion.

[planswalker]

You find the priest inside a large central room lined with about a half-dozen rough wooden benches on two sides facing an altar where a large stone cross inlaid with a starburst pattern has been put on display. The man seems to have lost consciousness as he was kneeling before the altar.

[Thundercracker]

Heedless of potential danger, Letho rushed forward to aid the man if he could.

[AdamSmasher]

Pete, right beside him, rushes to the priest's side. Not bothering to check whether he's still alive first, Pete kneels down and puts a hand on the priest's shoulder. "Ru-TAH-be-GAH."

His healing belt puts [roll0] of positive energy in to him.

[planswalker]

As your healing magic rushes through him, the man awakens and looks up.

"Oh. It's you. I take it you recovered the amulet, and now you're here to take the Sun Cross back to the heretic?"

[Rizban]

"Heretic?"

[planswalker]

"Drakus, the antique dealer my order took the Sun Cross from to begin with? Although, to me, all of you unable to cross that barrier without the aid of the amulet are heretics."

You doubt that this fellow was the spokesman for his order before he became the last surviving member.

[Rizban]

Incensed, Tom rips his sword from its scabbard flicks his spines into the priest's face.

"You. Take. That. Back. You foulmouthed cur!"

[planswalker]

"True believers of the goddess Kaliba, the one true Creation goddess, would have never had any trouble crossing that barrier. If you do not follow her, what can you be if not heretic?"

[Rizban]

"A true follower of Creation and paladin of Kolrani and Kaliba."

[AdamSmasher]

Pete nudges Letho with his elbow and whispers. "Did you know paladins can threaten people for pointing out their personal flaws?"

He steps forward. "Now, now, Tom, we've all had a rough day. Divine magic is tricksy and all that." He lays a hand on the priests shoulder. "Rutabaga. The cross probably feels jilted about your little affair with this Kolrani fellow."

[AdamSmasher]

Healing Belt[roll0]

[Thundercracker]

Letho, shocked at the sudden violence, came to his senses as Pete healed the old man again.

"Now I don't consider myself to be a genius, but generally beating on someone who is already half-dead just ain't right," he said, looking at Tom.

[planswalker]

"Well, at this point, I guess the heretics win. I am hardly in a position to stop you from taking me and the Sun Cross from this place, and I guess it would be safer in your hands than in some goblin's hoard or whatnot."

[Rizban]

Tom glares at the man, fury in his eyes, as he seeks to maintain his calm and find the words adequate to rebuke his foolishness.

[AdamSmasher]

"It's for the best, Tommy-boy. Wouldn't want you losing your righteous divine powers."

He pats Tom on the back and moves over to the Sun Cross. He puts his hands on his hips and whistles once. "What'll we do with this? It's stolen for sure, but a Fortress Against Evil ain't a bad idea."