Crown Jewels (IC)

[MikelaC1]

(Please do not post yet, this post is still under construction)

You always knew you were special in some way. Sure there are plenty of people who are more talented at what you do, but that's a function of having been doing it longer and its not like you haven't been progressing. And there are others who can progress in more than one discipline, but for you, its different. They had to study and practice for a long time before even grasping the rudimentary of it, you just sort of picked it up. Something, someone, marked you as different, perhaps for some unknown purpose. Thus when the stranger contacted you about being a part of a mission vital to the interests of all of Daystor and not just one of the individual empires, you were intrigued to see what was up.
When the stranger brought you to Erandol, the largest city of Daystor and then lead you to the offices of Daystor Mining and Exploration, it was puzzling, was your destiny to a miner (of course, for the dwarf, that was no issue) but you were escorted to the top floor, to a private office at the penthouse. In the room were 3 other people who you did not recognize, and then 2 women on the other side of the desk that you most certainly did. One was Elinon Darasis-Domar, the most powerful "good" person in Daystor, the high priestess of Lysindra Damaris, the tales of her fighting prowess could fill several books. The other was none other than Dalcar Sontin, the most powerful "evil" person in Daystor, high priestess of the demon goddess Nocticula, the tales of her magical mischief, not to mention her amorous activities, might even fill more books. Both of them in the same room, the blades should have been flashing and clashing with both trying to take down the other, yet for now, they seemed to be at peace. Or at least, co-operating.
Elinon is the first to speak, standing to address you all, her voice full of the energy and power that have marked her life. Please, help yourself to any refreshments at the bar, and then please be seated, this could take a while. But first I need to give you some historical context.
Several thousand years ago, the pantheon of Daystor was cluttered with a huge number of gods. Zeus, Odin, Thor, Ra, Ishtar, the list went on and on. There were heros aplenty and finally one of them completed the rites of divine ascension, and became a god himself. That was Daren Philisar, who you now know as the supreme god of Daystor. In time, many others completed the same rites, Klintina, Lysindra, Silescia, Endolin, all the gods you know. As these new gods ascended, the Elder gods lost followers to them and thus became less powerful. The last such hero to ascend was Melias Bindar, and he was the straw that broke the camel’s back. A war broke out, a war between the Elder gods and the new gods. The war raged for years and years, the entire world of Daystor was devastated by it. Many of the landmarks you know today are actually the remnants of those titanic battles. Daren Philisar forged the new gods into an alliance, despite their differing alignments, and they fought as one against them.
The Elder Gods had waited too long and lost too much power. As well, the Elder gods could not stop fighting among themselves, and thus they were slowly pushed out. In the end the Elder gods were banished from Daystor forever

Now this next is the part that everyone knows. The Crown Jewels of Erandol were the most fabulous of the day, as Erandol was the most powerful city/state of the time. Three times they had established an Empire that ruled the world. The Crown Jewels were the symbol of the royal family and not only were they beautiful, their long association with the royal family had imbued them with magical properties. Several months into the war, an unlikely alliance of the Elder Gods stole the jewels, and took them off for a master plan. Worried about what they were up to, Philisar dispatched his best spy, Syndra Keldith, to find out what they up to. Syndra managed to impersonate one of their servants and spied out what they were up to, as well she managed a few acts of sabotage to keep them off balance. When she managed to figure out that they were attempting to put power into them to destroy gods at a single stroke, Philisar ordered her to wreck the operation. Syndra forged some of their notes, giving them the wrong instructions and during the final ritual, the spell went awry, and a huge explosion resulted, supposedly destroying the jewels

This however, very few people know, in fact, they were not destroyed, merely scattered the length and breadth of Daystor. And their greatest influence was still to come. Months after, Philisar was engaged in a battle with Kali, trying to force her out of the Prime. At one point in the fight, Kali knocked his sword from his grasp with one of her blades and tripped him with two others. As he scrambled back desperately, his hand landed on another sword, it turned out to be the Kings Sword. With no other choice, he snatched up the blade, and used it on her. To his surprise, with one hit, Kali was destroyed, and not only that, locked away unable to return to Daystor. Philisar quickly realized that somehow at least some of the power had infused the Jewels, and he quickly told all the other gods to seek out the Jewels, and use them. A war that looked like it would last for uncounted more years actually ended in months

At the end of the war, the subject of what to do with the Jewels came up. Philisar argued that they should be returned to Erandol, as they had always been theirs to begin with. Because it was his nature to disagree with everything Philisar said, Rohdan took the opposite view and said they should be shared out among all the cities, with most going to his favourite, Rennador. A battle broke out between them, the other gods came in on various sides, and the power of the jewels was brought into play. No one is quite sure what happened, but another tremendous blast occurred, likely because the jewels power was unstable, and the Jewels were destroyed. Or so, everyone thought

Dalcar takes over at this point., her voice a seductive purr. For thousands of years, the world thought the Jewels were destroyed. Then, a couple of months ago, Elinon and I heard a rumour, that an old item of the Elder gods era had survived. Our enquiries proved fruitless, but we both persisted, lead on by visions from our goddesses. That’s when we began to learn about the real fate of the Jewels. We concocted a story that my circlet was actually one of the original pieces, and made sure it was heard in several shady quarters. Two days later, it was stolen. We sent another team to get it, hoping that they would find evidence that the Jewels are, in fact, still in existence, and being collected. Now, we know its true.

And that is why we need you. We need you to gather these jewels, bring them back to me and we will destroy them, once and for all.

[Silverphantasm]

Listening to the chronology Ethan strode across the room, and skipping the glass, picked up a decanter of wine and moved to a seat that afforded a large section of the room. Tilting the container upwards, he took three long drafts of the wine, then lowered it.

Not to be rude, seeing how it's to extremely powerful and prolific women such as yourselves, but if a battle between gods didn't destroy the jewels what makes you think that you'll be able to?

Don't get me wrong, I'm in but I think if we're going to be risking our skin like that, we or at least I would like an explanation.

Holding up his hand as he finished, hold on I'll ask all my questions, then you can answer them.
Then I've got 3 more questions for you:
1. Where are we intermediately going after we leave here?
2. How do we identify the "Jewels"
3. Any idea who/what is going to be our enemies?

[Ridai]

Among the assembled people, Tio could not look more out of place. Garbed in decidedly normal brown pants and shoes, as well as a simple white shirt, he seems nice enough, but certainly not like a seasoned warrior or veteran operative/mage. It doesn't help that he curiously looks around as he is brought to the penthouse, clearly never having seen such surroundings, and helping himself to a glass of juice (normally meant for cocktails, but that part seems to be blissfully ignored) as he listens.

Hearing the initial question of one of his soon-to-be-companions, Tio adds "To be fair, the Crown Jewels were only ever caught in other conflicts and thought destroyed, the gods never actively tried to destroy them before," with his voice sounding as friendly and boyish as one might expect.

Once it is his turn to talk, he says to everyone present "First of all, my name is Tio, pleased to meet you, and thanks for putting this much trust in me. I'm afraid I only recognize Lady Darasis-Domar and Lady Sontin, so... may I know your names?"

[MikelaC1]

Valid questions, and I will try my best. The other gods cannot be involved, because that would bring Rohdan into the picture. And with Rohdan, if Philisar said the sky was blue and clouds were white, he would argue the point. Doesn't matter that the Jewels pose as big a threat to his existence, he wont agree with anything Daren says.
As each Jewel is brought back, I will pluck each and every gem from them and smash them, then I will melt the metal down and separate it totally. I have been assured that I will receive assistance in this. I will also be providing you with this wand She places a wand on the table Which will identify a Jewel from a copy, and we have a list of what the Jewels are. Your enemies are the person who currently has the Jewel, even if they don't know what it is, and the devil hierarchy who are also desperately seeking the Jewels. You have one other major opponent, a sorcerer who goes by the name of Juan Furcan, we have reasonable intel that tells us that he is seeking the Jewels as well and is receiving aid from the devils in this regard.

[MikelaC1]

Dalcar spreads some scrolls on the table. We have 20 items we need to be concerned with, and they are organized into 4 groups, one for the King, one for the Queen, one for the Prince and one for the Princess. The King has a crown, a sword, a ring, a sceptre and a belt. The Queen has a crown, ring, orb, staff and pendant. The Prince has a sword, a ring, an amulet, a torc and a breastplate, while the Princess has a tiara, a ring, a brooch, a set of earrings and a set of bracers. The items vary in power, almost always the Kings items are the most powerful and the King's crown the most powerful of them all. Even just listing out the items, Dalcar's voice is a compelling purr, you somehow get the impression she could be listing out the week's groceries and it would somehow turn you on.

[Ridai]

"Great, where do we start? I'm assuming you want this to stay on the down-low, because, well, you picked someone like me and not, say, someone with more earth- or reality-shattering powers, yes?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

Garflax shambled over to make himself a drink. He makes it pretty much the exact opposite of Tio and forgoes any mix and ends up with something bordering on pure alcohol. Garflax listened intently. "So while we are off risking our necks to gather fancy jewels for you guys." He motions to Dalcar and Elinon. "What are you two going to doing ? Do you really trust her?"

Garflax knew them only by reputation - which was enough. If they were working together it must be very serious he decided. He almost wasn't that interested in the answers to his questions.

"My friends call me Garflax." he answers Tio.

[MikelaC1]

"Great, where do we start? I'm assuming you want this to stay on the down-low, because, well, you picked someone like me and not, say, someone with more earth- or reality-shattering powers, yes?"

Yes, we picked you, or rather, your deity picked you because, frankly, no one pays much attention to someone of your stature going into a dungeon or travelling about the world. If Dalcar or I went in a dungeon, questions would be asked, eyebrows would be raised and it would gather attention this quest does not need


Garflax

Garflax shambled over to make himself a drink. He makes it pretty much the exact opposite of Tio and forgoes any mix and ends up with something bordering on pure alcohol. Garflax listened intently. "So while we are off risking our necks to gather fancy jewels for you guys." He motions to Dalcar and Elinon. "What are you two going to doing ? Do you really trust her?"

Garflax knew them only by reputation - which was enough. If they were working together it must be very serious he decided. He almost wasn't that interested in the answers to his questions.

"My friends call me Garflax." he answers Tio.

We will be busy destroying the jewels. Also we both have an extensive network of contacts, so when the time comes to upgrade your equipment for more dangerous challenges, we will be able to secure the upgrades, quickly and quietly. We cannot offer discounts, but we can ensure what you can afford is always available.

As for trusting each other, our goddesses have made it clear what the status of this quest is...and the price of failure.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

Garflax just nodded in the affirmative. Normally such an answer would be questioned by the northerner but it seemed to resonate with Garflax. While it seemed presumptuous to claim to know Thugren Waraxe's will, Garflax got the sense he was at the right place and time to make a difference. He felt as if Thugren had carried him into the room, not his own stubby legs.

[Silverphantasm]

Listening to the various questions & answers floating around the room ethan, tilted the decanter back and drained the last of the wine. Swaying slightly he pulled his staff around to lean on, he turned to Tio,

"Oh, okay I'm not much of one for history....just thought if a battle between gods didn't destroy the jewels, it would be odd that mortals could. Name's Ethan, by the way, Ethan Valamir.

Striding over an picking up the wand, he examined it with interest. "Is this a...unique item or can we be fairly sure Juan & his hooved footed friends will have similar detection capabilities as well?"

[MikelaC1]

This is a unique item, however a search of the Imperial Erandol library has revealed the theft of several books on the subject of the Jewels, that was another source that put us on to Furcan's involvement. As best we know, he hasn't secured a major jewel as of yet, but that may not be accurate. He seems to be relying on the information in the books because he was fooled by the story of the circlet being the Princess tiara, although he did not perform the actual theft itself.

And the reason that the battle between the gods did not destroy the Jewels was because the gods were targeting each other, and not the Jewels themselves directly.

[Ridai]

Yes, we picked you, or rather, your deity picked you because, frankly, no one pays much attention to someone of your stature going into a dungeon or travelling about the world. If Dalcar or I went in a dungeon, questions would be asked, eyebrows would be raised and it would gather attention this quest does not need
Tio nods in agreement. "Yup, that makes a lot of sense. Hopefully we'll stay non-descript in the eyes of the world throughout the que-" He suddenly stops mid-sentence, blinking twice. "Wait. Glendira picked me?" He inclines his head and blinks twice again, processing, scratching his head. "Huh. That's... huh." He'll need some time to think on what precisely that might end up meaning to him personally, but that's for another occasion.


And the reason that the battle between the gods did not destroy the Jewels was because the gods were targeting each other, and not the Jewels themselves directly.
Tio actually guessed correctly. Not a big leap of logic, but good to know.

Since his previous question about where they would start was kind of ignored (he doesn't blame them, there's a lot going on right now in this moment and in general), he awaits more information.

[MikelaC1]

We know this is a lot to process, but do you have any more questions before your first mission? Other questions may come to light as we progress, and anything else you want to know right now, we will try as best we can.

[Ridai]

"How are we to contact you when we have found a Crown Jewel and where do we bring them? Do we talk to agents of yours or do we come back here after each Jewel? Other than that, where are we heading first?"

[Silverphantasm]

Nodding at Tio, "Good points, and I've got another, obviously we're trying to do this discreetly, but what happens when we get caught up in a hornet's nest of trouble. Do we fight our way out? Surrender and wait for the noose? Spill our guts & hope for the best?"

[MikelaC1]

"How are we to contact you when we have found a Crown Jewel and where do we bring them? Do we talk to agents of yours or do we come back here after each Jewel? Other than that, where are we heading first?"

Elinon taps the wand again. This little thing has one other ability other than identifying jewels, and that is the power to do a sending.
Whenever you recover a jewel, get to the nearest landmark like a city or something and send us a message, we'll come and get it


Nodding at Tio, "Good points, and I've got another, obviously we're trying to do this discreetly, but what happens when we get caught up in a hornet's nest of trouble. Do we fight our way out? Surrender and wait for the noose? Spill our guts & hope for the best?"

I suppose it depends on the situation you find yourself in. Obviously if the jewel is in the possession of a monster, you do what you must to retrieve it. Otherwise, its a matter of what sort of trouble you are in. Naturally we would like to keep this as secret as possible, but the higher up in rank that
you get in trouble with, the more likely they are to keep it silent. A local sheriff, no, the King of Erandol, yes.

[Ridai]

"Ah, right, abundant teleportation!" Tio realizes, followed by heartily laughing in delight. Clearly not at anyone's expensive, more at the absurd differences between people like him and the high priestesses, playing and living by completely different rules. And there he was, being pretty happy with getting a handle on scintillating spheres last month. "Gods, I'm so happy to be part of this, this is amazing," he manages to say between laughs, eventually able to shake off the fit and take a few deep breaths. What a time to be alive.

Yeah, got nothing left to add.

[Silverphantasm]

Letting a small smirk settle on his face at Tio's exclamation, a little overly enthusiastic but a likable enough fellow. "Well I'm not sure I'm happy about it, it is indeed amazing & will certainly be interesting." Turning his attention back to the priestess' "Well not to be ruder than I've already been, but I think it's time for us to get going."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

Garflax was out of questions and waited for everyone else to finish talking. "I'm ready to start." he says simply.

[MikelaC1]

Then lets get started Elinon spreads a map out on the table. Interestingly, Dalcar seems uninterested in the map, moving to the bar and pouring herself a stiff drink. Perhaps the nuts and bolts of planning is not one of her specialties. As the group gathers, Elinon indicates a spot on a road. This is the road between Varstok and one of my mining companies operations in the Telgar Mountains. In the past 3 weeks, 5 of a total of 10 caravans have been attacked. The attackers appear to be combination of several goblinoid races, lead by what one survivor describes as an incredibly powerful ogre, who is wielding a sword. Further questioning revealed the leader to be not an ogre, but actually a hill giant, and by the few descriptions he gave us, we think it might be the Prince's Sword. There is no past evidence of a hill giant using any sort of an iron forged weapon, so this could be evidence that the artifacts are awakened as well. There is a caravan leaving the mining operation today, and I can teleport you there, you will accompany it, and hopefully, it will be one they chose to come after.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax


"Bloody giants." a small string of inappropriate epitaphs cross Garflaxes lips. It was clear the dwarf had a strong opinion on the matter. Garflax calmed himself and focused on the details of the plan. "Perhaps we ambush the ambushers. Pretend to be simple guards or hide in the carts or what have you."

[Silverphantasm]

Letting a wicked grin cross his face, as Garflax described a possible ambush. "Oh I like you dwarf, good idea, lets hide in the wagons, no sense trekking along if we can snag a free ride for it." Humming to himself he strode past Dalcar, letting his eyes slide over her frame, before reaching for another decanter of wine, after taking another draft, his humming raises to slight singing. "Goblins and giants come down from their hill, looking to capture, murder and pillage, these are some of my favorite things to kill, then when i'm done I'll go back to the village."

[Ridai]

Tio takes a looksie at the map, then nods to what Garflax suggests. "Sounds good to me. Hill giant with an artifact sword though," Tio says, giving a whistle. "Could get tense. I gather I'll be responsible for dealing with the crowd of gobbos, reduce the number of things getting swung at us."

He claps his hands once. "Welp, we'll figure everything else out as we go. And on that note, I'm ready to go!"

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell had been silent up until this point. He quietly mixed himself something bitter and bubbly. "Well, looks like we can plan on playing porter for a bit and see if the goblins bite." He gives a bit of a grin. "Ambush the ambushers. I like the sound of that. Maxwell, by the way. Samantha is my better half." he nods to the owl on his shoulder. "I worry about that hill giant though, and quantity of goblins has a quality of it's own. We shouldn't walk into this blind. Samantha, talented bird that she is, happens to be an excellent night time scout. Goblins are not known for good camp discipline and they must be camping near the road to catch passing caravans. They may even pass on us, as I assume not every caravan get's snatched. If so we can double back and hit them from behind. There is a good chance we can be aware of when the ambush will happen and by how big of a force. Should give us an edge. Fair warning though, I'm no match for a giant. I am more for evening the odds with any spellcasters they may happen to have."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

"Leave the giant to me." Garflax announces calmly. He winks and fixes Maxwell with one eye. Garflax puffs out his chest slightly.


He ponders for a moment. "Well, after you are done with the goblins come give me a hand of course but ya, leave the giant to me."

[MikelaC1]

If there are no more discussions? Elinon will gather the group together and then teleport them out.
The party arrives at the mine entrance, behind them are the elevators and shafts that lead down into the mine, and in front of them are the houses of the miners and the shops that cater to their daily needs. The caravan appears to be already loaded and ready to go, 5 wagons loaded with heavy, unrefined ore, and one that has several locked chests on it. The wagons are all pulled by a team of two horses. Each wagon has a single driver and a second to act as the brakeman. Two other men are on horses, their attire marks them as guards of some kind (armour, weapons) and there is the caravan master, he approaches and bows to Elinon.
We are ready to move out mistress, are these the additional forces you promised us?

[Fouredged Sword]

"Maxwell, gentleman adventurer at your service!" Maxwell waves his hand as if dofting his cap in respect. "Unless someone has an issue that needs to be addressed immediately I think we should be good to stow our gear and depart at once, though once on the road we should discus your current men and how best to make use of everyone."

[Silverphantasm]

"Well we're certainly not extra labor." Extending his hand Ethan offered it to the wagon master, "I'm Ethan, I'll be riding on the first wagon unless you've got a problem with that."

[MikelaC1]

You can disperse yourself on any of the first 5 wagons as you choose, the 6th wagon is the responsibility of our regulars. The 6th wagon being clearly the one with the locked chests. Its not that he doesn't trust you (although he doesn't), he just doesn't know you.

[Ridai]

"Hi, I'm Tio," he says, raising his hand in greeting, with a relaxed smile. "And I think I'll just sit on... that one," pointing his finger at the most vertical wagon, or failing that, the middle one. And if asked, he specifically means sitting on the wagon itself, not with the drivers.

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell settles into the second wagon and adjusts Samantha into a comfortable position so she can sleep during their trip.

[Silverphantasm]

Moving forward, Ethan leapt onto the front most wagon's bed, adjusted a series of ore chunks until a reasonable amount space to lay forms. Then laying down on the rocks, he closed his eyes, and appears to give an air of relaxed nonchalance.

The moment he closes his eyes, he begins to start sorting sounds, identifying them, and categorizing them, knowing that any ambush will either give off a distinct visual indicator or acoustic one. He was trusting to his companions to cover the visual.

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell speaks to the caravan master. "So, we found our way into this assignment somewhat late and we could use information on specifics. How many days is this expected trip and where has there been trouble in the past?"

[MikelaC1]

The trip lasts five days, but trouble usually happens on the second or third day out, depending on how good a speed we make. They always happen in the hills.

[Ridai]

"Ah well, we'll see it when we see it," Tio says, not minding the coming trip. At the very least, he gets to see lands he hasn't been to before.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

Garflax pokes his weapon into a cart and begins scraping out some cargo. He removes a good 200 lbs and blows on the surface of the cart. He plops himself down. "Don't want to overburden the animals - and gotta make room for all this dwarf!" he exclaims.


"Wake me when something interesting happens or there's food. " He says as he ducks under a tarp. "I guess thats one in the same" he mumbles.

[Silverphantasm]

Grinning at Garflax's last words, Ethan, relaxed and stopped focusing on the sounds, if they had at least 2 days he was going to follow suit with the dwarf. His head was still buzzing from the 2 decanter's of wine he had downed, he readjusted the staff and quickly fell asleep.

[MikelaC1]

The first day of travel is uneventful as the group gets used to the travel and the other people. The wagon drivers are nice enough, but the guards seem to have the attitude that you people are just the amateurs sent to bolster the ranks (cannon fodder). The wagon master on the other hand seems jumpy and nervous, likely because its his reputation that suffers if the caravan fails to get through.
On the second day, its around noon as you keep moving, you are passing through a rather narrow route on the path, when suddenly 4 bugbears rise up with a whoop and rush at the group. No surprise exists so please roll init.

[Fouredged Sword]

(Assuming Maxwell moved pretty early in the initiative order)

Maxwell springs up and draws his bow. "Looks like we get our fight boys! Sam, get skywards and look for complications." He then shoots one of the Bugbears who has yet to move in initiative yet, and moves within 30ft of it (drawing his bow as he moves) if it is outside sneak attack range. If all bugbears are outside 60ft away he simply shoots the nearest without moving.

attack roll
[spoiler]
attack

crit confirm (if attack=27)
[roll1]
damage
[roll2]+[roll3]sneak attack damage.

[Ridai]

Standing on the waggon whistling quietly, Tio perks up once the bugbears emerge. "Time to get going," he says, rubbing his hands, from between which lightning begins to crackle, feeling the surge of energy in his veins as the ones in his hands and arms begin to glow and the faint smell of ozone fills the air.

If at least two bugbears can be caught in a 20 feet radius without friendly fire, the lightning between Tio's hands intensifies further, his voice between a draconic growl and the rumbling of thunder. A small sphere of light is sent flying, arcing behind the bugbears, only to erupt into a resounding burst of lightning, snatching for everything in reach.

If only a single bugbear can be attacked at a time, Tio instead sends a larger sphere directly at an unharmed bugbear, seeking to engulf it in lightning.

Casting defensively if necessary [roll0]

If 2+ bugbears can be caught, he casts scintillating sphere (Ref DC 18 halves) [roll1]

If only one can be attacked, he casts empowered lesser orb of electricity
[roll2] vs touch AC
[roll3] * 1.5 (= 22) electricity damage

[Silverphantasm]

Leaping off the wagon with graceful ease, Ethan dashed forward pulling his quarter staff around as he did. He directed himself at the closest bugbear, and ended his charge by bringing his staff around in both hands, and clubbing the ugly brute on between the ribs.



Mikela in future, do you want us to roll in OOC, or just do spoilers like this? And do you want the above narrative action or just the below, and you describe the scene? Sorry for confusion.

Jump off wagon into charge, attacking closest bugbear, hopefully with provoking AoO
AC: 18, 22 vs AoO
Jump Check
[roll0]
Attack with quarterstaff two handed & with charge bonus
[roll1]
Damage
[roll2]
Critical Confirm if ^=34
[roll3]
Critical Damage
[roll4]

[Fouredged Sword]

Samantha, woken up by Maxwell, takes to the air. She flies up as rapidly as she can, taking a run action to fly up 60ft (and out to the side 40ft).

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax


Garflax hops out the back of his wagon and looks around with a growl. "Grrrrrr!" . He hefts his axe over his head and charges towards the nearest enemy. "I don't see the big guy, maybe we should take one of these idiots alive?" he asks. Garflax grimaced as if he drank bad milk. He hated complications.

"Rrrrrrrrr" he growls again and waves his axe in a circular pattern.




Garflax will use rage and charge the nearest enemy if there is one reachable - he has 30 ft of movement. Otherwise he'll just move closer to an enemy.


- Activate rage

- Charge


Attack : [roll0] (+13 normal +2 charge, +2 rage)
Damage : [roll1]



Status:

AC: 17 (19 -2 for charging, -2 Rage)
HP: 87
Effects : Rage +4 str/con

[MikelaC1]

The party springs into action upon being attacked by the bugbears. Garflax wielding his axe chopes one straight across the belly, eliminating him in one powerful blow. Maxwell fires an arrow, but the shock of the attack puts off his aim and he misses his target. The bugbears lumber forward, one connecting with Maxwell for 7 points and Garflax gets hit for 6. The third bugbear attacks Ethan but does not connect. In return, Ethan slams into him with his quarterstaff, a staggering blow but not enough to finish him, while Tio's ball of electricity connects with the second of Garflax's opponents and eliminates him totally.
ROUND 2.
2 bugbears left, one on Maxwell, one on Ethan

NOTE: None of you have DR as of yet, but when you do, I report damage as above, you apply any DR you have.

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell grunts in pain as the Bugbear draws blood. "Oh come on, I just washed this!" (in goblinoid) . "Well, let's see about taking this one alive shall we. Garflax, do me a favor and run a distraction." Maxwell then tumbles around the bugbear to put it on a straight line between himself and Garflax, then delays his action so he can strike once the Bugbear is flanked. "Try not to cut this one in half this time. It's impressive, but counter productive for taking it alive."


tumble check
[roll]1d20+12[/roll}
attack roll
[roll0]
crit confirm if 29
[roll1]
damage
[roll2]+[roll3] sneak attack damage (all non-lethal)

[Silverphantasm]

Calling over to Maxwell with a mixture of honesty & sarcasm, "I'm not exactly sure trying to keep one alive by hitting it with an axe is a very vested strategy, I'll take it easy on this one just in case."

Loosening his grip, he let the quarter staff resume it's normal position in his two hands, stepping sides ways he delivered a series of rapid blows to the limbs of the bugbear, noting how odd it felt not to be aiming to kill.

Actions
Free action: Re-adjust staff to two weapon fighting position
Free Action: 5' step to adjacent square, that could provide better flanking opportunities for allies.
Full Round Action: Deliver 4 attacks non-lethally.
Atk 1: [roll0] Dmg 1: [roll1]
Atk 2: [roll2] Dmg 2: [roll3]
Atk 3: [roll4] Dmg 3: [roll5]
Atk 4: [roll6] Dmg 4: [roll7]

Criticals if above are 26,26,22,22 respectively
Atk 1: [roll8] Dmg 1: [roll9]
Atk 2: [roll10] Dmg 2: [roll11]
Atk 3: [roll12] Dmg 3: [roll13]
Atk 4: [roll14] Dmg 4: [roll15]

[Ridai]

And Tio actually succeeded! Funny thing, that. With banter going on about taking one alive, it's actually a good thing he was a little late to the blasting. Should more than one bugbear remain, Tio lobs another lightning sphere at the most wounded one to finish it off, otherwise letting the crackling light between his hands fade, shaking his hands after.

If on Tio's turn there still are two bugbears, he casts a regular lesser orb of electricity
[roll0] vs touch AC
[roll1] electricity damage

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

Through a haze of anger Garflax moves towards Maxwell's bugbear. He swings his axe around with reckless abandon. "Die!" He turns his axe blade at the last second and attempts to hit the bugbear with the flat of his axe blade.





I leave it to the DM's discretion if Graflax can opt for non-lethal damage while in rage, I think I can...


HP: 81/87
AC: 17 (19 -2 rage)
Status : rage


Move Action: Move into flank


Standard action:
Attack : [roll0] (+2 rage, +2 flank -4 non-leathal. +1 vs goblinoid)
Damage : [roll1]

[MikelaC1]

Garflax deals a serious wound to the bugbear, not enough to finish him off, but when Maxwell socks him from behind, its enough to knock it out. Meanwhile Ethan is engaged with his bugbear, it fails to connect with him and in return he whacks it twice with his quarterstaff, dropping the only remaining opponent.

END BATTLE
Two bugbears knocked out.

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell briefly waves his hand over his gash causing it to seal back as if it never happened. He tuts over the condition of his shirt though. "Can anyone cast mend.. no best wait until we finish this little project, it's just going to get bloody again. Samantha dear, can you put eyes in the sky for a bit so we can have a little sit down with our expected and yet uninvited guests here." Samantha whots and flies up to 100ft and starts taking 10 on spot and listen checks for any threats.

He sighs and turns to the caravan master.

"And would you happen to know the legal punishment for banditry in these parts?"

[MikelaC1]

Samantha is not able to spot anything from her vantage point.
Not even sure who would have jurisdiction, Varstok does not claim an empire, only their own city borders and if Rennador or Erandol were to even try to stake a claim here, the other would dispute it immediately.

[Ridai]

Tio strolls over to one of the bugbears while the others talk, kicking their weapons out of reach, splashing some water on one of them, and greeting him with the sight of a hand crackling with energy. One becomes quite aware of being soaking wet when faced with miniature lightning bolts that could be directed at oneself. "Stay on the ground. Just want to ask a few questions, and I don't want to shock when I don't need to shock. Understand?" Tio waits for an answer, and assuming it is a (begrudging) nod: "Good!" He smiles.

"We are looking for bandits lead by a hill giant, hear along this route. We want to know where he is, what his troops look like, where they like to strike, that sort of thing."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

Garflax seeing no more apparent enemies to smash, calms himself down. "low down good for nothing bandits." He curses. He was mildly disappointed that there was no giant.


He places his hand over his wound, having just noticed it now. "Ow"





Garflax will convert one of his 'blade of blood' spells to a cure light wounds spell and heals himself

Healing : [roll0]


HP: 87/87

[MikelaC1]

The bugbear regards Tio sullenly, not willing to talk for now.

[Silverphantasm]

Resting one end of his staff against the ground and leaning on it, he smirked at Garflax's recent awareness of his wound and subsequent healing, as well as Tio's current interrogation, he was doing well, but hadn't quite put in the fear Ethan thought was necessary.

"Not bad Tio, but you should also probably mention that we don't need him to talk, we just need one of them to."

Strolling over to Tio and his captive, he placed his staff squarely in the hairy chest and resumed leaning, Now then my particularly ugly and unlucky friend, you can either talk or hold your tongue, but as my friend here already mentioned why get shocked if you can avoid it. If you tell us the truth, I promise we will let you run away, oh and this deal only goes to one ugly goblin who gives us good information, so..... you have until he" Gestures at the Goblin he knocked out, "wakes up. Savvy?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

"He might not think we're serious?" Graflax asks incredulously. He hefts his massive gleaming axe onto his shoulder. " He might think we are 'good' guys."


Garflax takes his time and wanders over to search the corpses. "Worse comes to worse we just follow their tracks back I guess. That way I can kill them both..." Garflax trails off.




Search the bodies, taking 20 for 21.


I think Ethan has tracking - if he wants to look around for tracks Garflax will use 'aid another' (and if not that's fine)

Just in case:

Survival - [roll0] DC 15 to add +2 to Ethan's check

[Silverphantasm]

"Well, you are quite right master dwarf, I can track them.....so if he hasn't talked by the time you're done fondling his friends corpses, we'll just kill him. I find tracks in the interim."

Walking away from Tio & his dripping foot rest, Ethan strolled to where the wretched creatures had been hiding, crouching and prodding the surrounding foliage with his staff, looking for tracks.

Survival Check: Searching for & following tracks - [roll0]

[MikelaC1]

After only a few moments of checking around, Ethan finds the tracks that lead from wherever the bugbears came from to here. Obviously the string of successes had the beasts cocky that there would be no survivors to track them down. As Ethan finds the path, the conscious bugbear laughs (which is a rather unsettling sound) Yes, follow them, Aurax and the Two will destroy you

If anyone has ranks in Know: History, they can roll it now. Note, you must actually have ranks to make a try, this is very obscure.

[Ridai]

"Ah, very good," Tio says, disposing of the two bugbears, seeing how letting them go would only lead to more deaths, of which they have already racked up quite a few.

"Let's follow the tracks and get rid of the bandits." He briefly turns to the caravan master. "Do you want to wait here until we are done?"

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell nods solemnly, killing prisoners, while perhaps just in this situation, does not sit well with him. "Samantha, watch from the air and keep an eye out for any more goblins. Caravan Master, i think this is where we part ways. Safe travels. If we wrap this up quickly we may catch you on the road."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

"Damn, going to have to walk back." Garflax moans. He sighs deeply and waves to the caravan. Garflax finishes up searching the bodies for anything useful and drags them off the trail/road.

[Silverphantasm]

"Aurax? That the name of the giant?" History was never one of Ethan's specialities. "Oh well, I'll take point. Turning Ethan strode up the hill following the tracks, calling over to Maxwell...."Can you have your feathered friend make sure we don't get ambushed from the sides? I don't think they'll have the patience to circle around, so as long as we know they're attacking from the front we'll have a good chance."

[MikelaC1]

The group finds small pouches filled with 100 gold pieces each and then sets out on the path. Not long after, the path joins with another where it looks like the bandits had dragged other caravans, making the path even easier to follow. It takes about half an hour before the group finds a cave entrance, Samantha giving them enough warning that they dont just round the corner and give their position away. Peeking around the rock croppings, the group sees 3 bugbears along with an ogre, they appear to on some sort of guard duty (or at least waiting for the return of their raiding companions). As of now, they are not aware of the group.

[Ridai]

"Give me an idea where they're standing, and I'll start things off," Tio whispers to Maxwell, then once he has the information, he prepares for the assault, concentrating, then rounding the corner once the others are ready. Quickly, lightning flashes, a sphere is sent towards the group, following by a huge burst of screeching light.

As an ambush, Tio prepares to cast a scintillating sphere at the middle of the group after rounding the corner, then rounds the corner.

[roll0] lightning damage, Ref DC 18 halves

Initiative [roll1]

[Silverphantasm]

Waiting half a second after Tio blasted the brutes, Ethan readjusted his staff, holding the end to allow a more powerful though lone attack. He charged one of the bugbears on the outskirts of the little group, directing himself at one outside of the ogre's reach.

Initiative: [roll0]
Charge Attack: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
AC vs Atk = 18, vs AoO 22.
Crit(s)?
Charge Attack: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell waves his companions down. "Let's try a little finesse for this one. Maybe night fight the whole camp at once." He quietly guides his companions back along the wagon path to just out of sight of the cave entrance. Maxwell then aids his companions in taking enough time to really hide (taking 20 with an +2 aid other from Maxwell on hide checks), stepping back to ensure they are actually well hidden. Samantha lands lightly on a branch and casually watches the entrance to ensure his work is undisturbed.

"Now for the piece de resistance." he smiles and whispers to himself "to ambush the ambushers.". He murmurs the words to his spell and his appearance shifts to that of the Bugbear. He takes disguise check (result in OOC) then crests the hill and shouts over in goblinoid, making sure to copy the voice of the one bugbear who spoke.

"We need help over here. The damn cart broke an axle. A couple of more hands and we should be able to pull the damn thing the last bit."

Bluff check

[roll0]

[MikelaC1]

Maxwell attempts his ruse, and in a few moments, hears the shuffling of bootsteps, coming around the hill. 3 bugbears come into view, with a surprised look and a Duh, hey, where is wagon?

You all have one free surprise round.

[Ridai]

And with that, a small sphere of light flies towards the bugbears, quickly exploding into lightning.

Scintillating sphere, [roll0] electricity damage (Ref DC 18 halves)

[Silverphantasm]

Slipping out of the bushes and moving as quickly as he could, Ethan whirled his staff into the face of the nearest putrid face.

Charge Attack
[roll0]
[roll1]
Hopefully end movement not blocking other party members from engaging.


[roll2]
[roll3]

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell hung back and let the Bugbears pass him. When the first one catches on he slashes with his rapier, cutting the straggler closest to himself.


attack roll
[roll0]
damage
[roll1] and sneak attack damage [roll2]
crit confirm and crit damage if attack roll is 28,27, or 26
[roll3]
damage
[roll4]

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax


Garflax springs into action. It seemed the ruse had worked. "Idiots" he mumbles with a grin.





Move: move to the nearest enemy (charging only if he has too I guess)

Attack: [roll0] vs flat footed AC (??)

Damage: [roll1]

HP: 87
AC: 19


Sorry for the delay - thought I was caught up on this thread for some reason.

[MikelaC1]

The party bursts into action, with Tio obliterating a bugbear with his sphere, while Garflax disembowels a second one. Ethan and Maxwell both attack the final one and both connect, their combined damage enough to finish him off.

[Silverphantasm]

Peering around the edge of the rock to make sure the others hadn't heard anything, Ethan speaks in a low voice to Maxwell, "Bloody-hell that was effective, most mages I've seen use illusions forget to change their voice or still speak tri-syllable words and blow the whole thing. Nice one mate." He gives a brief pause as he switches his gaze back to the enemy. Okay what now? Rush them? Or do you have another trick you want to try?

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell just smiles and continues by cupping his hand over his mouth and talking JUST loud enough to ensure the ogre hears. "Is that gold? Quick, hide it so we don't have to share with the big idiot."

Rolling bluff

[roll0]

[Silverphantasm]

Letting a smile slide across his face at Maxwell's words Ethan slid back into the bush, and readied himself to strike out against the ogre once it came within range. "You know Maxwell, if this was a one off job I might complain you're making it too easy, but knowing how much we have ahead.....damn you're going to entertaining."

[MikelaC1]

Moments later, the ogre comes lumbering into view. However, unlike the bugbears, the ogre seems ready for battle, perhaps because it expects to be dealing with some cut-stealing bugbears...and the sight of the bugbear bodies confirms to him that something is up.\

Roll initiative, ogre is 10 feet away.

[Silverphantasm]

Maxwell's latest bluff may not have fooled the ogre, but it had still had gotten the beast away from the cave. Pausing to breathe, Ethan steadied himself then dashed out,skipping to the side and bringing his staff towards the giant's left knee, giants were fun and easy to fight.


Action
Initiative: [roll0]
Ethan will conduct a tumbling charge towards the giant and end in a position to possbily allow allies to flank, if other are higher in initiative, and provide flanking opportunities he will move to take advantage.

Tumble Check: [roll1]
Charge Attack: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

Crit check: [roll4]
crit damage: [roll5]

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell responds to the ogre with a charge and thrust of his rapier.


attack roll
[roll0]
damage roll
[roll1]+sneak attack [roll2]
crit confirm if attack roll =28-30
[roll3]
damage roll
[roll4]

[Ridai]

Tio promptly lobs another bad of lightning the enemy's way, but of the single target variety.

Empowered lesser orb of electricity
[roll0] vs touch AC
[roll1] x 1.5 electricity damage

[MikelaC1]

Ethan starts the battle off, but his attack fails to find the ogre's hide. Maxwell is much more successful, stabbing the ogre once, but failing to finish him off. The ogre's club connects solidly with him for 17 points and then Tio's lightning ball sparks into the beast, killing it.

[Ridai]

"Phew, that went well. Nicely done, people," Tio says, habitually shaking his casting hand while retrieving his healing wand and closing Maxwell's wounds. "Right, shall we move on?"

Expending four charges of Tio's CLW wand to heal Maxwell. Going with the average of 5.5 HP per charge.

[Silverphantasm]

Annoyed that he hadn't contributed anything the fight, Ethan nodded, "Sounds good, I'll check the entrance". Turning he dashed lightly towards the entrance to the cave, moving lightly on his feet and minimizing the noise for the soles of his shoes. Reaching the cave entrance, he peered around the edge looking inside for further foes.

Actions: Move Silently - [roll0]

[MikelaC1]

Ethan gets to the cave mouth without incident, and tries to peer in, however his vision range is limited and he cant see anything from the entrance, although it is clear that the cave goes back in some distance.

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell waves off the offer of his companion's wand. He briefly uses the last of his personal healing (3 points) and pulls out his own wand. "Never go adventuring without protection, eh lads. I have my own unless someone has spells to burn." If nobody offers he burns two charges into healing himself 11hp. "And I will scout ahead. If you think you are sneaky, follow close behind. If you are not, follow at a distance.

Maxwell then walks brazenly forward. After all, he looks like he belongs there. "Samantha, you are no good in enclosed spaces. Keep watch outside will you? Send me a sense of 'My master is an idiot who walks into danger' you use whenever I get predictably ambushed if I am about to be predictably ambushed from behind OK?"

[Silverphantasm]

Nodding at Maxwell, "Right behind you, but I can't see in the dark nor do I think can you, whereas they all can." Once we get in far enough you may want to conjure a light, or let me light a torch. I know a light is a beacon in the dark, but i'd rather they know we're coming then get into a fight in pitch black."

Actions
Move Silently check - [roll0]

[Ridai]

"Sure," Tio happily replies, putting away his healing wand and following at a distance.

[Fouredged Sword]

"Good point about the light. Let's stop and reconsider once we get deep enough that it is starting to become difficult to see well."

Maxwell continues into the cave only so far as he can see easily, stopping if it becomes shadowy illumination.

[MikelaC1]

The group only manages a short progression before they are forced to stop and consider a light source.

[Ridai]

"Right, forgot something," Tio whispers to himself, just managing to stop himself from clicking his fingers. When he sees his non-dwarven companions reach for light sources, he just smiles and gestures to not bother. He casts three spells, one on himself, one on Maxwell, one on Ethan, and suddenly, they can see in the dark just fine, if black and white. "Shall we?"

Using all three daily charges of his runestaff to cast darkvision (60ft, duration 6 hours) on the humans in the party.

Spell slots left:
0: 5/6
1st: 6/8
2nd: 1/6
3rd: 3/4

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

Since everyone was so keen to head into the cave before Garflax, he pulls up the rear.

[MikelaC1]

Buffed with darkvision, the group continues once again, after about 5 minutes, they see that the cavern widens again, inside this area are 3 ogres, they appear to be alert.

[Ridai]

Tio wordlessly looks to the others, then motions towards the ogres with his head, makes a hand motion like he was casually zapping them, finishing with an unspoken question.

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell casually walks out of darkvision range of the ogres and shrugs. Seems as good a plan as any. He doesn't want to be in smashing range of three ogres at once if a bluff or his illusion fails. He draws his rapier and readies himself to charge in to start the ambush.

[Silverphantasm]

Nodding at Tio and mimicking Maxwell's readied stance, Alright round 4, maybe I'll get to whack a giant this time.

Initiative: [roll0] Held until Tio blasts the enemy
Tumbling Check: [roll1]
Charge Attack: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

Crit Atk: [roll4]
Crit Dmg:[roll5]

[Ridai]

With most of the team in favor, Tio starts them off, concentrating, making the weaving of lightning as quick and sudden as it can be. A flash and in the fraction of a second, the sphere of light flies right into the midst of the ogres, bursting into lightning.

Scintillating sphere, 20ft radius, [roll0] electricity damage (Ref DC 18 halves)

Initiative [roll1]

Spell slots left:
0: 5/6
1st: 6/8
2nd: 1/6
3rd: 2/4

[MikelaC1]

Tio's ball of lighting bursts in the middle of the ogres, damaging all of them badly. None actually fall, but its clear they are all severely injured.

Roll initiative (and ONLY initiative)

[Silverphantasm]

Initiative: [roll0]

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell has no interest in mixing it up in melee with three brutes twice his size. He takes a more practical route. He moves forwards and draws a flask of alchemist acid. A flick of his wrists sends it twards the face of the lead ogre. He attempts to catch at least one other ogre in the splash. Every little bit helps after all.


Attack roll
[roll0] VS flat footed touch AC.
damage roll
[roll1]+[roll2] sneak attack damage
crit confirm if attack roll is 27
[roll3] VS flat footed touch AC.
damage roll
[roll4]

[Silverphantasm]

Watching Maxwell's flask Ethan shifted his weight then dashed in hoping to be able to use a rapid blow to bring down 1 of the behemoths during the initial scuffle.

Tumble Check to avoid AoO: [roll0]
Charge attack: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

Crit Check:[roll3]
Damage:[roll4]

[Ridai]

Tio delays, waiting for his companions to strike, but if an ogre is left standing, he lobs a smaller crackling orb his way.

If the others can't kill all ogres, he casts a lesser orb of electricity

[roll0] vs touch AC
[roll1] electricity damage

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

Garflax moves towards ogres waving his axe like he was going to chop down a tree. "Yaaaarg!" He shouts.




AC: 23 (19+4 vs giants)
HP: 87

Attack: [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[MikelaC1]

The ogres lumber into battle but before the lead ogre can even reach the party, he gets hit in the head by an acid flask from Maxwell and the combined electrical acid damage fells him. Avoiding the acid flask, Ethan reaches a second ogre and his darting blow finishes that one off. The third ogre's attack on Garflax misses wildly as the dwarf prepares to chop him down like a big tree, but before he can even swing, a ball of electricity from Tio finishes him off.

[Ridai]

Tio listens for trouble coming closer (given how loud things got and how bright). If nothing is coming, he looks around in the cavern, specifically for ways further into the cave system.

Spell slots left:
0: 5/6
1st: 5/8
2nd: 1/6
3rd: 2/4

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

Garflax checks the bodies and keeps his eyes and ears open. He suspected there were more enemies nearby.




exits?

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell dusts off his hands and shrugs. he continues forward carefully, sneaking in the dark.

[MikelaC1]

The group finds a large tunnel at the end of the cave and proceeds inward with Maxwell scouting ahead. Unfortunately either they were not quiet enough dealing with the ogres or the last occupant was forwarned and Maxwell is suddenly attacked by a hill giant wielding a large sword, he connects on a vicious slash for 22 points.
Maxwell and the group can now act, however other members must spend a move action to get into range.

[Ridai]

Tio gets himself a good angle and lobs a ball of lightning the giant's way.

Given that this is a giant and they usually have way more HD than challenge rating as well as high Con, let the hacking begin!

Lesser orb of electricity

[roll0]
[roll1] electricity damage

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell attempts to tumble out of the half giant's line of sight, taking a double move if needed. He hides as soon as be breaks line of sight, drawing another flask of acid.

rolls

tumble
[roll0]
hide
[roll1]

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax


Garflax moves towards the giant wordlessly and readies his axe. His face was puckered up in contempt and disgust at the giant. He seemed to pause briefly before moving in, attempting to pick an opening in the giant's defenses.





Move : Move up to the giant

Axe attack
Attack : [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]


AC: 23 (19+4 dodge vs giant)
HP: 87

[Silverphantasm]

Ethan sidestepped and danced his way towards the giant, and swung his staff in a long powerful arc.



Tumble: [roll0]
Attack: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Crit A: [roll3]
Crit D: [roll4]

[MikelaC1]

Tio's electrical ball connects with the giant, dealing him damage, while Garflax's axe bites deeply...but even with those two hits, the giant is still up, and Ethans swing goes wide of the target.

(Since that was a lead off action by the giant, and you were catching up, we now will roll initiative for the battle)

[Ridai]

Wasting no time, Tio quickly lobs another ball of lightning the giant's way. His resources are starting to run low, so hopefully, this will be the last roadblock before the big baddy.

Lesser orb of electricity

[roll0] vs touch AC
[roll1] electricity damage

Spell slots left:
0: 5/6
1st: 3/8
2nd: 1/6
3rd: 2/4

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell draws a second acid flask and throws it into the melee, attempting to keep it from spashing any of his allies.


Attack roll (with -4 for attacking into a melee)
[roll0]
damage roll
[roll1] sneak attack [roll2]

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax



"Yer kind is a blight on the world!"


Garflax roars in anger and hacks at the ogre with ill intent.




Garflax will start a rage and full attack the ogre. with 1 point of power attack.


Attack 1: [roll0] (+13, +2 rage, -1 Power attack)
Damage 1: [roll1] (+8, +3 rage, +2 power attack)


Attack 2: [roll2] (+13, +2 rage, -1 Power attack)
Damage 2: [roll3] (+8, +3 rage, +2 power attack)



Status:

AC : 21 (19 + 4 vs giant, -2 rage)
HP: 87

[Silverphantasm]

Reacting as quick as he could, Ethan twisted the oak staff in his arms, allowing four fluid blows to strike around the giant's legs.

5' Step to best spot (2 or more giants adjacent)
Full Round Action: Attack

A1: [roll0]
A2: [roll1]
A3: [roll2]
A4: [roll3]

D1: [roll4]
D2: [roll5]
D3: [roll6]
D4: [roll7]

Crit Checks
A1: [roll8]
A2: [roll9]
A3: [roll10]
A4: [roll11]

D1: [roll12]
D2: [roll13]
D3: [roll14]
D4: [roll15]

[MikelaC1]

Faced with a hated dwarven enemy, the giant swings at Garflax, connecting on him for 19 points of damage. At that point, its all out war for the party, Tio's electrical ball hits, along with Maxwell's acid flask. The first swing from Garlax fails to find giant hide, but the second one does, and Ethan finishes by beating on the behemoth with his staff, and with a low groan, the giant topples over dead. At that point, a most unusual thing happens, it sounds like the sword of the giant starts berating him....get up and fight you useless hunk of flesh, those wounds aren't bad, get back in the battle, wimp

[Fouredged Sword]

"And that would be out target. That there is a powerful magical artifact of unspeakable power. Don't touch it." Maxwell walks up a squats next to the sword. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but this thing is supposed to be powered by the gems right?". Maxwell pulls out his light hammer and hand ax. "If so, it may be safer to remove them first to make sure this thing behaves."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

"Worse comes to worse, we could just tie a rope around the hilt and drag it for the long march back. "

[MikelaC1]

Drag me around? Who do you think you are, you scrawny runt. And you with that stupid axe, come on, I dare you.

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell smacks it with the light hammer lightly three times and steals three SLA's from it, 3 spells (if it has spellcasting other than SLA's), and three active magic effects just to see what it has running. It doesn't get it's dex to AC so it can be sneak attacked at all times.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

"Ho ho, I like you already sword. Remind me of my father. Now be polite or I'll ask my friends to turn away and then I'll urinate on you. Do you have a name? "



Garflax noticed he was hurt again. He didn't really remember getting hit. He scratched away at his ear and his hand came away with blood.

"gah! again. Such dreadful luck. "




Garflax will give up his last two 1st level spells to heal himself

Heal :

[roll0]

[roll1]

[Silverphantasm]

"Want a fix me up there Garflax?" Gesturing towards the dwarf with one of his wands Ethan began to walk around the sword. Directing his staff towards the hilt of the sword Ethan used one end to get the cross guard off the ground and eventually lifted the sword, now suspended from his staff and inspected it. "Look here you overgrown razor, if you think that giant was a wimp why were you letting him swing you about and manhandle you in such a way"....letting a small pause pervade he continued with a hint of sarcastic malice, "or do you like being fondled by big dumb brutes?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

Garflax waves off Ethan's offer with a smile. "I should be good thanks."

[Ridai]

"I'd say we just wrap it up in a cloak or something. We would have been told if the items were so dangerous we couldn't even touch them, wouldn't we?" Tio looks for any cloth he can salvage from the dead giant and if there is some, he just takes that, unceremoniously wraps the sword, ignoring the increasingly muffled protests.

[MikelaC1]

Maxwell smacks it with the light hammer lightly three times and steals three SLA's from it, 3 spells (if it has spellcasting other than SLA's), and three active magic effects just to see what it has running. It doesn't get it's dex to AC so it can be sneak attacked at all times.

As Maxwell's silver hammer comes down on the sword's head, he receives a nasty electrical shock for 5 points of damage. Come on, do it again, do it again


Garflax

"Ho ho, I like you already sword. Remind me of my father. Now be polite or I'll ask my friends to turn away and then I'll urinate on you. Do you have a name? "



Garflax noticed he was hurt again. He didn't really remember getting hit. He scratched away at his ear and his hand came away with blood.

"gah! again. Such dreadful luck. "



Garflax will give up his last two 1st level spells to heal himself

Heal :

[roll0]

[roll1]



The sword disregards the dwarf's question


"Want a fix me up there Garflax?" Gesturing towards the dwarf with one of his wands Ethan began to walk around the sword. Directing his staff towards the hilt of the sword Ethan used one end to get the cross guard off the ground and eventually lifted the sword, now suspended from his staff and inspected it. "Look here you overgrown razor, if you think that giant was a wimp why were you letting him swing you about and manhandle you in such a way"....letting a small pause pervade he continued with a hint of sarcastic malice, "or do you like being fondled by big dumb brutes?"


"I'd say we just wrap it up in a cloak or something. We would have been told if the items were so dangerous we couldn't even touch them, wouldn't we?" Tio looks for any cloth he can salvage from the dead giant and if there is some, he just takes that, unceremoniously wraps the sword, ignoring the increasingly muffled protests.

Tio is able to find enough cloth from the giant to wrap the sword as it is suspended in mid-air, it's protests becoming less and less.

[Ridai]

Tio claps his hands once. "There we go!" he says, smiling widely. "Nice work, everyone! Was a little worried we'd be facing so many enemies I'd run out of spells. Shall we head back?"

(And doing so)

[Silverphantasm]

Hold up Tio, I know we got what we came for, but we may as well take a poke around this cavern, see if the morons stole anyting particularly good. Plus we find a cargo list or manifest we can simply instruct the owners on where to go, and claim a reward.

I mean, I'm happy to be a jewel hunter, but no sense in ignoring good coin.

Ethan turned and began to explore the surrounding areas searching through the debris and stolen merchandise.

[Ridai]

Tio shrugs. "Sure." Evidently, the young man has little interest in money, but still helps looking.

As for how they leave: the same way the arrived.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax


Garflax assists in the search.




Garflax will help search the body and the room. Were there any other exits ?

Search : 21 (taking 20)

[MikelaC1]

Poking through to the back of the cave, the group finds the half eaten carcasses of several teams of horses (the originally hit caravans) but of far more interest are the intact wagons that the raiders hit. In total, there are 6 wagons, 2 of which are loaded down with the same sort of ore that the caravan they were with were carrying, and 4 wagons loaded with trade goods. 2 of the wagons have cargo lists marked as Amazon Enterprises (roll Know:Local, untrained check can be attempted), one for Amcor Trading Company (roll Know:Local, untrained check can be attempted), and one for Burgermeister Trading (roll Know:Local, untrained check can be attempted)

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell activates detect magic and aids in the search. Taking 20 he has a 33 and everything magic glows. He also briefly scans the sword with detect evil.

"Does anyone have a spell to summon horses? I doubt it will be fun to haul all this back ourselves."

[Ridai]

"No. Can't we just tell them where all the stuff is to come and pick it up?"

[MikelaC1]

Maxwell activates detect magic and aids in the search. Taking 20 he has a 33 and everything magic glows. He also briefly scans the sword with detect evil.

"Does anyone have a spell to summon horses? I doubt it will be fun to haul all this back ourselves."

None of the contents glow with magic, and the sword is not evil in the least.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax


"We can just cut a bunch of Large X's into the trees on the main road and mark the path as we leave. Then just tell them where their carts are. No one is going to want steal 10 tons of rocks - though if they do it has nothing to do with our mission. I think we were trying to save the world not solve the case of the missing ore" Garflax laughs "Ore doesn't go bad, it will be here next month. If we could summon horses we should ride those back post-haste rather than lug the ore back"

[Silverphantasm]

"Sounds good," Ethan was oddly bored following the fight.... walking towards the bundle that was the sword... "so....do you have a name or anything?" The talking sword was rather interesting to him, and they had a long walk. "Mine's Ethan if you're more into the quid pro quo aspect"

[MikelaC1]

"Sounds good," Ethan was oddly bored following the fight.... walking towards the bundle that was the sword... "so....do you have a name or anything?" The talking sword was rather interesting to him, and they had a long walk. "Mine's Ethan if you're more into the quid pro quo aspect"

Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot there, but your dwarf friend was talking about dragging me around and the other guy there started by bashing me around with his hammer, you can understand why that sort of pissed me off. You seem to be a decent sort

[Silverphantasm]

Well the guy who was hammering you likes magic and it doesn't get much more magical than a talking sword.....as to why he was hitting you...I don't know. As for dragging you around....again magic sword who was used by giant....didn't know if there'd be any kind of backlash. I do get that from your end we seem a bit crazy, probably because we are, but we seem to work well together.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

"Well to be fair to me, you were trying to encourage a giant back on its feet to keep attacking us. So it would be easy to perceive you as dangerous. Especially since we have a vague idea of what you are or at least we think we do."


Something about the whole situation was off to Garflax and he was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

[MikelaC1]

Well the guy who was hammering you likes magic and it doesn't get much more magical than a talking sword.....as to why he was hitting you...I don't know. As for dragging you around....again magic sword who was used by giant....didn't know if there'd be any kind of backlash. I do get that from your end we seem a bit crazy, probably because we are, but we seem to work well together.

Speaking of working well together, I can tell you are a ranger of Klintina, and I happen to be a greatsword, which is her favoured weapon. We could work well together as a team, you and I

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell raises an eyebrow at the exchange. "Eyes on the goal people, mission from the gods remember. Don't trust anything if you can't see where it does it's thinking. Let's get to the nearest town and get transportation to our final destination with as little fuss and muss as possible. Nothing good can come from wielding a sword with a strong incentive for us NOT to finish our little quest."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

"Well I hope the gem isn't the source of the swords intelligence or we may have a bit of a problem. " Garflax mumbles.




Not sure if it was shared that the sword/gem did not radiate evil

Garflax is probably going to be uncomfortable sacrificing an intelligent non-evil gem 'for the greater good'

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell doesn't tell his party the sword is or is not evil because he doesn't trust it, not at all. Even if it isn't axiomatically evil it still was in the center of a nasty banditry campaign that killed many people. It didn't seem to be prisoner, rather a willing accomplice or even ringleader. It is magic and used magic to be hurtful to others. That is kinda Maxwell's big button and as far as he is concerned the Sword is at least implicated in a serious crime if not guilty. He doesn't consider this hiding anything. He doesn't want to mislead his fellow adventurers into trusting a sword on unreliable information. "Not Evil" does not mean "Good" and "Good" does not mean "Trustworthy".

[Silverphantasm]

In response to Maxwell's comments Ethan nodded, True enough, but I'll be honest if I heard a bunch of folks talking about dragging me across the country side I might not be keen on cooperating so.... pulling a length of twine from within his belt, Ethan secured the wrappings around the sword so they wouldn't easily become dislodged, then secured the bundle to his back via the climbing harness interwoven among his armor. "I'll carry it, and if I go a bit wonky please (turning more towards Garflax then anyone else) just knock me out, don't gut me."

[Ridai]

Given their task, Tio lets the others work things out among themselves until they reach the natural conclusion, with the young mage quietly whistling off to the side, ready to go.

[MikelaC1]

Theres no need to be stubborn about this, Im surely a superior weapon to the one you are wielding now, we could accomplish great things together

(So you are just going to walk back to the main trail, at that point are you returning to the mining town [2 days] or on to the next town [3 days]?)

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell votes to accompany the caravan forward after catching up with them.

[Silverphantasm]

Maxwell's general leadership has been fine so far, so Ethan is happy to catch up to the caravan, then continue to the next town. As they walked he continued conversation with the sword. "Look I don't doubt that you're better than my staff, but there are issues regardless, first there's the mission on hand, which no I'm not going to directly inform you of, two members of the team are a little unsure of you, and I'd rather not irritate them by waving around both our objective and a source of attention and worry, and thirdly unless you can change your shape, you're too heavy for me to use in combat in a proficient manner. I like dual wielding, I'm making a bit of a career out of it, besides, you want me to team up with you, but you still haven't told me your name.

[MikelaC1]

swords don't have names

The group had only spent an hour dealing with the raiders and so they are able, with some hard riding, to catch up to the caravan. No one comments about the new big sword strapped to the back of Ethan and the group continues in quiet (apart from normal conversations). The first night however, Ethan is awoken by someone jostling his body, one of the fighters guarding the caravan has rolled him over and pulled out the sword, and is waving it about confidently, like he knows what he is doing (much more than he did before).

[Silverphantasm]

Ethan rolls to his feet grabbing his staff in the same motion.
You have exactly 5 seconds to drop that sword and beg for my forgiveness, else your brains are going to decorate my staff.

[Ridai]

"Sword's influence, I'd take it. Disarm him, don't smash his brains in," Tio's tired voice can be heard, less carefree than usual.

[MikelaC1]

(everyone was now awake with the ruckus)

The fighter seems to not pay any attention to the threats and orders, displaying a technique that was far beyond what he had ever shown before.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax


" You are messing with powers beyond your control. Drop the sword immediately or we'll be forced to put you down. Your first and only warning. " Sword" - if you are controlling him - you better let him go or you will spend the rest of the forseeable future soaked in dwarf urine and dragged through the country side on a rope."

Garflax grabs his axe and moves to help surround the guard and keep him hemmed in.





AC: 13
HP: 85/87

[Ridai]

"Just take the sword from him! Seriously, do you not see what's going on here?!" Apparently not. So Tio begins to weave a spell, intent on charming (Will DC 16) the warrior wielding the sword and making him drop the sword.

[MikelaC1]

Why would I want to drop the Sword...but if you say so
He drops the sword.
What are you doing you loser, I was going to make you a hero

[Silverphantasm]

Flicking the sword away from the man with the butt of his staff Ethan picked up the rags and walked over to it and began carefully wrapping the sword back up, when he'd finished he walked over to his pack and pulled out the canvas tarp he kept for rainy nights. All right Garflax go ahead give the bloody thing something to think about for the rest of the trip, I'll wrap it in this tarp and won't mind a bit.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

"Well a dead hero..." Garflax snaps back. "Please step away from the sword." Garflax let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure how gutting the guard in front of his friends and collages would go over. Tackling an armed man demonstrating that level of skill with a sword seemed risky at best.

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell shrugs and moves back towards his bedroll. "And this is why you don't trust things that you can't see where they do their thinking."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax


Garflax grumbles. He takes up a position to take watch over everyone in the group. "Can someone relive me in 2-3 hours? Obviously we've overestimated our safety."

[MikelaC1]

The moment the man lets go of the sword, a confused look comes over his face...what just happened to me?

[Fouredged Sword]

"You grabbed a cursed sword. Don't touch."

[Ridai]

"I'll take second watch," Tio says, followed by a big yawn. He briefly turns to the guard with a tired, but sweet smile. "Don't feel bad about it, the sword made you touch and wield it."

Finally, he gives a general "Good night, everyone." and is fast asleep again a moment later.

[MikelaC1]

who's calling who cursed? Im not cursed, I'll have you know I am artifact of great power.

[Silverphantasm]

I'll take relief if anyone needs it, Ethan glared at the sword. "An artifact of great power....yeah right you don't even have a name."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Garflax

"Can't be that great, don't even have a name." Garflax sniggers. "Artifact of great power..." he mulls it over. "Guess we will just call you 'Arty' for now."

[MikelaC1]

I'll have you know that I am the Prince's Sword

At this pronouncement, the rest of the warriors look uneasily at the group, then the Sword and then the group again.

[Ridai]

"Will you stop talking to the sword and wrap it up again..." a sleepy complaint is heard from the side.

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell adresses the warriors and sword at the same time. "Yes, you are also the cause of a lot of death on this road for the past few months. We are delivering you to people who can ensure you are not used to evil ends."

[MikelaC1]

. "Yes
You just admitted this is the Prince's Sword


The Prince's Sword, thats one of the former Crown Jewels
But the Crown Jewels were destroyed, weren't they?
How can it be a Crown Jewel?
Whats going on here, and what have you gotten us mixed up in? (This from the caravan master)
I dont want no part of any Crown Jewels, that leads to the Elder Gods

[Ridai]

Tio has to suppress a facepalm, instead going for a groan, putting on an annoyed voice, along with a barbed look. "We all had a long day and too little rest, we now have sleep-deprived mouths and some sword with delusions of grandeur babbling about. If you'd kindly stop getting riled up by the thing, bear the terrible, terrible burden of not having the last word for once, and kindly shut up and go to sleep, that would be great. Seriously, how likely is it that a damn Crown Jewel shows up in the hands of random gobbos?"

Bluff [roll0]

Also hopefully framing things to become an easily acceptable lie.

[MikelaC1]

The guards seem a little unsure, but then again, adventurers are supposed to be a strange lot, and they are willing to let things pass...for now. With this issue settled the group continues on their way the next day

[Ridai]

Tio is his usual cheery self, sitting on a wagon, quietly whistling from time to time.

[MikelaC1]

The group continues on its way, the sword mostly quiet, until mid afternoon. The group sees another group heading towards them, 6 in total they look to be a rather disreputable lot, and the sword starts up free magic sword to whoever defeats these no talent wannabes.
The "leader" of the other group looks confused for a moment and then steps forward saying just hand over the sword and no one gets hurt

[Ridai]

Tio looks to the man, then up to the sky, scratching his chin. "Sorry, gotta pass." And he laces the words with a charm person (Will DC 16).

[MikelaC1]

The man's expression does not change, and he repeats Hand over the sword and no one gets hurt
The other men in his group begin to loosen weapons, as do the guards in your caravan.

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell quietly dumps his healing pool into himself to aid in recovering from his wounds of the previous day. He draws his sword and readies an action to grease the first enemy who makes an agressive move towards the group.

[Ridai]

Tio sighs, readying himself to blast the group with a scintillating sphere. This sort of senseless violence is all too common nearly everywhere in Daystor, and he can only hope to end it quick and to prevent as much suffering on his side as possible.

[Silverphantasm]

Before you folks do something you'll regret, I think it's fair to warn you that that this isn't going anywhere, so please ask yourselves, is it really worth getting your asses handed to you & possibly dying. If you can answer that question you'll either walk past, or I won't feel bad for hitting & possibly spreading your brain across the ground.

Spinning his staff up, Ethan prepared for another round.

[Ridai]

Wanting to get this over with, Tio starts lobbing lightning.

Empowered lesser orb of electricity on a brigand if he can only safely target one brigand. Scintillating sphere (think lightning fireball) on as many brigands as possible if not.

Orb:
[roll0] vs touch AC
[roll1] x 1.5 electricity damage

Sphere:
[roll2] electricity damage (Ref DC 18 halves)

[Fouredged Sword]

Maxwell steps to the side, moving off the road and into the woods a bit. Taking partial cover behind a tree he tries to nail one, maybe two of the enemies with a grease spell DC 16.

[Silverphantasm]

Ethan dashed forward swinging his staff at supposed leader of the group, muttering to the sword on his back, "Ya know, I'm really getting tired of your **** Arty, so why don't you shut up and quit getting people hurt.


Charge the leader
Attack : [roll0]
damage: [roll1]
crit checks
Attack : [roll2]
damage: [roll3]