Reign of Winter: The Snows of Summer

[PotatoGolem]

Majid draws the cold iron sword and holds it in both hands. He stands near Raydine, and tries to position himself between the border and Hatano. He looks out for anything that might rush the more vulnerable members of the group.

Perception (1d20+1)[15]

[Phantom Genius]

Raydine: It's definitely not natural. Someone brought WINTER here.
Majid: You see some tracks in the snow that would be easy to follow into the forest.
Hatano: You're on the right track, but you need a little more time to investigate and loot.
Felix: I need that Perception check and a Climb check.
Arcatek goes with Hatano and casts Detect Magic.

[Spore]

Perception (1d20-1)[7]
Climb (1d20)[8]

[dojango]

There is a soft meow behind Hatano, and she says "SHHHH!" far too loudly. Then she mutters to herself. "Check the wounds. If'n she had lousy noble rivals going on, this would be a good way to disguise an attack. Beats the ol' poisoned goblet, that's for sure." She keeps studying the wounds to figure out what made them. Offended, the cat jumps out of its perch in her parka's hood and lands in the snow. Hissing angrily at the shock of the cold, it jumps back, clawing its way back up her parka. The thick fur protects Hatano quite well from the cold, and from the claws.

[Phantom Genius]

I'm working on a map, but I have no editing software, so I'm "plowing" ahead for the moment.

The dead bodies lying in the snow have been stripped of armor and weapons, although you see a couple of fancy dresses that might have some value. The handmaidens sadly won't be wearing them again. (Appraise DC 15)

Majid and Raydine: It's cold, ridiculously cold for summertime. You see lots of tracks of humanoids and horses going into the forest. The ice statue is very creepy. You shiver, maybe from the cold, maybe from the carnage of the massacre behind you. You note that someone shoved a spear in the door handle of the upright carriage.
Arcatek: "No magic in the area so far." It steps back from the feline and scans more of the area.
Hatano: You would guess tiny needles and icicles did them in. It wasn't quick and painless.
Felix: You fail to get a grip on the icy and broken carriage. You can still peer inside and see the deceased handmaidens. No one responds to your greeting.

[Alhallor]

No magic in the area? That's even weirder, Raydine steps in the summer part of the forest, trying to not look at the frozen statue that brought shivers down her spine. Raydine didn't minded the cold normally but here it had this unnatural feel towards it.

Arcatek does this strange… WINTER border also radiates no magic? The undine asks worried.

Spoiler: OOC

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Can Raydine make a guess what could have done something like this? Like a mighty druid, wizard or snow ice queen fairy? Another try for Knowledge: (1d20+2)[4] should it be Knowledge: Nature it's +4 the rolled result.

For maps I like to use google excel files, they can also be edited by every player, if that helps you.

[Spore]

Felix Aasimar Hospitaler Paladin AC: 16 HP: 12/12 touch: 11, ff: 15, CMD: 15 Conditions: - Peculiar indeed. Such cruelty, these beautiful people all slain in a massacre. Felix says to cover his failure climbing into the carriage. He rubs his hands, as he realizes he is unable to pull both his weight and that of his armor. We should collect and bury the corpses on our way back. Give them one last rite of passage. Felix says, truly mourning these young people unable to pass into proper adulthood.

[Phantom Genius]

No magic in the area? That's even weirder, Raydine steps in the summer part of the forest, trying to not look at the frozen statue that brought shivers down her spine. Raydine didn't minded the cold normally but here it had this unnatural feel towards it.

Arcatek does this strange… WINTER border also radiates no magic? The undine asks worried.

Spoiler: OOC

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Can Raydine make a guess what could have done something like this? Like a mighty druid, wizard or snow ice queen fairy? Another try for Knowledge: [roll0] should it be Knowledge: Nature it's +4 the rolled result.

For maps I like to use google excel files, they can also be edited by every player, if that helps you.

Raydine: Nothing comes to mind. There are gods who could do it, since they can do most anything.
Arcatek says, "No magic in sixty feet, including the edge of the forest. That is the limit of the Detect Magic spell. Why is there a chunk of ice statue on the ground?"
Felix: I don't think I need to reply, but you're not wrong, obviously.

[Alhallor]

Spoiler: OOC

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They are two carriages right? One overturned and one still standing? If there is only the overturned one please ignore my comment about the other.

Hey Felix, could you look at the other carriage? Perhaps there is still someone in there. Raydine nods towards Arcatek. Perhaps we can find something out about that statue. Majid you cover me right? Raydine goes towards the ice statue that seems to be the center of the attack and if she is within 10 feet she casts a Detect Magic herself.

Spoiler: Detect magic

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Concentrating on the statue if I not get interrupted and trying to interpret that with a Spellcraft: (1d20+5)[24] or Knowledge:Arcana: (1d20+2)[10]

[Phantom Genius]

Spoiler: OOC

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They are two carriages right? One overturned and one still standing? If there is only the overturned one please ignore my comment about the other.

Hey Felix, could you look at the other carriage? Perhaps there is still someone in there. Raydine nods towards Arcatek. Perhaps we can find something out about that statue. Majid you cover me right? Raydine goes towards the ice statue that seems to be the center of the attack and if she is within 10 feet she casts a Detect Magic herself.

Spoiler: Detect magic

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Concentrating on the statue if I not get interrupted and trying to interpret that with a Spellcraft: [roll0] or Knowledge:Arcana: [roll1]

Two carriages, yes. The second one has a spear shoved in the handle.
Arcatek is within 60' of the statue (and both carriages) so you don't need to cast again. You can try Perception if you want.
Felix if you approach the second carriage, please roll Perception also.

[Alhallor]

Raydine get's closer to the statue and goes on her knees and expects it from toe to head, really trying to see if there is a way the statue may have caused all of this.

Spoiler: OOC

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Perception: (1d20+1)[3] then Raydine won't use her own Detect magic. Perhaps she can find something else.

[Phantom Genius]

Raydine get's closer to the statue and goes on her knees and expects it from toe to head, really trying to see if there is a way the statue may have caused all of this.

Spoiler: OOC

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Perception: [roll0] then Raydine won't use her own Detect magic. Perhaps she can find something else.

It's a body, minus an arm, encased in ice.

[Spore]

Perception (1d20-1)[6]

Should we open a discord for rolls and immediate discussion of the game? If not I think the game would benefit from the DM rolling reactive rolls himself.

[PotatoGolem]

Majid continues to guard Raydine, on alert for anything coming out of the woods.

[dojango]

Hatano stands up and says, "Well. They were killed by ice. Being stabbed by ice, not the cold. So by violence after all. Grim business. Not much else to be done here and now. Let's follow these tracks into the woods. Carefully."

[Phantom Genius]

Spoiler: Rolling Dice

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I'm fine with rolling immediate reactions like Perception, if the players don't mind. Some people are sensitive about their dice, but this is online, of course. I subscribe to this page, so I get an email every time someone replies, which is preferable to Discord.

Felix: You hear a thud inside the carriage as you get close. Do you pull the spear? (Do you have a free hand? I think you do.)
Majid: You notice that the ice statue/corpse is missing an arm, which is holding a sword and lying on the ground. To be clear, this is a corpse that has been turned into an ice statue and then something pulled off an arm. (Creepy buggers)
Hatano: Do you care about the dresses? They have some value. (They were dumped out of a chest.)

[Spore]

Felix Aasimar Hospitaler Paladin AC: 16 HP: 12/12 touch: 11, ff: 15, CMD: 15 Conditions: - Why would they target the handles? Felix thinks aloud, then draws his blade. If this is some kind of trap, I will have none of it. he proclaims, drawing his blade and cleaving into the carriage door. Spoiler Show Power Attack (1d20+4)[13] Damage (2d6+9)[16]

[Phantom Genius]

Why would they target the handles? Felix thinks aloud, then draws his blade. If this is some kind of trap, I will have none of it. he proclaims, drawing his blade and cleaving into the carriage door.

Spoiler

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Power Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

The carriage door splinters and falls away.

A human, in his underwear and full of holes, lurches toward you. Its dead eyes seeing nothing but still targeting your face, it slams you for five points of damage. You see a second one behind it with no way to reach you.

Everyone may take a turn before the thing that was a man may attack again.

[Alhallor]

When the carriage door splinters Raydine gasps for air, being shocked. She looks towards Felix who just got hit by a strange, inapprobiately clothed and heavily wounded Person. Are you insane? Stop that nonsense! Raydine strides forward a bit and makes a sharp gesture with her hand. Cool off, will you! And the person get's splashed by water.

Spoiler: Action

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Raydine moves towards the second carriage and casts Create Water to the person who attacked Felix, hoping to snap him out of it. She doesn't realize that it's (probably) a Zombie. It's 16 pounds of water, should that be relevant.

Spoiler: Dice

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I also won't have a problem with the DM rolling reactionary dice.

[Spore]

Felix Aasimar Hospitaler Paladin AC: 16 HP: 7/12 touch: 11, ff: 15, CMD: 15 Conditions: - The creature launches itself at Felix, who was caught in an exposed position with his heavy blade stuck in the door. He kicks the zombie off, brings a bit of distance between him and his assailants, that is when Raydine splashes the creature with water. This one is dead. Look at it. Felix says, swirling his blade around into the offensive, striking again, but this time an undead rather than woodwork. Spoiler Show Power Attack again. (1d20+4)[5] (2d6+9)[16]

[PotatoGolem]

Majid spins around and runs to attack the shambling creature, swinging his sword two-handed in powerful sweeps.

Spoiler: OOC

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No objection to reactive rolls. 2-handing the longsword and attacking with Power Attack. (1d20+5)[10] damage (1d8+6)[9]

Spoiler: OOC edit

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Oops, forgot to add the Power Attack modifiers to attack or damage, so I guess it wasn't that Power-ful. Still missing. Team paladin is demolishing that carriage.

[dojango]

Hatano notes the finery scattered on the snowy mud, but doesn't really care about it. What she wants to know is whether the bodies have been stripped of coins and jewelry; the kind of portable wealth that bandits are after. After all, if the assailants care about wealth, perhaps they can be bargained with? Or if they are unreasoning brutes, they need to be put down...

Hearing Felix's shout, she sees the thing lurch out of the carriage. She sees the paladins smiting the strange and unholy beast and nods. That was what they were here for, no? But she points at the leading zombie and says, in a mild tone, "Yer soul is gone. Follow it to rest. Give in to sleep. Become the earth."

Spoiler: retcon

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(1d20+2)[12], (1d8+2)[5] damage. Hexin' it, then, uh give it -2 to AC.

[Phantom Genius]

I'll say that the water is at least a small distraction to Z1. Perhaps it was to the (fraternal) paladin twins as well. They both miss. And there is now no more room in melee. (It's, in fact, a little harder to hit the zombie-man in the doorframe.)

Arcatek, seeing little chance of getting a small crossbow shot through cover and into melee, walks up and casts Magic Weapon on Felix's sword. "You have a 5% better chance to hit and will do slightly more damage for one minute," it says helpfully.

[Phantom Genius]

The zombie-man does not seem to notice the hex or the paladins' swordplay. It does notice Felix's brain and attempts to crack his skull open to eat it.
21 to hit, 9 damage! Felix briefly sees four zombies, then eight, then the faerie dragon in the clouds, before his vision returns to normal. His head hurts a lot.

Coins and jewelry are nowhere in sight.

Everyone may go.

[Alhallor]

Raydine takes a second look at the people and only then does she realize that they are stabbed and wounded, so horribly that they should not be able to live anymore. And then one of them hits Felix hard. No, Felix! Raydine concentrates on the water that she created before and produces a single deep tone that sounds like the Undine's head is submerged in water. As in response to her voice, the water rises up and transforms into a sheet of solid ice. Protecting Felix and Majid from further harm.

Spoiler: OOC

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With my Watersinger ability I would like to create an ice wall to protect our guys in melee. Perhaps till Felix got healed. The ice has Hardness 0 and 3 hit Points per Inch and I guess I can make it 1 foot thick that should give it 36 hp. should it be attacked and as of now it holds this round, and the next three. Should this not be possible I would change my action.

[Phantom Genius]

Spoiler: OOC

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With my Watersinger ability I would like to create an ice wall to protect our guys in melee. Perhaps till Felix got healed. The ice has Hardness 0 and 3 hit Points per Inch and I guess I can make it 1 foot thick that should give it 36 hp. should it be attacked and as of now it holds this round, and the next three. Should this not be possible I would change my action.

That works as you expected, but it works both ways. The paladins can't see or attack the zombie-men either.

Round 1 of Ice Wall
Round 1 of Magic Weapon

[dojango]

Watching Felix stagger back, blood streaming from his head, Hatano freezes for a moment. Then the air itself freezes as the wall of ice forms in front of the carriage door. Reaching a decision, she says, "Stand back! We'll burn them out." She pulls out her flint and steel and her torch and quickly lights the torch.

Spoiler

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this round... light torch. Next round, set carriage on fire. third round... victory!

[Spore]

Felix Aasimar Hospitaler Paladin AC: 16 HP: -2/12 touch: 11, ff: 15, CMD: 15 Conditions: prone, unconscious, stablized Completely sidelined by everything going on and unable to raise his big sword properly, the paladin tries to parry the lunging zombie. He is too slow. The undead rips him to the ground, but is unable to split his skull open fully as there are other in the way. Spoiler Show Felix drops to -2, thus going unconscious. Good news though, now there is more space to fight. Stabilize (1d20+4)[21]

[PotatoGolem]

Majid sheathes the longsword and pushes Felix away from the carriage. Do any of you have healing magic or medical knowledge? The boy is badly hurt.

Spoiler: OOC

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Don't have Lay on Hands till level 2, sadly. And no ranks in Heal. Edited to match what's happening.

[Phantom Genius]

Majid rushes over to push his fallen comrade out of the way, standing between the carriage and Felix. He sheathes the longsword and pulls out his greatsword. Do any of you have healing magic or medical knowledge? The boy is badly hurt.

Spoiler: OOC

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Don't have Lay on Hands till level 2, sadly. And no ranks in Heal.

Majid was already adjacent to Felix when Felix slumped to the ground. And there is a wall of ice temporarily between the two of you and the two of them. There is a +1 greatsword next to him. Do you want to move him, move the sword, or something else?

Arcatek says, "He has stabilized and is not going to bleed to death. This unit has basic skill in healing, but no magic."

Zombie-man 1 attacks the wall of ice. Six points of damage.

Majid, please clarify and then we'll be back to the top.