Sands of Fate: With Homebrew

[Dieuoffire]

I am going to make a few assumptions before we continue on:

1 You all gave the caravan a significant distance before you started following (about a mile?). I assume this because the two groups both realized immediately following would empower suspicion, and secondly possibly put you into the same target zone as the first group, meaning you would be part of the initial attack.

2 After giving them a mile, you moved up closer than that hoping to get a good view of the action at the very least BUT you did not get too close again for the first assumed reasons.

3. one group is flying, the other walking/riding/flying. meaning one group has to contend more with ground than the others.

Assuming that I am gong to give some information that both parties probably would know.

1 The terrain is hills with light or patchy thick forest.

2 There are multiple nearby rivers.

3 The caravan route, assuming the stay on the trail, has an area mostly covered by trees in a Ravine between hills. It would be a predictable but effective ambush site.

4 you can see as you fly/Air-scout that there are several locations that has "markers" set up. in the upcoming area. it seems the Hellblades are aware of their sobriquet and have taken a liking to it. The markers are set up every few miles on top of hills. The Markers look, at this distance, to be corpses of victims burned and still bearing battle wounds. Many corpses missing limbs or outright cut in half. they are usually on the treeless hilltops to be seen easier. like a gang of thugs marking their territory, their work evident as a warning.

5 Yes anyone schooled in tactics would know that for raiders to actively announce 'here is our land' is not the smartest idea. of course this could be a new development.

6 You are now about 5 miles north from the town.

should you assume that the prime, but somewhat predictable, ambush site is where the caravan will be attacked; you have about 20 minutes to to do something about it.

[Cassus]

Spoiler: OOC

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Those assumptions sound reasonable to me, mostly. Tide is walking when he is visible/with the group and flying when he scouts, so he scouts at a speed of 55'/round. Is anyone riding? I don't remember seeing mounts come up.

How close is everyone else to the caravan? We've been talking, and no one else rolled Stealth, so I'm assuming we're not that close.

Can someone with K:Local roll to see if the Hellblades only recently started placing these markers?

[D&DPrinceTandem]

Yohaan
The changeling laughs weakly at the lack of telepathy, but thinks "hmm... I do agree that we should distance ourselves from each but the distance between us should not exceed 30 meters, that way I may still reach you with my magic in a crunch."
After hearing Blanc's potential plan Yohaan takes a moment to think, "I have no doubt of your capabilities but perhaps I would make a better lure to the enemy. I can heal myself any injures or afflictions they may cause me while your assault and tricks provide cover for me to do so and escape. Then once I have escaped and recuperated, I will return to you to aid in the" she raises her hands in air quotes "Tom-foolery, as they say. As well as rejuvenate any wounds you may have sustained in my absence." She takes a moment to let the idea sink in, "I wouldn't be much help in the trickery as I have very few tricks of my own, sadly as I have lived and met with many fey, I do not have that innate knack that seems so prevalent in the folk of the forest's spirit."

As the Team continues to advance, the smell hits Yohaan before the equally abhorrent sight does. Yohaan's eyes glaze over, and she turns to look at the unholy pyre. The smell sends her mind careening into a past that she wished to forget... As her eyes sear the sight of the burning corpse into her mind her body unconsciously slows to a stop, and she drops a few feet from her flight (though not reaching the ground and still a considerable distance from the "marker"). Silently she watches the body burn, her face a mask without emotion because her thoughts are long in the past. Her hands a clenched into fists at her side. When will people be allowed to pass on peacefully, she thinks to herself. "When will the flames just die," she mutters, in her mind's eye she does not see one man burning but a village. Raising her sights to the horizon she rotates in place, surveilling and noticing several other smoke clouds.

[Yas392]

Blanc nods.

"Seems thought out. Very well. Let us try your way then. If the tactics does not work, we can try mine or another formation any of us concocted."

As the group advances, the mount of unrecognizable, dissected, and charred corpses do not turn her away. She looks at the pile and sighs.

"Bit excessive to send a message but they made their point. Looks like we must tread lightly in our tomfoolery. Yohaan, are you going to do something? If you do, I will follow up."

[D&DPrinceTandem]

Yohaan
The Changeling's steel gaze and thousand-yard stare persists for a few more moments, she subtly calms herself with a breath, "What is right is to stop the defilement of this corpse... but the lack of smoke would be a sign to the enemy and could cause many more to die..." Her eyes return to the Marker "My powers do not put out fires," she says regressively. "I do not know what to do. I want to fix this but... is the sanctity of one worth the lives of more." She sighs in her contemplation, "This dilemma is wasting precious time, I cannot decide but will not let my indecisiveness hinder the two of you, whatever path and actions you two take I will honor and follow." She memorizes and notes the generally height and gender of the victim if such features are discernable then rises back to the other two flying figures.

[Dieuoffire]

As you examine the markers you will notice the vegetation is still recently disturbed. Most of the smoldering corpuses are brand new.

The 'Heroes Army' is approaching the tree covered ravine. you still have some time to plan. You will have to be closer to see inside the tree cloaked area if you want to get a good look.

[Yas392]

Blanc squints at the ambush spot.

"My plan is to find the Hellblades and play with them to study them. What about you, Puck? Any ideas?"

[Cassus]

Tide listened to the answers given, then shook his head. "The goal is to save them, not simply kill Hellblades." He tilted his head at Callen. "Still, they are clearly in Hellblade territory now; I will look ahead of them." He stepped behind his enormous arm and vanished with an exhalation again.

Invisible, Tide sped out around the group. There were corpses everywhere, so this was clearly territory claimed by the Hellblades, but he'd seen no sentries, which was odd. He skimmed along parallel to (and above) the route the caravan would follow, looking for ambushes and stopping when he'd reached the far side of the trees to head back towards the party.

Spoiler: OOC/Active effects/Mechanics

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Stealth: (1d20+42)[62] picking up speed greatly (to 120') but taking a curve around the group so that the distance penalty compensates.

Currently active:
Nondetection (DC 24)
Soulmeld: Claws of the Wyrm
Altered Shape: Humanoid, Fake Skin, Graceful Frame, Wings, Replicate III: blindsight 60', Replicate V: Natural Invisibility

Disguise: 54

[/QUOTE]

[niw18]

puck would follow and listen to them and look to ice women "not all fey are tricksters just be you that's all you can do" he would say to the ice queen. He would look to the flames that got human-like being disturbed and sigh " I do not have a way to put them out either" he would look to the ice queen "I could go unseen and scout to better ourselves so we can make a better plan" he suggest to his teammates.

[Dieuoffire]

Spoiler: Tide mechanics question

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Is Tide's roll including distance bonus, invisible bonus, and speed penalty? If you are too high you will not see much because of the trees. Sorry but need to know a few things. Also flying through branches might be very noticeable as you are not exactly a pixie. Lastly please make a spot (perception house rule) check

[Yas392]

"I am not putting out the fires. It will draw attention to us."

Blanc's pupils tilts upwards and her lips shrink as they move sideways at Puck's advice about fey.

"Uh, okay."

Her face snaps back to normal as the pixie informs the group his expertise. She nods at Puck.

[Cassus]

Spoiler: OOC

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First, Tide is actually Diminutive-sized while he's flying-- size modifier is how he's getting his stealth so high. He'd be pretty hard to see even for a creature with True Seeing or some such.
Second, Tide only needs the distance to compensate for a -5 speed penalty-- that's just 50' away from whatever he wants to see. Does that put him at a height it's hard to see from?
And Perception: (1d20+10)[20]
Sorry about the delay-- didn't get the new post email.

[Dieuoffire]

@Tide

50 ft up would put him into the treetops. it would not be the worst but you would be sneaking through rather loud terrain. However at diminutive size that is doable. does he still have that speed while in diminutive size?

Assuming speed stays the same. you could scout reasonable well. did you count the distance penalty into that perception roll?

@ team fey.
Tide is solo scouting for the other group but how do you stand? Are you all going together or is there a dedicated scout?

[Cassus]

@Dieuoffire
Yes, speed stays the same. I am the world's beefiest hummingbird! And if 10' one way or the other avoids a significant noise penalty, he'll do it.
I didn't include any perception penalty in the roll-- not sure how far he'd be from any given thing he's seeing.

[Yas392]

Spoiler: For Dieuoffire

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1) Is the answer to the question I PMed you on this thread already? I have not yet got your response from the PM I sent you.

2) Blanc is happy to let Puck to scout ahead. Her perception and stealth modifiers are awful.

[MagneticDragon]

“Damnit, I thought we would have more time,” Ferrous muttered when Tide came back and reported that the group was nearing what seemed to be obvious Hellblade territory. That made no sense to Ferrous, as why would they clearly make their turf when they have previously viciously defended themselves with powerful magic? Chances were it was a trick, that they simply created it as a division from their true base of operations, and laid this out to even disguise their trap, or to make it more difficult to figure out where the actual ambush would occur. Either way, it made Ferrous freeze as his mind raced through the possibilities.

They were still a good distance between them and the convoy. Should they stay away, and try to catch the Hellblades afterwards? Or should they close the distance now, so that they would be in range to help out, rather than trying to clean up the aftermath? Did they have time to destroy the wheels, or panic the horses, and get them to change tracks? Or was there just enough time to close the distance between them, if they chose to? Ferrous. Ferrous did not know what to do, and he scanned around desperately, looking for his companion. In his uncertainty and confusion, Tide decided to make his way back before Ferrous could commit, and he cursed under his breath before making a decision.

“Even if we want to rescue them, we’re too far away to do anything currently.” Ferrous declared as he grabbed his whistle from his bag. Blowing on it in two short bursts to inform his companion that he needs to hurry before tucking it away. “Luckily, I can disguise myself.” He said, before Ferrous began to change.

His smooth, tanned human skin would shift and warp, developing wrinkles and worts as it turned into an ugly dirty-cream colour with black splotches. His neck would stretch out and a thick ‘mane’ of hair grew, even as his face lengthened. A thick jaw with jagged teeth jutted outwards while horns spouted out to curve around his face. His arms became longer and stronger, while hair became thick and heavy on them. His hands stretched out into thick, powerful digits while his legs twisted, developing an entirely second joint, his toes merged together into three powerful near talon-like toes as Ferrous finished his transformation into this clearly goblinoid race.

“Never feel comfortable like this. But it sure is handy.” Ferrous muttered, his voice had gained a guttural growl to it, but one could still recognize it as Ferrous, the human who had spoken so passionately before. He gave himself a brief shake to get adjusted before he glanced at the others. “If you have a way to disguise or transform yourself, I suggest you do so. If you don’t, stick a little behind and try to stay out of sight.” He half-suggested, half-ordered before turning back towards the caravan and picking up the pace. The Varag were some of the swiftest creatures he knew on land, and the fastest form he could take. Twice as fast as a human even, he could close the distance between himself and the caravan with ease.

Ferrous just had to hope that a goblinoid of his size would not be a threat when they were on the lookout for ogres and giants, much larger and furious creatures. Though he supposed they might think he was a scout. It was a price he was willing to pay to make sure he could close the distance in time. Even if he did not intend to join the caravan outright. He needed to be close enough to make a difference.

[Balthanon]

Aralis d'Enther | Team Shapechange [Ferrous, Tide, Aralis, Toburuk]
	"Disguise shouldn't be a problem." Examining the form Ferrous has taken, Aralis taps her lips for a few moments, apparently trying to decide upon what that disguise will constitute and then her form shifts similarly-- mirroring the same goblinoid features, albeit with a more feminine cast and a frame that is more lithe. After another moment of concentration, the clothes she is wearing appear to shift into something slightly more appropriate to the form-- the blindfold a more ragged band of cloth, her clothes less finely tailored and more homespun, with tattered hems and more stains. "Were we not going to fly to catch up?"
Damage Taken: 0, Effects Active: None Spoiler: Rolls and Actions Show None

[Novabomb]

Toboruk Shellshan Team (Aralis, Ferrous, Tide, Callen)
I guess it was a bit too much to hope for a cohesive plan of action, and for these makeshift companions to abide it. At least Tide has located the likely target location.

He starts running, once he gets any amount of vision of the caravan, he will go off trail and attempt to circumvent them.

[Balthanon]

Aralis d'Enther | Team Shapechange [Ferrous, Tide, Aralis, Toburuk]
	Expecting the group to move off of the road, Aralis slows slightly as they simply continue the same way they were traveling at a quicker pace. "What are we doing with this... I assumed we would be pretending to be scouts, hunters, or something of that nature. If we are doing that and still attempting to evade notice, we likely shouldn't be on the road." For that matter... were there even any goblin tribes in the vicinity?
Damage Taken: 0, Effects Active: None Spoiler: Rolls and Actions Show See OOC thread, messed it up here. Check is a 16.

[LairdMaon]

Callen watches Toboruk run off after the other alter their appearances. He takes his hat off and then places it back on his head, just tilted at a different angle. "Yeah, that's the best i got for a disguise. And if you want to go running off like that one, you are going to be a man short until I can catch up. Long distance running isn't called for at sea."

[Dieuoffire]

The caravan is moving slowly towards the suspected target area at about 3 mph. Easily slow enough for those of you on foot to attempt to move around.

The caravan is heading north. It passes between two hills that have significant tree cover. The forrested area is a several hundred yards in total length. The tree cover is such that flying over will not give you a good view unless you are rather low.

I am going to assume that both groups will slow down as they approach the area and try to avoid detection.

How does each group want to approach?

[niw18]

Puck would nod and fly up and then he would seem to vanish from sight "I will be back" he would say to the group before flying up ahead and scouting on what he can see.

Spoiler: info and stuff

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greater invisibility I use 2 uses that makes duration 24 hours leaves me 7 of 9 uses left

(1d20+17)[37] perception to see if find anything

if I find tracks

(1d20+7)[27] survival to track

[Yas392]

Blanc waves.

"Alright. We will back you up at the first sight of trouble."

[Dieuoffire]

Spoiler: Assumptions

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Let me make sure i have this straight.

Aralis - disguised as goblinoid heading off the road with the group (far enough behind to not need stealth right now)
Callen - not really disguised, heading off road with group, slowly. (far enough behind to not need stealth right now)
Ferrous - disguised as goblinoid heading off the road with the group. Having called you companion a while ago, it will show up. (far enough behind to not need stealth right now)
Tide - exceptionally small, invisible (62 stealth), flying, scouting (20 perception)
Toboruk - heading off the road with the group (far enough behind to not need stealth right now)

Plan: Watch as see how things go. figure it out as things resolve.

Blanc - flying with the group (far enough behind to not need stealth right now)
Yohaan - Walking(?) with the group (far enough behind to not need stealth right now)
Puck - small, invisible (stealth roll PLEASE, see below), flying, scouting (37 perception) and tracking (27)

Plan: Watch, use fey type strategy of distraction. Possibly having Yohaan Tank/self-heal to open opportunities for the others. the retreat and reunite.


The ogres I am just going to roll two perception checks for as their bonuses would not be enough to matter. Only a Nat 20 would be significant

(1d20)[10] perception 1
(1d20)[8] perception 2

P.S. hope I get this right, I'm Trying not to use edit or preview as that makes the die roller go crazy.

Tide and Puck both fly into the area of the tree covered path.

Tide, flies through slowly, but at a safe distance looking back and forth for large Armor encrusted Ogres but finds the path surprisingly clear.

Puck flies through as well. However Puck sees far more. Maybe it was his knowledge of the forest, but to him the Ogres were obvious.

The ogres where big, even for Ogres. Each Ogre was hiding. Each has a greatsword and a very large thick bow upon their backs with a quiver of arrows upon their waist. The ogres were also wearing thick coats that draped to the ground. Each cloak was woven with greens and browns, shades of the forest that helped their large bodies fade from sight. The cloaks covered their bodies and what you suspect is very heavy armor. There where two groups of seven ogres. One on each side of the trail/path. every now and then one of them flashed a hand signal to the others, which was often repeated to others.

Lastly you notice there are easily over a dozen wolves with them; regular wolves and dire wolves are there. As you were about to get a better count of the wolves one of them growled, it attracted attention. You suddenly remember that even though you are invisible, you still smell. Being all alone in the midst of trained Ogre killers, you just might stink of fear, as the Ogres hands flash again and several of the Ogres turn to wolf companions and begin making hand signals...

Today someone is going to have a very bad day.

[Yas392]

While waiting for Puck to return, Blanc stops suppressing her aura.

Spoiler: OOC

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As they are not enemies, she excludes her group, the first group and followers of Anwar & his associates from her mindfreeze aura.

[niw18]

As puck scouted he differently noticed the ogres those big old brutes were a nuisance to the forest animals and fey that may call the forest home. Puck would swallow hard as they were bigger than normal and all had weapons greatsword bows and arrows so ready for war it seemed. They had armor he guessed but what was scarier is that they had cloaks colored to match the forest with brown greens to make them blend and other shades of the forest. He count, then it seemed Fourteen all together but they have broken off into two groups and taken to each side of the path. He noticed their hands and how it was repeated by other ogres they are clearly coordinated and organized which is a scary thing. He noticed the normal and dire wolves and decided to try to get numbers but as he started he heard one growl and face palm as they can not see him but they can get his scent. He did not think they have packs of wolves with them this made this scouting even harder now. He noticed ogres make hand signals and sighed this was going to be a bad day for whatever group set off this clear ambush. he would fly up and try to use trees to hide and move as quietly as he can as he knew of the wolf's excellent hearing as well.

Spoiler: info and stuff

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stealth x2 one hide one move silently

[roll]1d20 +21[/roll]

[roll]1d20 +21[/roll]

[Dieuoffire]

@puck
The wolves and dire wolves begin to move in closer to Puck, but as he ascends they cannot follow. Soon they only have a general idea from their tracking, but cannot pinpoint you.

However the Ogres are also now listening and many have out bows.

@Tide

having flown through the forest and scene nothing you turn around and begin to fly back. As you do so you notice Ogres in camouflaged suits in moving around searching for something. There are also several dire wolves and wolves that you can spot also searching.

@both scouts
you only have a few minutes before the caravan enters into the forest. the Ogres are already returning to their hiding, but they are listening much more closely.

[Cassus]

Tide darted through the woods, flitting around branches and urgently looking for hellknight ogres in full plate... and not finding any. Perhaps they'd decided this site was too obvious for an ambush! Tide turned back to let his companions know it would be a while before the attack.

Having made it through the forest without finding so much as a particularly tall goblin, it was with some surprise that Tide found the forest was now swarming with ogres in camouflage suits and dire wolves. That was pretty embarrassing-- a good time to be invisible! After getting a quick count, Tide flew straight up, then accelerated to maximum speed, blurring toward the route his companions were following.

Much to his surprise, several of them looked like goblins rather than what they'd appeared as previously. He landed; soon after, Tide's familiar blue-fire arm flickered into being, and his familiar face stepped out from behind it. "The ogres are hiding camouflaged in the forest ahead, along with a substantial number of dire wolves. Something's stirred them up, though; they were hunting around for something when I flew back through!" He gave them what further details on the number and equipment of the enemies he had. Then, in a somewhat conspiratorial tone to Ferrous, "Also... sorry, but you're slipping-- your skin has gone green and you're getting shorter. It's important to stay focused if you want to be consistent!"

Spoiler: OOC/Active effects/Mechanics

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Perception (rolled in OOC vs disguises): 29

Currently active:
Nondetection (DC 24)
Soulmeld: Claws of the Wyrm
Altered Shape: Humanoid, Fake Skin, Giant, Replicate III: blindsight 60', Replicate IV: Regeneration, Replicate I: Improved Grab

Disguise: 54

[Novabomb]

Toboruk Shellshan Team (Aralis, Ferrous, Tide, Callen)

How many, and how distributed are they? Are there any outliers?

[LairdMaon]

"How far are they from us right now?" Callen asks, readying his chain.