Matt C (DM) Thursday October 16th, 2014 10:10:47 AM
The scene in the guardhouse remains tense and confusing. None of the guards are quite sure what to do. A few move to protect the mayor, though by their glances at Talfryn, they are obviously worried about facing their own captain. Others move to Talfryn's side, brandishing their swords. "Captain, what's this about your family, sir?" one asks, a look of genuine concern on his face.
Rolanda, cursing quite un-priestess-like, lays her hands on Mederick's chest and prays. A soft white light shines, and the Mayor's chest wound begins to close, ever-so-slowly.
Kirill and Gersemi stand by, obviously unsure what to do. "Sirs, maybe you should wait - " one guard begins to say to them.
Suddenly, two more guards burst into the room; or, at least they try, having trouble fitting through the door into the already-crowded guardhouse. "Cap'n!" one shouts. Looking around, he realizes something is amiss. "Holy gods!" he exclaims.
Another continues, "Sir! A wagon just went through the gates! Several men were riding it, and it got away before we could stop it! Two of our men let it out, and we found this on them." He tosses a purse on the floor, and gold coins spill out of it. "We have those two fools under guard outside, and we captured one of the men from the wagon. He's barely conscious. We got an arrow into him, but he's still able to talk. We . . . questioned him . . . Master Withershott was driving the wagon. Sir, I'm sorry. He got away . . . ."
Rolanda and several guards remain behind to guard Talfryn and Mederick, and the rest rush back to the gate, Kirill and Gersemi in tow. They find Halvard screaming orders to organize a search party. Indeed, the gate stands open . . . .
Hours later, a search party returns empty-handed, having found nothing but wagon tracks along the road. Either Aldo's wagon was too fast, or the search commenced too late; either way, panic ensues among the guards, barely contained by Halvard's presence.
A separate party of guards canvasses the town, and turns up no evidence of the thief formerly a resident of the town jail. Talfryn shamedly admits that he released the thief in the hope of her learning more about the tribute theft. He also produces a parchment from his pocket, which proves that his wife and daughter are indeed missing, and not by design. The note says that the Captain's family were kidnapped, and were being held for ransom against Talfryn's cooperation -- he was ordered to invade the tribute warehouse, load the treasure onto a wagon, and deposit it into a separate warehouse; if he did not comply, his family would be killed.
Shortly before dawn, Talfryn's wife and daughter stumble into town, clearly the worse for wear. A note pinned to the daughter's dress reads, "Captain. You were true to your word, and I am true to mine. I produce your family, mostly unharmed. Though I did not kill them, I don't know how long they will last given your impending visit from the hobgoblins. Please thank the townsfolk for me, they certainly provided ample wealth to support me for a long time to come, and I am quite appreciative. Yours, Aldo Withershott."
Northbrook, it seems, is doomed to a terrible fate . . . .
As expected, a large party of hobgoblins emerges from the nearby woods at dawn. They find the wall manned with every guard in town. A large, burly hobgoblin approaches and yells, "Northbrook vermin! Where is our gift? You have three candle-marks to produce it, or we will lay waste to this pathetic village!"
With the next town days away, Northbrook is alone for this struggle. Things do not bode well for the usually-peaceful town . . . .
Matt C (DM) Thursday October 16th, 2014 10:12:21 AM I've made Aldo's last few posts public so you can have a more thorough story should you wish to read it. Feel free to read any and all spoilers should you wish to see how events unfolded over the module.
You collectively have a choice to make:
Since both the thief and the merchant escaped, fulfilling their victory conditions, no one else's victory conditions can be fulfilled (unless you somehow win this fight, should you try). However, if you want, we can play out the hobgoblin battle just for fun. Who knows, maybe it could work out?
You are faced with 100 angry hobgoblins.
You have at your disposal:
1. Your collective wits, powers, and weapons. 2. 10 level 1 clerics (the acolytes), along with Rolanda, a level 5 cleric. 3. 30 town guards, all level 1 fighters, along with Halvard, a level 5 fighter.
I'll put it to a vote: let me know how you want to play this. Halvard, true to form, votes in favor of a fight, no matter how desperate it may be. Rolanda, also true to form, is terrified of a fight, and decides to barricade the townsfolk inside the temple, to pray for salvation and hope for the best.
So, the vote stands 1 to 1, and I'll let the rest of you decide.
Lord Mederick - The Mayor - 13/39 Thursday October 16th, 2014 1:02:30 PM
The Lord would try to bargain with the Hobgoblins, if that is possible, or if that fails fall back to the temple, away from the "mad" captain and his troops.
Matt C (DM) Thursday October 16th, 2014 2:34:18 PM Seal Rewards
Decla and Aldo completed their victory conditions. If anyone's condition includes "beating the hobgoblins" we'll address that depending on what happens.
BOTH Decla and Aldo receive the following:
"Hobgoblin Seal of the Slimy Wet Fish." This seal, worn or carried on your person, can be drawn and tapped to activate as a free action. On activation, it places a piranha in the your hand. The piranha must be thrown at an enemy in the same round, requiring a standard action to throw. Make a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 20 ft. If you miss, the fish disappears. If you hit, the piranha bites down, dealing 1d4 damage per round for 1d3+1 rounds to your enemy, after which it suffocates, falls off, and disappears. Damage reduction applies to the piranha's bite, as well as any hedge that acts against summoned creatures. If you are level 8-14, your piranha inflicts 2d4 per round, and if you are level 15+, your piranha inflicts 3d4 per round. This seal expires after one year if not used, and counts against the five magic item limit that applies to lotto prizes and Yule gifts.
ALDO ONLY receives the following additional seal:
"Gnomish Seal of the Haggler." This seal, worn or carried on your person, can be drawn and tapped to activate as a free action, and remains active for 24 hours or until used. In any situation outside combat, you gain a +10 bonus on the Diplomacy or Intimidate check of your choice. There is a 20 percent chance of failure, and if the seal fails, there is a 50/50 chance that the Diplomacy or Intimidate check will suffer a -5 penalty instead. This seal expires after one year if not used, and counts against the five magic item limit that applies to lotto prizes and Yule gifts.
Both of you please copy and paste these seals into an email and send it to your permanent game DMs (I don't know who they are). Please copy me on the email.
The Stranger Kirill (Jeff O) Thursday October 16th, 2014 5:16:11 PM
As an interesting note... I just checked the victory conditions for Kirill. They state, "Whatever else happens, you must leave town at dawn to get where you're going."
I would humbly suggest that when the group headed to the gate and sent out a search party, that Kirill would go with them... and quickly disappear, well on his way away from town and on to this appointment.
I'm not saying that *I* would do that, mind you, but I'm pretty sure Kirill would head out of that town as fast as he could once that gate was opened -- he has places to go!
The Stranger Kirill (Jeff O) Thursday October 16th, 2014 5:32:52 PM
Oh, and I wasn't just saying that to claim victory -- actually it had occurred to me when I read about defending the town -- I don't think Kirill will be around!
Gersemi of Clan Turen - AKA The Gnome Wizard - AC 14 HP 19 (James D) Thursday October 16th, 2014 5:57:04 PM
I want to help the town in any way I can, and determine how the theft occurred. I suggest we gather every crate in the city and put it in the warehouse, along with anything that looks valuable and any oil, kerosene or alchemist fire we have. When they start collecting the crates we lock them in and torch the place. We will need every citizen in the city ready to storm the warehouse and pile furniture, wagons, and anything that can barricade the doors.
Matt C (DM) Thursday October 16th, 2014 5:58:02 PM
You know, you're right Jeff. I overlooked that, and Kirill can easily fulfill his VC. I think you should get the first seal (the fish one) as well.
Unfortunately, Mederick can no longer fulfill his VC at all, since his was to find the tribute.
Gersemi has fulfilled part of her VC: finding out who stole the tribute. That part is easy.The second part is to beat the hobgoblins (since the tribute is gone, that's the only option)
Talfryn has fulfilled part of his VC: getting his family back safe. That, too, was easy. The second part is the same as Gersemi. Since the tribute can no longer be saved, the hobgoblins must be beaten.
Mederick wants to hole up in the temple. That leaves the vote 2-1 in favor of hiding. If both Gersemi and Talfryn vote to fight, we'll do the goblin fight and see if they can somehow survive. I've been having fun working up some mental notes on how to handle a raiding force storming the walls of a town. Could be fun, though you'll all have to give me a bit of a margin for error, I've never run a fight like that before. I say we do it, but I'll leave it to you two to decide.
Gersemi of Clan Turen - AKA The Gnome Wizard - AC 14 HP 19 (James D) Thursday October 16th, 2014 6:04:20 PM
ooc: What is needed for me to hint down the criminals after beating the Hobgoblins?
The Stranger Kirill (Jeff O) Thursday October 16th, 2014 8:25:30 PM
Oh man, I read that post wrong the first time (from Gersemi) -- I thought you were going to load the warehouse up, then light it on fire, then claim to the hobgoblins that their tribute is up in flames!
Captain Talfryn (Earl) AC 20 (T 12 FF 18), CMD : 21;HP 53/53 Character Sheet Thursday October 16th, 2014 9:14:47 PM
As my family is back I will fight for both them and the town "FREEDOM!!!!
Gersemi of Clan Turen - AKA The Gnome Wizard - AC 14 HP 19 (James D) Friday October 17th, 2014 12:12:51 AM
ooc: I just need to "try to help", I don't need to live through it...but I still want to get my revenge
The Stranger Kirill (Jeff O) Friday October 17th, 2014 4:15:02 PM
OOC: I'll be cheering you guys on, even if Kirill won't!
Matt C (DM) Friday October 17th, 2014 5:16:33 PM
Okay, I'm going to figure out some rules and procedures for a large-scale battle like this and will start posting over the weekend or on Monday.
Gersemi of Clan Turen - AKA The Gnome Wizard - AC 14 HP 19 (James D) Saturday October 18th, 2014 9:09:34 PM
Have you looked at the Pathfinder Mass Combat Rules?
Matt C (DM) Monday October 20th, 2014 10:56:35 AM
I'm going to use that rule set, it looks good.
Here is what we need to do:
You're going to get one round of ranged attack before the goblins reach the walls. Below are the stats I compiled using that rule set.
Hobgoblin Army HP: 5 ACR: 1/2 DV: 13 OM: +1
Human defenders HP: 2 ACR: 1/8 DV: 19 OM: +0
Each round, each army rolls an attack using its OM, against the opponents DV. Any damage reduces the enemies HP. First army to reach 0 HP is routed.
Captain Talfryn gives the defenders the "bloodied but unbroken" boon - at half HP, add 1 to combat attack rolls.
We'll start with a round of ranged fighting while the hobgoblins close in on the wall, then its hand-to-hand. Talfryn and Gersemi should keep an eye out for anything else that comes up.
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