Bliss / CatBliss (AC24, CMD28, HP86of86) (Cayzle) d20+10=12 ; d20+18=28 ; Monday April 30th, 2018 10:57:17 AM
Bliss is alarmed by the sightings of Tall Men, but they seem to have learned their lesson, and Bliss is relieved that they decide not to attack.
That morning, Bliss does his usual gathering of Woldsblood -- some for the Fey Queen, some for his daily spells. That's a concentration check (1d20+7+3 for Bliss) usually vs DC14, but here in the Sargrass within the Valleys of Twilight, that's a DC9! ... Bliss rolls a 12 and succeeds without mishap. For a moment Bliss thinks it all goes wrong, but then realizes that he is fine!
=====
On his own, Bliss performs the Ritual of Grimalkin that he uses daily to give himself the ability to change into a housecat at will. The Handle Animal DC is 20, and he has +18 on the check with Auntie Pot's help. A 28 shows that he can change shape at will as usual!
When Pressi is ready, Bliss joins in the witch ritual of sharing. that the two do every day. Bliss leads, since even with his soul shaken, he has a slightly better chance of success. Bliss is a +22, +1 for Auntie Pot, +1 for Harper, and +5 for Pressi, for a +29, and the ritual cannot fail.
If Pressi agrees, Bliss casts an Extended Shield of Faith for himself, Pressi, and Harper to share. It offers a +3 deflection bonus for a total of 14 minutes, or 46 rounds each, to use across the day.
=====
Finally, as usual, Bliss completes his daily prep by casting the Threefold Aspect spell that allows him to tap the energy of youth, granting a +2 to Dex and Con, at a cost of a -2 to Wisdom.
=====
When it is time to travel, Bliss changes into a cat and takes his place at the prow of the ship. When it gets hot, he casts Rose's Temperature Control to keep cool.
OOC: An earlier version of this post included a catastrophic failure of Woldsblood handling, but thanks to a situational mod that kindly DM Carl reminded me of, that did not happen after all! Whew!
Pressi (Melvin) - AC 21, HP 78/83, CMD 20; Harper-AC 21, HP 61, CMD 23; Followers d20+12=25 ; d20+7=16 ; Monday April 30th, 2018 2:25:52 PM
(Sense Motive: No Fail)
Pressi can tell that the Tall Man is just playing with them and uncharacteristically wants to be seen. (One doesn't need a sense motive roll to know that. It's clearly acting differently from the last Tall Man we encountered and from Pressi's knowledge report about how it tries to stay camouflaged as much as possible and tends to avoid confrontation.)
Finally better, Pressi and Murphy sit together for the last shift of the morning, simply watching the sunrise and enjoying each others company. Pressi avoids mentioning the danger they both felt or still face, the danger they already faced several times and have gotten used to. There isn't much beyond that life of an adventurer at this point except to keep an eye on the sunrise.
Besides, both of them have cut it well closer than that.
-----------------
At the end of her shift, Pressi joins Bliss for the Woldsblood catch (passes easily) and the sharing ritual (not having any better ideas at the moment).
Like Bliss, she casts Rose Control twice (for herself and Harper) to endure the elements but can't really help others.
She performs her own basic daily ritual, again of survival. But without her followers, she once again falls short, and once again curses out her low survival points.
With the others busy, she sets off to perform a spell of scrying, in an attempt to locate the monks. Using the tapestry as a focus, she reaches out to see if she can reach the people of that group, and immediately after casting surrender blood upon herself to boost the caster level.
(Will DC=19, They get +1 to save (+5 secondhand, -4 possession)) If it succeeds, Pressi casts message through the scrying.
---------------
failed ritual of warding (-1 to saves from spells) shield of faith
L1 - 3 L4 - 1
Pressi (Melvin) - AC 21, HP 78/83, CMD 20; Harper-AC 21, HP 61, CMD 23; Followers Monday April 30th, 2018 2:31:17 PM
Bliss reminded me....
Pressi casts, before the various rituals, Threefold Aspect on herself and makes herself a crone. The +4 to Int and Wis means that her ritual of warding succeeds (since she can raise her survival enough) and her will save is actually 21.
Hobie Browncloak (Nick T) HP 82/82 AC 25 CMD 27 Hero Points 2 Non-Lethal Damage:2 Monday April 30th, 2018 7:24:42 PM
Hobie keeps his bow trained on the tall man for the duration of his watch, ready to loose an arrow should the foul creature approach.
When the heat begins to be unbearable, Hobie will use his wand of Endure Elements to give himself 24 hours of comfort. (Please let me know how many days we travel so i know how many charges to mark)
Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 24 (27 vs. Tall Man 1?), HP 106/109, CMD 24, Endure Elements; Rumpus - AC 26, HP 62/62, CMD 24 Monday April 30th, 2018 11:58:03 PM
Kezzem casts endure elements on himself and shares it with Rumpus.
OOC: Succotash, Paladins can share your spells with their mount, so you can cover yourself and Miss Piggy with a single casting.
Having heard from others about catching glimpses of Tall Men, when he catches one revealing himself, he calls out, rapidly but with clear diction in several languages: Sylvan; Common; Druidic; Terran; Aquan; Giant; Ignan; Elf; Auran. He says, each time: "Let us talk, Tall Man. Can we help each other?" He does succeed by a fair margin at sensing motive (23). Regardless the motive, he still voices his offer. He tells Pressi, and later the others as they awaken, what he sensed.
He lifts up prayers first to Eberyon, and Flower, then to Pantheon, and several others. He asks for wisdom, direction, power, discernment, and help needed to do what Humble's Sword might to save the Wold, including this separated portion of their world.
He takes time to memorize spells, and to change out some for others. [Am redoing spell selection offline, should have updated by tomorrow, and will adjust CS at that time.]
He asks Hobie if he would be so kind as to use his wand of endure elements for him and for Kezzem. "That will free up a spell slot for me to give us more alternatives."
When Pressi goes into crone mode, Murphy says, "I love your fresh wrinkles, dear."
"So, shall we proceed first to the clearing, then onward to where we can see the buildings?" he inquires of the group. "What might your scrying have revealed, Pressi?"
"Oh, also, I can use control winds to give us a boost in the right direction," he adds. ====== Perception: 40
DM Carl is back in the saddle again Tuesday May 1st, 2018 10:20:01 AM
Humble's Sword performs its morning rituals. Bliss is fairly certain that he'd have messed up his daily Woldsblood drawing back in Humble's Ford, but luckily the stuff is darn-right cooperative here on the Sargrass. Pressi decides it's a day for looking old, and Kezzem teaches Succotash the finer points of life as a paladin.
Murphy attempts to call out to the Tall Man. He's completely unable to read the thing's face due to the dark and distance, but no attempts at parlay are made, so...probably not feeling like chatting.
Sense motive, DC 25, Highlight to display spoiler: {though intelligent, the Tall Man is still an apex predator in the Sargrass. It likely considers you food. Troublesome food. Uppity food, but food nonetheless.}.
The party gets themselves comfortable on the boat.
OOC: Were accommodations made for Miss Piggy? It's doubtful there's room on the boat for a riding pig, and there's no way they could keep up. If not, I'm waving my DM magic wand and saying it "just works" since we're on a time table here with the rest of the Wold.
With Murphy's ability to control the wind, good progress is made. None of Humble's Sword can sailor well, but so long as the weather's clear and Murphy can provide a steady breeze, anyone could pilot the boat.
There is no sign of the Tall Man throughout the day. The clearing is reached, providing a good stopping place for lunch should our intrepid adventurers wish it.
It's evening by the time you arrive at the buildings you've been seeing in the distance. Now that you can reach out and touch them, it seems they were built in similar style to those in Rattledam, but not nearly as artfully. They're not quite ramshackle, but they weren't built to last either. This was probably an outpost of some type, though it's reason for being is not readily apparent. Exposure to the elements has weathered their exteriors, but not to the point where they're structurally unsound. Seven buildings stand in total. Four of them look to be communal lodging, one bears a large symbol of Pantheon, and the other two? Who knows. They'll need to be looked at.
The grasses are cleared around the buildings, but only about 10' from the outermost ones. It looks like they were once cleared further than that, but the grasses have been reclaiming the area. A few more months and they'll probably swallow the entire settlement.
There's roughly an hour before sunset.
Bliss / CatBliss (AC24, CMD28, HP86of86) (Cayzle) d20+26=46 ; d20+20=28 ; Tuesday May 1st, 2018 11:15:17 AM
Bliss has a suggestion -- Maybe Mister Murphy can cast Reduce Animal to give Miss Piggie a smaller footprint?
At the outpost, Bliss scouts around the outside of the other buildings -- in cat form -- and reports back -- in halfling form. He detects magic too.
Stealth: 46 Perception: 28
Succotash Slenderstick and Miss Piggy AC 26 / CMD 26 - HP 91/91, Missy Piggy AC 27 / CMD 23 - HP 87/87 d20=7 ; d20=4 ; d20=3 ; d20=17 ; Tuesday May 1st, 2018 1:25:51 PM
As a paladin of Pantheon, Succotash heads directly to the building with the Pantheon holy symbol. He has Twinklesting in his hand, and Miss Piggy by his side. While in route, he is trying to take in the sites, and looking out for enemies. Succotash’s perception is 7+6=13, and Miss Piggy’s perception is 4+7=11. He is also trying to move stealthily Succotash rolled a 3+4=7, Miss Piggy rolled a 17+ 6=23.
Succotash curses his choice in armor.
Pressi (Melvin) - AC 21, HP 78/83, CMD 20; Harper-AC 21, HP 61, CMD 23; Followers d20+21=23 ; d20+24=37 ; d20+9=18 ; d20+21=30 ; d20+6=10 ; Tuesday May 1st, 2018 2:55:35 PM
(As per DM's question: Ken left it that the boat can hold paladin mounts and witch familiars but not normal mounts or other non-class feature animals.)
Pressi actually fails to meet the sense motive on the creature, and congratulates Murphy on a good try. As to his comment of her age, "Aww, that's so extremely weird."
Since she lacked the time for scrying (in that case, I'm taking the spell back), she instead spends her time thinking through strategies and of course lunch.
Not really wanting to split the party, Pressi holds Succotash back until Bliss returns. WIth an hour before sundown, Pressi does follow him to the Pantheon building (stealth 37, harper stealth 18), trying her best to spot traps among other things (Perception 30, Harper smell perception 10). Like Bliss, she also casts detect magic
---------------
ritual of warding (+1 to AC, saving throws) (all day) shield of faith (20 rounds each) rose temp control (both as if endure elements) threefold aspect elderly: +2 Int (doesn't stack with headband), +4 Wis, -2 to Str, Dex (-1 to AC, attack rolls, reflex, +2 to DCs) threefold plus warding (no change to AC, reflex, -1 to attack rolls and damage, +1 to con checks, spell DCs, +2 to will saves, will and int skills, extra L1 spell)
L1 - 2 L4 - 1
Hobie Browncloak (Nick T) HP 82/82 AC 25 CMD 27 Hero Points 2 Non-Lethal Damage:2 Tuesday May 1st, 2018 3:24:41 PM
Hobie will go along with the group to the Pantheon building. He stays toward the back of the group, and lets the Paladin of Pantheon lead on.
Succotash Slenderstick and Miss Piggy AC 26 / CMD 26 - HP 91/91, Missy Piggy AC 27 / CMD 23 - HP 87/87 Tuesday May 1st, 2018 5:02:30 PM
Succotash agrees with Pressi that waiting for Bliss’s return is for the best. He blames his lack of experience at working with a party for his absent mindedness.
Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 24 (27 vs. Tall Man 1?), HP 106/109, CMD 24, Endure Elements; Rumpus - AC 26, HP 62/62, CMD 24 Tuesday May 1st, 2018 6:30:29 PM
Correction: Kezzem just casts endure elements on himself. I was using the 3.5 rules for shared spells and was not aware they were changed for Pathfinder.
Since Kezzem can summon Rumpus to him magically summon him to his side when needed, Rumpus was not on the boat but remained with the rest of the party's mounts.
DM Carl is back in the saddle again Tuesday May 1st, 2018 8:51:18 PM
OOC: If Ken already ruled the paladin mounts could come along w/o issue, I'm not going to counter it. I am ok with ret-conning here and saying Rumpus and whatever other named mounts you folks have are along for the ride.
...and FYI, both Ken and myself had to take our turn at the DM table this module w/ very little advanced knowledge due to life circumstances. Hopefully in the future the hand-off will be more smooth & at appropriate times in the module.
Murphy finds the tall man's obscured visage inscrutable - but he does not like the creature much.
As they travel, Murphy agains asks Hobie if he can receive an endure elements spell from his wand.
He helps his companions enjoy a decent lunch at the clearing, pulling out some of his supplies of food and cooking gear.
The druid is attentive around the buildings. He evaluates the local plant life. He listens, trying to ascertain whether there is anyone moving around the area beside his companions.
He figures he'll see how the newcomer plans to do things. ======== Sense motive (tall man): 10 Perception (in area of buildings): 36
Succotash Slenderstick and Miss Piggy AC 26 / CMD 26 - HP 91/91, Missy Piggy AC 27 / CMD 23 - HP 87/87 Wednesday May 2nd, 2018 5:24:05 AM
If Hobie can’t help Murphy out for whatever reason, Succotash would be more than happy to prepare Endure Elements a third time each day, and cast it on Murphy.
DM Carl is back in the saddle again Wednesday May 2nd, 2018 11:16:05 AM
On padded paw, Bliss is nigh-undetectable. His keen eyes shinning in the darkness, he moves from building to building looking for anything of importance, that is dangerous, that is magical, and probably anything that's shiny as well.
This is what he learns:
The buildings that appeared to be lodging are just that. They are hastily constructed and contain just a large common room with 6 cots each. A woven grass screen in the corner of each provided some privacy for natural functions, but other than that they're just austere barracks. There is little sign of whoever used these. Any personal storage space that may have existed is gone, leaving just the screens and cots.
One of the buildings was a combination mess hall/kitchen. A large cooking pot is still hanging over a long cold fire-pit and a few sealed barrels of *something* have been left behind. Bliss's sensitive nose tells him they probably contain dried & salted meat. Two rows of wooden tables and benches take up most of the space in this building. A tray of crude wooden utensils rests on the end of each table.
The other mystery building holds about a dozen writing desks. Hovering above each desk is a very feint glowing orb that radiates minor evocation magic. Touching (or pawing, as the case may be) one causes it to glow brightly, illuminating the desk it floats over. Touching it again turns it off. Each desk still contains a supply of ink and pens, as well as several rolls of blank paper. However, whatever it was they were writing here is gone. One wall is dominated by a large cabinet with dozens of cubbyholes, but they're all empty.
Meanwhile, the rest of Humble's Sword waits for their friend to finish his rounds. Murphy checks on local plants, but doesn't find anything out of place or any strange movements.
With Bliss' scouting done, the party explores the temple. It contains an altar & about six rows of pews - nothing fancy. Hanging from the ceiling is a woven tapestry bearing the symbol of Pantheon. It's masterfully woven from many different species of sargrass, which is no small task considering how varied the grasses are. Whomever wove it was a master of the art, and the result is probably worth some coin, though transporting it would be a challenge. The different properties of so many different types of grass mean it can't simply be rolled up and tucked away. It's roughly 6'x6' and would need to be transported flat. It radiates no magic.
A single door leads to a back office with only a simple desk and chair. Embedded in the desk is a large spike that Bliss can immediately recognize as the dismembered arm of a Thin Man. The drawers of the desk are open, and the former contents strewn about the room. Bliss spies a rolled, wax-sealed scroll under the desk. It details the final days before Maab whisked away the survivors of the events that ripped the Sargrass from the Wold. The last bit sounds important:
The Sargrass has been home to our order for longer than our recorded history tell us, and while we praise Maab for showing mercy and rescuing us from it's collapse, I'm afraid many of our number grows bitter. Even I am tempted to succumb to self-pity, but have faith that in time we'll find a way to return. At least our expedition here succeeded, and the heart of the crystal mountains is safe.
At Marcus' insistance, I am leaving behind a shard here in my office. I question the wisdom of doing so, but cannot deny the boy's gift for divination. I can only have faith that Pantheon speaks truly through him...
There is an aura of...some sort of magic. It doesn't match any school Bliss, Pressi, or anyone else is aware of. It seems to be just a lingering effect. The source of the aura is no longer here.
Using his Detect Magic, his scent, and spellcraft (rolled a 31), Bliss tries to track the odd magic aura. Was it moved? Where has it gone?
"If a Thin Man teleported it out, then it will be awful hard to find," he says.
"Wowsy, I don't have any magic to find it," Bliss says sadly. "Mister Murphy, can you Commune with Nature to see if this odd magic aura is anywhere around?"
Succotash Slenderstick and Miss Piggy AC 26 / CMD 26 - HP 91/91, Missy Piggy AC 27 / CMD 23 - HP 87/87 Wednesday May 2nd, 2018 1:19:15 PM
Is anyone able to enlighten me as to what the heart of the Crystal Mountains is? Succotash asks, or are you all as clueless as me? While you’re at it, does anyone have a guess as to what the shard is, because I’m guessing it’s important, and maybe we should try to find it.
He also suggests spending the night here.
Pressi (Melvin) - AC 21, HP 78/83, CMD 20; Harper-AC 21, HP 61, CMD 23; Followers Wednesday May 2nd, 2018 2:51:47 PM
"Well, I did promise you an explanation," Pressi replied to Succotash. "We do in theory know a tad more than you do, and this seems like as good as any a time for a recap."
Pressi checks her notes and begins again.
"A while back, while your group was galavanting around here, our world's strange Woldsblood and Goddess stuff have been resulting in... well, me and Bliss for starters. I used to be a quite non-arcane monk and Bliss, witch as he was, certainly didn't run around as a cat. But that was just the beginning of strange visions and ethereal sightings of demons and fire elementals. You know, chaos and entropy. Also, our town got cut off for a while, we battled some creatures, I had some visions of the sleeper mountain ve'el - another witch god, fun stuff really. Doom of the World, fires through the streets, cats and dogs living in (red eyed) harmony, you get the picture. Oh, and lets not forget the meteors. They are kind of important. Lets see, battle, battle, transport to another justicar with weirdly similar build, meeting with jerk, other meeting with jerk, ok, here we go....
"We came here through the Vale of Twilight after meeting with a Manfri called Sir Not Going to Try Remembering the Name. I remember he was kind of a jerk. Anyway, boss man explained how we are being rained upon by pieces of Crystal Mountains, and how among other fun stuff its replacing sargrass with bloodweed... Anyway, the Crystal Mountain also grows these shards of crystals called... Crystal Shards... shut up, I didn't come up with the name.... The Mountain produces these crystal shards and we are supposed to collect them. Except we can't even find them unless we find these monks that have been studying them. Oh, and only they know how to remove them without splintering them.
"So to make a long and boring story slightly less longer and more boring, we need to find the monks, find and remove the crystals, use the books the Manfri gave us for the cleansing ritual, and then blow the horn when we are ready to return. And then hopefully we figure out how to use the crystals to save the world and the world in turn buys our merchandising. Simple enough, right? Well, except that these diviners really didn't do a fantastic job of leaving behind a forwarding address or, you know, any notes. Who could have seen that coming. Which is why I am collecting whatever tapestries and notes I can find. If you have any further questions, please keep them to yourself."
(OOC - will post the rest of my move separately)
Succotash Slenderstick and Miss Piggy AC 26 / CMD 26 - HP 91/91, Missy Piggy AC 27 / CMD 23 - HP 87/87 Wednesday May 2nd, 2018 5:26:05 PM
So you’re saying we are on a desperate quest to save the world, and we’re not exactly sure as to how to do it, sounds fun (he says giving a sarcastic thumbs up).
You know life was a lot easier when you only needed to kill something to save the day!!!
Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 24 (27 vs. Tall Man 1?), HP 106/109, CMD 24, Endure Elements; Rumpus - AC 26, HP 62/62, CMD 24 Wednesday May 2nd, 2018 7:02:58 PM
Remembering what happened at the last temple of Pantheon, Kezzem actives his detecto evilo vision to see if any mischief is afoot!
"Also, I died and became a paladin," says Kezzem to the new guy. "Got to chat up Gargul and everything when I was dead. Have you met Pantheon?" Before he can answer. "Yeah, I didn't think so."
Pressi (Melvin) - AC 21, HP 78/83, CMD 20; Harper-AC 21, HP 61, CMD 23; Followers d20+4=13 ; Wednesday May 2nd, 2018 10:00:57 PM
If Pressi is allowed to visit the mess hall first, she checks to see if she can make anything from the barrels that are left (Profession Check 13).
I assume the group as a whole is ignoring the writing desk building for now but Pressi mentions a desire to visit the building later.
As for the temple....
Pressi tries to think of a time when Humble's Sword could save the day merely by killing the right something. It seemed almost a joke premise, like saving the day by stamp collecting.
Pressi tries to figure out how to remove the tapestry but no good ideas come to mind. (She does have a wild thought that maybe it was the shard, making the removal impossible.)
In the office, Pressi casts detect magic and follows it up with see invisibility (her domain spell).
Murphy says, HOBIE. Hobie Hobie H-O-B-I-E! Hey, [/i]Hobie![/i] Do I have your attention for a moment, buddy?" He has made a request of the Hobes a few times already today. He repeats it for what seems to him to be the umpteenth time, "CAN YOU CAST ENDURE ELEMENTS ON ME, Pretty Please, with your wand?" He thanks Succotash for being willing to learn the spell in future days, but says he'll see if Hobie's ears will work well enough to share from the wand for the time being.
If there still seems to be a deafness toward his request, he says again,
HEY, H O B I E ! ! !
Then again asks, "Um, can you use your wand to cast endure elements on me? Thanks!"
[OOC: Please, everyone, read what others write in their posts. Some of it may pertain to you :-) Really, Nick, Murph would have pestered Hobie about this matter earlier in the day, before we even reached the clearing, let alone the settlement, as he does not want to become a sweatball. Also, neither Murphy nor I are upset - just trying to communicate!]
======
At the table, and after closely examining the notes left behind, and hearing Bliss's request, Murphy says, "Maybe not a bad idea, Bliss. Yes, I can attempt to commune with nature, and reach out to discern whether the mentioned shard is within reach - within about ten miles, that is."
Before he does so, though, he asks Pressi, "Uh, which ones were the jerks you referred to?" Aside from those references, he finds her coverage of past events leading up to the present quite cogent, and hope it helps Succotash gain some understanding. He adds a few comments here and there to help fill in any small gaps which may matter.
He does not insert himself into the paladinic posturing.
He also says, regarding the beautiful tapestry, "It may be a real challenge to transport, but that would be wonderful to have at our new outpost outside Humble's Ford, at the shrine for Pantheon that will be built, in the midst of other shrines to those who watch over us from above."
Then he tells his companions, "This spell will take me about ten minutes for me to do. So, please make sure that no tall man tries to carry me away."
Murphy casts commune with nature. He seeks to learn the whereabouts of the crystal shard. If he manages to find it in his divination, he also tries to learn who or what may be in possession of it, and details of its present locale. If he does not manage to find it, then he tries to discern whether there are tall men in the vicinity, and where. If this second mental outreach turns up blank, finally he seeks any other evidence of the presence of Manfri within ten miles. ==== General Perception: 33
DM Carl is back in the saddle again d20+28=36 ; Thursday May 3rd, 2018 10:44:17 AM
Bliss looks around, trying to see if he can follow the magic aura. He can't. Likely whatever caused the aura sat here for a while. He suggests Murphy commune with nature.
Succotash asks to be filled in on what's going on. Pressi is able to fill him in and lament about being unable to just finish off a bad guy to complete a quest. If only life were so simple.
She finds enough preserved meat and vegetables to make a passable meal. Since there's plenty of create water spells around, a stew would likely be her best bet.
Kezzem gets a solid dig in on Succotash.
Murphy flails around trying to get Hobie to notice him, and comments on the tapestry. He heads outside to commune with nature, since the spell doesn't work inside the settlement. Surrounded by grass and (hopefully) guarded by his companions, he reaches out and allows his consciousness to join the Sargrass. He's struck by an alien, uncomfortable feeling. He perceives the world around him tinted red, grasses suddenly thrashing with an angry intelligence. It is beautiful, spoiled only by this settlement and his companions.
Murphy, will save DC 15 or your attitude towards your companions falls to indifferent. Fail by 5 or more and it falls to hostile. The effect will last until the spell is complete, +1 minute for however much you failed the check by.
There are other lifeforms out in the grasses, but only one of them walks upright. Your spell loses touch with him as he enters the settlement.
Sure enough, the Thin Man leaps onto the roof of the mess hall, a large crystal wrapped in its tendril arm.
OOC: None of the perception checks beat his stealth check.
Finally, Murphy gets his wish as the thing speaks (in Sylvan).
"Looking for this?" It holds out the crystal. "You can have it. All I need from you is a sacrifice." He points his spiked arm straight at Kezzem. "This one killed one of us. Hand him over."
Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 24 (27 vs. Tall Man 1?), HP 106/109, CMD 24, Endure Elements; Rumpus - AC 26, HP 62/62, CMD 24 Thursday May 3rd, 2018 12:33:19 PM
"Hey, why's he pointing at me?" asks Kezzem. "Doesn't he know that's rude?"
Succotash Slenderstick and Miss Piggy AC 26 / CMD 26 - HP 91/91, Missy Piggy AC 27 / CMD 23 - HP 87/87 Thursday May 3rd, 2018 1:19:43 PM
Not understanding a word the tall man said, Succotash and Miss Piggy step closer to Kezzem, and says in a very sarcastic way, “I’m not sure why, but I don’t think he likes you”. Both Succotash and Miss Piggy ready an action, if the tall man or any other hostiles come within striking distance, they will attack.
Succotash Slenderstick and Miss Piggy AC 26 / CMD 26 - HP 91/91, Missy Piggy AC 27 / CMD 23 - HP 87/87 d20=20 ; d20=20 ; Thursday May 3rd, 2018 1:23:37 PM
Succotash and Miss Piggy roll perception looking for other new threats Succotash 20+6=26, Miss Piggy 20+7=27
Murphy walks back to the clearing, and replies in Sylvan, Let me tell my companions of your offer.
He tells them in common, thinking to himself that some day he is going to have to further persuade Bliss to learn the halfling tongue, "The tall man offers us the crystal shard, in exchange for a sacrifice. Please, don't anyone take action against him, and let us see if we can avoid bloodshed. He wants you," he says, looking at Kezzem. "I shall offer him myself."
Then he returns his attention to the tall man. [i]"It was one of you who attacked us without warning, without provocation. We were defending ourselves. Your companion drew our blood. My friend then drew his blood.
"We do not seek to kill where we can avoid it. But he wounded more than one of us, and it seemed clear he was trying to take our lives. I am sorry that he chose to attack us, and thus his life ended. Already another of yours nearly killed another of us.
"However, I have a proposal. I shall offer myself in his place. Rather than kill me, though, there is something I can do which may return his soul to you, but in another body. There is a ritual which I may perform in the morning, to bring him back to you. We can stand as enemies, or, if you are willing, we might be able, not to undo what has been done, but rather, to bring back your friend in some form.
"So, I go with you. The shard you give to my friends. I tell you this, that shard can play a role in saving the Wold, in saving the Sargrass. If you do this, then I will do as I have told you. What do you say?"
As he speaks, he communicates telepathically with Pressi, so that she may understand his thoughts.
Murphy Leafwin Pipewood Druid 10a (Kim) AC 23 HP 80/80 d20+13=28 ; d20+25=34 ; d20+15=20 ; d20+7=18 ; Thursday May 3rd, 2018 2:22:47 PM
Roll with prior post - Will save: 26/15 New rolls which may pertain to above post: Diplomacy: 28 Perception: 34 Knowledge, Nature: 20 Sense Motive: 18
Pressi (Melvin) - AC 21, HP 83, CMD 20; Harper-AC 21, HP 61, CMD 23; Followers; crone d20+21=41 ; Thursday May 3rd, 2018 5:13:17 PM
Pressi is less than thrilled at the sight of the Tall Man or about Murphy's attempts at making a deal, but she isn't about to blow whatever he is trying. "Uh, yeah, sure, we'll get right on it," she muttered in halfling. "Why don't you have them leave their location information so we can interrupt them during dinner."
She messages back that she doesn't really trust this tall man, or thinks that her reincarnation spell will be seen as a good deal. But if he wants to try to get that shard on the ground and if it's less than five pounds, she could mage hand it. "Oh, and tell him that we were just getting some ambiance going."
Pressi casts a round or two of dancing lights in an attempt to find the creature (Perception 41) and readies the Blink spell if the creature attacks.
Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 24 (27 vs. Tall Man 1?), HP 106/109, CMD 24, Endure Elements; Rumpus - AC 26, HP 62/62, CMD 24 Thursday May 3rd, 2018 5:14:13 PM
"Well tell him I'm flsttered but dont swing that way."
Hobie Browncloak (Nick T) HP 82/82 AC 25 CMD 27 Hero Points 2 Non-Lethal Damage:2 Friday May 4th, 2018 11:10:13 AM
(sorry, I have been out of commission, but Hobie would absolutely have offered endure elements to any who wanted. I mentioned that in my previous posts where I used the wand, but forgot to mention it this time)
Hobie Browncloak (Nick T) HP 82/82 AC 25 CMD 27 Hero Points 2 Non-Lethal Damage:2 d20+18=33 ; d20+18=37 ; d20+18=30 ; d20+13=23 ; d6+10=13 ; d6=6 ; d6+10=15 ; d6=4 ; d6+10=12 ; d6=5 ; d6+10=15 ; d6=5 ; d6+10=12 ; d6=3 ; Friday May 4th, 2018 11:38:13 AM
I have to ask, when the tall man is speaking to Murphy in Sylvan, is he visible to all of us, or is he invisible?
Nick knows that negotiation seems to be the best course of action here, so I'm really sorry if Hobie screws things up, but one of these guys brought Hobie literally one turn away from death. If this guy appeared in front of him speaking in a language Hobie doesn't understand, Hobie would not think about negotiations before firing a full round of arrows at him.
So, if Hobie CAN see the guy:
He simultaneously clicks the heels of his boots as he takes two arrows from his quiver. He proceeds to fire as many arrows as he possibly can in one 6 second burst.
Many Shot Attack=33 Damage =13 Piercing + 6 Fire, 15 Piercing +4 Fire
Bliss listens intently. He speaks Sylvan, of course -- it is his Lady's language. And he nods when Murphy speaks Halfling -- he's managed to pick up enough of that tongue over the years. "Keep him talking, Mister Murphy," says Bliss. Then he changes into a cat. That's round one.
1) Cat 2) Silent Still Barkskin 3) Silent Still Divine Favor 4) Silent Still Focused Touch of Gracelessness
If they are still talking in Round 5, Bliss charges the enemy. He raises his Shield of Faith and rages for the charge, and he uses Acrobatics to avoid AoOs on the final approach as he enters the thin man's square.
Acrobatics to avoid AoOs: 38.
Charge Attack at base +12 +2 charge +2 rage +2 divine favor is a hit on AC32.
That's a bite at base 1d3+9+1d6 +2 rage +2 divine favor inflicts 20 damage nonlethal ... plus fort save partial DC15 vs Touch of Gracelessness. That's 1d6+3 dex penalty ... rolls 5 or 2 if save plus move penalties if fail.
CatBliss's AC is 27 normally, 25 raging, 23 on the round of a raging charge.
OOC: If the fight starts early, Bliss foregoes the Touch of Gracelessness, moves into the enemy's square the same round as he casts the Divine Favor, and then makes a full attack the next round. Let me know if you want the two claw attacks.
Welp, so much for talking! d20+8=23 ; Friday May 4th, 2018 1:52:16 PM
Most of Humble's Sword starts thinking about how to handle this. Before any of them get a chance to act on those thoughts, Hobie decides he's having none of this nonsense.
(OOC: Basically, Hobie just made most of your actions not happen. Murphy doesn't get a chance to offer himself or use diplomacy, Pressi doesn't get to snark, Bliss turns into a cat, but that's it.)
A lot happens in the next couple of seconds. Hobie's arrows fly true, and before the Thin Man has a chance to act, he is fatally skewered. He drops dead from the roof of the mess hall, crystal shard rolling out of his tendriled arm.
Miss Piggy squeals loudly and Succotash, who wisely kept a look out, spots two more Thin Men behind them...then three, four...then a lot. Over a dozen of them slide forward out of the grasses surrounding the settlement. They do not look pleased. One blinks away, then appears again standing over the fallen Thin Man & the crystal. He bends and picks it up. The rest cross arms, smile (my they have a lot of teeth), and wait. It's not like our heroes have anywhere to run to.
Whatever Humble's Sword's about to do, they better do it quickly.
***
Difficult situation since we don't use initiative here in the Wold. Here's my ruling on how this plays out:
Obviously you weren't all just standing there as the Thin Man teleported and picked up the shard. We are in combat rounds, but each of you get an extra standard action. So for your next post, you can make two standard actions, one move, one swift, etc.
Bliss, you had time to turn into a cat, so you don't need to use one of your actions to do that.
Bliss casts his still silent Barkskin and Divine Favor spells. He turns on his Shield of Faith ritual ability. He moves up to 50 ft to enter the square of the nearest Thin Man, with acrobatic tumbling to avoid provoking AoOs as he gets near.
Acrobatics 38 (again)
Hobie Browncloak (Nick T) HP 82/82 AC 25 CMD 27 Hero Points 2 Non-Lethal Damage:2 d20+4=8 ; Friday May 4th, 2018 6:55:21 PM
OOC: I'm sorry that Hobie attacking disrupted what you guys were trying to do, I know that that is probably frustrating. I just don't see how Hobie wouldn't immediately attack the thing. Hobie was nearly murdered by one of these things, they showed no signs in that first fight of being anything but hungry beasts, and one appeared out of nowhere.
With an army of dozens of Thin Men coming, Hobie quickly grabs one of his scrolls of Fly and casts it on himself(Caster Level Check DC 6, Passed). He then flies directly upward about 45 feet, with his bow trained on the one grabbing the shard.
====== Rounds of Haste Used 2/10 ====== Spells Prepared Bonded Object Free Spell
Pressi (Melvin) - AC 21 (24), HP 83, CMD 20; Harper-AC 21, HP 61, CMD 23; Followers; crone d20+14=22 ; Friday May 4th, 2018 10:29:20 PM
Pressi grumbles at Hobie jumping the gun. No soup for you.
As the creature moves toward the crystal, Pressi makes an attempt to mage hand it first... and snatched it at the last second (hero point spent for +4). “Looks like you forgot to put your name on it. But don’t worry. I’m not keeping it for long...”
Pressi pulls it towards her and down... into Harper’s mouth (between the teeth). “Run,” she shouted as she cast Blink on her cat. “And can you get me a soda on the way back?”
Harper ran through the wall, phasing outside, and moved as far as she could.
Both of them activated their shield.
Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 24 (27 vs. Tall Man 1?), HP 106/109, CMD 24, Endure Elements, Shield Other (Pressi); Rumpus - AC 26, HP 62/62, CMD 24 d20+19=35 ; d20+19=22 ; d20+13=30 ; d20+13=27 ; d3+12=13 ; d3+12=15 ; d3+11=14 ; d3+10=12 ; Saturday May 5th, 2018 12:24:20 AM
"Look out and shout, people," says Kezzem. "They're angry. And they're everywhere!"
Kezzem casts shield other to protect Pressi (bonus standard action).
He then picks one thin man and activates smite evil against it (swift action) before making full attacks with his daggers (regular standard action and move action).
Attacks include Smite Evil (+3 Attack/+10 Damage) and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (-2 Attack) bonuses/penalties. Please adjust for range as needed. If he can be in melee, add 1 to hit and damage to his third and fourth attacks. Also, if the thin men are undead, evil outsiders, or dragons, Kezzem's first attack that hits will do an additional 10 damage.
#1: +1 Returning Dagger Attack: 35. Damage: 13.
#2: +1 Returning Dagger (off-hand) Attack: 22. Damage: 14. (forgot to reduce modifier for off-hand Strength)
Murphy Leafwin Pipewood Druid 10a (Kim) [Large elemental with huge bonuses? AC 29.] [Or, just halfling? AC 23] HP 80/80 d100=55 ; d20=1 ; d100=81 ; d20=6 ; Saturday May 5th, 2018 3:31:18 AM
Murphy is angry. Close to as angry as he has ever been. The druid's verbal overture to the tall man in the waning darkness before dawn was on the verge of bearing fruit now in the late afternoon. As he habitually does when on watch, he had reported what went on during his watch (except the part about holding hands with Pressi), so people - Hobie included, would know about the various visitations of the tall ones to various members of the watch, and what he said to them.
He had just now translated what the tall man said, asked people not to attack, and was about to make a proposal, and Hobie attacks. Murphy feels certain that the exchange could have been handled without further bloodshed. That the seeds of mutual respect might have here been planted between the halflings and the tall men. He figured that the one tall man on the roof of the building was not alone - there are plenty of places to hide in the nearby grass, and the creatures have some sort of dimension door capabilities. But, the plan formulating in his mind could have worked.
"We are going to have a serious discussion about leadership Real Soon Now," Murphy says. "Murder is not to be our first recourse."
With his plan shot pretty much to oblivion, he sees another opportunity. How well it might work, he does not know. He casts speak with animals, and dashes ahead to where Harper runs with the crystal shard in his teeth. "Harper, give me the shiny stick, please." He tries to grasp it (with the blinking, it may take a couple attempts to physically grasp it - rolling d100 - 50 or lower means he misses it due to its ethereal form, 51 or higher means he can grasp it as it is in its material phase. Rolled 55 - yep, chance he got it. Rolled a nat. 1 to grab - he misses. So he tries again 81 - non-ethereal. 6 on d20 - if Harper cooperates, not certain what adjustments to use for Murphy's grab attempt. Dex bonus? Attack bonus? Help me out with this one, please.
If he gets it, he slips it into his left pants pocket.
And, if he gets it, he uses a hero point to transform into as large an air elemental as he can [am not clear whether he can go huge, or just large - he does end up with huge stats]. If he fails to obtain the crystal shard from Harper, he figures that in the next instant, he is going to be surrounded by several tall men, who will try to hack him to pieces as a halfling.
Blast Hobie. Blast him. Heaven above, save Hobie, and all of us, are the current thoughts running through his mind.
DM Ken Edit Harper took off and poofed through a wall with his Blink spell. Murphy isn't going to be able to catch him in one round.
Succotash Slenderstick and Miss Piggy AC 26 / CMD 26 - HP 91/91, Missy Piggy AC 27 / CMD 23 - HP 87/87 d20=9 ; d10=1 ; d6=5 ; d6=4 ; d20=16 ; d10=10 ; d6=3 ; d6=6 ; d20=20 ; d20=16 ; d6=5 ; d6=3 ; d6=4 ; d6=3 ; d20=11 ; d6=3 ; d6=3 ; d20=10 ; d10=3 ; d6=2 ; d6=2 ; d20=6 ; d6=4 ; d6=1 ; d10=9 ; d6=1 ; d6=6 ; Saturday May 5th, 2018 7:15:08 AM
Lay of Hands: 9/9 Smite Evil: 4/4
Succotash thinks to himself, "I spend my whole life as a solo act just to join a party and die, If that isn't irony, I don't know what is, but if I'm going to die, at least I'm taking some of these evil scum with me".
Succotash yells, "Pantheon protect us!" and than goes on the offensive
Assuming he is being threatened by one of the thin men, he and Miss Piggy take a 5ft step, smite evil, and unload on the thing, Succotash: 9+19+4=32, for 1+5+4+10+10=30 damage 16+14+4=34, for 10+3+6+10+10=39 damage (Twinklesting is a +1 Holy Greatsword) Miss Piggy: 20 16+14=30 to confirm crit, for 5+3+4+3+10=25 damage 11+9=20 for 3+3+10=16 damage (Miss Piggy is wearing a +1 amulet of mighty fists) total damage:110(94 if Piggy's second atack didn't hit)
Assuming the beast is dead, they stepup to the next closest, smites evil, and attacks, using vital strike Succotash: 10+19+4=33, for 3+2+2+9+10+10=36 damage Miss Piggy: 6+14=20, for 4+1+1+6+10=22 damage
Pressi (Melvin) - AC 21 (24), HP 83, CMD 20; Harper-AC 21, HP 61, CMD 23; Followers; crone Saturday May 5th, 2018 7:55:09 AM
“No, we are not going to have a conversation about leadership,” Pressi lectures back. “We literally have this conversation once a mission. You always complain about having your unilateral plan even questioned or pushed against, even as you overrule someone else, like my plan with Harper literally this second. We tell you back that leadership doesn’t mean you get to just make these decisions and you have to defer to and trust us on occasion. And to shake things up, one of our teammates ends the conversation by leaving. After Aleah, aren’t we done with this?
“Besides, and not to defend Hobie but you didn’t actually think we’d solve this with diplomacy and my reincarnate spell, did you? It wouldn’t solve it with us and they’re as crazy as we are. At least give the guy some credit for giving us a fighting chance, even if he could have given us more.”
Pressi (Melvin) - AC 21 (24), HP 83, CMD 20; Harper-AC 21, HP 61, CMD 23; Followers; crone Saturday May 5th, 2018 8:00:11 AM
Pressi points out that the entire point of using Harper (when she could have flown it herself) was to avoid isolating or tying up a PC. (Also, Harpers base speed plus blink)
But if Murphy wants it, she flicks it to him instead. Unable to cast Blink on Murphy, she instead casts confusion on the tall men behind her.
"Granted," Murphy acknowledges at least the general sense of Pressi's point, with a bit of chagrin, as he receives the crystal shard from her, and wild shapes into an air elemental.
Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 24 (27 vs. Tall Man 1?), HP 106/109, CMD 24, Endure Elements, Shield Other (Pressi); Rumpus - AC 26, HP 62/62, CMD 24 Sunday May 6th, 2018 1:12:04 PM
"Ooo, hot potato!" says Kezzem.
Something in the corner of his mind pokes out in his consciousness.
"We have the shard. BLOW THE HORN!" Murphy shouts in halfling.
Welp, so much for talking! Sunday May 6th, 2018 11:01:53 PM
Ah, super heroes and their struggles with ego. Tale as old as time, is it not? Even our Humble adventurers are not immune, but like most heroes, they come together when it matters most.
Pressi snatches victory from the jaws of defeat..or at least the tendriled arm of defeat. A brief struggle happens, but at least those thin men don't have it. The passive, amused looks on the faces of the surrounding thin men vanish quickly after that. Maybe. Hard to tell with faces as impassive as theirs. Enemies are engaged as they close in. Our heroes are brave, but the Thin Men have numbers.
What they don't have is a magical horn to retrieve them from the Sargrass when their mission was complete. Fortunately, Humble's Sword does. The thing thunders across the plains. It is much louder than its small size seems capable of.
Immediately, 5 shafts of light descend from the sky and surround Humble's Sword. Very soon after, additional shafts descend for Rumpus and Harper. Anyone paying attention sees an additional beams come down near Rattledam, and Hobie feels an immediate sense of relief. Finally, Succotash and Miss Piggy are lit up as well; thankfully, someone up there is paying attention.
All are bodily ripped from the ground and flung skyward. It is dizzying, and distressingly nauseating. There's time enough to see the Thin Men rage as their losses go unanswered, probably forever.
The ground vanishes, left behind as this plane is exited. Next stop? Hopefully somewhere with fresher food and fewer apex predators.
***
Friends, apologies for the late weekend post. I've been in and out of the hospital with my wife, and am just exhausted. Apologies also for having to pull a DM-ex-machina here. It's not how I like to handle things, but we're on a schedule here.
I will award XP soon, but each of you has done something Hero Point worth this past module, so I'm awarding you all one each.
Succotash Slenderstick and Miss Piggy AC 26 / CMD 26 - HP 91/91, Missy Piggy AC 27 / CMD 23 - HP 87/87 Monday May 7th, 2018 5:29:50 AM
Not knowing where he is, or how he got there, well not exactly anyway, obviously he heard the horn, and he heard Murphy yell out “blow the horn”, and obviously it was magical in nature, but Succotash is still a little confused, and if he was honest, a little bummed out that he didn’t get to kill more Tall Men, but happy to be alive, he says, “Well, that was different!”.
Hobie Browncloak (Nick T) HP 82/82 AC 25 CMD 27 Hero Points 2 Non-Lethal Damage:2 Monday May 7th, 2018 7:06:22 AM
As soon as Hobie gets his wits about him he looks at his friends and says "It's not pretty, but sometimes the fastest way home is to put an arrow in somebody's neck."
Pressi (Melvin) - AC 21 (24), HP 83, CMD 20; Harper-AC 21, HP 61, CMD 23; Followers; crone Monday May 7th, 2018 1:08:44 PM
Pressi let out a little breath of relaxation. "Finally, I got what I wanted. A victory achieved without having to push our minds and bodies to their limits, but with simplicity in itself.
"... Kind of disappointing and anticlimatic, really. Oh well, if anyone asks about what we had to do to get the shard, we'll just lie about it."
Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 24 (27 vs. Tall Man 1?), HP 106/109, CMD 24, Endure Elements, Shield Other (Pressi); Rumpus - AC 26, HP 62/62, CMD 24 Monday May 7th, 2018 1:10:55 PM
As the party starts to vanish, Kezzem waves at the thin men. "So long, and thanks for all the fish!"
Kezzem stifles a burp upon re-materializing. "Oh, that's...not pleasant. Let's not do that again."
One moment ramping up to fight ---- then pulled into the air!
Bliss turns back into a halfling just so he can exclaim, "WOWSY! WHAT IS GOING ON!?!"
Grabbing at the air and gaining no purchase, he readies a Beast Shape spell in case he is dropped over water or from high enough that he can change into a bird.
Murphy Leafwin Pipewood Druid 10a (Kim) Large elemental with huge bonuses AC 29 HP 80/80 Monday May 7th, 2018 10:01:38 PM
[So, it looks like Murphy didn't use the hero point to wild shape after getting the shard, since the leopard Harper had blinked through the wall.]
"YOOOIIIINNNNKKK!" says Murphy as they are whisked skyward. "I meant, let's get the Pantheon weave, then blow the horn! Hey, which one of you blew the horn, anyway? I forgot who took it."
He looks about and listens expectantly to see how this present mode of transportation resolves itself.
Pressi (Melvin) - AC 21 (24), HP 83, CMD 20; Harper-AC 21, HP 61, CMD 23; Followers; crone Tuesday May 8th, 2018 6:23:43 AM
“Honk honk honk.”
Pressi turned around to see Harper chewing on the horn like a squeak toy and challenging Miss Piggy to a game of tug of war.. “Grr grr honk honk honk.”
(It has to be this way. Everyone else used up their actions. Also, I couldn’t think of anything funnier.)
LOG ON