It's been a month or so since you started working at the Wild H. Works been nonstop. You find out that full pay won't be coming till next summer after the spring thaw, calving and the drive to Colorado but, the pay will be good and the better you do your job the better the pay will be your're told. You find out that this is how its done on all ranches and having guaranteed food and shelter for the winter is good incentive. There's been tales of folks starving to death and worse so things are pretty good so far. Cookie Boyd, an irish fellow, keeps you fed and has a bit of sass about him that endears him to everyone he meets, plus the food isn't half bad. Boss Bennet is a quiet type but you've learned he's a fair man and hard worker. You've only seen the Henry's a couple of times. You're about 25 miles south east of the ranch and have set up camp about a mile from a small ravine with a stream. You've been working about 500 head of cattle, bringing them back to the ranch for the winter, and have 2 more herds to fetch after this one, which will take the next two weeks and about a week before the first snow, or so Boss Bennet tells you. You've settled in for a sleep before your respective shifts and rest over takes you for a bit but is broken about 2 am.
"MONSTERS! MONSTERS!" break the silence of the night. Footsteps can be heard running towards the camp. "MONSTERS!" the cry comes again. The lone campfire barely illuminates the Hispanic male that staggers into the camp. He is dressed in simple clothes with a wool jacket and wide brimmed hat. It's Migel, one of the night hearders. "BOSS" he cries out "Monsters have gotten to the herd." he says and collapses to the cold ground. Boss Bennet and others run to Migel. They turn him over and find half of an arrow sticking out of his chest. They are able to get him back to consciousness only to get him to say "Monsters attacked at the ravine and took some of the cattle." Boss Bennet turns to you:
"Get down there and see what's happening" he tells you.
At the call of "MONSTERS" Celeste rubs her eyes, not sure if the call was a nightmare or not. Recognizing Migel's voice on the second call, she decides that it is not. Running outside with the Boss in her long johns, Celeste is shocked to see the man collapse. An arrow protrudes from his chest, like some kind of awful limb. Who the hell is shootin' at our folks? She watches as the Boss treats Migel, bringing him back to consciousness. After a few quick questions, Boss demands we go out and check. Not having much in the way of options, since she was here till at least summer, and Boss controlled her food and lodging, she sprinted back to her tent. She quickly changed from her sleeping clothes to a her work clothes, a sturdy blouse, a black durable vest, riding leathers, and her rifle. You never know what kind of crazy creatures you'll find out here in this northern wilderness, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.
She quickly checks her equipment to make sure it was in good order while she waited for the others to gear up. This was a needless exercise, more of a habit, since she checked it every day, especially since pistols can be tedious to maintain if you let their maintenance slip. "Hurry up, fellas! Let's go!"
Anyone observing her would see a tall, slender woman easily mistaken as albino. Her long white hair draped down to the middle of her back. Her grey eyes are calculating and serious. All skin below her collarbone is covered, though it is form fitted enough to not be a hindrance to free movement. There is no need for strict senses of modesty out here. She taps her foot impatiently as she waits for her partners to be ready.
Val gets himself up and moving, leaving Migel to boss’s care. He gets moving after Celeste.
Val is a quiet fella’, keeps his head on his work mostly. Looks to be some sort of mixed descent, but dresses the part of a cattle man. Chaps and pants, a loose shirt, and occasional poncho. Wide brim hat kept low (no 10 gallon hat on this one). He’d be pretty ordinary looking if not for the odd short staff covered in runes and animal totems. It’s got enough chips and dark red stains on it to let you know it isn’t just ceremonial.
Keth wakes abruptly at the calls, his hand falling on his notched tomahawk. He rolled out from under his blanket and joined the commotion, looking warily at the arrow for any markings that may mean it is from a native tribe or a clan of the many savage races.
He is dressed in a light brown buttoned work shirt and blue trousers in Union blue with suspenders. He does not wear a hat but keeps his hair in thick dreadlocks with feathers and charms woven in. He secures his weapon belt on his waist, sporting two tomahawks and a long knife.
Rictor Graves shot straight upright at the sound of shouting, emerging from his slumber with a confused holler. "That's MY bread!", he blurts out before realizing that he wasn't still on the mean streets of Brooklyn anymore. He'd trained himself to wake up at a moment's notice, but after months of living the slow country life he'd let his guard down some. And some was too much. By the time he emerges from his tent he's dressed, albeit disheveled. Wavy black hair tangled in oily knots that he smoothed out as quickly as he could while his other hand beat his black bowler against his knee to remove any dust from the trail. Once suspenders had been pulled up over his burgundy leather vest and black chaps fitted over his trousers he had only one more thing left to do to complete his grooming ritual. Pulling a small container of facial hair wax out of his pocket he smooths a dollop of the stuff into his mustache, giving the ends a little twirl.
He began to head toward the source of the commotion but stops and heads back into his tent to retrieve his revolver. Buckling his gunbelt on, he pulls the simple firearm from the holster and gives it a few easy twirls on his finger. It was gunmetal black with a varnished black walnut handle and, curiously, no ammunition in the chamber. He emerges from the darkness into the lights of the others gathering around Migel as they tended to his wounds.
"Monsters, huh?" he says, looking at the arrow sticking out of Migel's flesh with raised brows. "The kind that use bows?"
It takes about 7 mintues to get everyone ready and horses saddled and ready to go.
You set out. The air is crisp and you can feel the moisture of it as you breath out. The only light you have as you go are the stars above. It's a New Moon so, the moon is not visible tonight. For those of a magical nature, the New Moon Phase does leave a bit of a chill that seems to penetrate you to the bone. Folk Lore has always talked about it but no one seems to have a real answer for the feeling but magic folk feel it.
The going is slow due to the lack of light and it takes about 45 minutes before you you start to hear the familiar sounds and smell the odor of the herd. The horses stumble a bit over rocky terrain as you plod along.
Rictor rides with many an uneasy grumble as he was wont to do. He had become a much more confident rider since taking on this job but he never enjoyed it. And neither did his horse; the beast remained the slightest bit skittish around him even to this day.
Squinting into the darkness he curses again. He could smell the earthy aroma of gathered cattle yet he couldn't see a single cow. He would have to trust his other senses - his distinctly average, human senses.
Celeste rides more confidently than Rictor, having been raised around horses, but she nonetheless is also having a fairly hard time with the darkness. With exceeding caution, she puts together the final ingredients into a small glass vial, then downs it. Almost instantly, the Nighteye takes effect, allowing her to see clearly in this utter darkness (Darkvision to 60 ft, Sensitivity to Sunlight). She takes the lead as the group heads in the direction of the ravine, warning the rest of the party of any obstacles in the way.
Nature 11
Perception 23
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Salazar - Human Warlock of the Fiend (1) - The Lucarcian Incident
Shepherd Torrent Brallern Water Genasi Druid (1) - Ekuepool
Celeste Belle - Air Genasi Mutant Blood Hunter (1) - Old West
DM: Was there anything Keth could gather from looking at the arrow?
Keth rides easily, his rifle sheathed on his horse and his war club hanging from the saddle. He sidles up beside Celeste, giving the woman a grim smile and a nod. His half breed eyes theoretically helping in the early morning darkness.
"Hopefully the herd is relatively safe. We don't want them panicking and running off," he says as they ride.
Guided by Celeste's "Night eye" your journey is a bit faster shaving 15 minutes off your time.
Keth: there was nothing you could decern from the projectile due to it sticking mostly inside Miguel.
Celeste then Rictor are the first to notice that something isn't right. The hair stands on the back of each of your necks. Celeste moves slightly to the right in the saddle as a projectile seems to fall from the sky at great speed and strike the ground 5 ft. to the right of Celeste. Celeste and Rictor realize what they felt was off was the wind currents.
All of you notice the sounds from the cattle have stopped.
Celeste's "Night eye" allows her to see something out of the ordinary. 4 winged creatures flying above with what appear to be a humanoid rider on each. Each are carrying an "Atlatl" and 3 others appear to be making a decent to launch their darts.
(Nah, init first then actions in case monsters go first etc. but may I recommend group initiatives? Have people go in pairs. Also: wtf?? Sound effects! I never thought to do that...)
When Val is up, he’ll draw out his hunting rifle and fire at one of the goblins
His attention drawn upward sharply Keth sucks in a breath at the sight. He quickly slides off his horse and draws his rifle from the saddle holster while slapping the beast to rush it out of danger.
He takes a knee and raises the barrel to the sky, attempting to shoot one of the flying mounts.
The rifles blast cut through the night air like thunder. There is a small flash of light from each of the barrels as the primer is hit causing the powder to ignite. Both Keth's and Val's shot miss.
Celeste is up. Goblins on deck. Rictor bringing up the rear
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"The hell're these things?" Celeste will quickly draw up and aim at one of the mounts as well as she rides up to them. After firing, she will dismount and try to find some kind of cover to stand behind.
Attack: 20 Damage: 39
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Salazar - Human Warlock of the Fiend (1) - The Lucarcian Incident
Shepherd Torrent Brallern Water Genasi Druid (1) - Ekuepool
Celeste Belle - Air Genasi Mutant Blood Hunter (1) - Old West
DMforA Waterdhavian Heist
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It's been a month or so since you started working at the Wild H. Works been nonstop. You find out that full pay won't be coming till next summer after the spring thaw, calving and the drive to Colorado but, the pay will be good and the better you do your job the better the pay will be your're told. You find out that this is how its done on all ranches and having guaranteed food and shelter for the winter is good incentive. There's been tales of folks starving to death and worse so things are pretty good so far. Cookie Boyd, an irish fellow, keeps you fed and has a bit of sass about him that endears him to everyone he meets, plus the food isn't half bad. Boss Bennet is a quiet type but you've learned he's a fair man and hard worker. You've only seen the Henry's a couple of times. You're about 25 miles south east of the ranch and have set up camp about a mile from a small ravine with a stream. You've been working about 500 head of cattle, bringing them back to the ranch for the winter, and have 2 more herds to fetch after this one, which will take the next two weeks and about a week before the first snow, or so Boss Bennet tells you. You've settled in for a sleep before your respective shifts and rest over takes you for a bit but is broken about 2 am.
"MONSTERS! MONSTERS!" break the silence of the night. Footsteps can be heard running towards the camp. "MONSTERS!" the cry comes again. The lone campfire barely illuminates the Hispanic male that staggers into the camp. He is dressed in simple clothes with a wool jacket and wide brimmed hat. It's Migel, one of the night hearders. "BOSS" he cries out "Monsters have gotten to the herd." he says and collapses to the cold ground. Boss Bennet and others run to Migel. They turn him over and find half of an arrow sticking out of his chest. They are able to get him back to consciousness only to get him to say "Monsters attacked at the ravine and took some of the cattle." Boss Bennet turns to you:
"Get down there and see what's happening" he tells you.
At the call of "MONSTERS" Celeste rubs her eyes, not sure if the call was a nightmare or not. Recognizing Migel's voice on the second call, she decides that it is not. Running outside with the Boss in her long johns, Celeste is shocked to see the man collapse. An arrow protrudes from his chest, like some kind of awful limb. Who the hell is shootin' at our folks? She watches as the Boss treats Migel, bringing him back to consciousness. After a few quick questions, Boss demands we go out and check. Not having much in the way of options, since she was here till at least summer, and Boss controlled her food and lodging, she sprinted back to her tent. She quickly changed from her sleeping clothes to a her work clothes, a sturdy blouse, a black durable vest, riding leathers, and her rifle. You never know what kind of crazy creatures you'll find out here in this northern wilderness, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.
She quickly checks her equipment to make sure it was in good order while she waited for the others to gear up. This was a needless exercise, more of a habit, since she checked it every day, especially since pistols can be tedious to maintain if you let their maintenance slip. "Hurry up, fellas! Let's go!"
Anyone observing her would see a tall, slender woman easily mistaken as albino. Her long white hair draped down to the middle of her back. Her grey eyes are calculating and serious. All skin below her collarbone is covered, though it is form fitted enough to not be a hindrance to free movement. There is no need for strict senses of modesty out here. She taps her foot impatiently as she waits for her partners to be ready.
Salazar - Human Warlock of the Fiend (1) - The Lucarcian Incident
Shepherd Torrent Brallern Water Genasi Druid (1) - Ekuepool
Celeste Belle - Air Genasi Mutant Blood Hunter (1) - Old West
DM for A Waterdhavian Heist
Val gets himself up and moving, leaving Migel to boss’s care. He gets moving after Celeste.
Val is a quiet fella’, keeps his head on his work mostly. Looks to be some sort of mixed descent, but dresses the part of a cattle man. Chaps and pants, a loose shirt, and occasional poncho. Wide brim hat kept low (no 10 gallon hat on this one). He’d be pretty ordinary looking if not for the odd short staff covered in runes and animal totems. It’s got enough chips and dark red stains on it to let you know it isn’t just ceremonial.
Paladin - warforged - orange
Keth wakes abruptly at the calls, his hand falling on his notched tomahawk. He rolled out from under his blanket and joined the commotion, looking warily at the arrow for any markings that may mean it is from a native tribe or a clan of the many savage races.
He is dressed in a light brown buttoned work shirt and blue trousers in Union blue with suspenders. He does not wear a hat but keeps his hair in thick dreadlocks with feathers and charms woven in. He secures his weapon belt on his waist, sporting two tomahawks and a long knife.
(Do we have horses?)
Rictor Graves shot straight upright at the sound of shouting, emerging from his slumber with a confused holler. "That's MY bread!", he blurts out before realizing that he wasn't still on the mean streets of Brooklyn anymore. He'd trained himself to wake up at a moment's notice, but after months of living the slow country life he'd let his guard down some. And some was too much. By the time he emerges from his tent he's dressed, albeit disheveled. Wavy black hair tangled in oily knots that he smoothed out as quickly as he could while his other hand beat his black bowler against his knee to remove any dust from the trail. Once suspenders had been pulled up over his burgundy leather vest and black chaps fitted over his trousers he had only one more thing left to do to complete his grooming ritual. Pulling a small container of facial hair wax out of his pocket he smooths a dollop of the stuff into his mustache, giving the ends a little twirl.
He began to head toward the source of the commotion but stops and heads back into his tent to retrieve his revolver. Buckling his gunbelt on, he pulls the simple firearm from the holster and gives it a few easy twirls on his finger. It was gunmetal black with a varnished black walnut handle and, curiously, no ammunition in the chamber. He emerges from the darkness into the lights of the others gathering around Migel as they tended to his wounds.
"Monsters, huh?" he says, looking at the arrow sticking out of Migel's flesh with raised brows. "The kind that use bows?"
It takes about 7 mintues to get everyone ready and horses saddled and ready to go.
You set out. The air is crisp and you can feel the moisture of it as you breath out. The only light you have as you go are the stars above. It's a New Moon so, the moon is not visible tonight. For those of a magical nature, the New Moon Phase does leave a bit of a chill that seems to penetrate you to the bone. Folk Lore has always talked about it but no one seems to have a real answer for the feeling but magic folk feel it.
The going is slow due to the lack of light and it takes about 45 minutes before you you start to hear the familiar sounds and smell the odor of the herd. The horses stumble a bit over rocky terrain as you plod along.
Perception Rolls and Nature Rolls please.
Rictor rides with many an uneasy grumble as he was wont to do. He had become a much more confident rider since taking on this job but he never enjoyed it. And neither did his horse; the beast remained the slightest bit skittish around him even to this day.
Squinting into the darkness he curses again. He could smell the earthy aroma of gathered cattle yet he couldn't see a single cow. He would have to trust his other senses - his distinctly average, human senses.
Perception: 17
Celeste rides more confidently than Rictor, having been raised around horses, but she nonetheless is also having a fairly hard time with the darkness. With exceeding caution, she puts together the final ingredients into a small glass vial, then downs it. Almost instantly, the Nighteye takes effect, allowing her to see clearly in this utter darkness (Darkvision to 60 ft, Sensitivity to Sunlight). She takes the lead as the group heads in the direction of the ravine, warning the rest of the party of any obstacles in the way.
Nature 11
Perception 23
Salazar - Human Warlock of the Fiend (1) - The Lucarcian Incident
Shepherd Torrent Brallern Water Genasi Druid (1) - Ekuepool
Celeste Belle - Air Genasi Mutant Blood Hunter (1) - Old West
DM for A Waterdhavian Heist
DM: Was there anything Keth could gather from looking at the arrow?
Keth rides easily, his rifle sheathed on his horse and his war club hanging from the saddle. He sidles up beside Celeste, giving the woman a grim smile and a nod. His half breed eyes theoretically helping in the early morning darkness.
"Hopefully the herd is relatively safe. We don't want them panicking and running off," he says as they ride.
Perception: 5
Guided by Celeste's "Night eye" your journey is a bit faster shaving 15 minutes off your time.
Keth: there was nothing you could decern from the projectile due to it sticking mostly inside Miguel.
Celeste then Rictor are the first to notice that something isn't right. The hair stands on the back of each of your necks. Celeste moves slightly to the right in the saddle as a projectile seems to fall from the sky at great speed and strike the ground 5 ft. to the right of Celeste. Celeste and Rictor realize what they felt was off was the wind currents.
All of you notice the sounds from the cattle have stopped.
Celeste's "Night eye" allows her to see something out of the ordinary. 4 winged creatures flying above with what appear to be a humanoid rider on each. Each are carrying an "Atlatl" and 3 others appear to be making a decent to launch their darts.
Initiative please.
Rictor Initiative: 9
Initiative: 19
Val initiative 17
Paladin - warforged - orange
Celeste Initiative 13
Salazar - Human Warlock of the Fiend (1) - The Lucarcian Incident
Shepherd Torrent Brallern Water Genasi Druid (1) - Ekuepool
Celeste Belle - Air Genasi Mutant Blood Hunter (1) - Old West
DM for A Waterdhavian Heist
Goblins: 10
Order:
Keth: 19
Val: 17
Celeste: 13
Goblins: 10
Rictor: 5
Everyone's attention is drawn to the sky above as you all hear this sound :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5oStSmbpAk
(OCC: Sorry for the quality and last minute use of the sound. I will try to find some better sound effects for the game)
What are your actions?
(OCC SORRY, should have had everyone post actions with initiative rolls..still working out the kinks :D)
(Nah, init first then actions in case monsters go first etc. but may I recommend group initiatives? Have people go in pairs. Also: wtf?? Sound effects! I never thought to do that...)
When Val is up, he’ll draw out his hunting rifle and fire at one of the goblins
Attack: 7 Damage: 13
Paladin - warforged - orange
His attention drawn upward sharply Keth sucks in a breath at the sight. He quickly slides off his horse and draws his rifle from the saddle holster while slapping the beast to rush it out of danger.
He takes a knee and raises the barrel to the sky, attempting to shoot one of the flying mounts.
Rifle Attack: 13 Damage: 19
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD8Q1kp3n4g
The rifles blast cut through the night air like thunder. There is a small flash of light from each of the barrels as the primer is hit causing the powder to ignite. Both Keth's and Val's shot miss.
Celeste is up.
Goblins on deck.
Rictor bringing up the rear
"The hell're these things?" Celeste will quickly draw up and aim at one of the mounts as well as she rides up to them. After firing, she will dismount and try to find some kind of cover to stand behind.
Attack: 20 Damage: 39
Salazar - Human Warlock of the Fiend (1) - The Lucarcian Incident
Shepherd Torrent Brallern Water Genasi Druid (1) - Ekuepool
Celeste Belle - Air Genasi Mutant Blood Hunter (1) - Old West
DM for A Waterdhavian Heist