This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Gerard Perception:
17
16
DMs note: Lena could probably share, but the saddles are built for 1. Plus, you probably don't want to insult your hosts.
(You all ride out and meet up with Sergeant Von Erich, Idris and Kairi. You all follow the Sergeant's lead, go at a good pace and make it to the outskirts of Hogsbottom, about halfway between Redcheek Farms and the town. You reach a point where the road splits off: To the left is Hogsbottom, to the right is Redcheek Famrs. Everyone is kind of trotting along, when Gerard stops and motions to the road leading up to the Orchards.)
"Guys! There's someone there..."
(He squints and puts his hand over his brow, blocking out some sun...)
"It's... it's a Halfling! And he's hurt!"
(The party rushes over to that side of the road. As you gallop closer, you all can now see that it is Mark, Jacob's son. Blood is pouring from a wound on his temple, his right arms is heavily bandaged, and he is on all fours, very weakly moving towards you all. Jacob rushes to his son's aid.)
"Mark! What's happened?!"
(Mark trembles as he looks up at you all.)
"Pa! Thank god... b-b-bandits. A whole mess of them. They showed up with Tapwell and his sons, tried to get in the house, but the traps and stuff we set up helped hold them off for a bit. Uncle Darius... Uncle Darius didn't make it. I'm pretty sure Cousin Bray lost his eye... there was... there was so much blood."
(Mark is trying to hold it together, but starts quietly sobbing. Jacob looks like he's about to start wailing as well, realizing things are bad, but he tries his best to put on a brave face.)
"They'll pay, son. By the gods, they'll pay."
(He turns to you all.)
"Please, we must hurry. Miss Lena, can you please take Mark with you on your horse?
(Sgt. Von Erich looks on stoically. Her only concern is completing the mission her Lord has commanded. Idris and Kairi look concerned, but are keeping their soldier’s demeanor.)
(Lena does a great job with her Medicine skills, cleaning Mark up as best as she can, fixing the bandage on the arm and cleaning up the head wound. She helps Mark up on the horse and the two settle in.
The party gets going, a sense of urgency in the air. The horses gallop at near full speed, making great time to the Manor house. The gate is busted open. You all gallop past it and head towards the House.)
Spoiler for Lena:
You're concentrating on making sure Mark stays on the horse, so you don't really notice much as you all travel towards the Manor house.
Spoiler for Nikta:
Your horse riding skills are lacking, and you start to slide off. You scramble to stay on, and somehow, someway, you end up turned around so you are looking behind the horse. So, as you gallop towards the Manor house, you see nothing but where you've been. :) LOL
Spoiler for Carxus:
As you all gallop towards the home, you pass by the charred remains of the makeshift War Wagon you saw earlier. You make your way to the Manor and you see what appears to be one of the Tapwell sons run towards the back of the house. He was probably a lookout and is going to warn his father you are here.
(You all get to the manor house and hear a loud commotion coming from the back.)
DMs note: Go ahead and give me a pre-emptive Initiative roll and tell me how you all want to proceed. Refer to the old drawing if you need to.
Can we get another lay-of-the-land map, and an indication of what the military folk are up to? Getting in their way seems foolish, not only because if anyone takes casualties, Nikta would much rather it be them than his party.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
You all are on the path around 200 feet from the manor house.
(Lena sneaks to the manor house to try to take a look around the corner, and an arrow narrowly misses her!)
Spoiler for Lena:
You managed to look around the corner and see Tex and 2 of his boys, as well as Ambrose Tapwell! You also saw one of his boys down and out, possibly unconscious, from previous fighting. They're about 200 feet down the side of the manor, so about 400 feet away from you all total.
(You all hear a familiar, gruff voice boom out from the side of the Manor, where the rest of you can't see.)
"Well, well, well... I knew we'd meet again. I can't believe I'm going to get to kill you all, and get paid to do it!"
Gerard Initiative: 18
DMs note: You've got some decisions to make as to how you all want to proceed. Strategy is key here. The Sgt and her soldiers will try to complete their orders, but may be open to listening to your suggestions.
Game mechanics spoiler, if you're so inclined to know:
This is the big battle for this story arc. It's going to be hard. I'm just saying. :)
Running up the Armor of Shadows for AC15 for 8 hours.
"Sargent, friends, perhaps we could try to surround them. If we spread out and approach from both sides of the manor, using the orchard as cover, perhaps we can maintain an upper hand and bring this situation to a conclusion with minimal bloodshed, at least on our side. Suggestions?"
(this is presuming I'm understanding the lay-of-the-land correctly, of course)
Sorry all, I feel like I threw a block in the story by not being clear. Lena peeked around that pointed part of the manor and saw what she saw. Up to her to confirm and let you guys know what she saw.
If you want to split up and have some of you go around the other side of the house, let me know how you split the party up. The NPCs will go where you guys direct them to.
"Agreed. They obviously know we're here, but they may not know how many of us there are. I'm all for flanking. Half of us around one side, half around the other."
How many soldiers are there? and is the orchard/grounds fenced in?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Jacob Bray - The Call of Lon-Dia, Human Bloodhunter 3
(Lena lets you all know that she say Tex and 2 of his boys, as well as Ambrose Tapwell, when she peeked out of the side of the manor. There was also one of Tex's boys that was hurt, possibly unconcious, on the ground.)
The fence at the gate goes all the way around the property, but the Orchard and the Cider Mill are not fenced in. If you're talking about the soldiers that were sent with you, you have the Sergeant and 2 Dwarven Soldiers at your disposal.
(You all try to work out amongst yourselves what plan of action you should follow, but you quickly find that decision being taken away from you, as from the north, Tex and 3 of his boys appear, followed by Ambrose Tapwell, who is holding an empty vial and staying out of your line of sight as much as possible, and from the south, his other 3 boys appear, with Augustus and Archie behind them, trying their best to stay covered by the house.)
Spoiler for DM:
Tex Initiative: 21
North Boys Initiative: 17
South Boys Initiative: 5
Tapwell Brothers Initiative: 17
Ambrose Initiative: 3
Sgt Von Erich Initiative: 13
Idris and Kairi Initiative: 14
DMs note: I didn't manipulate the numbers, guys, just left a bracket unclosed and had to go back and fix it. :) Also, the Tapwells all have half cover, so just be aware if you go after them, they're going to have a higher AC than you'd think.
Full Lineup for DM only:
Sgt Von Erich 22
Tex 21
Tapwell Brothers 17
Carxus 16
North Boys 14
Kairi and Idris 10
Gerard 10
Ambrose 6
South Boys 4
Nikta 3
Lena 3
(Tex and Sgt Von Erich lock eyes on each other and both look like they're filled with rage.)
"YOU!" they both exclaim at the same time. Sgt Von Erich dismounts and the 2 run at each other, weapons drawn.
SVE Attack: 8 Damage: 7
Second attack: Attack: 14 Damage: 5
(Sergeant Von Erich strikes furiously at Tex, who manages to Parry the first, but the second slash hits him in the chest...)
Tex Attack: Attack: 23 Damage: 9
2nd Attack: Attack: 9 Damage: 4
3rd Attack: Attack: 21 Damage: 5
(But he rolls with it and counters very deftly, striking the Sergeant twice with his Scimitar, but missing with his dagger! The Sgt now has a small cut across her cheek, and a more serious wound on her arm.)
"Take that, you dirty wench!"
(The Tapwell Brothers look like they're about to do something, but seem to hold back a bit.)
Carxus, you're up.
DMs note: Guys, I don't know what's happening, but every time I went in and edited some words on the description, the results of the attack rolls change. o_O I'm not doing it on purpose and not trying to do anything shady, so lets just say SVE is hit for 15 Damage and Tex takes 8, because that's what I remember the 1st rolls being. Hopefully it doesn't keep doing this.
(Despite being hidden mostly behind the house, Carxus manages to thread the needle with his Fireball and hit Ambrose Tapwell square in the chest! He goes flying back and is knocked prone.)
"DAD!"
(Augustus and Archie rush to their father's aid, helping him up and shielding him from any further damage. Tex's bandit buddies in the North get ready to attack.)
NB 1: Attack: 20 Damage: 9 on Carxus
NB 2: Attack: 12 Damage: 2 on Nikta
NB 3: Attack: 22 Damage: 2 on Gerard
(The North Boys all miss their attacks.)
"We need to take the flank out!"
(Idris and Kairi go after the South Boys by rushing to them and attacking with their melee weapons.)
Idris on SB 1: Attack: 12 Damage: 9
Kairi on SB 2: Attack: 16 Damage: 8
(Both Idris and Kairi show their skills with 2 huge hits on 2 of the South Boys, who both now look in terrible shape!)
Gerard Attack on SB 1: Attack: 15 Damage: 6
(Gerard's attack misses one of the injured South Boys.)
(Ambrose takes out a potion and drinks it, going back to full health.)
(The South Boys attack Kairi and Idris.)
SB1 on Kairi: Attack: 21 Damage: 2
SB2 on Idris: Attack: 17 Damage: 4
SB3 on Idris: Attack: 16 Damage: 3
(The South Boys all hit their attacks on Idris and Kairi, who take their slashes on the shoulders.)
Perception 1: 6
Perception 2: 1
srsly.
Jacob Bray - The Call of Lon-Dia, Human Bloodhunter 3
Gerard Perception:
17
16
DMs note: Lena could probably share, but the saddles are built for 1. Plus, you probably don't want to insult your hosts.
(You all ride out and meet up with Sergeant Von Erich, Idris and Kairi. You all follow the Sergeant's lead, go at a good pace and make it to the outskirts of Hogsbottom, about halfway between Redcheek Farms and the town. You reach a point where the road splits off: To the left is Hogsbottom, to the right is Redcheek Famrs. Everyone is kind of trotting along, when Gerard stops and motions to the road leading up to the Orchards.)
"Guys! There's someone there..."
(He squints and puts his hand over his brow, blocking out some sun...)
"It's... it's a Halfling! And he's hurt!"
(The party rushes over to that side of the road. As you gallop closer, you all can now see that it is Mark, Jacob's son. Blood is pouring from a wound on his temple, his right arms is heavily bandaged, and he is on all fours, very weakly moving towards you all. Jacob rushes to his son's aid.)
"Mark! What's happened?!"
(Mark trembles as he looks up at you all.)
"Pa! Thank god... b-b-bandits. A whole mess of them. They showed up with Tapwell and his sons, tried to get in the house, but the traps and stuff we set up helped hold them off for a bit. Uncle Darius... Uncle Darius didn't make it. I'm pretty sure Cousin Bray lost his eye... there was... there was so much blood."
(Mark is trying to hold it together, but starts quietly sobbing. Jacob looks like he's about to start wailing as well, realizing things are bad, but he tries his best to put on a brave face.)
"They'll pay, son. By the gods, they'll pay."
(He turns to you all.)
"Please, we must hurry. Miss Lena, can you please take Mark with you on your horse?
DM - Tomb of the Delian Order One-Shot (Level 1)
Natasha - The Call of Lon-Dia Human Rogue (Level 4)
Does the Sargent express any sense of urgency or shock?
Jacob Bray - The Call of Lon-Dia, Human Bloodhunter 3
(Sgt. Von Erich looks on stoically. Her only concern is completing the mission her Lord has commanded. Idris and Kairi look concerned, but are keeping their soldier’s demeanor.)
DM - Tomb of the Delian Order One-Shot (Level 1)
Natasha - The Call of Lon-Dia Human Rogue (Level 4)
Lena nods and helps Mark up onto her horse. As she does she will attempt to check over his wounds for any serious damage.
Medicine:19
Avery Highdale-Halfling Rogue(Thief) Lv.3
Penelope Skyshatter-Dragonborn Sorcerer(Draconic Bloodline) Lv.2
Red Skies in Mourning: DM
Volqelli Ryxu- Drow Wizard(Conjuration School)/Rogue Lv. 13
(Lena does a great job with her Medicine skills, cleaning Mark up as best as she can, fixing the bandage on the arm and cleaning up the head wound. She helps Mark up on the horse and the two settle in.
The party gets going, a sense of urgency in the air. The horses gallop at near full speed, making great time to the Manor house. The gate is busted open. You all gallop past it and head towards the House.)
Spoiler for Lena:
You're concentrating on making sure Mark stays on the horse, so you don't really notice much as you all travel towards the Manor house.
Spoiler for Nikta:
Your horse riding skills are lacking, and you start to slide off. You scramble to stay on, and somehow, someway, you end up turned around so you are looking behind the horse. So, as you gallop towards the Manor house, you see nothing but where you've been. :) LOL
Spoiler for Carxus:
As you all gallop towards the home, you pass by the charred remains of the makeshift War Wagon you saw earlier. You make your way to the Manor and you see what appears to be one of the Tapwell sons run towards the back of the house. He was probably a lookout and is going to warn his father you are here.
(You all get to the manor house and hear a loud commotion coming from the back.)
DMs note: Go ahead and give me a pre-emptive Initiative roll and tell me how you all want to proceed. Refer to the old drawing if you need to.
DM - Tomb of the Delian Order One-Shot (Level 1)
Natasha - The Call of Lon-Dia Human Rogue (Level 4)
init: 3
Can we get another lay-of-the-land map, and an indication of what the military folk are up to? Getting in their way seems foolish, not only because if anyone takes casualties, Nikta would much rather it be them than his party.
(OOC: really!? these dice are ridiculous!)
Jacob Bray - The Call of Lon-Dia, Human Bloodhunter 3
Int:12
Can Lena take a quick look around and see if there is anyone hiding around the corner?
Stealth:10
Perception:18
Avery Highdale-Halfling Rogue(Thief) Lv.3
Penelope Skyshatter-Dragonborn Sorcerer(Draconic Bloodline) Lv.2
Red Skies in Mourning: DM
Volqelli Ryxu- Drow Wizard(Conjuration School)/Rogue Lv. 13
Int: 16
Carxus wants to keep his distance and cast Firebolt against anyone that comes out to attack us.
Hoard of the Dragon Queen- DM (IRL)
Neumie's Stuff- My Etsy Page
You all are on the path around 200 feet from the manor house.
(Lena sneaks to the manor house to try to take a look around the corner, and an arrow narrowly misses her!)
Spoiler for Lena:
You managed to look around the corner and see Tex and 2 of his boys, as well as Ambrose Tapwell! You also saw one of his boys down and out, possibly unconscious, from previous fighting. They're about 200 feet down the side of the manor, so about 400 feet away from you all total.
(You all hear a familiar, gruff voice boom out from the side of the Manor, where the rest of you can't see.)
"Well, well, well... I knew we'd meet again. I can't believe I'm going to get to kill you all, and get paid to do it!"
Gerard Initiative: 18
DMs note: You've got some decisions to make as to how you all want to proceed. Strategy is key here. The Sgt and her soldiers will try to complete their orders, but may be open to listening to your suggestions.
Game mechanics spoiler, if you're so inclined to know:
This is the big battle for this story arc. It's going to be hard. I'm just saying. :)
DM - Tomb of the Delian Order One-Shot (Level 1)
Natasha - The Call of Lon-Dia Human Rogue (Level 4)
Running up the Armor of Shadows for AC15 for 8 hours.
"Sargent, friends, perhaps we could try to surround them. If we spread out and approach from both sides of the manor, using the orchard as cover, perhaps we can maintain an upper hand and bring this situation to a conclusion with minimal bloodshed, at least on our side. Suggestions?"
(this is presuming I'm understanding the lay-of-the-land correctly, of course)
Jacob Bray - The Call of Lon-Dia, Human Bloodhunter 3
Sorry all, I feel like I threw a block in the story by not being clear. Lena peeked around that pointed part of the manor and saw what she saw. Up to her to confirm and let you guys know what she saw.
If you want to split up and have some of you go around the other side of the house, let me know how you split the party up. The NPCs will go where you guys direct them to.
DM - Tomb of the Delian Order One-Shot (Level 1)
Natasha - The Call of Lon-Dia Human Rogue (Level 4)
Lena would have gone back and told the party what she saw.
"What should we do, charge straight ahead or try to sneak up on them?"
Avery Highdale-Halfling Rogue(Thief) Lv.3
Penelope Skyshatter-Dragonborn Sorcerer(Draconic Bloodline) Lv.2
Red Skies in Mourning: DM
Volqelli Ryxu- Drow Wizard(Conjuration School)/Rogue Lv. 13
"We could send the soldiers around to try and flank the house, but I don't think there's a way to sneak up on them."
Hoard of the Dragon Queen- DM (IRL)
Neumie's Stuff- My Etsy Page
"Agreed. They obviously know we're here, but they may not know how many of us there are. I'm all for flanking. Half of us around one side, half around the other."
How many soldiers are there? and is the orchard/grounds fenced in?
Jacob Bray - The Call of Lon-Dia, Human Bloodhunter 3
(Lena lets you all know that she say Tex and 2 of his boys, as well as Ambrose Tapwell, when she peeked out of the side of the manor. There was also one of Tex's boys that was hurt, possibly unconcious, on the ground.)
The fence at the gate goes all the way around the property, but the Orchard and the Cider Mill are not fenced in. If you're talking about the soldiers that were sent with you, you have the Sergeant and 2 Dwarven Soldiers at your disposal.
DM - Tomb of the Delian Order One-Shot (Level 1)
Natasha - The Call of Lon-Dia Human Rogue (Level 4)
(You all try to work out amongst yourselves what plan of action you should follow, but you quickly find that decision being taken away from you, as from the north, Tex and 3 of his boys appear, followed by Ambrose Tapwell, who is holding an empty vial and staying out of your line of sight as much as possible, and from the south, his other 3 boys appear, with Augustus and Archie behind them, trying their best to stay covered by the house.)
Spoiler for DM:
Tex Initiative: 21
North Boys Initiative: 17
South Boys Initiative: 5
Tapwell Brothers Initiative: 17
Ambrose Initiative: 3
Sgt Von Erich Initiative: 13
Idris and Kairi Initiative: 14
DMs note: I didn't manipulate the numbers, guys, just left a bracket unclosed and had to go back and fix it. :) Also, the Tapwells all have half cover, so just be aware if you go after them, they're going to have a higher AC than you'd think.
Full Lineup for DM only:
Sgt Von Erich 22
Tex 21
Tapwell Brothers 17
Carxus 16
North Boys 14
Kairi and Idris 10
Gerard 10
Ambrose 6
South Boys 4
Nikta 3
Lena 3
(Tex and Sgt Von Erich lock eyes on each other and both look like they're filled with rage.)
"YOU!" they both exclaim at the same time. Sgt Von Erich dismounts and the 2 run at each other, weapons drawn.
SVE Attack: 8 Damage: 7
Second attack: Attack: 14 Damage: 5
(Sergeant Von Erich strikes furiously at Tex, who manages to Parry the first, but the second slash hits him in the chest...)
Tex Attack: Attack: 23 Damage: 9
2nd Attack: Attack: 9 Damage: 4
3rd Attack: Attack: 21 Damage: 5
(But he rolls with it and counters very deftly, striking the Sergeant twice with his Scimitar, but missing with his dagger! The Sgt now has a small cut across her cheek, and a more serious wound on her arm.)
"Take that, you dirty wench!"
(The Tapwell Brothers look like they're about to do something, but seem to hold back a bit.)
Carxus, you're up.
DMs note: Guys, I don't know what's happening, but every time I went in and edited some words on the description, the results of the attack rolls change. o_O I'm not doing it on purpose and not trying to do anything shady, so lets just say SVE is hit for 15 Damage and Tex takes 8, because that's what I remember the 1st rolls being. Hopefully it doesn't keep doing this.
DM - Tomb of the Delian Order One-Shot (Level 1)
Natasha - The Call of Lon-Dia Human Rogue (Level 4)
Carxus cast Firebolt at Ambrose Tapwell.
"I don't like being LIED TO!"
Attack: 20
Damage: 8
Hoard of the Dragon Queen- DM (IRL)
Neumie's Stuff- My Etsy Page
i would like to join my character name is ryual the shadow hunter hes a wood elf ranger lvl 1
"Aaaaaaaah!"
(Despite being hidden mostly behind the house, Carxus manages to thread the needle with his Fireball and hit Ambrose Tapwell square in the chest! He goes flying back and is knocked prone.)
"DAD!"
(Augustus and Archie rush to their father's aid, helping him up and shielding him from any further damage. Tex's bandit buddies in the North get ready to attack.)
NB 1: Attack: 20 Damage: 9 on Carxus
NB 2: Attack: 12 Damage: 2 on Nikta
NB 3: Attack: 22 Damage: 2 on Gerard
(The North Boys all miss their attacks.)
"We need to take the flank out!"
(Idris and Kairi go after the South Boys by rushing to them and attacking with their melee weapons.)
Idris on SB 1: Attack: 12 Damage: 9
Kairi on SB 2: Attack: 16 Damage: 8
(Both Idris and Kairi show their skills with 2 huge hits on 2 of the South Boys, who both now look in terrible shape!)
Gerard Attack on SB 1: Attack: 15 Damage: 6
(Gerard's attack misses one of the injured South Boys.)
(Ambrose takes out a potion and drinks it, going back to full health.)
(The South Boys attack Kairi and Idris.)
SB1 on Kairi: Attack: 21 Damage: 2
SB2 on Idris: Attack: 17 Damage: 4
SB3 on Idris: Attack: 16 Damage: 3
(The South Boys all hit their attacks on Idris and Kairi, who take their slashes on the shoulders.)
Nikta, you're up.
DM - Tomb of the Delian Order One-Shot (Level 1)
Natasha - The Call of Lon-Dia Human Rogue (Level 4)