Chapter 4 [The Siege of Verdas]

[reefwood]

The Siege of Verdas

When the army reached Verdas, an envoy was sent in to negotiate terms for a peaceful surrender. He returned a day later having failed to procure an agreement. Preparations for a siege of the city commenced immediately...


The night passed quickly for some, and slowly for others, but one fear shared by practically all was if this night would be their last.

Life had been relatively quiet these past few years. After the last vestiges of violent unrest had been quashed or driven off into the countryside, citizenry poured in from the mainland to revitalize Verdas. It was not long before barren fields were ripe for harvest. Agriculture thrived. Trade resumed. The soldiers remained, but soon, they spent more time raising families than raising arms. Even the sound of children returned.

The war was not forgotten, but its repercussions were rarely felt. By the time word of a coastal assault reached the city, it was usually accompanied by a count of how many enemy ships wrecked on the reef. A few days later, reinforcements from the mainland would pass through the city but never stayed more than a night. This time, however, it was different.

Rumors first came from the opposite direction. Of trouble in the mountains. Concern began to settle in the back of many minds. What could it be? Bandits? Trolls? Some old evil surfacing from the deep? That concern turned into worry when soldiers were spotted on the road from the coast. Injured soldiers. Just a few at a time. Once the news got out, it spread life wildfire. The enemy had landed!

The sky grew black as our livelihood was put to torch. A necessary precaution, they said. Able-bodied men and women were put to work. Under the direction of soldiers, who displayed a fervor not seen in years, they prepared the city for defense. One that everyone prayed would not be needed.

Reinforcements did not arrive a few days later. Not like before. This was nothing like before. Instead, an army thousands strong appeared at the crest of our dear valley. Intent on overtaking our fair city. Have the gods forsaken Verdas?

Now the horns of battle break the silence of early dawn! The rumble of impending doom shakes the very ground!! War is upon us!!!


[OOC: No new info yet, but I like putting relevant info in the story thread for easy reference.

Starting Pacakges, 5th-level

Standard Combat (CL 5)
- +1 melee weapon (2,400 gp)
- +1 ranged weapon (2,600 gp)
- +1 armor (1,800 gp)
- +1 shield (1,200 gp)
- Nonmagical ammunition, weapons, armor, shields (1,000 gp)
- Adventuring gear, special substances, tools & skill kits, mounts (500 gp)
- Additional magic items (500 gp)
- Potion of cure serious wounds (750 gp)
= 10,750 gp +250 gp to increase one limit = 11,000 gp total limit

Magic Combat (CL 7)
- Wand of any touch spell of a level you can cast (2,500 gp)
- Wand of any ranged spell of a level you can cast (2,500 gp)
- Potions of mage armor (1,000 gp)
- Potions of shield of faith (1,000 gp)
- Nonmagical ammunition, weapons, armor, shields (500 gp)
- Adventuring gear, special substances, tools & skill kits, mounts (500 gp)
- Additional magic items (2,000 gp)
- Potion of cure serious wounds (750 gp)
= 10,750 gp +250 gp to increase one limit = 11,000 gp total limit

Hybrid Combat (CL 6)
- Melee attack item from standard OR magic combat (2,450 gp)
- Ranged attack item from standard OR magic combat (2,550 gp)
- +1 armor OR mage armor potions (1,400 gp)
- +1 shield OR shield of faith potions (1,200 gp)
- Nonmagical ammunition, weapons, armor, shields (800 gp)
- Adventuring gear, special substances, tools & skill kits, mounts (500 gp)
- Additional magic items (1000 gp)
- Potion of cure serious wounds (750 gp)
= 10,750 gp +350 gp to increase one limit = 11,000 gp total limit

---

Income Pool

Each returned PC receives 5 days of 3rd-level income pool from the previous assignment. New PCs starts off with 15 days of 5th-level income pool.

[Level x5] + Profession (military) modifier = daily wage in gp income pool

A returning PC with +5 Prof (military) gains this:
[Level 3 x5] +5 = 20 gp x5 days = 100 gp

A new PC with +5 Prof (military) starts out with this:
[Level 5 x5] +5 = 30 gp x15 days = 450 gp]

[reefwood]

[OOC: The following info is only available to APPROVED characters (Rabbit/Lo, Michael/Brion).

Four choices need to be made by the players before the session starts:
1) The number of archers & swordsmen in your unit (default: 5 archers, 25 swordsmen)
2) The number of arrow slits and/or wall hatches on each level (default: 1 wall hatch on top level, 5 arrow slits on 4th level)
3) How to divide the 10 scrolls of dispel magic (default: 5 arcane, 5 divine)
4) How to divide the 50 wand charges of create water (default: 25 charges, 15 charges, 10 charges)

Any decisions not made will be set to their default amounts.

*All PCs and NPC soldiers will be on the same siege tower.

---

The four of you have been assigned to lead a siege tower into battle. The unit under your command consists of 30 soldiers and 4 drivers. Soldiers may be positioned and used in any way. Drivers remain on the bottom level and can only be used to move the tower. Your overall goal is to break through the enemy defense along the wall in order for soldiers on the ground to raise ladders and scale the wall. Important tasks related to this objective include:
- Reach the wall
- Protect soldiers in the tower
- Drive the enemy away from the edge of the wall
- Relay orders to raise ladders
- Protect ladders while soldiers climb up

Command expects the enemy to bombard siege towers with arrows, fire, and magic. The structure itself provides ample protection against arrows. Wands of create water and scrolls of dispel magic will be provided to douse fires and counter magic.


Soldiers: 30 soldiers (Ftr2) are under your command. You may select between archers and swordsmen. Archers have Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, and Deadly Aim. Swordsmen have Toughness, Power Attack, and Cleave. Both have Weapon Focus for their respective weapons. (*full stats coming soon*)


Siege Tower (structure): This wooden structure is 50 feet tall and has 5 levels. Each level is 25 ft x 25 ft.

The bottom level has large wooden wheels built into the sides and is designed to house 4 Large drivers who walk along the ground and push the tower to move it. A set of double doors in the rear wall is the entrance/exit, and a ladder at the center leads to a ceiling hatch which opens up onto the second level. The exterior rear wall also has two ladders which lead to doors on the second level.

The second through fourth levels have a set of stairs on each side wall going up to the next level.

The front wall of the top level has been almost entirely replaced by a drawbridge (15 ft x 15 ft). A floor lever on each side of the drawbridge must be shifted to lower or raise it (full-round action). Both levers do not need to be shifted at the same time, but the bridge will not move until both levers are in the new position. Also, there is a ladder on the rear wall which leads up to a roof hatch.

All doors and hatches can be locked from the inside with a sliding mechanism that does not require a key (move action to lock or unlock).


Siege Tower (movement): The tower has a speed of 5 ft (10 ft per round with a double move). Changing direction by a 45 degree angle costs 5 ft of movement. For example, a tower that had been going straight forward can, on its next turn, spend 5 ft of movement to change to a diagonal forward direction and move 5 ft in that direction. Or a tower can spend 10 ft of movement to change direction by 90 degrees in a single turn, but it cannot move in the new direction until its next turn. The tower can never move 2 diagonal squares in 1 turn because that would require 15 ft of movement. The tower acts on initiative order 1.

Drivers - Each driver is a human with enlarge person and bull's strength cast upon them. The loss of 1 driver doubles the cost to change direction, so 10 ft of movement would be required to change direction by 45 degrees and that would use up the entire movement for the round. The loss of 2 drivers doubles the movement cost, so the tower would only be able to move 5 ft in a round and changing direction would use up 2 rounds of movement. The loss of more than 2 drivers stops all movement. A lost driver can be replaced by 1 Large humanoid or 4 Medium humanoids.


Siege Tower (options): Arrow slits and wall hatches provide those inside the tower with openings to the battlefield but also make the interior of the tower more vulnerable to attack. Arrow slits provide a narrow view (3 squares wide) of the area ahead and grant improved cover to the person behind it. Wall hatches provide a wide view of the entire area ahead, can be looked through to view the exterior wall, and grant standard cover to the person behind it. A 5 ft square can hold 1 arrow slit or wall hatch, and either one can be closed (move action) to provide total cover. It is up to the players to decide how many, if any, arrows slits and wall hatches are on the walls of each floor.


Counterspell: There are two ways to counter a spell. The first is identify the spell being cast with a Spellcraft check (DC 15 +spell level +1 per 10 ft) and then cast the same spell (or another appropriate spell listed in the spell description). This automatically counters the spell. The second is to cast dispel magic and succeed on a dispel check (1d20 +caster level) against DC 11 +spell's caster level (i.e. 5th-level caster = DC 16). In either case, you must first Ready an action to counterspell when an enemy spell is being cast.

The unit will be provided with 10 scrolls of dispel magic. They can be divided into arcane and divine scrolls however you choose. The scroll requires a 5th-level caster to freely activate the scroll. Any caster of a lower level must make a caster level check (1d20 +caster level) against DC 6 to activate the scroll. Failure requires a DC 5 Wisdom check to save the scroll, or else a mishap causes 3d6 of damage to the scroll user.


Fire: The tower is made of wooden planks that are 6 inches thick. Each solid 5 ft square has a hardness 5 and 60 hp. Arrow slit squares have 50 hp and wall hatch squares have 40 hp. Fire overcomes hardness and causes 1d6 points of fire damage each round. A square brought below half hit points loses one degree of cover (total -> improved -> standard -> partial). If a square is completely destroyed by fire, the fire spreads to all non-burning adjacent squares which immediately take 1d6 points of fire damage.

Additionally, fire creates smoke in its square and rises to every square above it. An attack roll that passes through smoke has a 20% miss chance.

The unit will be provided with 50 charges of create water that can be divided into wands up to 5 ways (at least 10 charges per wand). Each use of the wand creates 2 gallons of water which can douse the fire in a 5 ft square. This spell is also available to clerics and druids, and a 5th-level caster would create 10 gallons of water (enough to douse 5 squares).


Wall Ladder: The order for a ladder to be raised onto the wall requires a swift action and can only be given by an officer with line of sight to the ground square where the ladder will be raised. The ladder is raised immediately and soldiers begin to climb at a rate of 10 ft per round, so 2 soldiers can get on the ladder each round. Another swift action is required to give the climbing soldiers any new orders (i.e. stop, climb down, etc). The first soldier reaches the top of the ladder in 4 rounds, and on the 5th round, this soldier may climb onto the wall with a move action or otherwise act from the top of the ladder (draw weapon, attack, etc).

The enemy may try to shove ladders off the wall. This requires the shover to be in the square in front of the ladder and to succeed on a Strength check (DC 10 +1 per soldier on the ladder).


Chaos of War: Once per round a d20 is rolled to account for the battle going on all around you. A player can elect to roll the d20 on his turn, or else the DM will make the roll at the end of the round. Rolling a 1 results in the loss of one driver. Rolling a 20 results in a siege weapon firing into the scene with another d20 roll to determine the type of weapon (1-15 = ballista or 16-20 = catapult) and a third roll to determine the square it hits. The ballista does 3d6 points of piercing damage. The catapult destroys any structure(s) in the square it hits, and if this includes a floor where a character is standing, a DC 15 Reflex save can be made to grab hold of an adjacent ledge.


Set-up: The wall is 40 feet high, and the floor behind it extends 15 feet.

The siege tower will start 115 ft from the wall, so moving straight forward will allow the it to reach the wall with a lowered drawbridge in 10 rounds.

Characters may cast spells on themselves before the 1st round, but if a spell has a duration of less than 10 minutes per level, it will be important to keep track of exactly when the spell was cast (i.e. 1 round before combat, 2 rounds, etc) because it may run out before the combat ends.]

[reefwood]

**This is copies straight from a spreadsheet, so I'm not sure how it will look on here, but it should be enough to give you the basic overview of the archer vs swordsman.**


Archer
Human, LG
Fighter 2

Ability Scores
Str: 12 1
Dex: 15 2
Con: 11 0
Int: 8 -1
Wis: 10 0
Cha: 9 -1

Con FC Misc Lvl1 Lvl2 Lvl3
Hit Points: 2 0 2 0 1d10 1d10
Nonlethal: 0
Dex Misc
Initiative: 2 2 0
Speed: 30ft

DEFENSE
Saves Cla Mod Misc
Fortitude: 3 3 0 0
Reflex: 2 0 2 0
Will: 0 0 0 0

Armor Class Base Dex Arm Nat Shi Def Dod Size Misc
Total: 17 10 2 4 0 1 0 0 0 0
ff 15
t 12

OFFENSE
BAB 2 Str Size Dex Def Dod
CMB 3 1 0 -- -- --
CMD 15 1 0 2 0 0

Melee 3
Dagger 3 1d4+1

Ranged 4
MW Comp. Longbow Str +1 6 1d8+1 @110ft
-DA 5 1d8+3
--PBS w/in 30ft 7 1d8+2
--DA 6 1d8+4
Dagger 4 1d4+1 @10ft

Class +Int +Misc xLvl
Skill Points 4 2 -1 1 2
Skills Rnk Tra Mod Misc ACP
Acrobatics* -1 0 2 -3
Climb* -2 0 1 -3
Intimidate -1 0 -1
Perception 2 2 0 0
Prof(military)^ 5 2 3 0
Ride* -1 0 2 -3
^trained, *ACP

Feats
1) Weapon Focus: Longbow [1st]
2) Point-Blank Shot [Human]
3) Precise Shot [Ftr1]
4) Deadly Aim [Ftr2]

Class Features
1) All Weapons
2) All Armor & Shields

Racial Traits
1) +2 Dex
2) Bonus Feats
3) Bonus Skills
4) Favored Class: Ftr

Load Lgt Med Hvy
Current 40 43 86 130

Wealth GP SP CP PP Gems
Remaining -4
Spent 619

Equipment
Protection Lbs GP AC Dex ACP ASF
Chainshirt 25 100 4 4 -2 20%
Buckler 5 15 1 -- -1 5%

Weapons Lbs GP Damage Crit Threat Crit Multiplier Type Misc
MW Comp. Longbow Str +1 3 500 1d8+1 20 x3 P
Dagger 1 2 1d4 19-20 x2 P/S

Items Lbs GP
Arrows x40 6 2

---

Swordsman
Human, LG
Fighter 2

Ability Scores
Str: 15 2
Dex: 12 1
Con: 11 0
Int: 8 -1
Wis: 10 0
Cha: 9 -1

Con FC Misc Lvl1 Lvl2 Lvl3
Hit Points: 5 0 2 3 1d10 1d10
Nonlethal: 0
Dex Misc
Initiative: 1 1 0
Speed: 20ft

DEFENSE
Saves Cla Mod Misc
Fortitude: 3 3 0 0
Reflex: 1 0 1 0
Will: 0 0 0 0

Armor Class Base Dex Arm Nat Shi Def Dod Size Misc
Total: 20 10 1 7 0 2 0 0 0 0
ff 19
t 11

OFFENSE
BAB 2 Str Size Dex Def Dod
CMB 4 2 0 -- -- --
CMD 15 2 0 1 0 0

Melee 4
MW Longsword 6 1d8+2 Cleave x2
-PA 5 1d8+4
Shortspear 4 1d6+2 Cleave x2
-PA 3 1d6+4

Ranged 3
L. X-bow 3 1d8
Shortspear 3 1d6+2

Class +Int +Misc xLvl
Skill Points 4 2 -1 1 2
Skills Rnk Tra Mod Misc ACP
Acrobatics* -5 0 1 -6
Climb* 0 1 3 2 -6
Intimidate 3 1 3 -1
Perception 0 0 0
Prof(military)^ 5 2 3 0
Ride* -5 0 1 -6
^trained, *ACP

Feats
1) Weapon Focus: Longsword [1st]
2) Toughness [Human]
3) Power Attack [Ftr1]
4) Cleave [Ftr2]

Class Features
1) All Weapons
2) All Armor & Shields

Racial Traits
1) +2 Str
2) Bonus Feats
3) Bonus Skills
4) Favored Class: Ftr

Load Lgt Med Hvy
Current 61 66 133 200

Wealth GP SP CP PP Gems
Remaining 4
Spent 611

Equipment
Protection Lbs GP AC Dex ACP ASF
Banded mail 35 250 7 1 -6 35%
HW Shield 10 7 2 -- 0 15%

Weapons Lbs GP Damage Crit Threat Crit Multiplier Type Misc
MW Longsword 4 315 1d8 19-20 x2 S
L. X-bow 4 35 1d8 19-20 x2 P 80ft
Shortspear x2 6 2 1d6 x2 P 20ft

Items Lbs GP
Bolts x20 2 2

[reefwood]

[OOC: Since this may influence your decision on how to proceed, I'm going to list the items on each NPC that you have been able to see with a passing glance in battle or items that were obvious during the battle

Loot/Items

Archers (10) - longbow, shortsword, buckler, chainshirt, satchel, quiver of 20+ flaming arrows
Archers (5) - longbow, shortsword, buckler, chainshirt, satchel, quiver of 20+ arrows
Dwarves (8) - dwarven waraxe, chainmail, heavy steel shield, satchel
Half-elven caster - headband, cylindrical case, wand
Dwarven caster - warhammer, javelin x2, breastplate, heavy steel shield, necklace (raised up while casting), satchel

After you decide on an option for the next session, we can decide how to proceed with looting (Perception checks to look closer, movement to bodies, Perception to search bodies, etc). Making an Appraise check takes a standard action (which the DM rolls), detect magic takes 3 rounds to pinpoint auras and 3 rounds to ID a specific item (so looking at a body, it would take 1 round to see if magic was present, 2 more rounds to pinpoint the source/s, and then, 3 more rounds to attempt to ID one item), and it takes 1 move action to remove a shield or 1 minute to remove the armor on these NPCs (and 1 to 4 minutes to put on the armor).]

[reefwood]

[OOC: I'm placing this info here to keep it with its specific adventure, but please post any questions/comments/feedback in the OOC thead.

Point System

This system was designed with the original parameters I had in mind, and I didn't bother to adjust it after I let go of some parameters, such as the limit on archers vs swordsmen.

Originally, the 1st objective was only worth 10 pts, but then I was worried that it might be too hard to accumulate a lot of points in all 3 of the other objectives, so I doubled it. Also, I had thought the unit would have a lot more melee soldiers, so that's why it was important to keep them alive until the siege tower reached the wall. After that point, it wasn't as important if you lost soldiers as long as they died while protecting ladders, since even more soldiers could come up that way, so that's why ladders were worth a lot more points than soldiers in your unit. Sometimes you have to sacrifice a few for the greater gain. Another thing that changed over time was the 3rd objective because in the beginning, it was 2 points per spell, but then basing it off spell level made more sense since that was tied into the difficulty of the task, so you should get more points for spells that are harder to dispel. And along lines of my concern of it being difficult to accumulate a lot of points in objectives #2-4, I kept the lost ladder penalty below the bonus for securing a ladder. This was the finalized version of the point system and your score.

Point System 4.1
Objectives:
1) Reach the wall (20 pt) = 20 pt earned
2) Soldiers standing when tower reaches wall (1 pt/soldier) = 26 pt earned
3) Dispel enemy magic (1 pt/spell level) = 0 pt earned
4) Secure ladders (5 pt/ladder) = 105 pt earned

Penalties:
1) Death of PC (-5 pt)
2) Ladder pushed off wall (-1 per 2 soldiers) = -8 penalty

TOTAL = 143 / 100


After seeing how easier certain tasks were (and yes, in part to your excellent tactics) and just how things played out overall, I decided to retool the point system a bit and not be so cautious with it. "Reach the wall" went back down to 10 pts. The ladder bonus dropped by 1 pt, but it still seemed important to get your soldiers on the wall to stop defenders from pushing off ladders, so I kept objective #2 the same, and you did great with it anyway. I liked objective #3 and left that in there even though you didn't get any points with it. Although, had you countered the right spell, it could have also increased your points in #2. The change that had the most possible impact was the lost ladder penalty. I went back to an earlier idea where it was really bad to lose a ladder full of troops, and also, pushing a full ladder was a difficult task for the defenders to accomplish (especially since there were fewer numbers of the strongest defenders), so that seemed like another reason to increase the penalty. Under this new system, your score is significantly lower but still crazy awesome.

Point System 4.2
Objectives:
1) Reach the wall (10 pt) = 10 pt earned
2) Soldiers standing when tower reaches wall (1 pt/soldier) = 26 pt earned
3) Dispel enemy magic (1 pt/spell level) = 0 pt earned
4) Secure ladders (4 pt/ladder) = 84 pt earned

Penalties:
1) Death of PC (-5 pt)
2) Ladder pushed off wall (-1/soldier) = -16 penalty

TOTAL = 104 / 100


Finally, there is the Rewards chart. This will actually have to be retooled a bit because I hadn't fully considered the varying degree of wealth, but this is what it was supposed to mean... the bottom two lines were failure, but you would at least get to keep anything you picked up during the actual battle. Do a little better and you would level up and get some additional equipment lines equal to 25% of the wealth increase for the next level. 70 pts brought you victory, and this also meant you would be able to pick through spoils after the battle. And more points just meant more wealth from there on in. So by scoring 100+ pts, if you would normally get 1000 more gp at the next level, you would get 1100 gp worth of equipment lines.

Rewards
1) 100+ pt: 110% wealth for next level
2) 90-99 pt: 100% wealth
3) 80-89 pt: 75% wealth
4) 70-79 pt: 50% wealth & victory on the wall
5) 60-69 pt: 25% wealth & level up
6) 0-59 pt: spoils recovered during battle

One obvious change is that you are not leveling up. Not right now at least. However, you have ensured that you will level up at a certain point (which I am not going to disclose until it is time), and the battles that take place between now and then will give you a chance to gain additional levels. So when it comes time to level up, you will gain at least 1 level and lots of wealth to go with it, but do awesome enough in the battle ahead, and you may gain more.

Another thing I have to figure out is how to work the rewards into fact that 1 PC is a somewhat behind in wealth and 1 PC is significantly ahead. I have a couple ideas on how to tweak amounts or limits based on where PCs fall in the wealth spectrum, but after giving it more thought, I think the way I have been fine tuning the wealth system (amounts & limits), in part to keep them more in line with standard wealth advancement, will help straighten this out. Well, I'm not sure how much sense this makes, but ideally, you will all gain the same amount of wealth, so the actual wealth gap may not close from this set of rewards, but the poorer PCs may get more bang for their buck and richer PCs may be able to more diversify their bang, so everyone will win in one way or another.]

[michael]

"Swordsmen! Shields out! Form a line in front of that tower! Archers! Arrows notched! Any threat that comes within 100 feet should be a pincushion by the time it hits 90!" Brion Shaw's voice bellowed above the din of combat "Specialists Lo and Herzog! The enemy forces had two spell-casters! Find them, and take anything of use!"

Their primary objective had been completed with minimal losses. Nemedor's ladders were in place, and this section of the wall was secure. Now they waited for further orders.

"Everyone, catch your breath and offer your prayers! We've hit a lull, but don't expect it to last!"

While Corporal Shaw moved through to meet his commanding officer, he thought about the battle. They had done exceptionally well, Brion knew. Four of their own lost, compared with nearly twenty of the enemy's. And they with the advantage of defense! A true rout. Such weak resistance here could mean weak resistance everywhere; Verdas may fly Nemedor's flag as early as tomorrow. However, it could mean the strongest forces are yet to come. We'll all find out shortly, he supposed.

"Sergeant Grolton. How do you fair, Sir? You took the brunt of it, defending those ladders."

[reefwood]

Victory on the Wall

The flags united under Nemedor marched forward as the sun rose behind Verdas.

A high stone wall protected the city. Even taller towers stood at each corner with a pair beside the main gate, and in the days prior, additional battlements were erected along the wall. Defenders were positioned outside the city with additional support on the wall and atop each tower.

The Verdasians were outnumbered five to one, so rather than focus soley on the main gate, Nemedoran forces surrounded the entire city to spread thin the line of defenders. The strategy worked, and as the ground defenses grew weak, siege engines rolled into the openings. The first one burst into flames before reaching the wall. Another saw every one of its soldiers fall dead under a barrage of arrows as they tried to cross the bridge. Eventually, however, small portions of the wall were wrested away from the defenders. Ladders were lifted. More soldiers scaled the wall. The footholds grew in size as defenders were now pressured on multiple fronts.

One of the more impressive assaults onto the wall came near the tower at the northwestern corner of the city. Thunderous balls of flame erupted on both sides as arrows flew through the air. A pair of soldiers made their way onto the wall before the siege engine even reached it but not before a knight scaled the wall on horseback.

With another portion of the wall secured, soldiers from the ground spilled onto it. Archers provided cover fire while swordsmen pushed south along the wall and north into the tower. Resistance in the immediate area was minimal. For the time being. This gave the officers and specialists a moment to gather themselves. But already, they could see a unit of the elite guard, who accompanied a Captain in battle, making their way to the base of the siege engine.


[OOC: Four soldiers were lost from the siege engine force. 3 archers & 1 swordsman. You would expect a captain to take control of the area and issue orders.

EDIT: Soldiers in the siege engine were under your direct command. Soldiers on the ground have more general orders with slightly higher ranks ones in charge of the rest (like you guys during Storming the Beach) and it is expected they will all listen to any reasonable order given by a higher up.]

[michael]

OOC: Four soldiers were lost from the siege engine force. 3 archers & 1 swordsman. You would expect a captain to take control of the area and issue orders.

Ok. I was playing it as though taking the tower was an objective we'd had from the beginning. I modified my post to reflect otherwise. I did keep the other orders Brion issued to the troops. I think it fits with his character, and is consistent with how chain of command works during a battle.

[icnivad]

From atop his horse on the wall, Sir Grolton stands half a body above everyone around him. His golden armor shined to perfection glints wildly in the day's sun making him easy to spot. As the cheers go up around him he rears his horse onto his hind legs and spears his lance high in the sky. His cheers can be heard bellowing even above the troops.

As the troops settle down, Grolton scans the crowd for his lieutenants. He smiles and nods as he finds his second, Brion, is already barking orders. Brion has more than proven himself in these last couple weeks to be not only one of the finest healers the knight had ever known but a sound military mind as well. Sir Grolton feels proud to have him on the same side. Glancing around for the specialists that had recently been assigned to him, Sir Grolton find the two capable warriors still on the wall. They, too, have proven themselves this battle. He had not seen allies charge into battle with such fervor in quite a while. Their timing impeccable. Sir Grolton was hesitant to accept the elf, knowing they would be facing elves this day. You've proven your allegiance, he thinks, I won't doubt you again.

Recognizing that he is the ranking officer on the wall, and that soldiers are starting to look to him, Sir Grolton turns his horse to the troops. "Hurrah, men. You have fought well this day!" After the cheers die down again he picks up again, building momentum as he goes, "Our gods are honored today! By our bravery. By our strength. By our dedication in this battle. For this is not a battle that will be quickly forgotten... on either side. Your wives... Your children... Your families. They will hear the stories of your bravery and they will know. They will know." Sir Grolton pauses for a second, repeating himself as a hush comes over the crowd he quiets down again "They will know what it is to be proud." Pausing again, he bows his head for a moment, as the soldiers remember their families left behind. "Our enemies. They too will tell stories. But their stories will be very different. They will tell of an unwavering wall of troops. An unstoppable force that fights with the skill and the fierceness of demons. They will know now that we are here! That we are not to be questioned! That we are Nemedora!" The knight ends his speech in a near yell, thrusting his lance into the air to punctuate his point. Once the cheers die down again, he turns his horse to the approaching Brion, as he waits for the healer to reach him, he directs a couple nearby troops, "After the specialists have taken what they can from the spellcasters, drag their bodies to the siege tower. If they are still alive, bind and stabilize them, they will make good prisoners."

Once his lieutenant approaches, "I fare well, Brion. This is a glorious day for us." Looking at the man squarely, it is clear that the fire of battle in the knight's eyes has not yet died down, "This is where we are meant to be, fighting in a battlefield for the honor of our gods, not slinking around behind enemy lines." Sir Grolton breaths deeply the air around him. It tastes like victory. Thank you for your healing on the wall. As usual, your timing was impeccable. Nono, save your spells, I fear we will still need them for the day is not over. I have some scrolls I can still use, and some spells of my own. Your healing will be better spent in battle."

Sir Grolton would use up all of his CLW scrolls before resorting to spells. [scrolls: 4+1, 2+1, 3+1, 5+1, 2+1, 6+1 = 28] [spells: 2+4=6]
with 6 scrolls and 1 spell, Sir Grolton should be back to full health.

[michael]

"This is where we are meant to be, fighting in a battlefield for the honor of our gods, not slinking around behind enemy lines."

"Aye, this is where men like us belong. Where true glory is claimed! Our last mission... it left a foul taste. It is good to wash it out." Corporal Shaw stood in silence for a brief moment, then pushed thoughts of the past out of his head. Dwelling on things unchangeable would earn him nothing but his death through distraction.

"Well, sir, lulls are valuable, and there's never knowing how long they will last. With your leave, I intend to make myself useful."

[Rabbit]

Feb 27, 2010 22:16:19 GMT -5 michael said:

Brion Shaw's voice bellowed above the din of combat. Specialists Lo and Herzog! The enemy forces had two spell-casters! Find them, and take anything of use!

“Aye, Commander! Anything of use!” Specialist Lo repeats the order then follows it.

Inside the temporary defenses made by the surrounding archers Specialist Lo makes use of his active magics. Arcane energy surges through the elf allowing him to ‘expeditiously’ move with unnatural speed to the first fallen spell caster. Standing over the slain half-elf Specialist Lo recites an incantation of detection, the first step of a ritual to understand her possessions’ powers.

“CIGAM T’CETED!”

As the spell takes hold the elf’s vision begins to shimmer. With practiced skill Lo harnesses this tapped arcane by commanding magical auras to revel themselves. As he studies the items the elf hears his commanders giving orders…

…As their field commander, Sir Grolton, reaches the climax of his speech Lo allows himself to glance away from his inspection; with a raised fist Lo lets out a war cry, “Nemedora! Nemedora!” The elf is not Nemedorian, he is a proud national from Hark Rest, but Nemedora was the figurehead of this campaign. And the elf feels no qualms evoking its name.

This marks the fall of the old. A new Verdas will be born from this, Lo thinks.

[Lo is using the 10 rounds to investigate the bodies. I will try to distribute them to people they will be useful to during the next table session.]

[reefwood]

[OOC: Spoils & Rewards

Spoils

Lo collected all the valuable belongings off the half-elven caster, but he was lost in battle along with those spoils. The dwarven caster was taken as a prisoner. His warhammer was not picked up, but all his other items were collected by Brion or still on his body. No belongings were collected from the elven archers or dwarven axemen.

Dwarven caster
+1 Breastplate (1350gp, 30 lb)
Heavy steel shield, masterwork (170gp, 15 lb)
Javelin #1 (2gp, 4 lb)
Javelin #2 (2gp, 4 lb)
Pearl of power, 1st-level (1000gp)
Wand of cure serious wounds (3d8+5, 3 charges; 675gp)
Potion of cure moderate wounds (2d8+3; 300gp)
Potion of cure light wounds (1d8+1; 50gp)
Platinum ring (50gp)

These may be divided among the players however they wish or discarded. Also, players may store items in their own individual "equipment locker" for use at a later time. Items can be switched out whenever the soldier is with the main army (which could happen more than once in one session or not at all for multiple sessions).

---

Rewards

Rewards are now available as separate packages based on combat style (standard, magic, hybrid), just like the Starting Packages. Based on your previous victory, you earned 110% starting wealth for 6th level. Normal 5th-level starting wealth is 10,500 gp, and the 5th-level starting packages had a limit rounded up to 11,000 gp. Normal 6th-level starting wealth is 16,000 gp. 110% of 16,000 gp is 17,600 gp, and rounding up to the next thousand gives 18,000 gp. So that is a 7,000 gp increase from the 5th-level starting package limit of 11,000 gp.

One thing that I have seen players do is list their new equipment separately under each limit line. I would like everyone to do it this way until your equipment from rewards is finalized. That way it is easy to see where you got each upgrade or new piece of equipment. There is an example at the end to show how this is done and also to help show what you can get with a package.

And be sure to keep Caster Level in mind. Every magic item entry in the Pathfinder core book has the CL listed. If the CL exceeds your package, it is not available to your PC. I know this may make some previously obtained items no longer available, but you won't lose any items already owned.

Also, survivors earn 1 day of 5th-level income pool.

Standard Combat (CL 6)

• +1 enhancement to one weapon (2,000 gp)
  Turn one masterwork weapon into a +1 weapon.
  
• Magic armors & shields (3,000 gp)
  This may used in a variety of ways:
  a) increase a +1 enhancement bonus to +2, or
  b) add a special ability to a +1 item, or
  c) add a +1 enhancement bonus on 3 masterwork items, or
  d) purchase new items and possibly enchant them, or
  e) some other combination within the 3,000gp limit
  
• Nonmagical weapons, armors, shields, ammunition, goods (700 gp)
  
• Additional magic items (300 gp)
  
• Potion of cure serious wounds (750 gp)

TOTAL = 6,750 gp +250 to increase any one limit = 7,000 gp


Magic Combat (CL 8)

• Wands of any spell of a level you can cast (1,000 gp)
  
• Magic items to increase AC (4,000 gp)
  Any combination of amulet of natural armor, bracers of armor, ring of protection
  
• Nonmagical weapons, armor, shield, ammunition, goods (300 gp)
  
• Additional magic items (700 gp)
  
• Potion of cure serious wounds (750 gp)

TOTAL = 6,750 gp +250 to increase any one limit = 7,000 gp


Hybrid Combat (CL 7)

• +1 enhancement to one weapon OR one wand from magic combat (2,500 gp)
  
• Magic armors & shields OR magic items to increase AC (2,500 gp)
  
• Nonmagical weapons, armors, shields, ammunition, goods (500 gp)
  
• Additional magic items (500 gp)
  
• Potion of cure serious wounds (750 gp)

TOTAL = 6,750 gp +250 to increase any one limit = 7,000 gp


Example - Standard Combat (CL 6)

• +1 enhancement to one weapon (2,000 gp)
  +1 enhancement to masterwork longsword (2,000gp - this line does not include the cost of the weapon, so you must already own the weapon or purchase it by using income pool or another line in this package)
  
• Magic armors & shields (3,000 gp)
  +1 mithral chainshirt (CL5, 2,250gp)
  Darkwood shield (257gp)
  Sub-total = 2,507gp
  
• Nonmagical weapons, armors, shields, ammunition, goods (700 gp)
  Darkwood tower shield (630gp)
  Healer's Kit (50gp)
  Arrows x40 (2gp)
  Sub-total = 682gp
  
• Additional magic items (300 gp) +250 to increase limit = 550gp
  Oil of magic weapon x3 (CL1, 150gp)
  Sleep arrow x3 (CL5, 396gp)
  Sub-total = 546gp
  
• Potion of cure serious wounds (CL5, 750 gp)

TOTAL = 6,750 gp +250 to increase any one limit = 7,000 gp

[reefwood]

[OOC: CR Breakdown

Decided to get a little more in-depth because the CR for this session could be added up in different ways. Also, I calculated the casters as 1 too high in the OOC thread, and this time I noted who had PC vs NPC classes.

This is how it is based on the total amount of each type:
Half-elven caster (PC) = CR 6
Dwarven caster (PC) = CR 4
Dwarven axemen (NPC CR 1) x8 = CR 7
Elven archers (NPC CR 1) x15 = CR 8.75

This is how the CRs add up if you break them down into their seperate waves:
Half-elven caster (PC) = CR 6
Dwarven caster (PC) = CR 4
Dwarven axemen (NPC CR 1) x4 = CR 5
Dwarven axemen (NPC CR 1) x4 = CR 5
Elven archers (NPC CR 1) x10 = CR 7.5
Elven archers (NPC CR 1) x5 = CR 5.5

This is with combining the groups that worked more or less together:
Half-elven caster (PC CR 6) & Dwarven caster (PC CR 4) = CR 7.25
Dwarven axemen (NPC CR 1) x4 & Elven archers (NPC CR 1) x10 = CR 8.5
Dwarven axemen (NPC CR 1) x4 & Elven archers (NPC CR 1) x5 = CR 7.25

And finally, if you add up all the XP totals and pile them into a single CR, you get CR 11 for the total encounter if you just consider the creatures.

Additionally, however, the defenders had cover from the wall along with the benefit of elevation, so the best way to get most of your soldiers on the wall to start was by being in the siege engine which involved another slow, long march (100 ft @ 10 ft per round). Although, the siege engine also provided great protection, and Sir Grolton did a great job of mucking up the defense on the wall. I did forget to impose Climb checks whenever his horse was hit while on the side of the wall, but that was only once or twice anyway.

As for stats & equipment, all the NPCs received Heroic ability scores (with max hp @ 1st level) and equipment equal to their Heroic level, plus income pool for 15 days.

---

Looking at the Nemedor side, there were four 5th-level PCs which gives an APL (average party level) of 5, but with Sir Grolton's significantly above average equipment, it was probably closer to APL 6 in terms of the standard challenge that the group can handle. Maybe more when he is mounted and can charge.

As to your 30 troops, they were Ftr2 (CR 1) with the Basic ability score array and Basic equipment for their level, plus income pool for 15 days. If you add up the XP for 30 CR 1's and lump them back as a single creature, it is almost CR 11 (12,000/12,800).]

[reefwood]

[OOC: Due to the excellent planning and performance in breaching the wall... Brion Shaw has been promoted to Sergeant and Sir Grolton to Sergeant First Class. Specialist Herzog can maintain his "outside the rank" status, or if he wants to more officially enlist, he will earn the rank of Corporal, and Specialist Lo could have done the same if he was still alive.]