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Post by reefwood on May 8, 2010 16:02:08 GMT -5
[OOC: If players choose to go after the orc horde, each player may take one rescued prisoner/soldier with him. You may choose between an archer and swordsman. There are three things you may customize:
1) Add the 4th-level ability score increase
2) Switch out the 3 Fighter feats or the 3 other feats (Human, 1st, 3rd)
3) Switch around any skill ranks except Profession (military)
If you choose the mountain duty mission, you will be working with these soldiers, but their stats cannot be customized, and the 4th-level ability score will be placed in Dex (archer) or Str (swordsman). However, you may select how many of the 8 soldiers are archers vs swordsman, but there must be at least 2 of each. Warrant Officer Shaw will be around too but not interacting with PCs directly.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the soldiers do not have any of the equipment listed. I simply included it to give you a better idea of what they can do.
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Post by reefwood on May 26, 2010 18:29:54 GMT -5
[Day 18]
9:15am - Sergeant First Class Grolton, Sergeant Shaw, and Private First Class Sweetwater ride off in search of the orc horde. The trail is easy enough to find, and after winding through the mountains for a few hours, the trio comes to the edge of the Thinth Forest. The enormous trees stand tall and wide. Stretching hundreds of feet into the air. Some as tall as the lower peaks of the Wyrmscale Mountains. The canopy softens the sunlight reaching the forest floor but not enough to hamper vision. Though at night, it would most likely block illumination from the moon or stars.
12:15pm - The trail on the forest floor reveals more details than the rocky ground between the mountains. In addition to tracks created by bare humanoid feet, hoof and paw prints are also evident. Then a few miles into the forest, signs of more activity are discovered. The stump of a mighty tree sits at the center of several - over a dozen - extinguished campfires less than 12 hours old. Piles of bones dotted with sharp teeth marks are present as well. The relatively fresh remains are those of great elk and have been picked clean.
The trio continues after the trail, but before the top of the hour, they are attacked by a pair of orcs horsemen. Quick action prevents the ambushers from doing much harm or alerting others. One is interrogated and reveals that there are more than a hundred orcs in the horde - which is led by a Blackscale called Krogg. The beasts in the horde include horses, wolves, lions, and owls. There are less wolves than orcs, less lions than wolves, and only a few owls.
The decision is made to blow a horn found on the orcs and lie in wait to see who else appears. After nearly half an hour, the sounds of faint movement are detected. It is not long before another battle breaks out. This time it is four archers on foot. They fare better than the horsemen but fall to the same result in the end. However, the last orc standing is able to blow his horn – one long low note followed by three short higher pitched notes.
1:20pm - The Nemedoran soldiers search the bodies and decide to wait another half hour. Before doing so, Sahme floats above the trees and notices a small break in the canopy about 5 miles ahead. The time is nearly up when noises are heard again. Much more than before. The rushing of many figures across a wide swath of the forest floor. Barking as well. Wolves are the first to encounter the soldiers. Including one as big as a horse that becomes shrouded in magical mist early in the fight. Sir Grolton picks off the smaller wolves while Sahme sends fire at the large wolf, and Brion finishes off the beast with his steed. Eventually, orcs join in the fight. Only a trickle arrive at first, but over a dozen appear in the end. Some are archers, but most wield greataxes. The fighting grows intense, especially whenever the orcs are able to surround the soldiers, but the speed of the Nemedoran steeds allows their riders to retreat and regroup. When the outcome finally becomes clear, in favor of the soldiers, one orc attempts to flee but is cut down before he can get far.
2pm – It is still early in the afternoon, but the brave trio has already fought three times today. Each battle more difficult than the last, and the total effort having drained most of their magical resources. All this has left the bodies of twenty orcs strewn across the forest floor. A dozen are still breathing but unconscious, along with two out of four wolves. The large wolf is dead with the mist around it starting to disperse, and Sir Grolton recognizes it as a dire wolf. There are also two horses, once of which was badly burned by a fireball. The soldiers must decide how to proceed. Continue lying in wait? Fall back to the mountains? Press closer to the horde?
[OOC: One thing that I forgot about is that a Ride check (DC 5) is needed to “stay in the saddle” when you take damage. This will be implemented from here on out, so make sure that Brion and Sahme have their Ride modifier calculated.
These are the lists of each orc group you encountered. The equipment listed in what was found on each orc. Below each group is some additional info.
COMBAT #1
Rider Orc (175 lb) x2
Horse with riding saddle
Mithral chainshirt
Shortspear
Longbow
Arrows x50
Pouch
Spell Component Pouch
Each orc had a wooden horn, but one was destroyed. The bodies were searched and looked over with detect magic. 6 magic vials were found on the orc who cast entangle. 5 magic vials were found on the orc who was fireballed. All but one of the vials were identified, and they have already been distributed. None of the other items had a magic aura, but Sahme reconized the chainshirts as mithral. I believe that only the vials and chainshirts were taken, and that Grolton is carrying both chainshirts. Both orcs are alive but unconscious. And if anyone is holding onto the wooden horn, it weighs 1 lb.
COMBAT #2
Archer Orc (175 lb) x4
Mithral chainshirt
Shortspear
Longbow
Arrows x45
Pouch w/ 3 magic vials
Spell Component Pouch
Wooden Horn
The bodies were searched and looked over with detect magic. No attempt was made yet to identify the magic vials, and I believe Sahme is holding onto all of them (total of 12) but that none of the other equipment was claimed by the PCs. All four orcs are alive but unconscious.
COMBAT #3
Axe Orc (200 lb) x10 (6 alive, 4 dead)
Breastplate
Heavy Wooden Shield
Greataxe
Battleaxe
Longbow
Arrows x40
Pouch
Archer Orc (180 lb) x4 (all dead)
Chainshirt
Buckler
Battleaxe
Longbow
Arrows x45
Pouch x2
Wolf (100 lb) x4 (2 alive, 2 dead)
no equipment
Dire Wolf (800 lb) x1 (dead)
no equipment
None of these bodies have been searched in anyway. 6 axe orcs and 2 wolves are alive. The dead are 4 axe orcs, all 4 archer orcs, 2 wolves, and the dire wolf.
To recap a total, you have fought 20 orcs. The first 2 riders, all 4 archers that followed, and 6 axe orcs from the last group are still alive but unconscious, so that's 12 live orcs and 8 dead orcs. 2 out of 4 wolves are alive but unconscious. The dire wolf is dead. The 2 horses are alive and standing, but 1 is badly hurt.
EDIT: If you want to determine the quality of items, that will require an Appraise check. Let me know your modifier and what you want to inspect, and I will make the roll. Or if you bring an item back to the main army, they can figure it out for you.]
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Post by icnivad on May 27, 2010 13:46:31 GMT -5
wow. we fought 25 creatures all in all.
I think it's safe to assume we would search the newly dead detect magic and identify any magic items still unidentified.
Couple questions regarding wild shape: Does it glow with detect magic? is it dispelable? If the answers are no, I'm going to want to turn into an owl (or whatever is common to the area) and do some scouting. I'm not sure if you want to handle this online before the next session because it does not really involve the other players.
Also, all of the breastplates should have straps, right? all of the bows have pretty strong bowstrings? Can we use this stuff to tie up the orcs? I assume a bowstring would be plenty strong to tie someone's hands and feat together.
and we're 4 hours from the cave? is that right?
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Post by reefwood on May 27, 2010 15:10:25 GMT -5
wow. we fought 25 creatures all in all. I think it's safe to assume we would search the newly dead detect magic and identify any magic items still unidentified. Couple questions regarding wild shape: Does it glow with detect magic? is it dispelable? If the answers are no, I'm going to want to turn into an owl (or whatever is common to the area) and do some scouting. I'm not sure if you want to handle this online before the next session because it does not really involve the other players. Also, all of the breastplates should have straps, right? all of the bows have pretty strong bowstrings? Can we use this stuff to tie up the orcs? I assume a bowstring would be plenty strong to tie someone's hands and feat together. and we're 4 hours from the cave? is that right? [OOC: Lots of good ideas and questions. Though, I'm still waiting to see if the bodies are going to be moved to the horses, and if so, how they will be moved? If someone wants to cast detect magic on bodies, let me know how you want to do it...before or after they are moved? In any particular order? If you want to frisk the bodies, please include your Perception modifier, and if you want to attempt to identify any magic auras found, please include your Spellcraft modifier too. Wildshape is a supernatural ability: It glows with detect magic but cannot be dispelled. However, if you fly into an area affected the Rift (which at times does include the edge of the forest), the effect will be suppressed. You just need to move out of the area to be a bird again, but if you turn into Grolton while in the air, you will fall. If you want to determine what is common in the area, make a Know(geography) to know what animals live in the Thinth Forest or a Know(nature) check to guesstimate what kind of animals might live in this kind of forest. Alternatively, a Prof(military) check can be made to see if you heard some intel or scuttlebutt about the creatures in the Thinth Forest. If Grolton wants to scout solo, we can do that online, but you will have to let me know when you want to do this. Right away? After bodies are moved? After bodies are searched? Also, when Sir Grolton leaves, Brion Shaw is in charge...he can't change already existing orders, but if a decision has to be made because something new comes up or changes, he has the final say. If the group splits up, I'll do Grolton stuff via PM and the rest on here. That way you won't know what each other is doing as players, as it would be in-character while separated. I'm not familiar with how breastplate is actually worn or works, but the image in the book does show that it has 2 shoulder-to-waist straps that go over the back. Seems reasonable that 1 strap can be used to bind hands or feet, so 1 suit of breastplate could bind the hands and feet of 1 orc. There are 10 suits of breastplate and 12 orcs still alive. But the other orcs have chainshirts (6 mithral, 4 non-mithral), and it looks like a chainshirt has a belt, so the belts from 2 chainshirts could tie up 1 orc. Bowstrings could be used for tying up hands and feet too. Especially because they are long, so you can wrap it around several time. Doing it like this, I'd say 1 bowstring can tie up 1 pair of hands or feet as well as normal rope. You are 20 miles from the cave. How long that takes will depend on how fast your travel.] |
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Post by michael on May 29, 2010 17:14:31 GMT -5
This is a pretty significant rule change to my character. (Any damage and I have a 50% chance of falling out of the saddle.) Could I alter some of the choices I made at 7th level? I took Cleave as my feat, but never used it, and I want to change it to Skill Focus: Ride. I put one skill point into Intimidate, and one into Profession: Military, both of which I'd like to move into Ride.
I'd also like to have said I chose a military saddle for my mount before the mission. It would add 5 lbs to my horse's weight, but he'd still have a light load.
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Post by reefwood on May 30, 2010 1:38:37 GMT -5
This is a pretty significant rule change to my character. (Any damage and I have a 50% chance of falling out of the saddle.) Could I alter some of the choices I made at 7th level? I took Cleave as my feat, but never used it, and I want to change it to Skill Focus: Ride. I put one skill point into Intimidate, and one into Profession: Military, both of which I'd like to move into Ride. I'd also like to have said I chose a military saddle for my mount before the mission. It would add 5 lbs to my horse's weight, but he'd still have a light load. [ OOC: This isn't a rule change. It's simply a rule I forgot to enforce in the last session. Just haven't paid much attention to it since it hasn't come up in a while. You can switch out the feat since you've never used it. I'll allow the switching of skill ranks too, even though you did use Intimidate in the last session. Although, do you really want to start focusing on Ride? It's cool if you do, but you won't always have access to a horse. Unless you get one yourself, which would be fine to do too. The saddle can't be changed. You can do that when you get back to the main army, or somehow gain access to a military saddle.] |
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Post by icnivad on May 30, 2010 3:00:56 GMT -5
Michael, FYI: the two horses we found had military saddles.
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Post by michael on May 30, 2010 4:23:00 GMT -5
I'm not that interested in Ride, but the changes in Pathfinder practically make it a necessity for any horse based combat. As it stands, every time I take damage on a horse, I have a 50% chance of taking extra damage from a fall and being knocked prone. Plus, I lose the movement speed a horse gives me until I can get back on. For battles like the one we did last session, that's almost character crippling. I don't think I'd have survived if that rule had been enforced last game. I don't care about getting my Ride rank too high, I just want to ride a horse without falling off.
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Post by reefwood on May 30, 2010 14:38:03 GMT -5
Michael, FYI: the two horses we found had military saddles. [ OOC: Actually, no... as stated above in the list of obvious loot, those horses have a riding saddle. During the session, someone mentioned that the horses probably have military saddles. but that was an incorrect assumption.]
I'm not that interested in Ride, but the changes in Pathfinder practically make it a necessity for any horse based combat. As it stands, every time I take damage on a horse, I have a 50% chance of taking extra damage from a fall and being knocked prone. Plus, I lose the movement speed a horse gives me until I can get back on. For battles like the one we did last session, that's almost character crippling. I don't think I'd have survived if that rule had been enforced last game. I don't care about getting my Ride rank too high, I just want to ride a horse without falling off. [ OOC: The DCs and reasons for Ride checks are the same in Pathfinder as in 3.5. The main (only?) change is that Armor Check Penalty now applies to Ride, and this depends more on the type of armor used. Heavy armor requires more Ride ranks, but otherwise, not so much. Though, this will be harder for Brion because Ride isn't a class skill for Clerics, but if you can get some cat's grace going on or spells that boost skill checks, that would help some. There are also Ride checks to have both hands free (DC 5 - i.e. use a two-handed weapon) and to make your mount attack (DC 10). I wasn't thinking about those during the last session either, but I'll try to be better about remembering for next time, and I always encourage players to reread rules for the things you want to do. And the horses were given to you guys for their speed, not combat. If there were faster horses out there that weren't as good in combat, I would have given those to you instead. But yes, if fighting on a horse sounds like bad news with the rules in place, it would be good to brainstorm new strategies.] |
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Post by icnivad on May 31, 2010 13:30:55 GMT -5
oh. nevermind about the saddle.
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Post by reefwood on May 31, 2010 16:11:35 GMT -5
[OOC: Not that we keep track of XP in this campaign, but I decided to calculate it for the last session out of curiosity. Each of you would have earned 5,800 XP. Most of it coming from the third combat. At level 7 in Pathfinder on the Medium track, you would start out with 35,000 XP and need 51,000 XP to reach 8th level. On the Fast track, which is what I would probably use, you would start out with 23,000 XP at level 7 and need 34,000 XP to reach 8th level, so this last session would have gotten you a little more than halfway there. Good job!]
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Post by reefwood on Jun 3, 2010 15:13:41 GMT -5
[ Day 18] 2:00pm - The forest is quiet once again. In sharp contrast to the sounds of angry barking, explosive magic, hurried footfalls, and the clanging of weapons that echoed below the canopy only minutes ago. The buzzing of flies is the first sound to permeate the silence. Louder than one may expect, and the reason becomes obvious when they appear. Each one is the size of a fist. Aside from their immense size, however, the flies seem otherwise typical. At least one or two circle each body. Blood is in the air - fresh and thick, especially to those most sensitive to it - with the stench of death not far behind. * * * * * * * Aside from the unusually large insects, Sir Grolton notices no other obvious wildlife in the immediate area. Not surprising. The battle would have driven off most birds and beasts. Even the sounds of riding through the forest may have kept them at bay, and certainly the passage of hundreds of warriors could make an area unfavorable for some time. * * * * * * * This battle was different - in more than one way - than those fought against most troops encountered thus far on Vallest, such as those posted in the outposts along the Hyrdrahead coastline or the defenders of Verdas, but an obvious distinction was the presence of order, or rather, a lack thereof. It was not one line of soldiers squaring off against another. Instead, combatants on each side shifted between fighting together and alone, as well as running in every possible direction, several times over. The seeming chaos may have been felt by Brion Shaw more than others. He even tried to capitalize on it by vexing the presumed anarchy that drove these orcs. To apparently no effect. Which could mean that their will is strong, or there is at least some order at work. * * * * * * * In addition to charred bodies, a swath of burnt earth and the smoldering side of a tree remained as evidence of Sahme Sweetwater's role in the battle. The fireball entirely consumed the patchy undergrowth in its wake, and the tree was too robust to catch fire, so only ash and smoke came of it. Had he hit one of the large bushes, however, it could have easily erupted into flame and spread to others. [ OOC: So to recap... There are 14 orcs, 4 wolves and 1 dire wolf scattered across the battlefield near the trail, and this includes 6 orcs and 2 wolves that are stable but unconscious. None have been searched. 100 ft away are two horses with their reins tied to bushes and 6 more orcs who are stable but unconscious. They have all been searched, but no one has attempted to identify any of the vials found on the last 4 of these orcs. Go ahead and try what you want. Anyone who separates from the group will be moved to PM.] |
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Post by icnivad on Jun 3, 2010 16:47:08 GMT -5
Sir Grolton would leave orders to finish searching the bodies and bring the living orcs back to the cave where our troops are hanging out. He would then turn into a bird, whatever is most common to the area, and proceed to scout out the army, avoiding the rift.
It looks like there are 12 bodies left, with two horses salvaged from the orcs and Sir Grolton's horse they could probably strap 4 bodies to each horse. There wouldn't be enough bowstring rope to go all the way around the horses, but assuming the horses have saddles, they can just strap to that, and it shouldn't take much.
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Post by reefwood on Jun 3, 2010 18:11:02 GMT -5
Sir Grolton would leave orders to finish searching the bodies and bring the living orcs back to the cave where our troops are hanging out. He would then turn into a bird, whatever is most common to the area, and proceed to scout out the army, avoiding the rift. [ OOC: Grolton is somewhat limited as to the kind of bird he can turn into because he can't wildshape into anything smaller than Small, so he has to be a decent-sized bird. Also, he does not know what bird is most common to the area, but he can try to figure it out... Know(nature) 11 - This must be Grolton's first time in a forest like this. Taking a guess with his size limit in mind, a bigger species of hawk or owl might be a safe bet, and since it is daytime, the hawk would make more sense. Both have a fly speed of 60 ft. For scouting, do you want to just fly in the direction of the trail? Or do you want to actually try to follow the trail from the air? Or do you just want to zigzag or circle the area? Just give me a general idea of how you want to do this AND how much time or distance do you want to go before stopping. And how high in the air do you want to fly? This will affect the Survival DC, if you want to follow the trail and the Perception DC to notice you (+1 per 10 ft above the ground in each instance). Being high and the tree trunks will make it harder to spot you, but if you want to make an actual Stealth check, you will need to be in the cover of the canopy. The trees range from 200 ft - 300 ft tall, and the canopy starts at 150 ft high. Height will also affect the damage taken from a fall if you enter the Rift. I will make a Survival roll to determine when Grolton thinks the Rift area may be near, and you can make adjustments to height at that point, but there is a chance that you enter the area before realizing this. And how fast do you want to fly? Normal speed (60 ft per round), a hustle (120 ft per round), stealthy (30 ft per round), stealthy hustle (60 ft per round). Keep in mind that you can only Hustle for 1 hour before taking damage, and if you want to make a Survival check to follow the trail, that will cut your chosen speed in half unless you take the -5 penalty to not slow down for tracking. I know this is a lot of questions, but the answers could have important ramifications, so I'd rather not make them for you while in hostile territory. The bowstrings can be used to tie hands or feet but not to hold up entire orcs. The orc horses can't even hold 4 orcs anyway. A horse with a saddle can sit 1 orc in the saddle (after making a successful 50% roll) and have 1 orc tied behind it with 5 straps from breastplate or belts from chainshirts. 2 bowstrings or 2 breastplate straps or 2 chainshit belts (or 1 and 1) are needed to tie both the hands and feet of 1 orc. Therefore on 1 horse with a saddle, having 1 orc in the saddle and 1 orc strapped behind the saddle requires a total of 5 straps/belts, and 4 bowstrings if you want hands & feet tied. If you dump the saddle off an orc horse, you can strap 3 orcs onto its bare back. This requires a total of 15 straps/belts, and 6 bowstrings if you want hands & feet tied. The orc equipment provides you with 20 bowstrings, 20 breastplate straps, 4 chainshirt belts, and 6 mithral chainshirt belts. It looks like you could put 3 orcs on each orc horse (15 straps/belts & 6 bowstrings x2 = 30 straps/belts and 12 bowstrings). This secures 6 orcs and uses up all the straps. It leaves 6 orcs and enough bowstrings for 4 orcs. Loyal Steed II can sit 1 orc in the saddle (after making a successful 50% roll), and 1 more orc can be strapped on the back if you can find something to use for straps. If Brion and Sahme can Take 10 to succeed on a Ride check of DC to guide with knees, they can use both their hands to balance 2 orcs on the back of their horses. This is probably the only way to travel with all 12 surviving orcs...assuming you can spare something to strap the 2nd orc on Loyal Steed II, and not all the orcs can have their hands & feet tied. Anyway, Grolton will be scouting by the time the strapping time comes in, so I'll figure it out with the ones doing it when the time comes.
The next post will have Sir Grolton depart, and Sahme will walk around casting detect magic on the orcs and searching them while Brion starts to move the bodies. If you want to do something different, let me know.] |
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Post by reefwood on Jun 4, 2010 19:15:59 GMT -5
[Day 18]
Sir Grolton says a few words to his loyal steed and leaves orders for his men. Then, the noble officer taps into his connection with the wild. He shrinks in size and sprouts feathers. The transformation complete, the bird-once-man takes to the air in hopes of finding the bulk of the orcs.
It takes only seconds for Sahme to conjure the ability to detect magical auras. Turning toward a smattering of laid out orcs, the burly sorcerer immediately feels the presence of magic. There are several sources - three emanating from inside a pouch on each orc - but all weak. A closer inspection reveals each source to be a vial, and a quick search finds that an archer carries spell components as well.
As Sahme moves across the battlefield, Brion tosses a pair of orcs over his horse. One across the saddle and another behind it. They are hefty warriors, but the steed is strong. Guiding his horse carefully, Brion is able to keep the orcs balanced during the short walk through the forest. The previously defeated orcs still lay quiet on the ground, and the Sahme's horse remains tied to a bush, but the horses ridden by the orcs have chewed through their reins. Though, they have not gone far. Each is standing beside one of the orcs, and it is clear to see that the horse burned by the fireball is near the orc who suffered the same fate.
[OOC: Each orc has 3 vials for a total of 42 vials. Each vial has a faint aura but no rolls have been made yet to identify their aura or magic properties. The 4 archer orcs also have a spell component pouch. I had Sahme Take 10 on Perception to search the bodies, but if you want to inspect a body or item more thoroughly, just let me know. You can also Take 20 on Perception if you want to spend 2 minutes doing it. This would take 28 minutes to do on each orc.
The searching and moving of (just live? or dead too?) bodies can be completed before dealing with the orc horses.]
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