SDMB RPG First Adventure: Panic in Genoa!

The Game Room
441

Harald will simply take off his armour (laying it down in a neat pile behind the tree), put on his dirtiest, shabbiest set of clothes and affect to be digging furrows in the field using Ingrid as a prop. From a small distance, with his back to the road and provided they don’t pay him too close attention it should adequately pass for a hoe.

Soon as the first arrow, fart bomb, spell or Brute flies out I’ll charge the man’s horse/mule and try to cut it down from under him (no rage yet). If possible, I’ll try to use one of my giant growth rounds to get both damage and the reach to be able to hit them without stepping inside the Entangle zone.

If that’s not possible (can’t charge through difficult terrain, and I think Entangle is that), then I’ll not grow but instead get closer in preparation for the next round and fling throwing axes at the woman (drawing one during my move action). If they both look like guys/gals because illusions, flick a coin as to which is my target :),

442

I don’t see me passing as any kind of farmer, so i guess its up the tree for me. If possible, I’ll try to drop onto one ofthe riders directly and knock them off their horse. If they aren’t directly under me when the fighting starts, I’ll drop in the road, and try to pull a Mongo on the nearest riding beast.

443

I’ll shoot for the horse, try to get it to drop the rider.

444

On further thought, I’d like to try regular charisma rolls first to charm the barmaid before I resort to using the book, seeing how it’s a once-per-adventure use.

445

Nope. You can do one or the other, but you can’t declare that she’s a longtime friend after you’ve tried your regular charm skill.

446

Oh yeah, totally. I figured that if I failed to charm her I could use the book for a stableboy or something instead, but even if not I’m fairly confident in Joseph’s high charisma. I’ll just try and charm her the old-fashioned way and reserve the book’s use.

447

“What type of barbarians have I allied myself with? Kill a man if you must certainly, but to kill his horse? *Yemoja, *preserve me! The north is even less civilized than I could imagine!”

:slight_smile:

448

For the record, if have to punch a horse, i want to deal Subdual damage. I’m not a barbarian.

Wait, no, I am a barbarian. But I’m not a jerk.

If i can actually land on one of our fugitives, I’m going straight for the grapple.

449

(Well, so would I, but you can’t subdue with an axe, can you ? ‘Sides, there’s good eating on one o’ those :p.)

450

Unless Pathfinder changed it, in 3.0/3.5 you could take a -4 penalty to attack to make a non-subdual weapon deal subdual damage.

451

It’s a tough bet; barmaids are used to charming strangers trying to get something out of them, but Joseph’s no ordinary stranger, and he quickly gains her trust. She leans in close as she serves his third glass of wine, and whispers “Early. They’ve asked for their horses to be saddled and ready by daybreak, and for a cold breakfast to be ready as they walk out the door. They’re in such a rush!”

Sorry for the delays; I’m very busy at work. Tonight will be the first night I haven’t been in until midnight in a little while. I haven’t forgotten this, don’t worry.

452

No problem, appleciders! I think we are all in position for the ambush. We’ll wait for you, hope work goes OK. (Coincidentally, the guy who runs the real life rpg I’m playing is also having to delay things due to being crushed at work. I miss being a teen with nothing else to do.)

453

Life gets the better of all of us from time to time. No worries.

Joseph smiles charmingly at the barmaid, winks, and slips a gold coin into her hand as he passes his empty cup to her.

When morning comes, he’s going to be “just finishing” readying his own horse as the targets arrive at the stables, regaling the stableboy with a tale of his own heroic exploits fighting off bandits while riding with a merchant’s caravan.

454

Joseph wakes early and goes down to the stable, grabbing a hunk of bread and hard cheese from the kitchen on the way. He begins his act, bragging to the stable boy about how he single-handedly drove off a trio of bandits in a dark Tuscan forest a few weeks ago. His two suspects come in and check that their horses have been properly saddled, speaking in hushed tones. They clearly hear Joseph, but they only glance at him and return to their hurried work.

455

Joseph strikes up a conversation (a one-sided one if need be) with the suspects as he checks his own horse, genially chatting with them about the rigors of hasty travel, the dangers of the road, the joy of leaving while the rest of the world is still quiet, and so on.

When it “just so happens” that they leave in the same direction, he offers to join them.

“Ah! *Buona fortuna! * Shall we travel together, my friends? These roads pose no danger to one such as myself save loneliness, and good company shortens the miles. Chi trova un amico, trova un tesoro!”

456

That’s a tough roll, even with your charisma, as they’ve become just a little uneasy about you. You roll a 16, which is only a marginal success.

The man speaks hesitantly, as though he doesn’t speak often and is out of practice. “We’re headed to Milan, traveler, and we’re in quite a hurry to arrive for my sister’s funeral. It’s the Duke’s road, of course, and we couldn’t prevent you from traveling that way as well, but we won’t be stopping and won’t wait if you do.”

457

Joseph adopts a mournful expression.

“I understand, my friends, and I will be no burden to you on your way. In fact,” he says, his expression lightening, "I will do all that I can to aid you both along your way. This is the word of Giuseppe Buonarroti!

Just as a note for future Diplomacy checks: My “patient optimist” trait gives me a +2 diplomacy bonus when influencing hostile or unfriendly creatures, and a reroll if I fail (not relevant here).

Once the ambush starts, I’ll use my little solid note trick on the primary target, Umberto, hopefully knocking him off of his horse if he runs directly into it.

458

I’ve had 3 very busy days at work, but this hasn’t been updated in a week now-so what’s the story, ac?

459

Long days and nights at work getting a project up and running. That’s finally done, so here’s the first round of combat!
Joseph sets out with his marks just as the sun is rising. It’s not so hot today as it had been, and there’s a stiff breeze blowing in from the south. Joseph keeps up his patter and surreptitiously looks for clues that his friends have laid an ambush.

After about half an hour of travel, Joseph spots Harald digging out a series of roots with his axe, and doubles up on his chatter, discussing the beautiful sunset over a distant forest over in the other direction. He also notes the massive, ancient oak tree next to the road, though he doesn’t think much of the root-filled mass of dirt (Giacomo, under his cloak) sitting next to a peddler with a bottle, sitting in the shade of the tree and enjoying his breakfast. Since he’s tipped off to look, Joseph notes one large mass in the tree, fairly well hidden by the summer foliage, and surmises that such a large person could only be the Brute himself, hiding in the only place that could possibly cover his bulk. Joseph doesn’t spot Taye, who’s even higher and better-covered, and though Joseph doesn’t spot Solsken, he does notice that pesky falcon that seems to hang around whenever the Northman is present.

As the trio approach within thirty yards of the knotted, twisted oak, that same falcon circles above and then behind the travelers. As it finally circles and stoops downwards, the woman’s head snaps to watch it, then darts back around to the tree and fixates on the tree and the peddler sitting beneath it and the peasant farmer in the field beyond. Her hand darts into her clothing and grasps something hung around her neck as the falcon shoots past them in a blur, screeching wildly.

The man seems startled by the bird shooting past him, but his companion isn’t taken in by the ruse. He won’t act in the surprise round, but she will.
Zachary: 21
Solsken: 21
Giacomo: 17
Maria Marioni: 16
Taye: 15
Harald: 13
Aji: 7
Joseph: 6
Umberto Marioni: 2

Zachary takes a firm grip on the stinkbomb he’d slipped up his sleeve, and whips it at the woman on horseback. It glances off her arm and shatters, spraying both men behind her with the contents. Its bulk seems to stun her arm, and she falters as she tries to pull something out from inside her clothing. (5 damage. Maria saves, but Joseph and Umberto do not)

Solsken jumps to a lower branch so that he can get a clear shot at the sorceress, and whispers a few syllables under his breath as he levels his right arm at her. Her limbs and body erupt in silent, pale fire, though it doesn’t seem to discomfort her in any way.

Giacomo boils up from under his cloak and hastily aims his crossbow. The bolt discharges easily and buries itself in Umberto’s horse’s flank, though it doesn’t seem to be a crippling blow. (6 damage to the horse)

The sorceress recovers her wits and pulls a small vial from inside her clothing. She pops the cork out, which tumbles to the ground, and quaffs the contents. She disappears from view, but her horse is still visible, as is the pale fire that wreaths her body. Two tell-tale divots appear and reappear in the horse’s sides, and the animal bolts down the road at full gallop.

Taye, from his vantage point in the trees, snarls a curse at the retreating sorceress, and is rewarded by the sight of the Faerie fire collapsing to lay close to the horse’s back. The beast continues to retreat, however.

Harald sprints in and deals a brutal blow with the flat of his axe to Umberto’s horse’s unwounded flank. The animal collapses to the dust; it’s probably not mortally wounded, but it won’t be traveling today. (12 damage)

Aji pounces from his perch in the tree. It’s a long drop, and he nearly turns an ankle as he lands in a crouch, but he bounds upward from and pulls Umberto from his fallen horse and slams him bodily into the dust of the path. (4 damage. Now in a grapple.)

Joseph barely retains his seat on his horse, coughing and choking. He can’t act this round or next.

Umberto, taken by surprise by these events, doesn’t get the chance to do anything except squawk in a surprisingly high-pitched tone as he’s pinned to the ground by the Brute.

Sorry about the delay. I ought to be able to post more regularly now.

460

“Harald! The girl! Follow the ghostly fire!”

Can he catch up to her if I cast [COLOR=“Blue”]Longstrider on him?[/COLOR]