[Game Thread] Chapter 1: A Choice To Make

[Pilgrim]

Round Four Edi - 17 Mardigan - 15 Total Defense Dying Goblin - 15 Down, not dead. Only listed in case someone uses an area effect heal Dying Goblin #3 - 15 Down, not dead. Only listed in case someone uses an area effect heal Sakura - 15 Dying Goblin #2 - 15 Down, not dead. Only listed in case someone uses an area effect heal Other Goblins - 15 Mezio - 14 Entangle: 7 rounds left Drubner - 10?? Readied an action to attack goblin to his south if it withdraws. =>Thomas - 5 Elena - 4 (Planning to sheathe her sword and draw her bow.)

Fight! Mezio runs forward, hurling a spear at the fleeing goblins, but the projectile goes wide. Meanwhile, the fleeing goblins all manage to avoid becoming entangled in his spell again.

Mechanics Mezio moves south and throws his spear, but misses. All goblins not currently entangled pass their reflex saves to avoid becoming entangled again. Drubner moves east and (presumably, unconfirmed) readies an action to stab the goblin to his south if it tries to withdraw.

Map

Comments Mezio, the goblin is still outside your thrown range, so you would have taken range penalties unless you moved into the entangle spell (on top of Alessandra). However, even without, you missed, so I went ahead and did the move as planned. 11cclark, dropping a sword and pulling a bow would take one move action, but putting the sword up and drawing the bow is two, yes. However, don't forget that since you have a +1 BAB, you can draw a weapon while moving, so you could sheathe the sword, then draw the bow as you moved to another spot. You don't have to, of course, but you have that option. Next update will include both Thomas and Elena, even if Thomas hasn't posted... Oh, yeah, and just so we are clear when it comes up - refusing to take prisoners who surrender, I consider a little evil. Killing helpless prisoners, more evil. Either would cause problems for a paladin, however.

[11cclark]

Elana saw the fleeing goblins, but couldn't allow murderers to escape. She sheathed her sword and ran forward, pulling her bow from her back.

Mechanics Elana uses an action to sheath her sword, then moves to the edge of the Entangle spell while drawing her bow.

[Pilgrim]

Round Five =>Edi - 17 Mardigan - 15 Total Defense Dying Goblin - 15 Down, not dead. Only listed in case someone uses an area effect heal Dying Goblin #3 - 15 Down, not dead. Only listed in case someone uses an area effect heal Sakura - 15 Dying Goblin #2 - 15 Down, not dead. Only listed in case someone uses an area effect heal Other Goblins - 15 Mezio - 14 Entangle: 7 rounds left Drubner - 10?? Readied an action to attack goblin to his south if it withdraws. Thomas - 5 Total Defense Elena - 4

Fight! Thomas continues to take note of his companions' fighting styles, though keeps a wary eye out in case any goblins should decide to turn and attack him. Elena, meanwhile, puts up her sword, then runs forward drawing her bow.

Mechanics Thomas takes total defense. Elena takes a move action to sheathe her sword, then another move to draw her bow and move south.

Map

Comments Know what would be really awesome? Inline secret tags. So you could use them in tables.

[Ieiunitas]

As the goblins flee, Edi puts up his mace, breathing heavily as a result of the unexpected fight. "Alright...that ought to...be enough." he says, catching his wind. "It doesn't look like the rest of them will bother us anymore. Though what we're going to do with these two, I have no idea." Edi finishes, watching the goblin struggling against his bonds. The adrenaline was making him unusually talkative.

 

Since I suppose we're still technically in combat, Edi is taking a move action to put away his morningstar.

[corporealself]

"We only need one of them..." Drubner hissed, his rage making his spear's point quiver as he kept it trained on the goblin ahead of him, "I'll get rid of the other little bastard."

OOC Drubner will pursue and attack if the goblin ahead of him withdraws. He's angry. I thoroughly encourage someone to talk him down.

[Moridain]

Sakura is shocked at how quickly violence began and ended, but its nothing new to her. Battle between the creatures of her Home tended to be even shorter. She was surprised at the sheer skill of those she is travelling with though. One thing confused her though...

"Why did they even attack us? Were they hungry or something?"

[Pilgrim]

OOC corporeal, saw you were online. Go ahead and make an attack/damage roll, if you see this - that goblin will be trying to withdraw during this update.

[Ieiunitas]

Edi attempts one last time to reason with the enraged half-orc. "Killing them isn't going to bring Alessandra and Kinnon back, and I'm not going to fight them if they're not fighting me. Do you think they don't feel the same thing when their own die? The goblins clearly realized they made a mistake; hopefully they won't try to do the same thing again to others. If you're willing to kill a helpless creature, so be it, but I refuse to take part in it."

This is easily the most he's said to Drubner (or possibly anyone recently) in one go, and it's definitely the first time he's voiced such a strong opinion to the group. Edi may hate the undead with a burning passion, but this hatred doesn't extend to the living. Turning away from everyone else, he starts walking back to his mule. After taking a few steps, he pauses, folds his hands around his holy symbol, and mutters a prayer. A burst of pure positive energy flows out from him, and he intentionally doesn't exclude the goblin laying close by from its healing rays.

 

Movin' north 5 feet, then using Channel Energy, on which I rolled a 6. I don't actually know if I'm allowed to do this or not, so lemme know and I'll edit it if necessary =P

[Pilgrim]

Round Five Edi - 17 Mardigan - 15 Total Defense Goblin - 15 Down, not dead. Not visible under the goblin under the green X. Still not moving. Goblin #3 - 15 Sakura - 15 Dying Goblin #2 - 15 Down, not dead. Only listed in case someone uses an area effect heal Drubner - 15 Other Goblins - 15 =>Mezio - 14 Entangle: 7 rounds left Thomas - 5 Total Defense Elena - 4

Round Six Edi - 17 Mardigan - 15 Goblin - 15 Down, not dead. Not visible under the goblin under the green X. Still not moving. Goblin #3 - 15 Sakura - 15 Dying Goblin #2 - 15 Down, not dead. Only listed in case someone uses an area effect heal Drubner - 15 (Stated intention is currently to pursue fleeing goblins.) Other Goblins - 15 Mezio - 14 Entangle: 6 rounds left Thomas - 5 Elena - 4

Fight! Edi indicates the fight is, for him at least, over; he sheathes his mace. At Drubner's signs of homicidal anger, Edi attempts to calm him, stepping back from the goblins and focusing positive energy in a wide field. A soft glow surrounds all the living things in the area. Mardigan doesn't put his sword up, but neither does he attack. "How do we know they won't just attack again once we let our guard down?" Behind the party, the goblin previously cut down by Mezio stand up, shakily. Looking around, he raises his hands, weaponless, in a sign of surrender. Sakura ponders the motivations behind the attack. The other goblins continue to flee.

Mechanics Edi sheathes his mace as a move action, takes a 5' step north, and channels positive energy. Everyone is healed for 6 hp, except the horses to the north and the cluster of goblins to the south. Mardigan takes total defense. Again. The goblin to the northwest stand up from prone. The goblin south of Drubner withdraws, provoking the readied action, but the alchemist misses. Other goblins continue to flee, double moving south.

Map

Comments Well, this has got me just a little off on timing. On the one hand, I could see it as, Edi puts up his morning star on round 5, Drubner says his piece later on, and Edi replies and heals during his turn on round 6. On the other hand, I'm disinclined to only allow speech on someone's turn, so I could also see the whole exchange happening during Edi's turn - which would allow him to put up his morning star, take a 5' step (since he didn't do any other movement with his move action), and channel energy all on round 5. This gives the most economy of action, so I'll take this interpretation of events, but let me know if I'm wrong and I can do some editing tomorrow afternoon. Also of note: Entangle has a dismissible duration, so if Mezio wants to pursue (or allow others to) he can end the spell on his turn.

[corporealself]

Drubner cursed as he missed the fleeing goblin with his spear. He also cursed, inwardly at least, Edi and how damnably calm the cleric was. Something deep inside of him wanted to froth, rage, and blow the limbs off of as many of the goblins as he could. But there was something horribly paternal and disappointed that Drubner sensed in Edi's voice that quashed any anger under a pile of disappointment with himself.

"Somebody get some rope and a shovel," Drubner said quietly as he walked over to Alessandra's corpse and gently picked it up, cringing at the burn marks his own bomb had caused on her body.

As he lifted her he glared at the goblin that surrendered and switched to the language of the foul little folk, "I'm going to have some questions for you, and you better answer truthfully or I'll feed you to the next dog I see."

OOC Nicely put Ieiunitas. *thumbs up* I made the goblin language this color. I hope no one minds. Also, Drubner is ending with an intimidate check.

[11cclark]

Elana returned her bow to her back. She watched as Drubner threatened the remaining goblins, prepared to intervene if he got any worse. She watched as he lifted Allessandra off the ground and decide to do the same with Kinnon.

As she lifted the dead man off the ground, she eyed Sakura. Of everyone else in the party, Elana was most supspicious of her. The half elf was mysterious, and her magic didn't make Elana anymore comfortable.

Elana sighed and began the long task of burying the dead.

[Pilgrim]

The battle ended, silence momentarily reigns over the forest path. It does not last long. The goblin still entangled by vines begins hollering loudly. "No kill Nogbucker! Let Nogbucker go!" he yells in goblin, glaring at you. His teammate begins to quietly inch his way towards the treeline, trying to steal away unnoticed. The other two goblins left lie motionless, one tangled right underneath the loudmouth while the other is in the vegetation farther south.

[Casino Jack]

Mezio stared coldly ahead, his face contorted in a beastly mask of hate. His lip had been drawn up in a snarl. He snapped his fingers, and the writhing vegetation on the ground suddenly started to decay, the life granting power flowing from the now still vines. The ground turned a dead, dark brown.

Mezio joined the others, who had gathered around the captive goblin.

"I say we string them up by their entrails and have the wolves at them." He growled, his eyes glancing over to Allessandra sprawled lifelessly in Drubner's arms.

[11cclark]

Elana shook her head at Mezio's words.

No, she said, They've surrendered. We've no need to kill them. They may have been hired to do this. We need to extract information from them.

[Pilgrim]

At the paladin's words, the yelling goblin shuts up, glaring maliciously at the group. Meanwhile, his accomplice bursts into a run, moving off the trail and into the forest. Mardigan curses, and moves to follow, but then shrugs. "Rest of 'em got away, why not one more?"