matt_s

ok, threw in a snap attack against the one that took the normal attack

Stavard will die some day. He hopes it will be some later day but he cannot say for certain. But if he does die on this day he would not die easy. The ghosts would learn that. The roar of cannons were a surprise, a foolish lapse in vigilance and a warning about the pernicious dangers of complacency that they could only heed if they survived the next minute. That did not matter now. All that mattered was the hammer he swung and the foes before him. It was time for payback. Swinging the enchanted blunt instrument of violence in broad arcs, Stavard met his foe. ooc whirlwind 8/AC18 on adjacent ghosts attack a ghost with hammer maybe snap attack ahead of next round? depending on how things are shaping up. let me know if they are still standing so i can do movement/snap attacks UPDATE: snap attack the one hit with the normal attack

Tharnakalian rappels down the second line, landing (more or less) on his feet at the bottom. Holding a torch, he marks out a circle in white chalk about their entry point. I got a grapple with me in case something were to happen to these ones. Can't ever be too sure I reckon. Well, we got some footprints. Might as well follow those. Unless anyone has better ideas. He listens at the door from the room - anything nasty may have seen the shadows of the flickering torchlight but they might have not seen them. If he is met with silence, Tharnakalian will slowly peer around the corner and down the hallway, using the torch for light feeble as it may be.

notice -1

Work in progress. Playbook: Halfling Thief (Neutral - Avoid detection or infiltrate a location.) Fred Bullharson was a Tolkien enthusiast since his youngest days. Reading for school was loathsome but he loved those tales of Middle Earth. First it was the majestic and ethereal elves, then the mighty wizards wielding high sorcery, then the haughty Dunedain and later the noble men of the Riddermark clad in shining mail and with flowing braids of gold. But he settled on the humble halflings, diminutive in stature but glorious in courage and never to be underestimated in a tight spot, as his favorites. Some days, he would imagine himself as Fredegar the nigh-invisible, stealing in and out of the lairs of trolls, of dragons, of Balrogs, of even hellish dungeons of Barad-Dur itself, to purloin great magical riches. And sometimes he would in fact pick the lock on the vending machine at the school to get a gratis bottle of Dr. Pepper. But that's neither here nor there. Just a reason why he was in and out of detention. Gandalf may answer to the Valar, but the school cafeteria answered to the Coca-Cola company. Fred looked more or less normal in the real world or rather the modern world for who was to say which was real? Not Fred judging by his grades in Philosophy. Slightly above average height, the characteristic gangliness of a 17 year old boy or young man as he liked to believe he in fact was but he in fact was not. On his head was short, somewhat unkempt blonde hair and nervous green eyes beneath. Fredegar the halfling by contrast was short and stout, a well fed young creature of near the same age. No awkwardness there, with the stubby fingers having impressive dexterity and his eye an uncanny aim. His hair was an earthy brown and in curls and his eyes a matching brown as well. Soft on his feet Fredegar could go unnoticed a welcome trait in a thief it went without saying. Stats Str - 8(0) Dex - 16 (+2) Con - 13 (+1) Int - 15 (+1) Wis - 12 (0) Cha - 9 (0) ----------------------- HP - 19/19 dmg - d8 (+2 with ranged weapons via thief) equipment Load 7/8 - rapier (close, precise, 1 weight) - Ragged Bow (near, 2 weight) and bundle of arrows (3 ammo, 1 weight) - Adventuring gear (1 weight) (5/5) - dungeon ratios x5 1 weight - 10 coins - 3x poison of choice Bloodweed (touch): The target deals -1d4 damage ongoing until cured - leather armor 1 armor 1 weight Thief moves - poison use - find traps ability - backstab ability

The bandit in the boat was still wary as he attempted to slip his moorings... But his wariness was not enough as two bullets torn into him, one in the upper right arm, the other in the chest and that was a grievous wound indeed. Reeling, barely standing, somehow he shoves off the boat and collapses into it in a bloody heap as the boat begins to make its way away - slowly, slowly ebbing in the current. You see him then lay back in the shadowy recesses of the rowboat and seem to consign himself to whatever fate shall come. ooc basically the guy is at a bit lower than -1xHP and threw himself into the boat in an attempt to basically float away. But he's really going nowhere fast and no longer able to effectively shoot back at all but the shortest of ranges.

Tharnakalian picks up the torch that Zaivie had thrown. Finders keepers, he thought. Bit of mirth always came in handy. Holding the torch in one hand and his weapon in the other, he slowly approached the hole, and then peered over the edge into the darkness below, waiting to see what the flickering torch revealed below. Did he hear shuffling feet, spoken words, or more sinister things? Was there anything to see below? Something ain't right. he said. What kind of expedition doesn't leave a guard or nothing behind. If we were brigands, we could just cut the rope behind them and leave them stuck down there. Forever. We know some folks been lost out here, and lost out there recently, perhaps recently enough for the dust to linger. What say you?

to keep things moving in pbp i was doing "double rounds" so you can hip fire twice or aim+fire or move + fire (although you are prone) etc. if you wish.

First pick for me is Thief, second pick Bard maybe?

checking out bones and the tablets for now. willing to toss a torch into the darkness but i'll let other people take some actions as well, already doing two things.

Tharnakalian stops and beholds the situation. The ancients certainly have a taste for the ostentatalious. And their works linger on even now, grasping at the fevering sinews of the present. Could this be the antechamber to the great maze below the Earth? Like those corn mazes the farmers used to make? I got stuck in one of those for days. Didn't come close to starving though, for reasons apparent. He pauses to examine the bones. Do these look human or elf or dwarf or orc to you lot? How old do you think they are. I reckon pretty old. He scrapes one of the small stones with a knife. Perhaps there is writing on it and therefore the others. Perhaps not. Perhaps there was and perhaps there was not. Let's get a light on that path into the chamber. I can strike up a torch no problem and toss 'er in.

Information is priceless, a half hour or so of talking with gern should be more than worth it. I think 12 -> 2 because they are close to the start. Then 8 if we have time to dig else 4 because it's only covered? Bringing along our young ranger guide as hireling/guide as well. If we have time at least a look at the weird bronze door one seems worthwhile - if we can avoid Bertran's Naughty Boys.

with 100 you can assume the average distribution e.g. if they need to roll a 12 to succeed that's a 45% chance of success so 45 succeed, 55 fail.

If we want allies Southland and Lon seem like our best and least morally compromised bets. Both are naval powers that stand to make a fortune from trade and they seem least likely to act with genuine depravity. We could send a ship with a delegation from this place and Aweholme to Southland and then Lon to do some diplomacy but that is something I have little tongue for. I like these new frontiers and I think I shall stay here awhile. But enough about that. Stavard cut himself off. Let's get those cannons. If we were to engage in river raiding they would prove a decisive advantage.

my big gripe with basic dnd is that the red box book seems really poorly laid out in terms of structure which is rough when you have to constantly go back and check mechanics and such given the intermittent nature of pbp. I also like ascending AC but that's a soft preference. BFRPG is both free and fairly well structured. Labyrinth Lord is also free. although i'm in a bunch of games rn so don't know if I can commit to another.

kinda like the idea of getting a bit of campaigning in now while the weather is good and then wintering here which will be plenty of time to do the fortifying stuff.

Tharnakalian is more than a little surly as he returns to the Strumpet. No shield is a steep price for being candid, confound it. Are we all up for another go at the Mounds tomorrow? That prank was ill done but we are still making a profit on all this nonsense and we're all still breathing so it could be worse. Did the others go to speak with the wizard? Let's hope they return as we last saw them rather than as barnyard animals. Tharnakalian shivered at that.

i'm fine if you want to roll with the 3e style shotgun (one BIG damage die) or the 4e style with the pellets, my read is that the 4e version is a bit more clunky mechanically but it's good either way.

Stavards nods with Koji's description. The goal isn't to fortify long term. It's to first get a sense of the area, maps and all that more or less. Then, to ensure that use of the areas are denied to the enemy by destroying any of their outposts or scouting parties present. And lastly, to aid our use of these areas by preparing caches and hideouts for our use in future campaigning. In terms of order of battle it would be just us and a few auxiliaries. If we find a major encampment we could raise some militia and storm their lines with an augmented force. But it could be simpler to assail their lines of supply instead. Repairing that ship sounds like a very sound idea indeed.

Evening, said Celeg as a manner of greeting somewhat understated given the circumstances. The mist of his breath blew forth from his mouth, a reminder of the winter cold and that he still lived with hot blood in his veins. Not as hot as he would have liked, given said winter cold. By my understanding which is not much better than yours to be sure it is or rather was some sort of undead giant rabbit moose ... miscreation? There's a bunch of them in that old dwarf mine a few miles out. But three less than there were this morning. Think of it as a sibling of sorts to the one you got mounted on your wall. Impressive specimen, that, I have to say if I have not said so already. If you want this one you'll have to argue with Gert for it or so I think. I'd advise not being in bowshot for that conversation, hah! Oh, we did check on the rest of the caravan. High spirits and good health, all. If I could trouble you for something warm to get the chill out of my bones and a bag of apples or the like. Celeg paused, realizing the slight unusual nature of the back half of that request. It's uh, for the horse. Greenleaves has been put to it pretty hard the last few miles.

Tharnakalian pauses. Oh. I'll take the shield I suppose but I rightly can't say one way or another how much credit we deserve in this. Still, it's a damn poor thing to enslave another. Don't sit well with me and it bloody shouldn't I reckon. Won't be sharing a round with Bertrand soon or ever that's for sure. I'd spit on the ground but I'd rather not dirty your establishment.

huh I didn't connect those dots because i'm dumb. that's... interesting. what better way to RP a low int character than to not revise my own IRL mistakes though lol...

Tharnakalian shakes his head. We'll only come from the shield when we have him from the grip of the bandits for a certainty and that time ain't come yet. Just wanted to keep you appraisaled, that's all. But whether by guile or gold or force of arms, we will uphold our end of the deal.

shameless metagaming but the ligneous dissolution spell at lvl 1 throws a wrench shall we say into naval combat....