Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 3: The Silent Blade

As the political scene in Taldor explodes into chaos, heroes take on the mantle of agents, advocates, and saboteurs working for Princess Eutropia to help secure her claim to the Imperial throne and prevent the Empire from collapsing in on itself in civil war. Will they grow from relative nobodies to powerful politicians and spymasters in the deadliest political arena in the Inner Sea?

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Re: Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 3: The Silent Blade

Post by Grimbold » Wed May 26, 2021 6:12 am

Brother Betram follows, suddenly not needing his staff for walking anymore, but striding quickly. He hits the first enemy to come into range with his quarterstaff.
Charge, power attack with quarterstaff

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Re: Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 3: The Silent Blade

Post by ManWithDoor » Thu May 27, 2021 7:14 pm

Theodrix is the first in, his boot making a loud KRAK! sound as he literally kicks the door off its hinges. It flies straight at the nearest guard, hitting him in the gut so hard it knocks the wind out of him. He folds in half, eyes bulging, trying to recover. He lets off a hasty snapshot at the boss-man, which luckily slips through a gap in his leather armor. He then darts aside, dropping the hand crossbow and drawing his sword.

Bertram charges forward through the gap Theodrix just made, his quarterstaff slamming down on the head of Mr. Smiles III. It hits square on with all his strength, and the Fetchling reels in surprise and pain.

Astraea edges into the room, not much space left in this office area. The stunned guard is right in front of her, and she has no qualms about ambushing an assassin squad. The man is still doubled over in pain, so she raises her bastard sword above her head, and brings it slicing down. In one smooth move she decapitates him, and shoves the body over with her foot.

This actually makes enough for Mercutio to fit where the dead guard once was. So he slips past Astraea, and is close enough to gang up even more on the pale supervisor. The man may or may not be a badass, but Mercutio has no intention of giving the other the opportunity to demonstrate that. However, there's a lot of bloody mess on the floor, and a broken door to step over. So unfortunately his lunge misses, hitting only empty air.

Aurelia is being the rearguard, and the Enchantress has a couple tricks up her sleeves. Which she does have, by the way. Confusion is an excellent tool during an ambush, and if any reinforcements are too messed up to ever be a threat, the better! An explosion of glitter covers the gamblers across the warehouse, and they scream in surprise and panic. The two nearest to Aurelia fall to the ground blindly, clawing at the table legs for support. The farthest one may have blinked at just the right time or something, but he's not too smart on the uptake. Rather than arming himself, he tries to help his blind friends stand back up.
Theodrix: Strength check for kicking in the door = ... Nat 20! Damn. Hits the northern Guard, Stunning him for (#-unknown-to-PCs) round(s). :D
- Dignity's Barb vs. Mr. Smiles III = 15, Hit (b/c flat-footed!), 4 Damage.
- Move 5' SW to threaten Guard 1, and open up space for the others.

Bertram: Charge/Power Attack vs Mr. Smiles III = 19, Hit. PA for 10 Damage!

Astraea: Attack northern Guard w/ Bastard Sword = (Nat 20), Hit. Rolled 21 to confirm, yes on Crit! 1d10+3 (2x) = 21 Damage, northern Guard (who was already Stunned), is super dead!

Mercutio: Attack Mr. Smiles III with Rapier = 7, Miss.

Aurelia: Glitterdust, Will DC 16. 3/5/18, 2 Fail.

HP:
Northern Guard: -21, dead
Southern Guard, full
Mr. Smiles III: -14, alive
Now that the surprise wears off, your enemies are surprisingly fast at responding. Not as fast as Bertram is though ...
Bertram: 23
Mr. Smiles III: 10
Silent Initiates: 9
Astraea: 6
Theodrix: 6
Aurelia: 6
Mercutio: 5

Wow, you guys rolled crap on Initiative (excepting Bertram). [/ooc]
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Re: Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 3: The Silent Blade

Post by Grimbold » Fri May 28, 2021 8:30 am

Bertram follows up, striking at Mr. Smiles again to keep him occupied. "I got a message for you. I am displeased!" he quips.
PA again.

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Re: Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 3: The Silent Blade

Post by ManWithDoor » Fri May 28, 2021 10:24 pm

The stout, middle-aged warrior is laying a beat-down with a stick, like a farmer driving off a particularly pathetic bandit. One for whom a pitchfork would be overkill. He cracks the boss a good one in the face with his quarterstaff, clearly breaking his nose.

"Mr. Smiles" staggers away from his desk, his face almost a ruin. He brings his hands up defensively, and begins intoning quick words of power. Darkness gathers around the Fetchling, and shadowy shapes emerge with shrieks and hungry cries. Mercutio gets the willies, childhood memories of being scared of the dark sending shivers up and down his spine. Bertram, however, gets the full brunt of the spell. The images and sounds dig deep into his brain, and panic sets in. For the moment he freezes in place, but his legs are trembling as though desperate to bolt.

Pandemonium has erupted in the Warehouse proper. The literal explosion of glitter has messed the gamblers thoroughly, and guards from both within the building and outside come rushing in, expecting a fight. All they see however is a pile of glitter and two screaming, panicked men grasping at a table. They see Aurelia up on the stairs, but in her disguise she looks just like one of them. And their angle to the supervisor's perch isn't great, and the glass is none too clean, so for now they have no idea what's going on.
Bertram: PA the Boss = 16+4 = 20, Hit for 10 Damage. Dude is looking seriously messed up.

Mr. Smiles III: 5' step South. Casts 'Scare', Will Save or be Frightened/Shaken. Can target 2 creatures of 6HD or less, so targets the nearest 2 PCs (Bertram and Mercutio).
- Bertram Will Save: 9+6 = 15, Fail. Frightened for 4 Rounds (must Flee from source of Fear) ... unless the PCs manage to kill him before your turn rolls around, in which case you're gravy.
- Mercutio Will Save: 14+3 = 17, Succeed. Shaken for 1 Round (-2 on most d20 rolls).

South Guard: 5' Step North to protect his boss. Attacks Mercutio with a Dagger: 7, Miss.

HP:
Northern Guard: -21, dead
Southern Guard, full
Mr. Smiles III: -24, alive (but not especially happy about it)

Rest of the Initiative Train:
Astraea: 6
Theodrix: 6
Aurelia: 6
Mercutio: 5
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 3: The Silent Blade

Post by Zorbeltuss » Wed Jun 02, 2021 2:20 pm

Having nothing to do to help Bertrand, Mercutio starts a stream of encouraging words to help his allies.
Inspire Courage

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Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 3: The Silent Blade

Post by Vardaen » Wed Jun 02, 2021 5:00 pm

Thoedrix hopes the old adage of cutting off a snake's head is true. He tumbles forward and drives his blades at Mr. Smiles in the tight space. "Its nothing personal, I hope you understand. Its all professional." He double strikes hoping to put a frown on Mr. Smile's face.
5ft to get into range of Mr. Smiles
TWF attack him w/ Longsword / Feather Slicer (lines 36/37 on sheet

If some how he dies on the first hit, turn the second on a nearby guard
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 3: The Silent Blade

Post by ManWithDoor » Thu Jun 03, 2021 11:55 pm

Mercutio shows off his melodic leadership skills, encouraging everyone to fight on to their fullest.

Theodrix bulls forward past Mercutio and Bertram, the former shouting words of encouragement and the latter shaking in fear. The guard tries to stab him with a knife, but just hits armor. The warrior doesn't have time for his intended fancy maneuvers, instead stabbing forward with his longsword ... right into Mr. Smiles III throat! The fetchling staggers as blood streams down his body, until he collapses on the ground.

Astraea and Aurelia, before the guard can react to the boss's downfall ...
Mercutio: Inspire Courage (+1 Morale vs Fear, +1 Attack/Damage)

Theodrix: Because Smiles had done a 5' step South, you have to Move SE/S to get within range, so no TWF. Also gives the remaining Guard an AOO = 7, Miss.
- Longsword attack for 20, Hit for 8 damage.
- Mr. Smiles III is now at -1 HP! And he's down!
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 3: The Silent Blade

Post by Othniel » Sun Jun 06, 2021 9:07 pm

Astraea moves forward, squeezing past Bertram to stand next to the downed Mr. Smiles. She whips her blade through the air, trying to catch the remaining guard...
If I can move into the space with the chair, I'll do that and just attack the guard.

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Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 3: The Silent Blade

Post by ManWithDoor » Mon Jun 07, 2021 6:23 am

Astraea moves up to the guard and slices him with her sword. The man is mobbed by everyone before he can raise an effective alarm. The warehouse is in an uproar, but someone is bound to notice eventually that the boss isn't coming out to bring order to the chaos.
Astraea: Attack Guard with Sword = 21, Hit. 6 Damage. The guy only has 4/10 HP left, so you all finish him off quickly.
The nearest 'vent' in the northwest corner of the office was already identified as fake. Up close and knowing what you're looking for, you quickly pry it open and see a very tight stairwell descending belowground.
Basically do you stay to further confuse or wipe up the remaining guards, or do you leave them behind to their confusion and go down to rescue your Patron?
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Re: Re: Book 1: Crownfall, Act 3: The Silent Blade

Post by GuyWithSword » Mon Jun 07, 2021 8:08 am

Quickly searching Mr Smiles, Aurelia fails to find anything along the lines of keys. But, she did find a sickle that radiates magic. "I suppose we can take this for now. I think we should head down the stairwell, and leave the other guards in confusion. Shall we hurry?"

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