Adventure: A Fish Story (DM: BenBrown; Judge: renau1g)

Characters:
Abigail (wik) Human Swordmage (Defender/Striker) accompanied by her Flame Dragonling familiar, Azuras
Alastair Feyd (auberon) Gnome Warlock (Striker)
Dante (Iron Sky) Human Ranger (Striker) accompanied by his Devil Lizard companion, Virgil
Eraden (Eternal54) Half-Elf Paladin (Defender)
Talks-to-the-Moon (taran) Githyanki Artificer (Leader)

[sblock=Rules and Guidelines]

Die Rolls: Please use an on-line die roller such as Invisible Castle or CoCo for your rolls. If you can, also comment on the die roller what each roll is for. Makes it easier on me.

Skill checks: I will post various skill result information in spoiler blocks. Some of these will be for passive checks and will be so marked. Please post the results from any active skill checks. I may also post spoiler blocks with information for one or more specific characters. Please don't read these spoilers if they're not addressed to you. You are on your honor not to use any information in the spoiler blocks for passive checks you would not pass or active checks you did not make.

Combat: I'm using a version of Malenkirk rules. This is a simplified way of doing initiative, named after Enworld's on Mal Malenkirk, who concocted them.

Here's how it works: Everybody rolls initiative, but the bad guys roll only one initiative for the whole lot of them. (after 24 hours, I'll go ahead and roll initiative for you). First, players with a higher init than the bad guys go. In any order they please. Then the bad guys. Then all of the players get to go, again, in any order they please. Actions are assumed to take place in post order, so if you want to delay for someone else's action, just wait until after they post (unless it's some sort of coordinated thing).

Combat Posts: In addition to description and dialogue, please put your actions (marked as minor, move, and standard) in a spoiler block, along with all die roll results. Also, if possible, post a stats block in your combat posts. Here's an example (one of my characters)

[sblock=sample stat block]Kaeysari Female Longtooth Shifter Fighter 1
Initiative: +2, Passive Perception: 18, Passive Insight: 13, Senses: Low-light
AC:17, Fort:16, Reflex:12, Will:13
HP:28/28, Bloodied:14, Surge Value:7, Surges left:10/10
Action Points: 1, Second Wind: unused
Powers:Cleave, Reaping Strike, Covering Attack, Longtooth Shifting,
Villain's Menace, Healing Word
[/sblock]

My combat posts will have all of the enemy actions and results. Positions and conditions of all of the characters, a guide to any terrain effects, and the map. I'll also post basic enemy stats, which will allow you to determine if your attack hit, and to resolve (roll for) any enemy opportunity attacks that take place on your move.

Treasure: I will try to accommodate wish lists from your character sheets, provided the treasure values even out.

Deadlines: I will give players 48 hours to post, at the end of which time I reserve the right to RP the player's character on his behalf. I will use the most appropriate actions and At-Will powers only.

If you will be out for a long time and unable to post, please let the party know and assign responsibility to either myself or another, willing player for RPing your character.

Out of Character Content: Post out of character content (kibitzing, etc.) in an appropriately marked spoiler block. You can even post tactical discussions. If you ask me, I won't look, but I'm not going to use it against you in any case.

Thanks for playing, and I hope you have fun.
[/sblock]


A feud between fish wholesalers Josiah Sturgeon and Lucius Hake has been brewing for a long time, and now has come to a head.

Josiah Sturgeon, accompanied by his nephew Victor, rushed into the taproom of the Hanged Man crying that his niece had been kidnapped, and that he was willing to pay to get her back.

Several patrons of the tavern gathered as he told his story, and agreed to help. Now, with night falling, the Sturgeons, uncle and nephew, lead the disparate band out of the tavern, and forward to the old fish warehouse, wherein they hope to find Edith Sturgeon, and almost certainly will find Adventure!

An raven sits atop an adjacent building's sign, watching the party with its intelligent black eyes.

[sblock=OOC]
I'll judge this. Please let me know if you have any questions Ben. Also, if you're waiting for a judge ruling, please send me a PM as I don't check every day my non-game threads. [/sblock]

Dante follows the merchant out of the Tavern, sidestepping the gnome that comes power-sliding past him. Virgil follows sluggishly, coughing as he walks outside into the evening air.

Once outside, Dante seems to be tense and on his guard, eyes scanning the streets all around them as they walk, hands not far from his weapons as if expecting to be ambushed at any moment.

Virgil seems like he couldn't care less, plodding along and bumping into people's legs whenever they stop or change direction.

[sblock=OCC]Ready to roll![/sblock]
[sblock=Character Statblock Test]Dante, Male Human Ranger 1
Passive Perception: 17, Passive Insight: 12
AC: 16, Fort:16, Reflex:15, Will:13 -- Speed:6
HP:22/22, Bloodied:11, Surge Value:5, Surges left:6/6
Initiative +3
Action Points: 1, Second Wind: not used
Powers: Twin Strike, Predator Strike, Careful Attack, Off-Hand Strike, Jaws of the Wolf

Note: Dante makes an OA on any creature that makes a melee attack on Virgil as long as it OR Virgil are within reach 2. +7 vs. AC, 2d4+4 damage.

Virgil, Beast Companion(Lizard) 1
Passive Perception: 11, Passive Insight: 11
AC: 16, Fort:13, Reflex:13, Will:11 -- Speed:6
HP:22/22, Bloodied:11, Surge Value:5, Surges left:2/2
Initiative As Dante

Virgil's OA attacks: +7 vs. AC, 1d8+3 damage.[/sblock]

Abigail follows Dante, trailing only a few feet behind. As she moves, oblivious to the shifting shadows around her, she adjusts and relocates her daggers, keeping one on her sleeve, and one on her belt to counterweight the short blade on her left. The plain scabbarded longsword is slung over her shoulder, like some would carry a backpack, with one strap.

She puts her hair back in simple manner, part ponytail and part braid, held in part with long hairpins she draws from a leather case. When Dante looks over for a moment, he realizes they are thieves' tools. Abigail catches Dante looking, and grins impishly.

"Always keep a set near at hand, right?" Abigail says. "Course, problem then is, when you need a good pick, your hair starts going every which way..."

As she plays with her hair, Azuras remains perched on her shoulder, surveying the land around like a meercat looking over its domain. Every few minutes, though, the dragonling's attention begins to drift towards the devil lizard... and then snaps back to the cause at hand.

Abigail digs in her pockets and throws a few peanuts in the air, which the dragonling snaps at when they reach the arc of their flight. Each peanut, the dragonling makes a grimacing gesture, but this doesn't stop him from grabbing at the next to fly up.

"So... " Abigail says, softly. "Do we have a plan? Or are we just going to go knock on the front door?"

[sblock=Some thoughts]
Alright. I think it might be time to look at some of the major party roles. Who is going to be the minion-popper? Who will focus on the big bads, and who fights on the periphery? I really think both Eraden and Talks to the Moon need to keep an eye on party health, since neither can do much more than "you spend a healing surge" with a small bonus.
Here's what I was thinking:

Abigail will act as a minion-popper, by running into the thick of things. Dante and Abigail will try to fight on the periphery, while others fight the big bads. Alastair and Eraden will be the primary "big bad" fighters, with Dante or Abigail (preferably Dante, since he'll do more damage) jumping in if needed. Talks to the Moon, of course, will do everything to keep us alive and kicking and fighting at peak performance.

Not trying to step in and be bossy, of course... I just think it might be good to have a standard operating procedure in place so that we don't all just jump into the fray willy-nilly. Would love to hear other suggestions![/sblock]

[sblock=Abigail]Female Human Assault Swordmage 1
Passive Perception: 9, Passive Insight: 9
AC: 19, Fort:14, Reflex:15, Will:14 -- Speed:6
HP:27/27, Bloodied:13, Surges:9/9 (Value 8)
Special: Surge value drops to 6 if Azuras is "dead"
Initiative +1
Action Points: 1, Second Wind: Available
Powers:
Greenflame Blade, Sword Burst, Luring Strike, Aegis of Assault, Flame Cyclone, Sneak Attack, Burning Blade

Opportunity Attacks: +6 vs. AC, 1d8+3 damage

Azuras: Dragonling Companion (passive)
Azuras has all the same defenses as Abigail when active, and has 1 hit point. Azuras is healed on a short rest, and can only be targeted when active - he is immune to attacks whilst passive.
[/sblock]

Smiling in a self-satisfied sort of way, Talks-to-the-Moon turns on her heel and follows Dante out of the Hanged Man, having been inside for all of thirty seconds. The lizard beside him seems to have caught her eye: after a few moments close observation, she ventures, "A strange beast, and so attached to you! How did the two of you meet?"

[sblock=Party Roles]Wik, you're quite right: Talks-to-the-Moon (you can call her Speaker for short, she doesn't mind) isn't a strong healer. She's got lots of to-hit and damage bonuses to hand out, but her best "healing" power actually grants temp hp. I expect she'll spend a lot of time standing next to Dante, handing him static damage bonuses and making sure our enemies die before they cause too much trouble. Think of it as preemptive healing

Her Arcane Empowerment gives someone +2 to hit once per day per milestone, but I have to decide in advance who gets it. I think that goes to Eraden, or maybe Alastair to help him land Prophecy of Zhudun. Thoughts welcome.

Also, she's got Telekinetic Leap, which lets her fly an ally 5 squares. If you need to move before your turn, don't hesitate to speak up.[/sblock][sblock=mini-stats]Talks-to-the-Moon - Githyanki Artificer 1
Initiative +3 Passive perception 15 Passive Insight 10
AC 17 For 14 Ref 15 Will 12
HP 29/29 Bloodied 14 Surge value 7 Surges/day 9/9
Speed 7 squares Languages Common, Deep Speech
AP 1 Magic Items Uses 1
Dagger +3 (1d4)
Dagger +4 (1d4)
Powers: Magic Weapon, Static Shock
Scouring Weapon
Telekinetic Leap, Second Wind
Arcane Empowerment 1 of 1
Healing Infusion 2 of 2[/sblock]

Dante nods to Abigail. "Should Bath'savakin take us, such things might be useful to such as these - if these should live."

He glances briefly at Virgil and shakes his head. The devil lizard stumbles into people, walls, and barrels as he watches the dragonling and searches for fallen peanuts or peanunt shells to eat, seemingly oblivious of where he's going.

"This one has no legonto'rask... march together? before now. Virgil and Dante usually enter while bath'crossix... to-kill marked? was in sleep, not with other savak at side."

Dante freezes, spins, and draws a weapon at a hint of movement in an alley, a length of chain with a kama attached to the end suddenly in hand. A rat squeeks and skitters through some refuse, but Dante stares at it as if it is trap. Slowly he puts the kama away and continues with the others.

He glances at Talks-to-the-Moon. "Virgil began following this one during mission on Dis. Would not stop in track Dante, then kill savak that makes to kill Dante." Dante shrugs. "That one goes where that one will and for now path seems to be Dante's."

[sblock=Party Roles/Tactics]Twin-strike and Magic Weapon definitely make good company. Dante is fairly fragile, though he does have Virgil to soak up some damage. His damage might be a little low for a striker, though that depends on how long it takes for creatures in a fight to figure out that attacking Virgil in melee is a bad idea. If we're fighting something mindless that just goes for the nearest thing Dante can dish out some pretty serious hurt.

Wik, you said Abigail will "act as minion-popper... in the thick of things" while at the same time being "on the periphery". I'm assuming that means jumping in to take down minions, but otherwise doing the ol' Assault Swordmage trick of "mark a guy across the map and fight someone way over here" so your mark either risks a marked attack on an ally or has to make its way across the battlefield to attack you.[/sblock]

[sblock=tactics]
You're absolutely right, Sky. I figure Abigail will act to take out minions if able, but in general fights, yeah, she'll mark someone, and then move to the edge of the fight. I'll be playing her as fairly mobile, and what I sort of meant as "on the periphery" is this - if there are one or two major bad guys, and a bunch of smaller, Abigail would take the outside bad guys, keeping them occupied, while Eraden and the strikers focus on the big bads. But yeah, I'll be pulling that whole striker trick, teleporting left right and centre!

Can't wait till 4th level, when she'll get a rogue power that lets her knock an enemy prone - imagine knocking a guy prone, blowing an action point to get sneak attack, and then stepping back. The guy has to spend a move to get to his feet, and then (provided there are no adjacent allies) has to charge to get into a fight - and can't charge Abigail, since she's only one square away... thus provoking an OA from Abi). Gonna be so much fun!
[/sblock]

Alastair moves quickly and silently as he keeps up with the others, but he is clearly giving Dante's devil lizard a wide berth.

Under his breath, you hear him mutter, "That thing is big enough to put a saddle on."

Wik said:

"So... " Abigail says, softly. "Do we have a plan? Or are we just going to go knock on the front door?"

Click to expand...

"Lets have tall, blue, and shiny over here," jabbing his thumb at Eraden, "Introduce himself to anyone ill-intentioned we may encounter, while the rest of us sneak around to their flanks."

[sblock=Party Roles/Tactics] Eraden should probably be the focal point of a fight. I'd like to get maximum use from combat advantage and prime shot so I also intend to skulk about on the periphery.[/sblock]

[sblock=Question to DM] Whenever possible, I want to make use of Alastair's Reactive Stealth racial ability at initiative. To that end, Alastair will use any available cover or concealment. I'm not sure how you want to rule it, but does Shadow Walk provide the requirements for Reactive Stealth?
[/sblock]

[sblock=Mini Stats]Alastair Feyd - Male Gnome Warlock 1
Initiative: +3, Passive perception: 10, Passive Insight: 10
AC: 15, For: 11, Ref: 14, Will: 15
HP: 24/24, Bloodied: 12, Surge value: 6, Surges/day: 7/7
Speed: 5 squares, Languages: Common, Elven
AP: 1, Second Wind: unused
Powers: Eldritch Blast, Eyebite, Misty Step, Assassin's Shroud, Witchfire, Fade Away, Ghost Sound, Prophesy of Zhudun[/sblock]

Sturgeon pauses outside of the gates of a large house in Mackerel Lane.

"Victor will take you from here," he says. "I need to prepare a few things for when you return. Please don't hide any bad news from me. If anything has happened to Edith, I want to know. Come back here when you're done. Good luck to all of you."

He turns and enters the gates.

Victor turns and heads up the street. "We should be there in just a few minutes. If you've got any questions, let me know."

auberon said:

[sblock=Question to DM] Whenever possible, I want to make use of Alastair's Reactive Stealth racial ability at initiative. To that end, Alastair will use any available cover or concealment. I'm not sure how you want to rule it, but does Shadow Walk provide the requirements for Reactive Stealth?
[/sblock]

Click to expand...

[sblock=auberon]I'm not sure if it applies. Reactive stealth is only when you make an initiative roll, which takes place at the start of combat, before you move. I guess if you say you're constantly moving around, it could work.[/sblock]

[sblock=character careers]
All character careers have been updated for each character in this adventure.

Please check here to make sure there are no errors.
here
Enjoy the adventure!

dimsdale
(L4W Archivist)
[/sblock]