Adventure: Brotherhood Returned? (DM: Tenchuu, Judge: H.M.Gimlord)

Carolina pulls the trigger on her crossbow just as the ship crashes into a wave, sending her bolt far off target. She curses quietly, and scurries behind a different cannon.


OOC: Attack is a natural 1, move to K13

Covered with burnt blood, Telsa spotted Carolina as she repositioned herself. "There you are! Arrrrhh!" he shouted as he charged to her and buried his blade into her arm.

Porse slashed at Kruk again, but the thin blade could not find a gap in his armor. "Lay down your swords, and I'll not harm you further."

The offer seemed a bit disingenuous, as the archer loosed a bolt that bounced off the back of Kruk's armor.


[sblock=Motion in the Ocean]
Active effects:
[sblock=I will roll these]As the boat crests/troughs the swells, the angle of the ship's deck will change dramatically between forward and Aft. Athletics or Acrobatics check, DC 22:
On a success you are not moved. On a fail, you are pushed three squares in the direction of the downward slope (forward or aft). If a push would move you to a square off deck, push over deck rules (below) apply. If you roll a nat 1, you fall prone.

The NPCs are considered to have +15 for this skill check. [/sblock]

Passive effects:
Moving to the upper side/from where the water is coming, takes X2 squares of movement. Going to the lower part of in favor of the swell, lets you move an additional square for each square you move in that direction. I will include the below stat block in my posts, which will hopefully make this effect quite clear.

Check Map Block for Current Deck Direction
[/sblock][sblock=Push over deck]The ship's railing prevents normal push/pull/shift falling rules. So, if you use a forced movement power which would normal be able to move an enemy off the ship, the enemy still rolls a save; If the save passes, movement ends at the deck railing with no other effects. If the save fails, movement ends at the deck railing and the character goes prone.

To actually get someone over the edge, you need to:
1. Grab (standard) sorry, the bad guy gets a chance to escape
2. Sustain grab (minor). Lift and Move grabbed enemy (Standard) with a STR vs. Fort. to force the enemy over the rail. The player's STRx20 must be more than the enemy's weight, which I think might preclude some of the smaller characters from attempting this.
[/sblock][sblock=Cover/Concealment]Most of the junk on the ship's deck is not that tall. Since Carolina is small, she can crouch behind the cannons and the boats to get total concealment. Everyone else at medium size would need to go prone behind the objects to achieve the same effect. Otherwise, you can get the -2 variety only. [/sblock][sblock=Dim Light]
Characters who have normal vision can’t see well in dim light: Creatures in the area have concealment (-2 to hit with melee / ranged). Characters who have low-light vision or darkvision see normally in dim light.

I have adjusted the enemy stat blocks to include any attack penalties as part of their stated stats.
[/sblock][sblock=mechanics]
Haneth "Tesla" Tsalaxa
Recharge: Haneth's Trick 1d6=4 nope
Recharged still: handfull of poison
Move: to H16
Standard: Short Sword vs Carolina
Attack: 1d20+12=28 +1(charge)=29 vs AC
Damage: 3d6+6=20

Porse
Standard: Rapier vs Kruk
Attack: 1d20+14=25 +2CA=27
Damage: 1d8+7=0
Move: to H16

Dire Beast Hunter
Standard: Crossbow vs Kruk
Attack: 1d20+14=25 Miss
Damage: 2d8+3=0

[/sblock][sblock=Status]
Wil Rando: F14 54/70 HS 8/8 AP 1 MW 2/2, Bloodied, 5 ongoing poison,
Kruk: H17 87/94 HS 12/12 AP 1,
Carolina: K13 44/64 HS 7/7 AP 1
Charina: F13 69/69 HS 7/7 AP 1
Khemnos: I15 35/56 HS 9/9 AP 1, Bloodied, 5 ongoing poison,
Kane: G26 88/88 HS 11/11 AP 1, Overboard

Haneth "Tesla" Tsalaxa: J13 37/154 AP 0/1, Bloodied, 5 OGD fire
Porse: H16 146/204 AP 1/1, marked by Kruk-grant CA
Dire Beast Hunter 2: I23 76/76,
???

Bartleby Haff: F25 -15/96, dead
Pirate 3: H25 -13/95, dead
Tarkanan Assassin: G24 136/152 overboard
Pirate 1: H15 -13/95, Dead
Pirate 2: I23 0/95, Dead
Dire Beast Hunter 1: K23 -14/76, dead
[/sblock][sblock=Map]

The Hatch at H24:I24 is the ladder which leads below deck.

Current Deck Direction: Aft is high (uphill)
- Moving from left to right: Difficult Terrain
- Moving from right to left: +1 to move
[/sblock][sblock=Enemies]

Human Dire Beast Hunter
Initiative +8 Senses Perception +12
HP 76; Bloodied 38
AC 22; Fortitude 21, Reflex 22, Will 21
Speed 6
Spear (standard, at-will) Weapon
+14 vs AC; 2d8+5 damage.
Poisoned Crossbow (standard, at-will) Poison, Weapon
Ranged 15/30; +14 vs AC; 2d8+3 damage, and ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).
Trapping Net (standard; requires net, encounter)
Ranged 3; +14 vs Reflex; the target is restrained (save ends).
Equipment: crossbow , crossbow bolt x40 poisoned, net , spear .

Haneth Tsalaxa
Medium natural humanoid (changeling, shapechanger)
HP 154; Bloodied 77 Initiative +12
AC 23, Fortitude 21, Reflex 22, Will 21 Perception+9
Speed 6
Saving Throws +2; Action Points 1
STANDARD ACTIONS
Short Sword (Poison, Weapon) At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +12 vs. AC
Hit: 3d6 + 6 damage. If the target is granting combat advantage to Haneth, it takes ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).
Dagger (Weapon) At-Will
Attack: Ranged 5 (one creature); +10 vs. Reflex
Hit: 4d4 + 6 damage.
Slick Swordplay At-Will
Effect: Haneth uses short sword twice, making each attack against a different target. Haneth can shift 3 squares before, after, or between the attacks.
Handful of Poison (Poison) Recharge 5,6
Attack: Close blast 3 (creatures in the blast); +12 vs. Fortitude
Hit: 3d6 + 6 poison damage, and the target is blinded (save ends).
MINOR ACTIONS
Changeling Disguise (Polymorph) At-Will
Effect: Haneth can alter his physical form to take on the appearance of any Medium humanoid, including a unique individual. Haneth retains his statistics in his new form. His clothing, armor, and other possessions do not change. To assume a specific individual’s form, Haneth must have seen that individual.
Haneth's Trick Recharge (6)
Effect: One enemy Haneth can see grants combat advantage to him until the end of his next turn.
Skills Bluff +12, Insight +9, Stealth +13
Equipment: blinding powder, dagger x2, leather armor , short sword

Porse (reskin: Royal Eyes Elite Agent)
Medium natural humanoid , human
Initiative +12 Senses Perception +13
HP 204; Bloodied 102
AC 27; Fortitude 21, Reflex 24, Will 25
Saving Throws +2
Speed 6
Action Points 1
Rapier (standard, at-will) Weapon
+14 vs AC; 1d8+7 damage.
Hand Crossbow (standard, at-will) Weapon
Ranged 10/20; +13 vs AC; 2d6+8 damage.
Flamboyant Strike (standard; requires rapier, encounter) Weapon
+14 vs AC; 2d8+7 damage, the agent slides the target 1 square, and the target is dazed until the end of the agent’s next turn.
Information Is Power (minor, at-will)
Ranged 5; +11 vs Will; the target grants combat advantage to the elite agent until the end of its next turn.
Aundairian Elan (immediate reaction, when the elite agent is hit by a melee or ranged attack; at-will)
If the Royal Eyes elite agent is marked, that condition ends. In addition, the agent shifts 2 squares and makes a basic attack as a free action against the triggering target at any point during this movement.
Combat Advantage
A Royal Eyes elite agent deals 3d6 extra damage on melee and ranged attacks against any creature granting combat advantage to it.
Disguise Trick (standard; at-will) Illusion
The Royal Eyes elite agent takes on the appearance of any Medium humanoid race. Its clothing and equipment alter appearance to reflect this change. The illusion does not adjust sound or texture, so a creature listening to or touching an elite agent might detect the illusion.
Alignment Unaligned Languages Common
Skills Acrobatics +15, Bluff +16, History +12, Insight +13, Streetwise +16, Thievery +15
Equipment: crossbow bolts (20) , hand crossbow , leather armor , rapier , thieves’ tools .

[/sblock][sblock=Adventure Summary]
Motives
Everyone: Report back to Byron & decide what to do with the information about the brotherhood.
[sblock=LB3 Summary]
Summary of Events
1. Bested Pirates en route to Allaria. Traveled on the ship Wind's Will captained by Captain Levenbrech, and mated by Porse and Trig.
2. Arrived in the port, to find it besieged by Lizards from the unending mire. Defeated lizards and met/teamed up with Charina.
3. Journeyed to Geardagas and asked the locals for information with mixed results (link to the leads gathered).
4. Went to the temple of Netari, where the new priest, Father Niris, has been tending to the ill (apparently quite poorly). He led the players into the catacombs, where his zombie minions ambushed. The priest, over confident, rambled on about Hellview (background reference for players).
5. Dealing a mortal blow to the Priest, he says Master De Luccia (First time they have heard the name) cannot be stopped, and he stated that Greggor "will be... among the first... at Hellview." The priest laid dying on the floor with his fallen minions.
6. As they approach Hellview, they encounter the ghost of Sir Alistair Glasston, who begged them to enter the cave and retrieve his lost battleaxe.
7. They entered Hellview, and came across a portal, as well as some guards/workers. It seems they were using zombies to dig a new path near the portal...
8. They step through the portal into a bizarre world. A demon statue looms ahead, with a tall gate behind. The bodies of fallen adventurers, as well as a dead demon, lay about the floor. Wil Triggered the Demon statue trap, alerting the nearby demon's.
9. After a long battle, they slew all of the demons who had come through the hell gate, and they found Sir Alistair Glasston's lost battleaxe. But Greggor was still missing, and there is the question of why the demons were digging.
10. Hergunna departed the group to alert the local militia, while the others pressed ahead North, trying to find the source of the demon-aligned miners, as well as the lost silver.
11. They came upon a wall blocking the road to the mine. Mounted knight Brother Arleas leads a band of outlaws and zombies to defend the mine entrance. After slaying the Knight and half his men, the remaining wizards and archers closed the gate. The battle continued until only the fat temporal wizard, Alaria, remained alive. She pleaded for her life to be spared.
12. Alaria identified the men who hired her as being part of the Brotherhood.
13. They entered the mine and found Greggor with some other miners. Greggor shows them a path recently carved from the mine into the Hellview portal tunnels. They are using the tunnel to subvert the protection which bars them from exiting the portal into Alaria.
14. By the portal, they opened up the wall to reveal a hidden demon temple. Inside, Master De Luccia brings the demon Amendfohl (the same demon that Sir Alistair Glasston fought during the fall of Allaria) back to life. De Luccia Declared, "The time for the Brotherhood of the Bright Eon is once again at hand." The players slay the demon, and De Luccia offers them a deal where everyone just walks away. The players balk, and attack. DeLuccia drops Kruk and threatens to kill the dwarf if they don't leave, but the players press the attack, and kill the brotherhood master as well.
[/sblock]Summary of Events
1. The adventurers return to Geardagas. They meet with Count Saga, who puts them on a quest to Alert Daunton to the Brotherhood threat and request aid for Allaria. They are joined by the mage Khemnos.
2. They board the Wind's Will to return back to Daunton, but things seem off. The Captain and his second mate are missing; First Mate Porse seems to be running the ship, and he is his usual unfriendly self. Over dinner, they question Porse, and get a bad feeling about the Sailor's intentions.
3. The Sailors made a move against the adventurers at night. The sea is rough.

[/sblock]

Get down on the deck, scoundrel shouts Wil as he whistles derisively at Tesla. The arrow strikes into the back of the crazed seaman, who doesn't notice that he is now unbalanced. The bard then moves into position slowly balancing. Strike now, Stinkbeard!

[sblock=actions]Take 5 ongoing poison
Standard: Jinx Shot on Tesla ROLLING
Move: Walk to H15 (flank with Kruk)
Save? NOPE
[/sblock]

[sblock=ministats]
Status: ongoing 5 poison (save ends)
Init: +7 Speed: 5 Perception:22 Insight: 20
AC: 24 F/R/W:17/19/24
HP: 49/70 Surges: 7/8 Surge Value: 17 AP: 1
Languages: Allarian, Imperia, Draconic
Str:8 Dex:14 Wis:15 Con:13 Int:10 Cha:22

Powers:
At Will - Jinx Shot, Cutting Words
Encounter - Second Wind, Fox's Cunning, Twin Strike, Grappling Spirits, Hunter's Quarry, Majestic Word (2/2), Words of Friendship, Chord of Dissonance, Rewrite the Future, Rhyme of the Blood-Seeking Blade, Virtue of Prescience
Daily - Arrow of Ill Omen, Arrow of Warning, Bracers of Archery, Circlet of Mental Onslaught, Inevitable Shot, Saga of Vengeance, Songbow of Vanishment, Warding Arrow, Word of Life

1. Warding Arrow Trigger - Immediate Interrupt when Wil is hit by 1 or less with an attack
2. Virtue of Prescience Trigger - Immediate Interrupt to the First Ally hit by 1 or less with an attack

Full Character Sheet
[/sblock]

You're words mean nothing! Kruk then unleashes a flurry of blows on Porse, one of the missing but the other scoring brutal wound that makes the captain scream in agony.

[sblock=action]
attack: brash strike 1d20+16 for 1d10+7 = Miss

minor: none
movement: none

AP attack: brash strike: 1d20+18 for 1d10+11 = crit for 21 + 2d6= 8 for 29 damage

mark Porse
[/sblock]

ooc: note: if anyone hits Porse with an attack, Kruk gets another free attack. This occurs once per round
for the rest of the encounter.

Umm.. let's try that again. Second Chance, and the attack is at -5 since Carolina has the Nimble Dodge feat. The attack also cannot be a critical hit.

Carolina's halfling luck saves her yet again as Tesla spots her and closes in. She sidesteps the man's attack and comes back around with her off-hand, resorting back to her faithful dagger. She brings the blade up and slashes deep across the back of his knee, sending he human staggering back into the foray. Quickly, she retreats to the cover of a different cannon.

[sblock=Actions]
Minor: Hidden Blade
Standard: Positioning Strike
-vs. Tesla; hits WILL 24 for 16 damage, slides to H12 (Roll Lookup)
Move: K16 (Stealth=1d20+15=17)
[/sblock]

Charina sees a chance to finish off an opponent and maneuvers near the mast for cover.