[Adventure] Kingmaker (DM:renau1g; judge: garyh)

[Leif]

Faustus, Tiefling Avenger

She turns to the other "man" "and what of you Faustus, a warrior as well?"

"Of sorts, of sorts, I suppose. My training in religion didn't take as well as my priest mentor had hoped. Maybe 'twas some foul humour in my blood?" Faustus winks at the comely lass as he finishes this small speech, the making of which was, for him, quite the effort. To himself he thinks, "I hope these women are stouter than they appear to be. Otherwise, we could be in for a dreadful ordeal. Although, I must admit that they are both moderately pleasant to look upon, making due allowances for their total lack of scales and horns! If we are to die, I suppose it might be a pleasant death." Still, he felt a compulsion to wipe on his tunic the claw that had touched Ezmerelda when they shook "hands".

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

Ruarc and Elurín

Unless confronted earlier, he walks slowly and noisily in the camp clearing: "Hail strangers."

Ruarc stands at the young man's approach. He motions with one hand at the merchant - a calming gesture - but the other is conspicuously on the head of the battleaxe resting at his hip. His expression is neutral. "Hail yourself, an' state your business stranger. Be warned, we seek no trouble but nor will we brook any."

 

[ScorpiusRisk]

The Ship

"Fine diplomats the lot of us should make then." Scorpius said but there was no humor in his voice then. At least we should be able to handle ourselves while we explore, as long as we don't get run out by the people who are already there.

He turned and headed for the bow, intent on using his chain to scrape some barnacles, as an excuse to look out on the coming horizon. Something about this whole ordeal didn't sit well with him. If there's a brimming metropolis of people then what exactly are we exploring? Surely there are enough people there to search their own borders, and not to be taking too kindly to foreigners robbing their ancient sites and such. Most likely we'll be testing their warriors and looking at defenses. It made hi8m want to spit.

 

[HandofMystra]

Ruarc stands at the young man's approach. He motions with one hand at the merchant - a calming gesture - but the other is conspicuously on the head of the battleaxe resting at his hip. His expression is neutral. "Hail yourself, an' state your business stranger. Be warned, we seek no trouble but nor will we brook any."

The half-elf gently drops his staff, in what he hopes is a placating gesture. He seems relaxed, in fact pleased to see these two. This might be my next step he thinks to himself. "I am called Elurin, recently from Coolpool. I am making my way to Restov; I have heard that they are looking for adventurers to "tame" this land. I want to part of that. What trouble there is here, is here; I bring none of my own."

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

Ruarc & Elurín

The half-elf gently drops his staff, in what he hopes is a placating gesture. He seems relaxed, in fact pleased to see these two. This might be my next step he thinks to himself. "I am called Elurin, recently from Coolpool. I am making my way to Restov; I have heard that they are looking for adventurers to "tame" this land. I want to part of that. What trouble there is here, is here; I bring none of my own."

Hmmm. Coincidence, that another approaches set on the same course I've just decided? Still, 'you might as well approach life like everyone's your friend, or no one is . . .' I'll keep an eye one him just in case.

He turns to the merchant with an inquisitive look.

"Long as you bring none with you, and with the agreement of my companion, you're welcome to our fire Elurín. I'm Ruarc, and have just now decided to make my way to Restov as well."

 

[renau1g]

The Ship

The crew of the Swift Current are busy with the various tasks of keeping the ship moving, so they stay mostly out of the adventurer's way, leaving you with little to do but stare out on the miles of ocean visible. The days are long and the sun is high in the sky, no clouds provide any relief from the pervasive heat.

The captain insists it can only be another couple days now, but he's said that for nearly a week. Luckily, food supplies are holding, but for how much longer is uncertain. There's grumblings amongst the crew, so the captain appears to be more nervous as the hours drag on, a spyglass almost constantly pressed to his eye.

The next day the sky is very cloudy, but unfortunately, it provides little relief as the clouds are not the welcome white variety, but rather the dark, stormy ones. This further puts the crew on edge, but there's little time for that now, as the rain begins to fall, the wind picks up, and the thunder is heard in the near distance.

Within the hour, its fully upon you, it is as if Netari himself wishes the vessel be taken into his realm.

[sblock=Storm]
Ok, so like the first 50 or so seconds of this:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzG4K2m_j5U]YouTube - Master and Commander Trailer[/ame]
[/sblock]

[sblock=OOC]
Ok, so time for a Skill Challenge:

Complexity 2 challenge. So you require 6 successes before 3 failures.

Feel free to use any skills that you can reasonably justify. If you RP out a great or what I've deemed "Rule of Cool" I'll grant a bonus to the check.

Here's an example of one I really enjoyed:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/5219087-post268.html - the goliath decided to climb up and over a house to catch an escaping kobold. For me, that was super cinematic and one of the reasons I like D&D, so feel free to embelish, whatever, let yourselves go wild [/sblock]

 

[renau1g]

Ruarc & Elurín

The merchant has no issue with allowing the newcomer to the fires, although he is certainly less receptive towards this shapeshifting newcomer than he was towards his savior.

After the meal has ended, you all make camp for the night, and before the merchant leaves, he says "Name's Bren, think I fergot all about proper manners out here, but I got something small for you too, on account of you saving my life and all" the man says, pulling out a small box with a few arrows inside. "Here, noticed your empty there. Well I gotta be headin' out. Good luck to you, maybe I'll catch you around. Stick a few of them bandits for me will ya?" . He shakes both of your hands and heads in the opposite path that yours is towards Brevoy.

[sblock=Ruarc]
There's 10 arrows here, all standard ones [/sblock]

You are making good time towards the city, moving further away from Ruarc's homestead, when suddenly you both hear a sound that terrifies you to your cores. The sound of claws scraping over a rock, a high-pitched sound, is heard coming from the forest to your left. You are both aware of one creature in these parts who's known for this particular sound, the dreaded owlbears. It will take some luck or skill to escape out of this situation without falling victim to the beast. They are known for their excellent sense of smell and sight.

[sblock=OOC]
Ok, so don't feel left out, you get your own skill challenge.

But because there's only 2 of you, it's only Complexity 1. You only require 4 successes before 3 failures.

Feel free to use any skills that you can reasonably justify. If you RP out a great or what I've deemed "Rule of Cool" I'll grant a bonus to the check.

Here's an example of one I really enjoyed:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/5219087-post268.html - the goliath decided to climb up and over a house to catch an escaping kobold. For me, that was super cinematic and one of the reasons I like D&D, so feel free to embelish, whatever, let yourselves go wild [/sblock]

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

Ruarc & Elurín

Ruarc thanks Bren gravely for the arrows, and promises to put them to good use. He's just turning to his new companion, the suggestion that they, too, begin their trek on his lips when he freezes in place. He gestures for quiet and listens intently for a moment before slipping quietly into the woods. He leads Eluríin unerringly to a wide stream running more or less the direction they wish to go.

The sound of rushing water over rocks covers the splashing as the huge man leaps happily to the center of the stream - not quite calf deep and refreshingly cool - and begins making his way upstream.

[sblock=OOC]Could be several skill checks here; I went with Nature for locating the stream: Nature Check (1d20+10=22).

Can we make more than one skill check per post? Not really sure how Skill Challenges work in all the details . . .[/sblock]

 

[renau1g]

[sblock=Skill Challenge mechanics]
For those less familiar with the mechanics, a quick breakdown is its similar to combat. Each person must go each "round", so if you go (like Mowgli just did), you need to wait for the rest of your party to act before you can post another check. Now, if sometimes there are required checks (ex. Endurance is a common one) in addition to your regular skill checks, which must be rolled. You can Aid Another if you wish, but the May errata provided a penalty for failing. I've pasted the revised rules in another sblock below.

Also, I have a minor houserule that I hope gives a bit more life to the challenges and I'll apply a penalty for the same PC to repeat the same skill. i.e. if Ruarc was to attempt Nature again next round there's a -2 penalty to the check.

It helps prevent people spamming their best skill, which is essentially what it boils down to in most adventures (especially RPGA ones). [/sblock]

[sblock=Aid Another rules]
AID AN ALLY’S SKILL OR ABILITY CHECK
✦ Action: Standard action. When a creature takes this action, it chooses a target adjacent to it.
✦ DC: The creature makes a skill check or an ability check with a DC equal to 10 + one-half the creature’s level.
✦ Success: The target gains a +2 bonus to the next check using the same skill or ability before the end of the assisting creature’s next turn.
✦ Failure: The target takes a –1 penalty to the next check using the same skill or ability before the end of the assisting creature’s next turn. This penalty represents the distraction or interference caused by the failed assistance. [/sblock]

[sblock=Leif]
Just wanted to make sure you saw the latest Errata to the tiefling's racial power.

Infernal Wrath
Page 48: Replace the tiefling’s infernal wrath power with the following power. This revision brings the tiefling’s racial power in line with other racial powers.Infernal Wrath Tiefling Racial Power
You call upon the hellfire burning in your soul to punish your enemy.
Encounter ✦ Fire
Free Action Close burst 10
Trigger: An enemy within 10 squares of you hits you
Target: The triggering enemy in burst
Effect: The target takes 1d6 + Intelligence or Charisma modifier fire damage.
Level 11: 2d6 + Intelligence or Charisma modifier fire damage.
Level 21: 3d6 + Intelligence or Charisma modifier fire damage. [/sblock]

 

[ScorpiusRisk]

The storm came on too quickly to fully batten down and by the time the boat was flying high on the waves, Scorpius was still up the main mast securing the topaail yard. The waves slammed hard into the side of the Swift Current and Scorpius silently cursed the name as his body, slick from the rain, slid upside down, still clinging to the boom. His fingers quickly found the last knot and he looked up, at the mainyard below him and saw things already coming undone, so fierce was Netari's will.

With no way to safely right himself anyway, so slick was the boom, Scorpius reached for the spiked chain about his waist. He flicked it out, as with years of practice, and whipped it out and round where the mainmast met his yarn. Taking a breathe he let go, swinging down and round the mainmast landing on yarn below and quickly releasing his chain again. He hurriedly began redoing the knot-work.

[sblock=Acrobatics]Crit, 31[/sblock]