Pathfinder 1E Kingmaker: Stolen Land

[Tellerian Hawke]

Sarvek comes down from his perch, and says, flatly and without emotion, "Let's get the dead one buried. The ones that are still breathing should be stripped of armor and weapons, bound, and stabilized. We don't want them dying on us before they get to hang."

 

[MacConnell]

Shillaadrini cleans the blood from his blade on the clothing of the would-be bandit lying on the ground in front of him. He inspects the blade before returning it to its sheath.

He then meticulously searches the bandits, not just looking for items of power or value, but also looking for identifying marks or insignia to see if any particular affiliation is ultimately responsible for these acts.

Sarvek comes down from his perch, and says, flatly and without emotion, "Let's get the dead one buried. The ones that are still breathing should be stripped of armor and weapons, bound, and stabilized. We don't want them dying on us before they get to hang."

Looking at Sarvek as he speaks, Adrin replies.
"The dead man can be drug outside for the vultures to feed, as far as I am concerned. He does not deserve the dignity of a burial. As to the others, waste of time, food, and effort. I am adamantly opposed to enhanced interrogation, but I have no problem with immediately ending their lives, here and now."

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

"The dead man can be drug outside for the vultures to feed, as far as I am concerned. He does not deserve the dignity of a burial. As to the others, waste of time, food, and effort. I am adamantly opposed to enhanced interrogation, but I have no problem with immediately ending their lives, here and now."

Sarvek nods, adding, "The burial was less about his dignity than it was about concealing the corpse, to keep the other bandits guessing about what happened to their friend. As for interrogation, I never intended to interrogate anyone. These men are guilty of the crime of banditry, without question. There's no need to interrogate them. They should hang for their crimes. But if you and the others believe that time is of the essence, then I too, have no qualms about simply cutting their throats now and being done with it. If you ride with an outlaw, you die with an outlaw. That's the way I see it. They chose the wrong side."

 

[Gafgarionn]

I am going for the horses. Can someone help me?
> Kuvarious goes towards the horses and tries to rally them, calm them and bring them to the order.

OOC: If you want me to roll Handle Animal, I got an 11+2= 13. Not sure it that will do it.

 

[Nagoby]

Emudre says "I believe it's within our legal right to execute the bandits ourselves, and get it done with. I do not enjoy the spectacle of a public hanging, although I suppose such events do help deter others from considering a career in banditry. I would prefer to see the bandits buried and I am willing to assist with the digging. I don't want to leave the bodies around."

She takes leave of the others, and goes to comfort Oleg and Svetlana and tell them how the bandits were defeated.

 

[Ricky Passmore]

Alexa says " If we want to track the bandits back to their camp, the tracks could never be more fresh. We should head out asap so we can find them before they realize these bandits are missing. I for one feel I can trust these remains can be dealt with appropriately by Oleg."

 

[Gafgarionn]

You are quite the clever one there Alexa. I can help you after I corral these horses. If you want company.

 

[Diarmadhim]

Shillaadrini begins to go over the bandits with a fine-tooth comb while Sarvek unceremoniously slices each of their throats and then aids in taking account of their goods while looking for any clues about them. Kuvarious and Alexa set about to corralling the horses, successfully soothing them and leading them toward the stables where he ties them up for the time being. Emudre approaches the main hall and knocks on the door, calling that it is safe to come out. The door is unbarred, Oleg and Svetlana stepping tentatively through the portal. Their eyes go wide as they fall upon the carnage. Svetlana turns away and Oleg gets a hard but satisfied look on his face, grumbling, “I wanted to hang 'em. Hard to do with their throats slit – I'm certainly not dragging them up a ladder! Oh well. Burying them so critters and predators don't come skulking is probably the better choice. I'll go get my shovel,” he sighs as he moves to begin the process of digging a ditch. “The best these bastards can hope for is a mass grave – unmarked!”

Seeing your victory spoils Svetlana pipes up, "Thank you all so much for your help! We really do appreciate it. To show our appreciation, Oleg and I would like to offer you free room and board in the guest house for as long as you want. We will also purchase any of your recently acquired goods from you at 75 perce- no, at full price! We don't really have much money right now, but we can offer you Trade Post credit! We have people customers regularly come through, so if there's ever anything you want we can order it special, it just might take a week or so to get here."

As Oleg comes back in to drag off another body, he mumbles something to Svetlana and she exclaims, "Oh yes! I nearly forgot!" She rushes into the main hall and comes back out a few moments later with a bag clinking and three potions. Oleg chuckles and slightly shakes his head as he exits the trading post again with a corpse in tow. "Here's a reward of 50 gold and three potions," she states as she sits them on the westernmost picnic table. "They are two potions of Cure Light Wounds and a potion of Shied of Faith."

GM: Loot (and their book values) - includes reward from the Levetons: 6 Light Riding Horses (75 gp each, 450 gp total) 2 Alchemist's Fire (20 gp each, 40 gp total) 4 Leather Armor (10 gp each, 40 gp total) 1 Dagger (2 gp) 3 Shortswords (10 gp each, 30 gp total) 1 Composite Longbow (+2 Str rating) (300 gp) 3 Longbows (75 gp each, 224 gp total) 80 Arrows (1 gp each, 4 gp total) 8 days of Trail Rations (5 sp each, 4 gp total) 1 Small Silver Amulets shaped like a Stag's Skull (20 gp) 2 Cure Light Wounds potions (50 gp each, 100 gp total) 1 Shield of Faith +2 potion (50 gp) 115 gp

OOC: I know you want to start tracking, but your characters would probably take a minute to decide what to do with the goods. Talk in Line and decide what you keep, what you sell, and how you split it.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Oleg gets a hard but satisfied look on his face, grumbling, “I wanted to hang 'em. Hard to do with their throats slit – I'm certainly not dragging them up a ladder! Oh well. Burying them so critters and predators don't come skulking is probably the better choice. I'll go get my shovel,” he sighs as he moves to begin the process of digging a ditch. “The best these bastards can hope for is a mass grave – unmarked!”

Sarvek puts his hand on Oleg's shoulder, and says, "Take heart, my friend. I too, wanted to see them hang. But time is of the essence, and if we hope to catch their compatriots unawares, we need to act quickly. By the way, you're absolutely right, a mass grave is completely appropriate for these cretins. Burying them is strictly about hiding the corpses from view and about keeping vermin away. A marker would signify that they were buried with honor, and that they will be missed. And those two things simply aren't true. You made the right call, my friend. Well done."

 

[Diarmadhim]

Oleg grunts a thank you and then chuckles a moment before stating, “A friend would help me drag those last two bodies to the ditch I'm digging.”

Shillaadrini deduces that these bandits are most likely servants of the Stag Lord. The one wearing the amulet was probably a ranking member.

Svetlana takes a moment to thank Emudre for her kindness and compassion.

Kuvarious, being the only one with any experience with tracking among the group, signals his readiness to begin after having corralled the horses.

GM: Before I forget - after having tasted the first bit of combat, is everyone happy with their character? If you're not - I will allow a 1 time free rebuild. All I ask is that you keep your character's name, race, and backstory After this you'll have to follow the retraining rules (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/basics-ability-scores/more-character-options/retraining/). Will you all be riding your mounts while tracking? You get no negatives for doing so. You move at half your speed while using Survival to track (so 25 feet while mounted compared to 15 feet while on foot). The difference is covering about 20 miles a day compared to just 12 miles a day while tracking on foot. The base DC for tracking creatures on firm ground is 15. For every three creatures in the group being tracked, you subtract 1 from this DC, so your current Survival DC for tracking is 14. Every 24 hours since the trail was made will increase the DC by +1. If it rains, you will add +1 to the DC for every hour of rain. If it snows, +10. Luckily, since it's nearly the end of winter it has a reduced chance of snowing. Rain on the other hand - could happen. Kuvarious, go ahead and give me some Survival checks for tracking Your DC is 14 to begin with. Roll until you have a total of 30 successes. Note - for every 8 rolls, regardless if they're successes or failures, the DC goes up by 1.

 

[MacConnell]

Having no particular skill in tracking, Shillaadrini will ride flank to the trackers to keep an eye one the surroundings, in case of the advent of danger.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

“A friend would help me drag those last two bodies to the ditch I'm digging.”

Sarvek smiles, and immediately begins to help Oleg with the bodies. It should only take a minute or two; afterwards, Sarvek joins the rest of the party as they begin to track the outlaws.

 

[Diarmadhim]

You all set off, following Kuvarious as he seeks to follow the bandit's tracks. Things go well at first and you cover approximately twenty miles on the first day, heading due south and then skirting the forest.

2 Pharast, 4710

Then the rains begin on day two. Your progress becomes slowed and it is increasingly difficult to follow the tracks. Not wanting to lose them, you push through the inclement weather. After half a day of riding, it breaks. Kuvarious realizes he has lost the tracks due to the sudden downpour and spends the remainder of the day searching for it. With some measure of luck though, you happen upon a friendly hunter, making his way toward the trading post. When it is explained that you are seeking to bring an end to the region's bandits he happily aids you.

“I have had several close calls with those bastards. If you keep skirting the Narlmarches' edge, it's going to meet up with the Thorn River. From there, follow the river to the north. I don't know if it's their main base, but it's the only one I know of in the nearby vicinity.”

With a wave goodbye and wish of good fortune, he continues on his way toward Oleg's. This speeds things up considerably for you. No longer do you have to try to follow tracks – you have a way to get to the bandits directly! With your horses fatiguing, you decide to setup camp for the evening.

3 Pharast, 4710

Breaking camp at dawn, you follow the directions of the hunter. The landscape changes from plains to hills. After four hours of riding, you see the river in the distance. After a quick stop for lunch, you follow the river's bank to the north, into the Narlmarches.

GM: I need marching order, Initiatives, and Perception checks!

 

[Diarmadhim]

Continuing your journey into the forest in search for the bandit's camp, you eventually spot a path and a cart, just across the river to your northwest. Sarvek notices that there is a place about 50 feet ahead of the group that looks like a natural ford, with another about 50 feet after that. The cart has a tarp covering it and a horse grazes while tethered to it – its owner, nowhere in sight.

How would you each like to continue?

 

[MacConnell]

Shillaadrini -
"As close as we are, if anyone is around, we have already been seen."

Adrin dismounts and draws his sword. He leaves his mount and begins moving directly toward the stream to his immediate left, ignoring the natural ford ahead. He intends to cross the stream and investigate the scrub around the abandoned wagon, looking for danger before approaching the wagon and horse.

 

[Gafgarionn]

You should be careful up there, Adrin.

Kuvarious stays on horseback and knocks an bolt into the crossbow, while keeping an eye out.

 

[Ricky Passmore]

Alexa says "I agree, they must of spotted us on approach, and abandoned the cart. " She dismounts and readies her bow, using her horse for cover.

 

[Diarmadhim]

Shillaadrini fords across the river while everyone else waits defensively. Suddenly stopping when he gets about 10' from the wagon. He has spotted a bear trap hidden near the front of it! Eyes going wide, he raises a hand of warning to the group. Sarvek spots two stones soaring through the air, one toward Shillaadrini and the other toward the main group. The stone detonates – thunder roaring in the area surrounding you!

GM: Each of you are deafened! A deafened character cannot hear. You take a –4 penalty on initiative checks, automatically fail Perception checks based on sound, take a –4 penalty on opposed Perception checks, and have a 20% chance of spell failure when casting spells with verbal components. New Initiatives: Bandit 1 Bandit 3 Bandit 2 Shillaadrini: 19 Kressel Sarvek: 13 Emudre: 10 Alexa: 8 Kuvarious: 7

A bandit hidden in a camouflaged platform to the northwest fires an arrow at Shillaadrini. It finds an opening in his leather armor, hitting him for 8 damage! Another bandit exposes their self. They too are in a camouflaged platform, this one to your northeast. He fires an arrow at Emudre, hitting his mark for 8 damage!

Shillaadrini, what do you do?

 

[MacConnell]

Unable to really retaliate and being grievously wounded, Shillaadrini slides along the ground to use the wagon and the horse on the other side as coverage for any further bow shots from the hidden bandit to his north and possible the one to his northeast.

OOC: move 1 square NW and 2 squares W.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

If Sarvek can see the camouflaged archer, he will return fire. If he feels too exposed, he will dismount and use his mount as cover.

OOC: 2 attacks (flurry of blows w/bow) at +4 each: 23, 13 are the ACs that the arrows hit. Damage for each, respectively: 1d8+2 = 4, 5