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Post by TheUdjat on Mar 27, 2009 11:30:02 GMT -5
Because your Charisma is -2. Did you think you could use it as a dump stat and not suffer social repercussions? 
Amalric watches his hawk, however, and the growing feeling of unease he feels from the avian. It cannot communicate with words yet, he knows, but it still feels alarm, and the magus turns his eyes to the overturned wagon. A very easy hiding place, that, unseen from all of them. Is Isabeau warning him of more bandits lurking behind it, able to see them from overhead?[I should’ve mentioned this—Notice checks are kept hidden. Stating that you will look around for something suspicious initiates an active check, but I will still keep the results hidden. Certain other checks will also be hidden—Stealth, Disguise, Sense Motive, Bluff. The results may be clear, of course, but there are occasions they won’t be.
However, I will generally try to display the modifiers I’ll be using (or you can tell me), to make sure I’m not making errors.
At any rate, hidden Notice checks all around.] Knowing a confrontation when he sees one, Elric brandishes his blade and rides forward with the two horse-riding guards. The other two walking get their bows at the ready, much as Arnaud gets his crossbow set—albeit the troubadour is more discreet. The response from the bandits is instant, the leader putting a hand on his axe and bringing it to bear while the others grasp their spears, ready to attack. But they don’t advance yet.
Seeing an opening to avoid bloodshed through subtlety and persuasion, Tawno slips into view. Indeed, the bandits were not expecting a woman, but the surprise only seems to provoke a sneer or two—probably the men have not had the pleasure of a woman’s company in some time. But the apparent leader hears her words, and begins to look decidedly nervous, regripping the haft of his axe and gritting his teeth.[This really isn’t so much a Bluff check as an Intimidate check, the way it’s being used. Intimidate @ +2 opposed by bandit’s Level+Wis+Modifiers: 11 vs. 7, succeeds.] The bandit shows more than a little trepidation as Tawno’s words hang in the air. His eyes dart left to right, and he eyes the wagons hungrily. For a time it seems he will indeed withdraw, but he steels himself, teeth grinding together, axe held as both weapon and shield. “You are wrong, woman,” he spits back, but there is not much force to it, and the others notice, glancing at their leader and each other with some measure of worry. This is perhaps not the behavior they’re accustomed to in their leader.[Bandits are Shaken, taking a -2 to attacks/checks/saves.] “Enough of this talk. If they will not pay in goods, they will pay in blood!”
Initiative: Elric (26), Jakob (20), Bandit Archers (20), Covenant Guards (19), Tawno (17), Bandits (14), Arnaud (12), Rupert (9), Bandit Leader (7), Amalric & Isabeau (7), Joseph (6) [This is our first combat! You guys will quickly get the hang of things, I hope. All of you should have an attack bonus for your weapons, and a damage bonus. You can make pretty much all of the attacks from standard d20, with the associated benefits and penalties—cover, concealment, charging, coup de grace, sundering, trip, bull rush, ready, overrun, etc. It’s pretty much the same, with one important caveat: No Attacks of Opportunity. Similarly, there is no requirement for a map in True20. I’m going to try and run this combat without a map, since creating one tends to be time-consuming, but we’ll see how things go. Therefore, a description: The bandits are approximately 20 feet away from Elric and his riders, with everyone else falling into place a few feet beyond that (depending on personal preference). The bandits are in a rough line in front of their wagon. The road is some ten feet wide, so this is a narrow space (no 5’ squares to worry about, either). Trees are all around. When you make an attack, please just give me the damage bonus associated with that weapon. For melee and thrown, Str is added to (or subtracted from) this. Your enemies will need to make Toughness Saves vs. 15+Damage Bonus (as will you, if hit). We’ll progress with the rest of the Toughness system as people start to get hit. (Character Status)
Amalric – Normal
Arnaud – Normal
Elric – Normal, Mounted
Jakob – Normal, Mounted
Joseph – Normal, Mounted
Rupert – Normal
Tawno – Normal
Isabeau – Normal
Guardsman 1 – Normal, Driving Cart
Guardsman 2 – Normal, Mounted
Guardsman 3 – Normal, Mounted
Guardsman 4 – Normal, Walking
Guardsman 5 – Normal, Riding Cart
Bandit Leader – Shaken
Bandit 1 – Shaken
Bandit 2 – Shaken
Bandit 3 – Shaken
Bandit 4 – Shaken |
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Post by Yakumo on Mar 27, 2009 13:09:02 GMT -5
"Sorry Gypsy, this is the way things are." Elric raises his sword and spurs his horse forward. "Archers, fire at will. Men Charge!" Elric crashes his sword into the leader as he rides by and prepares for retaliation.Charisma: I always confuse it with appearance too, since Elric is battle-scarred I thought it fit.
I'm not 100% on what you want, like if you want us to roll our attacks or not, I'm sure you'll correct me next turn if it isn't the case.
Ride By Attack: Longsword: [dice=20]+3 to hit. +3 Damage [rand=45456186579640795698696787461771411854513038087737079382402137269] |
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Post by Rojito on Mar 27, 2009 16:22:27 GMT -5
Joseph sat back to watch how everyone else handled the matter. Only the female seemed to really try to avoid the fight. With a sigh he looks up into the sky and calls down the wind, hopeing to avoid having to get into the fight himself. Ok my attempt here is to increase the winds at our back, so that any of the bandits who have bows will have a hard time trying to loose them. |
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Post by Japic on Mar 28, 2009 0:18:15 GMT -5
When the woman tries talking the bandits down, Jakob can't help but notice that her words hold no sway on their minds. They knew what they were about and no woman could talk them out of it.
However, Jakob's steel headed arrows, these were another matter.
Cursing under his breath about the change in the situation Jakob speaks before readying his bow and firing an arrow at the men. "Damn woman! Stay out of the way!"
+2 to hit. +3 dam1.9.0.7
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Post by VemuKhaham on Mar 28, 2009 6:11:19 GMT -5
Yikes, this has already been going on for three threads? I was still wondering when things would get started! It's probably because I'm not so much into the shorts section, and with so many games running there at once it tends to get confusing. Still, I'll try to catch up ASAP. |
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Post by menatkhufu on Mar 28, 2009 8:21:39 GMT -5
The gypsy withdraws more, not to get caught in the clash of steel. She knew that her words made the bandits twitch, had she choosen them diligently, they might have betoken the way instead of fighting.
Before taking shelter in the cart, Tawno wants to push it further. The bandit-leader's strain can be felt easily, some more at him, and he might well loosen and run. Whut be most horrific to a simple man's mind, she wondered.
Hell! the answer came in a flash. She had not met a villager who didn't fear the image of hell up to now.
Before climbing the cart to avoid danger altogether, she gets eye-to-eye with the leader and shouts to him."If ye'd see the flames churning under yer feet. The devils under't cackle with glee! None shall lament yer passing, yet pain and agony untold await! The wretched are forever denied hope in Hell!"She points a finger at the leader."IS'T YER TIME TO DIE YET, SINNER?"Inspire Fear (Subject is shaken and suffers -2 penalty to attack rolls, checks, and saves except Toughness. May also panic subject.) [rand=22064028701947558347268054385831756114182945711828314377658983676]
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Post by at on Mar 28, 2009 9:00:38 GMT -5
Did Amalric get a warning off to the guard captain before things kicked off?
I was under the impression that mind touch could send images, as per your description in the character post Isabeau's response was confused, but gave Amalric pause, though Elric seemed to have a different assessment of the situation. Suddenly the wind began to pick up, forcing the hawk higher away from the battle. Joseph, perched on the wagon above him, making life difficult for the Covenant’s bowmen. Amalric shook his head. Chaotic. He watched the guards advance into the bandit's teeth, seeking out a target for his powers. Amalric will use a psychic blast on anyone who appears from behind the wagon to intercept Elric. Failing that he will target bandits in the following order : archers, leaders, others.
Exceptions - should he come under direct fire or be wounded Amalric will phase away from danger. If possible he will phase Joseph to safety should he be attacked but i've no idea what the limitations of this power are.
Whatever test is needed for the magic : [dice=20]+9, DC16 [rand=832921526617243560600443313103964946755053149953049517229176108] |
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Post by Badasterysk on Mar 28, 2009 12:57:21 GMT -5
On Elric’s command, Arnaud loosed his bolt and hustled to find more suitable cover.Arnaud will choose easiest targets first- those not in melee, and those with the least cover. If all things are equal, he will target archers (if aware of their presence), then the leader, then others.
Crossbow @ + 2 to hit (+2 damage, 19-20/+3 Crit, Piercing, 80' range increment)
[dice=20] [rand=91527246078473893737795520809514223629787190776337020032124861857]
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Post by VemuKhaham on Mar 29, 2009 9:48:23 GMT -5
Again, I've missed every post so far, so I'll have to catch up some, and to do so I'll just describe Rupert's actions and such from the beginning. I'm sorry if the long recap breaks the pace of the story. Before the start of their journey, when he was told to go along to take care of the animals and other minor chores, Rupert had been bored about it. He'd rather gotten used to a life in the Covenant, without worries and trying to stir up some life in a village that was otherwise buried and dormant beneath the layers of dust of those bookish mages. But then he learned of whom would go along, and his curiosity was aroused. He knew them all, though only insofar as people would expose themselves to a kid like him, and sometimes a little better. The mages - any mages - were to him grey mice, and Joseph and Amalric were no different. They perhaps weren't old yet, but still their lives were wasted on studying books. He did not fear them, for mages had been the prime targets for his mischief ever since he got in the Covenant. It was easy to score a prank on the stupid militiamen, but to succeed on fooling a wizard was both a challenge and a risk, and therefore great fun. In fact, it was, among the kids of the Covenant, a mark of esteem if one could beat the mages in wits. The mages represented everything that was discipline and boring, and to succesfully undermine that authority was the work of a true rebel hero. The only difference between Joseph and Amalric was that Joseph still didn't seem to realize whom the culprits were that had occassionally harassed him, whereas Amalric seemed aware of almost anything, even when there was absolutely no possible explanation for his awareness. The militiamen and their captain were the next representative of law and order, and therefore another fine target. Some of the guards took it very seriously when, upon trying to unsheath their swords, found them glued tightly inside their sheaths. Elric, their captain, though, was of another sort. Sure, he had been a target for several times already, yet he took it as a sportsmen, and as a result, the severity of the pranks on him gradually declined. Rupert thought that he and Elric had a mutual, though unspoken understanding: Elric would be left largely alone, if Rupert would not be harrassed too much by the guards on Elrics authority. Then there were Tawno and Arnaud, both strong individuals it appeared, who took themselves too seriously, though in entirely different ways. Both of them were exotic, and their speech at times he could hardly understand. Their preoccupation with themselves would've made them fun targets for pranks, obviously, were it not that Rupert liked to listen to Arnaud's stories of lands far away, though sometimes the stories, like the teller, were a bit too serious, and he would try to find out if there were any fun stories in Arnaud's repertoire. But Tawno... she was the only person in the group, perhaps even in the Covenant, feared by Rupert and most of his friends. Of course they wouldn't admit it to each other, but she was a truely devious woman, with her exotic and mysterious behavior and looks, and especially with her magics, which, as opposed to the bookish magic of the wizards, seemed to come straight from some otherworldly source. And so at first, he steered well away from her. At some point though, Rupert gathered his courage and asked her one question: "You're not from this world, are ya?" Her reaction was what Rupert had more or less expected, but when it came, it came with such fury that still it startled Rupert, and he decided he had better not provoke her temper any longer. So he took to walk along with Jakob, the hunter and woodsmen who was so often all alone and by himself. He knew Jakob was wise to distrust him, but in all sincerity, Rupert had never pulled a single prank on the man; it had been his friends that had stolen his bow some time ago. Rupert in fact had, anonymously, delivered it back to him. He admired Jakob for some of his qualities, and Rupert too loved the wild and the animals. In fact, it wasn't so much only the opportunity for pranks, but the fact that he might get to know Jakob better, that had made him happy to go on this journey. Rupert just hoped that he would somehow get Jakob to trust him. For now he just walked silently alongside with him, occasionally casting a long glance up at the tall mounted man, as if trying to catch his attention. When the bandits appeared to block the road, instantly, the blond, blue-eyed kid leaped behind Jakob's horse's tail to hide, then, when he saw a chance, dashed into the woods to disappear. He would make his way unseen toward the wagon of the bandits through the trees, to see if there was anything over there. [Phew, I think that's about it. Hide +11 to get closer to the bandit wagon and take a look.] |
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