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Age of Ice and Blood: A Pathfinder System Heroic Fantasy Quest

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[X] Goldfish

@Goldfish , I think that 10 gp is too little for risking your life in epic battle. I would offer something between 25 and 50. Even in those unlikely case when all 8 archers agree, it would cost 400 in total, which is... affordable.
 
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Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Dec 5, 2021 at 7:39 AM, finished with 17 posts and 10 votes.
  • [X] Giving it my best shot...
    -[X] Before the gathered crews of the Marcella, Pride, and Penitenza, we will make our case. We will not share the true nature of our new Otter-folk friends, for that needlessly endangers them without lending our efforts any weight. We will instead focus on the sleeping Dragon, its evil nature, and the threat it poses when, not if, its enchanted slumber finally ends.
    --[X] "In these lands, not far at all from the shore wear our ships are now moored, there sleeps a great evil, a creature which escaped imprisonment through guile and rewarded its liberators with death. Its first act upon seeing the sun once more was to slay those who freed it, and their entire village besides, some three score men, women, and children who never did it any harm. Only through the willing sacrifice of that village's Shaman was the monster forced into an enchanted slumber, a state which has persisted for decades thanks to the efforts of those native to these lands. Each year, however, it becomes more difficult and dangerous to prevent outsiders from disturbing the monster, and soon it will awaken, hungry, greedy, and most importantly, angry."
    ---[X] "I speak of the Ilathioka, or as the legends of my homeland would say, a Dragon, a beast as clever as any man, with scaled flesh as likely to turn a blade as the finest armor, claws and fangs fit to rend a man in twain, and deadly breath like unto a hail of arrows. If that wasn't enough to turn your bowels to water, the beast can fly faster and further than any bird."
    ----[X] "Should it wake unassailed, the Dragon will prove nearly unstoppable, preying on any creature it sets its eye upon, man included. No ship at sea which passes within sight of land will be safe, for there is nothing that rides upon the waves which can outpace the Dragon and precious few weapons which can harm it, and even fewer which could do so before it makes a meal of those who would wield them."
    -----[X] "An opportunity has presented itself, one which could allow us to slay the Dragon before it ever as a chance to come into its full power. It will be dangerous, of course, but is that not the life we signed up for when we took to the sea? My men and I, along with our allies and Knikut friends, will engage the Dragon, attacking it with the full force of arms and magic available to us before it fully wakes. In those few precious moments before it returns to consciousness, we hope to deal it such damage that it cannot recover."
    ------[X] "Only so many men can engage such a monster with sword and shield, spear and club. I do not ask for you to throw your lives away in such a melee, but if you are skilled with a bow and believe your nerves steady in the face of danger, you now have a chance to do a service to all mankind, to play a part in something larger than yourself, and to take part in a tale few men could dream of, let alone see become reality."
    -[X] And we'll pay them, too. Any sailor proficient with a bow who participates in our effort to kill the Ilathioka will earn themselves 25 gold for participating in a dangerous task beyond anything expected of them when they signed on with our ships.
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Arc 7 Post 18: A Valorous Showing
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    • A Valorous Showing ​

    Twenty Second Day of Ashinu-ezna (Ashinu Ascendant) 1348 A. L. (After Landfall)

    Before you are such among the company of the three ships who care to listen to your words, Antonio had made it clear that he had not forced attendance upon any of them, and he made it just as clear that more than eight in ten are here regardless. You catch sight a few familiar faces at the fore, though you cannot place a name to most of them. Fuck this had not gone over well the last time you tried, you think back to your attempts to hearten your men at arms before the final push into Damieta, but no that had not been the last time. You had lead your men against mad wizards and unhallowed dead, against demons and dark spirits, and though you had not made a speech of it still they followed you.

    "In these lands, not far at all from the shore wear our ships are now moored, there sleeps a great evil, a creature which escaped imprisonment through guile and rewarded its liberators with death. Its first act upon seeing the sun once more was to slay those who freed it, and their entire village besides, some three score men, women, and children who never did it any harm. Only through the willing sacrifice of that village's wise man was the monster forced into an enchanted slumber, a state which has persisted for decades thanks to the efforts of those native to these lands. Each year, however, it becomes more difficult and dangerous to prevent outsiders from disturbing the monster, and soon it will awaken, hungry, greedy, and most importantly, angry."

    They listen of course, for it is a fine tale, but it is clear from the way they draw close, as ones before a storyteller's fire, that they do not see it as any more than that. What matter the wrath of some monster in these lands when they will be soon be gone? The tin was not here and so neither was the fortune they had been promised. Perhaps those who had made friends with the knikut over the journey might feel some sympathy to the fallen tribe , but sympathy alone will not move most men to risk their lives.

    "I speak of the Ilathioka, or as the legends of my homeland would say, a Dragon, a beast as clever as any man, with scaled flesh as likely to turn a blade as the finest armor, claws and fangs fit to rend a man in twain, and deadly breath like unto a hail of arrows. If that wasn't enough to turn your bowels to water, the beast can fly faster and further than any bird."You look around for any signs of incredulity, for indeed in the world of your birth any man who claims to have seen a dragon much less know of where one might roost would be greeted more as a fool to mock than a sage to heed. Yet there is none to be found, only a rising hum of whispers that you must raise your voice to speak over. "Should it wake unassailed, the Dragon will prove nearly unstoppable, preying on any creature it sets its eye upon, man included. No ship at sea which passes within sight of land will be safe, for there is nothing that rides upon the waves which can outpace the Dragon and precious few weapons which can harm it, and even fewer which could do so before it makes a meal of those who would wield them."

    By this point you have firmly persuaded most of them to sail away... but that is half the point, fear burns like fire, and like fire it can be banked.

    "An opportunity has presented itself, one which could allow us to slay the Dragon before it ever as a chance to come into its full power. It will be dangerous, of course, but is that not the life we signed up for when we took to the sea? My men and I, along with our allies and Knikut friends, will engage the Dragon, attacking it with the full force of arms and magic available to us before it fully wakes. In those few precious moments before it returns to consciousness, we hope to deal it such damage that it cannot recover."

    These words you say plainly and without artifice, not wishing to blow your own horn in the matter, but to make clear you ask of none whose craft is the sea and not war to take risks when you to not take them first... When you and all your company do not take them first, the thought is still uneasy, like a sore tooth tested with the tongue.

    "Only so many men can engage such a monster with sword and shield, spear and club. I do not ask for you to throw your lives away in such a melee, but if you are skilled with a bow and believe your nerves steady in the face of danger, you now have a chance to do a service to all goodly folk, to play a part in something larger than yourself, and earn yourself a tale to share with your grandchildren that few might boast."

    For a moment there is silence... then eyes start to slide away from you as the whole crew seems to want to step back, but do not quite dare to, aso as not to seem craven in the eyes of their fellows and yo you try one final gambit: "Such a deed will not go unrewarded in more material ways, any man who takes it shall earn fifty gold icari from my own coffers."

    Finally one man steps out whom you had not expected... Zuan the cook. "Figured you risked your life on worse odds to save my skin and you didn't get paid either, lest I could do was pay it back."

    As though they had all been waiting for a sacrificial lamb all the men start scattering, speaking in low voices, though not so low as they might think. There seems to be an even split between admiration and thinking you mad, though some might also be admiring you for your supposed madness. Grave as the moment might be you cannot quite suppress the twitch of a smile. You are yet young and faced with a foe you have no hesitation in battling.

    How do you set out?

    [] With only a scouting party to know the lay of the land in the cursed vale before you bring those unprepared to deal with sorcery

    [] With your full company so as not to risk facing the beast unprepared if your coming should wake it

    OOC: It was a good speech but your rolls were really bad this time around. Not yet edited.
     
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    • Oh well, it was worth a shot. Good on Zuan for stepping up, though.

    I'm not sure what good a scouting party will do here, not when we already know what we're facing. The sleeping Dragon, even if it were actually awake, has only limited senses. Exceptional by most standards, of course, but hardly omniscient in regards to the local environment. Even if it's Tremorsense and Blindsense is working at peak and able to alert it to nearby danger, that's only a 60 foot radius around it.

    Better to get there, get an idea of the lay of the land, and setup before shit can go wrong, IMO.

    [X] With your full company so as not to risk facing the beast unprepared if your coming should wake it
     
    [X] With your full company so as not to risk facing the beast unprepared if your coming should wake it
     
    [X] With your full company so as not to risk facing the beast unprepared if your coming should wake it

    Let's hope that losses will be acceptable.
     
    Tender thought there might be something lingering of the killed Knikut:
    DragonParadox said:
    "No more of a one than walking unprepared onto ground where a whole tribe has perished." The shamans' words are heavy with warning. "Do you think their bones lie easy on the stone now that the birds have picked them clean of flesh?"
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    Maybe add something like this:

    [X] With your full company so as not to risk facing the beast unprepared if your coming should wake it
    -[X] Tender and Roland with Silver (for perception) slightly ahead, if there is something lingering of the killed Knikut, if possible, Roland (for diplomacy) and Tender (for communication) should try to arrange their help or at least neutrality while we battle their killer
     
    Arc 7 Post 19: Over the Hill
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    • Over the Hill ​

    Twenty Second Day of Ashinu-ezna (Ashinu Ascendant) 1348 A. L. (After Landfall)

    You move quickly under the cover of the trees, bearing nets and shields, arcane crossbows and most of all the hope in your hearts that this odd collection will make you dragon slayers. It sounds almost absurd to think it, like children playing at being knights with 'swords' wrought from a willow branch and shields made of basket lids. Yet here you are riding behind the otter-kin scouts , a knight, a lady, a merchant and the sea's child at the head of a host of armsmen and one ship's cook, the latter of which rides about how one would expect a sailor to. It is clear that Antonio by contrast has at least been in a saddle once or twice but Zuan rides like a sack of oats in Silver's estimation. He if obviously trying not to laugh over it, and just as obviously failing, though at the very least his mirth keeps spirits up among the men as you travel

    For his part Zuan seems to take it in good stead, replying to snickers from the younger men at arms with. 'And how much did it take you to walk on a ship's deck without seeming drunk?' and 'At least I didn't chuck a good meal for the gulls when I got on a horse.' The conversation falls into ribbing about the quality of his cooking from which you stay mostly aloof, careful to stop it if it gets out of hand, though there is no need and you do give a good and proper laugh when Silver chines in again:

    "Why you would have to scorch everything you eat... it is almost enough to make one wonder if there is something wrong with your teeth..."

    "Unlike some we do not have the luxury of taking so long to chew our food?" you quip back.

    "Bold of you ser knight to call lazy the one who is carrying you on his back," he replies archly.

    This time it is your armsmen desperately trying to hide smiles and not managing it all that well, at least not until Tom's gimlet eye happens to fall on them.

    ***​

    As you ride the land rises steadily under the roots of the tangled woods and the sound of small scurrying things is as constant as the calls of lark and sparrow. This is not a land that has seen much hunting, by man or by the folk of willowbrook and the beasts here are unwary yet as you begin to climb the crumbling chalk slopes of a low hill rising its pale head over the roof of the forest the sounds of life fade and for a moment Silver stops. "This was in my dream, but it was taller then."

    Inge pats him gently from where she is sitting before you in the saddle while Tom John and Henri draw close to guard you and Esha too motions her grey maned mare toward you. Antonio stays clear but reaches for his crossbow.

    "What does the land tell you?" you ask turning to Tender who had been walking ins silence all this time, the steady strides of her folk more than able to keep up with the horses over the narrow game trails.

    "Nothing," she says and though you cannot see her face you imagine that he is frowning under the mask. "It is as if the land is empty and the wind is hollow... there is nothing but..."

    Out of the corner of your eye you see Tom sway suddenly in the saddle, as though struck about the head. "It's... it's talking to me! What do I...?"

    "Pay it no mind and push away!" Esha snaps and to his credit Tom does just that without harming his horse in the doing.

    "What's happening? Is it going to try to tempt us? Do you have more of those charms?" Questions mingle with prayer, to God and to the virgin for mercy, but no one hears anything Tom simply grits his teeth and wearing a pained grimace but still clearly himself meets your eyes and nods.

    "I do not think the dragon has a sense of how many we are or what we mean to do, it is like an archer firing burning arrows blind in the dark, he only has so many of them and can see only by their light," Esha says hurriedly.

    "Quick then, get out the shields and the nets, we ride!" you shout.

    Tom does not hesitate, but takes the path up the hill and over before any of the others had even turned their horses heads up towards the ridge in their confusion.

    And thus you finally look upon the Cursed valley where the otter-kin's allies made their doomed last stand, a sheltered hollow between three hills the land is mostly bare of trees with a clear stream running though it there is no mark that men had once lived here, for wood and leather are quick to rot... no sign save the large flat stone like the face of a tomb and upon it gleaming faintly in the evening light bones. Colapsed over them in some macabre parody of a can on a sunny day you see the beast that Silver had described, neither serpent, not bat, seer nor stalking lion but a mixture of all three garbed in scales of jade, here below you lies the dragon, a hundred feet as the horse might charge or fifty as the arrow falls.

    What do you do?

    [] Write in plan of attack

    OOC: You know when the dragon rolled to whisper to Tom I had this whole emotional scene where the dragon got into Tom's head and then this happens... I swear you guys get way more than one in twenty natural 20s. Not yet edited.
     
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    • Sounds like difficult terrain, not optimal for charging.

    I'd rather march up and have the men and the shields ready the moment we strike.
     
    Okay, I'll still consider that we are dealing with the CR 8 one.

    Artemis1992 said:
    Sounds like difficult terrain, not optimal for charging.

    I'd rather march up and have the men and the shields ready the moment we strike.
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    I actually wanted only Roland to charge for the opening volley. Then he gets to help his men and everything to defend. With the AoO turned into aid anothers and his challenge he can increase a sizable amount the AC of rest of the men.
     
    [X] March towards fate
    -[X] Esha casts Magic Weapon on us and the three Kikut-Barbarians
    -[X] Tender blesses people as per this post.
    -[X] Tender also uses Monstrous Insight from her Lore-Spirit (gained today via Wandering Spirit)
    -[X] For the Attack, Roland, Silver and the Knikut take the front, second row stays behind the pavises to survive the first breath, after than the spearmen go into melee to use Dirty Tricks (blinding) with Tom's support, after than they simply attack
    -[X] Roland uses his Challenge and bodyguards people next to him with his AoOs.
    --[X] They stay ready to drag the most wounded behind the shields and give out healing potions as needed
    -[X] Net wielders use their nets to entangle the dragon from behind the shields
    -[X] Our bowmen and Antonio attack as soon as the battle starts, staying our of breath-range
    -[X] One of our ranged MaA directs the magic crossbows, Zuan reloads them
    -[X] Inge stays with the archers and casts Snowballs

    That an acceptable outline?
     
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