Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Anoras had thought about advising Cassandra not to talk about the goats. But Anoras thought mentioning the goats might make it even more likely that Cassandra might say something about them.

Then Anoras (and I as the player) thought about what might happen if Cassandra did mention them. It might come to something like the Venasir being upset with Cassandra about the goats--but then quickly realizing Cassandra willingly put her life at risk to warn them of an impending attack? And to help defend them?

OOC: I actually had goats. If someone came to me, admitted they'd taken one of my goats--and then warned me that someone was trying to kill me and they were willing to risk their own life to help save mine? At that point, I wouldn't give a **** about losing a goat....My hope is the Venasir will react the same.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

"Thanks" The woman says in her halting Haunden.

"How many?"

"Who are wings, fireball, stripes?"

Cassandra is taken to the fortress that contained her life-long foes, without weapons, to be questioned. She is at least not bound.

A horn is blown, and the castle stirs with activity. She is brought to the great hall and told "Sit".

OCC: Ah, yes, the "You can trust me because I'm dumb and giving things away on accident" ploy.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

"Uh, like 3 archers and say 5 warriors and 5 skeletons, something like that? I'm pretty sure I got a couple of them"

"Fireball is surely the Sorcerer who threw fireballs. Maybe Wings is the other one? He controlled a bird that attacked me and tried to spy according to Anoras. I don't know anything about Stripes."


She looks around with interest thinking this is amazing to be in the vulnerable underbelly of the enemy. Oh. But not having weapons makes it harder.

She sits down as directed

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

OOC: I really hope Thad's player returns, but right now I don't know where we are with this.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Thad dies that night. (rolled a 15... I'm kind of shocked). Fireball reanimates him, and he towers over the other skeletons. Wings and Fireball seem giddy with glee about this new monster.



Two warriors and two skeletons arrive in camp late at night, accompanied by a raven. One of the warriors reports to Busan and the scorcerors. "Stripes is angry you have wasted his resources, but the losses are acceptable for now."


Wings: "We should have sent Fireball with the prisoners and kept stripes here. But I shall conquer my share."


**********************************


Cassandra sits in the hall for some time. Finally, a warrior comes with a woman. The woman says "Cassandra, I am Taundi. I am a Haunden who lives near Holidor*. I will be your interpretor. This is Captain Serin. He says they have not been attacked yet: when will the attack come?"


"He also wants to know why you are warning us, and how you became injured."



*That is to say, a traitor who lives like a Venasir and accept their theft of the land.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Cassandra is happy to no longer be left alone, though less happy about a traitor

"Well, soon I think! You can't keep a force in the field a long time, an army is like a shark it moves or it dies!" Not that Cassandra has ever seen a shark

She will try to use her Soldier skill to give a better estimate

"Because we don't like them even more than we don't like you because they just wrecked our village and kidnapped our folks to sacrifice. And uh, well, actually it's really embarrassing, uh, so I kinda failed to kill them and Thad got wrecked and I couldn't actually solo them without Thad, so I kinda sorta you see got shot up making, an, Uhm, tactical withdrawal? I mean I am totally a better archer, but 3 on 1 when they also had some kind of bird or something is hard"

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

(Anoras losing it, yelling at no one in particular): "What have you (expletive) done to my patient?! He should have recovered but you killed him to turn him into a monster?! What kind of (expletive) monsters are you?! Will you do this to all my patients?! Will you kill them all and turn them into monsters too?!"

OOC: My earlier plan, before Anoras lost it, was this:

As Anoras is both a warrior and a trained medic (First Aid), she won't act overly emotional about the loss--but will quietly mourn in her own way.

(Anoras speaking quietly) "I have lost a patient."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Her soldier skill of 8? Rolling in secret...Cassandra thinks they should certainly attack by tonight.


At the mention of sacrifice, they look at each other meaningfully, and the captain yells something out of the room. "Why do you think that this is for sacrifice?"


A short while later, ShadowMask arrives. ShadowMask isn't his real name, its what you call the Scorceror who lives in Holidor. This is the monster who killed half your tribe, the most prominent Venasir in all the tales of after the war. He can fling fire, visit dreams, strengthen warriors, craft monsters, lay cursed traps, stun you with a glance, and is supernaturally tough.



Shadowmask speaks a little Haunden with a thick accent. "How many Scorcerors? Who be they?"



Fireball: "Calm down woman. He died in the night. It seems you lost him and did not even notice. And yes, I will do this to everyone we kill. And call us that again and I'll have wings put you in pain until we need you."


"He's a fine specimen. What a warrior."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

"They kidnapped people that wouldn't make good slaves and had Scorcerors and are like sacrifice sights around."

"They should attack by tonight!" ((This does not line up with Anoras' note))

Cassandra flinches as she sees ShadowMask, ShadowMask is very not cool. Didn't Anoras say these were good Venasir? Anoras must have been confused.

"Fireball, Wings and Stripes. I didn't see Stripes. I did see Fireball and Wings" she describes them, well, the concealing masked outfits they were wearing. "Fireball well, threw fireballs. Wings I didn't see do anything, but Anoras said he controlled a bird, and I was attacked by a bird. I don't know anything about Stripes that came from Anoras."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

See my latest post at https://forums.sjgames.com/showpost....&postcount=177

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

(We now know there was a posting error. So ShadowMask is NOT the sorcerer who drove our tribe off the land, killing half of our tribe in the process. So back to Anoras.)

(Anoras will check Thad. I'm assuming she'll find no evidence he was killed after Anoras treated him. So Anoras will hang her head and feel stupid for yelling.): "I must confess I see he did die because he was so badly injured I could not save him. I should not have yelled, and should not have said what I said."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

they keep their thoughts about this to themselves, but do not inquire further.


You rolled a 17 against a skill of 8. So yeah. Hopefully the Venasir have better tactical sense than Cassandra and don't hold it against her.


They talk to each other in Venasir about that.


They're still Venasir though!

"Where is Anoras? She sounds very helpful. Is she the leader of your war band?"


Cassandra is offered a bowl of gruel, and it is suggested that she sleep in the great hall. The Haunden Traitor woman stays with her and also eats some gruel.

"They want to know if you will swear by your Gods that you will not attack the Venasir of this castle until you return to your village."



Fireball berates Anoras for such a mistake.

They will be staying here for the night, and set up a guard routine. Anoras is expected to continue caring for the wounded. There is a little talk of sending her to be with the other camp with their wounded.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

I'm assuming the other camp is where our fellow Haunden are being held prisoner. If so, that's exactly what Anoras was hoping for.

(Anoras speaking): "There are more wounded? I agree; sending me to help sounds like a very good idea."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Busan: "No, we are thinking about sending the wounded somewhere safe during the attack."


********************************


Still waiting for Kal

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

(Anoras speaking to Busan) "Oh. All right."

Then, after a pause:

"Wait. Are any of the other wounded Haunden?

"The Haunden giant of course died before I could question him. Very unfortunately. I remember you said, 'Interrogating him is probably worth it.' Even Wings decided to follow your wise plan for me to question him. But I can't question a skeleton." (Anoras will scowl.)

(Anoras continuing to speak to Busan) "But maybe one of the other Haundens knows about the secret, whatever it is? Again, as Wings and you agreed, as I am both a healer and can speak Haunden, a patient might be more likely to talk to me as their healer than to anyone else. So perhaps I should be sent there so I can gather useful information, and then report back to you."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Busan: "We have injured prisoners at the other camp yes. Nothing serious or worthy of your concern though. And all the prisoners are civilians. They won't know anything. We have a couple of minor injuries we took in the haunden raid. Those people are with Stripes."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

(Anoras speaking): "Ah well. I was hoping I could help at the other camp. But if I'm not needed, I'm not needed." (Sighs)

"And I see your point. The captured Haunden are all with Stripes, and are all civilians. So they likely won't know anything about military secrets. But maybe one of them might have overheard something? Or a warrior might have said something they shouldn't have said to their spouse? When Stripes arrives with the Haunden prisoners, maybe I could at least try to learn something from them that they might have heard?"

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

"Oh no, Anoras isn't a Warrior like me or Thad, she is a Healer. Uhm. I don't think anyone is in charge. She got caught by the enemies somehow with Thad. Well Thad got caught because he got fireballed and stabbed and hacked and everything. Anoras looked okay"



Cassandra looks dissapointed but eats the gruel "Isn't there like beer and parties here?"


"Well, I will be willing to swear by Bribeam, my Ancestor God of Archery and Singing and Beauty, not to attack or harm the Venasir of this Castle until I return to my village, just, let me go after we deal with these raiders. Since it would be really rude to keep me after I helped you out even though I would be an awesome slave."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Ok, so Anoras is try to influence them to go ahead and send away the wounded to the prisoners early. She's effectively low status in this situation. I suppose Fast Talk is the relevant skill.



The main difficulties they bring up are finding Stripe's camp and staying safe: they don't want to send any good fighters with them. Its suggested that they might use the bird to guide them and watch for enemies. ("These haunden were willing to attack us with just two warriors... they might have more that are similarly determined, and that archer is still out there")


Anoras is able to answer every question. (Fast talk roll of 8 vs skill of 15 with a -2 penalty for effective low status). The wounded will just get in the way, and they have to stick around and anyways, so it won't slow anything down. Wings doesn't want to do guide the bird more, but this is his raid, so he's convinced to make sure everything is perfect.

They set out: Anoras, and three warriors. Two use sword and shield and one uses a glaive. All three are badly injured. Anoras is told to follow the crow that's checking in on them periodically.



(Two are just barely positive HP, one shield bearer is negative HP but conscious and bandaged).


"That's unfortunate. So its just you? No wonder you came to us."

The translator/minder looks at Cassandra disappointedly "Is that what you think the Venasir do all day? That only happens a few times a year, on the feast days. And you're Haunden and you admitted to stealing a goat. Why would they give you any feasts?"

"Swear it then!"



OCC: wow. Just wow. I laughed.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

"Yes, just me. Well it wasn't my first choice!"

"Ohh, the Venasir all totally . . . " she looks at the Venasir all around her

"Uhm. Uh. I'm sure they do lots of very Venasir things. Apparently sober. Though I like mead better than beer actually. I guess they don't have any cute princes either? Anoras implied they did . . . I'm still single. Anoras I think is single to if she gets rescued. Well okay, that is a point, so I guess that makes sense, but it was a really good raid! I am sure the other Venasir hurry up and attack so we can defeat them and go home. We did have singing and dancing and actual drinks."

"Very well, I Cassandra of Haunden do solemnly swear by my ancestor Bribeam, Great God of Archery, Music and Beauty, that I will not attack or harm the Venasir of this Castle unless first I set foot within my own village."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

As Anoras has Navigation (Land), Naturalist, and Tracking, it should I think be very easy for her to later find the spot where she hid her broadsword, etc. But just as an extra precaution, she'll look around during the trip to look for other natural markers to help.

Somehow, I don't think it will look suspicious to some warriors recently injured in battle to see their companion looking around a lot. I imagine they'll be doing the same thing.

(Anoras speaking to the warriors three after we leave the others): "Remember, if you feel a sudden pain or have another medical problem, let me know right away so I can help.

"Hopefully, I can learn something from those Haunden prisoners. Do any of you speak Haunden?

"And I am not used to following a crow for directions. Have any of you done that before?"

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Translator: "The Baron's son is six. He's cute, but not in the way you seem to think."


"Are they celebrating those stupid raids back in the village? Its been a very long time since I lived with our people."


The translator gives that message to the captain, and the captain brings Cassandra up to the castle walls to look for the coming enemy.



Noted.


Pretty much. and you've got to watch for that crow.


The one with the longest hair answers: "Good. We'll remember."


They do in fact require to be pampered on the trip, requiring tightening of the splints, frequent stops, questions about the best way to avoid the pain, and so on. This distracts from her wariness quite a bit (-2 to Per), but also ingratiates her to them. (+2 to reaction roll... which makes it neutral, as the roll was 9).


The one with the glave, who has red leather holding his armor together, says "No, none of us speak Haunden."


Long hair: "I've done it. Its simple enough. You just follow the crow. But don't annoy it, because you're actually annoying wings or stripes"


There is a touch of fear about possibly annoying the sorcerers.


The crow (or maybe wings) checks in with them regularly, leading them on. After a long hike (maybe three hours) They arrive at Stripe's camp.



details about stripes camp in next post.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

(Anoras speaking) "I see. I can speak it roughly. I was going to question a Haunden warrior, but he died. Do any of you know if Stripes or anyone in Stripes' camp can speak Haunden?"

(Anoras is again of course telling the truth. She can speak Haunden roughly--she didn't say that's the only way she can speak it. And she certainly planned to ask Thad questions--about what happened, his medical condition, what he might have learned, etc.)


(Anoras speaking) "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Follow the crow, but do not annoy it."

"Oh, wait, we can't hurt the crow. I was exposed to birdpaux. It doesn't hurt people, but the disease can go through the air when I breath. It can kill birds. I'd better cover my nose and mouth. But I need to use a wet cloth. We wouldn't want Wings or Stripes mad at us!"

Anoras will take the piece of clothing she had previously gagged herself with. Then she'll get it wet, and put it over her lower face, tying it behind her head, covering everything on her face below her eyes.

Note that in our world there is a disease called avian pox that can go through the air (often in mosquitoes) that can kill birds and not harm humans. But she's fudging on some of the details. As she has both First Aid and Naturalist at high levels, I figure she could come up with something similar for her world. But of course that's the GM's call.

Also a note that, in written game play, no Venasir has asked Anoras' name, and she hasn't said her name to a Venasir.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Long Hair: "Yeah, Vilisan speaks a little Haunden. That's why he's still with the prisoners. Stripes doesn't know Haunden"

Weird healer doing weird healer things, as far as they are concerned.


Noted. I assume these two things are to conceal her identity so her old neighbors don't recognize her?



Its open air: only Stripes and the soldiers have tents. They have 16 captives: 19 were initially missing.

only the scoceror "Stripes" and three soldiers are present, but the captives are all tied up and look terrified: they've been arranged in a row and they are tied together in a string. Each prisoner has a sorceror's mark on them.


The soldiers have lots of questions for each other, and Stripes, with green and yellow vertical stripes on his mask, listens in and occasionally asks for clarification.



"Who is the woman?", one of the soldiers ask


"A captive from the Haunden we fought. Wings marked her."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

(Anoras speaking): "Ah, I see. Perhaps you can point Vilisan out to me when we get there. That could be helpful."

Correct assumption. The "medical mask" and not identifying herself as Anoras are both to prevent problems from someone seeing her and immediately saying something like, "Anoras! So you were captured too?"

Are there any Haunden prisoners Anoras would recognize as being particularly useful in this situation? I.e., one who knows Brawling or Wrestling or how to use a weapon, or is a fast runner or good at hiding, or speaks Venasir, or is good at something like Acting or Fast Talk, or has Escape skill, etc.?

Anoras will listen too, and see if she can learn anything useful to her.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

They go ahead and do so.


Noted.

Good question.



There aren't any proper fighters: three boys aged 10-14 know how to wrestle and fight, but they lack strength. The Gerrand was a decent warrior before his back and joints acted up. Old man Trendil is a shrewd fellow (acting and fast talk), as is Belansi ( a middle aged woman). Adeleth is a fast running when she's not pregnant, and Timar (a young woman) is fast and stealthy... Anoras is not sure how she got caught.

Its mostly information she knows about... though she gets a little more detail about the exact tactics Cassandra and Thad used.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Sorry I forgot to ask specifically about Anoras's taken relatives. In our time, those statements above were made before last year's Christmas!

So now that I'm remembering, which of them are Anoras's uncle and three or more cousins? I'm thinking Old man Trendil might actually be her uncle (or great uncle). He and Anoras are both fast talkers. And Anoras was careful not to use her own usually used name with the Venasir. She might have learned both those tricks from her uncle! (And in some families, it's not uncommon to use nicknames for family members. For one of my uncles, I don't remember ever calling him by his legal name. And even though Trendil is "Old Man," I had a great aunt and great uncle I called and thought of as my aunt and uncle.)

In any case, Anoras will look for a chance to talk to some of the captives when Haunden-speaking Vilisan isn't within earshot. She'll do that while doing her checking the wounded thing. (Anybody with their hands tied tightly after being captured in an attack could potentially be wounded.) If she has the chance, she'll whisper directly in the ear of Trendil, Belansi, Timar, possibly Gerrand and Adeleth if she's sure they can keep quiet:

Anoras (whispering in Haunden): "Please don't give this away to anyone who can't keep secrets, but I am Anoras."

And yes, it's possible a Venasir might think Anoras is whispering in the ears of the Haunden. That's part of the reason she told the Venasir she's going to try to trick the Haunden into giving away "the secret." You don't generally get somebody to give away a secret openly when people who might hate them for doing so are tied right next to them....

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

I don't know that Anoras found a bone to make another charm like the one she made and gave to Thad. And Anoras probably didn't know which sorcerer cast the spell--although I'm thinking it would likely have been Wings or Fireball. Perhaps in the conversation she's been listening to, someone might have mentioned who cast the spell on the skeleton that the bone came from.

And, more than once, Anoras was gathering herbs for healing (and for a charm).

So questions three:

1) Did someone mention which sorcerer cast the spell on the skeleton Thad took down?

2) Does Anoras know a way of making a sorcerer-resistant charm without a bone? Maybe by doing something like using some of a sorcerer-marked person's blood/hair/etc.?

3) If she needs a bone, could she have accessed an appropriate bone?

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

"Oh, hehe, yep that is rather to young!"

"Uhm, well, there are other reasons than raids to you know. Though I heard it was even more fun before . . . Uh. Nevermind!

Cassandra will dutifully stand on the wall and watch

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

You don't know which scorceror made the skeleton Thad took down. You do know that Wings is managing the skeletons they fought.

Any broken spell will work for a charm. So the remnants of a triggered trap, or the feathers of a dead raven that was under the charm before. You could turn your "Mark" into a charm... after you break it.

She could have accessed a bone if she is sneaky about it. There are certainly lots of fragments. Does she have filch or some other appropriate skill for stealing a bone fragment? I suppose stealth could work as well, after Cassandra ran away.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Anoras unfortunately doesn't have either of those "sneaky" skills. But she was by herself for quite a bit, gathering various things while being watched just by a crow that could only see her from above from just one side at a time. So if she'd seen something, perhaps she could have gotten it where the crow wouldn't see it.

And she does have Acting, Fast Talk, and Tactics, in addition to Naturalist and First Aid. So even with people, she could get something when no one who knows magic is watching. Something like, "I could use that for healing, and that, and that over there," etc. That's when one of the things in the middle is actually something she might use to beat the charm.

In my experience in our world, people tend to assume that just about anything a medical person does while on duty probably has some medical purpose.

And as you had posted, they think:

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

During the by herself period, reaching the bones would not be possible without a "sneaky" roll. At least not in anyway I'm willing to do retroactively.

picking up herbs for resisting magic is 100% doable, but to make the charm that gives the bonus, you need the remnants of a spell the magician cast and then was destroyed.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Understood. Although I am rather guessing at what to even ask about, as Anoras is an expert on things of Haunden for which I don't have a clue.

So if the GM has an appropriate roll that might work, the GM has my permission to roll for me.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

I can't think of a good one. So no bone for a charm.



You're right, some of them should be relatives. Old Man Trendil is her uncle. Adeleth and one of the boys are cousins. The last cousin is Hengrid, a woman who doesn't have any skills that will help you much here.



Rolled acting to do so stealthily... got a 5. nice.

I don't see a skill that would let her judge if Gerrand and Adeleth would talk or not, so the player gets to make that decision.

Trendil hisses "Do you have a plan?" when spoken to.



Timar says nothing, but her face betrays surprise, shock and hope


Belansi asks "What do you need me to do?"



**********************************************


Cassandra Passes much of the night on the battlements, waiting for an attack that does not come. When will she go to sleep?

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Given she is convinced the attack will come she will try to stay up late

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Yeah, rolling 10 under skill doesn't hurt!

Has Anoras found any herbs she could use against the enemy? Could be something that puts people to sleep or at least makes them groggy or disoriented (i.e. minus to skill), etc.? (Things like that are often used in medical treatments.)

I rather thought Anoras would know them better than the 10 or so words I know about them, but I guess not. So Anoras will say this:

Anoras (whispering in Haunden): "Please don't give this away to anyone who can't keep secrets, but I am Anoras."


Anoras (whispering in Haunden to those who know who she is): "I am open to your suggestions. My plan right now is, as I am doing examinations, to loose knots enough so that people still looked tied, but can easily get out. We can wait to act further after many of the guards are asleep. But again, I am open to your ideas."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

ok, so for herbs used against the enemy generally (as opposed to mystic) that's poisons or pharmacy (Herbal), pharmacy (Herbal) defaults to naturalist (and your naturalist is sky high)


Rolled a 14. vs effective skill of 12 (17-5). No, she doesn't have access to sedative plants. At least not any that don't require eating something mildly unpleasant in substantial quantities.


Anoras does know them better than you, but not in that context.


Gerrand Grunts acknowledgement.



Adeleth: "Oh, its... " and then she remembers not to give anything away. "where are the others?"


Gerrund: "we need a plan to kill them all. Or they'll just chase us back down."
Trendil: "Give me some time, and I'll think about it. do you know where the skeletons and others went?"
Belansi: "be careful with the children. We may need to do them last. Do you which way is safety?"



I'm going to interpret that as she stays up until morning. She's down 3 FP at that point. Will she go to sleep after she is proved wrong, or try to stay up all day?

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

I'll post what Anoras does later--I wanted to get this up quickly.

Please forgive me if I'm sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong. But as Kalzazz is, in my opinion, admirably working to play true to character even to that character's detriment, here's a possible idea based on the post below about the sign Cassandra carries:

Up to the GM, of course. But perhaps someone could remind Cassandra of what it says on the wooden sign that people saw Cassandra carrying into Holidor, the sign that Cassandra knows Anoras wrote, the sign that is based on the information Anoras told in person to Cassandra. Maybe that would help encourage Cassandra to think about the attack being planned for a day or so later, and encourage the warrior to get some sleep.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Understood.


When Vilisan isn't in ear shot, Anoras will quietly let the ones she identified herself to know that Vilisan (whom she'll describe) speaks a little Haunden. But apparently the other captors there, including Stripes, do not speak it, so can't understand what we're saying. She'll tell the captives that Stripes's group, joining with Wings's and Fireball's group, plans to attack Holidor. That's possibly in a day or so (tomorrow or shortly after, based on whatever she's learned.) And she'll tell them about where Wings and Fireball and their skeletons are. She'll let them know that Holidor is not responsible for the attack on Haunden. The Venasir renegades Stripes, Wings, Fireball and their people are responsible. So to save Haunden, Cassandra bravely went to Holidor alone with a sign written in Venasir to warn Holidor, and let them know about us captives. Because if the Venasir renegades succeed in taking Holidor castle, Haunden could be doomed. But if we work with Holidor against the Venasir who captured us, Haunden could be saved.

Ah well. So she didn't find any during her Wings-watched-wandering (the treating Cassandra incident).

As Anoras's search for herbs was about three hours away, she might find some where she is now, ones that she could use against the enemy. Again, could be something that puts people to sleep or at least makes them groggy or disoriented that doesn't require eating something mildly unpleasant in substantial quantities. If that might work, the GM has my permission to roll for me.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

She will using her amazing Soldier of 8 try to estimate the likely attack time again

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

She fails by 2... she's not sure what she estimated wrong the first time. She's not sure when they are coming... but it should be soon? maybe?

She HAS the soldier skill, and it wasn't a critical failure, so she might know that sleeping in a area close to the action while others watch isn't a terrible idea...


**************************


Belansi: "Holidor. who would have thought? Is running an option if we get free? They cast some sort of spell on us. And some of us move slowly."


Trendil: "So either most of the force is gone, or we have just a few days to get away. Do they have a reason to kill us if the sorcerers are dead?*"


*Other than general treatment of prisoners, they don't have a reason to kill without scorceror sacrifice. On the other hand, some of the prisoners could fetch a good price as slaves...


I'm going to say from a retroactive perspective, you get one roll looking for that kind of herb. repeated attempts are possible, but must be done in the present and get a -1 cumulative penalty per attempt.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

GM, if I'm misunderstanding how the spell casting works (things that Anoras would know), please let me know.

If I'm understanding right:

Anoras (speaking): "Was Stripes the sorcerer who cast the spells on all of you? With the mark, the sorcerer can attack you from far away--unless the sorcerer who cast the spell is dead."

Anoras (speaking): "If the sorcerers are dead, I don't believe the others would have a reason to kill us. But they might want to sell some of us as slaves."

OOC: Rolled Pharmacy (Herbal) defaults to Naturalist. Critical failure. So I used Luck. Then on the second roll got the same exact critical failure with the dice rolls exactly the same in the same exact order!

Odds of rolling a critical failure with an effective skill of 12: 1 out of 54. Odds of rolling two critical failures in a roll with an effective skill of 12: 1 out of 2,916.

Fortunately, on the third roll I rolled a 12 so made it exactly.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Cassandra will go to sleep then

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

(this is indeed correct).


Belsani: "Stripes... you mean the scorceror with the striped mask? No, it was one of the ones that is gone. The one with the bird on his mask."

"So if we can just kill three sorcerers... That's a tall ask, but might be easier than killing all of these soldiers and the skeletons as well."


OOC: Rolled Pharmacy (Herbal) defaults to Naturalist. Critical failure. So I used Luck. Then on the second roll got the same exact critical failure with the dice rolls exactly the same in the same exact order!

Odds of rolling a critical failure with an effective skill of 12: 1 out of 54. Odds of rolling two critical failures in a roll with an effective skill of 12: 1 out of 2,916.

Fortunately, on the third roll I rolled a 12 so made it exactly.[/QUOTE]
Anoras had given up on finding a convenient herb, when she stumbles across a patch of Randy Berries: sweet looking, but capable of making a human violently ill. In some cases, it can cause death. They're located quite close to stripes's camp, but there aren't very many of them... lets say about 10 doses.

Roll HT-3 20 minutes after eating them. Failure results in Nausea for 3d6 hours with retching for 30 seconds every 3d6*2 minutes or when first undertaking vigorous action (like combat). Failure by 5 or more requires a second unmodified HT roll to avoid death (long and prolonged, like a mortal wound).



The berries can be recognized as what they are fairly easily, but look and taste fairly close to edible berries.


Cassandra settles down on the battlements of Holidor to sleep.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Question: Does Anoras know if any of the Haunden prisoners speak Venasir?

Anoras (speaking out of earshot of the Venasir who speaks Haunden): "Yes, Stripes is the one with the striped mask. The sorcerer that they call 'Wings', for his association with birds, has the bird on his mask. The other one is Fireball."

Anoras, again out of earshot of the one who speaks Haunden, will very briefly tell the prisoners whom she can trust what her plan is (to keep this from becoming extremely long, I'll post that below). And she'll tell them her plan is to loosen their bonds so they still look tied but can quickly get out when it's time to do so. She'll tell the trusted Haunden that she plans to make the Venasir sick by getting them to consume something. If she gives something to the Haunden as well, they can pretend to be sick--but only after one of the Venasir start acting sick. or after she gives them a signal. She'll let them know not to escape until it's time--otherwise, they could put their lives and those of the other Haunden in unnecessary danger.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

While gathering the Randy Berries, Anoras will also gather harmless fruit that are edible/taste at least halfway decent. And, importantly, are as close in looks to the Randy Berries as possible. She'll cover the Randy Berries under what miscellaneous harmless edible stuff she can find. She'll plan to later use just a bit of the miscellaneous edible stuff she can mix with the Randy Berries that won't affect their potency. (If this needs a Naturalist roll, the GM can roll for me.)

Anoras (Speaking to the Venasir): "As you know, I was exposed to birdpaux, which is why I'm wearing this prepared mask. I prepared it and put it on as soon as I was told the watching bird belonged to a sorcerer. But I wasn't told about the bird until after I did treatments. So the warriors who traveled with me were likely exposed as well. And the Venasir here that they were close to, including Stripes, were likely also exposed.

"Again, birdpaux doesn't ordinarily harm humans, so no worries there. But it can kill birds. So that, with what I was told about Wings' mystical connection to birds, it could perhaps be transferred from Wings to birds. And then, possibly, back again. So we definitely don't want Wings to get exposed.

"It can take hours to build up in a human to where it could affect birds, which is why I wasn't worried about the warriors with me not being treated--until now.

"But fortunately, I was just now able to gather various herbs with which I can make treatment, and have enough to treat all the Venasir here, including me. Unfortunately, I didn't find enough to treat all the Haunden. I do have something that could possibly treat them, but it could also make them very ill.

"But as the Haunden are all tied together, they cannot run off anyway. And as they are of little importance to Wings, I am sure the sorcerer can feel free to simply keep them away from him and his birds.

"The treatment takes hours to take effect. Rarely, someone can start to feel just a bit queasy a little while after treatment. If someone did, they could drink just a bit of (some drink that's available) to help. So to be safe, we should take the medicine just before going to bed, but hours before we meet Wings. As Wings has a connection to birds, he is the last person we would want to see infected.

"So after I rest from gathering herbs, I will begin making a treatment for birdpaux. As birdpaux can affect the treatment, I will need to continue wearing the protective mask until I am fully cured. So no one who was exposed should get close enough that they could breath on the ingredients. We would not want to upset Wings. As I was infected long before anyone else here, once I finish it I will take it first."

Anoras will rest/nap with the ingredients with her, while wearing her mask. Then she will begin "making it." She will make separate doses, enough for herself and the Venasir present, in cups or whatever they have available. As much as possible, she'll mix in just enough miscellaneous stuff that a safe dose with the similar berries will look virtually the same as the other doses. But not too much, so the extra stuff won't affect the potency. Her first priority is effectiveness. And she'll vary the miscellaneous stuff so the different doses look very similar, but not entirely identical.

If it's possible, she'll make it into something we can drink. But again, her first priority is effectiveness.

Being the brave healer she is, she'll take the first dose (which of course will be the one with the similar, but not dangerous, berries. She should know which one is safe by the container she chooses to put it in, the added ingredient/plant she can see that's in her dose and not in the ones for the Venasir, the slightly different smell, etc.)

Then she'll give the other Venasir their doses (which of course will have Randy Berries.)

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Ok, that's a fast-talk roll, with a required complementary medical roll. Who is she telling this to? one of the wounded guards she traveled with? one of the guards who was already there? Stripes?

If she wants to gather them all and tell them all at once, that's public speaking.



Trendil, Belsani, and Gerrund each speak just a little haunden (Gerrund is accented, the rest broken)



********************************


Cassandra is woken from her sleep as the sun is low in the sky. A random Venasir warrior is there. and her "translator"



"Were they planning to attack here, or just a nearby village?"

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Primarily wanting to convince Stripes. I figure others are probably in earshot, but likely don't need to convince them.

For clarification, I'm guessing by that you mean they speak both Haunden and a little Venasir.

Not sure if medical roll would be on First Aid or Pharmacy (Herbal), or either one. In any case, I made the rolls.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

"Surely here! Anoras wouldn't have sent me here if it wasn't here"

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

You roll a 15 on your fast talk... but Stripes rolled a 12 on Will, and you get a +1 from the medical roll. (really, it should have been like +2/-2 on success, or worse, because so much is about selling the medical part)


Stripes: "Bird Paux. How fast does it kill? The animals are easy to replace, and we don't need birds. I also have this power. We can simply use the birds until they die, or at worst, send you away until the disease has passed."


OCC: I'm willing to give this to you, but only if you can overcome these objections. Stripes is convinced of the Paux, but sees things other than being queasy as an alternative.


correct, my bad.


They discuss that.



"Maybe she sent you here to get help instead? You are hurt pretty bad."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Anoras (speaking) "Mystic Stripes, I treated the warriors for a long time before I knew about the sorcerer-bird connection. So they were very likely infected. Then they were here with the other warriors and with you, so all of you were likely infected.

"How fast it kills can vary depending upon...wait. You said you also have the power? Oh no. As I said, birdpaux doesn't ordinarily harm humans. But if Wings--and you--had the mystical connection, that's a different story. Even if you've only been connected once. It could be transferred from you to a bird or other animal, or from a bird or other animal to you. That means anyone, a sorcerer or otherwise, who's ever been so connected, even if they're not connected right now, could be affected the same as a bird!

"Please, take the antidote!"

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Stripes thinks for a moment. You can't see the expression on his face.

"How many can you give this antidote to? Do you have enough for everyone? The prisoners will need it to: I've seen you tend to them. Will my apprentice need it as well?"

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Anoras (speaking): "You are right, Mystic Stripes. I do have enough doses of the safe formula for myself, you, your apprentice, and your warriors. And for maybe one or two prisoners beyond that. I also have ingredients I could use for the prisoners, but they aren't necessarily safe. As a healer, I am hesitant to use that.

"Perhaps it would be better if the prisoners simply kept their distance from anyone who has mystically connected to birds or other animals. But that is, of course, your decision."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

"She patched me up, so I'm not in that bad of shape. She said to go to the Castle, so it must be the Castle."

Do I get to make a HT roll for natural healing since new day?

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Stripes: "Make the unsafe antidote. We have a few extra. You can test it on a few."


Yes, make your HT roll.

The Translator doesn't respond.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Anoras sighs.

Anoras (speaking): "Very well, Mystic Stripes. You are the mystic here, and I am merely a healer. As I and you and all the Venasir here are taking their safe Venasir doses, I can quickly make a version, that is questionable, for the Haunden. As everything is already prepared and most of it mixed, I can finish this about as fast as a Venasir warrior could chop down a tree."

Anoras, along with making sure all the Venasir took their medicine (especially Stripes), will take the harmless edibles she's already mixed, throw in something safe, and very quickly have it ready for the Haunden.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Ok, so Stripes and the warriors take the "Medicine". And Anoras and the prisoners take their "Medicine"


20 minutes later, Symptoms start. Most of the warriors are in bad shape.



But Stripes and Two warriors seem to have nothing more than queasiness: nothing that will actually slow them down. One of the warriors is uninjured, the other is the glaive warrior (below HP/3).



(those HT rolls were better than anticipated, especially for Stripes)

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

I apologize for not making my meaning clear. The reasons Anoras said "I can finish this about as fast as a Venasir warrior could chop down a tree", and why she decided to "throw in something safe, and very quickly have it ready", was because she had plans for those 20 minutes.

Anoras' plan was to prepare the "Haunden medicine" very quickly, i.e., use things she's already mixed, throw in something safe, and have it read in a couple minutes or so. She purposely didn't specify what size tree she was referring to a Venasir warrior cutting down because she didn't want to give the Venasir any more information than necessary. (From years of living in the woods, I've chopped down a tree with an axe in less than five minutes--but that was a very small tree. A big tree can take me a whole lot longer.)

She planned to talk to the Haunden while giving them the "medicine" before the Venasir had side effects.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

You can still do that. Go ahead and speak to them.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Thanks I really appreciate that. I'll need to give this some thought to avoid playing out-of-character knowledge. (I.e., I know Stripes won't get "zapped" by the medicine as Anoras had hoped, while Anoras doesn't.)

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

1) Anoras (whispering to the Haunden who know who she is when out of earshot of the one Haunden-speaking Venasir): "Take this--it's safe to eat, and the Venasir believe it's medicine that could potentially make you very sick. But it won't. It's safe; I made it and then ate it a few minutes ago. Several Venasir, I don't know which ones, should actually get sick or even very sick in about 5 to 15 minutes. If you see one with these symptoms (she'll tell symptoms), you can start pretending to have symptoms that you're sick.

"Make sure the others, and of course you, don't overact being sick. (To Old Man Trendil and Belansi she'll add, "Of course I don't have to worry about your acting. If for some reason I can't give a signal to escape from your loosened knots, and then run away or attack, you can give it.")

"While you're pretending to be sick, look for my signal. Then all the Haunden can escape or attack. Our prime target is the sorcerer Stripes, the one with the striped mask. In fact Stripes could be our only target; I don't know which of the Venasir warriors truly support Stripes. Some might support Holidor, but have to follow Stripes' orders. Stripes' apprentice is (describe). Once Stripes is down, we might get support. So I'd suggest not attacking the others unless necessary.

"If for some reason I can't give the signal, I'm saying look to Old Man Trendil or Belansi."

2) Anoras (whispering to the Haunden she hasn't told who she is out of earshot of the one Haunden-speaking Venasir): "Take this; it's safe to eat. You can see Old Man Trendil, Belansi, The Gerrand, Adeleth, or Timar are eating it, and they know who I am. I'm here to help as you should know. I'm somebody you know, but don't say that you know me. or my name, when you learn who I am. Several Venasir, I don't know which ones, should get sick or even very sick in about 5 to 15 minutes. Follow my signal--or that of Old Man Trendil or Belansi.

"Then you can pretend to be a little sick. But don't overact. If you don't think you can fake being just a little sick, then don't pretend. If you know you can act just a little sick, you can bend over with your face down a little, say 'ow' or 'ah' or 'that hurts' quietly, and think of things that make you feel upset. But keep an eye on me or Old Man Trendil or Belansi, for directions to see when to get out of your loosened knots."

3) Actually, if one or few overact being sick, Anoras doesn't actually think that's a problem. Some people do exaggerate their symptoms. She just doesn't want the whole group doing that!

4) To avoid playing out-of-character knowledge that I know but Anoras doesn't know that Stripes isn't getting really sick, I rolled on Tactics. ( She might have done something different if she knew what I know.)

From Tactics: "In personal combat, you may make a Tactics roll before the fight begins if you had any time to prepare. On a success, you start the fight in an advantageous position – e.g., behind cover or on higher ground – as determined by the GM. The better the roll, the greater your advantage."

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Has she loosen the ropes on all of them then?



giving the instructions goes as planned.


What will you do now that the warriors are sick?


***********************


Cassandra recovered 2 HP overnight.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

All ropes were loosened on Haunden she can trust not to run away until the signal--which I imagine means most if not all of them. I'm figuring if there's one or two she can't trust, someone else can loosen them when she gives the "start acting sick" signal.

When the Venasir start feeling poorly, she'll give the Haunden the signal to "start acting sick". She figures the Venasir will be more concerned about how their own are feeling than they'd care about how the prisoners feel.

When some Venasir are very sick. she'll go to Stripes to "make sure he's OK." About then she'll give the signal for the Haunden to escape from their bonds, then either attack Stripes or run off.

Note that her plan for combat is based on her successful Tactics roll, and not on my lack of Tactics. (My limited work for the military was inside a guarded building, not in combat.) So the GM is free to adjust this plan to fit Anoras' Tactics roll if needed. For one thing, Anoras would like to have access to a weapon she knows how to use....

EDIT: Sorry, should have clarified Anoras is trained in using a broadsword and using a shield.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Ok, so you'll want to get weapons to as many people as possible. There are six warriors, with four sheilds, one glaive, four swords, two axes, and two bows. Two of the warriors have their swords with them, the rest of the gear is by their bedrolls... but those are about 20 yards from where the prisoners have been made to lie down.

two guards are on duty.


Stripes is busy making some sort of charm and is focused on that.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

My guess would be the two guards that had been assigned guard duty would not include the glaive warrior (below HP/3). So correct me if I'm wrong. But by my interpretation, that would mean that out of the five guards that could have been put on duty, only one of them didn't get majorly sick.

So I believe out of 10 possible two-guard combinations, 4 out of 10 would mean one guard on duty is majorly sick. 6 out of 10 combinations would mean both guards on duty are majorly sick.

Again, of course you're the GM and I'm a player. But Anoras' actions could be different depending upon whether one guard on duty is majorly sick, or both. (Again, that's assuming Stripes wouldn't have a badly injured guard on duty.)

So do both of the guards that are on duty get badly sick, or just one of them? (Or is one of the two guards on duty badly injured?)

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

They do have some injured guards watching out. So its possible one of them is glaive... let me roll.



Both of the guards on duty are sick. One of them is injured.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Anoras rolled 6 under Tactics. And Basic Set says the GM can suggest what's best based on the success of the Tactics roll. I'm not exactly sure where everything and everyone is while Anoras does know, and Anoras is a whole lot better at Tactics than I am. So the GM is free to adjust this based on Anoras's knowledge and roll.

Anoras will go to the one of the two very sick guards that's furthest from Stripes. Anoras (speaking) "As this sickness may cause the guard to become temporarily confused, I should temporarily remove these dangerous items until the guard is better." She will do so.

Then she'll go to the other guard that has a sword and shield that Anoras is used to using, the guard closest to Stripes. While checking the very sick guard, she'll again move the sword and shield and any other weapons so they don't get in the way of her "treatment."

Then, when close to Stripes but from a position where the charm-making Stripes won't see the signal, she'll give the Haunden the signal to escape from their bonds and then either go to a safe place or grab weapons to attack Stripes. Or fight against only those Venasir who attack the Haunden. (Anoras will rely on her "subleaders" she told the Haunden they could follow.)

She'll look for when the opportunity looks good, and armed Haunden are coming in (grabbing the weapons). Which will probably happen very soon. Then she will use the sword and shield so "I can do my best" to give the sorcerer Stripes all the protection he deserves. And then, when the time looks best, probably very quickly, she and whoever's with her will attack the sorcerer. If reasonably possible, but only if reasonably possible, she'll avoid harming his mask.

(Anoras is a healer first and a warrior second. But by Stripes having been a leader of an attack to kill innocent people, wanting to change their dead bodies into evil skeletons to kill more innocent people, telling her to give the Haunden something that the sorcerer believed could kill them, planning to attack and kill his own people at Holidor, and then not even seeming to care when his own guards are getting deadly ill? She won't feel guilty about attacking him.)

And again, Anoras's thought is that some, maybe even all, of these guards do not emotionally support Stripes, but are merely following orders.

Anoras yelling (in Venasir): "If you are truly loyal to Holidor and not to this evil rebellion, do not attack the Haunden who are here to help us!"

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Ok, just to clarify, Anoras is targeting the two sick guards, not just two random sick warriors?


who is the statement about removing the dangerous items made to?


Exactly where is she putting the sword and shield she's not carrying?


As I figure it, the Haunden will have two sets of weapons for this fight, right?


******************************


As evening comes, Cassandra hears the blowing of a Venasir Horn. The Horn of alarm. The one that signals for them to respond to a raid!


What has she been doing all day?

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Sorry, I realize now I didn't clarify that by "these dangerous items" I meant the weapons. And by "guard" I was thinking of the two on guard duty. So yeah, the two guards on duty are both very sick, and as you said they are the only two Venasir warriors who have weapons nearby. So those are the two warriors that Anoras' is dealing with.

Nobody in particular; she's just kind of supposedly "thinking out loud." Stripes is busy so will probably not be paying attention. She's speaking out loud just in case a Venasir is paying attention to what she's doing. She's just a "weird healer doing weird healer things." (Although even in real life I don't think healers want their patients having deadly weapons....)

Honestly, I don't know how to answer that because, while Anoras knows where everything and everyone is, I don't. So some place where a Venasir warrior, especially one that's not sick, can't reach it. She wants a Haunden to get them, not a Venasir.

Sorry, but I'm not understanding what this means. If you mean there's enough weapons for them to grab two, if that works, that's fine. (Again, Anoras has military training in Tactics; I don't.)

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

She has rested and done guard duty and looked hopefully for something to drink and people willing/able to talk to her

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Interesting... I'd forgotten everyone else had their weapons stowed.

Anoras starts treating the guards, moving the weapons away so that they will be "safe". No one seems to notice the camp is now effectively disarmed. (rolled a 13 for the guards, a 10 for stripes... but he's busy, he needed better than that)

(Had they seen the weapons being removed for treatment they may have posted new guards... but they didn't!)

Tactics wise, do you prefer a mad scramble for as many weapons as possible (high chance of killing some enemy, high chance of several Haunden dead) or for just a few picked Haunden trying to subtly grab weapons and the rest run for the woods (Fewer Haunden causulties, but a harder fight for the warriors who stay)

She'll open up the fight by closing with stripes and fighting, yes?

***************************

Cassandra was... able to weasel her way into a drink (rolled a 5, against carousing -14 but with penalties for being a former enemy and not speaking the language). There isn't a lot of talking involved, but being on high alert on on the same side seems to loosen the suspicions of the Venasir. There are smiles and laughs and cheer.

When the horn sounds, her new-found buddies look at her expectantly... they're headed to the castle gates, not the castle walls.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

My thought is, with just about all the Venasir (not counting Stripes) very sick, they won't be able to scramble to run to get their weapons ready, and then be decent in a fight. Not when there's some fast Haunden that could probably get to the weapons first even if the Venasir weren't sick! And, based on your rolls, the Venasir won't know to even try to get to their weapons until the Haunden are already headed there.

So my thinking is some if not all the Venasir warriors are following the "mad rebel" Stripes because they felt their only option was to follow or die. Now, they have options.

1) Stick with the rebel who didn't give a **** about them being very sick or injured while Anoras treated them (she really did treat the injured Venasir, and she will help those who are sick who stay loyal to Holidor). And be on a side that's tremendously outnumbered--by Haunden who likely have most if not all of the weapons.

Or

2) Be loyal to Holidor and have a really good chance of winning--and of being treated if they're sick or injured. And of being welcomed as heroes when they get to Holidor!

Anoras (yelling in Venasir) "Your choice: Be a rebel and die, or be loyal to Holidor and be heroes!"

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Cassandra goes with her new friends towards the Gates!

Presumably she has her weapons and armor and such back now?

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Actually, the fighting specifics would depend on what happens before things get to that point. As she had said, she will go to "guard" Stripes.

Part of it depends on which armed Haunden get to Stripes when Anoras is "guarding" what she considers the evil Stripes. How many are there, who are they, and how qualified are they in battle?

Anoras is Imaginative, so can imagine all sorts of possibilities. But before she acts, she needs to know.

Assuming nothing unexpected happens first, she'll wait til a Haunden warrior is close enough to attack Stripes before she attacks (before then she'll act as "guard.") Then she'll step out of their way so both her and the other can attack Stripes, hopefully at the same time. If there's two that are better at fighting than her, she'll then step out of both their ways.

And part of what happens depends on Anoras's Fast-Talk roll for the below:

Anoras made Fast-Talk by 8.

Side Note: Also I'm confused on our timeline. I thought the group Anoras is with would join the group Cassandra is with before the attack on Holidor happened.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Yes, she does!

They head out of the gates, and towards the horn sound. Cassandra easily keeps up with the fastest of them.

As they arrive, Cassandra can see the skeletons they fought before. They haven't recovered from the damage done to them. However, there is a huge skeleton on the field... the remains of Thad.

The other skeletons include

• 2 sword and shield
• 2 spear and shield
• 1 club and shield

One of the sword skeletons still has the mark of the old damage: 9 HP down. A spear skeleton has four damage from one of Cassandra's old arrows as well.

The warriors must be farther back.

Cassandra has with her:

• three archers
• Three with swords and shields
• Three with spears and shields
• Three with glaives

A warrior with a horse is nearby as well: the one who blew the horn. He's been keeping out of range, and is shouting something to the others. You see the skeletons at about 150 yards.

Her Allies seem very impressed with the remains of Thad.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Ok, so mad scramble, hoping they will just get to the weapons first, given the handicaps. After all, there is only one unimpeded guard.

Anoras is able to "Guard" Stripes pretty easily.

A note on turning the Venasir warriors: they aren't from Holidor. They aren't attacking their old friends and relatives. They've made this pretty clear: stripes and is crew are from somewhere else. That said, they may have compunctions about murdering and kidnapping their own country folk, or want out from under their chosen psychopath. The Venasir act in a very "Baron against Baron" Fuedal framework. But the attitude behind trying to flip them is very Anoras.

The Prisoners all stand up at once, and start running for the weapons.

Reminder to self: Nausea is -2 to everything, Retching is -5.

The Venasir warriors roll a 5 on their perception, and the heavily penalized stealth roll is a 14. They immediately see the wave of escaped prisoners. They also make their surprise rolls... except for the one who isn't sick. Irony.

The sick four are lying down, and they go to crouching and shout to stripes. The guards are within five yards of the prisoners, but unarmed. the other two sick are near their weapons, having laid down their bedrolls.

Uninjured (he has a spear and shield normally, but they are in his pack) stands in shock. He's about 10 yards from the bedrolls.

the leading prisoners are 15 yards away from the weapons... except for the set Anoras put 10 yards away from the prisoners: Gerrund is going for those, though he is not as fast as he used to be.

eight of the prisoners are carrying rocks to throw or smash with.

Maybe, but I'm trying to move the game forward for Kalazz and give Cassandra something to do.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Understood.

Again, Anoras (who has sword and shield) will wait to attack Stripes until there's at least one qualified and armed fighter with her and in a position where they can both attack, preferably at the same time. She figures if Stripes is paying attention, Stripes will be focused on that warrior and not on Anoras.

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Cassandra goes have Soldier, so unless otherwise directed will stay with the other archers and mimic them.

"Awww! Poor Thad, I can't believe those jerks killed you! Don't worry, I'll avenge you, uh, by killing you again?"

She turns to her new friends "Try not to get hit by the really big skeleton with the axe, he can like cut you in half in one blow"

She points at wounded spear skeleton "See the arrow wound there? I did that!"

"Uh. They had warriors and sorcerers to. I don't see them"

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

The leading prisoners are now 10 yards from the weapons... they've reached the sword and shield, but Gerrund hasn't reached them yet. They're next to the sick guards who are still standing up and retching and unarmed. They're lining up those rocks to throw at close range.

Stripes hears the shouting, and immediately springs to action, standing up. He and Anoras are 13 yards from the bedrolls (and weapons).

The able-bodied soldier is now standing. He's 10 yards from the weapons and bedrolls.

One sick warrior at the bedrolls grabs his weapons (but is still crouching, and hasn't readied them, and is now retching for the next thirty seconds). The other sick warrior stands (but is unarmed, and is also rectching for the next thirty seconds)

Its all the sick guards can do to stand before the rocks are thrown (no rocks thrown yet)

Re: Warriors of Haunden (IC)
 

Thanks for the distance numbers. I admit it's still hard for me to picture everything--but that does help!

But I'm still not sure where everyone is. For example, there's Stripes and Anoras being 13 yards from the bedrolls and weapons, and the leading prisoners being 10 yards from the bedrolls and weapons. That could mean the leading prisoners are 23 yards from Anoras. Or it could mean they're 15 yards from Anoras. Or it could mean they're 3 yards from Anoras. Or it could mean something else.

And I also might be confused on the order of events, and might not have made my idea clear.

So hopefully this will clarify things.

I don't want Stripes to have any reason to suspect Anoras until Anoras has one or more armed warriors with her to attack the sorceror. That's unless Stripes is focused on doing something dangerous to someone else. My suspicion is Stripes will wait to see what's happening with the others, and not waste using any magic unless necessary (i.e. for self-protection.)

So really, until Anoras sees the prisoners grab the weapons, or sees a Venasir guard get to a weapon and sees what the guard seems to be doing, or sees an armed Haunden (or more than one) approaching Stripes and Anoras, or Stripes starts taking some action, Anoras doesn't really have much motivation to act.

She's already told the Haunden not to attack any Venasir other than Stripes except in self-defense. But she wouldn't want to say her "be loyal' message in Venasir until she sees what happens. (Again, I got confused on the order of events.)

I apologize for being confused on what's happening where and when. But with well over a dozen people scattered here and there, without a map I'm not really picturing where everyone is or what's happening.

Anoras knows where things are and rolled 6 under Tactics. So the GM can adjust Anoras' actions and guidelines appropriately.