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Excalibur: a NeoGAF Pathfinder Play by Post Campaign

Mike M

Nick N
((I'm not about to overrule the rest of the group because my character is in charge. If everyone OOC would prefer that, I have absolutely no problem))
 
After a bit of debate, the party decides to head to Southport. For once, Leo opts to not talk the part's ears off about nothing, instead thinking about nothing.

"I wonder what kind of monsters we'll run into down there. I wonder if there will be werewolves. I hope so, fighting werewolves on the beach would be fun. Or maybe they'll have dinosaur-like monsters. I've always wanted to kick a small dinosaur through a window..."

Unless anyone addresses him, Leo will continue staring off into space and thinking about monsters he'd like to slay once they reach Southport.
 
Hearing Dreadstone speak up, Leo comes out of his daydreaming.

"Aww, I hope it's not just spiders. That would be boring. Maybe if they were spiders from the waste down and unicorns from the waste up that would be something, but just normal giant spiders? That sounds like something they could just get the city guard to handle."
 
At this point, Leo realizes he was thinking out loud again. He's really going to have to work on that. Oh well, might as well answer Alf's question.

"Well, they're people that turn into feral, wolf-like monsters on a full moon. While they're feral, they go out to kill whatever they can get their hands on. Also, any person they bite or scratch gets infected and becomes a werewolf themselves. They're weak against silver, which I learned the hard way when a few got out of their cages in the arena I fought in for a while and caused a small crisis. It's why I keep a silver longsword in my weapon rotation. You never know when you'll run into something that can only be hurt by silver."
 
Alf raises an eyebrow. "Men who become wolves?" He smiles, and a devious look flashes across his features. "You mean like this?"

Alf lets out a powerful howl, and as the sound leaves his mouth, he transforms before Tiberious's eyes. Before the howl has completed, Alf has become the most fearsome four-legged canine that Tiberious has ever seen.

He holds his position and looks Tiberious in the eyes. Somehow, the wolf appears to be smiling, with a raised eyebrow.
 
Leo is caught off guard by the sudden transformation, and looks surprised for a few seconds. He then shifts to being amused.

"Well, that explains why you like wolves so much. No, werewolves aren't quite like that. They look sort of like a weird in-between state of man and wolf, kind of like if you had just quit transforming halfway through. I'm assuming you're still conscious, too. Werewolves aren't. They're just out to kill and convert people. In retrospect, the arena probably should have used silver bars to contain them. Oh well! Sometimes accidents happen. They got reigned in before the whole audience was infected."
 
Alf returns to his human form as Tiberious continues to explain. "In between, you say? And can infect others too." He is quiet for a moment. "I ain't know how to feel of these creatures you speak. I would like to meet one."

He frowns as he realizes what might happen if these werewolf creatures were to try to attack the party. It's something he'd rather not think about, so he changes the subject.

"You want to fight on beach, tell me when we arrive. Will be good to spar with someone besides Stricia!"
 
"All right, I'll be sure to take you up on that!"

Leo goes back to daydreaming about monsters he hopes to encounter in Southport. If he could hijack a griffin and crash it into a hydra, that would scratch a good three or so items off of his bucket list...
 

Jackben

bitch I'm taking calls.
(( Scrub, I've been playing it this whole time. Ugly console version though =|

We almost had dark souls last campaign with the undead outbreak in alydar and Val almost turning into a zombie.))
 
((Yeah, I meant console version too. It would be crazy if I was already at NG+ on the PC version. I took a fair bit of a break between NG and NG+

The most Dark Souls a campaign's ever got for me is just it taking place in a world that's already been doomed and taken over))
 
((Alright, duel time!))

As the party gets closer to Southport, traffic starts getting progressively worse. The wagon eventually comes to a standstill, stuck behind a sea of other wagons heading towards the city. Leo starts getting bored pretty quickly as it becomes clear that they won't be moving for a while. Then he thinks back to Alf's offer to spar, and gets an idea. Leo goes over to wake up Alf.

"Hey Alf, it looks like we're going to be stuck in traffic for a while. How about we go ahead and spar out here? It should help pass the time, AND it can be entertainment for all the people here who are probably as bored as we are!"
 
A drowsy Alf grunts and looks around bleary-eyed as he processes what Leo is saying.

"Spar now? For entertainment of others? Like in tournament." He yawns. "May as well. Need to stretch first. You think others waiting will care enough to watch?"
 
Leo thinks for a second, and replies "Once they figure out what's going on, probably. People love free entertainment. Besides, I'm pretty good at riling a crowd up."
 
Alf shrugs and nods in agreement. He goes outside and begins the normal stretching regimen that Stricia taught him to go through each time before a training session, and otherwise waits for Leo to do whatever he needs to do to prepare.
 
Leo goes out and does some basic stretching, but a larger portion of his warm-up time goes toward make sure his armor is on properly, and looking over his many weapons to ensure that they're combat ready. Oddly enough, he goes through a few voice warm-up exercises too.

"Alright Alf, whenever you're ready, I'll get everyone's attention."
 
Alf watches with interest as Tiberious prepares in his own way. The gladiator's extensive arsenal makes Alf realize that this isn't going to be anything like the sparring sessions with Stricia; it appears that this guy is playing to win.

That would mean he is no longer limited in what he can do, and that anything goes.

He smiles and cracks his knuckles. When Tiberious addresses him, he nods and makes a gesture as if to say "Go on."
 
Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61596]Perform (Act): 1D20 + 14 = [8]+14 = 22
[/url]
Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61595]Perform (Oratory): 1D20 + 10 = [2]+10 = 12
[/url]

With the go-ahead from Alf, Leo is gone. There is only Tiberious now. Unfortunately, he's been more focused on the excitement of this fight than giving a good pre-fight speech, so his voice doesn't quite carry with its usual gravitas.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the road! We present for your entertainment a duel for the ages! A battle between man-man and wolf-man! Two contrasting codes of what it is to be a man, fighting through the ages so that might may prove them right! Who shall triumph today? WHO SHALL TASTE DEFEAT? THE WHEEL OF FATE IS TURNING!"

A little disappointed in the quality of his speech, he shakes it off and turns to Alf. "Now then, shall we get started?
Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61597]Initiative: 1D20 + 2 = [9]+2 = 11
[/url]

((Oh yeah, I guess we should establish how much distance is between the two of us before we start typing up turns))
 
Initiative (1d20+2=14)

Alf nods and wastes no time, breaking into a howl that echoes through the plains. Travelers begin to poke their heads out of their wagons just in time to see Alf's transformation.

Before everyone's eyes, Alf the man dissipates into a ball of pure white light. That amorphous illuminate grows and reshapes itself within seconds, and ultimately reforms into Alf the beast.

This form is far larger than the one Tiberious saw earlier. With a length of ten feet and a standing height of over seven feet, the beast licks its lips and grins at its opponent.

((Move action: Wildshape into Large-sized dire wolf. Standard: Cast Bull's Strength on self.

AC 21 BTW. Easier to do a writeup when you know whether you're hitting or not)
 

Jackben

bitch I'm taking calls.
Niko laughs and follows Draco out of the cart. Levitating slightly off the ground, the sorcerer sits crossed legged next to the wagon to observe the match. As wagons behind them pull off the side of the road to give the two fighter's a healthy breadth, Niko has a spark of inspiration. With the snap of his fingers, there is a rush of air, and suddenly a large circle of light traces its way 50 feet around both Tiberius and Alf, before erupting into a ring of green flames.

"That will be your ring, stay in there so there aren't any 'accidents'."
 
((For now, I'm just going to assume they're close. At least after Alf made himself into a large wolf. Will edit if necessary))

The combination of a fire ring and Alf turning into a lion-sized wolf fill Tiberious with excitement. He fucking loves fighting lions. Normally, he'd try to kill lions by picking them up and impaling them on one of the arena's sharper hazards. However, there are two problems with that here. One, there are not hazards, and two, Alf is a friend, and while Tiberious is fighting seriously, he doesn't want to kill him.

Instead, Tiberious draws his shield in a flash, along with an exotic looking nine-sectioned whip. Tiberious will get the fight going by bringing this large wolf to the ground, hoping to send the audience into a frenzy.

((Tiberious has the quick draw feat, so that should be a free action))

Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61598]Perform_: 1D20 + 18 = [4]+18 = 22
[/url]

((Tiberious gets his STR modifiers added to charisma-based checks in combat, hence the modifier being different than last time))

Tiberious returns the hungry gaze with a bloodthirsty look of his own, snapping at the wolf's legs to bring him to the ground, and following up with a lash across the body.

((Full round attack, with a trip for the first action. Improved trip, so no AoO))

Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61599]Trip: 1D20 + 18 = [12]+18 = 30
[/url]

Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61600]Attack: 1D20 + 6 = [5]+6 = 11
[/url]

((I'm assuming that misses, unless it hits your Prone AC))
 
The whip - a weapon that Alf has never seen before - wraps itself around all four paws with deadly accuracy, but when Tiberious pulls, no yield is given. His calf muscles bulge with incredible strength, and the beast stands tall against all odds.

The moment Tiberious gives up the tug of war and the whip goes slack, Alf leans forward and tries to clamp on the gladiator's ankle in the hopes of wresting him to the ground.


Alf attack, Damage, and free trip attempt (if the original attack connects) vs CMD (1d20+12=17, 1d8+12=20, 1d20+13=32)

((Yeah my CMD is kind of insane. 30 after Bulls Strength plus another 4 vs Trip while I'm a wolf. Tiberious only
My objective here is for Alf to be playing this completely straight, but he just happens to keep doing things that make for a really good show, and Tiberious thinks he's a skilled showman doing it on purpose when it's really just a coincidence. Not sure if I'll be able to pull it off, but we'll see :)
 
We almost had dark souls last campaign with the undead outbreak in alydar and Val almost turning into a zombie.))
<When I first played Dark Souls I knew right away it was basically where Muun lived where undead are everywhere and the population is 10, especially since the Ravenloft we went to is probably nothing like the actual thing.>
 
((Well, damn, I thought I had that for sure with the +18 on CMBs for trip. I knew the extra legs would help, but I didn't even think about Bull's Strength pushing it up even further.))

((17 misses))

((Alf only
sounds like a great spin to put on this. I'll have Tiberious interpret everything Alf does in the most dramatic way possible))

Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61601]Perform (Act): 1D20 + 18 = [16]+18 = 34
[/url]

Tiberious is shocked at Alf resisting his whip-work, but manages to pivot his ankle out of the way of the wolf's counterattack. "By the gods of manhood, you're stronger than a lion AND a horse! Your legs may be immovable columns, but how strong is the rest of you?! HAVE AT YOU!" Tiberious lets go of the whip, and before it hits the ground, draws his longsword in a flash, putting his weight behind both the unsheathing attack and its followup.

((free action to drop whip, free action to draw longsword, full round power attack))

Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61603]Power Attack: 1D20 + 11 = [19]+11 = 30
[/url]

[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61604]Damage: 1D8 + 9 = [8]+9 = 17
[/url]

Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61605]Crit Threat: 1D20 + 11 = [11]+11 = 22
[/url]

[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61606]Crit Damage: 1D8 + 9 = [3]+9 = 12
[/url]

Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61607]Attack 2: 1D20 + 6 = [20]+6 = 26
[/url]

[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61608]Damage: 1D8 + 9 = [3]+9 = 12
[/url]

Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61609]Crit Confirm: 1D20 +6 = [7]+6 = 13
[/url]

As Tiberious launches into his always popular draw attack, he sees that he's coming in straight at Alf's throat. He rotates the blade slightly so as to ensure that the attack won't be fatal, but will still be fully felt.

With a roar, Tiberious shouts out "Burning will of the Thunderface! MANTETSUKEN!" With a flick of his wrist, he brings the longsword back down on Alf's head, this time turned fully towards the broadside, producing a less heavy impact than his "mantetsuken."
 

Jackben

bitch I'm taking calls.
Fight theme ((imagine it's being sung by random traveling bards))

Niko's eyes shine and he grins in delight as Alf's paws dig into the earth, the giant wolf's indomitable will resisting the gladiator's expertly flourished whip. Ozzy the weasel runs back and forth, circling around Draco as it squeaks in excitement. Holding a hand over his throat, the sorcerer enchants volume to his voice to throw it over the brawl.

"Will the will of the wild bend to the sporting man's steel? And just what the hell is a mantetsuken!? Step right up and find out for yourself!"
 
((...Ow))

Alf can only guess what mantetsuken means, but he has no time to think about it because he's busy getting skewered alive. Needing some time to regroup, he steps back and howls again.

Number of summoned Young Wolves (1d4+1=3)

As if out of thin air, three small, but no less fierce, wolves appear between Alf and Tiberious. Acting on orders from some unseen mental bond, the three run interference, nipping at Tiberious's heels to keep him away from Alf.


Aid Another to give Alf +2 AC this round, three times (versus 10 AC) (1d20+6=26, 1d20+6=10, 1d20+6=26)

((They will be positioned in the three squares directly in front of Tiberious, and Alf will be behind them))
 
((So, do all three of those stack? That'll have a bit of say on what Tiberious does for this turn))

((Nevermind, just read up on the rules. Looks like the 2 that succeeded do stack))

Tiberious is strongly tempted to launch a suicidal charge at Alf with the hope of ending the fight then and there. However, he realizes that this move would carry with it a large risk of failure. More importantly, if he succeeded, he'd be ending the fight just when things are getting good. Good call, Alf. Sending in minions to prolong the fight is a great move to make sure he doesn't end things too quickly. That was a close call back there. Tiberious does quickdraw attacks all the time, but landing a mantetsuken is rare. It also disturbs him a little that good reflexes on his part were all that kept him from using a decapitation attack on a friend and ally, but now's not the time to worry about that. The show must go on.

Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61610]Perform (Act): 1D20 + 18 = [1]+18 = 19
[/url]

It seems the thought of almost decapitating Alf is bothering Tiberious more than he thought. As a consequence, he loses his character, causing some other ludicrous personality to come out.

" 'Oy guvnah! You hidin' behind your chavs over there yonder? Come right out o'there oond fight! I'll bash your fookin' 'ead in, I swear on me mum!"

Tiberious slams his longsword into the ground, leaving it standing upright in between him and the wolves as a challenge. He then takes out another weapon: a device that clamps to his arm, which has a long, black tube protruding out of it, ending in a sharpened blade. The tube and blade are a dark grey, suggesting they are made out of a special kind of iron. Tiberious then assumes a fighting position, holding up his shield and the strange weapon in a peakaboo stance.

"Shit's 'bout to get right ugly now, bloke"

((Equiping a scizore's normally a full-round action. I'm assuming quick draw would knock it down to at least a move action, in which case Tiberious is equipping it and entering total defense))
 
((They do stack.

KM
They're just meat shields basically, and will probably be dead by the end of next round. I'm prolonging the fight to give more time for Tiberious to make a good show of it. The idea is that Alf keeps doing things that happen to make a great show, but it's all coincidence and he's really just playing it straight trying to win. Tiberious will think it was intentional though, and dramatic irony ensues. That's the idea, anyway

Edit: yeah I guess that's true. Kind of wonky in 1 on 1 because they'd have to land between 12 and 14 in the count in order to act between us, but okay. None of them did, so I currently have no bonus. They're still standing between us though))
 
((KM
What Alf said. I forgot about that rule, but Tiberious would waive it for this fight in order to keep things from ending too quickly anyway.))

((Well, I typed up that last post with the idea that they'd be giving the AC bonus to Alf. I guess that turn still works based on the above reasoning. I think that means it's the wolves' turn to attack, then?))
 
((Alright. I think the first paragraph of my last turn's post covers that, just with reduced emphasis on the danger of the charge. Now it's Tiberious having a pretty reliable chance to end the fight, but not taking it because he thinks it would end it too soon. As a bonus, the party wouldn't have any reason to know about his reckless charge ability yet, so not rushing Alf doesn't seem like TOO stupid of a move.))
 
<A good way to prolong a fight while still having a fight is to use various combat maneuvers that don't damage. I did this during the "fight" between Stricia and Jake. Tiberius could also use Perform do show off and waste his turn.>
 
((Well, he did perform. He rolled a nat 1 on that, hence the suddenly talking in a bad cockney accent. He essentially spent the turn taunting Alf and the wolves, equipping his next weapon, and bracing for an attack from the 3 small wolves.))
 
The smaller wolves hang back to protect their progenitor, while the progenitor himself concentrates on undoing some of that damage. He breathes deeply and focuses, and some of his wounds heal.


Cure Serious Wounds (3d8+6=19)

Not enough, though...

((Alright, now the bonuses are active. Also since they're only vs AC 10, all three were successful))
 
The wolves don't appear to be budging from their formation, which means that Tiberious is going to have to come to them.

Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61611]Perform (Act): 1D20 + 18 = [10]+18 = 28
[/url]

"Do not think you can escape me by refusing my challenge, cowards!" At this point, Tiberious lunges forward from his peekabo stance to strike down the wolves with a rather flashy series of stabs and cuts, choosing to slay the ones on the left and right first, leaving one in between him and Alf

((Full round power attack against the left-most wolf. Second attack on the right-most wolf if the first one kills the left-most wolf, otherwise the second attack is on the left-most one as well))

Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61614]Power Attack: 1D20 + 15 = [9]+15 = 24
[/url]

[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61615]Damage: 1D10 + 8 = [3]+8 = 11
[/url]

((That should be 12 damage, I forgot to add the point from Axe to Grind))

Code:
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61616]Power Attack 2: 1D20 + 10 = [12]+10 = 22
[/url]

[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=61617]Damage: 1D10 + 9 = [6]+9 = 15
[/url]
 
Onlookers watch from their wagons during the traffic congestion as they watch a man seemingly fight off a wolf and its baby cubs on his own. People are confused as to whether he is protecting his wagon, or if it is a seemingly random act of violence against innocent forest animals.
 
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