Monk likes the showcase of tricks, because most of his traveling has been boring so far.  That and there's more wondering at how it works than 'Oh, they used cantrips' for stage magic.

  The nice shifters do seem enthusiastic about it.  So Monk can probably afford to get a commemorative knickknack on his limited budget (Good thing cloth armor and sticks are cheap for chargen!).  "Well, at least it's a nice symbol in the first place too."

Mits applauded enthusiastically for the magician.  Decent entertainment like his was hard to come by around here.  And she can appreciate the mystery of his style of magic for similar reasons to Monk's

"Just so long as you don't include Mittens among 'Sandpoint's People'," Mittens says with airquotes, "My symbol of freedom is the flaming sword, not a butterfly."

She refrains from her usual "gods shmods" mini rant because her lil bro is present, but by now he's more than familiar from the rumor mill that Mits isn't very reverent of any of the gods.  Not even the "good" ones.

A nearby local says, "A sword... to me, that just symbolizes mankind's enslavement to violence. Some freedom. A butterfly is a symbol of freedom whether you're religious or not, since the caterpillar has been set free to venture out into the sky."

Timothius doesn't see any wide-mouthed frogs. He wouldn't have said all that, but he was thinking every word of it, word-for-word. Like Mittens, he kept his opinions to himself lest he upset his sisters. Because, let's face it... Raichel and Mittens believe in fighting, no matter how many things Raichel and Timothius agree on.

Timothius adds to the statement, however, to at least stand up for his sisters, "Sadly, the price of freedom has always been violence, so a sword has just as much right to symbolize freedom..." that last part sounded like Timothius was more trying to persuade himself as he sounded like he didn't even believe in the words coming from his mouth. "...but yes. For the people of Sandpoint, this is a chance to re-sanctify this town after the late unpleasantness. Whatever happened then was unholy and whatever a person's stance on the gods, keeping people from being homicidal is something I think anyone can agree is 'setting Sandpoint free'.... right?"

What Timothius is referring to that Mittens would have gotten a general vibe for, but not agreed with the religious nature of: For five years, the faithful of Sandpoint have attended church in smaller wooden structures rebuilt after fire destroyed the previous temple, and while their new pastor Abstalar was helpful, kind, and wise, church wasn’t the same. Now, the new cathedral is finally done. All that remains is for the Swallowtail Festival to renew the site’s blessings from the gods and it will be as if the Sandpoint Fire had never occurred.

  Monk and religion.   It's not like the God's are causing him a hassle, so why get worked up about most of them?  Even if Kord is TOTALLY the best God, because The Kool-Aid Man is not an option.  Even Moradin like's big hammers.

  "Not being a huge jerk at the very least does sound like it should be a reasonable goal, doesn't it?  Even if it seems to end up more tricky to a lot of people."

  OOC: Bless you, oh lord, for granting us this bounty of fruit drink and opening the way to our freedom with your mighty girth.  Oh Yeah.

  Seriously, why was there never a cross promotion Kool-Aid/Slim Jims commercial?

Mittens could probably be labeled an agnostic of the weird variety that intends to find out if gods are real by hunting the evil ones down.

"Even Desna, goddess of freedom, does not support anyone's freedom to be evil," Mittens agrees, "And to this end, her favored weapon is a blade!  Do you think Rovagug and his spawn can be defeated by throwing butterflies at them?  Nonsense!  My brother speaks truth!  The butterfly can fly free only because the blade-beak of the stork eats the frog that would have the butterfly for breakfast!"

She arm-arounds Timothius with a proud grin, touched that he would support her even if he finds her violence distasteful.

"And let's not forget that everything can be twisted to evil.  Both the blade and the butterfly.  Our own town's beautiful butterfly, Nualia, 'the blessed child of Desna' was cruelly used and treated like a freak because of her beauty.  Then her deformed stillborn child was taken from her to be burned followed by her and her father dying in the church's flames!  You can't tell me that Desna would approve of that!  So unless you ever stood up to the bullies that tormented her in life, don't talk to me about butterflies."

Because Mittens was one of the few who DID stand up to the bullies.  Even though at the time she was just a child.

---

http://www.pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Portal:Religion
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:05, Thu 21 Mar 2013.

The random local just rolls his eyes. After the clothing stop and the points being made by the people present, Timothius snaps his fingers in an "ah-ha" moment. "Veznutt." he says before looking at Monk. "No doubt he's open for business and will get a decent turn out with all the visitors we expect to have today. Veznutt has all kinds of maps from here and all around! I'm sure you'll find some useful stuff there!"

  Monk decides it might be best to not voice his opinion that up until now, his deepest though on butterflies was that they seemed kind of lazy.  This was including having heard strange metaphors involving butterflies and bees regarding combat.

  "Wait, the whole 'So good looking it's a curse' thing actually happens?  That's terrible, I thought it was just a product of cheap romance novelists."  She's far too attractive and just had a tragic loss of her child!  Torch em!  And now, I can finally marry the Ugly witch!... Wait, is this white out?

  He looks over to Tim at his suggestion,  "While I have heard some claim the journey is more important that the destination, not getting lost has a certain appeal to it."

Mittens nods sagely to Monk's question.  "Jealousy is an ugly thing.  As are silly superstitions that her touch could cure warts and rashes, that locks of her hair brewed into tea could increase fertility, and that her voice could drive out evil spirits.  In spite of her objections to the endless awkward and humiliating requests over the years that made her feel like a freak, they never stopped."

She follows along to the purveyor of maps.  "Monk's point is a good one."

Raichel looks rather upset about the topic of the pretty villain. "She was attractive, yes. But people made her sad, angry, and bitter. It's like seeing fresh snow get shoveled with the wet dirt..." she flicks an ear at the mention of a journey and seems to invite the change of topic.

Raichel laces her fingers together and brings her hands up to her chest smiling at the sky as she says, "A map can't capture the sun trickling through the leaves of the trees as you hear the songs of the birds... or the scent of the air as you create a campfire." she then looks back at Monk. "So don't worry. The journey is FAR from ruined by a map."

  At the very least, a Map can CAUSE the scent of a campfire.  If you had a thing about burning maps instead of firewood.  Bit of a stretch actually.

  "Not one of my bigger worries, but it is comforting to know it will not be a problem anyways."

Mittens browses the shop with a tail-wag.  She can't help it.  Even though she's practically memorized every map here, just the idea of exotic far-away lands just waiting to be explored still excites her.

Maps of local regions, from the immediate vicinity up to the whole of Varisia and the Storval Plateau, can be purchased from Veznutt for prices ranging from 5 gp to 100 gp, depending on the size and level of detail.

One of the yay things about the festival is that lunch is free. The people all gather around and watch more entertainment. A jester juggles, a comedian makes the people laugh, and the whole thing is a merry time. The twins just love it and seem to really get their esteem lifted from the idea of being Monk's guide all day. It's a quaint town, to be sure. Having its own charm and peculiarities like any small town.

But eventually, the sun begins to set. A sharp retort, like the crack of distant thunder, slices through the excited crowd as the sun’s setting rays paint the western sky. A stray dog that has crawled under a nearby wagon to sleep starts awake, and the buzz of two dozen conversations quickly hushes as all heads turn toward the central podium, where a beaming Father Zantus has taken the stage. He clears his throat, takes a breath to speak, and suddenly a woman’s scream slices through the air. A few moments later, another scream rises, then another. Beyond them, a sudden surge of strange new voices rises—high-pitched, tittering shrieks that sound not quite human. The crowd parts and something low to the ground races by, giggling with disturbing glee as the stray dog gives a pained yelp and then collapses with a gurgle, its throat cut open from ear to ear. As blood pools around its head, the raucous sound of a strange song begins, chanted from shrill, scratchy voices.

---

Spot checks.

Those who make a DC 12 check see that the shape that raced by and killed the dog now hides at the edge of the wagon—a single goblin, licking the blood from its dogslicer as it looks excitedly at the crowd, seeking out a new target. Characters who make the check may act in the surprise round.

The song is a nameless goblin rhyme, performed by several goblin warchanters and intended to give the goblins a boost of bardic music to spur them on.

  Monk now has a greater geographical understanding of the surrounding lands.  He has definitely been enjoying the pleasant company, a nice change of pace from the more quiet moments of his travels.  Of course, so much for quiet moments.

  Let's see.  Screaming civilians, crazed chanting, a dead dog.  Yeah, Monk draws his staff.  "I have the unpleasant feeling this festival isn't going to be a reminder of only one tragedy, now.">

OOC: Durp 4 Perc.

Duuuuur:  Initiative 6
This message was last edited by the player at 23:48, Sat 06 Apr 2013.

"Hey, catchy!" Mittens says, head bobbing to the chant, "Oh right.  Probably means villains need vanquished!"

She draws her sword and prepares for combat!

---

Perc check: 6

Timothius looks around nervously. "We need to find the enemy fast before someone gets killed."

Raichel flicks an ear and looks in a direction. "I see it!" she yells before charging in the direction of the culprit. Her staff swing goes right over the goblin's head as it cackles at her.

---

Initiatives please. :)

Raichel and Timothius perc checks
14, 9
Raichel and Timothius initiatives
15, 8

Raichel surprise round attack: Charge! Crit fail.

You wouldn't think DC 12 would be all that hard. But only Raichel got it and even then, only because of a +9 to perc. XD

New House Rule: Whenever Roll20 seems to get "stuck" on a number, a reroll may be called for. The lack of randomness makes all those chain failures seem more like a Murphy drunkenly bragging than the usual Murphy laws of the universe. Also, if a reroll is called for (whether it is the houserule reroll or a reroll you have from one of your characters powers/feats/features/etc), you can reroll it until it's a different number than the stuck one.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:17, Sat 06 Apr 2013.

A goblin sees Raichel attacking his ally and cackles as he charges at her from behind. She turns around to block him with her staff, only to get skewered from behind in the leg. "OW!"

---

Goblin 3 charged Raichel and missed(16)
Goblin 1 speared Raichel and hit(18)!
 dmg: 10! (max!)

Raichel HP: 30 - 10 = 20

Raichel scoots south and attempts to retaliate, but still doesn't seem to have the hang of hitting these smaller creatures.

Even as she does this, a third goblin charges her, but she deflects his spear with her staff.

---

Rai: Drunken Monkey v Goblin 1. Miss(10)

Goblin 2: Charge v Raichel. Miss(14)

  Monk likes Raichel getting stabbed even less than a doggy getting decapitated (Maybe the goblin was close to level?).  He moves up beside the goblins flanking the girl and brings his staff in a downward slam hard enough to dent the little goblin helmet and cause cranial damage.  Following up with a kick to their back.

 Alas, Monk's lack of actual Monk training means he fell short of outright killing the Goblin in a single moment.

---

Move: Duh.
Standard: Open The Gate Of Battle Vs Goblin 2, Hits (29+2 Reflex)  15 DMG, (three dice! Two are Twos), 6 flurry DMG.  21 Total.

Goblin 2 HP:  29-21= 8
Monk HP:  30/30 S 7 V 7 AP 1.

Timothius sends a seal to the goblin behind Raichel. And misses.

Mits steps forward and points her sword and one of the goblins, marking it with an arcane rune that shoots from the blade.

"You!  Line up for me!"

Two of the goblins shriek and reel back.

"Now.  BURN!"

With a dramatic sword swing, she conjures the threatened building-sized fireball that roasts all three, one of whom drops unconscious!

---

Aegis mark, Beguiling strands, ACTION POINT! Burning Hands
Goblin 1 HP: 29-4-11=14
Goblin 2 HP: 8-11=KO
Goblin 3 HP: 29-4-5=20

The goblins meep initially from Mittens and Monk's attacks, but seem to be blood-lusted as they cackle a mere second after their own flesh was burned. They gang up on Raichel again. Both of them slash at her with their swords. Being surrounded, Raichel manages only to dodge one, but gets slashed by the other.

"Oh no you don't!" Mittens shouts shoving her palm out to conjure a small arcane circle in front of it then stabbing her sword through!  Her sword appears right in front of the goblin's blade, parrying it just in the nick of time!

---

Goblins 1 and 3 v Raichel. Miss(13) Hit(22)!
dmg: 4  Whee aegis of shielding negate 7 damage!

Raichel HP: 20 - 4 = 16 I don't see any wide mouthed damage here!
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:20, Mon 22 Apr 2013.

Timothius points his staff at the healthier goblin and marks him with the seal he was unable to pull off earlier.

---

Astral Seal v G3. Hit(15)!

G3 is taking -2 to all defenses. Next ally who hits G3 regains 5 HP.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:21, Mon 22 Apr 2013.

Raichel immediately retaliates by swinging her staff all around her, knocking unconscious the one behind her and seriously injuring the one in front of her. She turns to face the still-conscious goblin, but doesn't move.

---

Raichel Five Storms v G1 and G3. Hit(16)! Hit(15)!
 dmg: 10
 Centered Flurry on G1: 6 more dmg
Raichel gets healed for 5 hp for hitting G3

Raichel HP: 20 + 5 = 25
G1 HP: 14 - 10 - 6 = KO
G3 HP: 20 - 10 = 10

  Monk moves in a zigzag to flank the still standing goblin without opening himself up to further attack, smashing his staff across the goblins legs dropping them to the ground face first.

  Just to be on the safe side, Monk uses the ancient technique of Kick Them While They Are Down.

  "Well, three down...  Probably more than is healthy for this town to go."

---

Move :Angled up then down to flank safely.
Standard: Dragon's Tail Vs Goblin 3.  Hits (25 Fort).   10 DMG, 6 flurry.

Goblin 3 HP: 10-Snap-crackle = Pop
Monk HP: 30/30 S 7/7, V 7, AP 1.

"Right!  No time for tying up baddies.  We'll just have to break their legs so we can get to rescuing the rest of the town!"

STOMP!  Mits breaks a leg of one of the baddies still alive then rushes to the next nearest combat!