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You arrived in the square near the cathedral as the sun began to set, marking the end of a Swallowtail Festival that will almost certainly be remembered by all in Sandpoint for years to come.  As the town readied itself for the dedication of their new cathedral, everyone gathered in front of the newly-built church.

A sharp retort, like the crack of distant thunder, sliced through the excited crowd as the sun's setting rays painted the western sky.  A stray dog that had crawled under a nearby wagon to sleep started awake, and the buzz of two-dozen conversations quickly hushed as all heads turned towards the central podium, where a beaming Father Zantus took the stage.  He cleared his throat, took a breath to speak, and . . .

Suddenly, a woman's scream shattered the silence.  A few moments later, another scream echoed, then another.  Beyond them, a sudden surge of strange new voices rose . . . high-pitched, tittering, inhuman shrieks.  The crowd parted and something low to the ground raced by, giggling with disturbing glee as the stray dog gave a pained yelp and then collapsed with a gurgle, its throat cut open from ear to ear. As blood pooled around its head, the raucous sound of a strange song began, chanted from shrill, scratchy voices.

Goblins chew and goblins bite.
Goblins cut and goblins fight.
Stab the dog and cut the horse,
Goblins eat and take by force!

Goblins race and goblins jump
Goblins slash and goblins bump
Burn the skin and mash the head
Goblins here and you be dead!

Chase the baby, catch the pup
Bonk the head to shut it up.
Bones be cracked, flesh be stewed,
We be goblins! You be food!

It is difficult to overstate the chaos and hysteria that now gripped the crowd.  Goblins shrieked and leaped and cackled, taking apparent great joy in their spreading of panic and fear.  It's hard to get an exact number, but it seems there are goblins everywhere in town. Dozens, if not more.  Some goblins waved torches and started lighting tents on fire, while others chased children and pets with ill intent.  Some of the goblins continued to chant the horrifically catchy and nerve-racking tune at the top of their lungs, further spurring their kin into a murderous frenzy.  Everywhere you looked, goblins tear through merchant stalls, menace locals with their sharp blades, throw rocks through windows, and generally make terrors of themselves.

You see the dog-killing goblin crouching under a wagon, licking the blood from its blade as it looks excitedly out into the panicking crowd, seeking a new target.  Someone needs to do something.  And they need to do it NOW.

OOC:  The tactical situation here is, for lack of a better word, atrocious.  People are screaming and running everywhere.  You can’t tell how many goblins are attacking, or even how many might be in the vicinity.  Liseth, you note that you are standing about 15’ from a poleaxe-wielding guardsman.  Kellan, you are about the same distance from an acolyte dressed in white.  Pisca, you are about 10’ away from what looks to be a scholar.  Cato, you are the same distance away from a gnome who is miraculously untrampled in the general chaos.

I can’t emphasize enough how little you can tell about what is going on.  Ranged combat will be VERY risky for at least the first two rounds given the fleeing townspeople.  Each pair of you has two goblins within move distance.  Charging will be impossible given the fleeing townsfolk in the way.  Each pair can also see two goblins within about 70’ of you.

Good luck!

OOC:  It’s time for those three sweet, sweet words you’ve all been waiting for:  Roll.  For.  Initiative.  The Goblins rolled an 18, so if you beat or tie an 18 you can post a combat action.  Otherwise feel free to post a reaction until the goblins take their combat turn and you’re up.

16:45, Today: The Raconteur rolled 18 using 1d20+6. Goblin Initiative.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 00:53, Fri 06 Sept 2013.

Cato waited anxiously for the ceremony to start, eager to have something to take his mind off his own troubles for an evening.  He strained forward as Father Zantus took the stage and then...

A scream?  Were people that excited about what was going on?  Sandpoint was a relatively quiet town...

As the screams multiplied and Cato caught the first snatches of goblin voices, his amusement quickly flashed to fear, anger, and finally a sense of protectiveness for his adopted home.  Cato cast about, trying to formulate a clear plan amidst the screaming chaos of the crowd.

*Edit.  OOC:
21:16, Today: Cato Crispin rolled 11 using 1d20+6. Initiative.
I'll be waiting for the goblins to act first.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:29, Fri 06 Sept 2013.

Kellan was leaning just slightly on his pollaxe under the eave of a shop as Father Zantus took the stage. His other hand was held to his brow shielding his vision from the glare of the setting sun as he casually scanned the crowd for anything out of place. He was full of good food and still aglow from the events of the day when the scream reached his ears.

Perking up he began looking towards the direction it had come from, only to hear the growing shrill cacophony that passed for Goblin song. He felt himself moving unbidden against the tide of people running in the opposite direction, jostling him, yelling, grabbing loved ones, falling. He felt adrenaline lighten his limbs and grip his stomach, his breathing increase and his grip tighten on his weapon.

"Alarm! Alarm! We are under attack!" He cried out looking around for the other guardsmen

Before he really even realized he was doing it Kellan moved forward, blade held above the surging crowd as he approached the goblin crouched beneath the wagon, they locked eyes as Kellan leveled the blade, reared back then lunged at the goblin with the head spike of the pollaxe. The young guardsmen let loose a harsh cry as he struck out, one comprised of equal parts fear, surprise and anger.

18:37, Today: Kellan Storval rolled 19 using 1d20+2. Initiative.
18:58, Today: Kellan Storval rolled 17 using 1d20+4. Reach attack with Guisarme (2d4+3)
Move: To within 10' of Goblin
Standard: Attack with Guisarme (Depicted as a Pollaxe)
Swift: None
This message was last edited by the player at 03:51, Fri 06 Sept 2013.

OOC:  Kellan, you can roll for damage.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:19, Fri 06 Sept 2013.

Hobity dobity.  More speeches.  Pisca scanned the forest of legs in search of familiar looking calves.  Lacking that, important, influential looking calves.  Then a chill went up the gnome's spine.  Voices.  She knew those voices.  Every gnome did.

"GOBBIES!" she cried out in her Louder-Than-You'd-Expect-For-A-Gnome voice.  "GOBBIES INSIDE THE TOWN WALLS!  TO THE CHURCH!  EVERYONE INTO THE CHURCH!"

Steel sang as the gnome drew her sharp and shiny rapier.  Gobbies didn't play games.  With her other hand she pointed a finger, and ...  "Fussbniz"  when Pisca  spoke the word a Flare burst in a goblin face.

"You, hummie.  I saw you today at the Harrow reader's."  Just a few gnomish steps and she had crossed to the young man.  "I'm Pisca Neep Freemish,"said Pisca Neep Freemish looking up from under the brim of the Cinderlander hat.  "Where's your old father?"

---

17:59, Today: Pisca Neep Freemish rolled 23 using 1d20+4. Initiative.

Cast Flare at one of the nearer goblins.  Fortitude vs DC14 or be Dazzled for 1 minute.
Draw Rapier.
5ft step closer to Cato.

In reply to The Raconteur (msg # 4):

20:04, Today: Kellan Storval rolled 9 using 2d4+3. Guisarme damage.

Liseth had finally calmed herself down from what had happened earlier.  Not wanting to be jostled by such a large crowd of people gathered in the cathedral square, she was standing on the outskirts, trying her best to see Father Zantus by standing up on her tip-toes.

But then there was screams!  People started running and shouting; and a poor dog was killed!  Harsh, shrill voices started to sing and Liseth felt herself starting to shake as a leaden ball dropped inside her stomach.

Then she saw them: wicked little goblins attacking the town!  They had knives and...and some of them were coming right towards her!

Almost in a panic, Liseth knows that she can't outrun them.  Her legs won't let her.  She looks around quickly and, upon seeing a man nearby dressed in guard's armor, the unarmed girl slowly begins inching towards him, hoping that she won't draw any attention upon herself.

23:33, Today: Liseth Thoradin rolled 17 using 1d20+1. Initiative.

I'll take my turn after them as well, it seems.  Stupid Goblins and their improved Initiative.

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The dog-killing goblin finished cleaning his weapon, giving it one last lick before he crawled out from under the wagon.  Unfortunately for him, he emerged right into the head spike of Kellan’s poleaxe, which impaled and killed him instantly.

As Kellan sent the dog-killing goblin back to whatever deity he served, another goblin clambered up onto the wagon from the opposite side.  He took the opportunity to leap from the wagon onto the distracted guardsman, swinging his dogslicer in an attempt to slit the “longshank’s” throat.

A lesser-trained man might have died to that attack.  But Kellan hadn’t spent hundreds of hours of training in the practice yard for nothing.  Seeing the attack out of the corner of his eye, Kellan dropped to a knee and rolled to one side, allowing the attacking goblin’s momentum to take it right over his head and into the courtyard, leaving the guardsman with only a nasty gash on his shoulder.

Elsewhere, Pisca Neep Freemish’s spell exploded in the face of a goblin who, surprised by the spell and running at full speed when it hit, collided with the cart directly in front of him, knocking him unconscious.

Meanwhile, one of the other goblins decided that this would be a perfect opportunity to ensure that he had enough food this week, proceeding to raid a nearby tent.  Yet another climbed upon the wagon from which the combat-minded goblin just attacked Kellan and yelled his defiance to the town of Sandpoint.

The goblins are almost intoxicated with the excitement of the attack; the singing of their warchanters only adds to their frenzy.  They are too busy burning, looting, and terrorizing the fleeing townsfolk to pay much attention to anything else.  Aside from the goblin attacking Kellan, and possibly the one on top of the wagon, none of them have yet recognized any of you as a threat or targeted you for an attack.

OOC:  Kellan, the attacking Goblin obtains a critical hit against you.  Take 6 points of damage.

OOC:  Tactical Situation – The crowd has thinned slightly, allowing you to assess the situation a little more clearly.  Cato and Pisca, you can see the wagon where Kellan just dispatched the dog-killing goblin.  It is around 80’ away from your position.  There is a goblin behind him and one standing on the wagon.  There is a goblin rummaging through a tent about 30’ away from you and another one trying to light a wagon on fire about 40’ away.  These are all the goblins that you can see in your vicinity.

Liseth, you see the goblin’s attack on Kellan happen almost right in front of you.  The goblin that attacked Kellan landed only about 10’ from you, but he seems far more interested in Kellan than in you.  You can see the goblin trying to light the other wagon on fire about 30’ from you.

Kellan, there is a goblin directly behind you and one standing 10' away on the wagon in front you.

Combat actions for the four of you, please.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 13:30, Fri 06 Sept 2013.

Kellan felt the spike punch through the top of the Goblins skull with a muted thud before he caught sight of the second goblin clambering over the wagon in his peripheral vision. Trying to bring the haft of the pole arm up to bat the goblin away he was simply too slow, the notched rusty blade of the goblins dog slicer finding purchase against his chain mail and bursting a few links with the force of the blow, Kellan gasped and felt a searing pain followed by a warm tingling where the blood flowed freely beneath his padding, a section of his armor now marred and falling open where the rings had warped or embedded in his flesh.

Driven by the sudden pain he lashed out in a wide arc behind him trailing goblin blood, to find the new aggressor tucking and rolling beneath the clumsy strike, then whipped forward in an overhand arc as yet another goblin climbed into the wagon only to have that one leap back as well, the blade splintering the wagons rail as it came down.

Prying the blade loose with a grunt and a squeal of protest from the wood, the guardsman slowly backed away from the two, attempting to keep them at distance by menacing them with his bloody spike.

HP: 7/13
Movement: 5' step to bring the wagon goblin to 15' (To hopefully use AoO next round)
Reaction: Attack of Opportunity on critical goblin (miss)
Standard: Reach attack with Guisarme (miss)

06:42, Today: Kellan Storval rolled 10 using 1d20+4. Reach Attack (Guisarme).
06:41, Today: Kellan Storval rolled 11 using 1d20+4. Attack of Opportunity? (Behind Kellan).
This message was last edited by the player at 14:11, Fri 06 Sept 2013.

Ook.  Wasn't expecting that.  But sometimes life was good.  And gnomes were blessed with the luck of the distant ancestral fay, after all!  Pisca the Lucky gave a triumphant "Ha!" in the direction of the victim of her Incredibly Powerful Flare spell.

"There's a town guard," she called out to the young human next to her.  "Kellan Ogre Stomp.  I know him.  Lets go."  And without waiting to see if the human had heard her or not, she was off.

Between herself and the town guard, however, were two more nasty, evil (though admittedly appropriately Right-Sized) gobbies.  They'd have to be taken care of or they'd wreck more havoc.  Pisca began a droning hum, then swept a hand in an arc that encompassed two goblins, one engaged in rummaging through a tent and another intent on arson.

"You need report back to Chief Goblin," she suggested in the goblin language.  "Him want report."

---

Move 20ft toward Kellan and Liseth.

Cast Hypnotism (2HD of Creatures.) on Rummaging Goblin and Fire Setting Goblin.  Will vs DC15 or be Fascinated.  Range 25ft.  (Gobbies get +2 to Will Save in combat.)

07:25, Today: Pisca Neep Freemish rolled 2 using 2d4. Hypnotism XHD Creatures.

Now 10' away goblin rummaging through a tent
Now 20' away one trying to light a wagon on fire

This message was last edited by the player at 16:20, Fri 06 Sept 2013.

Cato didn't know anything about the gnome who went running off toward the town guard, except that he had seen her outside the Harrower's tent earlier.  Still, the suggestion of running toward the armored human with the weapon seemed like a good one.  It certainly appealed to Cato's sense of self preservation.

Cato reached into his spell component pouch. He had initially planned on putting the goblins between him and the town guard to sleep, but changed his mind when the gnome cast her spell. Instead, he grabbed a piece of cured leather, and held it against his chest. He whispered "Arma" and the air around his body shimmered for an instant as he called magical armor into existence.  Then he started toward the guard.

OOC:
Standard Action: Mage Armor on self. +4 to AC (Now 16) for 1 hour.
Move action: 30 feet towards Kellan

This message was last edited by the player at 18:04, Fri 06 Sept 2013.

Any relief that she might have felt upon seeing that the goblins weren't yet interested in her vanished when she saw one of them leap at the guardsman nearby.  Liseth's hands went to her mouth as she gasped in horror at the severity of the wound that the goblin's knife left on the man's shoulder.

She saw him try to fight back, but he can't seem to swing his weapon effectively with that big wound on his shoulder.  Liseth takes an involuntary step away from the goblins and the guardsman; she wants to heal him, but those goblins would surely notice her if she did that.  She doesn't know what to do...

"Iomedae," Iomedae?  Liseth's voice is suddenly calm and authoritative as she grabs the focus hanging from her neck, "Grant your blessing to these brave defenders of the innocent people of Sandpoint.  Let your courage serve to bolster the strength of their hearts."  Did I just say a prayer to Iomedae?

Swift Action: 5-foot step away from Knifey MacKellanslash (Goblin)
Standard Action: Cast Bless

+1 Morale Bonus to Hit and saves vs Fear for everyone who isn't a goblin and is within 50 feet of Liseth; Lasts 1 minute (10 rounds)

OOC:

Kellan,

Actually, now that we've worked it all out you only get the one AoO vs. the wagon goblin, so I think we're good on rolls.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:25, Fri 06 Sept 2013.

OOC:

Ok, just caught the edit

Please disregard the rolls in the log then.

Not in a good place to post for the next 6 hours or so so please feel free to roll out any AoO Kellan receives to help move things along

Kellan immediately rolls to his feet, poleaxe ready, as he faces the two goblins.  The goblin who had just injured Kellan’s shoulder, wary of the soldier’s weapon, darts inside his guard to slice him again, but Kellan manages to turn the attack aside through quick-thinking use of his poleaxe haft.  The goblin dances back but, much to Kellan’s surprise, is immediately killed by an arrow which suddenly embeds itself in his cranium.

The goblin on the wagon focuses on Kellan and, mad with excitement, leaps off the wagon toward him.  Kellan immediately swings his poleaxe around to impale his attacker, but is slightly too late, hitting the goblin with the wood just below the poleaxe’s blade and knocking him to the ground instead.

As Pisca makes her way through the rapidly-thinning mass of people, the goblin who was about to set fire to a wagon stops, slaps his forehead, says “[Language unknown: iv!]” in the loud, panicked voice of one who has forgotten a very important engagement, and takes off running away from everyone, back in the direction of the Northern Gate.

Cato sees a goblin emerge on the roof of a nearby building, leap off it to attack a fleeing townsperson, miss, and kill himself with the impact of his fall.  Both Cato and Pisca can see the goblin emerge from the tent, loaded with foodstuffs, a wide grin on his face.

As they consider their next actions, Pisca, Kellan, and Cato all feel somehow steadied, almost spiritually supported.  With bolstered confidence, they continue their defense of the town square.

You can hear the sounds of fighting, so you know the combat is probably far from over, and of course you mostly are focused on the task at hand, but as far as you can tell there are only two goblins left in your immediate vicinity.

OOC:  Tactical situation.  The goblin that was on the wagon is now adjacent to Kellan.  There is a goblin emerging from a tent about 30’ from Pisca and 30’ from Cato.  There are several dead or unconscious goblins lying about, but these are the only active ones you see.  Check out my rough map below.

G-------
-------C
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-----P--
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:22, Fri 06 Sept 2013.

Kellan was bleeding freely now with the hem of his tunic a dark crimson, however despite his wounds he felt a remarkable clarity as if a fog was lifted from his mind. The divine providence seemed to allow him to check the goblins advance with a blow from the shaft of his pole axe before stepping back and swinging the weapon in a full overhand chop, attempting to drive the axe blade onto his recovering attacker.

Somewhere in his periphery he began to notice the other combatants and was deeply relieved that the arrow had found it's mark.


12:09, Today: Kellan Storval rolled 6 using 2d4+3. Guisarme damage (Adjacent Goblin).
12:09, Today: Kellan Storval rolled 21 using 1d20+5. Reach attack adjacent Goblin + Bless.
Move:: 5' Step away from adjacent goblin
Standard: Reach attack with Guisarme
Swift: None