Someone mentions to you that a coach that's on its way back from the next region over to the East is due tomorrow.

And that on that coach will be one of the richest ladies in the city and her sister, who are sure to have some jewels and money with them.

There's bound to be a bodyguard or two... but they'll surely be no match for a shaman and a mage, right?

Sounds like it could be just the right situation for a bit of daring highway robbery.

(Incidentally, just for my future reference, who mentioned this robbery to you?
--Rasal's new colleague the potter?
--Rasal's brother Kelev, the wandering minstrel and peddler?
--Gnarl's friend Ash, the Treant firefighter?)

Kelev would have been the one to mention this.  He spends enough time on the roads to get a sense of others' travel patterns, or just overhearing when someone of importance is likely to be about.

The robbery starts with a bit of magic.  As the coach begins to cross a bridge, Rasal casts a spell to make it look as though it is collapsing.  The goal is to stop the coach dead in its tracks, in a spot where it will be quite difficult to move anywhere else.

(I'm going to be nice and accept that this is a Tier 1 and not a Tier 2 spell (though it sure is on the borderline), but you still have to roll Invoke for it...

(Let me know if you need help in rolling that))

Rasal rolled 7 using 2d6 with rolls of 2,5.  Invoke.

The bridge looks out!

The coach slows down... it stops!

...But...

Actually, you can still sort of see the middle of the bridge... it's like it's transparent, but can still kind of be seen and not seen at the same time...

The horses and the coachman don't know what to make of it... they slowly go forward...

(You're in danger of having them figure out the bridge is fine (and maybe going ahead! Also, any bodyguards are probably already suspicious! Somebody do something!)

Rasal carefully approaches the back of the coach, toward the left side, with his dagger in hand.  He motions to Gnarl to follow along on the other side.

If the coach resumes driving without anyone getting out, Rasal will try to hang onto the back of it and look for another good opportunity to attack.

The horses get near the spot where the bridge gets see-through, but refuse to keep going.

A couple of armed men get out-- one has a crossbow ready, and the other has a sword and medium shield...

Rasal checks for Gnarl-- he's not where he should be.

Rasal decides this isn't working... The highway robbery is aborted.


Gnarl didn't return to The Sandstone, although a new ally, Victor, suggests robbing a hunting lodge in the foothills of a mountain to the west which he knows of that should have some good loot...


A couple of days later, Rasal and Victor are within sight of the hunting lodge...

https://hips.hearstapps.com/hm...s-jpg-1532437467.jpg

Victor squinted through the dense forest to look at the lodge in the distance. "Seems like we've arrived", he commented as he turned to his partner. "I'm not sure how you operated in the past but I suggest we do some scouting. See what type of defenses they have around the perimeter, maybe get an idea for the number of guards. Unless you have a spell in your repertoire that can do that for us. Then we can regroup and plan our attack. Any objections Mr. Rasal?"

"By all means, some initial scouting sounds like a good way to go.  Unfortunately my magic will not assist with that, but it can certainly help with keeping us under cover once we make our way in."

With a nod Victor crouched down and approached the lodge. He stuck to the trees in an attempt to conceal himself as he circled the building. Just like he had suggested he looked for guards or other types of defenses.

OOC: 09:45, Today: Victor Blackburn rolled 6 using 2d6 with rolls of 3,3.  Scan. Not a great start.

(Victor gains 1 xp.)

Victor doesn't see any guards, nor defenses...

Roughly half an hour after he had left Victor returned back to Rasal's position. "It seems we're in luck. I didn't see any defense or guards along the perimeter." He reported to his compatriot. "So what should our plan of attack be? We hit the place quick and we hit the place hard is my recommendation. I don't have any skill with locks so we might just have to bash a window in. We could rush in, check for anyone inside, and then once the area is secure size up what spoils are kept inside." He offered after he lifted his mace over his shoulder and gathered his supplies to move.

"You know the place better than I do, so I will follow your lead.  And maybe cast a spell to cover our tracks."

Assuming that they get as far as the "break a window and climb in" part of the plan without being stopped, Rasal waves his staff over the broken glass on the floor to hide it from view.  If he manages to get enough power into the spell, he will try to keep the effect going as they work their way through the house, concealing any other visible signs of their presence as well.

GM, I wait for you to assign a level before I roll, right?

Just as the two rebels are within 20 feet of the window they've chosen, an older woman (in her 60s, maybe, give or take a couple of years?) opens a door and emerges with a load of wet laundry to hang up somewhere.

She sees the two rebels, and inhales a deep breath--

Victor's eyes widened when he saw the door open. Some damn servant exiting the building. "Hello madam." He called out hastily. "I'm escorting a courier", he gestured to Rasal, "here to deliver a message to the owner of the lodge. Could you fetch him for us? Or could we come inside?" He tried to put on a genuine smile as he spun his quick lie. "Just go with it." he muttered under his breath to his partner.

OOC: 10:39, Today: Victor Blackburn rolled 2 using 1d6 with rolls of 2.  Trick.

GM I would like to 'resist' the consequences. Should I do that in this post when I failed or wait until you explain the consequence?
This message was last edited by the player at 19:38, Mon 06 July 2020.

The false explanation keeps her from screaming right away, but it's a short delay. "The master's not here, and there ain't no reason why anyone should think he was here, and I don't think you two sneaky-lads are here to deliver no message ay-tall, 'er else y' wouldn'na been headin' fer a window instead of the front door. Abram! Abram! Come quick!"

(Yes, you may now tell how you might try to resist.)

Victor pulled out his old guard insignia to try and salvage the situation. "See this insignia? I'm a member of the guard." He held the insignia out towards the woman so she could clearly see it. "Now please calm down madam. Obviously there has been a misunderstanding."

OOC: Attempting to evoke my Guard Inisignia from my gear to defend against her suspicions.

20:31, Today: Victor Blackburn rolled 10 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,2,6.  Command.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:32, Tue 14 July 2020.