Army

the Foolhardy Wolverines

Hired on: 6th Desnous (May)
Hiring wage: 500 gp/months

Leader: "Captain" Wesley
Troops: 40 soldiers

Location: Tuskwater castle (+ guardpost at the gold mine)

Extra/Special equipment supplied (at 75 % of market price):
- 10 studded leather armor (75 gp), 10 swords (112 gp), 10 big metal shields (150 gp) and 10 spears

Session 16b: The Foolhardy Wolverines

in which the characters hire a famous mercenary band and return to Oleg's Trading Post
 

Meeting the Mercenaries
As the characters approached the fort, they were stopped by some of the armed men, who asked them what their business was at the fort. When told that the characters were possible future employers, the soldiers took the group to meet their leader, "Captain" Wesley.

Wesley's tent was easy to find, as it was the best of the whole camp and had two guards at its entrance. As they approached, the characters heard giggles and laughter. They introduced themselves to the guards, who called out their presence to the occupants of the tent. A few minutes later, a middle-aged bald man sporting a big mustache came out of the tent, with a sensuous young woman of long silky black hair by his arm. He presented himself as "Captain" Wesley, leader of the Foolhardy Wolverines, and the young woman as Lily Teskertin.

"Captain" Wesley

Lily Teskertin

Cardot, who was wearing now his best tunic to impress, immediately started talking with the lady and seemed to forget the leader of the mercenaries... apparently he had missed the advantages of civilization during the long trip in the wilds. Lily Teskertin seemed to enjoy his conversation, and proved to be interested in his travels... apparently she was a bit of an scholar, and asked Cardot questions about different topics.

"Captain" Wesley did not seem bothered by Cardot's behavior (he even smiled when Cardot replied to the nicknames he used to name them by calling him every now and then as "Sergeant" Wesley) and started talking with the rest of the group. He said he had been waiting to meet the adventurers, explained that he had received an offer of employment by the Stag Lord and by a strange gnome of difficult name (Kii's cousin) and that he was interested in the offer, if the pay was good and the prospective employers worthy. Kii answered that they were tired from their exploration trip in the Narlmarches, so they agreed on meeting the following day in the fort.


The "Rushlight" Tournament
The following morning, the PCs met with the mercenary leader and some of his mercenaries. Wesley told them that before offering his service to a prospective employer, he always wanted to make sure of their worth. He had served with success in Mivon and Galt (his country of origin, and where his family and children were living), and he would not offer the support of his mercenary band to anyone, specially as it seemed the land in the area seemed empty and ready for the taking...

As he was a fan of the Rushlight Tournament that King Irovetti organized every year in Pitax, Wesley proposed each of the characters to have a small contest with some of his best men, so that he could see the material they were made of. At the beginning, the characters were not very happy to feel themselves tested by a newcomer, but Wesley and his little army could prove dangerous if left free, so they decided to comply.

Am tied in the archery contest with the Foolhardy's Sharpshooter, "Eagle Eye" Jones. Gam'el'Gar was able to beat the brawny "Big Bear" Carla at the log axing contest by a smart use of his abilities, because Carla proved to be the stronger lumberjack. Kii surprised the "Captain" by solving four riddles posed to him; specially the last one was quite devious. In the last contest, several soldiers, Am and Cardot participated in a drinking contest. After drinking 10 flagons of ale, the contestants had to run a course filled with obstacles... Am, even though he ended up quite drunk, managed to finish first, but more importantly, Cardot beat "I saw it" Jack in the race, even though he fell several times to the ground and took a bit more time than needed to clamber up a knotted rope made very slippery after so much ale...

The Archery Contest

The Fourth Riddle

All in all, everybody had much fun and "Captain" Wesley was impressed enough to offer more soldiers for the same salary. After some more negotiations, "Captain" Wesley agreed that the Foolhardy Wolverines would maintain a contingent of 35 to 40 men at all times, in exchange for 500gp per month. Most of them would stay in the fort until further notice, but they were also charged with patrolling the area where they had found the gold mine and scare away any prospectors that they saw.

That night almost everybody got quite drunk, but Dovan and the other bandit prisoners could not escape because Kii made sure they knew he would be observing them the whole night.


Back to Oleg's Trading Post
The following morning, the PCs set out with the Kobolds, some of the mercenaries and several wagons transporting the bandit prisoners, the Tatzlwyrm heads, the Stag Lord's body and part of the loot the bandits had stored in the Stag Lord's fort.

They took the opportunity to explore the area along the Shrike River as they made their way to Davik Nettle's Crossing and also spend some time meeting Chief Sootscale and supervising the kobolds' silver mine; apparently they had been making good progress and some of the kobolds had even started wearing "human" clothes, although they still were very undisciplined and their mining techniques rudimentary.

At Davik Nettle's Crossing, the characters threw the Stag Lord's body to the river. They saw the ghostly apparition of Davik embracing the corpse and felt an explosion of ectoplasmic energy course through their bodies, and an almost imperceptible sigh... then the ghost looked at them and grinned with its horrendous toothless mouth before disappearing in the river, hopefully forever... Moments later, Davik's ranseur washed up onto the shore at the characters' feet, a final gift from the ghost.

Davik Nettles

Their arrival at Oleg's was quite the event in the area. The rumor that they had defeated the Stag Lord had already reached the trading post, and many people wanted to see the adventurers who had rid the area of its banditry problem, even if only temporarily. They cheered and greeted the adventurers as heroes and many of them expressed personally their gratitude during the following hours.

Svetlana was happy to see the adventurers again, and even Oleg smiled a bit when he saw the Tatzlwyrms' heads. Kesten Garess seemed also to be lifted from his morose mood when Falgrim Sneeg descended from one of the wagons. The captured bandits were all escorted to the storage pen at Oleg's, to await trial. As they were pushed into the storage hut, most of the merchants and trappers booed them and some even threw them rotten vegetables.


An invitation by the Aldori Swordlords of Restov
Finally, an agent of Restov's swordlords, Lorin Kaven, was also waiting for them at Oleg's. He had been sent to confirm the death of the infamous bandit. After the characters showed him the head, he considered that, together with the obvious reduction in banditry attacks of the past weeks, the characters had indeed satisfactorily completed the task set to them by Restov.

He handed them the promised money reward and told them that they were expected in Restov at the Academy of Aldori Fencing in one week. There they should ask for Tamarie Echoes. He also advised them not to be too conspicuous while in Restov; there was no need to be extremely secretive, but it would be better for all those involved if the group did not attract too much attention while in Restov.


XP:
- 400 (participating in "Captain" Wesley contest)
- 400 (hiring the Foolhardy Wolverines)
- 100 (exploring the Sootscale Cavern hex)
- 100 (exploring the River Crossing hex)
- 400 (solving Davik Nettle's haunt by throwing the Stag Lord's body to the river)
- 400 (defeating the Stag Lord and reducing the banditry activity in the area)
- 400 (giving the Tatzlwyrms' heads to Oleg)
- 100 (exploring Oleg's Trading Post hex)

Total this session: 2,300XP
Total campaign: 34,675XP

Loot:
- ranseur +1 (washed ashore at Davik Nettle's Crossing after the characters threw the Stag Lord's body to the river).
- 5,000gp (reward for slaying the Stag Lord).
- 600gp (given by Oleg for the Tatzlwyrms' heads).
- A document signed by Kesten Garess offering four masterwork weapons of the characters' choice for delivering Falgrim Sneeg alive. The weapons must be ordered and collected at one of the best smith in Restov, an old friend of Kesten.


Spent:
- 500gp (1 month salary for the Foolhardy Wolverines).

Time Passed:
- 6,5 days.
The time now is 12th Desnus (May), at noon. The group is at Oleg's Trading Post.

Session 16a: The Hunt for the Tatzlwyrms

in which the group track and hunt the elusive Tatzlwyrms and meet a strange inhabitant of the Narlmarches


The Hunt for the Tatzlwyrms

Some miles to the southwest of the pit where they had found the Thylacine, Gam'el'Gar, who by now had become an expert in the Narlmarches wild forest, found some reptilian tracks. Using his reference book for tracks, he deduced that they had been left by Tatzlwyrms. According to the little information provided in the book, the creatures were related to dragons and usually built dams in rivers, in the same way as beavers do; the book also mentioned that they were fast creatures and they could breathe a mild poison once they grabbed hold of their prey.

The group followed the tracks to the Skunk river. Several sandy islets created a ford across the rive, building a natural choke point. An obviously artificial dam formed with thick piles of rubble, branches and tree trunks blocked the southern section of the river... The skeletal remains of some poor fellow laid in a cranny between several tree trunks of the dam.

The group approached the dam stealthily, and several times they almost fell victim to some devious traps -as it turned out, built by the Tatzlwyrms- that would have injured their legs (they were small potholes covered with branches and leaves). They somehow managed to get less than 20 feet from the dam when they spotted a Tatzlwyrm on the island. The creature was lying under the sun, enjoying the beautiful spring day, completely oblivious to the characters' presence.

Tatzlwyrm - taken from Kingmaker Paper Minis

The group withdrew a bit and prepared while Am (with the help of Cardot's miracles) showered the Tatzlwyrm with two well placed shots with his mighty bow. Taken by surprise, the reptile rushed towards the group but was stopped in its tracks by another volley from Am... More dangerous was a second beast that had been hiding in one of the holes of the dam and charged Kii when it detected the casting sounds of the Svirfneblin. Kii was well prepared for the attack, and this second Tatzlwyrm could not grab hold of the Magus... Between Kii and Gam'el'gar they made short notice of this other Tatzlwyrm.

As they had been able to surprise the creatures, the hunt had been easier than expected. They made camp in the area, correctly thinking that the presence of the Tatzlwyrm's lair would make it safer for the night. The skeletal remains turned out to be those of an explorer. The possessions included a map detailing the north-western border of the Narlmarches, and marked two points of interest, a Statue of Erastil just to the north of the Tatzlwyrm lair and a pond of warm waters where (according to the explorer's notes) taking a bath was a wonderful pleasure.

The Statue of Erastil
The  group then moved to the north until they reached the edge of the forest. It took them some time to find the Statue marked in the explorer's map, as it was in a secluded valley. When they found it, the group saw that it was a 15-foot-tall statue of a hunter with an elk head, partially overgrown by shrubbery and small trees at the base but towering above the surrounding shrubbery. Its head was directed towards the northwest, and in the distance the group could see the glint of the sun hitting the water of the Slough Swamp.

Erastil - taken from Rivers Run Red

Despite the obvious neglect, the site still exuded a feeling of safe and peace. The group spent some time cleaning the statue, but nothing out of the ordinary happened, although the sensation of tranquility maybe increased. Once they had marked the location of the statue in their map, they moved to the southeast, back into the brooding Narlmarches.

Garuum, the Exiled Boggard
The Narlmarches spreads across the Stolen Lands and feature craggy hills, lazy streams, deep ravines, and a great variety of trees, including oak, beech, and rushleaf. The forest has a dangerous reputation, with regular sightings of trolls, kobolds and aggressive predators.

The northwestern edge of the forest is particularly isolated, and the ground just east of the Skunk River slumps away into a soggy mire. When they found a pair of ruined stone buildings jutting from the swampy ground, the group decided to be extremely cautious, specially since they had discovered the tracks of giant frogs and of a boggard, a frog-like creature.

They waited an hour watching the buildings from the distance, trying to detect any movement from within, but when no sign of activity was detected, Cardot decided to approach the buildings while the rest covered his movement with their weapons. He called out and asked whether there was anybody in the ruins. Soon, a toad the size of an adult human appeared at the door of one of the buildings while a strange looking frog-man (a boggard) emerged from the other shouting "Truce! Truce!".

Garuum - taken from Kingmaker Paper Minis

The boggard introduced himself as Garuum, and through mimicry and his poor knowledge of Common, he made clear to Cardot that he was hungry and somehow this was his land. After giving him some food, Cardot skillfully introduced the rest of the group one by one so as not to scare the creature, and convinced Garuum to let them sleep in one of the ruined buildings. Although the area was very humid, by now the characters were seasoned travelers and they woke up the following day feeling well rested.

In the morning, Cardot used one of his miracles and duped Garuum into touching him. The creature was surprised to understand everything Cardot told him, and he started telling his story to Cardot.

"Garuum had been once a member of the boggard tribes found to the west of the Narlmarches in the Hooktongue Slough swamp. He wanted to become High Priest of Gogunta, and in order to prepare himself, he gathered and devoured several dozen of the tribe’s sacred blue dragonflies, hoping to gain great power and skill from the insects. Alas, while the feast bolstered his self-confidence, it did nothing for his battle skills. When he rode his giant toad into the center of his tribe to challenge the previous High Priest, the traitorous Sepoko laughed at him and had other members of the tribe capture Garuum. Then he sentenced him and his steed to death after a day of punishment.

Fortunately for Garuum, his guards got drunk and he could escape his bonds by using a rock to pulverize his left hand in order to tear it free from his manacle. He knew he could not go back to his tribe, because the High Priest would have him slain, so he went into the Narlmarches, in order to escape Sepoko's wrath. "

Garuum considers himself the ruler of this small section of the woods and told the characters that once he had scared away one troll. He graciously allowed the characters free passage in his lands, as they were now bound by friendship. Finally, he told them that if they helped him become High Priest and depose Sepoko, he would be eternally grateful, and all boggards would be their friends.

Back to the Fort
After securing Garuum's friendship (the boggard even brought the group a couple of smelly fish he had captured in the swamp), the group decided it was time to go back and check on the fort's situation, because the mercenaries should probably have arrived.


The trip back to the fort took them almost 2 days. By now, they were quite knowledgeable of the area and started knowing the best trails to move quickly or stealthily through the forest. When they arrived at the fort, they saw a big group of around 50-60 people had made camp at the foot of the hill. Approximately half of them were heavily armed and wore colorful sashes with an embroidered wolverine...

XP:
- 100 (exploring the Tatzlwyrm hex)
- 1,200 (hunting the Tatzlwyrms)
- 100 (exploring the Statue of Erastil hex)
- 100 (cleaning the Statue of Erastil)
- 100 (exploring the "Garuum's kingdom" hex)
- 1,200 (befriending Garuum and his pet Ubagub)

Total this session: 2,800XP
Total campaign: 32,375XP

Loot:
- 100 gp in assorted coins (approximately 50gp, 500sp).
- jewelry in backpack of dead explorer (a pewter drinking stein, a silver ring, a jade carving
of a nude female elf; StolenLands28).
- a masterwork cold iron sword.
- a watertight scroll tube with a map inside. The map describes the northwestern border of the Narlmarches (halves the time required to explore those hexes).

Spent:
- Gam'el'gar: 1 potion of Shield of Faith.

Time Passed:
- 5 days.
The time now is 5th Desnus (May), in the evening. The group is arriving at the former Stag Lord's fort.

Phase Order in Kingdom's Turn (Help)

Upkeep Phase
Skip this Phase the first turn or whenever your kingdom is 0 hexes.
1. Determine Kingdom Stability.
    A successful Stability check reduces Unrest by 1.
2. Pay Consumption.
    Deduct Consumption from the Kingdom's Treasury BPs.
3. Fill Vacant Magic Item Slots.
    Randomly roll new magic items (use page 461 of the Core Rulebook and the appropriate building type).
4. Unrest.
    Lose a hex if Unrest is 11 or higher.
    If Royal Assassin available, reduce Unrest by 1.
5. Investigation actions by the Leaders of the Kingdom (check new rules).
    Each PC character has one week action for free.
    Extra actions or actions from NPC leaders cost -1 modifier to the area managed by them.

Improvement Phase
Table 2-1 gives you the amount of improvements the Kingdom can take each month
1. Select Leadership.
    Fill or change leaders.
2. Claim Hexes.
    Increase your kingdom size (a hex represents an area approximately 375 square miles).
3. Establish and Improve Cities.
    Start cities or build new buildings within a city (check new rules for buildings).
4. Build Roads.
    Add roads in your nation.
5. Develop Open Space.
    Build farms or other improvements.
6. Edicts.
    Set or change level of taxes, festivals and promotions.

Income Phase
4,000gp=1BP (Build Point). Count1,000gp fractions as 0,25BP.
1. Deposits.
    Add your own wealth to the treasury. Each 4,000gp is changed into 1BP.
2. Withdrawals.
    Remove money from the treasury. Each BP is changed into 2,000gp. Possible Unrest.
3. Sell Valuable Item.
    Economy checks to see if expensive magic items can be sold off (check new rules for selling magic items).
4. Income.
    Economy check to determine taxes collected (check new rules for Economy check deciding taxes).
5. Tax Unrest check.
    If BPs were added to the Kingdom's Treasury with the Tax roll.

Events Phase
1. Kingdom Event.
    Roll to determine which random event happens in your kingdom.

House Rules

1. Selling Magic Items.
Selling a magic item produced in the kingdom brings a quarter of its normal selling price value. 

a.- The money will accumulate so that each 4,000gp are changed into 1 Building Point. 

b.- Fractions of 1,000gp are counted as 0,25BP. 

c.- Fractions below 1,000gp will be saved so that they accumulate with future sales.

The above represents a 50% tax on the person creating the item, but the PCs may set a higher or lower tax percentage, as follows:  

d.- For each extra +5% tax you want to impose on these sales, you'll get a -1 Loyalty penalty to this turn's Tax Unrest check.
e.- For each 10% reduction in the tax you impose on these sales, you'll get a +1 Loyalty bonus to this turn's Tax Unrest check. 

2. Building Costs.
The Kingdom must pay only half the cost of a Building
Unless the Building is for the sole use of the PCs, in which case they'll have to pay the full cost.

a.- When adding a building to a city, the Kingdom cannot pay the costs using more than triple the Labor BPs than Wealth BPs being used (example: if they must pay 4BPs, they could pay 1 Wealth and 3 Labor, but not 4 Labor). The limit for hex improvements is 1 to 4.

b.- The people who will use the building will contribute with their effort to cover the other half part of the cost.

c.- Quality of buildings
You can overspend or underspend when adding a building:
c1.- If you spend (from the Kingdom's Treasury) an extra 10% of the original cost of the building (1BP being the minimum), you'll get a temporal bonus of +1 to Loyalty.
c2.- If you save a 10% of the original cost of the building (1BP being the minimum), you'll get a temporal penalty of -1 to Economy.
c3.- In any case, the buildings will be marked as having above or below average quality, in case this information becomes important later in the game. 

3. Taxes.
During the income phase, the PCs will make an Economy roll. The result is divided by 10, rounding up any fractions.
 
The result determines both:
a.- The amount of Wealth BPs that are added to the Kingdom's Treasury. This represents money, trading goods, etc.; in short, wealth that may be accumulated for the future.
b.- The amount of Labor BPs the Kingdom can use the following month in order to build structures. This represents indentured service, voluntary work, etc. done by the population of the kingdom. This is something that cannot be accumulated for the future, so BPs not used in a month cannot be used the following month.

a1.- Before the Economy roll, the PCs may voluntarily decide not to raise taxes, in which case the roll only determines Labor BPs. On the other hand, there will be no Tax Unrest roll this turn.
a2.- After rolling, the PCs may decide to spend a number of Wealth BPs and an equal number of Labor BPs to organise a special event (tournament, offering food to the poor, special festival, offering to the Gods, etc.)... If the PCs pass an Stability check, they will get a temporal bonus to an appropriate Kingdom statistic (depends on the event) equal to the amount of Wealth BPs that were spent.

c. Tax Unrest.
If the Kingdom obtained Wealth BPs, the PCs must pass a Loyalty check or the kingdom gains 1 Unrest point... yes, people don't like taxes... The following modifiers apply to this check:
a. A penalty equal to half (rounded down) of the Wealth BPs added this turn to the Kingdom's Treasury.
b. A penalty equal to a fifth (rounded down) of the BPs added to the Kingdom's Treasury through magic item selling.
c. any other temporal modifier that applies to Tax Unrest rolls. 

4. Temporal and permanent modifiers to the Kingdom.
People have fickle memories... keeping them entertained is difficult, but they also tend to forget past transgressions (albeit a bit more slowly). All modifiers have effect at least one month. After the first month:
a. Positive modifiers have a 5-15% cumulative chance of disappearing per month (maximum percentage 30%).
b. Negative modifiers have a 1-10% cumulative chance of disappearing per month (maximum percentage 50%). 
c. Permanent modifiers don't necessarily apply each month. Both positive and negative modifiers could be temporarily cancelled (maybe the problems are increased or reduced that month).

5. Secret Modifiers.
In order to increase the role-playing possibilities of the kingdom building aspect and reduce statistics min-maxing, there will be many secret modifiers to Stability, Economy and Loyalty. including:
a. Decisions the PCs take during your adventuring career (could be permanent and or temporal modifiers).
b. Modifiers from government leaders that are NPCs. 
c. Luck Modifiers from government leaders that are NPCs. Fickle Fortuna will influence a bit the capacities of each leader. This is a monthly check that could be influenced by events that affect luck... for example, appropriately appeasing the gods, special magic items, etc.


6. Leader Kingdom and Personal actions.
On top of providing bonuses to the appropriate statistics, Leaders may perform actions to investigate, diminish a temporal or permanent penalty, or obtain a temporal boon for the Kingdom.
a.- PC rulers have 1 free week action per month (remember they need to spend at least 1 week per month ruling the Kingdom, and in the first 12 months they will need to spend at least 3 weeks per month to set up the Kingdom).
b.- NPC rulers and PC rulers can take extra action, but then they have a penalty to the appropriate characteristic of the Kingdom of -1 per action taken (maximum will always be 3, as they must spend at least 1 week per month ruling).


c.- Actions can be of:
c1.- An investigative nature: detecting the origin of a penalty to a characteristic, researching monsters met during the adventures, spells, creating new items.
c2.- Training to obtain a temporal personal bonus for the character.
c3.- Reducing a penalty: an action to reduce the effects of a penalty or augment the possibility of it not having effect this month.
c4.- Obtaining a temporary boon for the Kingdom.


In any case, the player describes the intended action and he'll have to pass a personal check (decided between him and the GM) and a Kingdom check (or travel somewhere) for the action to be successful.

Lord Cardot Orlovsky

Human Cleric (Cayden Cailean) 4
CG Humanoid (Human)
Init -1; Senses Perception +3
--------------------
DEFENSE
--------------------
AC 14, touch 9, flat-footed 13, (-1 Dex, +1 Shield)
hp 23 (4d8+2)
Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +8
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Spd 40 ft.
Melee Sacred Tankard of Saint Nesteruk +6 (1d8+3/20/x2)
Cleric Spells (CL 4, +5 melee touch, +2 ranged touch):
Lvl 2 (3+1/day) Sound burst, Weapon of Awe, Eagle's Splendor, Bull strength (Domain)
Lvl 1 (4+1/day) Burning disarm, Shield of Faith, Murderous command, Tap Inner Beauty, Enlarge person (Domain)
Lvl 0 (at will) Guidance, Resistence, Stabilise, Light
--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str 14, Dex 8, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 14
Base Atk +3; CMB 5; CMD 15
Feats Combat casting, Alignement channeling (good), Selective channeling
Traits Weapon heirloom (tankard masterwork), Noble born (Orlowsky, +1 diplomacy, +1 CMD)
Skills Appraise +5 (+2 Magnifying glass), Diplomacy +10 (+2 Robe, +2 Tap Inner Beauty, +2 Eagle's Splendor, +2 S-T Haggler), Heal +7 (+2 Healer's kit), Knowledge (History, Religion) +5 (+2 PF Chronicles), Linguistic +6, Profession Brewer +9, Sense Motive +9 (+2 S-T Haggler),, Spellcraft +6
Languages Common, Celestial, Draconic, Sylvan
SQ Kobold tattoo
Combat Gear: Heirloom Tankard (MW), +1 Sacred Tankard of Saint NesterukArmor: Chain shirt, Buckler

Other Gear: Cerimonial vestment (+2 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy), Ioun Torch, Signet Ring of Ambitus (+1 Wisdom)
Money: 2402 gp
Potions/Oils/Alchemical: potion of cure light wounds (1), Antitoxin (1)
--------------------
SPECIAL ABILITIES
--------------------
Channel Energy (Su) 5/day, 2d6 positive energy
Domain Travel (Trade):
- Basic speed + 10 ft
- Silver-tongued haggler (Su, 7/day): as free action +2 on a Bluff, Diplomacy, or Sense Motive check.
Domain strength:
- Strength surge (Sp, 7/day): action: standard action, target: touched creature, duration: 1 round, effect: +2 to melee attacks, combat maneuver checks relying on Strength, Strength-based skills, and Strength checks.

Am

Human Monk 4
LG Humanoid (Human)
Init +5; Senses Perception +6
--------------------
DEFENSE
--------------------
AC 17, touch 17, flat-footed 12, (+4 Dex, +1 Dodge, +1 Wisdom, +1 monk)
hp 33 (4d8+4)
Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +5
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Spd 40 ft.
Melee Unarmed strike +6 (1d8+2/20/x2)
Ranged +1 Composite Longbow +9 (+10 < 30 ft) # 1d10+3/20/x3 (1d10+4 < 30ft)

Ranged flurry of blows +1 Composite Longbow +8/+8 (+9/+9 < 30 ft) # 1d10+3/20/x3 (1d10+4 < 30ft)
--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str 14, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +4; CMB 6; CMD 23
Feats Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Dodge,Far Shot, Deadly Aim, Perfect Strike, Weapon Focus (Composite Longbow), Point Blank Master
Traits: Watching Taldor, Deft Dodge
Skills: Acrobatics +14, Appraise +5 (+2 Magniifying glass), Climb +7 (+2 Climbing kit), Sense Motive +6, Stealth +10, Swim +6, Knowledge (religion) +6 (+2 PF Chronicles), Knowledge (history) +5 (+2 PF Chronicles)
Languages: Common, Auran
SQ Kobold tattoo
Combat Gear Composite Longbow +1 (Str +2), Arrow Animal Bane +1 (3), Arrow of Monstruous Humanoids Bane (5; +2 bonus; +2d6 extra damage), Arrow of Seeking (5), Arrows, Broad (40, dmg 1d10)
Armor: None

Other Gear: Boots of Elvenkind (Acrob. +5), Climbing kit (+2 Climb), Ioun torch, Gloves of Gravity bow (1/day 1 min: dmg 1d8 ->2d6; 1d10 ->2d8), Signet ring of dexterity +1, Vest of mage armor (1/day, 1 min> +4 AC), Signet Ring of Ambitus (+1 Dexterity)
Potions/Oils/Alchemicals: potion of cure light wounds (1), potion of cure medium wounds (1), potion shield of faith +2 (1), potion of Mage Armor (3)
Money: 480 gp
--------------------
SPECIAL ABILITIES
--------------------
Perfect Strike (Ex) 4/day
Way of the bow (Ex) -> Weapon focus feat
Zen Archery (Ex)
Point Bank Master (Ex)
Fast Movement (Ex)
Maneuver Training (Ex)
Slow fall (Ex)
Kii pool (Su): 3 points

Gam'elgar Dugh'lan

Half-elf Ranger 4
CG Humanoid (Half-elf)
Init +4; Senses low-light vision, Perception +10 (+2 in Hills/Mountains, +2 vs Feys)
--------------------
DEFENSE
--------------------
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15, (+2 Dex, +1 Dodge, +1 Natural Armor, +4 Armor)
hp 25 (3d10+3)
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +3
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Spd 30 ft.
Melee (i) Flail+6 MW (1d8+2/20/x2) - Hand axe MW +6 (1d6+1/20/x3)
(ii) Longsword Cold Iron MW +6 (1d8+2/19-20/x2) - Handaxe MW +6 (1d6+1/20/x3)
Ranged Longbow masterwork +7 (1d10/20/x3)

--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 10
Base Atk +4; CMB 7; CMD 20
Feats Two Weapon Combat, Dodge, Combat Expertise, Skill focus (?), Endurance
Traits: Elven Reflexes, Pionieer
Skills Climb +6, Handle Animal +4, Knowledge Nature +6 (+2 vs Feys, +2 with PF Chronicles), Craft (Trap) +6, Survival +8 (+2 Compass, +2 Map Making kit, +2 in Hills/Mountains), Track + 10 (+2 with Book, +2 in Hills/Mountains), Stealth +7 (+2 in Hills/Mountains), Ride +6, Swim +6
Languages Common, Elven, ?
SQ Kobold tattoo
Combat Gear Scizore, Handaxe (MW), Longsword cold iron (MW), Flail (MW), Silver dagger (MW)

Armor: Studded Leather +1 (Light fortification), Amulet of Natural Armor +1
Other Gear: Compass (+2 Survival), Map making kit (+2 survival), Book of tracks (+2 Tracking), Signet Ring of Ambitus (+1 Strength)
Money: 2302 gp
Potions/Oils/Alchemical: potion of cure light wounds (1), potion of cure medium wounds (1)
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Wild empaty
Favorite enemy: Fey (+2 on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival, +2 on attack and damage rolls)
Favorite terrain: Hill/Mountain (+2 bonus on initiative and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival)
Elven Immunities: Half-elves are immune to magic sleep effects and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.
Keen Senses: Half-elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception skill checks.
Hunter's bond

Kiire Jalka Varjoisa Maanalainen aka Kii

Svirfneblin (surfaced) Magus 2 Rogue 2
CG Small Humanoid (Svirfneblin)
Init +4; Senses darkvision (60 feet), low-light vision, Perception +8
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DEFENSE
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AC 21, touch 17, flat-footed 15. . (+4 Dex, +2 Dodge, +1 Size, +4 Armor)
hp 27 (4d8+2)
Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +5
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OFFENSE
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Spd 20 ft. (40 ft. when Mounted)
Melee Scimitar (Mithral, MW, Small) +8 (1d4+4/18-20/x2)
Spell combat Scimitar (Mithral, MW, Small) +6 (1d4+4/18-20/x2) (main hand) - Spell/Wand (off-hand)
Melee Whip (small) +3 (1d2-1/20/x2) (trip, disarm)
Spell combat Whip (small) +1 (1d2-1/20/x2) (trip, disarm) (main hand) - Spell/Wand (off-hand)
Magus Spells (CL 4, +7 melee touch, +7 ranged touch):
Lvl 1 (4/day) Shocking grasp, Shocking grasp, Shield, Unseen servant,
Lvl 0 (at will) Detect magic, Mage hand, Acid splash, Open/Close

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STATISTICS
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Str 9, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 8
Base Atk +2; CMB 0; CMD 18
Feats Extra Arcana (Wand Wielder), Weapon Finesse (Finesse Rogue), Dervish Dance
Traits Magical Knack, Desert Shadow
Skills Acrobatics +10 (Jump +6), Craft (Alchemy) +9, Knowledge (Arcana, Local, Dungeoneering and Planes) +7 (+2 PF Chronicles, +2 about Mivon), Spellcraft +9, Stealth +14 (+2 underground, +2 Suit of Stealth), Disable Device +8 (+2 Thieves's tools MW), Diplomacy +3 (+2 Chancellor Robe), Ride +8 (+2 Military Saddle), Disguise +3 (+10 Hat of Disguise), Handle animals +0 (+2 Handbook of Dog training)
Languages Common, Under-common, Gnome, Sylvan
SQ Suit of stealth (+2 circumstance bonus), Kobold Tattoo
Combat Gear Scimitar (Mithral, MW, Small); Crossbow (Small), Whip (Small),Scimitar (Cold iron, Small), 20 Cold Iron quarrels, 20 Silver quarrels
Armor: Mithral shirt

Other Gear Backpack (14 lbs), Case, map or scroll (0 lbs), Fishhook, Flask, Flint and steel, Ink (1 oz. vial, black), Inkpen, Mirror, small steel, Parchment (sheet) (10), Pouch, belt (2 lbs), Sealing wax, Sewing needle, Signet ring, Spell component pouch, Vial, ink or potion, Whistle, Travel spell book, Thieves's tools (MW), Perl of Power (1st lvl), Hat of Disguise, Wrist Sheat x 2 (spring loaded, MW), Signet Ring of Ambitus (+1 Dexterity)
Wands: Burning Hand (2 lv, 1 charges), Magic Missile (20 charges), True Strike (50 charges)
Scrolls: Silent image, Burning Hands
Potions/Oils/Alchemicals: Sunrod (1), Antitoxin (1), flask of acid (1), flask of oil (1) alchemical grease (1), Smokestick (1), Alchemical fire (2), Cure light wounds (2), Cure Moderate wounds (1), Oil of magic weapon (1), cure light wounds (1)
Money: 22 gp
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Attack: +1 attack bonus against humanoid (reptilian) and humanoid (dwarven)

Svirfneblin Magic: +1 to the DC of any illusion spells they cast.

Spell-Like Abilities: nondetection (constant), blur (1/day), disguise self (1/day)
Spell combat (Ex):
Arcane pool (Su): 3 points
Expert Acrobat (Ex)
Evasion (Ex)
Stone-cunning (Ex)
Spellstrike (Su)

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Riding Dog                                                                                               

N Medium Animal

Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +8

Defense

AC 13, touch 12, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +1 natural)

Incitatus

hp 13 (2d8+4)

Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +1

Offense

Speed 40 ft.

Melee bite +3 (1d6+3 plus trip)

Statistics

Str 15, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6

Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 15 (19 vs. trip)

Feats Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Acrobatics +6 (+14 jumping), Perception +8, Survival +1 (+5 scent tracking); 

Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics when jumping, +4 Survival when tracking by scent

Session 15: The Fort Changes Hands

in which the group encounters a strange old guy and take control of the Stag Lord's fort

Once in complete control of the fort, the characters decided to wait until the mercenaries that the Stag Lord had tried to gain for his cause arrived. Kii had sent a letter to his cousin in Jovvox so that, just before departing, he would tell the mercenaries that the Stag Lord was no longer in possession of the fort, but that nevertheless they would still be offered mercenary job by the new owners, the characters, as soon as they arrived. Also, they did not want to leave Akiros alone with Dovan and Falgrim Sneeg before they fully trusted him and had some other guards to help him with the prisoners.

Interrogating the bandits
Several days passed uneventfully and the adventurers used the long hours to rest, recover from their wounds, explore the area surrounding the fort and interrogated the captured bandits. Cardot used a Zone of Truth to interrogate them, to make sure they did not lie.

When told about the reward that Kesten Garess had offered for him, Falgrim Sneeg said that he had repented of his banditry ways and begged not to be handed over to Kesten. He said he had not killed anyone. His crime had been posing as a guide to some prospectors from Restov and stealing their horses and money during the night leaving them stranded in the middle of the Kamelands. One of the prospectors had been a nephew of Kesten, and when the group of prospectors became lost in the wild, he had fallen in a gully and broken his neck. He was very sorry for what happened to the nephew, as his intention was only getting horses and enough money to travel to Pitax, where he wanted to start a new life, but he was robbed by a group of the Stag Lord's men and worked as a guard in the fort in fear of being murdered if he did not comply with his orders... When questioned about Dovan, he confirmed Akiros stories: Dovan was a creepy sick torturer and enjoyed having his way with the prisoners the bandits captured to be ransomed, to the point that he had "accidentally" killed several of them, something that had angered Akiros... the Stag Lord was too occupied getting drunk to care much about some murdered prisoners.

Falgrim Sneeg - taken from Kingmaker Paper Minis

At the beginning, Dovan tried to resist the Zone of Truth when he was interrogated by Cardot, but he finally confessed that he had enjoyed having his way with some of the prisoners, specially with a certain blonde that was accompanying a merchant. He said his only regret was not having fled the fort when the characters proved they had the upper hand. He begged also for being freed, but while in the Zone of Truth, he could not explain why.

Dovan from Nisroch - taken from Kingmaker Paper Minis

The characters decided that they could not afford annoying Kesten Garess, as he would surely prove very helpful for the area once they tried to civilize and claim parts of the Stolen Lands: they would thus hand Falgrim to the guard. As for Dovan, they were divided on whether to directly execute him (their charter gave them the right to do so) or have a formal trial at Oleg's. Cardot convinced the rest of the group that having a formal trial at Oleg's in front of as many merchants and trappers as possible would be the best way to start showing the people in the area the kind of civilized nation they wanted to create.

One night, Cardot had a quiet conversation with Akiros with some wine. The man was obviously troubled by his past. He told him that he had been a paladin of Erastil in Taldor, far to the west, just what his parents had always wanted for him when he was a kid. Sadly, he had an affair that had turned sour, although he did not develop this part of his story, and he had run away. In his travels, he had met the Stag Lord and decided to join his band of misfits, as he also believed himself to be one.

Soon he came to regret his decision, as many of the bandits proved crueler than necessary, specially Dovan. He had been waiting for an opportunity to redeem his many past transgressions and thanked Cardot and the group for giving him such an opportunity. He was sure he would never be able to feel proud for what he had done in Taldor, but maybe he would be able to find sense in life by helping tame the wild Stolen Lands.

About the Stag Lord, Akiros said that when he arrived at the fort, the Stag Lord already had his helm. Some of the older bandits told him that he had found it a year before in an ancient Iobarian tower somewhere near the Tuskwater Lake (this is the lake near the fort). They also told Akiros that the Stag Lord had visited the tower after receiving some strange dreams from an extremely beautiful woman... After some of his drunken stupors, the Stag Lord would order the bandits around him to prepare for certain events, with an uncanny ability to detect certain threats to the bandits... He would mumble something about proving himself worthy to the beautiful woman in his Dreams and that she would be his Queen when he carved a kingdom out of the Stolen Lands.

Akiros Ismort - taken from Kingmaker Paper Minis

Unexpected visitors

The group had left some of the kobolds to man the towers, but they had fallen asleep, so they were surprised by some loud bangs at the gates requesting entry. It was a group of five bandits who had come back to the fort with some stolen goods, apparently oblivious to the fact that the Stag Lord was no longer in command.

After a short combat, Akiros convinced the bandits to surrender themselves to the group. He said that, out of the five, three could be employed as guards, as they were only people fallen into banditry due to bad luck, but that the other two should be sent to Restov for trial.



The Trapped Thylacine

Now trusting Akiros, the group decided he had enough help and left him with the three new guards, Mikmek and four kobolds while they sent the other four kobolds back to the Sootscale Caverns.

They then departed the fort to explore the western area which their charter ordered them to map. They had also heard rumors that that would be also the region to find the Tatzlwyrms.

While they explored an area of forest to the north of the fort, they heard a series of quick, yipping barks come from a clearing. They approached the noises to find an open pit, once covered with branches, and now occupied by a hungry and aggressive Thylacine. Gam'el'gar offered food to the creature and calmed it as much as he could; the group then helped place some fallen logs and branches in the pit, and after a couple hours of hard work, the animal finally escaped from the pit. When offered food again by Gam'el'gar it approached him warily and cautiously gobbled everything that was given to him... after some minutes, the animal turned and trotted away, giving a final quick glance over its shoulder to the elven ranger.

Thylacine - taken from Kingmaker Paper Minis

(to be continued)



 XP:
- 100 (exploring the Stag Lord's fort hex)
- 100 (exploring the Trapped Thylacine hex)
- 250 (employing some of the bandits as guards)
- 600 (freeing the Trapped Thylacine)

Total this session: 1,050XP
Total campaign: 29,575XP

Loot:
- 100 gp in assorted coins (approximately 40gp, 500sp and 1000cp)
- trade goods, miscellaneous adventuring gear and tools. Its value is not enough to make an extra BP, but they complete the almost 2 Building Points found in the fort's cellar.

Time Passed:
- 7,5 days.
The time now is 30th Gozran (April), in the evening. The group is camped near the pit where they found the Thylacine.

Davik Nettle's Diary/Ledger. Info 3

The ledger continues with Davik seeing increasing travel across his bridge. Apparently, the boggard tribes of the East Sellen River (a river going through Lake Hooktongue and the Hooktongue Slough, west of the Narlmarches) had been more active of late and were increasing their raids on the merchants travelling between Brevoy and the River Kingdoms.

This meant that increasingly more merchants were using the Shrike River instead of the East Sellen River. Davik was thrilled! At this rate of business, he would soon repay his debts and would be able improve the bridge... maybe even attract more people and fund a small village!

Soon though, the bandit activity in the area increased even more. The merchants still favored Davik's bridge, as the route was still safer now than Lake Hooktongue (if bad luck brought an attack, better to be robbed and beaten by bandits but retain life, than captured and eaten by boggards), but more and more merchants and trappers were expressing their frustration at the situation.

The ledger continues for 6 months or so, detailing many name of merchants, trappers and even adventurers. He also describes the visit of some agents of Brevoy. They did not say much, but apparently they were exploring the area with eyes on expansion of the kingdom (Davik notes in his diary that he knew from his parents that there had been at least one attempt in the past by Brevoy to claim these lands). Davik requested that Restov should send some guards to patrol the area and get rid of the bandits. The agents said they took note but could not promise anything.

A week before the last entry in the ledgers, Davik received the visit of some dangerous men. They told him he was now under the "protection" of the Stag Lord, the new ruler of these lands. They explained him with all sorts of menaces that he would have to pay taxes, 10gp a day, if he wanted to keep using the bridge, and that they would come back every month to collect the taxes. Davik was infuriated by their demands and their extortion attempt and set his hounds on the bandits. The cowards ran away, and Davik enjoyed that night a nice cup of wine with his trout stew to celebrate that he had valiantly defended his prized bridge...

The ledger continues for another week, in which the activity was normal (between one and three travelers per day) before abruptly stopping.

Session 14: Exploring the fort's cellar

in which the group encounters a strange old guy and take control of the Stag Lord's fort

Once in the cellar, the group spread to search it but they were soon attacked by several summoned animals (a giant ant and a bat swarm). Cardot was isolated a short moment in one of the cellar's rooms and a feral wolvering fell on him.

Only luck, a well-placed crumbling barrel which Cardot positioned between him and the animal, and the timely realization that the group had discovered some animal bane arrows in their previous adventures saved the cleric from death. As in other combats, Am made the last moves with two accurate shots using the bane arrows.

Once dead, the wolverine changed shape into an old man dressed in rags. Kii immediately recognized the man as Nugrah, the strange mendicant druid of Gozreh who was travelling with a teenage boy of 17, and that was described in Davik Bettle's diary.

Nugrah the Decrepit

The group used the rest of the day to rest, recover from fatigue and finish exploring the fort. It was obvious that the bandits had been storing most of their stolen goods in the cellar, and so the group dedicated some time to account the objects found.

 XP:
- 1200 (Nugrah)

Total this session: 1,200XP
Total campaign: 28,525XP

Loot:
- trade goods, miscellaneous adventuring gear and tools worth approximately 8,000 gp (2 Building Points).
- A chest with 1,500gp in assorted coins (approx. 1,000gp, 2,000sp, 5,000cp and 20 pp).
- A large bag with several pieces of jewelry (various silver candle supports, silver and golden rings, an alabaster statuette of a nymph (inscription in the base: "Florint, keep this as token of our secret love..."), a silver necklace with shiny green stones, several Stag Lord's silver amulets,...) (Stolen Lands 53).


Time Passed:
- 12 hours.
The time now is 23rd Gozran (April), at noon. The group is in the former Stag Lord's fort.