Barock reacted very fast when he heard cries of alarm (initiative: 20+1=21) and he quickly ran towards the troubles (Double move to I2)

OOC: Actually, Venser should not have been quick enough (they have +8 to init...), but I'll let it slide.

ALso, I don't calculate that Barock could have quite gotten to I2, so I put him in I3 instead.

@#$@ Tiny pic and their software updates don't let me copy and paste URLs...


IC:

Aimienna notices the climbing out of the gully herself and reacts quite quickly, (Notice natural 17, sense motive natural 19, init natural 18...), but Gilwen is not so quick, only barely reacting as Aimienna slides to the side of the tent and draws her rapier, inching next to the tent flap where she can ambush anyone coming inside.

Outside the tent, Ashum grimaces, knowing now that he has to move fast, and before total surprise is lost, in case either of the priestesses is aware of him. He ducks into Aimienna's tent, but doesn't notice that the princess is already waiting for him (Aimienna, stealth 17 + 11 [not wearing cloak] - 2 [imperfect circumstance] = 26; Ashum perception 7 + 11 = 18; Aimienna wins). Aimienna, knowing that she has to make the first strike count, decides to go for his forehead, hoping that she does have surprise. Still, he dodges, parrying the strike at the last second (Ashum is flat-footed because he wasn't expecting Aimienna to be waiting for him like this, but not surprised because he did know hostiles would be inside the tent; head shot, 11 + 13 - 4 = 20, threat, 17 + 13 - 4 = 26, crit, 2d6 + 2 + d6 [vita] strike] = 6 [yeouch! awful roll]; Ashum is at 43 hp.)

Ashum realizes that bringing down Aimienna is going to be difficult, but notices that Gilwen is much slower to react, and so aims a dagger to throw into her bust. Gilwen, in an attempt to maneuver, almost loses her balance and has to steady herself, giving Ashum a perfect shot, although he still doesn't feel comfortable enough to aim for her forehead instead of her heart. Somehow, though, Ashum's aim is also perfect; the dagger lands in the middle of her chest, right between her breasts. Gilwin, clutches the dagger, arches her back, and lands flat. One down Ashum thinks. (kill shot on Gilwen, Gilwen is flat-footed so save DC is 15, but she rolls a natural 1; Ashum's attack roll, natural 20, threat 11 + 11 = 22, confirmed, 2d4 + 2 + 2d6 [skirmish] = 13 damage, Gilwen DC 23 fort save 13 + 3 = 16, fail, Gilwen is clinically dead).

Dochuk is right behind Ashum, but is also surprised to encounter Aimienna so close to the door as she angles her rapier in his direction while keeping the mein gauche aimed at the man who just killed Gilwen. She exhales a grim, determined breath - Gilwen will be revivable, if they don't mutilate her body too much, or even so if the army manages to accomplish the next step on the quest, but Aimienna does know that to be an if, just as these assassins no doubt do themselves. "To me!" she cries.

Dochuk stabs his short sword at Aimienna, aiming for the same area of her body where Gilwen was hit, but the blade slides along Aimienna's bodice without so much as bruising her (14 + 9 = 23, miss) Three more assassins filter into the tent, but are also too surprised at where she is to take full advantage and surround her.

Outside, the group of guards sprint into the tent, but are not able to get close enough to attack the assassins. Aimienna does, however, have a way to flee without being flanked.

The scouts also sprint both at Jisanne's call and using their bird-call mimicry codes (which Jisanne also knows well). However, only one of the scouts gets close enough to engage, but that scout is in a good position indeed, just realizing that he has an enemy distracted while his attention is occupied with Aimienna. Time to rescue her. Unfortunately, he trips over a piece of tent flap, and barely manages not to fall prone. (scout 1, attack on Dochuk, natural 1, miss)

[c]~~~Round 1~~~

Annotated Map

Unannotated Map

Party
Aelyn (M3) HP 80, AC 13
Barock (I3) HP 98, AC 28
Jisanne (F2) HP 62, AC 27
Venser (I5) HP 66, AC 30

Allies
Aimienna (-A-2) HP 53, AC 25
Gilwen (C-1) HP -1 clinically dead
Guard 1 (C1) HP 20, AC 19
Guard 2 (D0) HP 20, AC 19
Guard 3 (E2) HP 20, AC 19
Guard 4 (C0) HP 20, AC 19
Scout 1 (-B-4) HP 30, AC 20
Scout 2 (-C7) HP 30, AC 19
Scout 3 (G-5) HP 30, AC 20
Scout 4 (K12) HP 30, AC 19
Scout 5 (M24 [off map]) HP 30, AC 19
Scout 6 (-E19 [off map]) HP 30, AC 19

Enemies
Ashum (infiltrator, A-3) HP 43/49, AC 28 shield, cat's grace, movement
Dochuk (anatomist, -A-3) HP 41, AC 24 shield, cat's grace
Infiltrator 1 (A-4) HP 32, AC 24, shield, cat's grace
Infiltrator 2 (-A-4) HP 32, AC 24, shield, cat's grace
Infiltrator 3 (B-3) HP 32, AC 24, shield, cat's grace

Other enemy stats:

Ashum, human scout 7
Fort +3, Ref +10, Will +4
Leather armor, Bedouin robes
Short sword +11 [+13 with Cat's Grace] (d6 + 1 + 2d6 skirmish)

Dochuk, half-hobgoblin rogue 6
Fort +3, Ref + 9, Will + 4
Leather armor, cloak
Dagger +11 [+13 with Cat's Grace] (d4 + 3 + 3d6 sneak + poison*)
*Save DC 17, initial d6 Str, secondary d6 Con

Infiltrator, human rogue 4 / fighter 1
Fort +1, Ref +8, Will +2
Leather armor, Bedouin robes
Short sword +9 [+11 with Cat's Grace] (d4 + 3 + 3d6 sneak)

[This message has been edited by Beren V (edited 06-18-2012 @ 00:42 AM).]

Venser grimaced when the entire camp's guard compliment went rushing to Aimienna's position, perhaps following orders but ultimately turning the engagement into a huge mess of bodies with no room left to maneuver. What's more, he suspected that the sort of team the enemy would have sent for such a dangerous mission would be made up of elites more than capable of handling Aimienna's regular guard. Without the intervention of Venser and his compatriots, they were practically lining up to die.

Meanwhile, Aelyn suddenly grasped what was going on and started to move. Unfortunately, she wasn't presently bonded to her eidolon, a process that took about a minute. She had a spell that could let her do it in a few seconds, although it only summoned the eidolon for a few minutes, but she had another way to contribute. She followed Venser outside the tent (move to I6), then cast a spell that would give her new friends a considerable boost (Aelyn casts haste affecting herself, Venser, Barock, Jisanne, and Hylarin Guard 3).

Personally, Venser wasn't going to let those guards sacrifice themselves regardless of their destinies, and nor was he going to be restricted by the lack of maneuverability that would come from fighting inside a tent, surrounded by bodies and armor. Boosted considerably by the spell cast by Aelyn, to whom he nodded in thanks, Venser quickly moved along the outside, trying to outflank the assailants (double move to -5A). He moved all the way up behind them, rapier and shield at the ready. "Have at me, then!" he called to them, trying to draw attention to himself and off of the tent's occupants.

When the guards in front of him moved into Aimienna’s tent, Barock court a glimpse of what was going on.
Assassins! They are after the princess! Barock thought. Realizing that he need a bit of a power boost to fight assassins, Barock yelled ”By the power of Oromë!” while holding his clenched fist high. (Barock casts Divine Power and gain a BAB of 9, +4 strength* and 9 temporary hp) As Barock felt the divine power rush into him, he also felt that some had hasted him. It had been his plan to make a “Dimensional Hop” to Aimienna’s side, but now he didn’t need to use that power, and he instead rushed forward while drawing his hammer. ”Make way” he bellowed as he pushed past the guards and moved to Aimienna’s side.” (Barock moves to A-2)

*Divine power provides an +6 enchantment bonus to strength, but that don’t stack with the +2 from Gantlets of strength

As Barock arrives next to Aimienna and Venser somehow on the other side of the assassins, Aimienna casts a worried glance Barock's way. She would like to revive Gilwen, make sure that she doesn't stay dead for long enough that they will need to use the destiny-invoking resurrective magic, since even when that is available, it has its drawbacks. For a moment, she starts to slide past Barock, but as the man and half-orc in front of her begin sliding as well, she decides against it. There is nothing that she can do to prevent him from being surrounded, as these attackers are skilled in moving through battlefields without making themselves vulnerable, much as Aimienna herself is. (Aimienna realizes that their Acrobatics boni are good enough that they could maneuver around in the fight just as easily as she can) Unfortunately, she couldn't use magic well here either, because she would hit Venser. "Venser, you're in the way of a spell!" she exclaims, meanwhile thrusting at the man in front of her and Barock, the one who so effortlessly knifed Gilwen, before moving back, but her sword strikes a thinly-visible barrier. Shield, she thinks. (attack on Ashum, 11 + 12 = 23, miss)

Aimienna realizes as her sword is deflected by the magical shield that she cannot stay here, and fast as she is, they can still hit her if they flank her, and they clearly have studied female elven anatomy to know where to aim. Hopefully, Barock, who is moving like he has been hasted, will be a harder nut to crack. Hitting him will be easy, but wounding him won't be. "Sorry, I'm useless to you here," she says quietly to Barock, before sliding past him. Dochuk and Ashum, the lead infiltrator and anatomist, both try to draw aim on her as she departs, but moving like this the agile woman doesn't leave them any openings. (Aimienna tumbles to D-1, acrobatics checks to avoid AoOs 4 + 13 = 17, 13 + 13 = 26, both succeed, no AoOs)

Jisanne's sudden appearance inside the tent prevents Aimienna from adopting the most defensive position she can, and instead she stops near Gilwen to revive her. Jisanne moves effortlessly to the front of the tent (Move to C-4, Acrobatics 2 + 24 = 26, no AoO). The crack of a nunchaku stick against something hard and unyielding should have been the death knell of one of the attackers, but once again, a magical shield protects them. (attack 5 + 14 + 1 [haste] + 2 [flanking] = 22, miss)

The infiltrators don't take long to respond to the new threats, but their mission is to take assassinate priestesses, so they concentrate on Aimienna as best they can. (Acrobatics checks to move close to Aimienna: 4 + 11 = 15, 15 + 15 = 30, 10 + 14 = 24, all succeed) The woman is partially flanked, enough for the attackers to try their aim at her; however, in her fully aware state, they do their best to simply hit her. She's already agile enough. Yet, all three do hit her, although it's difficult for the others to tell how badly, but the soft impacts of blade against flesh are all too audible. (Agent 3, 11 + 11 + 2 [flanking] = 24, miss; Ashum 12 + 13 = 25, hit, 4 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 8 damage, Aimienna at 45 hp; Dochuk 11 + 13 + 2 [flanking] = 26, hit, 3 + 3 + 2 + 1 + 3 = 15 damage, Aimienna at 30 hp, fort save 13 + 5 = 18, success)

Of the remaining two agents, one signs to the other, and they approach Barock, identifying another priest, and not understanding the distinction between the Hylarin elemental priestesses and the Khelad-Mara clerics. (Acrobatics 4 + 11 = 15, 13 + 11 - 2 = 21, 5 + 11 = 16, 11 + 11 - 9 = 20, all pass) None of them have any difficulties moving away from Venser and the Sicarin scout and flanking the heavily-armored dwarf. Both of their attacks also hit, but of the two of them only the one between Barock and Aimienna manages to inflict a bruise under his armpit. Agent 1, 16 + 11 + 2 [flanking] = 29, hit, 2 + 3 + 1 + 4 + 5 = 14 damage, Barock at 84 hp; Agent 2, 13 + 11 + 2 [flanking] = 26, miss)

Meanwhile, the Sicarin scouts are still running to catch up, but they do catch up. The scout outside of the door runs in and stabs at one of the three assailing Aimienna, but still isn't able to get through the confounded shields. (Scout 1 on Ashum, 15 + 8 + 2 [flanking] = 25, miss)

The guards at least form a battle line that Aimienna could retreat through. However, their attacks serve to do little more than maybe bruise the anatomist, maybe. (Guard 1 on agent 2, 15 + 6 = 21, miss; guard 2 on Dochuk, natural 20, confirmation 10 + 6 = 16, not confirmed, 1 + 3 = 4 damage, Dochuk at 37 hp; guard 3 on agent 3, 8 + 6 = 14, miss; guard 4 on Dochuk, 16 + 6 = 22, miss)


[c]~~~Round 2~~~

Annotated Map

Unannotated Map

Party
Aelyn (I6) HP 80, AC 13
Barock (A-2) HP 84/98, AC 28
Jisanne (C-4) HP 62, AC 27
Venser (A-5) HP 66, AC 30

Allies
Aimienna (D-1) HP 30/53, AC 25
Gilwen (C-1) HP -2 clinically dead
Guard 1 (-A-1) HP 20, AC 19
Guard 2 (C-1) HP 20, AC 19
Guard 3 (E0) HP 20, AC 19
Guard 4 (B-1) HP 20, AC 19
Scout 1 (C-3) HP 30, AC 20
Scout 2 (E1) HP 30, AC 19
Scout 3 (A-3) HP 30, AC 20
Scout 4 (D2) HP 30, AC 19
Scout 5 (F1) HP 30, AC 19
Scout 6 (C2) HP 30, AC 19

Enemies
Ashum (infiltrator, D-2) HP 43/49, AC 28 shield, cat's grace, movement
Dochuk (anatomist, C-2) HP 37/41, AC 24 shield, cat's grace
Infiltrator 1 (B-2) HP 32, AC 24, shield, cat's grace
Infiltrator 2 (-A-2) HP 32, AC 24, shield, cat's grace
Infiltrator 3 (E-1) HP 32, AC 24, shield, cat's grace

Other enemy stats:

Ashum, human scout 7
Fort +3, Ref +10, Will +4
Leather armor, Bedouin robes
Short sword +11 [+13 with Cat's Grace] (d6 + 1 + 2d6 skirmish)

Dochuk, half-hobgoblin rogue 6
Fort +3, Ref + 9, Will + 4
Leather armor, cloak
Dagger +11 [+13 with Cat's Grace] (d4 + 3 + 3d6 sneak + poison*)
*Save DC 17, initial d6 Str, secondary d6 Con

Infiltrator, human rogue 4 / fighter 1
Fort +1, Ref +8, Will +2
Leather armor, Bedouin robes
Short sword +9 [+11 with Cat's Grace] (d4 + 3 + 3d6 sneak)

Venser cursed mentally when he got in the way of a potentially helpful spell. He had a mind for outmaneuvering his opponents, but wasn't used to fighting alongside a group of adventurers--particularly spellcasters. There would be a few learning moments in these first couple fights.

Perhaps more frustrating--and also a result of the large group of allies he had--was that his enemies completely ignored him and pursued Aimienna through the tent. He would waste precious seconds pursuing them, but it was his only option. And so he was determined to deliver a sound blow to make up for it.

Moving with the practiced poise of an experienced fencer, the elf closed to flank one of the infiltrators (move to -A-3, flanking with Guard 1) and made his attack, instantly improvising the assault to take full advantage of the situation (attack against infiltrator 2: 12+16+2[flanking]+1[haste]=31, hit. Venser uses an inspiration point to gain damage: 4+9+5[inspiration]+4[electricity]=22 damage, infiltrator 2 at 10 hp). He made full use of the attack, too, driving his weapon into his opponent's flesh in a dangerous but not lethal blow.

Aelyn, meanwhile, really wanted to summon her eidolon and wade into melee combat. However, she knew how important Aimienna was to all of this and wanted to divert the attention of the attackers to Barock and Venser, who were more likely to be able to handle the pressure. Under the effects of haste, she could accomplish quite a lot, and though she herself was ill-protected without her eidolon to serve as her armor, she could take a hit if she needed to do so for the cause.

And so she moved and cast another spell that would significantly alter the situation. (Aelyn moves all the way to C0, then casts greater invisibility on Aimienna, who will be invisible for 9 rounds. The spell will not end if she attacks.)

At Aelyn's touch, Aimienna evaporates, or seems to, leaving no trace and no indications of her presence, until the dust from the desert is puffed up on the rugs by her feet. A moment later, Gilwen's form, partially underneath the guard, sputters, and something pulls the knife out of her chest. Gilwen takes the opportunity to roll out from under the guard and stand, taking a moment to put her own spell on herself as she rises to her feet.

(Aimienna moves to D0; no AoO because she's invisible, casts CMW on Gilwen, 4 + 2 + 9 = 15, Gilwen is at 13 hp and is alive and conscious. Gilwen rolls to B0 and casts CMW on herself: 4 + 3 + 7 = 14, Gilwen is at 27 hp.)

Everything erupted into chaos in the small tent, but Jisanne wasn't thrown off. She continued to ply her trade, slipping through enemies and striking hard when the opportunity arose.

(Jisanne 5-ft-steps to B-3 and full round attacks, flanking with guard 4.

Vs Infiltration Agent 1:

Attack 1: natural 20! critical threat: 15+14+2+1=32 confirmed. 4+4+4+4+3 acid+15 sudden strike=30 dmg, Infiltrator 1 is at 2 HP.

Attack 2: 16+9+2+1=28, hit. I'm not going to bother, he's deader than dead.

Last attack goes vs. Master Anatomist

Attack 3: natural 20! critical threat: 14+14+2+1=31 confirmed again! 1+6+6+1=14+4 acid=18 dmg. He's at 19 HP.

Barock was a bit surprised when one of the assassins actually managed to do some damage to him. He also noticed how they ignored the guards and also managed to wound Aimienna. These guys are actually a bit dangerous He thought and briefly considered to go heal Aimienna, but then the others rushed in… Venser moved in and wounded one of Barock’s attackers while Jisanne stepped closer and killed the other and wounded the enemy half-orc . A human female, Barock believed her name was Aelyn, also came into the tent and made Aimienna invisible.
Deciding that using more mana on magic was not necessary, and that Venser could easily handle his opponent in his own, Barock stepped over and attacked the half-orc. (5-foot step to b-2) The half-orc obviously didn’t expect that because Barock easily managed a crushing blow to his head (natural 20! Critical threat! Confirmation: 17+15+1(haste)=33, success! (x3 damage) 3+1+4+15=22 damage, Master Anatomist is at -3 hp) The half-orc immediately dropped with a cracked scull.

OOC: I rolled an 18+5=23 for Meryl's initiative, but since I would like to simplify things, I'm going to have her act as if her action was delayed until after Barock's turn (meaning all her subsequent turns will be just after his).

I'm also assuming that she came from the north of the scene and that her entire turn has been spent getting onto the battle map.


------------------------------------


Meryl woke to the sound of battle.

There hadn't been enough time to prepare herself properly. The halfling got her armor on as quickly as possible, pulled her daggers from her boots, and rushed out the flap of her tent. By then, the fighting was already in full swing, and Meryl quickly surveyed the scene.

Fighting to the left and right, she mused. To the right, a tent seemed to be the focal point of the combat there. It doesn't look so bad. But-

Something urged Meryl to go toward that tent. She knew these sort of feelings well by now, and so she complied. With her weapons drawn, the hobbit moved as quick as she could toward the battle.

(Meryl arrives at -C,0.)