Basic Fantasy RPG Forums

(Nice photo Iain - it’s very close to what I had in mind. The in-game bushes are a bit taller, and the road is a bit wider and better defined, but otherwise it’s pretty much spot on - even the cloudy, overcast sky).

Paladin can't see any sign of the owl. Indeed, no one in the party has seen the owl since the Fairfield Arms this morning.

Leo closes in on the rotting body to inspect it. As far as he can tell it’s a human male. It’s wearing tatty leather armour, but there are no signs of any other equipment or weapons. From close up, Leo can see that the body is in the relatively early stages of decay. There are numerous open sores on exposed flesh, and there’s a truly putrid smell emanating from it, but the body is still largely intact. Leo also notices that there is a large red lump in the middle of the body’s forehead

As Leo makes to prod the body with his spear in an attempt to turn it over, the rotting man suddenly springs to life, jumping to his feet and retrieving a short sword that was tucked into the back of his belt. He's clearly intent on attacking the half-elf.

[Roll surprise for the party: 5 - not surprised]

Roll for initiative:
Paladin: 8
Leo: 5
Tannen: 5
Benoni: 3
Doughbert: 3
Mandross: 3
Rotting man: 3
Nivek: 2
Gannicus: 1

Tactical map at https://sites.google.com/site/marketstonecampaign/.

Actions for Round 1 please ...


~2 pm, 16th day of Leaffall
The Marketstone Campaign at Obsidian Portal

The half elf drops the bow and arrow from his left hand, swinging up the spear held in his right hand so he can properly attack and defend with a two-handed style.

"You must be the new whelp of the group, eh?" Leo asks with a smirk, "Did they promise you an extra bit of coin to lather up in that filthy dung? Something tells me it was probably an improvement..."

When it is time, he will attack, using the reach of the spear to his advantage to keep the adversary from an advantageous attack with the short sword.

When the dead man jumps up just like he expected he would, Doughbert takes a quick look left and right to make sure that no other bandits jump out of the woods and shout, "Its an Ambush! Watch for attacks from the sides and rear!" If he sees some he will fire his bow at the nearest one. If he doesn't he will hold his action to see if Leo can take him out himself. If the bandit makes a hit on Leo, he will fire at the bandit and hope he doesn't hit Leo unless leo yells out he doesn't want anyone to fire. (this is short range for Doughbert so he should have a +3 to hit)

Nivek unslings his shield and moves toward Leo in order to back him up. If an adversary presents along the way, Nivek will veer towards him (adversary) to attack if possible. If the rotting man shows signs of being walking-dead, Nivek will swap mace for Holy Symbol Hammer (can function as club)... and he will do a Turn Undead attempt when that is a possibility.

Gannicus unsheathes his swords and jumps down from the Wagon and rushes to the aid of Leo. If I'm close enough to attack this turn, I will, otherwise I will get into position to attack.

Mandross will look harmless, keeping an eye out for additional footmen, or an onslaught of arrows.

If arrows come a'flyin' he'll use what cover he can. The driver, for instance.

If anyone runs up to try and climb aboard, however, he'll whack 'em with his cane.

Mentally, he'll stat warming up his Sleep spell.

Tannen draws sword and shield and readies himself for battle, eyeing the bushes nervously for signs of an enemy.

OOC: It might make sense for Leo to run back to the wagons, so others may get missile attacks on the 'body'.

ooc: nope, not much point in running away from a 1-on-1 fight. better off for everyone to remain at the ready for who/whatever else is going to happen. I'm just curious what the significance of the red lump is...

Paladin looks around for others coming toward the wagons and will shoot them if they are. He also yells down to Benoni to look under the wagon! Benoni will look under the wagon.

Nivek will take a second to look about... is that owl somewhere about?