The eight individuals sat in a tavern together, discussing recent events.
"So let me get this straight," said Jaree. "An old woman wants to attack our village, but first she tries to get our blacksmith and healer out of the way."
Ivor nodded. "Makes sense. Remove the one responsible for making weapons as well as the one who can heal the injured." When the others glared at him, he held up his hands. "I am not agreeing with the actions, only understanding them."
"But now we need to stop that woman before she attacks out village," said Kerri.
"Agreed," said Jaree, "but first we need to know more about her. There's no way an old woman and two thugs can defeat even our weakest villagers."
"She might be an alchemist," said Natrius. "That would explain her knowledge of poisons."
"She might also have an army," said Milo.
(Q) Has anyone in town seen the old woman? (Likely) Yes.
(Q) Was she only with two men? (Likely) X-Yes.
Natrius shook his head. "We asked around, and everyone said she was always seen with the two men. She even bought them weapons from the blacksmith, with the smith saying she talked him into a good deal."
"Did he?" Zook got off the chair. "I'll return after I check on something."
I'm going to have Zook make an Arcana check, with his amulet granting him an additional +1. The Difficulty is Average.
(Ability) Does Zook learn something from the blacksmith? (+3 vs. 0 = Nearly Certain) Yes.
A few minutes later, Zook returned. He leaped back into his chair, sitting all the way back. Gripping his amulet, he stared into space.
"What did you find?" Natrius asked.
"I learned that this amulet glows, not only in the presence of magic, but also if magical residue is present, which it did in the blacksmith's shop." Zook took a deep breath. "We're not dealing with an alchemist. Our village is about to be attacked by a wizard."
(Luckily, she's only a Lvl 1 Wizard, but that's still a threat to Lvl 0 characters. The next part of this session is the planning stage.)
(Q) Is she still in town? (Unlikely) Yes.
(Q) Where was she last seen? "Uncertain, Help, Stop."
"Has anyone seen her last?" Vina asked.
"The welcome center," said Zook. "We need to be cautious though."
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Before we go any further, let's get some information on Perth. After asking Mythic a few questions (and trying to figure out why an old woman would be only a Lvl 1 Wizard), I came up with the following:
Perth
Perth spent her life as a scribe, while her husband made money as an herbalist. After years of watching adventurers come and go through the town, she decided she wanted to become one herself. First, she poisoned her husband to get him out of the way (because that made more sense to her than, I don't know, talking to him.). Then, she invited a young wizard over. She got him drunk and learned all about his spells. Finally, she poisoned him and took his spellbook. After hiring a couple of street thugs to be her muscle, she set her sights on the closest village in hopes of taking it over and making an easy fortune.
Despite being an advanced age, Perth is in pretty good health. She wears a cloak and a bracelet that gives her +1 to spellcasting (I rolled "Delay, Obstacle." I was going to make it an Arcane Focus, but most of her spells do not require a material component.). Otherwise she has a modest amount of gold.
Perth: Human Female. Level 1 Wizard. Int +1, Cha +1. Skills: Investigation, Arcanum.
AC: 10 (13 with Magic Armor and 18 with MA and Shield), +2 Prof, 6 HP.
Spells:
Cantrips: Create Bonfire, Friends, Shocking Grasp.
Lvl 1: Charm Person, Mage Armor, Shield.
Gear: Bracelet (+1 Spellcasting)
For the two hired guns, I'm just using Bandit stats, with one using a sword and the other a scimitar.
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Hearing screams, the group rushed outside. Running down the street, they saw several guards standing over four bodies. The bodies lay on the ground in horrific poses, but what the group found most disturbing was that all four bodies were burnt to a crisp.
Zook turned to one of the guards. "What happened?"
"The old lady," the guard answered. "One minute they were all talking and laughing." He motioned to the charred bodies. "But then these four drew their swords and attacked. They bounced off a glowing wall, and then she called for help and must have panicked because the guys burst into flames."
"Where is she now?" Natrius asked.
The guard pointed to the closest gates. "She and her two friends fled into the forest."
Natrius blinked. "Why didn't you arrest her?"
The guards pointed to the bodies. "They attacked her first. To us, she was just defending herself, even if she got carried away. Probably why that thing on her wrist glowed." He glanced at Zook. "Kind of like the one on your neck."
Zook touched his amulet. "Yes, but this detects magic, and nothing else."
Natrius turned to him. "So what do you think?"
I'm going to make this an Arcanum check for Zook to see if he learns more about her.
(Ability) Does Zook learn more About Perth? (+2 vs. 0 = Very Likely) Yes.
Finding a bench, Zook jumped on it and stared in thought as the guards removed the bodies from the street. The others stood around the gone, awaiting his answer.
"Well," said Zook, "we now know she can cast a fire spell that hits multiple targets. She also used some kind of mind spell on the blacksmith." He thought for a moment. "I remember the one who I worked for once mentioning a friendship spell. However, when it wears off, the other person gets hostile. That's probably what happened here."
"But why risk it?" Vina asked. "There was no reason to get into a fight."
"Practice, maybe," Kerri said, "and since they attacked her first, the guards thought she was defending herself."
Milo looked around. "So what's to stop her from charming all of us."
Zook shook his head. "I feel we're all too strong for that. And I have a feeling anything she'd ask that would endanger us would break the spell."
Natrius shook his head. "Terrific. So we just have to worry about being set on fire."
"But she's just an old woman." Ivor held up his club. "All we have to do is get in close and we'll put her in the ground."
"Don't forget the glowing wall," said Natrius.
Zook nodded. "Sounds like some kind of magical shield."
"Well that settles it then." Natrius stood up straight. "We pool the rest of our money together and hire someone to take her out before she reaches our village."
Milo shook his head. "We tried that at the temple. Almost all adventurers are either at some tombs or other cities."
"He's right," said Jaree. "I believe we're on our own for this one."
"You're joking right?" Natrius started walking away, scanning the streets. "There has to be someone who can defeat this woman."
"Natrius, my friend," said Zook, "you sound frightened."
"Me frightened?" Natrius held up his hands. "Not at all. In fact we should march right into that forest an invite the poor woman to a spot of tea. Of course I'm frightened! This old woman just turned four street toughs into charred meat! How can any of you be so calm? I'm scared spitless!"
"We're all scared." Solgi touched his shoulder. "But if we don't stop her, our holes could suffer."
"Which means," said Jaree, "we need a plan."
(Now normally when I'm writing, I wouldn't reveal the plan in case it fails, but this is a game so it works differently. Plus I didn't consider a plan when I created Perth. I just wondered if I could create a Lvl 1 character who could take down an entire village. Now I have to figure out how to stop her.)
Zook sat in silence for several minutes. Then his hand fell to his amulet. "I'll offer her this if she spares our village."
Natrius looked at the gnome. "You think she'll agree."
Vina scoffed. "Not likely."
"It doesn't matter," said Zook. "This detects spells, but I was once warned that in the presence of a lot of magic, it may explode. If we can trick her into casting her spells over and over, she might overload it."
"But if she casts those fire spells in the forest," said Milo, "or worse the village, she'll burn the place down."
"That's why we need to lure her away from both," said the gnome.
(Q) Are there any plains nearby where fire won't do as much damage? (Likely) Yes - Random Event.
(Event) "Perfect, Expectations."
"There's a big clearing on the opposite side of the forest," Jaree said. "We'll lure her there."
"So how do we get her to follow us?" Natrius asked.
"We steal that bracelet," Zook answered.
Vina nodded. "I might be able to palm it."
Zook nodded. "Good. Try so when you hand her my amulet. One we're in the clearing, hit her with whatever you have." He looked up at Jaree, Milo, Ivor, and Kerri. "Two of you take out her muscle and the rest hit the wizard."
Natrius shrugged. "Well that's it then. I really hated living anyway."
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