Encounter 01: The Highwayman

[Pulpatoon]

“God damn the eyes of Jack-in-Hassock!”

This bellicose toast, delivered by a red-faced merchant in a crowded tavern, was met by cheers and deep draughts of good, cold beer. It was soon answered by a coach-master who raised his pint and cried, “The devil punish Jack-in-Hassock for a blackguard and murderer!”

"The whole mill lost our wages when that villain stole the lockbox!"

"How's a soul supposed to ply a trade when honest folks are afraid to travel even the king's road?"

"He stole the beads and wimple's off the Sisters of Saint Dymphna's!"

“No chance of the road guard catching him. Even if they could take their eyes off their tolls long enough t’ look.”

And so four travelers in the back of the tavern—Stratford, Holyday, Rafman, and Northland—found themselves swept up in a night of earnest drinking, passionate oaths, and increasingly gruesome stories. Every peddler, farm-hand, and serving-girl knew someone who knew someone who had told them a story of the crimes and affronts to decency perpetrated by the notorious highwayman, Jack-in-Hassock.

“When the baker’s wife was bringing home a whelp of puppies, the fiend Jack stopped her coach an’ took ‘em… said they’d make a fine stew fer his men!”

“He favors the crossroads, fer that’s where he sold his heart to the devil in exchange for one wrought of silver!”

“He’s a beast! He brought down Stewart Flecther’s stallion with a blow—tore its neck like a bear’s claw!”

As outsiders, this communal orgy of grievance and hate for a wicked bandit is welcome. It’s easy to belong when united against a common enemy. You are plied with bought drinks, shared food, and the positive regard of everyone in the bar—and the price of this largesse is nothing more than nodding in agreement and maybe adding a word or two of your own to the mounting tales of depredation. So what if you’ve never heard of Jack-in-Hassock before tonight?

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And so it is, that you find yourselves sobering up in the back of a rattling carriage, your weapons under blankets piled in your laps, trying to recall exactly how you got so caught up in the excitement that you agreed to head this very evening, posing as traveling merchants, in the hopes of luring out a bandit that the locals insist once drank a baby's blood in front of its distraught mother.

Your faculties are starting to operate again, and it is occurring to you how improbable the locals' stories were, and, alarmingly, how unwise this plan is. There are only four of you—surely the highwayman has more bandits at his side than that—and you’re all crammed together inside a carriage with narrow doors—a egregiously terrible position to begin a fight.

Fortunately, you are in no way committed to this plan, not really. The only other person with you is the coach’s driver, and he can’t possibly be happy about carting around a passel of drunks intent on antagonizing blood-thirsty bandits. You’re sure he’d be happy to find a farmhouse where everyone could sleep through the night in a nice, warm hayloft, and then return to town in the morning with the simple claim that the coward Jack-in-Hassock did not show. Who could question such an outcome? Maybe you could string the town a long for several days of good food and hospitality as you continue these spurious patrols?

Just as you are about to clear your throat and lay this sensible line of reasoning out to your three comrades, you hear a long creaking noise, followed by a bone-rattling thump. The carriage screeches to a halt, and you hear a resonant voice call out, “STAND AND DELIVER!”

Welcome to the first encounter! Please feel free to describe your character, and todo some retro-active roleplaying that lead up to this moment, if you'd like.
What do you do?
Next Update: Wednesday afternoon!

[Squid]

Stumbling out of the tavern shouting, "Come my friends, this hooligan has met his match!" Stratford's long unkempt mohawk is flying around his head and getting caught in his numerous piercings. He trips over a spittoon, knocking it off the porch, then falls into a column barely catching his bulk. After recovering as best he could, he turns to the group and blurts, "This Jack-n-hass sounds like a coward to me!" Another patron exits the tavern looking more inebriated than Stratford. Stratford grabs the man by his shoulders and laughs, "You'll see! We'll either bring him back alive or head on a pike!"

Stratford being reckless makes me think he may have been the one to start this mess. lol

[tibbius]

The wantonness of drink was out of character for Sara, a naturally disciplined and stolid person. So she had sipped while pretending to quaff, making sure more spilled down her bodice than her throat. Still feigning inebriation, she nevertheless had hand on cudgel when the carriage shuddered to a halt. And up, and out the door, quick as quick.

What do she see?

[Rex]

Wytt Rafman

Wytt stumbles out of the carriage, war hammer in hand. "What is going on here." Burp..

[Squid]

Stratford is shaken out of a hungover daze when the cart stops and he hears the voice. He shimmies his way out of the cart, squints and looks around for the source. He mumbles to himself while looking around, "Whose brilliant idea was this?"

[Pulpatoon]

Time: the middle of the night, under a waning gibbous moon.
Location: A road in the country.

Northland, Rafman, and Stratford burst out of the cramped carriage, weapons still concealed under their travel blankets. On the side of the road, behind the carriage, they see two remarkable figures. The foremost is a man of prodigious size, holding a club of equal proportion. His features are rough but pleasant. A little ways behind him stands a lithe figure draped in a voluminous cloak of white fur and feathers. The feathered hood is capped with a great, cruelly curved beak. This second figure’s features are hidden in the shadows of this beak.

“Ho!” cries the large man. “Here’s an eager lot! Don’t get too lively, now, or you’ll find our arrows pricking yer dainty hides.”

The cloaked figure indicates the top of the carriage, where a conspicuously large trunk is strapped down. You know that this trunk is full of broken crockery and a… your memory is fuzzy on the specifics, but you seem to recall that some merrymaker back at the tavern penned a note to Jack-in-Hassock that had everyone in stitches with its devastating and incisive wit. Well, not a note, more of a drawing... some clever jape about an anatomical improbability, and a liaison with a... oh dear. The inclusion of that drunken scribble may not have been the most conciliatory choice.

The driver of the carriage, pale and tremulous, clambers atop of the cab and looks to Northland, Rafman, and Stratford for approval to unstrap the trunk.

Inside, Holyday has plenty of room to move around in, now that the other passengers have decanted themselves. Peering out the windows on the opposite side of the carriage, he sees that a fallen tree is blocking the road ahead of the horses. Another bandit stands behind the tree trunk, holding a club. Towards the rear of the carriage, Holyday picks out a fourth figure lurking in the shadows of the trees, holding a spear.

On the south side of the road, past a few trees, Holyday can see by moonlight that the ground drops off in a steep slope.

The large man calls out again, “Quick as you please! Bring the case down. C’mon, help your driver out. And then let’s see yer purses!”

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What do you do?
Next update: Friday!

[tibbius]

"Speaking of arrows!" exclaims Sara Northland with a haughty tone. "Show us an archer, why don'tya?!"

[Rex]

Wytt Rafman

Wytt stumbles, aiming towards #2 but looking at/trying to make it look like he is trying to walk towards #1, pretending to be much drunker than he is.

He slurs as he stubles, "Archers, we don't want any trouble from no archers."

[Pulpatoon]

Wytt stumbles, aiming towards #2 but looking at/trying to make it look like he is trying to walk towards #1, pretending to be much drunker than he is.

Please give me a 1d20 + your Charisma bonus to convince them.

[Rex]

Wytt

Chr check [1d20+3]=5+3=8

[GreyWolfVT]

Ezran whom was apparently in a daze until just a moment ago...finally comes out of the carriage looking about to see what the heck is going on. "Hells bells what the heck did I miss?" he says fairly loudly but not shouting. "Wait what? Archers? Shit." he puts his hands up in a non-threatening manner. "What the hell did I daydream through?" he says to the other 3. Speaking lower to the three companions he says "Dunno bout no archers lads but I saw a man with a club and another with a spear."

[Squid]

Stratford looks around warily and in a low voice says, "I've not seen any archers yet. Perhaps they're hiding in the trees?" He then raises his voice as he takes a couple steps forward with Wytt, "We've got nothing of value. [Burp] We're just on our way through after a night of revelry. Left all our coins at the tavern, we did."

[Pulpatoon]

Bandit 2 brandishes his club Rafman, and Bandit 1 steps up closer, revealing flashes of curved claws under the feathered cloak. In the dark, your imagination can almost mistake the figure for not being human at all, but some mad conglomeration of owl and bear.

Bandit 2: Stay where you are, and don’t get playful! And we like our archers where they are.

Holyday belatedly stumbles out of the carriage, bumping into the others clustered around the carriage door.

From the far side of the carriage, Bandit 4 calls out, “That’s all of them!”

Above, the driver has unbuckled the straps for the trunk, and is trying to rutch it from its place. “A… uh, little help?”

Bandit 2 points his club at Rafman. “You, drop whatever you got, and then get up there and help the poor man out. The rest of you: I want to see silver at my feet, or I let a little moonlight into your skulls.”

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What do you do?!
Next Update: Monday!

[tibbius]

Bold Sara Northland .

[Rex]

Wytt

Once Wytt sees Sara act he rushes Bandit #1 and swings with his Warhammer.

Warhammer [1d20+2]=5+2=7 to hit [1d10+2]=4+2=6 damage

I am not sure my macro is correct.

[GreyWolfVT]

Ezran Holyday sees the others attacking and swings his flail at Bandit 2.

Flail [1d20+1]=2+1=3 [1d8+1]=2+1=3 dmg

I wasn't sure if STR bonus applied to hit and dmg or not based on rolls posted before me.

[Squid]

Following the others lead, Stratford joins Wytt and charges Bandit #1, drawing his sword on the run and thrusting it at the bandits midsection.

Sword: [1d20+2]=15+2=17 Damage: [1d8+2]=8+2=10

Woah! Stratford had a pretty good first attack. Please let me know if I got the rolls wrong. Stratford has Str +2. I assumed the Str number is added to damage?

[Pulpatoon]

Alright! Let's see how combat in Knave works!

Round 1

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At the start of each combat round, determine initiative by rolling a d6. On a 1-3, all of the enemies will act first. On a 4-6 all of the PCs will act first. Reroll initiative each round.

PC's go first!

On their turn, a character may move their speed (usually 40 ft) and take up to one combat action. This action may be casting a spell, making a second move, making an attack, attempting a stunt, or any other action deemed reasonable by the referee.

Everyone is able to get into the positions they described, and make their attacks.

To make an attack, roll a d20 and add the character’s Strength or Wisdom bonus, depending on whether they are using a melee or ranged weapon, respectively. If the attack total is greater than the defender’s armor defense, the attack hits. If not, the attack misses.

Bold Sara Northland .

That does not beat the bandit's Defense, so it is a miss!

Wytt
Warhammer [1d20+2]=5+2=7 to hit [1d10+2]=4+2=6 damage
[/ooc]

Miss.

Ezran Holyday sees the others attacking and swings his flail at Bandit 2.

Flail [1d20+1]=2+1=3 [1d8+1]=2+1=3 dmg

Miss.

Stratford
Sword: [1d20+2]=15+2=17 Damage: [1d8+2]=8+2=10

Woah! Stratford had a pretty good first attack. Please let me know if I got the rolls wrong. Stratford has Str +2. I assumed the Str number is added to damage?

Hit!

On a hit, the attacker rolls their weapon’s damage die to determine how many Hit Points (HP) the defender loses. A bonus damage die of the weapon’s type may be added to the roll if the ideal weapon was used against an enemy type (for example, using a blunt weapon vs. a skeleton).

It's a flat damage die, without the Strength bonus added. So only 8 damage, which is still a powerful blow that would kill most men where they stand.

Revealing their concealed weapons, the adventurers rush the bandits! However, whether the evening's revelries have dulled their senses, or the bandits were simply too alert, Nortland, Holyday, and Rafman all miss their targets. Stratford, however, lands a potent blow. But the mysterious figure in the feathered cloak twists in a way that seems to have lessened the impact. The figure uses the momentum of this twisting motion to swing both arms at Stratford—curved claws gleaming in the moonlight!

Behind you, you hear yells from the other bandits spotted by Holyday, as they realize you are resisting.

The driver stops trying to move the trunk on top of the carriage, and looks terrified. Hiss wide eyes roll around, trying to find a good hiding place.

Now, the enemy gets to attack. I can do this two ways: I can roll against your Defense, exactly as you just did. But Knave makes it possible for all rolls to be player-facing, so let's try that out.

...an attack roll can also be resolved by the defender rolling a d20 and adding their armor bonus, hoping to roll a total greater than the defense of the ability the attacker is using. If they succeed, the attack misses. If they fail, the attack hits.

Bandit 1 attacks Stratford with two curved claw attacks! Please roll 1d20+Armor twice.
Bandit 2 attacks Sara Northland with his club. Please roll 1d20+Armor.
An arrow whistles out of the dark towards Ezran Holyday. Please roll 1d20+Armor.

Please roll to defend, and then feel free to state and roll for your next attacks or maneuvers, as well.

Speaking of maneuvers:

Stunts are combat maneuvers such as stunning, shoving, disarming, tripping, sundering armor, and so on. They are resolved with a versus save. They may not cause damage directly, but may do so indirectly (for example, pushing an enemy off of a ledge). The referee is the final arbiter as to what stunts can be attempted in a given situation.

So if you want to do anything to an opponent other than attack, roll the appropriate ability, and I'll roll the opposed ability. High result wins!

Bandit's 3 and 4 are on their way to join the fight!

Next Update: Wednesday!

[GreyWolfVT]

Holyday
Defense [1d20+3]=1+3=4

tries again to strike the bandit and mutters lowly "Guess he wasn't lying about archers."

Flail [1d20+1]=5+1=6 [1d8+1]=8+1=9 dmg

[tibbius]

Sara sweeps up her club to parry Bandit 2 attack.

Then she tries to shove the end of the club into the Bandit's guts, hoping the blow will take the wind out of him.

Right bad series of rolls, here