"It openly admits to murder and cannibalism," the commander observes, looking nauseated under his healthy tan.  "I do not think you did it any favors by insisting it face due process rather than a quick clean end in combat."

"It isn't cannibalism if we aren't of the same species. And don't you try to take the high road about murder. I can see the blood dripping from your holier than thou mouth."

"Help the badgers and shit pass on?" I ask, confused.

"You said they were stuck here in undeath," he says reasonably.  "That sounds cruel, even for a dumb animal.  I would not torture my horse so, for example."

"Um," I say.  "Well, they'll fade away sooner or later.  There's shit you can do for ones that've gone mad, yeah, but it aint exactly safe neither, even if you know what you're doing.  My late brother did, but I didn't really learn enough to do it on my own, yeah?  Besides, that's just... it's still controlling 'em, only difference is what you're making 'em do."

"He's just trying to manipulate you, kid," I say icily. "He has no compassion for the dead. I'm nothing to him; just a thing to be destroyed. You really think the spirit of a horse matters any more in his eyes?

[Hey.  I'm back in business.]

[Pepper Turn 7.  Going back to the point where Oleg says, "We surrender."]

[Initiative: 20+8 = 28]

[Minor: change stance to Aspect of the Seeking Falcon: +2 to speed, +2 to Perception checks, no penalty to long range attacks]

[Standard Action: I turn invisible.  Gloaming Armor (Encounter)]

[Move: Out the window to M9 then straight south however many squares of movement out of 9 I have left; stealth on move: 18+14 = 32]

[I'll wait for Teshi to respond as necessary before I continue.]

Initiative Order:
Pepper
Mari
C
B
Warhorses
Val

Pepper's check to leave the bar unnoticed was successful.  That completes round 0. 

Pepper has the first turn in round 1 and is currently at M13 in the shrubberies, as the window and the brush are both difficult terrain.

Pepper is up again!

[Move: M13 to N12 to S12 to T11 to T10.  Acrobatics to climb on top of the stable: 6+13 = 19.  Stealth: 7+14 = 21]

[Athletics to climb: 14+3 = 17]

[The run-in is about two squares high, so assuming a double move in lieu of a standard action on this turn, Pepper could make it to the top (8 squares to make it to T11, 4 square cost to scale the run-in, since climbing counts double.)  However, Athletics DC20 is required to climb a rough but planar surface, so at the end of this action, Pepper is standing at the base of the wall in T11, I believe.  Correct me if I'm reading it wrong?]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

CLIMB
Make an Athletics check to climb up or down a surface. A creature that has a climb speed doesn't have to make Athletics checks to climb.
        Action: The check is usually part of a move action, but it can be part of any of the creature's actions that involve the creature moving.
        DC: See the Climb table. If a creature can brace itself between two surfaces, it gains a +5 bonus to the check.
        Success: The creature can climb on the surface for the rest of the action, using squares of movement from the action. The creature must spend 1 extra square of movement for each square it enters on the surface. While climbing, a creature grants combat advantage and might fall if it takes damage (see below).
    When a climber moves from a vertical surface to a horizontal surface, such as when climbing out of a pit, the climber chooses to arrive either standing or prone.
        Failure by 4 or Less: If the creature was already climbing, it doesn't fall. If the creature was trying to start climbing, it fails to do so. Either way, the creature can't move any farther as part of the current action.
        Failure by 5 or More: If the creature was already climbing, it falls (see "Falling") but can try to catch hold (see below). If the creature was trying to start climbing, it fails to do so. Either way, the creature can't move any farther as part of the current action.

Example: Fargrim the fighter has a speed of 5 and is 2 squares away from a brick wall that he wants to climb. He takes the walk action and moves 2 squares toward the wall. He then makes an Athletics check as part of the same action and gets a result of 20, enough to start climbing. He's able to climb up only 1 square, however, since each square of the climb costs 1 extra square of movement, and he has only 3 squares of movement left. He ends the action 1 square up the wall.

[Chaos, do you use your minor action for anything this turn?]

[Chaos, what about trying looking for a ladder in the stable?  Place like this out on its own, any roof leaks or whatever they'd need to be able to handle themselves, right?]

[Oh.  The barn is taller than I thought.  I was envisioning half an A-frame where the back end is low and the front end is high and open.]

[OK.  Ending in T11 is fine.]

[Move: T11 to U10 to U8 to T7.  Acrobatics to flip/cartwheel/whatever over the horse in S6: 12+13 = 25 to R5. Move to Q4 and mount Oleg's dino.  Nature to spur the dino to move to L2: 17+13 = 30.  I am still invisible.]

[Oh.  The barn is taller than I thought.  I was envisioning half an A-frame where the back end is low and the front end is high and open.]

[Yeah, it's not a barn, it's a run-in shed.  I used the term as we did in my farming world without really ever explaining it.  They're basically big  boxes that are open on one side.]

[No worries.  The ones around here (used to be around here) are asymmetrical.]

[Here is the situation at the end of Pepper's turn in Round 1, as best I can represent from what we've established in the narration.  Correct me if you see any issues:


Now I need Mari, B, C, the horses, and Val's Round 1 moves.  Martin has told me he passes on Mari this round, and Aden told me to just go ahead without Val if he's not online, so I'll resolve the NPCs now, then it'll be Pepper's turn again.]

Zoder (C2) and Artrelioth (B) look for Pepper inside the roadhouse, Zoder peeking upstairs and Artrelioth going behind the bar and looking into the storage room.  She ignores the frightened innkeepers, closing the door on them once again, then notices the open window and swears.  "Must have gone through it," she says,

The warhorses continue waiting.  One of them nibbles at roadside grass beneath the snow.

Pepper's Round 3 turn!  I assume I am taking the move in post 936?

Pepper's Round 3 turn!  I assume I am taking the move in post 936?

[Yes please.]

[OK.  Ending in T11 is fine.]

[Move: T11 to U10 to U8 to T7.  Acrobatics to flip/cartwheel/whatever over the horse in S6: 12+13 = 25 to R5. Move to Q4 and mount Oleg's dino.  Nature to spur the dino to move to L2: 17+13 = 30.  I am still invisible.]

[Being a warhorse, it's at least six feet at the withers, so I think that's technically a jump, which would be athletics as well.  However, since Pepper could just walk around the horse and still reach the dino within her turn, no reason to nitpick, lol. 

The move action to approach the dino is a move action, mounting the dino is a move action, and a mount moving is also a move action, so I think the last doesn't fit into this turn unless Pepper spends an action point.  Would you like to revise at all, chaos?  Also, you'll want to stealth check again, I believe, otherwise you can now be detected through other senses even though you're invisible.]

[Is riding the clawfoot a good idea?  I mean, it's not invisible.]

[Revise.]

[Starting at R5 with revision.  Question: what kind of roll would you want to incense the dino to charge the front door of the inn.  And would that be a standard action?  Gotta run.  BRB.]

[Is riding the clawfoot a good idea?  I mean, it's not invisible.]

[The idea is that whoever looked would see a dino running away and nothing more.]

[Yeah, but why would it start running suddenly for no reason?]

[Revise.]

[Starting at R5 with revision.  Question: what kind of roll would you want to incense the dino to charge the front door of the inn.  And would that be a standard action?  Gotta run.  BRB.]

[Okay, so it's still round 3, and Pepper has used her move action to approach Oleg's dino.  She still has a standard action and a minor action left to spend.  You are welcome to spend a standard action doing something creative to provoke the dino to run in the direction of the  roadhouse's entrance, yes.  Tell me what you'd like to have Pepper do to accomplish this?  Bear in mind that the dino, if using its own moves and unmounted, it is not under Pepper's direct control and will just react to stimuli, but if Pepper does mount it, it uses her moves.]

[I should also say now, so it doesn't come off as a "gotcha" later, that the mere fact of an angry dinosaur running around may not be sufficient to provoke B or C to go outside, if that's still what your goal is.  After all, they can see (and even attack) through the windows, from cover, and neither of them has low INT or WIS.]

[One would think an angry dinosaur running around would be a pretty good reason not to go outside.]