After a brief debate on how to best handle the situation the group springs into action. Iara is first to act, walking just into the edge of the clearing (have to be within 30 ft for Confusion) and reaches out with her Unseelie magicks to attempt to fuddle the mind of the large axe-wielding bandit at the table on the right. Much to her dismay though the curse seems to have no effect (rolled high in his will save) and she is now standing in the clearing, making for a very pretty target for the bandits.

The Plumekith, Mattia, is next to act. He moves up just as the Faerie before him had, but stays just within the cover of the forest, hoping to be able to use the trunks as cover. The thunderous crack of igniting black powder echoes through the silence of the forest as a bullet is forcibly propelled from the barrel of his trusty pistol, striking the heavily armored bandit in his left shoulder, blood soaking through the cloak he was wearing. (11 damage)

Savis, reckless in his youth, rushed headlong into the clearing and recalling the luminous webs of the Dream Spider hurled a mass of webs at the inhabitants of the table on the left, hoping both the entanglement and resulting hallucinations would help his comrades in the battle to come. (all three failed their saves, taking a point of wisdom damage)

Finally the Alchemist, his short legs not allowing him to move quite as quickly as his taller comrades, rushes to the edge of the clearing behind the table gathered on the left. Raising his Splashbow he took aim at the larger of the three bandits and let a pelota fly. The impact also caused the bomb within to explode with a loud, concussive burst that caused birds in the trees to take off into the sky. (13 total damage to the axeman, as they were seated no reflex save was given so the other two take the full 6 from the splash damage) The luminescent webs that "Puppy" had hurled at the table immediately burnt away into a cloud of colorful, and quite poisonous, vapor that caused those at the table to choke and cough as the hallucinations brought on by the webs worsened. (an additional -3 Wis damage)

With the element of surprise all but exhausted the battle continues on, as it seems the efforts of the collected group have not yet won the day.

Still choking on poisonous vapors the swordsman from the left table attempts to rise to his feet but is suddenly startled by a horrifying image brought on by the vapors and stumbles backwards into the table, losing his balance and falling prone. (Crit fail on a check to see if he could rise while choking)

((This now brings us back to Iara's turn, the stumbling swordsman had the highest init roll, but it seems the one-two punch of Dream Webs and Fire has removed him from the action for now.))

Grinning at the disarray the group had thrown the bandits in, Mattia pushed his back against the tree. He quickly drew a powder satchel and bullet from his bandolier and stuffed them in to the barrel of his trusty pistol. Dropping on to one knee, he spun out from behind the tree and once more fired upon the bandits.

((OOC: Thanks to the quick reload feat Mattia only needs to spend his movement action to reload. From there he'll target the same bandit he did last time. +9 vs Touch AC; 1d8+1 DMG ))

Zick grunted with satisfaction as his bomb struck true. He really loved that bow. The others had had some success as well, although he couldn't tell if Angel had accomplished anything. But clearly she had tried. And she was a target, hopefully the Pup could protect her. He wasn't really in a position to do so yet.

But he could try to finish off the group on the left. He badly wanted to reload the bow and shoot again, but the one drawback of a crossbow design was the amount of time it took to reload. So instead he would just use his own arm. He was a pretty good shot - and even more so with the mutagen raging through his system. He wanted to aim at the middle guy again, but he was down thanks to whatever it was Puppy had been up to. He wanted to maximize the bombs ability to splash - since he had moved a little to the left already he aimed at the one to the left - hopefully the other two at that table were a bit behind the guy to be hit by the splash. Certainly the one on the ground should be within splash distance, and with any luck maybe two . . . Gotta love a good bomb.

So Zick quickly triggered the bomb agents and threw his bomb at his target. He stayed just inside the tree line hoping it would give him a bit of cover.

(Zick is aiming at the left most bandit - I believe it is the one with the rapier. If I am wrong and the other one standing would give him a better shot at splash damage he will aim there. He is throwing the bomb.

Thrown bomb: +5 hit (dexterity at 21, +2 3rd lvl, -2 for distance thrown)- Bomb 2d6+4 damage, plus splash damage to all within 5 feet - 6 points, save for half.
Also, his AC goes up to 18 with the improved dexterity.)

A thread of fey magic spun out from her and hit a wall. The axman had resisted her charm and his mortal will would protect him for the rest of the day. Iara wanted to scream and rain death down on him. Instead she found another path.

Retreating back into the cover of the woods, Iara began to draw on the power of the unseen world. With wordless intonations she made the shadows dance. Snapping her finger's, the faerie spoke a final word of power and summoned globes of impenetrable darkness around the heads of the bandits. It was little more than a glamer, but one need not believe the illusion to be blinded by it's darkness.

((OOC: Silent Image: Targeting the bandits on the left. Each has a globe of darkness surrounding their head. Iara will be concentrating on the spell to move the globes with the bandits.))

Iara struggled to hold back her disdain for the fat human pig that had dared to resist her attempts to cloud his mind as she once again invoked the sylvan magicks that flowed in her veins. With a motion toward the left table she spoke one word and caused phantasmal masses of darkness to envelop the heads of the 3 gathered there. (all 3 failed, no action this turn, or until they succeed at a save next round)

Mattias took advantage of the cover to swiftly reload his weapon before whipping around the tree and lining up the sights on his pistol once again, looking to put yet another hole in the bandit he had already perforated. It seemed his aim was less true this time as the projectile thundered harmlessly past the bandit and into the cabin wall beyond.

The bandit locked his gaze on the gunslinger and leveled his heavy crossbow and let fly a bolt. His aim, however, was no better and the bolt struck a tree and stuck. Frustrated the bandit threw his crossbow to the ground and drew his sword and shield, readying himself for up close and personal combat.

Savis, ever eager to protect his companions, charged the large bandit at the right table, his trusty rapier in hand. Using the momentum of his charge he was easily able to strike the bandit in the shoulder, puncturing his leather armor with ease. (6 damage)

Taken aback by the audacity of this DOG the bandit staggered back slightly and drew his axes, swinging both at young Savis in an act of retaliation. To the bandit's further dismay neither of his axes struck the beast before him as the swift Beast Mage was able to anticipate and avoid the attacks.

Zick, quite pleased with the results of his first bomb, opted to throw another bomb, noting that it would simply take too long to reload his contraption to be effective in this situation. With all the might his little Gnomish arms could muster he hurled the bomb once again toward the bandit at the center of the left table. As before the bomb found its target, exploding with a fiery bang. (12 fire to target stuck, 6 to adjacent bandits).

The rapier wielding bandit at the right table drew a glass vial from his belt pouch and drank down the contents, vanishing from sight. (potion of invisibility)

Mattia cursed as his shot went wide of the target, he jerked to the left as the retaliating crossbow bolt slammed in to the tree beside him. As he peered out from the bush he started to reload his gun, and he noticed that one bandit disappeared after producing a small glass vial. Muttering to himself he shifted in behind the tree and closed his eyes for a moment.

As he opened his eyes, he turned to the right and sprinted out from behind the tree. Staring at where the bandit who had turned invisible had been, he aimed for the shimmering outline and fired his pistol once more.

Reloading his pistol, he shifted as far behind the table as he could before putting another shot in to the invisible bandit.

((OOC: !:Move action reload, free action to 5ft step behind tree, standard action for casting see invisibility.

2: Move 30ft in a right diagonal, standard action to fire on the not so invisible bandit

3: Move action to reload, Standard to fire on the same target, free to make a 5ft step towards the table))

A wicked smile painted itself across Iara's face as the illusory darkness embraced the bandits. Unable to see, they stood frozen with fear. For as long as terror claimed them, Iara would maintain the glamer. May it send them into nights final embrace.

((OOC: Iara will concentrate on the silent image for as long as it is effective to do so. If the bandits die or become unaffected, she will use Confusion))

Zick smiled as his second bomb found its target. These guys were tough, but hitting three at once should help. And having them blinded didn't hurt any either! How do you dodge a bomb when you can't see? As he grabbed a third bomb he glanced at the table to the right. He really wanted to lob something that way, but with Puppy in the middle of the fight he didn't dare. He'd have to hope the bird man was a good shot.

So instead he readied and threw a third bomb - using the same target as the first - the poor guy in the middle of the left hand table. As always, the goal was to get as much splash damage as possible.

(Future round plans: As long as the fight is in question, Zick will use his bombs. If the blindness stays on the left table, he will look for an opportunity to switch targets to the right, but he is always careful not to hit his teammates. Also, he is a fan of splash damage. So he will do his best to align his targets in such a way that he maximizes his chance for splash. This might mean moving left or right to line them up a bit. If there is a target that is alone (no splash possible) and not blinded, he will instead use a tanglefoot bag. Plenty of options, I hope that is clear.)

Iara had just been mentally patting herself on the back with how well her latest trick had accomplished its goal, when to her shock and dismay two of the three bandits reached up to attempt to remove whatever was covering their eyes, only to realize that in fact nothing was there. With that realization the blackness vanished and the bandits were again able to see. Iara cursed under her breath and ceased her concentration on the spell causing the final orb of blackness to vanish as well. She once again approached close enough to attempt to befuddle the mind of one of these mortals and sent out a disorienting curse at the breastplate wearing bandit at the left table. Once again though the curse seemed to have no effect and the Faerie found herself cursing her foul luck.

The bandit furthest to the right loads his hand crossbow and lines up to take a shot at the woman standing just outside of the tree line and releases the mechanism causing the bolt to fly from the crossbow. It whizzes past Iara harmlessly, striking a tree and dropping to the forest floor. (just barely missed too)

Mattias ducked into the cover of the tree again, quickly reloaded his pistol and focused his vision to allow himself to spot the ruffian that had vanished before their eyes.

The thug that Mattias had previously shot seemed to be scanning the tree line for any sign of the source of the bullet embedded in his shoulder, but being unable to spot the Plumekith he instead turned his attention to Savis, rushing to his comrade's aid against the Beast-Kin. As the bandit stepped up menacingly the Beast-Kin stuck out with his rapier, masterfully striking the very point of Mattias' bullet wound, with an agonized shriek of pain the bandit fell, succumbing to his wounds. (5 damage, brings that bandit to -2 hp)

Savis turns his attention back to the large axe swinging brute before him, striking out once again with his rapier. This time however the brute of a man saw the strike coming and deflected the rapier blade with the handle of one of his axes, causing the thrust to miss.

The other axe wielding brute rushed over from the table on the left to aid his comrade, taking up a flanking position against young Savis, and tripped quite gracefully his own axe, cutting a nasty gash into his plump stomach and began bleeding out. (8 points of damage, crit fail on the attack roll against Savis, brings his hp to -3.)

The other axeman once again swung his axes wildly, with Savis easily evading the erratic attack. (attack rolls 2 and 6 just don't cut it)

Zick, finding that his favored target had wandered away and inadvertently gutted himself decided this was no time for a bomb and instead pulled a tanglefoot bag from one of his many pouches and hurled it toward the breastplate wearing human at the most left position at the right table, which he reasoned should prevent the thug from joining the melee against Puppy. The bag stuck squarely against the breastplate and spilled its contents, which hardened upon exposure to the air, rooting the bandit to the table where he stood.

Mattias, being the only one that could see him at the moment, noticed the invisible bandit sprint off behind the cabin and vanish from his line of sight, apparently deciding that it was better to live a coward than stand and fight.

((next round starts here))
The entangled bandit strikes at the good with his sword, hoping to break himself free, but is unable to free himself from the adhesive. (10 of the required 15 damage has been dealt)

Iara, resigning herself to the fact that the bandits were somehow resisting her curses once again faded back into the tree line, plotting what her next move should be. (I'm not sure what else you want to to, so I'm going to have you take cover and watch for an opportunity to strike again)

The bandit that had fired a hand crossbow at Iara drew his rapier and rushed Zick, the Gnome having forgotten just how quickly the taller races could cover the distance was not fully prepared (no attack of opportunity, but not flat footed at least) as the bandit thrust his rapier toward the Alchemist. The bandit however had misjudged his target and thrust too high to connect with the Gnome, leaving Zick quite unharmed, if not a little startled.

Mattias, finding that his original target was now bleeding out on the ground, and the invisible foe he had intended to pursue was long gone decided to close the distance between him and Zick and aid the Gnome with his current bandit problem, reasoning that as Savis seemed to have his situation under control he was in less need of assistance. Mattias lined up the shot from just within the cover of the trees and squeezed the trigger, producing yet another thunderous boom which echoed through the calm of the forest clearing. The bullet connects with flesh, causing a spray of blood as the bandit flinches and screams in agony. (8 points of damage)

Savis once again thrusts with his trusty enchanted blade, hoping that he connects with this thrust. His blade strikes true and he even manages to twist the blade, inflicting further pain on the plump assailant before him. The pain causes the bandit to drop one of his axes. (crit, 12 damage)

The bandit retaliates with his remaining blade, finally managing to strike the agile Beast Mage, who is able to raise his arm in time to keep the blade from striking any vital organs. (5 damage)

Zick takes a step back and quickly hurls the bomb he had previously prepared at the bandit that has swung at him, striking the taller assailant easily while also avoiding any splash from the bomb itself. As the flames engulfed the bandit he dropped to the ground, his last breath consumed by the flames. (13 damage, bringing him to -10 hp)

((round 3 begins, 2 bandits remain))
The bandit that had found himself glued to the table once again slashed at the adhesive holding him in place and is able to free himself from the sticky mess that had bound him in place. However the stiff adhesive still slowed his movement so he was only able to move up to where Savis was standing. Savis, ever perceptive, swung around quickly and thrusts with his rapier at the approaching thug, finding his mark, and another bandit drops to the Beast-Kin's strikes. (6 damage bringing him to -4 hp)

Iara, still fuming at the foul luck she has experienced thus far remains hidden within the trees, the small fey that crowd around her taunting her and teasing.

Mattias decides to conserve ammo and powder and spends the round reloading his weapon in case something else come out of the cabin. With that thought he turns his keen avian eyes to the cabin and spots movement through the window, something is in fact moving in there, and heading toward the door.

Savis once again strikes at the overweight bandit before him, striking another precise blow and twisting the blade he causes the bandit to drop his other axe at this feet and stagger backward before falling to his knees. (another crit, 8 damage. not enough to take him down, but enough to render him staggered from back to back crits)

The bandit then passes out from blood loss, falling unconscious, but breathing steadily. It seems he will recover if allowed to.

The victory is short lived though as the door of cabin comes flying off the hinges and crashing to the floor between the table and the doorway. In the doorway stands a hideously scarred and burnt Hobgoblin, his grotesque chest uncovered by armor or clothes, he wears no red armband like the other crumpled figures lying around the clearing, but instead a bright crimson sash around his waist, marking him as a high ranking bandit within the Crimson Fist. He steps out of the cabin and bellows menacingly, "You have some nerve coming into my forest and interrupting my hot and wet fun with the twins here!" With that two females step out of the doorway and take places at his left and right side. The one on his left wears a flowing grey robe, a similar red sash, and her flame colored hair, contrasting starkly against her copper-hued skin, seems to move as though it were actually a flickering flame. The figure to his right has skin the color of the sea just after a storm, and her thick straight hair is a darker shade of the same oceanic blue. She wears leather armor and also wears a red sash around her waist.

((This is where I will stop it for the week, I do not have these three fully written up just yet, though I do know race, class, and level, so it's just a matter of getting them down on paper. Please post proposed courses of action for the following combat, and I will update as soon as I have posts, or Monday, whichever is sooner.))

As the last of the bandits fell, Zick was about to urge his companions to be careful, there was still the invisible one about somewhere, when three new figures emerged from the building. Dang! He had known that was a possibility all along, but a little guy can hope, can't he? Still, they had managed to get through the first fight pretty well unharmed, so it wasn't like they were in rough shape. Besides, it was very nice of them to all stand so nice and close together.

With that idea in mind, Zick grabbed another of his bombs (he still has 4 left) and chucked it at the figure in the center. Splash damage should be a given for this.

(Other rounds: How do you handle crossbow loading? You had a bandit load and fire on the same turn. I had one gm who said crossbows take a round to load and then a round to shoot - so you only shoot once every two turns. If he can load and shoot in one round, Zick would make use of the splashbow. As for future actions, he will likely keep using his bombs, at least as long as he can do so without harming party members - always targeting for maximum splash effect. If the three separate for some reason he will target the one closest to him. If they are mages as appears to be the case, he won't use the tanglefoot bags. (Am I right in assuming that tanglefoot bags wouldn't stop movement for spell casting?) But he does have thunderstones he could throw - if the group is not "splashable," they appear to be mages, and he can do so without affecting a party member - he would throw a thunderstone at a mage. It has a chance to disrupt spells. I forgot to look up attack numbers before posting, but they haven't changed - his dexterity pumping mutagen should still be intact. )

Who can't even charm fat mortals?
Iara, Iara can't!
Who can't even charm stupid mortals?
Iara, that's who!
Who can't charm a clumsy mortal?
It's Iara who never will!

The diminutive fey danced around her signing, laughing, and pulling her hair. Their taunting quickly rose the temperature of her blood providing inspiration to deal with the hideous cretin that popped out of the hut. Faerie magic spun out from to twist around the three newcomers.

Thousands of flashing lights in brilliant colors exploded around the hobgoblin and his concubines. The moment one light dimmed another flashed into existence. Iara focused the light storm around the heads and eyes of her enemies, leaving their bodies clearly visible.

((OOC: Silent Image. She will maintain the illusion for as many rounds as it is effective. Subsequent rounds will be Confusion. If Confusion is not effective Ear Splitting Scream))

Mattia froze in the bushes as the three newcomers exited the cabin. The hobgolin for sure looked the toughest, but to Mattia that wasn't a problem, he did not like the look of the possible mage.

Lining up a shot, he fired upon the woman wearing the flowing robes, before ducking behind a tree to reload. He decided to make the best use of his cover as he could and would continue to rain bullets upon the "mage".

((OOC: Mattia will take a 5ft step to the closet tree to use as cover, then spend his standard and move action to fire then reload. He'll do this until the mage drops, then move on to firing upon the hobgoblin.))

Savis, feeling quite proud of himself for having inflicted some wounds with his new rapier let a savage grin touch his features. This.. The thrill of battle was exhilarating, just letting loose to your carnal desire to kill, to maim to rip. He wasn't Savis right now. But omen.

Suddenly a booming voice interrupted his thoughts and he whipped his head to the new trio. Fresh blood. . Savis shook his head, reining in his bloodlust momentarily and thought of his new companions. Running forward, he got close enough to them, then let loose a cone of steam, attempting to hit the three of them. (or as many as possible).

His plan was to let loose steam, then throw web on top of them, then start stabbing with his rapier, whoever looks the lowest, trying to stay in between the enemies and his new allies.

((OOC: His visage ordinarily would be one of curiousity, happy and go lucky. When he's fighting, he's feral, his eyes are beast like and he snarls and growls like a beast. The beast version of him is called omen.))

((I have rolled new initiatives for everyone involved in the combat, so turns will resolve in a different order this time around. If you want to tweak tactics after the first few rounds (if needed) then just post to that affect.))

Ever quick to act, Mattias ducked behind the nearest tree as the new trio of foes emerged from the cabin. He quickly poured the required powder and bullet down the barrel of his trusty pistol and lined up a shot against the robed figure. With a thunderous crack and spark the igniting black powder propelled the projectile forward, where it connected with the woman's shoulder, causing her to flinch as blood stained her robes. (2 damage)

The leather-clad figure clutching what appeared to be a fragment of bone chanted and gestured, clearly casting a spell. As she uttered the final word of the incantation all three of the new bandits briefly appeared wracked in pain as jagged shards of bone protruded from their joints. She then moved to the left and stepped around the corner of the cabin where she was now out of sight.

Savis, or rather Omen, focused his mind to the time he had faced down a steam mephit with Ace, recalling the burn of the scalding vapor and how it seemed to cling to his fur. Stepping forward he positioned himself by the fire pit and let loose a similar cone of scalding water vapor. The Hobgoblin seems almost to smirk sadistically as the vapor washes over his scarred muscles, barely phasing him in the slightest. (-1 hp) The Ifrit on the other hand seems much worse off from the attack, she doubles over in pain, looking light-headed and off balance. (while she took no damage due to her natural fire resistance, she did fail her save and was sickened for 3 rounds.)

The Hobgoblin now stepped up to Savis and struck out with a mighty front kick, catching the Beast Mage square in his chest. Savis doubled back in pain, the wind knocked from his lungs, but the adrenaline kicked in and he was quickly able to recover, though he would have a nasty bruise from the chain shirt being kicked so forcefully into his torso. (12 damage, which coupled with the axe wound from before puts Savis below 1/2 health, for anyone keeping score.)

Iara, from her safe spot within the woods once again uttered the magical incantations and did the arcane gestures to conjure yet another illusion. This time she sought not to blacken the sight of the bandits they were fighting but stuck out with brilliant flashes of color and light in an effort to distract the foes. While quite lovely looking the results were less than expected by the Faerie as both of her targets easily realized the flashes were illusions. (made their will saves to disbelieve, apparently my die likes rolling some will saves, sorry.) Cursing again under her breath the she Elf stepped out of the cover of the trees and back into the clearing, moving so she could approach the required range for her next trick.

The Ifrit, still reeling from the blast of steam, steps forward to engage Savis, who once again instinctively strikes out with his rapier. The blade strikes at precisely the same location as the bullet fired previously by Mattias, and Omen wrenches the blade roughly as it strikes, tearing robe and flesh alike. (crit for 10 damage) Screaming in agony she raises her hand up and lets loose a cone of red hot flames, which engulf the young Beast Mage. (another painful blow to Savis, who failed his Reflex save and took 11 damage. Leaving him with 2 hp. On the plus side, since the Ifrit was using her racial burning hands, Savis has now learned how to cast it as well, at the same potency she just hit him with.)

Zick, seeing his new canine friend in danger rushes forward from the tree line as quickly as his short legs will carry him and hurls a thunderstone where the Ifrit had previously been standing, knowing that that point of impact would leave "Puppy" just out of the area of effect, preventing him from accidentally deafening his new ally as well. As the stone strikes the packed earth a thunderous boom sounds forth and both the Hobgoblin and Ifrit clutch their ears at the sudden boom at such a close vicinity. (both are now deaf, which imposes Init penalties, and a 20% spell failure chance.)

((Given that it is really late and I have to work in the morning, and the development with Savis taking so much of a beating, I'm going to call the round for now, you can post if you like or I can update more tomorrow with what I have already. I already assume that as the group's designated healer that Zick will be attempting to get close enough to heal Savis asap, however if that isn't correct please feel free to correct me Nomad.))

Iara grabbed the young shapeshifter's head and brought his lips close to hers. Just barely touching, the spoke an word of power breathing life back into Savis.

Releasing the boy, Iara turned her wrath upon the hobgoblin and his trollops. A gossamer web of Faerie magic spun out from her, it's poisonous strands seeking to infect the minds of her enemies once again.

((OOC: Cure Light Wounds on Savis. Then she will try Confusion in the subsequent rounds.))