Round 13 (12:01:18)

“THERE IS A GHOST IN BRIDGEFRONT PASSING THROUGH WALLS TO KILL PEOPLE, CALL THE GUARD GET A CLERIC GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!

Seeing her prey alerted, Rodica moves to cut them off at the door. When someone comes to open it, they take her readied attack, and then trying to open the door gives her an AoO as well. The first misses (on a 1), the second hits (on a 4 – humans can’t see in the dark). She deals a single point of strength damage, because dice hate shadows.

The inhabitants elect to exit instead through the window.

Round 14 (12:01:24)

Ooljee finishes off Mauro.

Round 14 (12:01:24)

Poberikender deals three more damage to his venerable target, dropping her dead.

Sepedy Gonzales makes it to the street.

Round 14 (12:01:24)

Rodica charges her quarry, dealing 6 more points of strength damage, and takes her attack of opportunity when he tries squeezing through the window, dealing another 3 and killing him.

But his daughter Beri Ellen made it to the roof.

In three rounds of combat, four shadows became eight.

Round 15 (12:01:30)

Sepedy Gonzales takes off running. She needs to find the Guard.

She considers cutting up Garrison Hill to the Military Academy, but… going uphill, away from the probably-safer-mainland, to rally some trainees? She’d rather go lengthwise down Old Korvosa. There’s always a patrol at the Old Dock at this hour, so that’s the absolute farthest she’ll need to go.

4,000 feet to the Old Dock, over a level road, call it six and a half minutes to run. She hopes it doesn’t take as long as that.

(Technically to ‘hustle’ rather than run – Pathfinder creatures, unless they’re undead, mostly can’t run for longer than a minute.)

Round 15 (12:01:30)

Beri Ellen is a Shingles runner born and raised. She’ll take the bandit’s highway towards the mainland, looking for a cleric; as birds fly the nearest are the Temple of Asmodeus, and since Asmodeans prep at dusk they’ll even still have magic.

(Though, since she’s not quite a bird, and it’d be slower to divert and cross at Eel’s End, she’ll have to swim the Narrows at its widest point. Hopefully there aren’t reefclaws.)

2,500 feet to the Temple of Asmodeus, half of it over difficult terrain, and a swim in the middle, let’s call it a touch under 6 minutes.

It has been one minute and thirty seconds since Ooljee first attacked. Korvosans don't waste time.

Round 20 (12:02:00)

Ooljee and the Andris inform the new shadows that shadows must kill everyone in Korvosa, and to pass this message along to all other shadows. Most of them mostly get it, but not all.

Some of them were very young children. Others want to become single-room hikkomori. Still others have quirks unique to them as individuals.

When a shadow commands its spawn the spawn are supernaturally compelled to obey, but some of them backtalk first, or don't understand. A small fraction will need to be taken by the hand and dragged to where the prey is.

But they can figure it out from there.

While that was going on, Rodica collected Ali from where the silly goober was hiding in a room instead of killing all the Korvosans; she thinks she’ll need to keep an eye on the little creature.

If that's well in hand, Ooljee is heading out. Shadows are faster than humans, and never have to pause for breath.

Racing up the Narrows and Jeggare to the West Dock will take her thirty seconds.

Round 21 (12:02:06)

Round 22 (12:02:12)

Round 23 (12:02:18)

Korvosa is the largest city in Varisia.

It is home to 16,621 humans,

739 dwarves,

371 elves,

369 halflings,

184 half-elves,

186 “other”,

and, as of today – the 13th of Neth, 4407 AR –, sixteen shadows.

Korvosa is ten doublings away from 16,364 shadows.

To kill their victim will typically take a shadow less than 25 seconds. For their victim to spawn as a shadow, an average of 15 seconds.

Call it five rounds on average for a new shadow to receive its orders. To lay eyes on a new victim in the crowded rowhouses and packed streets of Korvosa will take zero rounds in the median case, less than a round on average. Assume another five rounds lost to friction or dawdling at some point in the process.

Absent intervention, shadows will double in number every minute and a half.

We'll double them next on Round 30, for ease of math.

Round 25 (12:02:30)

Ooljee reaches the West Dock. It has been one minute since Beri and Sepedy started running.

Round 30 (12:03:00)

Three minutes into the attack. There are 32 shadows in Bridgefront and 2 in Midland.

Round 45 (12:04:30)

Two minutes since the runners started running. There are 64 shadows in Bridgefront and 4 in Midland.

Round 60 (12:06:00)

128 shadows around Bridgefront, 8 in Midland.

Hey, Ooljee, betcha that by now some Bridgefront shadows have crossed the Narrows.

But have fun doing what you're doing.

huff huff

The Korvosan Guard isn’t some petty neighborhood watch; it’s the largest military force in Varisia.

(Since there are only 700 guardsmen, this might say more about Varisia than it does the Guard.)

But that doesn’t mean that there are 700 soldiers walking the beat at 12 AM on this the thirteenth of Neth.

Not all guardsmen are from Korvosa nor are they stationed in Korvosa; garrisons of the Korvosan Guard protect the city-state’s holdings from Meldraine to Sirathu. Outside of Korvosa, the largest single garrison is stationed in Melfesh – from which they police rebellious Biston and communist Abken. (Source: Guide to Korvosa.)

The Pathfinder Gamemastery Guide suggests that a city watch should consist of 1% the settlement’s adult population.

This city is watched by more than just the Guard: they also headquarter the Sable Company and Order of the Nail.

But Korvosa is a pretty militarized society, so we'll say that on top of the other city-guarding organizations 2% of adult Korvosans are employed by the Korvosan Guard.

There are 246 guardsmen within the city walls.

Again according to the Gamemastery Guide, a city guard works three eight hour shifts – midmorning to evening, evening to midnight, midnight to midmorning. The two nighttime shifts rate a touch more muscle than the daytime one – 35% of the guard versus 30%.

We do six overlapping shifts to minimize gaps in coverage, but you have the basic shape of it right.

So of the 246 guardsmen in the city, 86 are awake at this hour.

87.