Of them, 69 are walking the beat, and the other eighteen behind desks or standing at posts. Guards patrol in units of 2d4[1], leaving fourteen groups to canvas the city. Two patrol the East Shore, two South Korvosa, seven within the mainland’s main walls, and three patrol Old Korvosa.

Moving at a sustainable pace, each patrol moves 400 feet per minute.

To hear the sound of combat is a perception DC of negative ten, we’ll say someone deliberately shouting for help is 10 lower. Guards tend to have +3 on their perception checks, but some have much higher and all 2d4 of them get a roll. They take a -1 penalty for every ten feet and a -10 penalty for every wall between them and the source of the noise – all said they’re likely to notice something’s wrong when their patrol puts them within 400 feet of the growing catastrophe – the noise of which spreads towards the Old Dock at the speed of a running humanoid and in all other directions at the speed of a human double-moving over difficult terrain.

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1. According to the Guide to Korvosa's random encounter tables.↩

Guards! Guards!

Round 61 (12:06:06)

The patrol runs to meet Sepedy, taking position between her and any pursuers while she shares the story.

Corroborating screams and fleeing townsfolk are hot on her heels.

Meanwhile, near the West Dock, another patrol is alerted. A stroke of luck for Midland - you wouldn't expect Ooljee's stealthy second front to be caught this soon.

Round 62 (12:06:12)

Every patrol of the Korvosan Guard[1] carries one or more loud bugles easily heard by everyone indoors within a mile and out of doors within Korvosa.

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1. Source: that's the way I'd do it. ↩

Watch Sergeant Verik Vancaskerkin makes the perform (wind instruments) check to play the tune for “oh god oh god, we need so very much backup”.

It's a simple tune, and they've drilled it extensively.

From Midland sounds a similar signal song.

I need coffee. And lesser restoration.

This is going to be another all-nighter.

If the Guard patrolling Korvosa’s narrow streets beneath the Shingles is Varisia’s largest military force, the Sable Company Marines in the sky above are Varisia’s most elite. The Sable Company posts eyes and spies from Nidal to the Nolands, keeping tabs and making preemptive strikes on smugglers, pirates, and Shoanti.

But when Korvosans think of the Sable Company, they don’t think of undercover operatives in Riddleport or Magnimar – they think of rangers on hippogriffs soaring high above the city and bay.

Two hundred marines sleep in the city’s great tower, which is two-thirds of the force sum total, which implies that there are at least 200 marines in the city right now – let’s say 246, another 2% of Korvosa's adult population – which at this late hour implies seventy hippogriffs on the wing within four hours at an easy pace of their aerie (35 units of 1d3 rangers within 32 miles of Korvosa).

Even if they’re all within two hours of Korvosa (16 miles), many will be at first too far afield to hear the signal horn. But when those who hear it echo the tune, the skies of Varisia resound with alarm. Recalling a ranger will take but a few moments.

Zero moments. It will take zero moments.

I keep a squad of marines in the air above Old Korvosa at all times.

And the noise should wake the rangers in the Tower; they sleep in their armor.

You don’t command the Sable Company. They answer only to the seneschal of Castle Korvosa, as a check on the power of the monarchy and Korvosan Guard.

Details.

Round 65 (12:06:30)

Endrin Island is a semicircle roughly a mile long, but the guards blew their horn at about the mid-point of the island, which unsurprisingly is also where the hippogriffs are flying. Three Sable Company Marines land on the scene with the Guard and demand a situation report.

A ranger also lands in Midland.

Thank you for hovering, MOTHER.

WHAT do you WANT FROM me?

Round 66 (12:06:36)

"Ghosts," says Verik Vancaskerkin, "that spread their curse like wights. They shout 'all Korvosans must die.' Dozens at last sighting. Now... maybe a hundred."

"Hear the horns? Maybe hundreds."

Although rangers get a lot of skill ranks to play with, none present have taken knowledge (religion) (which, as a matter of convention, also covers the undead). But everyone knows that if there are undead, you should get a priest. “Sostens, go the the temple of Pharasma, Vassus, the bank of Abadar. I’m told you can cut an angry spirit with a magic sword, I’ll see what magic arrows do.”

As he flies to where the danger is, Rutio casts magic fang, plays a signal tune to bring the Sable Company to his position and takes the lid off his everburning torch to make that position more visible.

The Midland ranger does much the same.

Before Combat If able, a hippogriff-mounted marine casts magic fang on his mount before engaging in combat.

During Combat A Sable Company elite marine fights from atop his mount when possible, combining his hippogriff attacks with his own shortbow composite longbow attacks. He focuses on favored enemies first, unless an obviously greater threat presents itself.

Morale When protecting innocents or defending a fallen comrade, a Sable Company marine fights to the death. Otherwise, he withdraws if reduced to less than half his hit points. If a fellow marine goes down, he attempts to pull that marine to safety as soon as possible, as long as other comrades are still up.

Round 71 (12:07:06)

With a 100 foot fly speed, Rutio is soon flying over the panicked crowds of Bridgefront. Hippogriffs are much faster than wizardflight, though they can’t ascend as steeply. If he counts on ghosts not being any faster than wizards, he figures he can stay within the second range increment of his longbow without fear of being charged.

Unfortunately, shadows at the ground 130 feet or more from him have +25 or more to stealth. He can only spot one if it leaps out of the darkness and attacks someone in the street, at which point he can start launching arrows that do a pathetic 1d8+3 damage divided by two. For however many seconds the shadow stands there being shot at before deciding to run and hide, or just phase through a wall or into the ground.

I can launch four of those arrows in six seconds.

And, this is Pathfinder, not 3.5 – Sable Company marines should have Deadly Aim.

With the penalty to hit I’m not actually sure you’d do more damage.

Hrmmn. Mounted Archery maybe isn’t the greatest feat for circling in one spot full attacking shadows. I could swap it out. Run the numbers with and without Deadly Aim so I know what I’m buying?

The formula for how many rounds it takes for a marine to kill a shadow is a mite more complicated than for shadows killing humans. The marines make four attacks per round (with 6 Base Attack Bonus, and Rapid Shot and Multishot – one of those attacks is made at a -5 penalty and another can’t critically hit) and longbows do x3 damage on critical hits. All said the formula looks like: 2h(d+3cd)+hd+(h-0.25)(d+3cd) all divided by two (because shadows take half damage), all divided by the shadow’s hitpoints.

In the second range increment of the longbow, without penalties for the mount double-moving, without Deadly Aim, h = 0.6, d = 7.5, the shadow’s hitpoints are 19, the ranger deals roughly 8.9 damage per full attack and it takes three of those to drop a shadow.

With Deadly Aim, h = 0.5, d = 11.5, the Ranger does an average of 11.1 damage per round and it takes two full attacks to drop a shadow.

The Sable Company marines would definitely have Deadly Aim, and I’m offended you ever suggested otherwise. Just because we’re mounted archers, you’d give us Mounted Archery? Absurd. The most important skill for a marine to have is the ability to circle sedately in the air full attacking foes with 15 AC or less.