Ok folks, do we want to charge into this now, or pause and discuss for a minute? I don't see anything of note in immediate evidence.
At the very least we should each take the time to equip ourselves with a bladder so we don't lack for light. Given more than a few seconds to prepare I would certainly take a weapon with me.
First order: are we staying here this evening or returning to Stavanger?
I've enough tents for everyone to fit, I think, but I don't know how tents and campfires affect CLO - is everyone safe to stay the night? If not, do we want to send someone back to Stavanger to get supplies? I think they'd have enough time to get there, pick up blankets and whatever, and return safely, but I'm not sure - Alexis?
I'm currently at half-health and would not mind the opportunity to rest and recuperate, but I'm certainly game for a little exploring - I am dreadfully curious as to what lies in this first room.
We'd established that Lothar needs 4.5 hours to make the journey. Without him, Engelhart who has made the journey twice now could do it in either five or six hours, depending on if he made his wisdom check.
It is about 2 pm right now. Sun is going down at 9:21pm. No one is getting back here in the dark with the exception of Lothar, who would need twice as long after to get back; adding half an hour for business in Stavanger, Lothar starts back at 7pm, loses the light 2.5 hours later, takes 4 hours after that to cover the distance. He gets back just past 1am in the morning.
Making a total of 17 continuous hours of travelling and fighting for him.
They were prepared to sleep below ground, but now that the doors have appeared, they are not as sure.
Bergthora and Valda feel they should look down the stairs to find if there is anything of danger down there; if not, then no one should sleep below ground.
Those both sound fair. My damaged clothing kinda sucks, but I have a rabbit-fur coat I left upstairs. I could tough it out, especially if we had a fire.
I'm at almost full strength, so I'm more than willing to tag along with Em or the hirelings for a quick foray downstairs.
It doesn't seem incredibly likely, given the insects and the trapped doors, but being wrong sounds pretty fatal.
With that in mind, I'll set my battleaxe by the door and get my heavy crossbow. Am I able to load it now, or will I risk damaging it by holding the draw?
Let's cautiously enter and just see what's in this room. In case it's nasty, why don't we get everyone who's not exploring out of the barrow. It's my idea, so I'll go, javelin in hand.
Regarding crossbows. The rule on the draw is as follows:
So long as you load the crossbow one round short of fully loaded, a crossbow can be kept at partial draw for an hour or so, without damaging the bowstring. After done twice or three times, it's best to throw the bowstring away and replace it. Then, just before trouble starts, you can finish loading the crossbow and ready it for about two minutes and expect a good fire. If you're surprised, you can spend one round to finish loading it with the time it takes a long bow (only needs one more round) and then fire it.
Alright. I'll stick behind Embla, crossbow at partial draw.
I know Embla can throw the Javelin with one hand, but she'll want both free for her battleaxe if it comes to it.
Which brave soul will carry our light into this heathen darkness? If I tie a gland or two at my belt, what kind of illumination would that provide?
Maybe we're abusing these things and maybe they'll go dim on us in a few minutes, damning us to devouring by a grue, but I really like these buglights.
I'm at half health, Englehart has cast his spell for the day. We have the food and the clothing for us to last the night. Let's do as Bergthora suggests and leave this for the morning - it will not spoil being left alone for one day more. What we have harvested from the beetles will be enough to cover the food expenses for camping out here.
Before we barricade the door, however, shall we put the fire beetle eggs beyond it? I'd hate for them to hatch in the middle of the night.
Yes, we should definitely put them on the other side of the door for the night. Though honestly I'd be just as happy to smash them, bug eggs give me the creeps.
I've got 200 feet of twine that we can macrame some hanging baskets from tonight around the fire.
[I wanted to add that I'm going to be working on adding rules about weapons and armor to the wiki for a bit, in light of explaining crossbows to Pandred. Pandred, have a look at the weapons link above, it goes directly to crossbow. I'll start adding these details I describe here to the wiki when I remember]
Alexis, I mentioned earlier that Rowan had those three Healing Salves on his body, but just to reiterate given Embla's poor health: do those still exist or were they destroyed?
Being that they were semi-magic, they must have been sealed in some sort of hardened oilcloth pouch, probably infused with pitch to ensure it remained waterproof in the climate, with a tough cord to bind the end. The beetles might have tried to eat their way through it, but I don't think they would have succeeded (or tried for long, once encountering the flavour). So I'll rule they survived.
Checking out the armor descriptions? Worked my way up to Ring Mail.
If anyone has questions about details I'm not covering or ought to include, don't hesitate to point them out. It helps identify what ought to be in the descriptions.
"Will you grant me the light, master Svensson? I'm thinking I may at the least shine the Lord's clarity thither upon the far stones of this unknown chamber with His protection, ere we reseal it."
[Slinging my hammer and fetching Aleksandra's bo stick as probe, I'll cast Sanctuary and hold onto it as I sound the first, let's say, three hexes, being extra careful with the stairway and first hex bottlenecks, then hugging the left wall.]
I'm having trouble visualizing where these doors are at the moment. I got the impression that Pandred and Embla pushed them open, so they would swing over the stairs. But Bergthora says we could block them from opening by piling stuff in front of them? Does she mean we fill the opening with matting or something else?
We could roll one of the bladders down into the room to light it up instead of sending one of our own. Just a suggestion for the group.
I'll help Embla with one of the healing salves. We can save the other two for emergencies, and I'm in favor of Embla and Lothar both carrying one of the remaining pair, to spread our available aid around the party.
Thinking about it now, don't we have to spend a whole day not doing anything in order to get back any hit points? If simply hanging out for the rest of the day and getting a good night's sleep aren't enough to heal at all we may as well go in now. Or if we take it easy until tomorrow afternoon do we get back some HP?
The rest is good enough for Engelhart to get back his Cure spell, and we still have some curative measure in the salves. We won't be at full strength, but we're not exactly forced to plumb these depths all in one go, y'know?
Tomb sat here for a few hundred years, it can wait a couple days for us to completely plunder it.
Although if there are going to be more 4d4 Fire Traps, then we're gonna need a better system for opening doors.
I'm still taking Friday off, but I'll answer a few questions, make a few points.
Engelhart, just to remind you that your sanctuary spell lasts four rounds ~ so that's two rounds out and two rounds back, if you want to be with the party when the spell runs out. Could you please let me know what your light source is?
There is no triggering mechanism for the fire trap. It is a spell. I put the link for the spell on the comment when I said the door was fire trapped. The description reads
"Incorporates an explosive charge into any closed object - a book, box, bottle, chest, coffer, coffin, drawer, door and so forth) so that at the moment of someone's opening the fire trap causes damage. The object itself is not damaged by this explosion, but all items directly in front of the blast (within 5 feet) must make save vs. normal fire."
So the 'mechanism' is that the door was opened. The spell lasts until the trap is discharged ~ so, potentially, a thousand years.
Lothar, I see where I made my error. I did say there were no handles, so you're right, the doors would have had to be PUSHED open. It as later, when I was speaking for Bergthora, trying to figure out how to block the doors, that I reversed the direction of the doors and imagined them opening into the fire beetle room.
SO . . . let's keep it that the doors opened into the stairs and that Pandred and Embla pushed them open, and that Bergthora goofed utterly. I'm going to go back and delete that comment.
Lothar, Engelhart's use of the sanctuary spell is practical; anything he carries, including the light that he makes, will be ignored by anything that is down there. That's his logic.
You have the use of the healing salve correct, Pandred. Embla can drink it, rub it into her skin or pour it into a wound as needed.
Lothar, here are my rules for REST. Note that you cannot just lie about anywhere; it has to be a relatively comfortable place. You cannot "rest" here in the barrow, where it is cold, where you are experiencing mental strain from the danger presented by the open door and the possibility of beetles attacking. So it isn't just that you can go up to your camp and sit there for 24 hours. You have to be "comfortable."
Engelhart can get his cure light wounds spell back, provided that he sleeps 6 hours. However, he must reach a point where he has been awake for 14 hours before he can have a good night's sleep. He cannot just sleep 6 hours at will.
A tent will provide a +1.5 CLO, which can be adjusted/reduced by opening flaps and such.
For the record, you can rest in a tent; however, the tent must be pitched in a relatively comfortable place (the ranger can identify one ~ should add that to the scouting study). Likely, somewhere near the Store Stokka bank would be more comfortable/restful than this location . . . and the lake is about three quarters of a mile away just now.
In that case, Lothar, do you want to go with a couple of our followers to make camp by the lake? With the opening of a dungeon here, establishing a base camp seems like an excellent idea, regardless of whether we explore a little or not today.
Lothar, for some reason the cleric seizes the lamp out of your hand. You see Engelhart start casting a spell, the nature of which you've never seen him cast before . . . and then you just cease to worry about it.
42 comments:
"Englehart, thank you for words of wisdom, words I intend to heed!"
I've:
studded leather armor
chausses
shirt
leather belt with a javelin and battleaxe dangling by thongs
moneybelt
I'll search Gudbrand's belongings for his Sling and Bullets.
Once these are in my possession, I'll be happy to join in.
Embla,
I think a d20 for the shirt, the belt and each of the two sets of thongs. Please.
"Lothar... you do know we can count upon more low cunning, please, be on your guard and put that staff of yours to use!"
Shirt: 18
Belt: 10
Thong (javelin): 20
Thong (battleaxe: 9
It all survives, Embla.
Ok folks, do we want to charge into this now, or pause and discuss for a minute? I don't see anything of note in immediate evidence.
At the very least we should each take the time to equip ourselves with a bladder so we don't lack for light. Given more than a few seconds to prepare I would certainly take a weapon with me.
Let's pause and discuss.
First order: are we staying here this evening or returning to Stavanger?
I've enough tents for everyone to fit, I think, but I don't know how tents and campfires affect CLO - is everyone safe to stay the night? If not, do we want to send someone back to Stavanger to get supplies? I think they'd have enough time to get there, pick up blankets and whatever, and return safely, but I'm not sure - Alexis?
I'm currently at half-health and would not mind the opportunity to rest and recuperate, but I'm certainly game for a little exploring - I am dreadfully curious as to what lies in this first room.
We'd established that Lothar needs 4.5 hours to make the journey. Without him, Engelhart who has made the journey twice now could do it in either five or six hours, depending on if he made his wisdom check.
It is about 2 pm right now. Sun is going down at 9:21pm. No one is getting back here in the dark with the exception of Lothar, who would need twice as long after to get back; adding half an hour for business in Stavanger, Lothar starts back at 7pm, loses the light 2.5 hours later, takes 4 hours after that to cover the distance. He gets back just past 1am in the morning.
Making a total of 17 continuous hours of travelling and fighting for him.
OK. That's out.
Since we cannot get more supplies until tomorrow, but we could still return to Stavanger today, is everyone safe to stay the night or not?
Alexis, how are Petar and Willa - do they have enough clothing to safely camp out?
They have blankets.
They were prepared to sleep below ground, but now that the doors have appeared, they are not as sure.
Bergthora and Valda feel they should look down the stairs to find if there is anything of danger down there; if not, then no one should sleep below ground.
We could try to barricade the door for the night and make it work from there.
Those both sound fair. My damaged clothing kinda sucks, but I have a rabbit-fur coat I left upstairs. I could tough it out, especially if we had a fire.
I'm at almost full strength, so I'm more than willing to tag along with Em or the hirelings for a quick foray downstairs.
It doesn't seem incredibly likely, given the insects and the trapped doors, but being wrong sounds pretty fatal.
With that in mind, I'll set my battleaxe by the door and get my heavy crossbow. Am I able to load it now, or will I risk damaging it by holding the draw?
Let's cautiously enter and just see what's in this room. In case it's nasty, why don't we get everyone who's not exploring out of the barrow. It's my idea, so I'll go, javelin in hand.
Regarding crossbows. The rule on the draw is as follows:
So long as you load the crossbow one round short of fully loaded, a crossbow can be kept at partial draw for an hour or so, without damaging the bowstring. After done twice or three times, it's best to throw the bowstring away and replace it. Then, just before trouble starts, you can finish loading the crossbow and ready it for about two minutes and expect a good fire. If you're surprised, you can spend one round to finish loading it with the time it takes a long bow (only needs one more round) and then fire it.
Alright. I'll stick behind Embla, crossbow at partial draw.
I know Embla can throw the Javelin with one hand, but she'll want both free for her battleaxe if it comes to it.
Which brave soul will carry our light into this heathen darkness? If I tie a gland or two at my belt, what kind of illumination would that provide?
Maybe we're abusing these things and maybe they'll go dim on us in a few minutes, damning us to devouring by a grue, but I really like these buglights.
Bergthora suggests making a little twine basket for the glands, which then could be hung from the neck, lighting the room in front of those moving.
I'm at half health, Englehart has cast his spell for the day. We have the food and the clothing for us to last the night. Let's do as Bergthora suggests and leave this for the morning - it will not spoil being left alone for one day more. What we have harvested from the beetles will be enough to cover the food expenses for camping out here.
Before we barricade the door, however, shall we put the fire beetle eggs beyond it? I'd hate for them to hatch in the middle of the night.
Yes, we should definitely put them on the other side of the door for the night. Though honestly I'd be just as happy to smash them, bug eggs give me the creeps.
I've got 200 feet of twine that we can macrame some hanging baskets from tonight around the fire.
[I wanted to add that I'm going to be working on adding rules about weapons and armor to the wiki for a bit, in light of explaining crossbows to Pandred. Pandred, have a look at the weapons link above, it goes directly to crossbow. I'll start adding these details I describe here to the wiki when I remember]
Alexis, I mentioned earlier that Rowan had those three Healing Salves on his body, but just to reiterate given Embla's poor health: do those still exist or were they destroyed?
Being that they were semi-magic, they must have been sealed in some sort of hardened oilcloth pouch, probably infused with pitch to ensure it remained waterproof in the climate, with a tough cord to bind the end. The beetles might have tried to eat their way through it, but I don't think they would have succeeded (or tried for long, once encountering the flavour). So I'll rule they survived.
Checking out the armor descriptions? Worked my way up to Ring Mail.
I certainly am. I always like to know a bit more about the bits that keep me alive.
If anyone has questions about details I'm not covering or ought to include, don't hesitate to point them out. It helps identify what ought to be in the descriptions.
"Will you grant me the light, master Svensson? I'm thinking I may at the least shine the Lord's clarity thither upon the far stones of this unknown chamber with His protection, ere we reseal it."
[Slinging my hammer and fetching Aleksandra's bo stick as probe, I'll cast Sanctuary and hold onto it as I sound the first, let's say, three hexes, being extra careful with the stairway and first hex bottlenecks, then hugging the left wall.]
Also, while I'm at it, let me ask, what was the triggering mechanism for the fire trap? Is there anything obvious left for me to look out for?
I'm having trouble visualizing where these doors are at the moment. I got the impression that Pandred and Embla pushed them open, so they would swing over the stairs. But Bergthora says we could block them from opening by piling stuff in front of them? Does she mean we fill the opening with matting or something else?
We could roll one of the bladders down into the room to light it up instead of sending one of our own. Just a suggestion for the group.
I'll help Embla with one of the healing salves. We can save the other two for emergencies, and I'm in favor of Embla and Lothar both carrying one of the remaining pair, to spread our available aid around the party.
Wiki says 1d4 for healing, so here's that.
d4: 3
"Thank you, Pandred".
Thinking about it now, don't we have to spend a whole day not doing anything in order to get back any hit points? If simply hanging out for the rest of the day and getting a good night's sleep aren't enough to heal at all we may as well go in now. Or if we take it easy until tomorrow afternoon do we get back some HP?
The rest is good enough for Engelhart to get back his Cure spell, and we still have some curative measure in the salves. We won't be at full strength, but we're not exactly forced to plumb these depths all in one go, y'know?
Tomb sat here for a few hundred years, it can wait a couple days for us to completely plunder it.
Although if there are going to be more 4d4 Fire Traps, then we're gonna need a better system for opening doors.
I'm still taking Friday off, but I'll answer a few questions, make a few points.
Engelhart, just to remind you that your sanctuary spell lasts four rounds ~ so that's two rounds out and two rounds back, if you want to be with the party when the spell runs out. Could you please let me know what your light source is?
There is no triggering mechanism for the fire trap. It is a spell. I put the link for the spell on the comment when I said the door was fire trapped. The description reads
"Incorporates an explosive charge into any closed object - a book, box, bottle, chest, coffer, coffin, drawer, door and so forth) so that at the moment of someone's opening the fire trap causes damage. The object itself is not damaged by this explosion, but all items directly in front of the blast (within 5 feet) must make save vs. normal fire."
So the 'mechanism' is that the door was opened. The spell lasts until the trap is discharged ~ so, potentially, a thousand years.
Lothar, I see where I made my error. I did say there were no handles, so you're right, the doors would have had to be PUSHED open. It as later, when I was speaking for Bergthora, trying to figure out how to block the doors, that I reversed the direction of the doors and imagined them opening into the fire beetle room.
SO . . . let's keep it that the doors opened into the stairs and that Pandred and Embla pushed them open, and that Bergthora goofed utterly. I'm going to go back and delete that comment.
Lothar, Engelhart's use of the sanctuary spell is practical; anything he carries, including the light that he makes, will be ignored by anything that is down there. That's his logic.
You have the use of the healing salve correct, Pandred. Embla can drink it, rub it into her skin or pour it into a wound as needed.
Lothar, here are my rules for REST. Note that you cannot just lie about anywhere; it has to be a relatively comfortable place. You cannot "rest" here in the barrow, where it is cold, where you are experiencing mental strain from the danger presented by the open door and the possibility of beetles attacking. So it isn't just that you can go up to your camp and sit there for 24 hours. You have to be "comfortable."
Engelhart can get his cure light wounds spell back, provided that he sleeps 6 hours. However, he must reach a point where he has been awake for 14 hours before he can have a good night's sleep. He cannot just sleep 6 hours at will.
Thank you for the information, Alexis. Given all that, why don't we cover Englehart as he scouts the room.
If the search is uneventful and invites no more trouble, I recommend retreating above-ground and recuperating.
Alexis, how do tents affect CLO while resting? I have some spare clothes and we have Alexandra's bearskin as well.
Embla, regarding tents.
A tent will provide a +1.5 CLO, which can be adjusted/reduced by opening flaps and such.
For the record, you can rest in a tent; however, the tent must be pitched in a relatively comfortable place (the ranger can identify one ~ should add that to the scouting study). Likely, somewhere near the Store Stokka bank would be more comfortable/restful than this location . . . and the lake is about three quarters of a mile away just now.
In that case, Lothar, do you want to go with a couple of our followers to make camp by the lake? With the opening of a dungeon here, establishing a base camp seems like an excellent idea, regardless of whether we explore a little or not today.
I'd love to put up another pic, but I'm still waiting to learn what light source Engelhart is using.
The lamp we unearthed, straight and simple.
One of the hirelings suggested the making the glands into a twine necklace.
I'mma go ahead and do that.
All right.
Lothar, for some reason the cleric seizes the lamp out of your hand. You see Engelhart start casting a spell, the nature of which you've never seen him cast before . . . and then you just cease to worry about it.
The next post is up.
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