You bring your first load of goods up to the storeroom where you entered this part of the frogling lair. Where do you want to store your goods while you go get a second load?
Willa is rattled from her near fall; if it had not been for Embla's hand, catching her, she'd have died. Willa's morale drops a point in favor of anything Embla will tell her to do now, but she will volunteer right now to stay and guard the stoneware and metal goods.
"Is that all right?" she asks.
Who else is going back in. You've done two passes over the bridge, and the third pass will be roll free. You'll be +3 wisdom as you bring back a second load.
Instructions?
38 comments:
We can leave this among the barrels, or the base of the ledge and let Willa get them up a bit at a time.
I'm not particularly concerned.
I'll make my way back over and collect another load.
Get them up ... where?
Yeah, I get where you're getting at, Alexis.
Gang, unless we at least salvage some makeshift packs or loot bags we're looking at going nowhere fast with this stuff.
Also: Embla, ring us up. It feels like safe haven awaits us on the other side of that door.
Alrighty, big ol' twenty something foot ledge in the storeroom. I thought it was smaller for whatever reason.
Just set this nonsense on the rocks out of the muck for now and deal with it later? I'm not joking when I say I'm prepared to tediously climb up and down that ledge with one piece of ceramic at a time if need be when it's time to go, but right now this treasure is fragile, heavy, and unhelpful.
You can put it in the storeroom, no problem. I'm wondering what you're going to do with it OUTside? Stack it in the open by the trees, where someone else might find it?
I didn't think we'd move it outside until we were leaving.
Do I have that right, or did/would anyone else have any other idea?
I have a different question.
Where is the donkey, and who is watching it?
The donkey is way back with the troops we met up with. We left the donkey and a lot of our stuff with them to go scouting the smoke off in the woods.
Then ...
Once you get the stuff to the top of the dungeon; and go back and get your weapons; then how are you going to get both your weapons and the stuff back to the donkeys?
Just wonderin'
Like I wrote above, we'll need to jury rig something or make a cache.
Stash the loot among the barrels, or... could be inside the door we've not yet gotten sorted out.
I don't really want to go around playing the mule until the ring has been tried on the door.
Agreeing with Engelhart here. Dump this stuff on the rocks out of the muck and figure it out later. If anything we've been premature in moving it in the first place.
I'm not contesting that intention. I'm counting 75 lbs. of stoneware and 85 lbs. of metal goods gotten into the storeroom, packed among the barrels (as easy as leaving it in muck).
Embla and crew, sans Willa, return to the kitchen. Embla's ring has no effect whatsoever on the door. It appears to be Wizard Locked.
How far along in the day are we? I've lost all notion, what with the running's break and all.
Call it late afternoon.
I'll run some loads in my backpack, then. It seems like we'll be overnighting somewhere near by. The storeroom seems inviting but if Lothar finds us a better spot...
Whenever you fellows decide to pick back up, just to say that I'm still game to check out the bottom of the ruined stairwell. I've still got some spells left on me, including Sanctuary so I'm good for an exploratory jaunt.
If the door is Wizard Locked, PHB says it can still be broken down. I'm guessing, and Alexis can correct me if I'm off base, that his version of the spell probably requires a Wisdom check, or at the very least the specific intent of destroying the door in question to try and damage it.
Or he can say I'm not a Mage and I'd have no flippin' clue how the spell works, which is fair enough.
So we may have both exits as an option, if we're willing to make some noise.
My wizard lock is tougher; I always thought the PH awful weak. I'll write about it in the wiki tonight.
I'm working late today, so don't expect to see me.
I'm around. I have tomorrow off, so we can run a bit if people are up for it.
I wish to get a better look at the semi-collapsed stairway.
You mentioned a 55-degree slope of crumbled steps, which I'll admit to not be properly visualizing in terms of difficulty in traversing.
I have no special agility sage ability, I'm really just a clod with a crucifix. How hard would it be for me to descend, safely and silently?
It is as difficult as a normal staircase, but the stones are out of place or ground away. There are signs of water damage. You can make your way down, but it would be a hell of a place to fight a combat (multiple rolls for slipping).
Moving silently is, as ever, a matter of stealth. Since the stairs would be difficult to manage in total darkness, you'd want a light. A bullseye lantern could be adjusted to emit only "starshine."
We then calculate the distance at which you'd be heard: base 10 to 60 feet away (roll 2d6 hexes). -4 hexes for interior, -1 hex for your level. Then, being in chain, you're +3 hexes and carrying full weapons (they bang together), there's no further adjustment.
You can improve this by ridding yourself of all weapons (-2 hexes) or carrying a light club (-1 hex). You could shuck out of your chain and leave your hauberk and chausses (making you AC 9) and you'd lose the +3 penalty.
So, with just the club, I'd roll 2d6 and subtract 6 hexes. That's a 5 in 6 chance that you'd be close enough, if you alarmed something, you would be within range to rush forward and attack (you'd have 5 AP), and a better than even chance that you'd see something before it discovered you were there.
It really is a very good system.
Pandred, I've put up the rewrite of the wizard lock spell:
http://tao-of-dnd.wikispaces.com/Wizard+Lock
To me, it needed to be the equal of other second-level spells, to have real power and to be a positive defeat against free movement. Transforming it into a door that could still be bashed down seemed lame. After all, you can always bash down a non-wizard locked door, too.
I've also just now added additional information and illumination effects to the stealth page on the wiki:
http://tao-of-dnd.wikispaces.com/Stealth+%28sage+ability%29
Alright, stairs it is.
I'm willing to go on, but I've got no stealth, and I am not personally prepared to risk a lighter armored run.
I know you mentioned using Sanctuary earlier Engelhart, and unless Embla or Lothar want to join your fearless foray I think it'd be a worthwhile idea.
I ask for a lantern and shed away all weight other than hammer & shield. This still leaves me at 4 AP as the armour is just too damn heavy and not taking it doesn't look like a good tradeoff.
Here’s the thing, I obviously don't want us to get into trouble, just to get a finer sense of where we're heading and some intel of how safe it might be to overnight in the storeroom, seeing as it is still rather near to the potential focus of danger.
For all we may know, the beast may have been put down already, rather than left to rampage across the frogling compound. If all I find is closed doors, we can feel somewhat safer.
Beside faith in the Lord, I'm gathering that such a brute must make more noise than I ever would.
(If the party will give me missile cover from up above, I might be able to duck on their command?)
Fjall will load his crossbow.
Action, Engelhart?
I took the time to read the rules and get a better grip on them.
It seems that should I lose the armour and shed all weapons there's virtually no chance of being discovered as long as I take measured steps and keep it cool down there.
Since the plan wasn't to triumph through arms anyway, I'll go ahead and strip down to hauberk and chausses. Once AC ceases being a concern, might as well leave both shield and hammer behind, as well.
You mention 'starlight' illumination but then treat it as 2d6 instead of 2d6-1. Could I have misread?
Anyhoo, that's a minimum of 2d6 (-2,-1,-4) = -7.
Down I go.
[When I wrote my comment about stealth to you, there was no category for "candlelight." I equated candlelight to starlight at that time. Then I went and rewrote the table, adding candlelight and the two levels of lantern; because I had told you candlelight was 2d6, I dropped starlight 1 point on the updated table. That substantially kept my original statements to you about your chances unchanged]
Fjall's crossbow is loaded; Engelhart, your statements seem to suggest that you do have a candle, but you made no actual mention of lighting one. Could you confirm that you are, in fact, carrying a candle?
Nay, I asked to be granted a light (now there's a thing I've promised myself to invest in if we do get some loot across the border!)
Once I'm handed one, down the hatch I go.
We could spend all day waiting for someone to say they have a candle. I'm just going to circumvent that and have Bergthora give Engelhart a two inch snub of a candle, which he can light from the lantern.
And down he goes.
The stairs curve after a drop of some twenty feet, or nearly two complete flights. About half the way down, Engelhart can see a large, dark patch on the wall, reaching from about two feet above the cleric's shoulder all the way down to the floor. Upon closer examination, this is plainly blood, and still slightly damp to the touch. There is quite a lot of it ... and signs of blood spill further down the stairs. It looks to the cleric like something fell against the wall here, rested, then continued to move down the stairs.
And at that point, Engelhart can hear something large, about twenty or so feet away groan, shift, and begin to snore ...
I choke down a prayer to the Lord.
Ahm, how far away from the stairtop is my near-naked self? I'm guessing ten feet as I'm still at the point where the bloodstain can be found?
The *thing* is thus some 20-odd feet from me, with the bend still between us, correct? Can I get Sanctuary cast without waking it up?
Correct in assessing your location. It would take you one round to get to the top of the stairs.
There is a bend between you and the sound.
As far as the sanctuary casting waking whatever it is up, you have no certainty one way or the other. It might. However, you can whisper the casting of the spell; you don't have to shout or anything.
I've seen it treated several ways, was trying to see where I stood. Of course you can't guarantee anything, that just would not do.
I'll step ten feet up and then cast the spell. It allows me to move under wraps for eight rounds at a pace of 10 feet each, that gives me ample time to go there and back again, seeing what I can see.
If you detect any crass miscalculation on my part, give me a hint.
Oh, and though this is kind of tacitly implied, I *warn the others* of what's cooking.
Because of the nature of the stairs, and its vertical nature, you'll have to move half-speed up and down the stairs or risk a fall; that's four rounds from top to bottom. Because of this, you might want to reconsider climbing to the top before casting.
I do want to get away from implied actions; we can retcon when it works reasonably, that is, when you're at the top of the stairs and casting the spell, you can say, "Oh, and I informed the party." That's cool. You can't retcon when you're on your way down the stairs, that's uncool.
Shield and Handaxe drawn and ready. Waiting with bated breath.
Understood, I'll make handsigns from my present position to warn the party that our predator's here.
I then cast Sanctuary from my present position and descend to get a view around the bend. According to my reading of the description I'll be able to power the oil lamp to its fullest without drawing notice.
The next post is up.
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