Somewhere else...

Binks · Jul 2, 2014

Manbearcat said:
I will not expand our domain or undertake such a radical project with a single raper, thief, and murderous vandal lurking, waiting to kill and plunder.

...

If they return successful, I will consider your idea sponsored by The World Serpent."

...

He opens it and pulls forth an ancient, loose collection of parchment bound by leather.

...

I hope you find what you're looking for."

With that, he begins to grab his things and go.

Well then. It looks like I'm not catching flies with honey here. Time to break out the vinegar. I will impose my will on the situation. He responds to strength and directness so I will give it to him.

The point of my knife goes "thunking" into the wooden table to get his attention as he turns to go.

"I will find what I'm looking for. But first I need those children safe and looked after." I walk across the room to stand face to face with him.

"Your men will return successful. I know the raiders' rear entrance to their underground lair and the ins and outs of their labyrinthine traps. The man I captured will inevitably know the front entrance, which I'm sure is the reason you're bringing him with us. Give me 3 of your men. We will assault them from the hidden entrance to their lair while you wait at the front. If any of the rats escape our wrath, we will funnel them to you to be slaughtered. You risk nothing, or very little, this way. We will fetch the children and my bear and your company will keep the children safe while myself, your 3 men and my bear perform the main assault. I've slain dozens of dark fey, werewolfs, and worse in my homeland. Ridding you of these cretins will be the work of a few simple hours.

When we are finished, the children will return with you and, with The World Serpent's sponsorship, you can begin to set your terrace farming plans in motion. And I will be on my way."

I look at him squarely. My eyes say I will not take no for an answer. "We are agreed, yes?"

[sblock]I'm going to use my + 2 earned from my Streetwise (The soldiers told me of this hunt and I've had time to consider this possible outcome arising) and my + 2 earned from my Insight (This man responds to directness and strength so I will give it to him).

Intimidate + 5 (+ 2 + 2) for a total of + 9. I rolled a 17 (!). Total 26 passes the hard DC[/sblock]

Manbearcat · Jul 3, 2014

Binks said:
I look at him squarely. My eyes say I will not take no for an answer. "We are agreed, yes?"

That is 6 successes. Complexity 2 Skill Challenge complete.

Without hesitation he replies, "we are agreed. When we reach the staging point to arrange an ambush on their lair's front entrance, I will send six men with you, including Terilion, to retrieve the children. Terilion will keep two men of his choosing to assault the lair with you. The other three will bring the children back to us at the front. I will debrief the men along the way.

Get your things. We leave immediately."

We're going to transition here. I'm going to need you to perform a Group Check here (with you being the group!). Give me a Nature, Perception, and Stealth check at the hard DC. If you succeed at two of them, then you've successfully led the excursion back to the children with no complications and you may narrate the journey as you wish. If not, then the group of 3 (this will be a swarm) lose their 1 NPC Healing Surge, you lose 2 Healing Surges and a complication will arise. Yes, you can use Dailies or your Ghost of the Past power to facilitate these checks.

There will be no Extended Rest available to you until this operation is completed. They need this infiltration, assault, and exfiltration performed as quickly as possible because the settlement is vulnerable as it isn't close to full strength with the men gone.

I'll compose the Swarm for the Assault Team accompanying you later. When I do, I'll update this post with it. I would prefer to have you run them but I will do it if you wish. Obviously, you're running your Bear companion. Of note, when the Assault Team Swarm becomes bloodied, I'm going to break it out into just Terilion (Standard) and he will be Bloodied.

Binks · Jul 6, 2014

Manbearcat said:
Give me a Nature, Perception, and Stealth check at the hard DC.

[sblock]Perception + 14. Using Ghost of the Past (2d20s). Rolls = 8, 1. 22 and 15. Failure.

Stealth + 11. Using Essence of the Scout Daily (+ 5 Stealth). Roll = 10. 26. Success.

Nature + 13. Roll = 13. 26. Success.[/sblock]

Manbearcat said:
I'll compose the Swarm for the Assault Team accompanying you later. When I do, I'll update this post with it. I would prefer to have you run them but I will do it if you wish. Obviously, you're running your Bear companion. Of note, when the Assault Team Swarm becomes bloodied, I'm going to break it out into just Terilion (Standard) and he will be Bloodied.

I will control the Assault Team.

I will update with the narrative of the trek back in a bit. ** Updated **

A quarter-leg through out jaunt, the haze overtakes me again as I'm navigating the switchback trails up the mountain. I'm always working to keep the sound of the flowing river nearby. This will lead us back. Truly its an intensive hike. Much, much more rigorous than the relatively simple journey down the flow on my raft.

As we're cresting a harshly graded climb, the sound of the river takes me somewhere else. I drift. My mind is in another time and another place. I'm bathing in a beautiful spring, a wild sylvan glade all around, a waterfall crashing into the pool. As I'm washing myself, I hear a slight noise in the brush. It is as thunder to my ears even with the clatter of the falls. A Quickling is stalking me. I pretend I do not see it. Light catches a glint of its sharp fangs and its death-promising dagger. I wait no longer. I step through the world and appear on the rocks where my bow and quiver lie. I feel the creature gasp in surprise and begin its deadly sprint, bad intentions on its mind. To his dismay, my bow is in my hands quicker than his eye can perceive and my arrows are buried in his throat before his terrible speed can set him upon me. It is a swift death for him. I breathe deeply and look at the elaborate elven runes adorning my bow; "Strike first, strike hard and no enemy shall stand before you."

Taken by this memory, I forget myself. My hands almost let go of the holds of the mountain and I almost fall to my death. Terilion is nearby. He steadies me before it happens. His look is one of consternation. I have no answer but a curt "my lady's blessings upon you." I can feel his look of concern as I move back to the front to blaze the trail. What is happening to me?

We rest once to break the midday fast. It is short. I speed us along and guide our way using my instincts and deep understanding of such places. Monstrous avian beasts, half bird-of-prey and half wolf, are on an afternoon hunt. I carefully lead the men under a deeper canopy to evade their predatory senses. The rest of the trip is tiresome but uneventful. These are hardened men so a day of treacherous climbing and hiking is nothing to them. A rainfall at dusk gives us a welcomed reprieve.

When we arrive at the cave and the reservoir, my bear is standing sentinel from the bluff above. He greets me with affection and I return it in kind. The children are nestled in for the night and I am reluctant to wake them, but I must soon. Only the girl is awake. She does her best not to squeal when I return. I hold her close and tell her what is to happen. She is amazingly resilient. She takes it with understanding and acceptance far beyond her age. The men with me rest momentarily and take food under the stars while I explain the situation to the children in the cave. There are some tears but they are happy to know that they will remain together and will be looked after. They seem to have bonded in these last days together. The men do their best to assure them that things will be ok. When we part ways a short hour later it is hard for all of us, and my bear longingly watches them go. I feel his paternal sadness in the parting. How blessed I am to have him by my side.

After Terilion chooses his comrades in arms and Esmer leads the main force and the children out of camp, I ready for the trip to the place where the marauders made camp. The gully and the rear entrance to their lair is near their. We are exhausted from the 14 hour journey here but we cannot rest and set our minds to that understanding. While navigation at night comes easy to me, I somewhat fear for the other group. Terilion dismisses those fears as they are taking a route back that is well known to their rangers, a few of which have legendary sight amongst them. And they have the captive who knows these mountains well. Our small crew sets out. No words are exchanged. They follow me closely and we move swiftly and stealthily.

When we arrive at the camp where I slew the men and took their captive, we stay back and scan for guards (passive perception is 24). If there are none and we aren't assailed, then I let them know to be wary (readying any ranged weapons while hidden in the nearby brush) as I investigate a bit and look for any signs of fresh tracks or that the camp may have been disturbed (18 check). If all is clear, I lead them down the facing and into the gully where the crevasse in the hardpan is located. I will carefully lead them in. I'm hopeful that the deadfalls that I triggered still allow a little bit of room to squirm through so we don't have to do any excavation.

I'll be trying to attempt to excavate any of the deadfall rocks that I triggered on the way out before. Just the ones required to let us pass, nothing more. Obviously, I want to do this without triggering any falls that might alarm the marauders - Thievery - and I'm going to attempt to Stealthily lead the men through the small, hidden passage into whatever lies beyond. I'm going to give you a series of rolls in case you need them: 19, 5, 20, 3. Passive Perception for any signs of reset traps or enemies is 24.

Manbearcat · Jul 11, 2014

Binks said:
When we arrive at the camp where I slew the men and took their captive, we stay back and scan for guards (passive perception is 24). If there are none and we aren't assailed, then I let them know to be wary (readying any ranged weapons while hidden in the nearby brush) as I investigate a bit and look for any signs of fresh tracks or that the camp may have been disturbed (18 check). If all is clear, I lead them down the facing and into the gully where the crevasse in the hardpan is located. I will carefully lead them in. I'm hopeful that the deadfalls that I triggered still allow a little bit of room to squirm through so we don't have to do any excavation.

Your inspection of the camp reveals that it has been disturbed since you left. But not by any humans. Carrion birds and scavengers have worked over the fetid corpses. Their remnants will be picked clean soon.

You take the men quietly to the opening in the ground and enter the lair unaccosted.

Binks said:
I'll be trying to attempt to excavate any of the deadfall rocks that I triggered on the way out before. Just the ones required to let us pass, nothing more. Obviously, I want to do this without triggering any falls that might alarm the marauders - Thievery - and I'm going to attempt to Stealthily lead the men through the small, hidden passage into whatever lies beyond. I'm going to give you a series of rolls in case you need them: 19, 5, 20, 3. Passive Perception for any signs of reset traps or enemies is 24.

One of the two men that Terilion picked serves as torchbearer for your small group. The warm tufts of your bears fur greet your hand now and again as you move through the tunnel. He is plastered to your side, determined to protect you.

1) Passive Perception 24 reveals that there has been no effort to reset the deadfalls.

2) Thievery - Your first roll @ 19 (28 total) will be for the careful excavation attempt to allow access for your bear and the 3 men you lead without triggering an injurious or noisy collateral deadfall in the process. You are successful.

3) As you make your way down the enlarging, precipitous descent that you navigated before, the sound of water beyond your sight again fills your ears. Passive Perception 24 reveals that the triggered deadfall that claimed the leader of the ragtag group you slew still lies where you left it, as does his ruined, cold, bloated corpse. There are no tracks or signs of passage here.

Seeing his corpse reminds you of the intricate, fishbone-carved necklace that you found on him. It surely belongs to someone in the village.

4) Group Stealth - The next 3 rolls will be to quietly lead them down the rear chamber and infiltrate the lair without drawing attention. Unfortunately (for you!), 5, 20, and 3 will not succeed regardless of how you allot them. 2 of the 3 will fail at the Hard DC. As you navigate the final portions of the precarious descent, just 15 feet from the bottom, your collective movement disturbs some loose rocks. When they crash to the floor they echo ominously and then the sound of "sploosh" occurs as they fall into some deep water. The sound of a hundred or more bats exploding into action accompanies the crackling impact of the rocks. The cavern you're about to enter must open up considerably.

5) Your Passive Perception of 24 alerts you to the sound of a human voice emanating from the cavern "shhhh...shhhh...did you hear that?..." Then...nothing.

What are you doing? Lets keep it incremental at this point.

Below are the stats for the Assault Team Swarm, Terilion once it is bloodied, and your Bear Companion.

ASSAULT TEAM

[sblock]Assault Team
Level 7 Large humanoid (swarm)
HP Bloodied 42 (see Terilion) Initiative + 5
AC 20, Fortitude 19, Reflex 18, Will 18 Speed 6
Resist half damage from melee and ranged attacks; Vulnerable 10 to close and area attacks

Traits

Spear Hedge * Aura 1
Any enemy that ends its turn in the aura takes 5 damage.

Swarm
The assault team can occupy the same space as another creature, and an enemy can enter its space, which is difficult terrain. The assault team cannot be pulled, pushed, or slid by melee or ranged attacks. It can squeeze through any opening that is large enough for a Medium creature.

Standard Actions

Cage of Spears * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (two creatures); +12 vs. AC
Hit: 1d10 + 5 damage, and the target is slowed and cannot shift (save ends).

Coordinated Javelins * Encounter
Attack: Ranged 10 (three creatures); +12 vs. AC
Hit: 3d6 + 7 damage and the assault team shifts 3 squares.

Athletics 11, Endurance 11, Perception 9, Stealth 10[/sblock]

* When the assault team loses their 42 HP, they are removed from play and Terilion remains (at bloodied). The Assault Team and Terilion share the 1 healing surge (21 HP) they are allowed.

TERILION

[sblock]Terilion
Medium natural humanoid, human
Level 7 Soldier, Leader
HP 42/84; Bloodied 42 Initiative +8
AC 23, Fortitude 20, Reflex 19, Will 18 Speed 6

Standard Actions

Harrying Spear (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Melee 2 (one creature); +12 vs. AC
Hit: 2d8 + 4 damage.
Effect: If the target willingly leaves a square adjacent to Terilion before the end of the his next turn, he can deal 7 damage to the target as an opportunity action.

Javelin (weapon) * At-WIll
Attack: Ranged 10 (one creature); +12 vs. AC
Hit: 2d8 + 6 damage.

Fight to the Last (healing, weapon) * Encounter
Attack: Close burst 2 (enemies in the burst); +12 vs. AC
Hit: 2d8 + 4 damage.
Effect: Terilion regains 2d6 hit points for each enemy hit.

Triggered Actions

My Life For Yours * At-Will
Trigger: An enemy adjacent to Terilion hits one of the his allies with a melee attack.Effect (Immediate Interrupt): The attack hits Terilion instead. After the attack is resolved, Terilion uses Harrying Spear against the triggering enemy as a free action.

Athletics 11, Endurance 11, Perception 9, Stealth 10[/sblock]

BEAR COMPANION

[sblock]Bear Companion
Medium natural beast
Level 7 Companion (Soldier, Leader)
HP 68; Bloodied 34 12 HS @ 17 Initiative +6
AC 22, Fortitude 21, Reflex 19, Will 19
Speed 6 Low-light vision

Standard Actions

Frenzied Mauling * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +12 vs. AC
Hit: 1d12 + 8 damage and one creature adjacent to you other than the primary target takes 4 damage.

Ursine Crush * At-Will
Requirement: The bear companion cannot be grabbing a creature.
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +10 vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d12 + 7 damage, and the bear companion grabs the target (escape DC 18).

Defenseless Prey * At-WIll
Target: One creature grabbed by the bear companion.
Effect: The target gains vulnerable 5 to all damage until the end of your next turn and one ally adjacent to the target can make a melee basic attack against it.

Minor Actions

Loyal Companion's Presence (healing) * Encounter
Effect: Close burst 5 (one creature in the burst). The target can spend a healing surge and gains 2d6 additional HP.

Challenging Roar * Encounter
Attack: Close blast 3 (enemies in the blast); +10 vs. Will
Hit: The bear companion pushes the target up to 3 squares, and the target is marked until the end of the bear companion's next turn.
Miss: The bear companion can push the target 1 square.

Skills: Athletics +12, Endurance +7, Intimidate +12, Perception + 11, Stealth +5[/sblock]

Binks · Jul 15, 2014

Manbearcat said:
3) As you make your way down the enlarging, precipitous descent that you navigated before, the sound of water beyond your sight again fills your ears. Passive Perception 24 reveals that the triggered deadfall that claimed the leader of the ragtag group you slew still lies where you left it, as does his ruined, cold, bloated corpse. There are no tracks or signs of passage here.

Seeing his corpse reminds you of the intricate, fishbone-carved necklace that you found on him. It surely belongs to someone in the village.

As we look at the broken body, I retrieve the fishbone necklace from my pack and reach for Terilion's wrist. I turn his hand palm-up and ravel the necklace into his open palm.

In the flickering torchlight I say, "In all the excitement I forgot about this. I found it on this man's dead body and meant to bring it to your people. Surely he stole it from one of them in a recent raid. Please return it to them. It must be precious to them. I hope its return will fill them with happiness."

I look away and lead on.

Manbearcat said:
4) Group Stealth - The next 3 rolls will be to quietly lead them down the rear chamber and infiltrate the lair without drawing attention. Unfortunately (for you!), 5, 20, and 3 will not succeed regardless of how you allot them. 2 of the 3 will fail at the Hard DC. As you navigate the final portions of the precarious descent, just 15 feet from the bottom, your collective movement disturbs some loose rocks. When they crash to the floor they echo ominously and then the sound of "sploosh" occurs as they fall into some deep water. The sound of a hundred or more bats exploding into action accompanies the crackling impact of the rocks. The cavern you're about to enter must open up considerably.

5) Your Passive Perception of 24 alerts you to the sound of a human voice emanating from the cavern "shhhh...shhhh...did you hear that?..." Then...nothing.

What are you doing? Lets keep it incremental at this point.

Ok. Here is what I'm doing.

1) I want to discern if these bats are coming towards us. My instinct says that they are. Its entirely likely that earthen cleft that we used to enter is likely their means to get in and out of this greater cavern complex. I don't know if you want a Nature check or a Perception check (both could apply). Regardless, I rolled a 5. Perception is 14 and Nature is 13. They both pass the medium DC.

2) If they are coming towards us, I guess either:

a) Its a monster and we're just rolling initiative. In that case, I rolled -

Saerie 5 + 7 = 12
Bear 6 + 6 = 12
Assault Team 13 + 5 = 18

b) Its a hazard (which I suspect it is), in which case I'm going to quickly pat everyone on the shoulder (including my bear) and do a lowering hand motion to convey (DOWN!) and fall prone to the ground and cover my head and protect my exposed areas. Everyone will follow suit, including the torchbearer. I doubt you need it but if you want some kind of check for my bear, I rolled a 17. I'm assuming, like normal, I've got strategic control of these companions and don't have to make any requests or rolls when I declare actions for them.

Countermeasure: Endurance - Hopefully we can get a bonus to the defense that the hazard attacks or halve the damage or something. Same rolls with Endurance modifiers instead of Initiative:

Saerie 5 + 9 = 14 (fails even the medium DC)
Bear 6 + 7 = 13 (fails even the medium DC)
Assault Team 13 + 11 = 24 (passes the high DC)

3) If, in the off-chance the bats are going the other direction, then I'd like to solely attempt to sneak into that chamber and scout out the layout, find out who spoke those words, and how many of them there are.

Manbearcat · Jul 16, 2014

Binks said:
As we look at the broken body, I retrieve the fishbone necklace from my pack and reach for Terilion's wrist. I turn his hand palm-up and ravel the necklace into his open palm.

He takes it from you with a nod of the head and a whispered, "I know the maker. He will know whom he made it for. I think you on behalf of the owner."

Binks said:
Ok. Here is what I'm doing.

1) I want to discern if these bats are coming towards us. My instinct says that they are. Its entirely likely that earthen cleft that we used to enter is likely their means to get in and out of this greater cavern complex. I don't know if you want a Nature check or a Perception check (both could apply). Regardless, I rolled a 5. Perception is 14 and Nature is 13. They both pass the medium DC.

Your surmise is precisely correct. They are definitely coming toward you.

Binks said:
2) If they are coming towards us, <snip>

b) Its a hazard (which I suspect it is), in which case I'm going to quickly pat everyone on the shoulder (including my bear) and do a lowering hand motion to convey (DOWN!) and fall prone to the ground and cover my head and protect my exposed areas. Everyone will follow suit, including the torchbearer. I doubt you need it but if you want some kind of check for my bear, I rolled a 17. I'm assuming, like normal, I've got strategic control of these companions and don't have to make any requests or rolls when I declare actions for them.

Countermeasure: Endurance - Hopefully we can get a bonus to the defense that the hazard attacks or halve the damage or something. Same rolls with Endurance modifiers instead of Initiative:

Saerie 5 + 9 = 14 (fails even the medium DC)
Bear 6 + 7 = 13 (fails even the medium DC)
Assault Team 13 + 11 = 24 (passes the high DC)

It is indeed B; a hazard. Your Assault Team's success earns them a + 4 to their Fortitude defence against the Cloud of Pestilential Fangs (disease).

[sblock]Attack versus Saeri 22 total. Hits. 15 damage and Saeri Contracts Bat Filth Fever (stage one)

Attack versus Bear 26 total. Hits. 15 damage and Bear Contracts Bat Filth Fever (stage one)

Attack versus Assault Team 20 total. Misses. 7 damage.

Bat Filth Fever
Those infected by this disease waste away as they alternately suffer chills and hot flashes.

Stage 0: The target recovers from the disease.
Stage 1: While affected by stage 1, the target loses a healing surge. The target also takes a - 1 penalty to AC, Fortitude, and Reflex
Stage 2: While affected by stage 2, the target loses a healing surge. The target also takes a -2 penalty to AC, Fortitude, and Reflex.
Stage 3: While affected by stage 3, the target loses all healing surges and cannot regain hit points. The target also takes a -2 penalty to AC, Fortitude, and Reflex.
Check: At the end of each extended rest, the target makes an Endurance check if it is at stage 1 or 2.
10 or lower: The stage of the disease increases by one.
11-15: No Change
16 or higher: The stage of the disease decreases by one.[/sblock]

The screeching of the bats hammer in your ears as you desparately attempt to cover and protect your flesh from their assault. It is to no avail. The creatures fill the volume of the cavern on their flyby. You feel a thousdand searing pricks and lacerations where your armor is not. You cannot tell if anyone even makes a sound over the insane cacophony of the screeching creatures and the distorted echo that accompanies it.

Within a few moments your blood runs cold and your flesh hot. Your stomach turns and a lethargy takes you. You keep your morning meal down. Immediately, you know you are sick with something virulent carried by the creatures.

When the creatures pass, the cavern is silent save for the echo of their journey out. Then men and your bear pick themselves up. The cast of your bears eyes tells you it is afflicted like you. It scratches its body against the stone walls but little to no sound is made. It moves immediately back to your side.

The torchbearer picks up the flame and the men check on each other silently. They seem relatively unscathed.

Not a sound emanates from the large cavern that opens just below you, beyond your sight.

Alright. If you're wanting to initiate a stealthy reconnaisance effort on the large chamber, that is fine. However, given the situation, it will be a complexity 1 challenge with 2 Hard DCs (rather than 0), one of which must be Stealth.

Let me know what you plan to do.

Binks · Jul 18, 2014

Manbearcat said:
15 damage and Saeri Contracts Bat Filth Fever (stage one)

15 damage and Bear Contracts Bat Filth Fever (stage one)

Yes!...

Manbearcat said:
The torchbearer picks up the flame and the men check on each other silently. They seem relatively unscathed.

Not a sound emanates from the large cavern that opens just below you, beyond your sight.

Manbearcat said:
Alright. If you're wanting to initiate a stealthy reconnaissance effort on the large chamber, that is fine. However, given the situation, it will be a complexity 1 challenge with 2 Hard DCs (rather than 0), one of which must be Stealth.

Let me know what you plan to do.

Alright. I'm not going to let the men know of either my own nor my bear's ailment. That would cause needless concern and I need them to be confident and mentally tip top. Letting such an early setback rattle the group would be poor leadership.

Going to spend a Short Rest and my bear and I will spend a healing surge each to get back to full. I'm at 8/10. He's at 10/12. During that time I'm going to convey my plan to infiltrate the cavern and find out what we're up against. I'll do so using very noncomplex hand signals. When everyone understands, I'm going in.

My understanding of things is that we're moving down a steeply graded sort of chimney. Maybe 35-40 degrees or so and then it drops out at the bottom so I have to navigate a short drop (less than ft) and then stoop to enter? That is the way I pictured it. That is pretty trivial so I'm not going to mechanically resolve that. Here is what I think.

Once I drop down, I'm going to gather one of those rocks that would have settled at the bottom. I'm assuming it is probably pitch dark but perhaps I can see the glow of the men's torches within. I want to pick up one of those rocks and chuck it far into the room to the right. I want it away from the left wall as this is where I'm sneaking in to. Once there, I plan to feel my way by hand. Hopefully the rocks will reveal a climbing path to me. I'd like to climb to a ledge to get a birdseye view of this cavern. Lets see how it goes.

[sblock]Bluff - Secondary Skill. 8 + 5 = 13. Passes the easy DC. Using that + 2 for my diversion to Stealth at high DC.

Stealth - Primary Skill. 10 + 11 + 2 = 23. Just passes the high DC.

Dungeoneeering - Primary Skill. 12 + 8 = 20. This passes the medium DC.

Athletics - Primary Skill. Either this or Perception could be high given the scenario. My check is much worse in Athletics but I'm going to go with this one being the high one. If you're not ok with that, let me know. Mighty Sprint wouldn't apply here as I'm quietly and slowly stealthing. However, I am going to use Ghost of the Past for 2d20. Need a 14 or better (ack). Rolled a 3 and a 6 (!). Failed.[/sblock]

Clearly this wall is beyond me! I'll obviously stop there so you can tell me what happens.

Saerie smoothly navigates the short drop at the bottom of the chimney. Quietly, she hefts a rock and throws it into the murky dark, far out and to the right. The men in the room respond and wave their torch(es?) that way. They are deep in and its difficult to get a look at the layout as the cavern is dotted with stalagmites. Instantly, she is skulking along the left wall, feeling her way in the dark and hoping for handholds to climb high up to see what, and who, is here. As she sets to climb and ascends a short distance, her mind is consumed by another vision. In Brokenstone Vale there is an almost impossible rock climb that only a few can claim on their resume. Saerie has never had the opportunity...but whomever's history she is peering to certainly has. She is high. So very high. A sound from above. A Wyvern!... Saerie shakes free of this awful memory as something besets her in the real world!

Manbearcat · Jul 20, 2014

Binks said:
Clearly this wall is beyond me! I'll obviously stop there so you can tell me what happens.

Looks to be that way...

Binks said:
As she sets to climb and ascends a short distance, her mind is consumed by another vision. In Brokenstone Vale there is an almost impossible rock climb that only a few can claim on their resume. Saerie has never had the opportunity...but whomever's history she is peering to certainly has. She is high. So very high. A sound from above. A Wyvern!... Saerie shakes free of this awful memory as something besets her in the real world!

Not quite a Wyvern, but a venomous obstacle nevertheless.

As Saerie scales the pitch black wall, almost utterly shrouded in gloom, her hand reaches for, and finds, hold after hold. That is until she nears 30 feet up, nearing the ceiling, and she encounters something much less desirable. Her fingers find cold rock at first but as she pulls herself up, she feels a hundred skittery legs run across her hand and up her forearm. Mandibles bite into her flesh to hold it in place and maxillipeds pierce flesh to inflect numbing venom. Centipede! Its only the size of her forearm but creatures such as this can bring down a small animal with the potency of their poison.

You lose a Healing Surge. If you can handle this situation a the medium DC, you can pull yourself up to a small landing, nestled below the ceiling, and make a Perception check at the hard DC. If you fail to deal with this situation, you fall to the cold stone below, take another HS loss and make some racket in the process. Good luck!

2/4 successes

1/3 failures

1/2 high DCs

Binks · Jul 21, 2014

Manbearcat said:
Centipede! Its only the size of her forearm but creatures such as this can bring down a small animal with the potency of their poison.

Manbearcat said:
You lose a Healing Surge. If you can handle this situation a the medium DC, you can pull yourself up to a small landing, nestled below the ceiling, and make a Perception check at the hard DC.

Ok. 7/10 surges remaining. But Saerie "ain't got time to bleed." I think she's just going to shake this off like it never even happened.

[sblock]Endurance + 9. Rolled 7. Total 16 passes the medium DC.

Perception + 14. Rolled 19. Total 33 passes the high DC.[/sblock]

A grim, determined look crosses the elf's face. Without an outward response to the pain, she raps her arm against the cold stone hard enough to crush the creature. She pulls herself up the last few feet to the landing. Unnoticed, from this vantage she can see the entirety of the cavern. She takes in the entirety of the layout and formulates her next move.

Well, that does it.

* How big of a cavern are we talking?
* Stalagmites and stalactites throughout?
* Underground river on the far side that runs down toward the bay?
* How many marauders oppose us and what is their positioning with respect to the cavern's terrain features?
* Is there a lip to this landing that I can use to get cover up here?

Manbearcat · Jul 23, 2014

Binks said:
* How big of a cavern are we talking?

Plenty big. Probably 20 * 20. You're on the West wall. You entered through the South. The river is on the East. To the North is the opening that leads deeper in. This is where the bad guys entered from.

Binks said:
* Stalagmites and stalactites throughout?

Correct. Some of them have been dripping for so long that they form a connective column of calcium carbonate, serving as blocking terrain. Some of the stalactites are in their very early genesis and are quite fragile. Before you ask, yes, you can use them to terrain stunt. They're fragile enough that a well-placed, powerfully loosed arrow would dislodge it and can bring the AoE shrapnel pain to those beneath.

Binks said:
* Underground river on the far side that runs down toward the bay?

Correct.

Binks said:
* How many marauders oppose us and what is their positioning with respect to the cavern's terrain features?

3 men. There is one torchbearer. He is nervous and probably is the one who freaked out over the rocks. He's looking out into the darkness beyond his sight (from where you came). He's got the torch out before him, pointing that way, and is attempting to peer into it. Another guy is scooping buckets of refuse from of a wheelbarrow and handing it to a third guy. This third guy is doing the important work. Along the North wall, there are several, heavy chains on rings. These chains are leashed to 3 pony-sized lizards. Their jaws look extremely powerful and you sense that their tails could do some damage too (thick like a gators...they must be powerful swimmers). When he goes over to them, he unclasps them, touches their heads with affection and whispers to them. He puts the bucket of muck and refuse in a large trough and they eagerly lap it up. They are loitering not too far away away from the north wall.

Where they are with respect to the terrain features:

- If you want to do a terrain stunt, then you'll use Dungeoneering (medium DC) and weapon vs AC. If you succeed, then you can locate one of the aforementioned, weak stalactites nearby the grouped marauders for a ranged 10 burst 1, limited-use attack; 1d10 + 7 damage. You can get all 3 bad guys + 1 lizard.

- The bad guys aren't too far from the caves egress (with respect to you guys). No columns are in your way so you have a clear line of sight.

- They would be about 18 squares from the other entrance and about 10 from you (once you get to the bottom).

- They are also about 10 from the river (which has a strong current northward).

- 15 feet would put them into the tunnel behind them.