Adventure: Food of the Gods (DM: ryryguy, Judge: renau1g)

[ryryguy]

This errand just got a bit more difficult. Jaronel, stay with the mules. I'm gonna take a peak inside the palisades.

Jaronel nods and hurries over to the animals, seemingly glad to have a task to focus on.

Kaeysari, Papolstaanas and Chaku creep (or clang) forward and take a look through the gate, while Azryah, Jynxx and Cillani stay alert for anything coming from the jungle or around the outer walls.

[sblock=View through the gate]On the other side of the gate lies devastation and murder. What were once undoubtedly neat rows of cultivated zocalti trees are now a smeared field of black and grey ash. Small fires still burn in a few spots here and there.

The owner of the arm looks like he was once a human warrior, judging from the broken spear and bronze shield laying near the body. His head has been caved in from a tremendous blow and his feathered headdress lies askew, drenched in gore. Twenty feet in is another dead warrior, a dwarven female, viciously hacked to bits. Beyond that is another body; details for that one are hard to make out from the gate.

About fifty yards in, some trees still stand, but they are on fire, as are what look like braced poles adjacent to them. Sheets of netting strung between the poles that once provided shade to the trees glow red, crumble and fall as the flames spread. Fairly thick clouds of smoke surrounding the burning trees block most vision, but two much thicker plumes of smoke can still be seen rising a bit beyond them and to the left. Dead ahead past the swirling smoke you do catch glimpses of the wall of a building. It does not appear to be burning - the other smoke plumes are a bit past where it is, as well as being further to the left.

To the right of the burning trees is a tangled area of undergrowth - it looks like that area was not cultivated, and the jungle has partially regrown there. The tangle extends all the way to the far wall of the palisade.

[sblock=Kaeysari]You spot something grey lying on the ground near the first body, partially obscured by the unfortunate soul's shield. The part that is visible has an oblong shape, a bit less than a foot long. It's not moving.[/sblock]
[sblock=Perception DC 13 (passive)]There are at least three more partially charred bodies spread out in the burned area off to the sides, closer to the walls than the center of the walled-off grounds.
[sblock=Perception DC 18 (active)]One of those bodies does not look burned. Additionally, it looks like some of the trees in that area also did not burn, or at least not completely. It's not immediately obvious because the trees are lying on the ground, covered with ashes and coal-like bits of the pole structures. But some unburned wood and leaves are visible underneath. [/sblock][/sblock][/sblock]

 

[Mezegis]

With no immediate threat apparent, Chaku looks around to the group, motioning those who held back that they could approach. First, I think we should ensure there are no more raiders in the compound, then proceed from there. Two methods I can think of are to circle around the perimeter inside the walls, so that any enemies are only on a single side, or to go directly to the center and fan out. The second is more glorious, but not knowing what we face, I vote the first.

 

[LadyLaw]

Azryah approaches the gate slowly at Chaku's signal, but she doesn't let her guard down. She's still concerned that something could be lurking outside. She stops when she reaches the group at the entrance and looks inside, taking stock of the situation.

[sblock=perception]1d20+9=22 Since it's only been a couple moments, I assumed we'd get the same scene and checks as the others if we approached at Chaku's signal.[/sblock]

The devastation is appauling to her, but she holds back any sounds of alarm or disgust. As she stands there taking it all in, she weighs Chaku's two suggestions against each other.

"Well, if anyone is still inside, we'll find them faster if we fan out, but it would certainly be more dangerous, since one person could run into a group of people. If we stick together and circle, we'll be safer; but anyone who was a part of this that is still here could get away because we might not see them or be able to reach them in time to stop them. I'm not sure which is the better path there.

I do agree that making sure whoever did this is gone is our top priority, followed very closely by searching for survivors and tending to any wounded."

 

[OnlytheStrong]

Jynxx's smile never leaves his face, although the devastation does visibly bother him. "Look around... whoever or whatever caused this destruction, had no small amount of power. I have never seen fire that seemed so controlled."

Jynxx looks around at the area, trying to take it all in. He was looking for some clue as to what could of caused all the damage.

 

[BenBrown]

[sblock=perception]1d20+8=21[/sblock]"Is there any way to put the fire on the trees out?" Kaeysari asks. "I think there's some not burned. I know it's a small thing, but if there's anyone who survived it would be good if there are still some trees here."

Kaeysari walks swiftly over to the first fallen warrior's body. "Let's check the bodies. Maybe someone's still alive. I don't think this one is, but I think I saw something over here," she says, "Maybe it will tell us something." She cautiously lifts the shield to get a better look at what was under it.

 

[Mewness]

Kaeysari follows Chaku and Papolstaanas up to the gates, creeping cautiously forward and looking around for any signs of activity. Her armor clanks loudly despite her attempts at stealth.
"Is he alive?" she asks Papolstaanas as she approaches the bloody arm, unable to see the whole body yet.

"He's... he's..." Papolstaanas stammers, and doesn't manage to get any further before Kaeysari has come close enough to see for herself.

With no immediate threat apparent, Chaku looks around to the group, motioning those who held back that they could approach. First, I think we should ensure there are no more raiders in the compound, then proceed from there. Two methods I can think of are to circle around the perimeter inside the walls, so that any enemies are only on a single side, or to go directly to the center and fan out. The second is more glorious, but not knowing what we face, I vote the first.

Papolstaanas looks up at Chaku and nods rapidly in agreement, without making it clear what he is agreeing to. He gulps, trying not to give way to an attack of queasiness, and fixes his gaze on the less-burned area.

[sblock=perception]Perception check 1d20+6=23[/sblock]

 

[ryryguy]

[sblock=Clarifications]There were a few things I left out of my description, or that might have been unclear.

First, it's not really a big mystery why the fire might not have been more widespread. This is a humid, rainy environment so a fire won't necessarily spread to other vegetation unless it is very hot and/or has help from a strong wind. Also it appears the burned trees were chopped down - I neglected to mention this, sorry. But you can see some blackened stumps. So a fire down closer to the ground would also be less likely to spread. And there are a few spots of ground cover away from the trees proper that are smoldering so it's not like it was perfectly localized.

By the same token though it is worth asking how someone got these live trees to burn in the first place. Just putting a torch to them probably would not have been enough. It could be that some sort of accelerant was used. Or it could indeed be the result of some kind of magical power. At a glance it's not really possible to tell.

Second, regarding surviving trees. The trees in the "unburned area" (everyone made that perception check!) are not standing, they are down on the ground. They may also have been cut down, but you can't say for sure just from the initial glance. If there are surviving trees that are still standing, you can't see them (but there may be a large area you can't see yet).

Finally, regarding the trees that are still burning. These are down on the ground too. I'd say you would be able to see at least some of them at the edge of the smoke clearly enough to see that they also have been cut. These burning trees might be a hazard if you got really close to them (i.e., entered their squares), but they were in rows that are far enough apart that you ought to be able to pass safely between them if you wished.

Circling around is definitely option too, but you'd have to pass through the undergrowth area, which is difficult terrain. The area of undergrowth inside the wall is much bigger on the right side, but you would have to pass through at least a bit of it to the left as well if you wanted to go fully around the trees. I will post a map hopefully later tonight that should make all this more clear.[/sblock]

Kaeysari flips over the dead warrior's shield to reveal a squat stone statuette.



It's about a foot and a half tall. Judging from the blood, hair and bits of bone sticking to the top of its head, it's also the murder weapon.

// Blood not shown in picture, I guess you could imagine it's the red paint or whatever it is in the picture.

[sblock=ooc] Ok, I will post again soon (hopefully later tonight) with a map, but in the meantime please try to give an indication of what each character might be doing and where they might be going. Currently you are all clustered around the gate... probably a few steps inside, but still outside if you prefer.

Speaking of maps, I have some token images for the PCs, but if you have one you'd like me to use, please send me a link or attach the image to a PM.[/sblock]

 

[ryryguy]

Maps

[sblock=Maps!]Ok, here are some maps. It's my maiden voyage with maptool, so results may vary.

(I definitely made a mistake on the background texture, it doesn't provide good contrast, but there doesn't seem to be a way to change it now... also the filesizes on these seem rather larger than they need to be. That may be a function of the fact that I'm showing pretty wide views, but also if anyone knows a good way to cut them down, let me know!)

The first map is a (relative) closeup of where you are by the gate. The blue box indicates the area with the unburned tree and body. The somewhat darker greyish square represent the ashy burned area - there is no particular game effect for this, just to indicate its extent.

[sblock=Map 1]

[/sblock]

The second map is a little more zoomed out view further in. It includes very unscientifically drawn fog of war. The burning trees are heavily obscured so they block line of sight, but from where you stand you have a pretty good idea of their extent. You can also sense that the burning trees extend a bit further north but can't tell exactly how far. You can see the building edge at the very top - smoke prevents a clear view of it, but it's big enough for you to see where it is at least.

[sblock=Map 2]

[/sblock][/sblock]
[sblock=Terrain Notes]
Undergrowth (green squares) - difficult terrain, and provides concealment to Small creatures or prone Medium creatures.

Burning trees (reddish squares) - these squares are heavily obscured terrain (from thick smoke), provide cover, and deal 1d6 fire damage to creatures entering or starting their turn in them.

Smoke (grey squares) - lightly obscured terrain.[/sblock]
[sblock=ooc]Ok, try to give me some idea of what you are each doing. No need to worry about coordinates and exact grid squares at this point, just general notions are fine.[/sblock]

 

[Mewness]

Papolstaanas seems rooted to the spot, staring numbly at the devastation. He clearly will not do much unless someone else takes the lead.

OOC: since there seems to be decent visibility for most of it, I think we can at least go check out the unburned bit as a group. It doesn't seem necessary to run around the perimeter. Papolstaanas will follow the others if they start going somewhere.

 

[BenBrown]

Kaeysari moves from body to body, one by one, checking to see if it was the same weapon that killed them, and searching for any additional evidence of what it was that attacked. She pays particular attention to the intact body, checking carefully for signs of life.