24 - 4e style

"Leyra, can you explain how those two zombies can be created. I might have an idea, but..." asks Nathan

[SBLOCK=OOC]By memory, a monster knowledge of an undead is Religion, so I help Leyra to do a Religion roll so she can tell us more about the zombies.

Roll:15
That should give a +2 to Leyra's roll if she follow Nathan advice[/SBLOCK]
 

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[sblock]Well, that might be an interesting tidbit of information but knowing exactly how these zombies were created won't in anyway help you understand why they were here. Remember, the objective is discovering the truth behind the smuggling.

Barrion'S check was more acceptable because knowing who Janz is would give an idea of what he is usually involved in and what his objective might be. Sadly, it failed but luckily, with the information relayed to Control, sooner or later you will have that answer anyway.
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Garrick rummages through the house. After a thorough check he finds nothing and is about to abandon in disgust. Suddenly his attention is drawn by the table. It has been freshly chipped in two distinct spot. It looks too deliberate to be an accident. What could it mean? His intuition is that someone used the table to illustrate a plan, planting daggers or other edged instrument in the table at strategical points of interest.

On a hunch, he scours the house and finds a map. It has been damaged... Fitting it over the table he can see it matches small tears on the parchment. The house has been circled and so was a spot on the Forge river.

Confronted by this piece of information, the tiefling cracks and becomes even more forthcoming. He admit that he had also been tasked with bringing the stuff in the barn in wagons and dump it in the river at the marked spot. What this stuff is he has no idea, except that he knows it must be kept cold.
 
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"Must be kept cold, eh! Hence the zombies I suppose? Nice! I've never heard of walking ice buckets before."

Despite his apparent levity Garrick's features are cold and thoughtful.

"Does anyone have any idea what this stuff might be? And more to the point" he says, turning towards the barn "is it still in there?"
 


Round 2

As soon as Dagran enters the house he notices an acrid smell. Pushing through it in starts inspecting the barn. It's filled with heavy sacks. Cutting one open with a knife he is startled as a white powdery substance reacts with the open air and burst upward. It is momentary and sudden. He waves it away irritably. Then he can see a constant haze evaporating from the hole in the bag. Whatever it is, this ain't salt...

Suddenly Dagran feels nauseated. Survival instinct takes over and he rushes out.

Endurance (1d20+13=20)

Dagran suffers no serious ill effect though his throat is sore and it hurts slightly when he breath.

[sblock]
Round 2

5 success
1 failures

Dagran acted

Even though Dagran rushes out, he gathered enough intelligence for someone to take an educated guess at what this stuff is.

At this point there is only one thing to do; an Arcana check. This will be the 6th success and will unlock a new objective and pimary skills.

Many character can make this check and many can help though of course you have to remember that the counter is still ticking.[/sblock]
 


Leyra

When Nathan asks her about the strange zombies, Leyra thinks about it for a moment, to see what she can figure out about them.


OOC: Religion 20 - not meant to be part of the skill challenge.
 

After hearing Dagran's description of the stuff in the bags, Barrion's eyes widen.

"I've heard of that substance! It's called Gray Death and it could potentially destroy the agriculture in this area if it was released into the water supply."

[sblock] Arcana: What is that stuff? (1d20+13=18); I assume primary skill and success. I will edit once I know what the stuff is. Sorry, I missed the previous check...there was no exposition with it, so I glossed over it.[/sblock]
 
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Mirage and Barrion put their impressive arcane talents together and soon the wizard deduces what this substance is : Gray Death.

As a poison, it's deadly but uncommon because it takes a large lab and a talented alchemist to produce. You can easily find a natural poison just as deadly that don't require this much hassle.

But there are two things that make it special; it can be mass produced. As expensive as it is, it is still derived from salt, a very common material. No matter how wealthy you are, you can't get wagon load worth of Wyvern poison but you can produce tons of gray death if you put your mind to it and have the ressources.

The second thing to know is that the grer death can turn a land barren almost permanently. It's basically the same as salting the earth but the result is far more agressive and permanent. If you dissolve it in the water, than all the land that is irrigated by that water will die. Nothing will grow on it.

The main weakness of ghost powder is that it needs to be kept cold or one of the active element evaporates. This is solved by dissolving thegreay death in the water. It will then remain active for several hours and once its seep into the ground, the damage is done.

-''Control one to all agent! As I said, this was just one lead of many linked to what we thought was a salt smugglin ring! One of the lead was to another nearby farm. This one is near the Kevell dam. It controls the irrigation system that waters half of our lands!

The city state of Undhil isn't quite self-sufficient as far as agriculture and cattle is concerned. To lose just 10% of its farming land would be a catastrophe provoking famine and population exodus. To lose 25% would destroy the city state as a political power and kill about 100 000 person. To lose half is unfathomable.

-''You are the closest team. You have to get to the Dam. Get there, now!''

The agents take a look south, toward Kevel. Straight line gets right through the woods.

[sblock]I know it is not exactly useful to turn Barrion's check into a 'aid another' action since Mirage check suceeded... but the roll was there for Shaggy to see. Pay attention to what comes before you.

New Objective : Get at the dam, NOW! YOU ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME! AAAAAH!

Primary : Endurance (at least 2, never the same PC) This simply represents running for an extended period. If you know long distance running, you know that running in a pack afford some advantage. Some of it involves wind resistance (though not nearly as much as in cycling), most of it is psychological. In that context, making a successful endurance check basically involves getting in the lead for a while and setting a good pace for the group. No assistance on that check.

But there are plenty of others potentially useful skill, be creative. Two are especially important and will grant both successes and yield a support bonuses to other checks... Try guessing which (it's fairly logical).

Tally

6 success
1 failure

Nathan, Garrick, Leyra still up for their action this round
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