Difference between pages "The Next Morning" and "Aftermath Goblin Camp"

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'''The DM:''' There are clouds that roll in the evening of May 29th and at midnight it starts to spatter rain.  By three in the morning there is a steady light rain falling, but as you're all used to Norwegian weather, even being stuck in a tent is still tolerable.  Even through the night, the temperature is merely cool, so no one is freezing — it's just wet.  It is still raining when the sun rises, though all you see is diffused light, as the sky is dark grey throughout.  There's not much wind, no more than a light air.  We start the running with the rain stiffening a little, but not so much that pools are forming on the ground.
+
__TOC__
: Vafrandir and Willa each gain a hit point.  Vafrandir should roll a d20; his wisdom is effectively 3, so he has a 3 in 20 chance of waking up.  I roll a 15 for Willa, so she is still unconscious.  Actions?
 
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I roll an '''18'''.
 
  
'''The DM:''' you'll be able to make another check after Pandred gives you a drink from her bottle.
+
'''The DM:''' Looking around, noting the tents, rifling the bodies, and before you go look inside any of the tents, it catches your eye that there's the burnt out chest in the firepit, apparently of human make.  Additionally, the staff in the hands of the shaman WAS glowing.  Point in fact.
 +
: I'll calculate the experience; look for it on this page.  Please let me know if you took or caused any damage not highlighted in red.
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Was glowing - not IS glowing?
 +
: '''The DM:''' correct.  Was.
  
'''[[Embla Strand]]''' Welp, we should have someone here to watch over Vaf and Willa. Might Marcule do that while Pandred and I search the ship?
+
'''The DM:''' There's no way around it, Pandred's constant thumping is an asset that will help her go up faster in levels.  Vafrandir managed to get through a fight taking no actual damage. That's a first, isn't it?  Here are the totals, assuming I've got all the damages.
 +
: Embla: 445
 +
: Marcule: 425
 +
: Pandred: 919
 +
: Vafrandir: 270
  
'''The DM:''' You can have Oddsdrakken do that as well.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Considering I've spent most fights in single digit HP, I'll take it!
  
'''Pandred''': Giving the salve to Willa. I roll a '''1'''. Willa, you up?
+
'''The DM:''' I assume you rifle the bodies.
  
'''Pandred''': Vafrandir, my rationale is that Willa is unleveled, and therefore can only go as low as -4. She gets more stats from her hp right now, and closer to activity.
+
'''The DM:''' Okay. Getting late. See you on mondayOut.
: '''The DM:''' you mean a drink from the bottle?  Please don't refer to the bottle as a "salve."  That just confuses things. Yes, that wakes her upAssuming you want to know what happened, she explains that her and Fjall saw the flag, investigated, found the bag and Fjall opened it.
 
::'''Pandred''': Sorry, the bottle was explained to me as "dispensing a salve" per day. I assumed it was some ever-full unguent, not a potion.
 
::: '''The DM:''' It does dispense a salve; but for sanity's sake in a text-format, please include the word "bottle" in the description, as in, "I give a salve from the bottle" or "I let her drink from my salve bottle" — simply because we're stuck in this turn-based communication process.
 
  
'''[[Embla Strand]]''' I return to the ship.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Plenty of time to rifle and inspect on Monday. Out.
  
'''Pandred''': I will join her. Willa and Odds will remain with Vafrandir.
+
'''The DM:''' In/Out.  Slept in. Give me 45 min.
  
'''The DM:''' Very well. To make a long story short at this point, this isn't a lengthy dungeon that needs clearing out.  The spider appears to have eaten everything in the ship that may have been alive.  There are some thirty skeletons throughout the ship, most of them located in the spider's lair, which is the transformed mess-and-crew sleeping areas.  Hacking your way through the webs, you find access to the captain's cabin and the stores.  The ship is leaking water from the rain, but it seems to run in rivulets across the floor and drain out again.  In the captain's cabin, there's an iron coffer containing 472 g.p., 93 s.p. and 14 c.p.  The clothes, drapery, small bed and chair, along with a desktop, have all suffered water damage, as the window access to the outside is broken.
+
'''The DM:''' Okay. In. Where do we start?
:'''The DM:''' The stores are mostly dry, but there are mice turds everywhere so that there is a danger of disease from eating any of the 30 bags of oats, the rotten salt-pork and anything else in a sack.  There are, however, ten sealed clay jars with about 5 lbs. of lutefisk, an airtight barrel of wine and 3 sealed barrels of beer; each barrel contains about 63 gallons of the liquid.
 
  
'''[[Embla Strand]]''' I haul the clay jars, wine, and barrels back to our campsite. The money is a welcome sight.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' In.
  
'''[[Embla Strand]]''' Do we want to try to find the person to whom the title belongs? That could be rather lucrative, albeit take us far from our newly-purchased home. Would it be possible to figure out in roughly which direction the ship was traveling?
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' We'll check the bodies quickly, but I'm more interested in the shaman's tent and if there's anything left of the chest. I'll check the chest first in case there's something nasty hiding in the tent.
  
'''[[Pandred]]''': This is probably a stupid question, but would any amount of the ship itself be salvagable? Some quantity of lumber or other bits and bobbins that would still be usable? I don't particularly want to abandon our hexploration for a trip to Denmark...or Scotland for that matter, but I am interested in the title owner as well.
+
'''The DM:''' The bodies are wearing clothes that are, on inspection, ragged.  There seems to be nothing they're wearing that's new, and in places their boots are worn right through, with holes in the soles.  No goblin has a belt pouch or any valuables, apparently, except that each is wearing a heavy bronze medallion on a chain, with links that are unexpectedly heavy; each of these weighs about 12 lbs.  For 60 lb. goblins, they'd be onerous to wear; the medallions have the same geometric pattern, a woven pattern; nothing distinctive that you recognize and very much a common Norse style.
 +
: These medallions are worth 32 x.p. apiece.
  
'''The DM:''' Computer technical problems, I've been offline about an hourEmbla, while each jar of lutefisk weighs about half a pound, the barrels weigh somewhere about 550 lbs. eachThere's no real way to tell which direction the ship was travelling.  Most of the wood of the ship would be salvageable to some degree, though it wouldn't be cheap to haul back to a town and the return would be minimal.  If something were built right here out of the wood that would be the best use for it.
+
'''The DM:''' The chest seems to have been put in the fire that morningIt is hollowed out, so that only the burnt remains of the chest remain; but there is a name-plate on the chest, about an inch in diameter, in etched iron: it says the name of the owner: Anders HagenThat's the name of the fellow building your house.
 +
: I'll wait for you to say you're entering any of the tents.
  
'''The DM:''' Allow me to point out that since the land grant was for a parcel of land near Bergen, and Bergen being about 80-100 miles north of here, that might be a place to start.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Had we seen Anders about before leaving Treborg? I'll enter one of the goblin's tents - still waiting on someone else to be here for the shaman's.
  
'''[[Embla Strand]]''' We could build this into a hunter's lodge of sorts to support more exploration here. Or we could head to Bergen. Thoughts?
+
'''The DM:''' You would have seen Anders the day you left.  He practically lives at the building site, so he probably hadn't been to his own home in several days.  Since you haven't said which tent, I'll start with the one on the furthest right.  There are simple pallets inside, but it looks like they've had just one blanket apiece; and old, dirty blankets at best.  You see grubby sacks, which have food in them, but the goblins appear to have been eating naught more than lichen and roots. As they are traditionally meat-eaters, this is foraged food at best; Embla can attest that it isn't the best foraged food, either.  Apparently, the goblins have been starving.
  
'''[[Pandred]]''': Bergen is a market town, I'm 99% sure. However, the transport cost would likely eat a significant portion of our new gains. With that in mind I think we should keep going with our exploration, and the hunter's lodge idea is to my mind fantastic. I like the idea of a big boat-shaped hideaway for our expedition. If we find another haul of similar size, or get lucky and turn out a bigger dungeon then we can afford a trip to Bergen.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' If the nameplate is cool, I'll fish it out of the ashes and put it in my pack. Then I'll check the middle tent.
  
'''[[Pandred]]''': Alexis, if we were to return this haul to Treborg, would wheeling Vafrandir back on the cart interrupt his rest enough to deny him rest gains?
+
'''The DM:''' This appears to be more of the same.  There are five other pallets; that's nine altogether.  Apparently, the shaman hasn't been living separately from the others or any better.
  
'''The DM:''' The beer is worth 32 g.p. for 63 gallons; the wine is worth 894 g.p.  Each barrel is worth 15 g.p., so each beer barrel is 47 g.p. and the wine barrel is worth 909.  The lutefisk hasn't been priced on my system yet; let's call it 5 g.p. per jar.  You can't divide experience for single items, so you have to name someone as the plunderer of the wine barrel and the other items for the sake of x.p.  Divide up the g.p. for experience as well.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' So we are missing a handful of goblins. I'll check the last tent for completeness sake.
  
'''The DM:''' Answering Pandred's question: that's right, he can't rest in a cartYou'd need to create some kind of tackle to get barrels into a cart, which Embla's logistics ought to allowCall it a day to build the frame and three hours to wedge the barrels out and load them, once the cart is presentIs it?  I thought you were walking without the cartShouldn't change your travel times if I'm in error about that.
+
'''The DM:''' Before you enter the last tent, you notice something very different about the exteriorTo begin with, there is a deathly smell surrounding it; the ground in front of the tent entrance is mucky, with recent hoofprints in it; and the exposed rocks amid the mud have been scuffed with what Pandred's experience will say are hooves, as though animals have to be fought over this groundThe flaps of the tent are tied closed (the others weren't) and they're very dirty, not just with mud, but with cow feces as wellThe smell, however, is not the cow feces, nor even the urine, which Pandred can smell from her experience as a teamsterThere is a different smell altogether.
  
'''The DM:''' by the time you get the ship checked out, the sun is past the zenith; the rain has slackened a bit but it still goes on.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I'll not enter entirely, I'll untie the flaps and then carefully lift a flap open with my sword to peer in.
  
'''Pandred''': I'm doing math now, but I wanted to say before someone else did it that I fully intend to give Vafrandir the wine. If he's got a 10% bonus to XP as I assume he does, that gives him the 2k experience needed to level. I assume there are no objections to this?
+
'''The DM:''' Inside, you'll find an open hole, surrounded on three sides by a low stone wall, about three feet high.  Judging from the hoofprints, which are smaller than a cow's and are therefore the rothe's, the animals fought their way up to the hole.  Goblin footprints are right next to them, showing the animals were wrestled. There's a heavy mallet with an iron head next to the hole, with fresh blood on it — perhaps four or five hours old.
  
'''The DM:''' Vafrandir?
+
'''The DM:''' As you look, you see there are rungs leading down into the hole ...
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Were I conscious, I would certainly not object!
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Quite clear that Grond is down there... I feel as though I need more information about Grond, but not sure who'd be able to provide it.
  
== Treasure Distribution ==
+
'''The DM:''' I guess we'll wait for others; point in fact, I notice that if you do rush into a combat, everyone seems to get on board.  Heh heh.
  
'''Pandred''': Okay. I think I've got this down. Everyone gets 118 gp. 23sp, and 3cp. There is 1 cp left over, congratulations Marcule.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Yes, ha: but waking up a subterranean goblin demon is one of those things that requires a vote.
Individual items - Vafrandir gets the Wine at 909gp, Embla, Vafrandir and I each get a barrel at 47gp. Marcule takes the lutefisk at 5 times 10 or 50gp.
 
  
The silver gives an additional gp/xp. So totals:
+
'''The DM:''' Out.
*Vafrandir: 1028 gp/xp
 
*Embla/Pandred: 166 gp/xp
 
*Marcule: 169 gp/xp
 
  
10% bonuses were not factored.
+
== Decisions to be Made ==
 +
'''The DM:''' In.
  
'''The DM:''' Vafrandir and Pandred get 10%. The assassins do not.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' In. Hoping for some input from the others. I'll back out of the tent and relay the situation.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Pandred, I'm looking at this again, and I think you didn't factor my XP from the spider fight. Once I wake up, I'll have enough to level just from that. With that said, I'm willing to give the wine to Marcule as he'll still be Level 1.
+
'''The DM:''' well, not twiddling my thumbs.  I'm writing a post.
:'''The DM:''' Wasn't there also experience from the Toad and Demons?
+
: Well, that's done. I want to dig into the poster, but that's mind-consuming, so I'll play a game instead. I'm still right here.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' That brings me up to the current total on my character page. I have not yet added Spider XP since I've not technically taken "possession" of it.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Same. I understand everyone has things to do but the online one-on-one doesn't feel right - and can be quite dangerous to boot.
:'''The DM:''' Understood.  I'm just pointing out, 719 from the snow gate, plus the spider x.p., plus the wine ... you are way past 2,001 x.p.
 
  
'''[[Embla Strand]]''' This sounds good to me. Since we're not heading off to Bergen now, how about you and Odds head back to get the cart while Willa and I tend to Vaf and start cleaning the ship out of all the junk?
+
'''The DM:''' Marcule has sent a message saying he'll be here at 1pm.
  
'''Pandred''': Since the difference doesn't level Marcule, I'd just keep you with the wine for simplicities sake. Honestly if I ''were'' going to reconfigure, it'd be with an eye towards my own looming 4th level, as I ''was'' second closest previously.
+
'''Marcule:''' Sorry Vaf i will be with you the rest of this week, i think we should go down the hole. but maybe we should give panderd today to throw in an opinion.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Sounds good. It'll all come out in the wash, I'm sure.
+
'''The DM:''' Additional news: Embla has been compelled to withdraw from the campaign.  She won't be back.
 +
:'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' A shame!
  
== Planning ==
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Down the hole? We may wait for Grond to come out onto our turf (or draw it out). Losing a player may change our calculus further.
'''The DM:''' What sort of raingear do people have to travel in?  Oddsdrakken would have a oiled coat and hat.
 
  
'''Pandred''': I have my very large fur coat, and the woolen cloak that comes with the adventurer's gear. Whichever of those is most suitable.
+
'''Marcule:''' I agree that might change our thinking.
:'''The DM:''' Just pointing out that everyone is somewhat soaked just now.  Attending to Vafrandir is fine; Willa is effectively at zero hit points.
 
:: '''The DM:''' Let me know if you have any other plans for today, or if you just want to wait for the next day to give Vafrandir another hit of points.
 
  
'''Pandred''': I'm ready for a new day. The new hit die might take our intrepid elf back into the realm of the living as well.
+
'''[[Pandred]]''': In. Marcule, you got any more spells to make this easier? I'll apply my bottle to myself for '''2''' hp, and I'm willing to make a quick foray to see what's down there. Have we checked all the tents?
 +
:'''The DM:''' All the tents were seen.
  
'''The DM:''' Waiting for one other person to confirm.
+
'''[[Pandred]]''': Alright then. I retrieve my handaxe. Do either of you have a torch? I'll request a light as well.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Aye.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I point out the medallions. "Nothing special at first glance but they all had them. Grond will probably be wondering where the next rothe is soon, or we can just drop a torch down the hole and buckle up. We should probably take the tent down as well." I believe I have several torches in my pack, let me check. I know I have my tinderbox.
  
== May 31st ==
+
'''The DM:''' I've asked on my blog for another joinerDon't know if I'll get one.
'''The DM:''' The rain reduces hour by hour until nightfall, when it finally tapers off.  There are a few drops that fall around midnight, but no more; still, as the sun rises on the 31st, the landscape is still damp and misty, moreso because the temperature is so pleasant it is verging on becoming actually warmThere is a good, dry, light easterly breeze blowing, which, with the warmth, is most promising; and the sky is blue and very promising.
 
  
'''''' Vafrandir climbs to -6 h.p. on his own; Pandred can give him a sip of the bottle and see how he's doing, but he's entitled to a wisdom check (4 in 20) before drinking).
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I have no torches on me. But there are nearly a dozen on the cart. If Marcule doesn't have one I will go back and get one. Is Embla just ''poof''?
 +
: '''The DM:''' She's standing by for the present; she'll take two of the amulets, explain that she's been hurt somehow in the abdomen and that she needs to retire to the cart.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' '''16'''. No luck of the die so far.
+
'''[[Pandred]]''': With my salve that puts me at 12 hp. If Grond is sitting at the base of the ladder that's not gonna cut it, so do we have anything else? I'm going down either way, but any buffer I can put between me and and dying in a dark hole is welcome.
  
'''[[Pandred]]''': Take another '''1''' from the bottle. Unlucky rolls today. Good thing there was just the one spider in the boat.
+
'''The DM:''' Might I make an observation? There is still one thing on the surface that's been completely ignored.
:'''The DM:''' Takes him to -5. That's a 5 in 20 roll, Vafrandir.
 
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' A '''4'''!
 
  
'''[[Pandred]]''': He lives!
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Has anyone checked the staff or the shaman in general?
  
'''The DM:''' Okay, Vafrandir awakes; he's second level and he should roll a d10 (reroll if "1" comes up) +2 for his new hit points, adding those to -5.  You heal at 2 h.p. per day now, Vafrandir, as per your level.  That was a good day, all!  Lots of interchange, lots of posts.  Looking forward to tomorrow.
+
'''[[Pandred]]''': Well, I smashed the shaman, but Marcule, you want to give his staff a look?
  
== Vafrandir Levels ==
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' While they do that, I accompany Embla back to the cart and return with 3 torches. Not sure how long that will take.
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I roll a '''5 raw, 7 adj''', bringing my current to 2 and total to 20. Is there anything besides skill points I need to be aware of for leveling?
 
  
'''The DM:''' Your thac0 is improved to 19Apart from that, I can't think of anything. Are you good with rolling your own skill points?
+
'''The DM:''' Okay; we'll start there tomorrowOut.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Yes I am, I've done so.
+
'''The DM:''' In.
  
== Beginning of a Fine Day ==
+
'''[[Pandred]]''': In. What's up with this staff?
So, what are the plans for today?  Vafrandir is sore and his insides don't feel too great, but he can walk about on his own now.
 
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I'm fine with putting a journey to return Hamish Ross's title to him on the planner, at least after I recover and we set to rights our haul here. But if we show up at his door (or are questioned otherwise) with a document we're not authorized to carry and having taken possession of the salvage? That seems unwise to me. What are our options for building a small shelter here as discussed above? I'll do the math in a bit but I don't think we can haul all of this back in a single trip in any case.
+
'''The DM:''' Well.  You have no detect magic, no identify spell; let's just say it's safe to pick up, and that when you do you feel a definite thrumming from it, as though the wood is alive. It feels tremendously comfortable and powerful in your hand - but you're not proficient with a staff.
  
'''The DM:''' At present, the best shelter you can build is a bivouac, as per Embla's (as yet unwritten) logistics skill.  A permanent construction is beyond any of your skill-sets (unless I am wrong in my memory?).
+
'''[[Pandred]]''': Yeah. That sounds about right. I'll pass it off to Marcule and wait for Vafrandir to return with the torches as he mentioned yesterday.
  
['''OOC-DM''': ''I should add that I'm due to get a flu shot this afternoon, so I'll be ending this Friday session at 1 p.m. today'']
+
'''Marcule:''' In
 +
 +
'''Marcule:''' "I'm not proficient with a staff either". I look over the staff.
  
'''Pandred''': I know we keep saying it's unwise...but is it? I mean, is the truth not good enough? "Hey, we found this a few miles outside Treborg, and we thought the right thing to do would be to return it. Oh, you need to cast Detect Truth or something on us? Yeah, no problem. Anyway, you're welcome." In either case, take another '''3''' hp from the bottle.
+
'''The DM:''' Please assume Vafrandir is back and you have all the tools you need, if you brought them along with you.
:'''The DM:''' Um, no.  It is still the 31st.  You used the bottle already today.
 
  
'''Pandred''': I think we should set up this site as our drop-point, and maybe when Vafrandir has two digits worth of hp we can stake out the area more thoroughly. Maybe climb one of the mountains that surround this valley and get a good look around.
+
'''[[Pandred]]''': Ok. I take one of the torches, light it, and attempt to peer down the pit.
  
'''[[Embla Strand]]''' A biouvac sounds good for now. Once the house is built we could have carpenters come and enhance the place, but that's an issue for later consideration. I agree with Pandred. For today, I forage to supplement our stores and perhaps see what's nearby and notable.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' In.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' That sounds like a good idea to me.
+
'''Marcule:''' "Scary, I think we should try it if you guys are not to hurt"
  
'''The DM:''' Foraging finds 6 lbs. of food; we'll say a rabbit, a salmon caught in a shallow brook and 2 lbs. of fresh greens.
+
'''[[Pandred]]''' Annoyingly, Out. I would like to see what the torch can let me see. My only suggestion for today is that we consider dumping the goblins down the hole to give us some time before their comrades figure out what's what. If this thing eats Rothe alive, and they aren't executed by that hammer, then it's probably a decent fight. We should consider going home to check on Anders.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' How much food did we need for yesterday?
+
'''The DM:''' As I said before, the smell is rank.  The pit is black, and there is enough light atop the hole to make it hard to see more than 20 feet down.  There are rungs going that far, about every 18 inches.  They appear to be iron bars hammered into the rock, a little small for a human (they were made for goblins), but not too bad for an elf.
  
'''The DM:''' The bivouac will take three days to put together, with Embla directing the stripping of the ship for materials and supervising the construction; this will make a 10 x 8 ft. building. I'm calculating storage, though most of that will be taken up with the six of you (five, really, since Marcule and Oddsdrakken will count as one human) sleeping inside.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I don't mind going first if we're going down. But I suggest dropping the torch down to see how far the hole goes. I'm not sure going home is the right play here - we don't want a situation where this thing gets out, especially since we've killed its handlers. Dumping the bodies is probably wise.
 +
: '''The DM:''' Likewise, you could hammer on a chamber pot with the hammer, like a bell, to make certain that whatever's down there knows something has changed on the surface.
  
'''The DM:''' Right, I haven't said so since the 28th. Let's see; travel & combat on the 29th, 2 days rest = 5 lbs. per person, including full rations for Oddsdrakken and Marcule.
+
== Descending ==
 +
'''Marcule:''' "I don't want to do anything to announce ourselves further. let me look ahead". I would like to make my way down the hole (About 5 feet and scout it out.)
  
'''The DM:''' Storage for the bivouac would be 19.3 tons; since you wouldn't be "living" in it, like the house, count each person as 2 tons, not fourWhile I'm on this, a standard tent will provide space for 11.7 tons.
+
'''The DM:''' five feet doesn't reveal much, but it does cut on the ambient light above.  You're likely using infravisionAbout 20 feet below you, there's a rough-hewn round hole cut into the rock, about four and a half feet high, and three feet wide.
  
['''OOC-DM''': ''Okay, I'm out until Monday. Good week, all.  Stay safe, keep warm, have faith.'']
+
'''Marcule:''' ok i make my way another tenish feet.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Very good - we have 73 lb remaining (I'm not counting the lutefisk...) so we should be fine to make it back after a few days of easy exploration. Do we want to bury Fjall here? [''Have a good weekend! Looking forward to next week.'']
+
'''The DM:''' It's clear there is no natural light coming from the hole. You can see clearly now that the rungs end at the hole, coming to one side of it, but that the drop continues at least another fifty feet below it. Your infravision can see 60 ft., remember.
  
'''The DM:''' Me againBack with shot in my arm and anticipating small flu symptoms in the next few days.  Just want to say I forgot I had written rules for [https://tao-dndwiki.blogspot.com/2018/03/construct-bivouac-sage-ability.html constructing a bivouac] in ''hours'' not daysFood for thought.
+
'''Marcule:''' wow deep hole. I move another 20ft down.
:'''The DM:''' Slightly amending the size of the bivouac to 19.3 tons, as I'm writing out the create bivouac rules now.
+
 
 +
'''The DM:''' Can'tYou moved 5, then 10; the hole was 20 ft. below your first stopping point; the rungs stop here and you have no climbing ability, yes?  However, reaching the hole, you notice with the last ten feet the temperature dropped a whole grade; it feels quite brisk now, rather than cool.
 +
 
 +
'''Marcule:''' Sorry my mistake. i make my way back up to Vafrandir and explain what i have seen. "its going to be cold i think"
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I'd guess Grond is in that tunnel. I'd still rather fight it up here. Let's lure it out - with the hammer and pot as suggested or with a torch, etc - and take it out. Alternately, we could smash up the rungs with the hammer or otherwise seal the hole. Not sure if we've enough strength to do that though. How thick is the rock wall?
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' The one around the hole is just three inches thick.  The hole is 7 feet wide.  Do be careful with shortcuts, Vafrandir.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Ha, checking. Not viable anyway.
 +
 
 +
'''Marcule:''' "I cant imagine them falling for that. i think we are going to have to go down". when i ran out of hold how much further to the floor. do i know?
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' The opening was immediately to the left of the rungs.  Sorry I wasn't clearer about that when I said the rungs stopped at the opening.
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' Difficult days.  Out.
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' In. Though I have about 90 minutes.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' In.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Marcule, I'll go first down the hole, I'm a bit healthier. Are there specific rules for tunnel fighting? At 5'3, a 4'6 hole will be cramped.
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' It mostly applies to the size of your weapon.  A long sword would be too long, for example, as it is five feet.  Still, the hole is not necessarily the same size as what's beyond it.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Could I stab (if necessary) with a goblin spear?
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' Yes, but how do you get the enemy to agree to always be precisely where you want to stab, without your needing to adjust?  Not very practical.  You know, we give you four proficiencies so these things will be considered.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Ha! I do have spear proficiency, just getting my head around the challenge. One of us has to go into the hole. My sword is too long. But it's possible the tunnel opens up: we won't know unless we look.
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' Yep.
 +
 
 +
== Below Ground ==
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I'll climb down carefully and peek through the tunnel. Not stepping in yet.
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' Well, same description; but as you poke your head through the door, you receive an odor of bone-dustiness.  You can also see a corridor, five-foot five high, 4 feet wide, about 15 feet long.  There are two foot spikes sticking out of the floor about 8 feet along, about 18 inches apart; they'd be hard to fight past, but there seems nothing to fight.  The hall ends in an open doorway; it seems to be a chamber just beyond, but it's hard to see anything but darkness there.  You're not using a torch, yes?  You're relying on infravision?
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Yes, infravision, no torch. I can't shake the feeling this tunnel is a mouth itself. Can my infravision see blood anywhere? What do the spikes appear to be made of?
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' Definitely not a mouth.  No, infravision wouldn't.  You get shapes at best.  The spikes appear to be cast iron.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' So far so good. The spikes look hard to fight past but perhaps not to carefully walk past. I'll step into the tunnel, crouching a bit.
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' It's not hard to move past them.  But something moves in the darkness beyond. Which is a good place to stop, since you're alone.  Out.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I very much agree. Out.
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' In.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Pandred]]''': In.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' In.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Where am I currently? Standing in the doorway looking into the chamber?
 +
: '''The DM:''' I'm judging you on the other side of the spikes, just 10 feet past the portal.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Got it. What can I see?
 +
 
 +
'''Marcule:''' (ooc:sorry my day is full of responsibilities; I wont be about to make it in today. next week should be much better. sorry guys i look forward to next week.)
 +
: '''The DM:''' no worries.
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' not much, Vafrandir.  The ending edge of the corridor, just five feet ahead; a black gulf that's a chamber of some sort, reflecting so little light you can only see a stretch of floor.  There's an overturned drinking jug lying on its side about fifteen feet from your foot, in the light.  And you can hear something scraping along the floor.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Is the scraping coming towards me?
 +
:'''The DM:''' Seems probable, but no way to tellIt's slow; perhaps it is getting louder.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Hm. I'll make my way back to the mouth of the tunnel and alert my companions: "Get down here if you can!"
 +
 
 +
'''[[Pandred]]''': I'll put away my big axe, take a goblin spear, and shimmy on down to Vafrandir.
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' Vafrandir, a slow moving goblin appears around the corner, dragging its foot, holding a short sword; it's wearing a poor, shoddy bit of ring mail armour in poor repair and a simple metal helmet; the latter is rusted.  Also, the goblin seems to be absent its skin, organs and other flesh.  It's a skeleton.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Now that's a twist. Pandred, did you bring your torch or hand it off to Marcule?
 +
 
 +
'''[[Pandred]]''': A skim tells me I didn't pass it off, so it looks like I have it with me. On further reflection, that means the spear won't work, so I'll set it down and get out my handaxe.
 +
: '''The DM:''' I'll grant you have the torch, and handaxe in the other hand.  Vafrandir, the skeleton and you are separated by the spikes.  You're on the side by the portal & chimney, and it's on the other side.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Is it able to advance through the spikes?
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' The spikes are slightly curved towards you; because they're part of a defense.  An attacker through the spikes would chance to impale themselves on the spikes, because they're only 18 inches apart.  But if not in combat OVER the spikes, yes, they can be walked between, if carefully.  The skeleton is coming from the defending side, so it is even easier.  The skeleton is non-intelligent, so you might want to let it walk through the spikes towards you, rather than fight it over the spikes.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' That's actually what I was thinking. I'll hold position and let it get closer.
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' You can hear Pandred making her way down the rungs.  Roll a d6 for initiative.

Revision as of 12:57, 12 February 2021

The DM: Looking around, noting the tents, rifling the bodies, and before you go look inside any of the tents, it catches your eye that there's the burnt out chest in the firepit, apparently of human make. Additionally, the staff in the hands of the shaman WAS glowing. Point in fact.

I'll calculate the experience; look for it on this page. Please let me know if you took or caused any damage not highlighted in red.

Vafrandir: Was glowing - not IS glowing?

The DM: correct. Was.

The DM: There's no way around it, Pandred's constant thumping is an asset that will help her go up faster in levels. Vafrandir managed to get through a fight taking no actual damage. That's a first, isn't it? Here are the totals, assuming I've got all the damages.

Embla: 445
Marcule: 425
Pandred: 919
Vafrandir: 270

Vafrandir: Considering I've spent most fights in single digit HP, I'll take it!

The DM: I assume you rifle the bodies.

The DM: Okay. Getting late. See you on monday. Out.

Vafrandir: Plenty of time to rifle and inspect on Monday. Out.

The DM: In/Out. Slept in. Give me 45 min.

The DM: Okay. In. Where do we start?

Vafrandir: In.

Vafrandir: We'll check the bodies quickly, but I'm more interested in the shaman's tent and if there's anything left of the chest. I'll check the chest first in case there's something nasty hiding in the tent.

The DM: The bodies are wearing clothes that are, on inspection, ragged. There seems to be nothing they're wearing that's new, and in places their boots are worn right through, with holes in the soles. No goblin has a belt pouch or any valuables, apparently, except that each is wearing a heavy bronze medallion on a chain, with links that are unexpectedly heavy; each of these weighs about 12 lbs. For 60 lb. goblins, they'd be onerous to wear; the medallions have the same geometric pattern, a woven pattern; nothing distinctive that you recognize and very much a common Norse style.

These medallions are worth 32 x.p. apiece.

The DM: The chest seems to have been put in the fire that morning. It is hollowed out, so that only the burnt remains of the chest remain; but there is a name-plate on the chest, about an inch in diameter, in etched iron: it says the name of the owner: Anders Hagen. That's the name of the fellow building your house.

I'll wait for you to say you're entering any of the tents.

Vafrandir: Had we seen Anders about before leaving Treborg? I'll enter one of the goblin's tents - still waiting on someone else to be here for the shaman's.

The DM: You would have seen Anders the day you left. He practically lives at the building site, so he probably hadn't been to his own home in several days. Since you haven't said which tent, I'll start with the one on the furthest right. There are simple pallets inside, but it looks like they've had just one blanket apiece; and old, dirty blankets at best. You see grubby sacks, which have food in them, but the goblins appear to have been eating naught more than lichen and roots. As they are traditionally meat-eaters, this is foraged food at best; Embla can attest that it isn't the best foraged food, either. Apparently, the goblins have been starving.

Vafrandir: If the nameplate is cool, I'll fish it out of the ashes and put it in my pack. Then I'll check the middle tent.

The DM: This appears to be more of the same. There are five other pallets; that's nine altogether. Apparently, the shaman hasn't been living separately from the others or any better.

Vafrandir: So we are missing a handful of goblins. I'll check the last tent for completeness sake.

The DM: Before you enter the last tent, you notice something very different about the exterior. To begin with, there is a deathly smell surrounding it; the ground in front of the tent entrance is mucky, with recent hoofprints in it; and the exposed rocks amid the mud have been scuffed with what Pandred's experience will say are hooves, as though animals have to be fought over this ground. The flaps of the tent are tied closed (the others weren't) and they're very dirty, not just with mud, but with cow feces as well. The smell, however, is not the cow feces, nor even the urine, which Pandred can smell from her experience as a teamster. There is a different smell altogether.

Vafrandir: I'll not enter entirely, I'll untie the flaps and then carefully lift a flap open with my sword to peer in.

The DM: Inside, you'll find an open hole, surrounded on three sides by a low stone wall, about three feet high. Judging from the hoofprints, which are smaller than a cow's and are therefore the rothe's, the animals fought their way up to the hole. Goblin footprints are right next to them, showing the animals were wrestled. There's a heavy mallet with an iron head next to the hole, with fresh blood on it — perhaps four or five hours old.

The DM: As you look, you see there are rungs leading down into the hole ...

Vafrandir: Quite clear that Grond is down there... I feel as though I need more information about Grond, but not sure who'd be able to provide it.

The DM: I guess we'll wait for others; point in fact, I notice that if you do rush into a combat, everyone seems to get on board. Heh heh.

Vafrandir: Yes, ha: but waking up a subterranean goblin demon is one of those things that requires a vote.

The DM: Out.

Decisions to be Made

The DM: In.

Vafrandir: In. Hoping for some input from the others. I'll back out of the tent and relay the situation.

The DM: well, not twiddling my thumbs. I'm writing a post.

Well, that's done. I want to dig into the poster, but that's mind-consuming, so I'll play a game instead. I'm still right here.

Vafrandir: Same. I understand everyone has things to do but the online one-on-one doesn't feel right - and can be quite dangerous to boot.

The DM: Marcule has sent a message saying he'll be here at 1pm.

Marcule: Sorry Vaf i will be with you the rest of this week, i think we should go down the hole. but maybe we should give panderd today to throw in an opinion.

The DM: Additional news: Embla has been compelled to withdraw from the campaign. She won't be back.

Vafrandir: A shame!

Vafrandir: Down the hole? We may wait for Grond to come out onto our turf (or draw it out). Losing a player may change our calculus further.

Marcule: I agree that might change our thinking.

Pandred: In. Marcule, you got any more spells to make this easier? I'll apply my bottle to myself for 2 hp, and I'm willing to make a quick foray to see what's down there. Have we checked all the tents?

The DM: All the tents were seen.

Pandred: Alright then. I retrieve my handaxe. Do either of you have a torch? I'll request a light as well.

Vafrandir: I point out the medallions. "Nothing special at first glance but they all had them. Grond will probably be wondering where the next rothe is soon, or we can just drop a torch down the hole and buckle up. We should probably take the tent down as well." I believe I have several torches in my pack, let me check. I know I have my tinderbox.

The DM: I've asked on my blog for another joiner. Don't know if I'll get one.

Vafrandir: I have no torches on me. But there are nearly a dozen on the cart. If Marcule doesn't have one I will go back and get one. Is Embla just poof?

The DM: She's standing by for the present; she'll take two of the amulets, explain that she's been hurt somehow in the abdomen and that she needs to retire to the cart.

Pandred: With my salve that puts me at 12 hp. If Grond is sitting at the base of the ladder that's not gonna cut it, so do we have anything else? I'm going down either way, but any buffer I can put between me and and dying in a dark hole is welcome.

The DM: Might I make an observation? There is still one thing on the surface that's been completely ignored.

Vafrandir: Has anyone checked the staff or the shaman in general?

Pandred: Well, I smashed the shaman, but Marcule, you want to give his staff a look?

Vafrandir: While they do that, I accompany Embla back to the cart and return with 3 torches. Not sure how long that will take.

The DM: Okay; we'll start there tomorrow. Out.

The DM: In.

Pandred: In. What's up with this staff?

The DM: Well. You have no detect magic, no identify spell; let's just say it's safe to pick up, and that when you do you feel a definite thrumming from it, as though the wood is alive. It feels tremendously comfortable and powerful in your hand - but you're not proficient with a staff.

Pandred: Yeah. That sounds about right. I'll pass it off to Marcule and wait for Vafrandir to return with the torches as he mentioned yesterday.

Marcule: In

Marcule: "I'm not proficient with a staff either". I look over the staff.

The DM: Please assume Vafrandir is back and you have all the tools you need, if you brought them along with you.

Pandred: Ok. I take one of the torches, light it, and attempt to peer down the pit.

Vafrandir: In.

Marcule: "Scary, I think we should try it if you guys are not to hurt"

Pandred Annoyingly, Out. I would like to see what the torch can let me see. My only suggestion for today is that we consider dumping the goblins down the hole to give us some time before their comrades figure out what's what. If this thing eats Rothe alive, and they aren't executed by that hammer, then it's probably a decent fight. We should consider going home to check on Anders.

The DM: As I said before, the smell is rank. The pit is black, and there is enough light atop the hole to make it hard to see more than 20 feet down. There are rungs going that far, about every 18 inches. They appear to be iron bars hammered into the rock, a little small for a human (they were made for goblins), but not too bad for an elf.

Vafrandir: I don't mind going first if we're going down. But I suggest dropping the torch down to see how far the hole goes. I'm not sure going home is the right play here - we don't want a situation where this thing gets out, especially since we've killed its handlers. Dumping the bodies is probably wise.

The DM: Likewise, you could hammer on a chamber pot with the hammer, like a bell, to make certain that whatever's down there knows something has changed on the surface.

Descending

Marcule: "I don't want to do anything to announce ourselves further. let me look ahead". I would like to make my way down the hole (About 5 feet and scout it out.)

The DM: five feet doesn't reveal much, but it does cut on the ambient light above. You're likely using infravision. About 20 feet below you, there's a rough-hewn round hole cut into the rock, about four and a half feet high, and three feet wide.

Marcule: ok i make my way another tenish feet.

The DM: It's clear there is no natural light coming from the hole. You can see clearly now that the rungs end at the hole, coming to one side of it, but that the drop continues at least another fifty feet below it. Your infravision can see 60 ft., remember.

Marcule: wow deep hole. I move another 20ft down.

The DM: Can't. You moved 5, then 10; the hole was 20 ft. below your first stopping point; the rungs stop here and you have no climbing ability, yes? However, reaching the hole, you notice with the last ten feet the temperature dropped a whole grade; it feels quite brisk now, rather than cool.

Marcule: Sorry my mistake. i make my way back up to Vafrandir and explain what i have seen. "its going to be cold i think"

Vafrandir: I'd guess Grond is in that tunnel. I'd still rather fight it up here. Let's lure it out - with the hammer and pot as suggested or with a torch, etc - and take it out. Alternately, we could smash up the rungs with the hammer or otherwise seal the hole. Not sure if we've enough strength to do that though. How thick is the rock wall?

The DM: The one around the hole is just three inches thick. The hole is 7 feet wide. Do be careful with shortcuts, Vafrandir.

Vafrandir: Ha, checking. Not viable anyway.

Marcule: "I cant imagine them falling for that. i think we are going to have to go down". when i ran out of hold how much further to the floor. do i know?

The DM: The opening was immediately to the left of the rungs. Sorry I wasn't clearer about that when I said the rungs stopped at the opening.

The DM: Difficult days. Out.

The DM: In. Though I have about 90 minutes.

Vafrandir: In.

Vafrandir: Marcule, I'll go first down the hole, I'm a bit healthier. Are there specific rules for tunnel fighting? At 5'3, a 4'6 hole will be cramped.

The DM: It mostly applies to the size of your weapon. A long sword would be too long, for example, as it is five feet. Still, the hole is not necessarily the same size as what's beyond it.

Vafrandir: Could I stab (if necessary) with a goblin spear?

The DM: Yes, but how do you get the enemy to agree to always be precisely where you want to stab, without your needing to adjust? Not very practical. You know, we give you four proficiencies so these things will be considered.

Vafrandir: Ha! I do have spear proficiency, just getting my head around the challenge. One of us has to go into the hole. My sword is too long. But it's possible the tunnel opens up: we won't know unless we look.

The DM: Yep.

Below Ground

Vafrandir: I'll climb down carefully and peek through the tunnel. Not stepping in yet.

The DM: Well, same description; but as you poke your head through the door, you receive an odor of bone-dustiness. You can also see a corridor, five-foot five high, 4 feet wide, about 15 feet long. There are two foot spikes sticking out of the floor about 8 feet along, about 18 inches apart; they'd be hard to fight past, but there seems nothing to fight. The hall ends in an open doorway; it seems to be a chamber just beyond, but it's hard to see anything but darkness there. You're not using a torch, yes? You're relying on infravision?

Vafrandir: Yes, infravision, no torch. I can't shake the feeling this tunnel is a mouth itself. Can my infravision see blood anywhere? What do the spikes appear to be made of?

The DM: Definitely not a mouth. No, infravision wouldn't. You get shapes at best. The spikes appear to be cast iron.

Vafrandir: So far so good. The spikes look hard to fight past but perhaps not to carefully walk past. I'll step into the tunnel, crouching a bit.

The DM: It's not hard to move past them. But something moves in the darkness beyond. Which is a good place to stop, since you're alone. Out.

Vafrandir: I very much agree. Out.

The DM: In.

Pandred: In.

Vafrandir: In.

Vafrandir: Where am I currently? Standing in the doorway looking into the chamber?

The DM: I'm judging you on the other side of the spikes, just 10 feet past the portal.

Vafrandir: Got it. What can I see?

Marcule: (ooc:sorry my day is full of responsibilities; I wont be about to make it in today. next week should be much better. sorry guys i look forward to next week.)

The DM: no worries.

The DM: not much, Vafrandir. The ending edge of the corridor, just five feet ahead; a black gulf that's a chamber of some sort, reflecting so little light you can only see a stretch of floor. There's an overturned drinking jug lying on its side about fifteen feet from your foot, in the light. And you can hear something scraping along the floor.

Vafrandir: Is the scraping coming towards me?

The DM: Seems probable, but no way to tell. It's slow; perhaps it is getting louder.

Vafrandir: Hm. I'll make my way back to the mouth of the tunnel and alert my companions: "Get down here if you can!"

Pandred: I'll put away my big axe, take a goblin spear, and shimmy on down to Vafrandir.

The DM: Vafrandir, a slow moving goblin appears around the corner, dragging its foot, holding a short sword; it's wearing a poor, shoddy bit of ring mail armour in poor repair and a simple metal helmet; the latter is rusted. Also, the goblin seems to be absent its skin, organs and other flesh. It's a skeleton.

Vafrandir: Now that's a twist. Pandred, did you bring your torch or hand it off to Marcule?

Pandred: A skim tells me I didn't pass it off, so it looks like I have it with me. On further reflection, that means the spear won't work, so I'll set it down and get out my handaxe.

The DM: I'll grant you have the torch, and handaxe in the other hand. Vafrandir, the skeleton and you are separated by the spikes. You're on the side by the portal & chimney, and it's on the other side.

Vafrandir: Is it able to advance through the spikes?

The DM: The spikes are slightly curved towards you; because they're part of a defense. An attacker through the spikes would chance to impale themselves on the spikes, because they're only 18 inches apart. But if not in combat OVER the spikes, yes, they can be walked between, if carefully. The skeleton is coming from the defending side, so it is even easier. The skeleton is non-intelligent, so you might want to let it walk through the spikes towards you, rather than fight it over the spikes.

Vafrandir: That's actually what I was thinking. I'll hold position and let it get closer.

The DM: You can hear Pandred making her way down the rungs. Roll a d6 for initiative.