Gornak |
I assume small goblins have small arrows, but maybe not.
Gornak doesn't look terribly reassured by the goblin's comments. "Well...I guess I'm ready when everyone else is ready..."
"Brother Vaclav, how much more healing magic do you have? Enough for us to take on a whole nest o' goblins?"
Rune_Master |
A few minutes looting and a little work and you all have full quivers inside half an hour.
The rope bridge spans across to the top of the sea stack. From this angle the sea-stack looks almost like the lopsided head of an enormous statue. On top of the stack a crude wooden stockade or fortress has been built. It has two open-topped low towers on each side of the building facing south, but there are no signs of movement, no windows, only a heavy set of double doors.
Tudmunch and Gob cross the rope bridge without incident, and secure the bridge on that side while Snovli secures some loosened pegs on the landward side.
Vaclav Rennet |
I assume small goblins have small arrows, but maybe not.
Gornak doesn't look terribly reassured by the goblin's comments. "Well...I guess I'm ready when everyone else is ready..."
"Brother Vaclav, how much more healing magic do you have? Enough for us to take on a whole nest o' goblins?"
"I can't say. I don't know how big this nest of goblins is. If they prove too tough we can withdraw across the bridge and hold that while we wait until tomorrow."
Doh! Well spotted on the arrows. That's just the kind of insert adjective here DM move I would pull if I was running the game. Fortunately we have a kind and benevolent DM in Dabbler.
regarding healing power -- metagaming spoiler :
Jumping right into the goblins nest looks kind of risky. And there are good in-game reasons to stop before we cross the bridge. Namely if we give it a go and have to retreat, then getting back across the bridge will be risky. Better to blockade the bridge overnight, pickoff any goblins that try to cross and hope they don't notice we're here. Then we can hit them fully charged in the morning. How're all you psionic types doing on power expended?
Thanadros |
Thanadros is fine to keep going. But if the others want to rest he has no problem with that.
Thanadros aims his bow towards the other side looking for trouble as everyone crosses. Once every one else is safely across he quickly crosses to catch up.
Aylmora Mvashti |
I still have most of my power points, so I'm not opposed to continuing on. However, if our healing resources are getting low it might not be a bad idea to rest for the night and observe any comings and goings from the goblin fort.
Albrecht Mihai |
Quickly crossing the bridge after Gornak, Albrecht stands on the other side of the ravine watching the open doors that the newly found goblins have found, his blade still in his hand. Speaking quietly to Vaclav and the group as a whole, just a bit more than a whisper, he says, "Right now we have the element of surprise; if we wait to assault their nest, they might realize that they are under attack and prepare accordingly..."
I think that we should push the element of surprise, but if need be we can fall back to the bridge. As for my PP spent, I should be good, assuming that my Inertial Armor is still going (it lasts 4 hours, so it should be).
Gob Slickarm |
I'm at 1/3 pp. I have a potion or two. Full HP. However, I'm leaning toward waiting 8 hours.
Gob looks the the fort, the bridge, and his companions and ponders a few moments.
Gob whispers, "If Grogmurt hasn't sent word, we'd be okay, but did any of the other goblins escape?"
Vaclav Rennet |
Vaclav remembers another time, another man fighting in the foothills of the Mindspin Mountains. The orcs were tough and ferocious, but in a way, you could depend on them. The goblins were another matter. Unpredictable, canny and mean, their hidey-holes were awash with traps and filth, and there were always more of them.
"Does it matter? The door is open. It might be a trap, but if it's not then we won't have to scale the walls. Reconnaissance in depth. If it doesn't work out we retreat and hold the bridge."
Thanadros |
Aylmora arches an eyebrow at the goblin's confidence in its counting abilities.
Darn beat me too it.
"...You know how to count?" Thanadros asks skeptically to Snovli. He then looks over to Gob. "Do goblins know how to count?"
Rune_Master |
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"Yes yes, was one arm and biggest finger of dogs, and one arm of goblins and Grogmurt," the goblin replies animatedly. Holding his hand up he proceeds to tap his fingers with the other hand: "Smallest, middle, biggest, pointing, thumb, arm," he finishes slapping his arm.
Gob Slickarm |
"He is translating goblin counting literally into Common by listing the corresponding digit starting at the little finger and working across the hand. Goblins can count in this way, an 'arm' means six, the highest 'number' a goblin usually counts to. Larger numbers are referred to as 'one arm and' which limits..." Gob pauses, "Well, I can explain later."
Gob looks to the gate. "Any chance of us disabling that door to prevent us from getting locked in, since we seem intent on storming the castle, so to speak?" Gob makes sure his crossbow is loaded, and Tudmunch and Snovli's armor are adjusted fairly.
Albrecht Mihai |
"Well then, we should fix that by being less exposed inside there; fortune favors the bold after all," Albrecht says in response to Vaclav's concerns. Taking a single quiet step closer, he stops when he hears Gob's appraisal of the possibly trapped or lockable door. "Good point," he says while turning to Gornak. "Hey Gornak, you feel like helping me 'disable' that door once we are inside?" he asks with a slight smile on his face.
Rune_Master |
The stockade is made of thick wood. Closer inspection reveals that most of the wood seems to have been scavenged from ships—a few nameplates remain affixed to some of the timbers, while others look like they might have once been masts.
The door is solidly made, but with no lock or other mechanism. It is closed via a simple bar across the inside. Other than putting something large and heavy against the outside, there's no visible way it could be made to lock everyone in.
Inside, the floor of this room is hard-packed soil, as if the builders either ran out of lumber after building the walls and roof, or as if they simply never thought about building a floor. A number of poorly preserved horse and dog heads are mounted along the eastern wall, while along the southern wall hangs a pair of large batlike wings tacked to the wall with daggers.
Albrecht Mihai |
Creeping quietly, with his head kept down so it doesn't brush the ceiling, Albrecht begins to try and listen past the other doorways (if closed), just poking his head past one if it is even slightly ajar.
Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
Rune_Master |
Tense and in silence the part examines their options:
From behind the two sets of double doors, there is only silence.
The single doors, left (or West) to right (or East) have the following sounds:
First door: seagulls calling.
Second door: no sounds at all.
Third door: multiple snores.
Fourth door: a raging argument in goblin.
[spoiler="Goblin speakers"]It appears to be an argument about the rules of poker, between two people playing the game but who have only the vaguest notion of what the symbols on the cards mean.
Albrecht Mihai |
Keeping his voice low, Albrecht says, "We should sneak in. They may only be minor nuisances individually, but in larger numbers they can be a threat. So... you might want to stay here and guard the door to give us a heads-up in case anyone comes out of one of the other doors."
Thanadros |
Thanadros pulls out his longsword and silently and carefully enters the room with the snoring, along with anyone else whom wishes to enter silently with him.
Stealth 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Assuming they are undetected, Thanadros makes it over to whomever seems to be the biggest threat and places a hand over its mouth as he slits its throat...
Thanadros expends his psionic focus to deal additional damage due to his Path Maneuver.
Coup de grace | Mwk Longsword | Damage 2d8 + 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (6, 2) + (2, 6) + 4 = 20 | Save DC 30
Assuming this works, he refocuses and continues to do this as much as is needed.
If any of the goblin's or whatever is in this room wakes up or otherwise detects them, Thanadros stops this tactic and will adjust to do something else. Once I know what is actually in the room...