DM NomadSage's Jade Regent - The Hungry Storm (Inactive)
Game Master nomadicc

Blizzard Hour 1

"Well this is certainly interesting!"

Harlan attempts to urge the horses along, coaxing them where he has to.

Handle Animal: 1d20 ⇒ 10
Fort Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Handle Animal to try and help the horses as well as occasionally channeling to remove any injuries.

Blizzard Hour 1:

Fort Save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Parity breathes heavily as he slugs from place to place, thankful for Suishen's protection from the elements but his sea-level life is obviously affecting his acclimatization. He will use resist cold and resistance on any of the animals or people who are flagging or feeling the effects of the cold the most.

He will also cast mending on anything that looks ragged or gets damaged by the wind storm.

He will attempt some other useless stuff as well:

Handle Animal: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

Blizzard, 1st Hour
Overall Progress: 15%

As you get busy, you see Ameiko and Koya are also winded by the elevation, but your other friends appear to be okay. Ulf and Shalelu join Malnival with the trailblazing, working together to keep on the path, growing more and more obscured by the snowfall. Heng also tries, but has difficulty making out clear landmarks.

Parity's and Maeve's spells help out in spots. Ameiko tries to bolster morale but quickly comes up short on breath, so she switches to her samisen, playing a hopeful melody.

Harlan, Kelda and Sandru work to get the horses moving, but they ignore your efforts. "Let's concentrate on the lead and if she moves faster, I think the rest will try and keep up."

The blizzard continues to dump snow, still traversable but growing deeper.

Inputs for Hour 2? Increase DCs for Survival/Knowledge by 2, but other options remain.

Blizzard- Hour 2

Heng- Ki 6/7, fatigued- 2 Str, Dex

Heng draws upon his reserves of Ki using beginner's mind to intuitively find a safe route through the snow.

know geography 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16

Heng fails to quell the anxiety that surrounds him as he is unable to assist the caravan.

Hour 2

With her magic exhausted, and seeing many of the others starting to follow suit, Maeve starts keeping an eye out for threats.

Knowledge (Geography): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

[ooc]Blizzard Hour 2[/b]

Glad I bought this cold weather outfit. And the skins and whatnot for the caravan.

"Come on Betty, come on girl."

Handle Animal to assist Sandru: 1d20 ⇒ 17

Blizzard Hour 2

Handle Animal 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Parity will continue to cast resistance and mending where needed.

Blizzard Hour 2

Survival: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

Malnival continues to move ahead of the caravan focusing on blazing the trail for the others.

Blizzard, 2nd Hour
Overall Progress: 35%

Although still mid-day, the heavy storm dulls the sun into a white-washed twilight. The air temperature continues to drop sharply. Malnival, Shalelu and Ulf do an excellent job trailblazing, combining efforts to keep to the obscured trail. Maeve bucks in with some logical observations on the terrain, helping map the way ahead.

Ameiko continues to spur everyone on with her calming music, and Koya checks around to provide minor healing and distribute protective clothing. Kelda, Harlan and Sandru continue unsuccessfully to coax the horses, until Parity walks up and whispers a few words in the beast's ear. Gently, steadily, they push up the slope a little faster. With each few steps, the hot air bursts from their nostrils in steamy gouts.

"Can't see it yet, but we've got to be close to the ridgeline," Ulf shouts over the wind. "Keep moving!"

Into the third hour, the storm shows no sign of letting up. While you've acclimated somewhat to the cold, extremities begin to grow heavy and sluggish. The march continues steadily forward until you hit a slippery ice patch. The lead wagon slows and stops as the horses fail to gain traction.

Actions? Can be specific to the problem and for the overall 3rd hour. DCs increase by 2 once again.

Representing cold and fatigue, the Caravan takes 1d6 ⇒ 5 "non-lethal" damage.

Blizzard Hour 3

Teeth chattering, Harlan does his best to assist.

"I can set some weapons on fire, that'll let us chip some steps into the ice, that might help the horses across."

Harlan will channel energy for 3d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 6) = 18 to heal as much of the group as possible, with a second 3d6 ⇒ (3, 4, 1) = 8 to catch any he didn't. I have 6 Resist Energy Cold to cast, I'll use those on any who seem to be suffering most from the weather as a short term relief. I also have 7 uses of Sun Metal, that'll make a weapon flaming and could be used to cut steps into the ice for a few rounds.

Handle Animal to Assist: 1d20 ⇒ 13

Hour Three

Knowledge (Engineering): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23
That's good enough for this idea, I think.

"Use it on me." Maeve instructs. "Heng, use your arm-wraps. If we alternate hot and cold strikes, it should cause the ice to melt and re-freeze in a more brittle and cracked way so it'll be easy to clear out."

Blizzard- Hour 3

Heng- Ki 5/7, fatigued- 2 Str, Dex

Heng replies to Maeve, "There is too much ice already. Now is the time for fire." Carefully storing his hand wraps, Heng grabs a burning weapon and assists in smashing a trail through the ice.

Strength + mystic insight 1d20 + 4 - 1 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 - 1 + 4 = 12

sheesh.

Maeve sighs with a shake of her head. "Heng, I know I'm a little on the crazy side, but have you ever seriously known me to say something like that without a pretty good idea of what's backing it up? Listen, if it doesn't work we'll have probably made one small patch of ice that we can step the horses around a bit thicker, but if it does go the way I think it will we should shatter a nice sized amount every time. Try it a couple of times, and if it doesn't work we can go with the obvious way."

What kind of person calls themselves crazy ...

Any chance of using air walk on a few select horses. Not sure of wind direction and speed and technically they need to be trained to do it ... so, maybe not. But if so, Parity would string together the carvans and pick 3 horses throughout the caravan to aid with the pulling

Handle Animal 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Hour 3Malnival presses on. At times puasing to make flaming spheres to apear as way markers for the caravan.
"Keep moving! We must not stop!

Survival 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18

Parity will ask Suishen if he would like to assist with making steps

"Try it a couple of times, and if it doesn't work we can go with the obvious way."

Heng looks dubious, but doesn't feel like he's contributing much anyway so he humors the girl.

Blizzard, 3rd Hour
Overall Progress: 50%

Maeve's quick thinking and improvised plan are enough to build a little traction, slowly but effective. With Heng, Maeve, Parity and Kelda smashing the ice with hot and cold, it gives enough rough track for the horses to work with. Slowly, the caravan lurches forward once more. Sandru stays with the beasts, urging them forward before the snow and cold become unbearable.

Already it is nigh impossible to tell the sky from the ground - all is blanketed in white. None can see past the wagon ahead, and at times the wind picks up a gout of snow that blinds all beyond an arm's length. The cold is insidious, but Harlan and Koya's healing keep the frostbite at bay. The trailblazing team continue to find the path, amazingly.

The only indication that you've reached the summit is the subtle leveling out of the slope, until you're sure you're starting to descend.

Ulf shouts from somewhere ahead, "The ice will be just as treacherous on the downslope. If we start to slide, we're done for. Call out any spots early!"

Actions for hour 4? DCs again +2. Can make Perception or Knowledge (nature) checks to help point out hazards. Caravan takes 2d6 ⇒ (6, 2) = 8 "non-lethal" damage.

Blizzard Hour 4

"Ah. Guys! Help!"

Harlan struggles to free himself.

Escape Artist: 1d20 ⇒ 8

Why is it always me? Do I taste good? That makes sense actually.

Blizzard

Group: DC 30 Perception to hear Harlan...

Perception: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (2) + 14 = 16

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

perception 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

better, but no cigar.
well, hey if we can use perception to help the caravan, i'm on it.

Heng turns his attention to scouting a safe path for the caravan.

perception 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

Blizzard

Hour 3

Oblivious to any trouble, Maeve starts picking up snow in small chunks to make into snowballs. Riding on the wagon out in front, she casts light on each in turn before tossing it out into the snow ahead by a few feet, hoping to use it to spot any hazards in the terrain.

Mostly that'll probably just keep the blizzard from hiding any gross problems, like a sheer drop, but it's the most I can think of.

Knowledge (Nature: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

Hour 4

Perception (Hearing): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

Survival: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29

Malnival continues to press on, his knowledge of the outdoors gained from his friend Shalelu the only thing keeping him from making a tragic mistake.

Perception to notice hazards: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (15) + 12 = 27

Blizzard

Shalelu Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31

Shalelu suddenly stops, ears tilted behind her. "Did... did you hear Harlan call for help?" she asks.

Blizzard

Any hour 4 inputs for Parity?

Blizzard

Sorry, all night f-ing accountability recall

"Harlan? Isn't he right here?"

Suishen, when did you see him last?

Handle animal 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Blizzard

Alerted by Shalelu's query, you catch a distant call... something about a 'yeti'.

Blizzard

Knowledge (Nature) to identify: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

"That's not good." Maeve hops from where she's been tossing snowballs and looking to the back and starting to move. For once, she is actually conscious of the fact that she's getting ahead of the others and keeps her pace slow, for now.

Parity activates airwalk if it's safe (i.e. less than 21 mph winds, otherwise he trudges through the snow/ice) and runs along the top of the snow towards the call out. movement rate is 40' currently

"Harlan! Keep hollering, we're coming!"

Spaghetti Yeti

Heng- Ki 5/7, fatigued- 2 Str, Dex, Dragon Style

"Did... did you hear Harlan call for help?"

"Harlan? I hope he's not in trouble. The snow is getting deep." Upon hearing a faint mention of Yeti, Heng assumes dragon stance and fairly flies over the snow toward the call.

Blizzard

Blizzard

Parity, Maeve and Heng start off the search, homing on the distant call, muffled by the howling wind. It would be impossible to track him in the wind and snow, but it only takes a minute before Suishen detects his presence, guiding you to Harlan, a dozen paces or so from the edge of the trail.

Blizzard

"Hah, you found me! I was wrong, it was a couple of bandits wearing furs. I heard them talking, they saw me healing everybody and decided to get rid of me before we walked into an ambush. I heard them talking before you scared them away, they said there was a crevasse about a mile away, and that they covered it to use as a pitfall. We're going to be ambushed, we'll need to be on our guard and either avoid it or take them out."

Maeve listens to Harlan, then blinks a few times. "...I'm not sure that actually makes any sense. Bandits wearing furs?"

"Yeah, Maeve ... Because its cold. Glad you're OK Harlan. A bit worried there for a sec. Come on now.". Parity extends his hand to help the halfling up and along.

"Thanks Parity. And you're right, they were wearing furs against the cold, so I thought they were yetis."

Getting out of the snow with Parity's help, he brushes himself off before heading back to the caravan.

"I was a little confused and all, you could see how'd I'd think they were yetis. Now, about that ambush..."

Heng takes in the lay of the land looking an alternative route around the ambush.

1d20 ⇒ 18+10 for perception, +8 for geography, or whatever applies

Blizzard, 4th Hour
Overall Progress: 65%

After you recover Harlan from the snowbank and continue, Ulf keeps the caravan along the main trail. He gives Harlan a snort at the mention of bandits, but slows down the pace to search for the crevasse. As advertised, about a mile further on, Heng picks out an trench in the snow traversing the trail. Ulf and Shalelu carefully scout its edges, marking a path around.

This slows up the progress, but once you are clear, the pace picks up. As you get to lower elevations, the mountain begins to block the worst of the wind, the path becomes easier to follow, and the downslope helps momentum. Still, the animals are spent and ignore any further attempts to push them. Ice and cold continue to be threats.

Actions for hour 5? DCs decrease by 2, but the cold still persists, dealing 2d6 ⇒ (2, 6) = 8 "non-lethal".

Hour 5

As the pace picks up, Maeve just begins to devote herself to the simple task of picking out immediate threats.

Lore Master to take 20 on the check this turn. Knowledge (Nature): 20+8 = 28

"Sounds like you almost got envited to a yeti dinner my friend. I am glad you declined." Malnival moves back to the front of the caravan and once again begins blazing a trail for the others.

Survival"1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

Blizzard 5

Heng- Ki 5/7, fatigued- 2 Str, Dex

Trouble avoided for the moment, Heng tries to keep an eye out for further dangers and the easiest route down, but finds himself as weary as the horses.

perception 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12

Parity will keep working with the horses.

1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Blizzard Hour 5

"Hah, told you guys there was an ambush."

Now I wonder...

Harlan will again channel to restore damage from the frostbite and aid Parity or Sandru with the horses.

Channel: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 1) = 4
Handle Animal: 1d20 ⇒ 11

Blizzard, 5th Hour
Overall Progress: 85%

Fighting against the cold, fatigue and the despair that comes with little discernable progress, you continue on through the storm. Even Shalelu's tracking skills begin to flag, but Ulf and Malnival pick up the slack. Ameiko continues her uplifting music, keeping your spirits from dropping off the ledge.

With a savant-like precision, Maeve helps the trailblazers bypass natural hazards, including a icy switchback, and a fallen tree concealed by the snow. Parity, with Sandru, Kelda and Harlan at his command, manages to eke just a little more out of the exhausted horses.

The last push gets you clear of the danger. As the slope shallows out, Ulf guides the wagons off the main trail and into a natural cul-de-sac, ringed by steep rock walls and tall pines. Most importantly, it blocks the wind and most of the snow accumulation.

Blizzard

As soon as all the wagons are within the cul-de-sac, Ulf busies himself with starting a bonfire. With help, in a few minutes he has a blessed source of heat at the center of camp.

"Well done, everyone," he says, with a grim smile. "Let me welcome you, officially, to the Crown of the World."

Congrats! Skill Challenge completed!

You also have enough xp for 7th level! :o)

Blzzard

Maeve smiles, taking a spot to let others closer to the fire first, with the extra protections she has against the elements. "That was...one wild ride. I thought for sure we were going to get lost. Ulf, you truly are a master guide. And everyone else was great too. Just...well, six more months of weather like that to go. Should get easier the more we do it, right?"