Grendel Green |
Gendel starts to move towards the broken gates, moving slowly and stealthily, using the vegetation to hide his movements from any potential lookouts in the village. Once he reaches the palisade, he peers around the wall, looking for anything of interest.
Stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
DM Mothman |
'What did Old Walthus say about the goblins uniting under someone, or something?' Marc asks the group as he continues to scan the camp for weaknesses and clues as to the goblins' whereabouts. He also scans the still water for any signs of dangers that might be lurking within.
[dice=Perception]1d20 + 6 Marc scans the buildings withing the camp looking for buildings that may house something larger than goblin size.
The pond is still and shows no signs of life other than mosquitoes and other small insects buzzing above its surface.
The buildings in the goblin village are of no uniform size – it’s difficult to say whether some are made for larger beings, or just bigger groups of goblins.
DM Mothman |
Grendel moves like an ambulant shadow towards the gate. Upon closer inspection, it looks to Grendel like the fairly flimsily constructed gate has been hacked open and knocked down … from the inside. The palisade itself is made of logs and branches, sharpened at the tops. It sags alarmingly in some places, but looks relatively intact. In some areas around the village it is free standing, in other areas buildings are built hard up against the palisade, or rickety looking wooden walkways are tied to it. Almost all the wooden structures are caked with mud. Mushrooms and ferns sprout from corners and ledges.
Just inside the open gate is a small muddy field, with a wide pit dug in the middle of it. Grendel notices that one of the buildings near the pond has been reduced to a pile of charred rubble.
Here is a map of the village. The gate is near the top. Light pink is rubble, mid pink areas are raised walkways. Red are buildings, yellow-orange are ladders up to walkways or buildings. All the structures are raised above the ground on rickety stilts and bracing structures, so you can duck down to move under buildings and walkways. The blue is the pond, the grey is the pit. Due to the mud and all the structure holding up buildings and walkways, walking on the ground within the village is considered difficult terrain.
Grendel Green |
Grendel gives the remains of the gate a puzzled look. Why would they knock down their own gate? He wonders, before shrugging. Where is everyone?
If it applies, he will make a local knowledge check for any recent attack on the Licktoads
Local Knowledge: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
He moves quietly through the gate, towards the closest ladder, climbing up and peering inside. Move to H5
Stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Marc d'Laurac |
Marc attempts to track Grendel's progress but almost immediately loses sight of the stealthy figure among the undergrowth of the swamp. He continues to scan the village for any sign of danger, an unease growing within him. He whispers soothingly to Taletheus, preparing his trusty stead for battle.
Moth, will Marc be able to ride around inside the village or are the walkways low and likely to significantly hinder this?
DM Mothman |
Marc attempts to track Grendel's progress but almost immediately loses sight of the stealthy figure among the undergrowth of the swamp. He continues to scan the village for any sign of danger, an unease growing within him. He whispers soothingly to Taletheus, preparing his trusty stead for battle.
Moth, will Marc be able to ride around inside the village or are the walkways low and likely to significantly hinder this?
You don’t see any signs of life, apart from noticing Grendel slip from the bushes in through the open gate. The walkways and buildings within the village are raised approximately five feet off the ground – too low for Taletheus.
DM Mothman |
You sneak into the village, across the muddy yard and up the nearest rickety, poorly made ladder – at least the rungs are spaced pretty much correctly for you stature, and anyway it only goes up five feet. At the top of the ladder is a closed door leading into the building. As you climb the ladder, you think you hear a wail from somewhere in the village, quickly cut off.
Grendel Green |
My plan is to check for lookouts over the approach to the gate, and then signal for the others if the room was clear (I'm assuming there may be a window in this room overlooking the approach to the gate - not sure if I could have discerned that from the approach to the gate?
Stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
If needed for open locks
disable device: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13
Marc d'Laurac |
Seeing Haelynn start moving forward, Marc raises his eyebrows to Tannithil, shrugs and then starts down the track after her. He softly instructs Taletheus to follow, while keeping his eye's peeled for any sign of danger.
Sorry - didn't realise we were all entering. Marc moves to D6, with Taletheus in B5:C6. Tannithil will also move down to D5.
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
DM Mothman |
Haelynn, Marc and Tannithil warily follow Grendel into the goblin village, slogging across the muddy yard and skirting the pit.
Grendel has climbed a wooden ladder – rickety, but with rung spacing fairly suited to his small frame, and is now perched on a narrow timber ledge, about five feet above the muddy yard, before a low door leading into one of the ram-shackle, windowless buildings.
This building, like most in the goblin village, is constructed of a mix of hewn logs, scraps of dressed timber, stone blocks, cracked bricks and rusty metal sheets, patched with dried mud. There are no windows, but numerous small cracks in the walls between different building materials where the mud patching has fallen off. The edifice is topped by a pitched roof of sod. Here and there, bent metal pipes and chimneys emerge from the walls and roof.
The door is unlocked, and the interior of the building beyond dark apart from the small amount of daylight that filters through the open doorway and cracks in the wall. As Grendel’s eyes adjust, he can see that the building consists of one large space, divided up by makeshift screens, hanging curtains and blankets and the like. It is haphazardly furnished with a mix of badly repaired human-sized furniture and poorly made goblin sized equivalents. The only furnishings in a fairly decent state of repair are several iron pot-bellied stoves connected to a series of metal chimney pipes that snake up the walls. The whole place is dirty, with junk strewn everywhere – it’s difficult to tell whether it has been ransacked, or if this is just how goblins live.
The building seems to be devoid of inhabitants, apart from a few rats and numerous roaches that scatter as Grendel opens the door, and a fist-sized, warty toad sitting on a piece of log that serves as a bench, who watches the halfling warily with its big eyes.
A door in the northwest corner of the building looks like it would lead out to one of the walkways around the village.
Grendel Green |
Grendel climbs back down the ladder, and moves back up to Marc, Haelynn, and Tannithil, whispering to his companions. "It looks like something may have already taken care of the goblins. That gate was knocked down from the inside, and I thought I heard some kind of scream just as I entered. Somethings not right."
Marc d'Laurac |
Grendel climbs back down the ladder, and moves back up to Marc, Haelynn, and Tannithil, whispering to his companions. "It looks like something may have already taken care of the goblins. That gate was knocked down from the inside, and I thought I heard some kind of scream just as I entered. Somethings not right."
"I'm inclined to agree with you,' Marc whispers, looking nervously around the camp and feeling slightly unnerved.
'Better the enemy we know.' he mutters, before straightening and setting his face into a determined smile. 'Well, we came here looking for a fight and it's likely a fight we'll get, even if the enemy might have changed. Let's push on and spread out a little, but ensure we remain within sight of each other until we work out what we're dealing with. Grendel, are you game to check the walkways and we'll follow below?'
Should we make our way south through the smaller and more densely buildings then east towards the big building?
Yumiko Kita |
Yumiko whispers "The largesome building may be the home of a goblin of importitude - a chiefly one perhaps? Cowardish creatures like goblins are likely to flee to their boss in times of attack. Us's guessing we'll find any surviving goblins there," she shrugs and finishes darkly, "if there are any."
Yumiko picks her way along the edges of the buildings after Grendel, making sure nothing appears suddenly out of windows to attack.
Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Marc d'Laurac |
So, Grendel is going to head around the perimeter walkway (the western walkway, heading south) with the others roughly shadowing him at ground level?
Yep, sounds good.
Marc follows Grendel and Yumiko in the direction indicated, feeling very conspicuous as they melt into the shadows and he loses sight of them. He grips his lucerne hammer tightly and concentrates on looking and listening for any sign of danger.
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
DM Mothman |
Grendel sneaks along the rickety walkway until it ends at the wall of another poorly constructed building. Again, there doesn’t appear to be any windows, but a low closed door faces the walkway, beside another ladder leading back down to the ground.
Haelynn thinks she hears something – a stifled squawk or something similar – from somewhere to the south.
DM Mothman |
The door creaks open on rusty hinges. Grendel peers carefully around the open door. The interior of this building is furnished much like the last one though it is smaller – and similarly devoid of goblins. A spider the size of a halfling’s fist works industriously at a web in one corner. Three other doors exit from this room, two on the south wall and one in the east wall.
DM Mothman |
Avoiding the corner of the room containing the spider, and still moving as stealthily as he can, Grendel makes for the righthand southern door, hoping to get back to the walkway heading south.
Grendel opens the door to find himself on a narrow open walkway between the uneven wooden palisade – rising up about three feet above the walkway – on his right, and the wall of another building on his left. This stretch of walkway extend about fifteen feet to the south before ending at a wooden gate strung between the palisade and adjacent building.
The halfling is now out of sight of his companion, still on the ground at the north side of the building. The others could duck under the buildings and walkways – it is pretty low, varying between three to five feet head height between the muddy ground and the underside of the structure. You could reach Grendel’s relative position, but there is no obvious way up or down from where he is.
Marc d'Laurac |
"Wait!" Haelynn exclaims, trying to keep her voice low. "I heard something to the south."
Though he had heard nothing himself, Marc stops immediately, heeding his companions warning.
'What did you hear?' he whispers to Haelynn. 'Grendel is heading that way so we need to keep moving, but keep your eyes peeled and let's stay together.'
Marc will move forward towards cell H11 on the map, ducking under the walkway.
Grendel Green |
Grendel will try to climb onto the roof of the building at E15, heading over towards the walkway at G17.
Stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Climb: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
Not sure how often I need to be making stealth and perception checks, let me know if I'm over doing it
Marc d'Laurac |
"A muffled sound," Haelynn says in reply to Marc, her voice still low, "A bird most probably, though muffled. Coming from the south."
'Perhaps someone or something trying to remain hidden?' Marc whispers back to Haelynn. 'The question is, are they hiding from us or something more sinister? I have a feeling it is the latter.'
'Where has Grendel gotten to?' Marc moves further south, making for the the edge of the building so he can look both South and West.
Moves to cell J13
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Yumiko Kita |
Yumiko moves down to I15, presses herself flat against the wall and peeks around the corner east towards the big buildings.
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12
Haelynn Kita |
"I was coming to terms with goblins being the source of our troubles," she replies to Marc, whispering, "Now it might be something worse? Danger and delight grow on one stalk."
Haelynn glances to the south, and then back over her shoulder towards Yumi. "Let's find him."
Haelynn moves to cell I13.
DM Mothman |
DM Mothman |
Marc moves further south and looks about, but sees no sign of Grendel. Yumiko and Haelynn duck down under the raised walkway beside the long narrow building east of Marc’s position. Yumiko looks around the corner, through the struts and posts supporting the walkways towards the large building to the south east.
Grendel Green |
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
Stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23
Climb: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Not sure how much I can do in one turn, but he will also try to wave towards the party to alert them as to where he is once he is climbing again.
Yumiko Kita |
Yumiko waves to everyone that can see her, pointing towards the big building around the corner and to the building directly above her. She kneels down and covers the entrances to the building above her with her musket, ready to fire on anything that's not Grendel skulking about.
DM Mothman |
DM Mothman |
The building above Yumiko has a door that faces out onto the walkway almost directly above where her sister is crouched – Yumiko will need to move back out from under the walkway in order to point her musket at the door. Is H14 ok?
Marc clanks up noisily behind Yumiko. As he does so, the doorway that she is looking at creaks open – just a crack – then slams shut. Maybe it’s the wind … only there’s not much wind …
Grendel Green |
Grendel will climb onto the roof at H19 and hunker down, sling out and readying an action to fire on anyone who comes through the door of the western building. Again, he will wave to his companions if they are in site before hiding on the roof
Made a climb check in the previous post (20)
Stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17
Yumiko Kita RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16 |
The building above Yumiko has a door that faces out onto the walkway almost directly above where her sister is crouched – Yumiko will need to move back out from under the walkway in order to point her musket at the door. Is H14 ok?
Marc clanks up noisily behind Yumiko. As he does so, the doorway that she is looking at creaks open – just a crack – then slams shut. Maybe it’s the wind … only there’s not much wind …
H14 is OK.
"Grendel?" Yumiko hisses "Is that thyself? Thy are liable to be perforated with thoroughness if thou ainst caresome."
She turns somewhat disdainfully to Marc. "Noisesome enough? Us spied movement in yonder building, an' something's moving up there too. Could just be Grendel being sneakily."
DM Mothman |
As Yumiko turn to talk to Marc, she notices movement behind and above him - Grendel skillfully scales the outside wall of a relatively tall, crooked tower building to the south. He waves jauntily at Yumiko once he reaches the top of the tower, then hunkers down out of sight. He's hiding on the roof of the building, H19
Grendel, the tower roof is (relatively) flat and contains a trapdoor which appears to lead back down into the body of the tower. There is a low parapet around the roof, which gives you cover to hide behind.
Marc d'Laurac |
"Noisesome enough? Us spied movement in yonder building, an' something's moving up there too. Could just be Grendel being sneakily."
Marc's face turns a deep shade of red at Yumiko's chastising, all to aware of his own blundering efforts to stay quiet. 'I know, I know,' he whispers apologetically. 'I never was much good at hide and seek; always the first found, so spent lot's of time seeking.'
When Yumiko points out Grendel, his focus returns firmly to the door above. 'Well, that eliminates Grendel as the source of the noise. I think it might be worth heading up and taking a look.' He scans the walkway above for a good spot to pull himself up. 'Cover me?'
I assume the walkway still isn't too high at this point? Marc will attempt to pull himself up to I15, then move over towards the doorway at I15.
Climb: 1d20 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 - 2 = 12
Yumiko Kita |
Marc's face turns a deep shade of red at Yumiko's chastising, all to aware of his own blundering efforts to stay quiet. 'I know, I know,' he whispers apologetically. 'I never was much good at hide and seek; always the first found, so spent lot's of time seeking.'
When Yumiko points out Grendel, his focus returns firmly to the door above. 'Well, that eliminates Grendel as the source of the noise. I think it might be worth heading up and taking a look.' He scans the walkway above for a good spot to pull himself up. 'Cover me?'
Yumiko rolls her eyes in the most passive-aggressive manner possible while hefting her weapon into position.
Marc d'Laurac |
Marc looks quickly over his shoulder and gives Haelynn a quick smile when he notices her behind him. He then shifts his glance beyond her to Grendel, nodding when he is sure the diminutive man is at the ready. He turns to Yumiko to do the same, but seeing her scowl quickly returns his gaze to the door. Taking a breath and gripping his lucerne hammer tightly, he uses it to prod the door, attempting to push it open, keeping close to the wall to reduce the angle of any potential attack.
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Not sure if this is needed, but here's an initiative check
Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7