City of Nine Stars -- City of Twilight
Game Master therealthom

Marius nods in agreement.."That tenement seems just a little to conveniently placed doesn't it. I suggest that Raven goes and checks the door before we approach it en masse.""

"Then we'll circle around behind the carpenter's and see if we can make stealthy entry there, and what we can see from there."

Marius nods in agreement.."That tenement seems just a little to conveniently placed doesn't it. I suggest that Raven goes and checks the door before we approach it en masse.""

"Your wish is my command noble warrior," the thief replies with a mock bow, his tone teasing rather than mocking. "I do play the part of the 'stealthy scout' after all, do I not?"

So as not to make a mistake, is Raven going to be checking the door to the tenement (which one, B5 or B6 by the way?) or the carpenter's shop when the time comes?

I should have been more clear in my thoughts above..Marius want Raven to check the tenement first due to his suspicions ..he is definitely favouring the carpenters shop as the place off observation

I'll assume the lower lefthand tenement. And that you are approaching from the lower lefthand corner of the map. (from the southeast)

Akorian:

Raven, any special precautions or are you going to swagger up to the front door?

Sorry, all. Work and other factors combining to slow posting. Expect no more than 1 a day from me this week. If I do better it will be a bonus.

Keeping his eyes on his surroundings for anyone looking or moving towards them, the elven rogue carefully approaches the tenement's wall a little at a time before crouching and flattening himself against the building's side. At all times he tries his best to keep himself low enough so as to not be visible through any windows to whoever might be inside. 'Luck be a lady today,' he thinks to himself with a smile.

Perception 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
Stealth 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

Because I think I may have missed it at some point, did we ever divide the 9 potions of cure light wounds we... ahem... 'liberated' from the vile clutches of Hell's knights?

As Raven starts to step away from the group, Akorian silently gets his attention when the elf looks back at the rest of the group. Then, the priest points at his eyes and then up at one of the upper story windows in the tenement building. He holds up one finger to indicate at least one possible lookout overhead.

"Marius?" Akorian whispers back to the big warrior, "Keep an eye on that window up there. And ready your bow, just in case...I believe we've found our first Bastard."

I don't think you distributed the potions. You may do so now if you wish.

Anyone can follow Akorian's pointing finger to a window over the tenement.

Akorian;

Perception DC 21:

We distributed one healing potion per person, and somebody gets two (Waifrin would prefer to as she used all hers in the fight with the armigers). I thought we were going to enter the carpenter's shop first, but the best laid plans and that ...

Zarabeta peers in the direction indicated, but sees nothing out of the ordinary.

Perception (+2 because Uqabi is in arm's reach) 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

Marius ducks into the shadows as best he can.

Waifrin stays out of sight, there is no reason the Bastards would not be able to see us if we can see them, so she is keen that at least they don't know how many we are.

"Looks like he may have spotted us, too," Akorian says with a frown, "Well, do we start with this tenement and this lookout and see where it leads us? Presumably, he's got a way to signal or warn the others. And I don't think we'll be able to stop him from doing that if he's got that means with him all the way up there. Even so, we can take him out and then back off to reassess what we learn about them..."

"Marius?" he asks, "What do you think?"

"Chasing them into buildings they know well, and which they can darken at will, sounds like a trap." Zarabeta says. "The sun is our ally here, and open space, where we can move out of their darkness could be what saves us."

Pardon my confusion but I thought we were going in at dusk and waiting till dark to approach the area?

I wasn't sure what time you left either so I tried to keep my description of your journey time neutral. My strongest impression was that you were going to travel the Dospera in daylight, even if you weren't going to engage the bastards right away. What time do you want to start investigating the neighborhood?

Well walking up to the place in daylight isn't exactly smart..i suggest dusk as the time to go over the wall and we should have not approached the place till almost full dark

Well walking up to the place in daylight isn't exactly smart..i suggest dusk as the time to go over the wall and we should have not approached the place till almost full dark

We've had this big discussion about how they can see in the dark, and we can't. Coming in at night will only give them the advantage, since it will be easier for them to blind us... But, whatever. Day, night, we're probably still going to be fighting blind by the end of it.

Marius Goddon wrote:

"We could make our approach at night then wait till dawn to mount an attack..Waif's right..we cannot let them dictate the fight"

"Those are good ideas. Do we have enough coin available to buy some tanglefoot bags? I'm guessing you and Raven would have the best chance to pick some up. And you'd probably be better at putting them to use, too."

So this is the daytime reconnoitering trip, then? Or did I miss that, and it's now the night-time raid? I'm a bit confused.

Didn't mean to stall the game with my confusion. Zarabeta is ready to go with whatever.

I'm happy to go with Marius' plan, but I thought we'd take over the carpenters and not go near the tenement until we had daylight.

"Whatever we do," Waifrin looks around carefully, "let's all keep our bearings. If darkness gets us such that we cannot see, we retreat, agreed?"

"Aye lets do this..Raven go find out if our 'friend' in there is hostile..

"We'll make sure we aren't comprimised then move onto the Carpenters alright?"

Marius, how's this democracy working out for you? Seriously, since you're nominally in charge of this raiding, just tell me in your next post what time of day you are making the approach. It won't change my post below, but may change what happens soon.

Raven, I don't think you've had any sneaky-rogue time yet so if you could describe your MO in this kind of situation I would appreciate it.

Raven glides through the shadows gracefully, covering the 50' to the tenement door fairly quickly. He pauses at the bottom of the short stair to the door. (Four steps up to a 5x5 landing.)

The building is of fairly typical construction, but has seen a lot of wear over the years. Rotting soffit boards hang from the eaves to your left. Many roof tiles are missing and a small pile of ceramic rubble is probably their remains. The roof gutter downspouts have been ripped away.

Raven or anyone else closing to within 30' of the building:

Raven examines the short stair for anything out of place, taking care to check for any wires that could trigger an alarm or booby-trap once tripped. Once he is satisfied, he approaches the entrance carefully, stealing a glance up towards the tenement's windows for any more shadowy figures before beginning to check the door itself.

The elf uses not only his eyes but his hands as well to ascertain how sturdy the door and its hinges are without actually trying to force it open. He then proceeds to focus his attention on the lock, a pair of picks already in his hands as he attempts to see how secure it is, if it is locked or not and if it has any nasty surprises waiting for anyone who tries to open it carelessly.

Perception 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9, 10 to locate traps

All this lovely description and the dice forsake me. Veritably mock me is what they do... :-P

Approach timed for dusk..that gives us shadows to work in and hopefully the tieflings lookouts will be looking forward to their relief soon and not be paying too much attention

Marius watches as Raven moves toward the building almost but not quite losing sight off the elf in the gathering twilight.

Raven's examination reveals no traps. He tentatively tries the door knob. It is not locked.

Step into my parlour ...?

Step into my parlour ...?

This kinda sorta reminds me of something but I cannot seem to place it...

Taking a last look around him to mark his companions' positions, Raven opens the door slowly and carefully. Hand on his sword's hilt, the rogue peers inside first to get a feel of the place before stepping in slowly, taking care to position himself not only in the shadows but close to the wall as well, his body in the same half-crouching position as before.

Should I roll for Perception and Stealth again or are the ones from before adequate?

Much as I would love to use your previous roll, it's been used. I'll roll to save time.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Raven:

"My my my... What a luxurious abode," Raven whispers softly to himself before turning to the others, his voice still low so as not to be heard by whoever might be in there. "Not much in here other than filth and signs of abandonment. There is a door in the opposite wall and stairs leading up."

Deciding to check the ground floor first before taking the stairs up, he starts moving towards the door as silently as he can, his intention being to examine it and the room beyond it if possible.

There's no stairs here. I'll post more in a few hours. Can I get one last perception check, subtract 15 from it, and add the difference, if positive, to a reflex save DC 30.

I've got the rest of the party 50' away. Have any of you closed the distance?

Oops... My bad about the stairs. Got a bit confused with the upper story window. Sorry Thom...

Perception 1d20 + 7 - 15 ⇒ (14) + 7 - 15 = 6

Reflex save 1d20 + 7 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 7 + 6 = 28

Close but no cigar. At least I do not smoke. Heh...

I've got the rest of the party 50' away. Have any of you closed the distance?

Zarabeta remains with the others, straining her ears and eyes for any sign of trouble, but aware that she's probably the last person who will spot anything.

Perception, if necessary, +2 for Uqabi in arm's reach 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Ouch. Eyeball fell out again. She'll pick that up and dust it off before popping it back in the socket.

Marius waits tensed for Raven to report back hoping the rogue remembers he was only going for a look inside not to storm the place

Akorian has loaded his crossbow and continues to watch the window where he saw the original figure in case he needs to fire on him to provide cover for Raven.

Raven takes a couple steps into the room. BAM! There is a load crash and the outer door slams shut behind Raven.

This could get ugly.

Raven:

The sound off the door slamming makes Marius start up.."Ohh..bugger" he mutters..

Keeping to the shadows he moves as quickly as he can to the door

Stealth1d20 - 1 ⇒ (13) - 1 = 12

"What was that?" Waifrin asks, hearing the sound of the crash.

I'm guessing that if it slammed that hard, it must have been pretty loud and clear.

Seeing Marius moving she follows him closely.

Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

Zarabeta follows the others, mind racing as she tries to decide what course of action makes the most sense.

Stealth 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

She may be blind as a bat, but she's a blind ninja!

For the DM:

Raven:

Outside: You can go all the way to the door without obstruction.

Akorian jogs over to join the others, keeping his eyes skyward to make sure the figure in the window doesn't reveal itself again.

"Marius?" he whispers when he finally arrives, "Any chance we can force the door? Or maybe scale the tenement to access one of the upper floors and work our way down?"

This is a tenement building, so presumably has windows - are any on the ground floor? If not how high are those on the next floor?

Marius tests the door with his shoulder..

Strength test1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

"It's solid" he replies..he presses his ear to the door.

perception1d20 + 0 ⇒ (12) + 0 = 12

"Can't hear a thing..which might be a good or a bad thing.

"Smashing a window will make a lot off noise" he whispers.."Do we want to risk that? Theres been no alarm so it might not be tieflings..in which case..the enemy of my enemy is sometimes my friend"

Answering Waif:

Raven glides through the shadows gracefully, covering the 50' to the tenement door fairly quickly. He pauses at the bottom of the short stair to the door. (Four steps up to a 5x5 landing.)

The building is of fairly typical construction, but has seen a lot of wear over the years. Rotting soffit boards hang from the eaves to your left. Many roof tiles are missing and a small pile of ceramic rubble is probably their remains. The roof gutter downspouts have been ripped away.

Raven or anyone else closing to within 30' of the building: The windows have been rather shoddily boarded up, usually with 2 or 3 six inch wide planks across the opening. In some windows the curtains were left in place and the nails must have been driven through them too. was spoilered

Akorian and anyone else who spotted the watcher in the window -- that figure is gone.

Marius. The door is solid, but destroyable if it comes to that.

"Well, regardless," Akorian responds, "Raven is trapped in there with someone or something. We can't just leave him in there and hope for the best."

Marius looks at the door again..then down at Akorian

"I'n not going to get a run at this..but I'll do my best"

He throws himself at the wood..

strength check1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

and indeed he does his best..

outside is probably a hair ahead of Raven.

Raven:

Zarabeta steps over so that she is near the hinges to the door and attempts to place her hand directly over the top-most hinge before unleashing a hissing stream of acid.

Attempting to 'coup de grace' the door as a full-round action to do double damage, if possible, although this may require her to make a Reflex save to snatch her own hand back before she takes normal damage herself! Acid is no one's friend.

Damage to the upper hinge 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
extra Damage, if her crazy scheme works 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Reflex save (DC to-be-determined) if necessary to not burn her own fool hand off attempting this stunt 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22