Aubrey's Rise of the Runelords campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Aubrey the Malformed

"Our story can wait until we have a long stretch of road between us and them, but none of them are dead. We had the same thought.

Now - your dwarf friend that was helping with the repairs - I would guess that he's lost interest in remaining here..."

”Good point. What is your plan for leaving the fort?”

"Beat up hellknights, recover our horses and gear, then ride on to wherever you are going. I'll drop a message to Chief Archivist Ghorth of the Order of the Nail to have someone come by and unlock their cells."

"I'm torn between robbing the hellknights blind to teach them a lesson and taking nothing to avoid provoking overreaction. Thoughts?"

Ghorth is the only grand Hellknight poohbah whose name I know. Others at the conclave might be more relevant for this; Sefayll probably knows who.

Is Asher still out there?

”Do hell knights react in any way other than “over”?”

Sefayll shakes her head. ”Trying to shame them can only harm us. When they get the orders from Magnimar, hopefully their superiors will unbraid them for overreaching. Nothing we can do will have that effect.”

”How many of the knights have you overcome? How many remain?”

Asher shakes his head in bemusement. "And now we're escaping from Hellknights. Am I becoming a fugitive?" He looks down at one of the unconcious knights. "Worth it, I'd say."

"I'd say take nothing but our companions and their gear. Then maybe in a couple of years we sneak into Magnimar, make our case to one of the Justicars, and let them hand down a ruling, which the Hellknights might even follow..." Ivori speculates as he drags another hellknight toward the cells.

"We knocked out four of them, m'lady. I'd guess about thirty all told, between knights and squires, but I've no idea how many are in the fort and how many out, at the moment."

”Not favorable odds. How did you get in? Can we return the same way?”

Fortunately for the imprisoned adventurers, the hellknights had not finished cataloguing (these being hellknights) their gear, which remains in piles on the table.

All your stuff is there.

There's nothing wrong with leaving the way you came - it's perfectly passable. However, you will be sans mounts, meaning you would be hiking to Kaer Maga and also the hellknights could overhaul you fairly easily.

However, Tikrok did find another passage which should come out quite close to the stables.

"Does anyone have reliable means of disguise? We could send a couple out to "exercise the captured horses", while the rest of us leave the way we came in. Alternately, we all rush the stables, deal with anyone in the courtyard, and try to scatter the Hellknights' steeds as we go."

Are we taking Dravite with us?

Forgot about Dravite, but he is with you.

"Ach, I'd like tae give these hellknights a hookin', but I guess noo isnae the time," grumbles the dwarf.

The cheeta gives a small meow and shakes his head at the door leading further into the fort. He starts heading back towards the caves and the tunnel he saw that might lead to the stables. He takes a few steps before looking back to see if the others are following.

"Tikrok - are the main gates closed? If not, I guess we can seize our mounts and barge out of here."

Would Ivori recall if the gates were closed as he came up?

It is nighttime so the gates are closed. That said, this isn't an especially complex castle so the gates can be opened by somebody pulling the bar out and pushing.

"Unbarring the gate is unlikely to go unnoticed by the hellknights on watch."

Would Sefayll have an idea of how the hellknights would be arrayed to man the fort?

"Not unnoticed, no, but hopefully we can move with enough alacrity to be out before sufficient opposition is mustered. I doubt we'd get the horses down the tunnels, and I doubt we'd make Kaer Maga afoot before a troop of mounted Hellknights overtook us - and I don't fancy those odds.

Does this sound like a plan?"

Would Sefayll have an idea of how the hellknights would be arrayed to man the fort?

Not really, she's never been here before. Being a hellknight would add very little extra insight.

Tikrok nods and starts casting a spell and touches Ivori. He grins and water rises up to push Ivori along as he moves. Tikrok then begins making his way back to the tunnel that leads to the stables.

Cast slipstream. Lasts 110 mins. Adds +10 feet of movement on level ground, +20 downhill, +0 uphill. Thought you could use a boost if you're running for the gate.

While they talk, Sefayll has been gearing up, visibly relieved to take up her helm and set it back in place.

”Don’t draw attention too quickly - our mounts are unlikely to be saddled and of little use until they are. Otherwise, it’s as good a plan as we have.”

"Laddie," says Dravite, "Ye cannae be expecting me tae leave me best pal Crag. I'm nae leaving her with these hellnits."

OK, so is a plan coalescing? Creep out, saddle the horses, open the gate, then RIDE! To answer Asher's query (no need for spoilers on that) there is an old watchtower next to the stables which is heavily encased in scaffolding and looks like a potential candidate for a big distraction, which we can assume Asher noted on the way in.

Crag, for those unaware, is Dravite's mule and animal companion.

I think that's the size of it. I would offer to retrieve the other two horses, but I might be able to contribute in the escape, if only with some distractions and my sole wall of fire.

Asher shoulders his gear, as everyone around him hurriedly discusses their imminent departure. "If we need to, that old watchtower near the stables, the one with all the scaffolding...it's like a drunk stepping off a curb. Wouldn't take much to knock it on it's face."

"I might know just the thing..."

Could I possibly drop it with Stone shape?

Ivori thinks for a moment.

"Master Dravite, give me a description of your Crag, and I'll see her out the gate if I need to carry her on my back.

So - do we think that any of us can reach the stables unnoticed?

Camlo grins.... "I can almost certainly manage that."

OK, map.

You are emerging from the secret door at B2, built into the cliff against which the fort as a whole has been built. The gap at I2 is a passage that leads up to an overlook in the cliff above (which is also a dead-end). The Old Tower is the ricketty structure we just discussed, about thirty feet high and shored up with scaffolding. The stables are where the mounts (and Crag) are. The bridge is static, not a drawbridge. The cookhouse is basically a place to smoke food - it's effectively an open smoker, so has no walls as such. The castle walls are stone, crenellated, and fifteen feet high, and so are the towers. The keep looms above everything on the left side of the map, but the entrance is out of sight round the other side (and off the map). There are also other buildings in the bailey, but they are also off the map. The river is ten feet deep.

Dravite looks at Ivori funny. "She's a mule," he says.

Cool, so Camlo and whomever else wishes to sneaks over to the stables to get the horses (and mule) ready. I'm guessing someone should go with him to help. When the time comes, Ivori rushes to the gate to open it and we ride out while Asher, Alwyn, and I provide cover with ranged attacks and spells. After the last person is out one of us casts wall of stone to close off our exit so it is more difficult to follow us.

Tikrok cheetah pokes his head out of the secret door and sniffs around trying to assess the state of the yard and detect any guards in sight.

perception: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (9) + 17 = 26

Tikrok's enhances animal senses pick up a guard in each of the guard towers on either side of the gate, silhouetted in the glow from the braziers against which they are warming themselves. He also spots two more guards patrolling the walls, walking along the parapet with slow watchful strides. He can hear, but not see, the softly scraping feet or the quietly clinking armour of a few more guards in a part of the bailey obscured by the bulk of the keep, probably guarding the other gate which is now out of sight.

Positions of the guards you can see marked on the map.

Given the complete cluster-f$@* that the boards have been of late, it would be good for each of the PCs to post some sort of in-game comment (doesn't have to be elaborate unless you want to to be) so I know you are still out there.

The cheeta points out the guards as best he can and slinks off towards the stables.

Asher blinks, nonplussed, at the cat gesticulating in front of him, and scowls, whispering, "Right. What?"

Sefayll shakes her head. Also whispering, "Maybe he saw something. I imagine he can see better than we can in this dim light. What are you planning with this tower again?"

As Camlo is sneaking off to the stables, I assume that mean's he's not sneaking off to take out those two guards.... which feels like it may have been the better plan in hindsight.... og well....

Camlo sneaks off as per his orders....

Stealth: 1d20 + 29 ⇒ (5) + 29 = 34

Asher holds his right arm up at the elbow and mimics something ramming the bottom of it. His arm falls as he makes a creaking sound and then imitates an explosion.

"Right. I can knock down the tower."

OK, at this point it might be helpful to place yourselves on the map. I've added a few rows to the map so people can crowd in the tunnel. This isn't necessarily a prelude to combat, but it will make it easier for me to work out what you are doing (and who might notice).

Stick Camlo at B2

Haven't you sneaked over to the stables?

I wasn't sure at what point we were talking. If you want me over there at this point, then that's good with me! T10?

N6 for the cheetah.

B3

Positions for Alwyn and Ivori, please. Also a Stealth check from Tikrok since G1 has line of sight to him (albeit it is dark).

stealth: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

apparently cheetahs don't have a stealth bonus...

OK, it's dark and the guard is 70' feet away, which adds a +8 to the DC to notice Tikrok-cheetah. So the Perception DC is 18.

G1 Perception check 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

The guard doesn't even turn around, focused as he his outside the walls rather than inside.

OK, time to put the plan into action.

What checks do you need for us to set up the animals?

Given your skill levels, there aren't probably any meaningful DCs I could give for Stealth (to keep quiet) and Perception (to avoid tripping over yourself or something else in the dark) that you couldn't hit. And while you are quite short to be saddling up horses, it's still something children can do (standing on a stool or something). However...

As Camlo begins to saddle the horses for a quick getaway, another occupant of the stables makes herself known. "YEEE-HAAAW! YEEE-HAAAW!" In one of the stalls, Crag spots a familiar scent. Agitated by her master's sudden absence, she begins to call out.

Handle Animal check to get her to quieten down.

"Oh... ahh, I hadn't anticipated, oh, eermm... " Camlo mutters under his breath, going to soothe the animal.

Handle Animal (Untrained): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11