Carpy DM runs Serpent's Skull!

Game Master Wellard

I'll wait for Nat to post before I resolve that

just keeps getting better, lost my job on Friday, been getting everything ready to try to get a new job...fun fun fun.

Sorry to hear that man I'll DMPC Cutlass for as long as needs be

@Atzi: Congratulations!

@Cutlass: I'm very sorry to hear that. I hope you find a new job as soon as possible

Natalyah barely has gotten her head above the water before her attackers head explodes from the strike delivered by Uchendu. Wasting no time Natalyah grabs her dagger and launches herself at the decrepid creature that attacked Atzi and Ishirou, stabbing repeatetly at it's head and neck.

Move action to retrive my magical dagger
Standard action to attack the fiend: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19 (i'm unsure what combat penelties i get for fighting in water, so substract what you think is fair)
Damage roll: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Natalyah snatches her dagger from her belt and stabs upwards the point entering just below the jaw and slicing up into its brain case.It goes limp. She continues her frenzied stabbing for a few seconds before realising that her foe has expired.

Woohoo! Out of combat rounds then?

Ishirou grins at Natalyah leans in and whispers to her in perfectly accented Elvish

Yes we are out of combat Amisi didn't need the 2nd Magic Missile

Natalyah crawls up on land (assuming that we can see the edge of the pool) and turns back to look at the water. Her hair hangs like seaweed over her face and down her shoulders and only a glimpse of her eyes are visible, burning with fury. She stifles a scream and jams her fist into the wall beside her.

Her anger is somewhat dampened by surprise as Ishirou leans over and whispers in her ear.

There is no land to crawl up on..just a 10' square pit filled with water to a depth of 1o feet.However now that you have time to take the area in, with the aid of the stone giving light from the water,you can see that there is a hole in the pit wall 5 feet below the waters surface.

Ook, she does the above while clinging to the caven wall

"Give me your spear", Natalyah tells Atzi after cooling down somewhat. She dives down to the hole and peers inside with the druid's spear providing her with some illumination.

I'm presuming that Nat takes 10 on her swim roll.She can hold her breath for 24 rounds less one for every move or standard action she takes

The hole is a narrow tunnel running a short way forwards and then curving upwards again.(1 move action to get to tunnel mouth 23 rounds remain)

"There is a tunnel that curves upward", Natalyah says as she surfaces. "Give me that rope. I'll swim through the tunnel as i can. If there is a end to the water i will tug the rope twice. Then you'll know it's safe to follow."

The ranger takes the rope in a frim grip and decends once more swimming into the hole, with the druid's spear providing her light.

Atzi climbs down until her legs are in the water and gracefully turns the shortspear. After placing it in Natalyah's hand she watches as it's light descends into the water below. After counting for a few seconds, she takes a deep breath and swims after the ranger.

Take 10+1 = 11 (Atzi is wearing her armor so its restricting her swimming some. If the water ends up being too rough then she will swim back and climb out of the hole so she can strip off some gear.

Natalyah dives back under with the rope and in a very short time it jerks allowing Atzi to follow on behind. Ishirou is not far behind.

It takes 3 rounds to swim through the tunnel and another to rise up to the surface again.You emerge in a small excavated cavern with two iron banded chests sitting on a stout wooden platform. Nothing else seems to be here. Ishirou rubs his hands together in a business like manner.

"Let us see what Captain leave for us yes?" he says with his usual grin." Please to be allowing me to check the chests for any nasty surprises"

"You where supposed to wait until i scouted what lay at the end of the tunnel", Natalyah hisses at Atzi and Ishirou as they emerge from the waters. Then she scans the room before giving the rope two annoyed tugs.

Perception check: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (13) + 12 = 25

Atzi reclaims her shortspear from the wet Natalyah, so that the rangers hands were free in case of trouble. She placed a hand on Ishirou's shoulder and shakes her head. "Let us wait until the others arrive, Friend Ishirou . That way if something doth dwell here we shall be at our strongest and not be caught by surprise."

Atzi gives Natalyah a brief smile as she says quietly back. "And let you get eaten? I like your body in one piece, friend Natalyah~" Stifling a chuckle, Atzi surveys the room from where she entered and doesn't move far from the water for fear of trip wires or a booby trap.

Once everyone is here Atzi will have no qualms about Ishirou doing his thing

Perception: Looking around the room they are in, but she doesn't leave where she entered in case of tripwires or traps 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26

"I have no intention of getting eaten. I can fend for myself", Natalyah responds, her stern expression unchanged. She does clearly not find the situation amusing.

This is another small area there won't be room for everyone in it. The platform is built above the water easy enough to scramble onto but there is only room for one or at most two people up there.

Nb as there was no threat in the room I did handwave Natalyah tugging the rope in my post above

Ah, missed that one. Since this is a small cavern with no other entries or exits i'd like to retcon the tug. She will instead swim back to report what we've found.

"Get this over with. I'll swim back and tell the others they can wait, this room is to cramped to hold all of us", Natalyah mutters and dives back in to report the findings to Uchendu, Cutlass and Amisi. Once she does so the ranger submerges once again and swims back to the cavern.

Uchendu raises an eyebrow when Natalyah reports what was on the other side.

"Whilst I am all for inventorying what is in the chests, perhaps it would be best if we brought them top-side before opening them; if there is anything delicate inside, we do not want to risk exposing it to the water..."

Amisi stays up - guarding in case someone else surprises them.

Just to say I'm here and wait what happens

"That's Ishirou's problem", Natalyah anwsers Uchendu bluntly. "You can swim and tell him if you want. I'll go and look out above", she continues and starts to climb out of the hole. Taking 10

Seems like everything i do i retcon the next day :)

One of the eternal problems with PbP..

A wet and angry Natalyah emerges onto the windswept hilltop.

Fortunately this afternoon the usual rains seem to be missing this part of the island and the heat soon begins to dry her off.

Meanwhile back in the treasure pit...

Ishirou looks at Atzi after Natalyah leaves "Maybe someday we find out why she angry all the time yes?" he comments before setting himself to opening the chests.The locks give way easily..obviously the captain thought there was no need to trap the chests given the difficulty in just finding them...and reveal a number of bags, a scroll tube,a wooden buckler and a curious star shaped knife

Ishirou checks the bags and grunts.."Coins and gems..nothing water can hurt."

Atzi smiles after Natalyah's retreating form, and smiles more broadly as she dips below the surface to swim back to the others. As Ishirou speaks Atzi can't help but laugh at his comment. She speaks softly, mostly musing to herself, as Ishrou pops open the chests. "She is a wild warrior who isn't going to be easily tamed~ Her anger though has given her the strength to keep moving, to learn and escape this island no matter what... Besides her anger she is impressive in every way. Yes?"

Nodding her head in agreement to the coins and gear not being harmed by water, Atzi helps him to rig up some ropes and prepare to pull the chests back one at a time. "We can swim a short ways and set them down and once we regain our breath take the chest the final leg of the journey to those with the rope. Hopefully nothing else reveals itself. But let us be careful Ishirou, I don't trust this place..."

Good luck in getting another job Cutlass, I know the feeling i've been through 4 jobs in the last 4 months. Economy still isn't as good as it could be up here in Alaska. =/ Now I get a little gamer to take care of too so yeah lol. Good Luck bro!

"She is a wild warrior who isn't going to be easily tamed~ Her anger though has given her the strength to keep moving, to learn and escape this island no matter what... Besides her anger she is impressive in every way. Yes?"

You have obviously not been paying attention to her dice rolls then :D

Lol I ignore the dice roller for the most part, RP is what I focus on and besides the forum dice roller is a cantankerous bugger and only gives us the rolls we need at the wrong time... xD

Amisi will focus on the scroll tube and open it if nobody rejects that suggestion.

"It is so difficult to find any spells or other pieces of academic learning here. "

Uchendu waits patiently for Ishirou and Atzi to return to the main chamber with the 'treasure', and then helps them to haul the chests up to the surface for a closer inspection...

...muttering a few short phrases in the Abyssal tongue, Uchendu causes his eyes to glow with a fiery red light as he casts his gaze over the acquired goods...

Spellcraft (Star Knife?): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11.
Spellcraft (Scroll Tube Contents): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6.
Spellcraft (Buckler): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21.

...and just in case the contents of any of the bags is magical...

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15.
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12.
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11.

Amisi will focus on the scroll tube and open it if nobody rejects that suggestion.

"It is so difficult to find any spells or other pieces of academic learning here. "

Atzi laughs and slaps Amisi playful on the back. "At least there is something before you now yes? Hopefully there will be something soon that will make me a better warrior~ Although I would hate to take Uchendu's job." She winks at Uchendu as she says the last part.

Quetza lands with a heavy Thud and warbles his way over to Atzi, nearly plowing her over in his excitement. She gives a laugh and strokes his head crests as Uchendu performs his mysterious work.

Uchendu favors Atzi with a brief smile, and comments dryly:

"Oh, I am sure that we will be able to make a warrior of you yet, Atzi..."

The Star Knife is not Magical but is Masterwork and made of Cold Iron.

The buckler is a Darkwood Buckler +1

The scroll in the Tube(which turns out to be made of Mithral) is unintelligible to Amisi.(It's a divine scroll.)However Atzi is able to identify it as a Raise Dead

Natalyah surveys the bounty with a skeptical glare as it is hauled up and inventoried. "Now we just need to find a merchant on this island", Natalyah mutters. "At least now everyone has a reason to get off the island", the half-elf adds making no atempt to hide the sarcasm.

Before the scroll is identified

Will detail the cash and gems once I have my books at hand.

Always with the negative vibes Moriarty

The irony is, of course, that none of the PCs can use the scroll; thank heavens we have Jask ;-)

The cash..each bag holds 250 coins

5250 Cp

3000 Sp

1500 Gp

Pouch of Garnets and Amethysts worth 750Gp

Not a fortune but still a substantial amount..

The cash..each bag holds 250 coins

5250 Cp

3000 Sp

1500 Gp

Pouch of Garnets and Amethysts worth 750Gp

Not a fortune but still a substantial amount..

Not bad at all. The player understands Ishirou's obsession with finding the treasure. Natalyah, however, think's it's all bullcrap :)

So, what now gang?

Well, I imagine Ishirou will want a share (of the cash at least), so that nets us 2602.5 / 6 = 433.75 gp each, in addition to the three items.

Once everything has been sorted, and shares have been assigned, Uchendu turns to the others.

"Shall we head back to the main camp, but this time, focus on the land on the left side of the river?"

"Quite de fine haul, but fairly worthless on dees island...find a spot to bury it at de camp, and let's be on to exploring more."

@Natalyah: Lol xD Your character is feisty!

Atzi nods in agreement to Uchendu proposal. "It would be good to find what lies opposite of our camp. Are we going to heft the chests back with us? It would be difficult but they would be nice to store items from the heat and rain."

She chuckles at Cutlass's words and gives him a broad smile. "Wouldn't it be grand if you left this place with enough gold to own your own ship Cutlass? I know that I will be able to do much with what we have found here today!"

Just so its done~ Survival for when we start traveling again~ 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

As for where items should go... Natalyah, the starknife is a martial weapon, and you are the only person in the party that is proficient with martial weapons. Do you wish to claim it?

Also, as you tend to get into combat a fair bit (and as such, could use some extra AC), and do not use a two-handed weapon like Uchendu, do you want the buckler, too?

You will have time to get back to camp before dark today

There seems to be nothing of interest for Amisi. The jewels look nice - but now isn't the time or place to get dressed up for a ball or similar.

"Just keep it save somewhere. It will be useful later, once we find a place where gold can be used.
Maybe next we should try to go all the way to the South. I think there was a ruined tower to light the way for ships. There have been rumours it's haunted - but that might be the best place to find a ship or boat still worthy the seas."

She then looks at Atzi and Uchendu in case they come up with a better suggestion.

I'm happy to be overruled and just follow - but thought we need directions. Anywhere but randomly walking around seems fine to me.
And just to clarify - right now we should go back to camp. The suggestion above is rather to be done tomorrow / in the next days.

Natalyah sighs and rolls her eyes when the party starts talking about burying the treasure near the camp.

"Aivan küte eh ovate oaneeta aarrë ulos maeste eh puhuvat laite sen takanisi*", she mutters to herself.

Natalyah tries not to react as Amisi suggest the next destination to be explored, but she cannot stifle the smile appearing on her face. It is not much but given her recent mood she might as well have thrown her arms in the air and exclaimed "FINALLY!".

Survival check to aid Atzi's survival check: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
Perception check should one be needed to look out for dangers along the way: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32

Atzi's smile dims some at the thought of leaving the island so soon, especially since they had not discovered all of its secrets yet. The location of the savages was yet unknown, as was their treacherous captain and his consort. Atzi crossed her arms under her breasts and looked to the sky, her eyes distant, as she spoke. "If we do that we would have to uproot the entire camp, if the building you speak of exists then we should prepare for danger..." She looks to her fellows and catches the glimpse of a smile on Natalyah's face. "My thought is simple, we are not alone on this island and others probably would have thought the same. So either we will find an abandoned ruin or... something worse..."

Quetza stares on impassively, looking from face to face and screeching at Atzi's strange attitude. After a few moments of watching everyone converse he gets bored and takes to the air. Circling lazily as he waits for everyone to depart.

I had assumed Natalyah was a two weapon fighter of sorts? But if the buckler will help her thats cool =), for now Atzi can hold onto the scroll of Raise Dead.

Sorry, i failed to reply on the loot thingie. Natalyah is quite set all ready. Masterwork shortsword in her main hand and magical dagger in her off hand. I think Atzi should take the buckler. Natalyah could hang on to the dagger in case we meet something that has damage reduction against everything but cold iron, but she won't have any use for it otherwise. Maybe Amisi should take it. Isn't the starknife a desna thing?

Sorry, i failed to reply on the loot thingie. Natalyah is quite set all ready. Masterwork shortsword in her main hand and magical dagger in her off hand. I think Atzi should take the buckler. Natalyah could hang on to the dagger in case we meet something that has damage reduction against everything but cold iron, but she won't have any use for it otherwise. Maybe Amisi should take it. Isn't the starknife a desna thing?

Yes, it is a Desna thing, but with the -4 non-proficiency penalty, using it is impractical for anyone except you.

Also, regarding the buckler, anyone wielding a two-handed weapon (like Atzi's spear, or Uchendu's ECB) takes a -1 penalty to the attack roll, which at this level at least, is quite annoying; they also lose the shield bonus if they make an attack. Because Natalyah dual-wields weapons, she can use the buckler most effectively - you can only make two attacks when you full-attack anyway, and you will only take the -1 penalty to hit on one of your attacks, so most of the time, you will keep the shield bonus without too much in the way of a penalty. Just my two cents worth on the subject :-)

Ah, my mistake. When i read "buckler" i thought "shield" and not "buckler" :) so i could equip it on my off and and still be able to two weapon attack with a short sword and dagger (for a -1 penalty to the off hand attack)?

Anyway i thought that Atzi had a short spear she wields in one hand, so i still think that she should have the buckler since Natalyah is right now jampacked with stuff :)

i'll store the star knife in case we meet something with a cold iron weakness/non damage reduction

That is correct. you can still wield two weapons whilst wearing a buckler; the only down-side is that you have a -1 to hit with the off-hand weapon (and lose the buckler's bonus to AC for one round when you strike with your off-hand weapon).

Your point about Atzi is correct, though; for some reason, *I* thought she had a Spear, not a Shortspear ;-) However, from a combat perspective, you would still be considered the larger melee threat (sorry Atzi)...

Realistically, I am all for items going to the person it most makes sense for them to go to; don't worry, when we start coming across stuff that it makes sense for Uchendu to claim, I won't be shy about letting you know ;-)

Uchendu nods to Amisi.

"I agree, our ultimate goal should be to try and find that lighthouse, as it is probably the best way to attract the attention of a passing ship to free us from this island. However, I think we should do this in a methodical fashion; simply bush-bashing our way through the jungle could get us all killed. We know there are savages hiding in the jungle somewhere, and we still do not know *why* the Captain and his Consort wanted to come here so badly. We should be cautious."

He then nods to Natalyah.

"I agree, all of these little quests have not, technically, been directly related to getting off this rock, but we have been exploring the island, looking for its secrets, and generally keeping-up the morale of the other people back at camp."

With that, Uchendu lapses into silence, waiting for Atzi and the others to be ready to head back to the main camp.

I thought we could travel on the other side of the river this time, so that we could cover some territory that we had not already gone over...

That is correct. you can still wield two weapons whilst wearing a buckler; the only down-side is that you have a -1 to hit with the off-hand weapon (and lose the buckler's bonus to AC for one round when you strike with your off-hand weapon).

Your point about Atzi is correct, though; for some reason, *I* thought she had a Spear, not a Shortspear ;-) However, from a combat perspective, you would still be considered the larger melee threat (sorry Atzi)...

Realistically, I am all for items going to the person it most makes sense for them to go to; don't worry, when we start coming across stuff that it makes sense for Uchendu to claim, I won't be shy about letting you know ;-)

I forgot she could wield the buckler and still get the benefits. So when you put it that way it makes sense. That's the hard side of playing a druid at low levels, your not very cool until you are higher level and you don't fill very many niches other then healer and short lived blaster...

I assumed as well you wanted to go through unexplored territory like we've been doing from the beginning~

Atzi bites her lip to avoid further talking about this 'lighthouse' they all seemed to be in a hurry to seek. Her instincts warred with her logic when she thought about it further. Without another word she slips off to find a new trail to lead them back to camp, keeping her shortspear at the ready in case they happen to encounter something unexpected. Quetza continues his easy flight ahead of the party, searching (lazily) as Atzi had asked him too.

do you need a new survival roll DM?
Perception (Assist Natalyah's roll :D 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27