Castle Caldwell and Beyond: (A 5e Campaign) - The Wrecking Crew (Inactive)

Game Master Terquem

"If we are going to attempt to take a tower, I have another idea as well. The halflings said the elf bandits utilized sleep magic. Us elves are immune to this effect but perhaps Victor can use his disguise kit to cover up our features so that we appear human. The bandits may then try magic that will fail thus buying us additional time to defeat them. We haven't determined where the bandits are holed up yet but if we do encounter them, it may give us an element of surprise."

Victor smiles, "An excellent Deception my dear! I am more than happy to assist in this plan".

Day 1, Wednesday approximate time of day, 1:30 pm (turn 82). Location: Approaching Caldwell Castle, Harrispania.Lighting is by day light.

The gate house appears to be two large separate structures, that are not connected across the top of the entrance, as is common for these types of structures. It is impossible to tell if this was left unfinished, or if this design was deliberate.

To each side of a wide opening there is a tower. The tower is built adjacent to its particular wall on each side of the opening. There appear to be no openings in the tower below fifteen feet, but on what might be a second floor of each tower you can see narrow windows (too wide to be arrow loops).

The space between the towers is fifteen feet wide. There is no moat, no ramp, no portcullis to be seen, just a dirt path that winds up the hill toward the gate house area.

"Huh. I was really expecting a door. Maybe we should try the house side?"

Check to Disguise (willing) Elves as Humans 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Victor turns to Perry, "If we safely reach the base of the towers, I have a grappling hook and rope we can use to get a line up there. I or another of you, were you so inclined, can scale the wall to the tower, it is only about a 20' climb".

Ayita accepts Victor's disguise.

"Here's my thoughts. Those gate towers aren't going to be of any immediate use to us. If we are going to secure a location, it should have a ground level entrance so that we can bring the donkey in with us. We don't want it getting eaten by any wolves tonight. We could scout further inside either through the damaged wall or front entrance to see if any of the four corner towers have a lower entrance that we can utilize. If not, we may need to start with the manor house. As far as we've seen, nothing has been guarded, so walking through the front entrance may be okay, but I'm wary that looks can be deceiving. The original reports stated that there were at least bandits, goblins, kobolds, and wolves here. I'd be very surprised if none of these groups have set up some kind of ambush."

Perry shakes his head at Victor. "I would advise against that. Suppose someone's up there? Then somebody's alone with a potentially hostile squatter, while the rest of us are down here, unable to help. We could have a few of us climbing in quick succession, but then we just compound the problem by having one person alone with a threat while three people are piled on the ground after having had their rope cut while they were climbing. No, I think we need to start at ground level."

Hearing Ayita's contribution, Perry nods and adds, "Indeed. Furthermore, even a simple room in the house can be defensible if we're careful of how many doors or windows there are. In fact, we could even use the cart to block a door, making any given room even more secure. I think that should be our first target. We can always 'upgrade' to a better base of operations later."

"With Ranged Weapons and spell power even from the ground the climber could be covered. However, I do understand your point. I simply prefer unorthodox or unexpected methods of combat I suppose..."

"Now that I think about it, taking the gate towers first might be a good idea. If they aren't empty, we don't want the enemy spotting us and then either attacking from above or warning others. If we secure the gate, we can then probably safely enter the courtyard. If those skilled in stealth climb up first, with luck, we could get at least two people up into a tower before a fight breaks out."

I know Ayita's tactics are above her Intelligence but I can't help myself. I'll attribute it to her Wisdom instead.

Perhaps an attack from two fronts. Those of direct methods such as myself attack head on and those stealthy ones climb over and attack from behind.

Thanks Victor Histoff says as he takes the disguise.

"I hear you Sigil. I better go with you, as I'm not much for sneaking. Should we give the others a head start"?

"Aye, perhaps there is a ground-level door on the other side," Magnus says, readying his spear and following Sigil and Klodd between the two towers.

Hmm maybe we should have left the cart camouflaged in the woods for now? Oh well.

Niall has hopped off the cart and is leading his donkey and cart on foot.

" I'll go with the ground team. I'm not a great climber and neither is Dixie here. " I pat the donkey and follow Magnus, Klodd and Sigil.

Niall would also have accepted a human disguise. (It can't hurt.)

"I have rope but if I toss it up, I don't see anything to catch it on. I'll try to scale the wall on my own and drop the rope down to whoever else is following."

Acrobatics to climb the wall: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25 Sweet! That should do it.

Stealth vs. anyone in the window: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Ayita flies up the wall of the right-side tower as if she is walking on air and then ducks into the shadows. A moment later, a hemp rope drops down from the window.

Whispering to herself in Elvish, "Rowtag could not have climbed that wall better. Thank you Mielikki."

Hopefully, there is nothing up here. If there is something to tie the rope to, Ayita will, otherwise, she will hold it herself while the others climb.

Before Victor can tie the rope to the grappling hook, the elf woman has scaled the wall, beautiful and talented. She bears watching Victor thinks to himself. He secures the climbing gear in his pack though he dons his potions for the climb up the wall.

Thinking that the climbing team will face the greater challenge (and therefore the greater opportunity of proving himself), Perry stays with them and bids the ground team good luck.

If Ayita successfully drops a rope down, then Perry will climb up.
Athletics: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

I meant Pitons above, stupid auto-correct... Do pitons give me a plus to my roll or advantage? Don't have the Players Guide here with me at work.

Athletics 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Having a tethered rope, and climbing spikes, will give you advantage on the roll

The group decides to approach the Gatehouse, and once they are closer they can see more of the grounds beyond.

The actual Gatehouse opening is twenty feet wide, but ten feet to the north there are stone walls built out from each tower that constrict the opening to only ten feet wide, and then twenty feet beyond this the Gatehouse ends and the main courtyard of the castle begins.

You can see that the courtyard is grown over with weeds, wild flowers and tall grass, about as high as a human’s knee, and there are visible paths crisscrossing the courtyard where the grass has been repeatedly trampled down.

About sixty feet to the north, almost halfway between the Gatehouse and the Manor House of the castle, there is a large round stone structure about three feet high, with four statues placed in a cluster in the center of the whole thing. It looks like a fountain, from where you are standing, but it is obviously not working, and is overgrown with ivy. The statues could be human, but it is difficult to tell, and they all appear slender, with upraised arms.

Ayita approaches the tower of the Gatehouse on the right, and puts a hand on the rough stone. The stones are large, and the mortar joints deep, and in places sturdy plants have taken root in the mortar. Each stone block of the tower surface is about two feet square.

Ayita finds the rough stone wall an easy climb, and reaches one of the narrow windows, about fifteen feet from the ground.

A tense moment passes, but soon Ayita drops a rope from the window. Anchoring the rope around her waist, and planting her feet against the wall below a window she readies herself for the others to climb up.

Perry climbs first, taking the rope in both hands and easily wedging the toes of his boots into the mortar joints. He is up in a jiffy.

Victor takes a moment to drive a few pitons into the wall, to give his larger feet a solid footing, and once Perry is up and through the window, he follows.

Lijan eyes the rope for a moment, and wonders if he should join those who climbed in or stay with the ground crew.

Niall, Magnus, Sigil, and Klodd wait for a report from the others.

Assuming Lijan will probably join us in the tower, Ayita will wait an extra moment for him to come up before speaking. If he doesn't come up, she'll pull the rope up and wind it back onto her backpack.

Whispering, "The door to the north probably leads to a way down. There is also a trap door above us. It probably just leads to the roof but it might be worth checking out. I can't quite reach it though. I'm probably the lightest of the three of us. Let me get on someone's shoulders and see if it's locked." Ayita looks to Perry and Victor for assistance.

Victor struggles but eventually climbs to the tower to join the others.

Victor places his hands together to give Ayita a boost up.

Perception to see if he hears anything1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Prior to Ayita raising the rope:
Perry leans his head out the window and calls down, "Anybody else coming up?"

Once we've moved on to checking the trap door in the ceiling:
"Alright," Perry says, "While you two get that open, I'll keep an eye on the other door, in case something surprises us while you're doing your totem pole impression."

Okay, Victor make a Strength Ability Check, DC 10, and Ayita make a Dex Ability Check DC 10. If one of you fails, the effort doesn't work the first time you try, but if you both succeed, then it does, and Ayita gets a hand on the trap door in the ceiling. If both of you roll 12+, then this maneuver, for the two of you, becomes easier to do next time you try it, and you will have advantage on any attempts in the future

Dex check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
Oh dice gods you have failed me!

Dex check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

Ayita slips on her first attempt but tries one more time and succeeds.

Good luck Victor.

Seeing the others safely make their way into the windows, Magnus checks the courtyard side of the guard towers for ground-level entrances.

"Unless the builders of this place had wings, there must be a way into those towers that doesn't require climbing like a monkey," the big man says, poking at the mortared stone blocks with his spear.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Strength Ability Check DC 10 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4 Hoo boy, well at least we both failed the first try.

Strength Ability Check DC 12 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Victor makes a cup with his hands, and Ayita places one foot in it, and then puts her hands on his shoulders. She bounces once or twice, to gauge how sturdy the platform of his hands will be, and then vaults into the air.

Victor isn’t ready, and his hands come apart, and he leans forward in surprise. Ayita loses her sense of balance and momentum, and pitches forward at the same time. The two collide, bumping heads in a hard knock.

The two rub their heads as Perry stifles a laugh, but then without missing a beat the two come together once again, with Victor this time lowering one leg into a crouch, and Ayita getting a firmer grip on his shoulders. With one bounce, she aims for the ceiling and Victor lifts her as high as he can, her knees braced against his shoulders. Ayita gropes around the ceiling a few times and finds she can lift the trap door, but she is not high enough to get it open all the way.

meanwhile…

Magnus leads the others through the Gatehouse opening, and stops at each wall, peering around it cautiously. When he reaches the north end of the Gatehouse he looks around the corner, and sees a simple wooden door in the wall. The door is rotted, and shows signs of being hit forcefully with an axe once or twice, but it is still closed.

Is that the same gatehouse tower the others are in? And is that one the east or west? I'm a little turned around.

The others have climbed into the east tower of the Gatehouse, not the South East Round Tower of the castle. This Gatehouse Tower is on the right going into the courtyard, and you have entered though the opening between the two Gatehouse Towers, and see a door, on the north wall of the East Gatehouse Tower. This door would obviously lead into the lower floor of the same tower structure the others climbed into, but if there is a connection between the floors, you do not know of it, yet...

I'll try to get a simple map built tonight

Alright. Since the trapdoor opens, Ayita grabs the lip of the opening with both hands and prepares to attempt to pull herself up.

First, she quietly dangles for a second and listens for anything above. Safety first.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

As long as she doesn't hear anything, she then attempts to pull herself up, forcing the door open with her body as she goes.

I'm guessing a Str check. If something else, let me know and I can modify the roll. I also realized I accidentally used by Dex save instead of a Dex check on the last roll but a 13 still would have been a success. I just don't want to be cheating.

Strength check to pull herself up: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18

Sigil awaits patiently at the tower.

Lijan climbs too but rather much more slowly, on the border of lazy/aloof.
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

For Terquem: added +2 to the results because of expertise feature of the rogue

After climbing, Histoff tells Ayita and Victor to stay away, saying

Can I ? He asks them without waiting for answers, he quickly goes on, only to have a smirk when he sees the trap door upwards and seeing Victor and Ayita he says

The last time someone unqualified tried to disable a trap at my watch he almost got a burning arrow to his heart

He sighs and continues with sarcasm
Are you really sure you can do it ?....you might be crushed by a boulder

Niall hobbles his donkey with some rope to and pure the brake on the cart. Then he moves over to the door with Magnus and tries to glance through the axe slits and listen as well.

Perception : 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

Victor turns to Lijan "Fair point you make. From now on i shall hold back until you have taken a look at things, Anita's exuberance made ne forget the dangers inherent in this task. Thanks for the reminder"

Ayita calls down from above. "Oh Lijan, yes, I would gladly defer to you for these matters. I have no skill with traps and I certainly don't want any boulders falling on my head. I definitely feel much safer knowing you have my back."

Ayita points to the door to the north. "That door there has not been checked yet and we'll probably try that way soon."

Seeing Niall and Sigil ready to assist, Magnus nods his head, then raises one dirty boot to kick open the door at the base of the tower, leading the way in with the point of his spear.

Strength check to kick in the door: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

In a superior show of strength, Ayita lifts herself up out of Victor’s hands, and using her head she forces the trap door open. Accessing the roof, she discovers it is flat (slopping only a slight amount toward the front of the structure) and the shingles covering the wood roof, made of slate tiles, are in serious disrepair. The wall around the roof is about three feet high and crenellated.

When she hears Lijan’s voice, Ayita pokes her head back through the trap door, and points a the simple wooden door in the north wall, making a comment that perhaps he should check it out

How do you intend to get down? Walking around on the roof here will allow anyone on the north side of the castle a clear view of you

Glancing through the small damaged areas of the door at ground level on the north side of the tower, Niall sees nothing of interest

Edited Ninja'd by Magnus while putting together this post

Before Niall can describe what he sees, Magnus steps up and kicks the door. His kick should not have been hard enough to open the door, but the damage, and years of neglect have taken their toll, and the door pops off its hinges and goes crashing into the room

Histoff proceeds to look at the door Ayita pointed at and looks for any unusual stuff and begins playing with his thieves tool with the door

perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Thieves tools: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

While Ayita is thinking about how she is going to get down, Lijan takes out a set of tools. He examines the door in front of him, and sees that it can be locked, with a sliding bolt on this side of the door, but it is not locked now

When suddenly

Lijan, Perry, Ayita and Victor hear a loud crash

Victor draws his blade and hisses up at Ayita, "Can you see what caused that Ayita?"

As the door crashes in Niall pulls a dagger. " Watch out! Goblins! " he hisses pointing the dagger through the door to the east.

I'm assuming we heard that it came from the other side of the door?

"Lijan!" Perry shouts, drawing his sword, "Out of time! Open the door or move!"

Ayita, hearing the bang, quickly draws her shortbow and peers over the edge, ducking slightly around the crenelation for cover.

She shouts down to the group below, "Magnus kicked the door down directly below us to the north and Niall is shouting about goblins. I don't see any outside so they must be somewhere in the east wall. Go help them. The north exit must connect somehow. I'll cover those outside from here in case any enemies appear in the courtyard, and if not, I'll be right behind you."

Not seeing any immediate threats, Ayita sheaths her shortbow and takes out her rope again. She begins to tie one end around one of the crenelations, testing to make sure it is sturdy enough first, and then tosses the other end down the trap door. At the same time, she glances around to get a better sense of her surroundings.

I probably have a good vantage point from here. Is the west gate tower similarly empty like the east one? Can I see any other doors along the walls or corner towers that lead into the courtyard? If I see any, I'll focus on those to make sure no further threats emerge.

Seeing what Magnus has in mind, Klodd readies his crossbow ready to let a bolt fly wherever it's needed.

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10 Perception

As the door crashes in Niall pulls a dagger. " Watch out! Goblins! " he hisses pointing the dagger through the door to the east.

"Pointing the dagger through the door towards the east" might be a better way of saying what I'm doing... I'm not sure if the goblins are in this room or another room to the east.

Histoff unsheathes and holds his rapier and opens the door quickly going to the direction of where he heard the troubles....

...and then a boulder crushes Lijan, in the most ironic twist of fate ever. ;)

Aw, I’m gonna miss Lijan he was a good…wait, what. Doh, stop confusing me, I’m the DM, not you

Ayita scrambles across the roof, stay9ng low and out of site as best as she can, until she can peer over the crenellations on the north wall. When she sees the others below she relays the information back through the trap door, and begins tying off a rope to allow her to get back down as quickly as she can

Meanwhile…

Klodd, Sigil, and Magnus ready themselves for battle as Niall shouts a warning. When the dust has settled from the door that was kicked off its hinges, the four of them crowd close to the opening and try to scan the space beyond for signs of trouble. It is only when their eyes have adjusted to the dim shadows of the windowless room that they notice an opening in the east wall. The opening is about five feet wide, and it is about ten feet from the door on the east wall.

Just then, at the top of the stairs to the south of them, the simple wooden door swings open violently, and Lijan comes through the door, only to sto0p at the top of the wooden landing. His eyes meet the others at the door and then he looks down at the stairs

While on the roof…

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Ayita unfortunately does not catch any movement. She is distracted by trying to do too many things at once. However, once she finishes tying the rope, she draws her shortbow again and continues to lookout over the courtyard for another moment. The round towers don't appear to be an immediate threat so she focuses mainly on the manor and on the party below. Once everyone is able to safely get into the room below, she'll follow down after them.

Perry rushes forward, sword in hand, and looks over Lijan's shoulder. Seeing the other team, he says, "Oh. It's you guys." Perry's stance relaxes a bit, then he asks, "So, is everything alright?"