DM-Camris' REIGN of WINTER Part 2: The Shackled Hut (Inactive)

Game Master Camris

Gondork, note that you store your mental focus in your armour. I think you slept without it, which means you can't activate it without wearing/touching it first.
The implement grants its resonant power to whoever possesses it; the occultist can lend the implement to an ally to assist that ally, but if he does so, he has difficulty casting that implement's spells (see Implements) and can't expend that implement's focus on focus powers until he retrieves the implement or refreshes his focus.
May be a fringe case, but just so you know. Sorry if this un-kills the stupid doll. >_>

nah, we'll overlook it for now. He sleeps in enough of the armor to count as a light chain shirt maybe? Or grabbed the helmet or gauntlets ... Or should we decide in future that the full suit needs wearing? Either way, doll isnt going to kill you before arwyn or you sling her to rest in pieces.

You can stay up a bit, and essentially rest an additional two hours, so you all finally get your rest and all. Spells cast within the last 8hours (overnight) cant be refilled. This may knock caladan and giacomo down a slot from what was used overnight in the last watch.

Fair point, I wasn't aware of that. I might want to get it enchanted with comfort one day in that case. I still have quite alot of damage, although I haven't really tallied..

As it attacked during my watch, it makes sense to me that I've already prepared my spells. Otherwise I wasn't able to cast Magic Weapon and my slings would be the only things capable of damaging it. >_>
I'll channel once or twice soon to get everyone's HP up again. Go calculate what you're missing, then I'll channel.

Caladan: 9dmg
Gondork: 9dmg
Arwyn: 3dmg
Giacomo: 5dmg

and your first channel heals 6. leaving 3 dmg on caladan and gondork.

plust 2hp from resting on top of that, and they're only down 1 hp now i think.

Arwyn and possibly others familiar with the geography, expect that its about two hours to the center of the valley where the portal is expected to be, so you should reach it by 10 am. 11 am, after the attack by the doll and a few hours to catch up.

its the big day. crunch time.

once you're ready, throw a survival check to stay on track/ find the place without getting lost.

Oh yeah, I already rolled for that. But didn't they have some damage left over?

before the second combat i think the one channel healed them up w/ caladan casting a cure light.

i think now they both have 1hp of damage, i think. (60% sure) lol

with a few hours travel between here, and your destination, you may want to just hold off on a second channel until you get closer.

in the first hour, you head towards where you think the source of the cold is.

In the third hour, Giacomo and Ten-Penny suffer 4 nonlethal cold damage, and are fatigued.

Giacomo's frostbite worsens a bit in the fourth hour ( 1 more point of nonlethal cold )

damage totals:
gondork 1
caladan 2
giacomo 5
ten-penny 4

In the end it takes about four hours. as you get closer, the snow becomes deeper, slowing you down more. you've no trail to follow at this point, all obliterated by snowfall. Eventually ten penny climbs a tree occasionally, seeing almost a vortex of snow ahead.

you're close enough that you think you can stop and heal at that point.

"O-okay g-g-guys, this is it. Let's make it c-count. Erastil, please help us, so this ordeal is over s-s-soon and we can get back inside." Giacomo's extremities are turning blue and his words come out slurred due to numb lips.

Channel energy: 1d6 ⇒ 61d6 ⇒ 4

3 channels used, 3 to go. Liberating Command, Shield of Faith, and Enlarge Person (domain spell) left.
We really need to get a source of cures soon. This is really draining my resources. :/ Anyway, everyone heals for 10. Maybe the second one wasn't necessary, but just to make sure.

"We should be close now..." Arwyn said as she moved cautiously ahead, eyes darting back and forth, searching for threats.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

why would you use 2 channels there? that first channel for 6 heals everyone up to full... . you've got 2 channels used, and 4 to go. disregard the 4 healing.

For any possible leftovers we lost track of during the fight with the doll. I'm fairly confident at least Gondork and/or Caladan had some leftover injuries.

its ok. even if they had some leftover injuries, the 6 more would heal them up to full. save the third channel for later

the snow is 3 ft deep as you get closer. its noon, but the sun barely reaches you. a funnel of snow pours up from somewhere ahead, somewhere deeper within the trees.

entering a square covered with heavy snow costs 4 squares of movement. outdoors, the snow continues to fall, making perception checks and ranged attacks harder. -4 penalty applies.

From about sixty feet away, the line of trees thins enough that you think you see some mounds in the snow ahead, and some footprints passing between the mounds and a cave. You push on, through three foot deep snow crusted over with frozen sleet. Heavy ice weighing down the trees on either side until many touch the ground, becoming one with the wintry landscape. as if nature is bowing to the mighty power of the Cold.

As you get to about fifty feet, you realize they're sorts of igloos. well packed snow igloos.

beyond the trees looks like some frozen blast, belching forth snow and ice upwards into the dark grey sky overhead. an icy palisade surrounding the vortex at its base. it howls, a dull roar that you can hear even from a hundred and fifty feet away.

how are you approaching?

big picture/overland map updated

perception checks
arwyn: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (4) + 7 - 4 = 7
caladan: 1d20 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (14) + 1 - 4 = 11
gondork: 1d20 + 5 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 5 - 4 = 14
giacomo: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (18) + 2 - 4 = 16
10p: 1d20 + 5 - 4 ⇒ (14) + 5 - 4 = 15

you don't see anything more from this far away.

I have the cloak, so I'm protected by endure elements right?

Gondork halts, unsure how to proceed.

There's the source of this evil. What now?

yup. you didn't suffer any nonlethal cold damage. the damage totals listed were left over from the morning + nonlethal cold damage accumulated in 4 hours travel. you're all healed up fully at this point.

Arwyn peered about, but shook her head as she turned to her companions.
"The snow is already three feet deep! Trying to find a way through the trees too is impossible! If it gets any deeper we'll have to tunnel!
"There is nothing for it but to go up through the pass ahead and check the igloos!" She shouted above the turbine shriek of the vortex.

"Hey, Gondork, could I sit on your shoulders? The snow's coming to my nipples armpits down here!"

A rythmic grunting sound emanates from the gruff half-orc, and when he turns around a smile reveals that it must have been a laugh.

Of course, master halfling. That is not a problem. However, we might want to keep on our toes.

Are we really going to charge ahead into another potentially dangerous situation? The last two times we tried that we barely made out with our lives..

..then again, we did make it out.

I wish there was a way for us to scout ahead...

He adds, as his eyes scour the impenetrable blizzard for any sign of a horizon.

"I mean. I can try. Its a bit dark. But I think the crunching snow and ice might give me away. not to mention the tracks. And if it goes south, you'll never catch up to me in time to help."

"you're small Giacomo, maybe you can walk on top of the snow? i wish we had some snowshoes... "

"You're thinking of Elves, Caladan. They're light; I'm compact."

so just weapons out and approaching cautiously? attempting stealth even crazy as it may seem to try?

"...grumble grumble grumble. ... your mom is compact. "
takes out morningstar in his left hand, securing a strap over his gauntlet, checking his holy symbol around his nectk, and adjusts shield in his right hand.

a sketch of the scene ahead of you.

Lets stick close to the wall and keep our weapons ready. I'll lead. Everybody ready?

repositioned on map. >> like that? <<

Yep! Gondork will walk ahead about 25 feet along the wall, then stop to take another look.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

ahead of everyone? or everyone follows along? if you've got a 20 ft. speed, right now that's 10 ft. of ground in a double move / round. stealthing would be 5 ft / round. are you stealthing?

Arwyn points out to Gondork there is no need for stealthing with the roar of the vortex drowning out noises.
Arwyn will follow along or lead.

Stealth: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (5) - 4 = 1

its a low roar. And its over a hundred feet away. It wont drown out much, but there is some penalty to perception, visual and auditory, from it. At this distance its only a -4

You try your best, approaching stealthily as you can. But you're caught off guard when you look up and see some tiny blue creature throw something at you. You dodge, only to find out its a thunderstone as it strikes the rock wall behind you.

ranged attack: 1d20 + 8 - 4 ⇒ (6) + 8 - 4 = 10
snipe: 1d20 + 20 - 20 ⇒ (1) + 20 - 20 = 1

squares cost 4 to move 1 / 20 ft speed gets you 5 ft. move. you can't five foot step because of the terrain unless you can light-step or something. Ranged attacks are at -4 from the snow, all perception is at -4 b/c of the snow and the vortex.

Round 1
[20: Ten-Penny], [20: Giacomo], [19: Arwyn], [19: Caladan], [17: Hommelstaub], [7: Gondork]

surprise round - thunderstone

"Um. F&*#. What now!"
ten-penny shakes off the ringing in her ears, looking around (and delaying)

we're probably going to need this... so. Bless.

"Abadar guide us!"
and then try and wade through the snow south five ft.

caladan: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 6 + 1 = 16
arwyn: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

a diminutive winter-touched fey (cold), known as an Atomie. Cold iron will pierce his skin easiest.

Arwyn flinched and sword as the Thunderstone went off. Shaking off the snow that avelanched on top of her, she shuffled through the snow drift 5' west. Sqinting through the blizzard, she took aim at the atomie with a cold iron arrow and let fly.
Dreyden Kepp's mw comp shortbow (cold iron): 1d20 + 6 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (5) + 6 + 1 - 4 = 8 for a possible 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 piercing and cold iron damage.

Giacomo plows through the snow so he can get a clear view of what's going on.
"Hrmph, ugh. Arwyn, what's that up ahead? Should I shoot it?"

Double-moved to current location. Assumed everything is still 4 squares per movement. If not, put me 2 more squares in front.

Gondork swiftly enhances his legs with transmutation magic, granting him extra speed.

This should increase Gondork's speed in the snow to 10ft.

He then walks forward 20ft, grabbing his new cold iron toy. He proceeds to silently gaze at the atomie, unsure on how to get it to come down. A low growl emerges from his throat.

"Don't know! Looks kinda like those fey that ambushed us at the river! Try cold iron!" Arwyn shouted.

sorry yeah, caladan announced what he knew.

"use cold iron on it! its immune to elemental cold!"

the diminutive fairy disappears. its posisble in the snow that he's just moved somewhere and is hiding, but you think you heard him shout something before you lost sight of him

double move. attempting stealth towards the tree by the cave.

stealth: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (11) + 9 - 2 = 18

you spread out in the wake of the thunderstone's shock, Arwyn firing, most moving. It yells something in Giant and disappears. your immediate thought is that he's got allies, and just alerted his "camp" to you intruders. but yeah, he's flying, and invisible...

Round 2
[20: Giacomo], [19: Arwyn], [19: Caladan], [17: Hommelstaub], [17: Ten-Penny], [7: Gondork]

*Gondork understood what the atomie yelled.

Giacomo looks around in confusion. "Was that language Giant? Uh-oh..."
Giacomo starts casting Englarge Person.

"Gondork, stay close, I'm casting something for you."

Be on your guard! It called reinforcements!

Gondorks walks 10 feet forward, then uses his magic to enhance his axe.

Cast Lead blades

Caladan wades through the snow trying to get around the igloo.
"Abadar, guard me" he mutters to himself, with a swift blessing, activating his judgement of protection. AC 20/t 12/ff 19

there's an indistinct sound of casting, muffled by the wind.
i'd post a spoiler, but no one has spellcraft so there's no chance for identification. the sound persists but is hard to pinpoint.

continuing to try and move stealthily, trusting in the weather to offer some assistance. using the tree as concealment/cover.

stealth: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (3) + 9 - 2 = 10