DM Jesse's Kingmaker PbP (Inactive)

Game Master Jesse Heinig

Based on the rumors you've heard, you think the trolls may be somewhat south of here (down and right on the hex map).

Sounds like a good direction to me!

Might as well take them out while we're in the area? What kind of fire or acid magic do we have at our disposal in case they're hostile?

That sounds like an IC discussion.

After a thorough inspection of the gear they recovered Vallen straps it to Nelly. He's making sure the keen spear isn't going to eviscerate anyone while he speaks. "Uh.. Are we headed back to River Run now? Next week my Uncle will be putting some flagstones on the castle parapet and I was hoping to inspect them personally..."

Might as well take out the trolls since I think they're close by. Then head back Jenya suggests.

Did you guys forget the Owlbear?

Cassandra nearly collapsed as the pain hit her when the adrenaline wore off. She sat down hard and closed her eyes, refusing to look at the wound. Before she got t the courage to deal with it, relief pulsed over her three times. Each time the pain and exhaustion receded until there was nothing left but a mild soreness. She looked own and saw only significant scaring, a testament to how bad the would had been. She gets up and gingerly places weight on her leg, finding it just as strong as before. "Tank you Vallen," she says with sincerity.

"The trolls are just a rumor. There is still an Owlbear out there too. Besides, heading that far south would take more than a week would trip."

Oops I really did forget about the owlbear. We should take care of that.

Vallen almost cringes when Cass mentions the Owlbear. He was hoping they had forgotten. "Ah right... The owlbear... Where was that again?" Torag, please don't let it have a mate or cubs...

Based on the rumors you've heard the trolls are probably south of you but you don't know how far south. Could be a day, could be several. The reports of an owlbear are from the southeast - down the Sellen river. Definitely at least 3-4 days of travel just to get to the general area.

Note that there are plenty of unexplored hexes around you, you could always check them. Also don't forget the places marked on your overland map according to notes from Jubilost, like Candlemere Tower. (That particular location is just two days from your new city!) You don't have a good exploration done yet of the lands southwest, south, and southeast of the Tuskwater - anything on the other side of the small inland sea is still unknown.

Map has been shifted back to overland.

***Hodag be gone***

The massive beast clobbers Vladric severely, beating down his guard and forcing him back on his heels. He barely has a moment to catch his breath. Cassie leaps back to her feet and prepares to fire, as Vallen and Jenya simultaneously bring their pistols to bear and belch flame and smoke. The hodag lets out a tremendous roar as the bullets rip through its flesh and then it pounces once more at Vladic, nearly knocking the swordsman off his feet, only to lie dead inches from him. The tip of its tail twitches for several seconds.

"It's uglier than one of Droksar's Forge-sworn. Seemed about as mean as one, too." He sighs, holstering in his pistol and taking up his holy symbol. "Make sure it's dead. "

Recovering his footing from that surprise pounce, Vladric pauses for a few moments with his Dueling Blade up and at the ready, just in case the foul creature was somehow merely "playing dead". Upon Vallen's advisement, Vladric gives a strong straight thrust with his Aldori blade into the Hodag's exposed neck.

Seeing more of its' blood gush out from that wound without so much of a twitch, Vladric confirms, "It's dead alright. I think I recognize this kind of creature... this Hodag. Back then, during the beginnings of Mivon, the Nobility called them "Mock-Drakes" and hunted them with extreme prejudice inside of Mivon's borders; they served as an... outlet for our nation's... frustrations with the Conqueror's draconic pets."

She gets up and gingerly places weight on her leg, finding it just as strong as before. "Tank you Vallen," she says with sincerity.

Pulling out his Aldori Dueling Blade from the Hodag's corpse, Vladric adds, "Thank you as well, Forge-priest Vallen- not only for the healing but also for those spells that you had placed upon us." once the channeling is done.

Fishing out an oiled leather cloth to clean his Aldori Living-Steel blade with, Vladric gives a nod over in direction of both Jenya and Vallen and says, "Excellent marksmanship from the both of you...". Then looking over to where Cassandra is at, Vladric says, "That was very clever thinking with the use of that Thunderstone; it was something that I would never have thought of using in such a manner." with another nod over to her. Then the Mivoni Noble turns and gives a slight bow over in the direction of Ilystria. "And thank you, your Majesty, for coming along with us to lend your assistance with this foul creature."

***Exploring the Lair and getting that sweet LOOT!***

"Should we take the time to bury these unfortunate victims or should we send out for some of our people from town to deal with all of this? As for the armor and weapons... that studded leather armor might've been useful for me if my own armor hadn't already been modified to rest in. Perhaps they will be more useful in the hands of the town guards?"

***Trolls and Owlbears***

"I suppose it couldn't hurt to see to that Owlbear; As long as we'll be heading down towards that general direction, we might as well try to suss out any signs for those Trolls, as well."

Vallen sighs and consults their map, cross-referencing it with Jubilost's notes. "There's supposed to be an abandoned keep to the northeast about a day from here. Personally I don't want another Stag Lord situation... if there are bandits in that keep we should clean them out." He glances at the cave full of bones. "Though the hodag might have already done that for us."

"Regardless, we could secure the keep, and if its structurally sound, make it into some kind of outpost for a group of rangers, watchers of the Narlmarshes, eh?" The dwarf speculates, obviously pitching the idea to Cassandra.

Moving a thick finger over the map, he points to the location where the tower lies. "We also have a mysterious tower on our hands... Candlemere. Towers are only good for three things- watching great distances, mounting siege equipment on, and acting as a load-bearing structure for the egos of mad wizards." He was clearly distasteful of the last option.

Completely ignoring the entire owlbear situation and hoping everyone else does too, Vallen makes a suggestion. "Why don't we explore this keep and tower? They're closer to River Run and could be very useful." They could also be uninhabited...

"I'd rather deal with the Owlbear first but I don't think it is the season for them to be active just yet. But yes, if there is a keep and tower that others could use for a base it might be something like the Staglord all over again. You can scare off or appease an animal. Bandits are lot harder to deal with," Cassandra says in agreement with Vallen. She nods and smiles at the idea of a watcher post this far west. If nothing else it could be a good safe point for people in trouble. Might leave some supplies there periodically.

You pack up your findings from the hodag cave and head east, through the woods. It's two days of tough work charting the deep woods here, thick with old trees and the occasional dead end that looks like a trail but turns out to be nothing more than an animal run or a dry stretch in the forest.

Eventually you close in on a quiet part of the woods where even few birds call. Cassie notes that there are few animal tracks and no signs of trappers or hunters - the locals who go through this part of the woods must know well enough to to give this place a wide berth.

The reason why is clear: A ruined, circular keep looms out of the forest, surrounded by towering, ancient trees draped with hanging moss. Four circular towers sprout from the cracked walls like the trunks of great trees, at least one crumbled into rubble. Twisting vines and thick moss cover the walls in a coat of verdant green, blending the ruins almost seamlessly into the surrounding woods. The overgrown remains of a path lead to an open, arched gateway gaping in the keep’s eastern wall, its doors long since rotted away.

Map updated. You are all on the far right.

Peering into the arched gateway of the ruins from where everyone is standing, Vladric remarks, "Looks fairly overgrown to me; how much work would have to go into restoring such a place?"

Since Vladric lacks either Know:History or Engineering, he'll try to see if there's anything more notable about the ruins via a perception check. He'll also bring out the saw-backed machete to cut away at any stray vines.

perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14.

Ready to taking a step forward with machete in hand, Vladric will look back and forth to the others and say, "Shall I go and clear out some of these vines then?"

Engineering: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Gnomes don't really have a style of architecture of their own. Not unless you call mashing together whatever takes their fancy from whatever place into structures that can only be called interesting a style. That's why Jenya is able to tell something very interesting about the tower.

Hold on a minute. That looks like Corflut's Elvish House of Elf Stuff in Jovvox. she exclaims I didn't know the Stolen Lands used to have elves in it.

Knowledge: Engineering: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

Knowledge: History: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Vallen instantly recognizes the little changed architectural style of the elves, even in its dilapidated state. He is about to give a breakdown of the structure instabilities inherent in the castle and give an estimate on the volume of work it would take to restore the castle, but Jenya comment is so distracting he loses his train of thought.

The blue-eyed dwarf boggles at the young human woman. "Corflut's... Elvish House of Elf Stuff? Do they name all their shops like that in Jovvox or was Corflut particularly eccentric?"

He sighs and pulls out his pistol, loading the device as he speaks "In any case these are definitely Elvish ruins. I will have to take a closer look to tell if this was part of the Elves' expansion into the River Kingdoms after they returned to Golarian, or if it is even older. Given some of the towers are standing I'd assume it's not that old by elf standards."

Genuinely curious about this structure, he gestures forward with his pistol. "It disturbs me no one else seems to frequent this place... Hopefully it's not cursed or something."

Cassandra doesn't care too much about who built it, only what danger may hide within. None of the hunters went near it so something set them off about it. She couldn't even imagine how old it was to have trees that large growing around it. She'd always heard castles and keeps kept the area around them clear to see better. This thing was overrun. Vines and moss didn't take long to grow. But giant trees? "Let's circle the place first. See if there are any signs of something comong and going."

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
Survival: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30

If everyone is willing, would like to circle it once to look for signs of habitation or fresh tracks.

Sounds like a good plan to me! Hack away, our Vladric the Hedgetrimmer!

The keep's exterior walls are thick stone, 20 feet high. It's work that almost draws grudging admiration from Vallen, but it's clearly very old - ancient, perhaps pre-Starstone.

Vladric draws his machete and slashes away some of the vines - just enough that as Cassie makes a circuit around the tower she spots that the portcullis is teetering, barely held in place, by the merest thread of a tripwire that runs down the side of the wall and is buried just under the soil of the gateway.

As they get closer, Vallen's mouth start to hang a little looser. His ice-blue eyes sweep over the stone several times, as if he can barely believe what he's seeing. "I wouldn't believe it if it wasn't right in front of my eyes. This castle is beyond ancient. Thousands of years old. Before the Starstone, perhaps. Before the first of my ancestors saw the sun for the first time."

Exasperated, he shakes his head. " But it' s still standing. In a swamp no less. " Sighing, he puts his hands on his hips. "I have to give credit where it's due. This is a magnificent display of design and stonemasonry. Damned elves havee to be good at everything, don't they?" He mutters, though it's clear he's impressed.

I presume Cassie doesn't want everyone to just waltz in through the trapped portcullis.

Cassie finishes her circuit and finds that there's a hole some way up in the wall on the south side. Climb DC 15 to reach.

Other than that, no obvious ways in unless you can fly.

Sorry, saw the post and forgot.

"Vallen? Got any suggestions on how to lift a portcullis?" she says pointing to some point at the top. "Tripwire. Soon as we go in we'll be trapped. There is also a window that looks easy enough to get to at least."

Vallen furrows his brows when Cass asks if he knows anyway to lift a portcullist. "It's already y open, I don't... Oh."

Once she points out the tripwire, the dwarf ahhhs and hmmms, looking up the side of the wall and then up at the teetering trap. "Well, we're not in any hurry. If you give me a bit I should be able to keep it from falling our heads for now."

Sizing up the construction of the trap, Vallen traces the buried wire to its tension point, a hidden pulley like device. Sucking in a breath, he nervously looks to the swinging gate and touches his holy symbol. Torag, guide my fingers, for your servant is not very useful if he is crushed.

He removes a large set of fine and complicated tools from his belt, and after several moments of trying different small keys, finds one that fits. He carefully adjusts the tension of the trigger so that a dragon would have to step on the wire to set off the trap.

I don't think I can take 10 or 20 on disable device when a trap is involved, because there's a risk for failure. Sooo

Disable device, mwk tools, guidance: 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 8 + 2 + 1 = 19

Ehhhh Jenya could you give Vallen an Aid on the check please?

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Jenya takes out her own tools and sees if she can give Vallen a hand with the tripwire.

Vallen carefully starts to check the tripwire to see if it can be clipped safely. He runs a hand down along the side wall and to the ground, then brushes away some of the dirt. As he pulls out his tension key to work the pulley he turns slightly and his boot nearly scrapes the wire. Just before it pulls taut and brings the portcullis down on his head, Jenya manages to grab his bootheel and lift up his foot.

Disarm failed, but with Jenya's aid you didn't fail by 5 or more, so you didn't set it off. You can retry.

A few beads of sweat form on Vallen's beard as he realizes that the gate would've come down straight on him and either split his head like a melon or cut him in half.

Vallen's eyes become as wide as saucers after he realizes why Jenya pulled his boot away. Wiping the sweat from his brow, the dwarf looks at the hanging portcullis, then the ground, then his tools.

"Uhhh.. Why don't we go in through the hole in the wall you saw instead, Cass? Yes, I think that would be a much safer idea." He puts his tools away and retrieves a length of silk rope, handing it to the ranger.

"Just uh... tie this off at the top and the rest of us will use it to climb up after you."

Not realizing just how close she came to loosing her dwarven companion, Cassandra just shrugged and took the rope. She ties it to her own grappling hook and tosses it up into the hole. She gave a few good tugs to make sure it was secure before attempting to ascend.

Climb: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Jenya will try and climb up herself. If she can't do it she'll wait for the rope to come down.

Climb: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

But it's a good day for the acrobatic young gunslinger and she moves up the side of the tower to get to the untrapped entrance.

Vallen definitely waits until the rope is secure, waiting patiently at the bottom. When the others have ascended he tries to start up the rope, but his gear gets in the way.

Huffing and puffing, the dwarf struggles to get up the knotted rope, and everything seems to go wrong. His legs get tangled up, and then his breastplate gets all twisted up on his torso...

DC to climb up a knotted rope is 5 I believe.

climb: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (4) - 3 = 1 Nope.

climb: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (6) - 3 = 3 Nope.

climb: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (1) - 3 = -2 Lol. I'll let the GM deal with that one...

climb: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (18) - 3 = 15 Finally.

Roll20 is not editable at the moment, so please bear with me.

A graceful tower rises out of the keep’s central courtyard, now overgrown with bushes, undergrowth, and several sizable trees. Like the outer walls, the tower is draped with vines and creepers, and several small plants have taken up residence on ledges and in cracks along its sides.

Inside, the whole courtyard is filled with debris and litter, fallen leaves and branches, and rotting soil beneath. The entire courtyard is difficult terrain.

Of the four towers, the northwestern one is the most intact, stretching up into the tree canopy. The southwest tower's upper reaches have collapsed completely, while the north- and southeast towers are both still 40' tall but show signs of wear.

The central keep in the middle is a round tower with sturdy walls of ivory-colored stone draped with a riot of vines and plants, reaching 70' up.

Where to?

Vallen manages to finally scramble up the wall, joining his companions. He huff and puffs, leaning against a parapet. It was clear that physical activity was not the Dwarf's strong suit.

While resting he gets a good look at the courtyard, and sighs. "This keep used to be a work of art. Now it's... A rotting pile of leaves."

The priest points a fat finger towards the detris strewn about the central tower. "If the portcullis was trapped, it means someone is here, and that someone is good at making trap.s. I bet that courtyard is covered in pit traps or bear traps or something equally horrible."

Having taken a sufficient rest, he stands up and hitches his belt. " How about we look at the partially collapsed towers first, while we're on the wall? Maybe we'll figure out what's living here and if we can reason with it or not."

Survival: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Jenya crouches and examines the courtyard from her vantage point, trying to determine if there has been recent activity and if so by what kind of creature.

Yeah, definitely need to keep an eye out. Might as well start with the closest ruined tower.

Per traps as we go: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18

"Yeah," Cassandra says looking out over the edge and onto the ground below. "Even if it isn't trapped it will be hard to cross without someone noticing." She keeps her bow out and looks for movement from the main tower while Jenya watches the wall for more traps.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28

After Cassandra and Jenya climb upon the wall all by their own, Vladric will test the knotted rope, then proceed to climb up after those two.

climbing: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13.

Once the whole party has passed up that wall, Vladric will take the folding pole out from his pack and start to assemble it as soon as the discussion between Cassandra, Jenya, and Vallen turns towards the likelihood of traps being within the grounds of the keep itself.

"Perhaps the interior of those towers will have some sort of furnishings or materials that we could use to help keep the portcullis from blocking that entryway."

Map's working again. Moved you all to the south side.

Cassie looks up and judges the feasibility of clambering to the top of the surrounding outer wall. While a rope and grapple would make it doable, the wall itself is irregular on top, with crumbling stone and rubble. It's narrow, so walking on it would be precarious, and parts of it could collapse under your weight at any point.

"I don't see anything down there but...*sniff*. Ugh. Something smells. It's like a spice or something." She wrinkles her nose and begins breathing from her mouth to avoid the scent too much. She also unties the grappling hook and merely ties off the rope to a solid section of the wall. And just for Vallen, knots the length of it to the ground. She then climbs down and moves along the wall to the broken tower. With the others if they climb down too.

Which broken tower, Cassie? The outer wall connects the four outer towers; the central tower is not connected to the outside.

"Spice?" Vallen comments while looking at the precarious and frankly dangerous upper ledge of the wall. "Any particular spice? Could someone in the tower be.. cooking?" The dwarf speculates, turning from the wall to look over the edge into the courtyard.

He sighs as the rope is deployed, speaking to Vlad while Cass is climbing down. "I'd uh.. prefer not to mess with the portcullis. It's an instrument of Droskar if I've ever seen one.We should just leave this rope here so we can leave the way we came in."

Waiting for everyone else to take the way down before him, the dwarf carefully lowers himself to the ground, muttering a prayer to Torag when his boots once again meet the earth.

I vote.. southwest tower!

SW sounds good to me

"Don't know. Just bad."

I thought there was only one mostly collapsed. SW works.

(Southwest tower) The upper reaches of this tower have completely collapsed, filling the interior with debris and rubble.

The door is stuck and you have to wrench it open. It creaks and cracks, revealing a floor strewn with rubble and covered with years' worth of leaves.

Please remember to move your tokens - you never know when you'll be jumped! :D

Vallen peers into the tower, his darkvision able to make out every shadowed rock. "Ech, just leaves and rubble. Even if there are underground passages connecting the towers, the entrance would be filled in. Let's try next tower to the north."

I can't move roll20 reliably. Jenya's preferred marching order is second in line with her gun out.

Well, let's get to th'other one then. Jenya says.

"I'd uh.. prefer not to mess with the portcullis. It's an instrument of Droskar if I've ever seen one.We should just leave this rope here so we can leave the way we came in."

"Very well; we'll leave both well enough alone for now."

Vladric will be in front of the line then; presumably he'd help to wrench the doors open- if needed, he could even spend a controlled bloodrage round to get a strength boost for just that purpose.

Closing the door again after it had been wrenched open (if it'll stay closed, that is- if not, the door can be kept open if it's obvious that it won't close back), Vladric nods and goes back towards the front of the line (newly reformed for getting to the the north tower) with the fully assembled folding pole tapping randomly at various points along the debris-strewed ground.

"Remember to keep your eyes on the inner keep," Cassandra reminds them as she watches the windows and doors wearily.

(Northwest tower)
This tower stretches high into the sky, its upper reaches hidden in the forest’s canopy. The vines choking the tower’s exterior, which are festooned with bleached humanoid skulls, nearly obscure the dark arrow slits. At ground level, a closed wooden door hides behind a cloak of hanging vines.

This is the only one to have withstood the test of time: Its walls and most of its roof are still fully intact.

Per: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30

Some sixth sense makes Jenya uncomfortable and the young gunslinger peers at the vines closely. Hey, there's somethin' not right about those vines... I think they're some kind of killer plant.

survival: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

"Killer vines?!" Vallen exclaims when Jenya Jenya gives them a warning about the true nature of the vines climbing up the tower. "Normal vines are bad enough, considering what they do to walls. Hmm.. I guess that would explain all the skulls. I was going to guess they were macabre decoration."

His bright blue eyes look the plant up and down. "Can we burn it off? I doubt it would let us start a fire under it, though... And whatever is living here will certainly hear us fighting it or smell the smoke. Maybe we should leave this alone for now and look at the other towers." He shrugs, having few means to fight a killer plant anyway.