Empire of Night: Way of the Wicked (Vampire Campaign)

Game Master Neil Mansell

You have made it through the tunnel, and find yourselves behind the secret door leading into 'the vault'...it's very dark and quiet...for now...

Alright, what's the marching order in this place? Durova is usually happy at the back of the pack.

Dane will probably situate himself towards the front of the "not sneaky" part of the marching order. Basically he wants to be quickly able to get to the front, but not close enough to ruin the sneaky people's good sneakin'.

At the back to let the stealthies scout

Mordesi is our sneaky guy, but he hasn't posted since June 11. If he is out, do we want to try to come up with different tactics? We might not have a sneaky guy anymore, lol...

Yeah, hoping whatever happened is temporary, especially since he's the one who went through the effort of getting us a new GM and all. I'm thinking it may be time to make Anton our point-man and go more for the look like we belong type of stealth. At least until Mordesel returns.

With our disguises (presumably as either guards or servants) stealth may not be as necesary (since we'll be looking like we're supposed to be there). And hardly anyone notices servants anyhow.

Just let me know what you guys decide...and if and when you go through the door. ;)

How about we go in as servants? Anton, Sion, Dane, and myself as an order, if that is acceptable to others.

Anton moves up to the door, attempting to hear what or who may lie beyond. Quietly opening the door only when he feels it is safe.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
Stealth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

The door leads into a cellar...the stonework here barely resembles that around it, almost perfect in cut...

...but that matters little to your group. The room is stocked with crates and barrels...hardly filled, but enough to maintain the keep for a while.

Other than that, It's empty and silent...and that's what matters.

The room is oddly shaped, opening up at the corners, where they square off.

There's a trap door in the ceiling, in the center of the room.

Dane nods at the trap door, [b]"Up there, that should be the forge."[b/]

"If these are the stores... some sabotage here could be easier than expected. But first things first," Anton whispers before moving to the trap door to listen for any activity beyond.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
Stealth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Durova watches quietly as Anton does his work, trying his best to not make a sound.

It seems to be quiet above the door...in fact...the silence is almost disturbing...

A little background noise hides a lot...while you can hear your every movement...

"All good then? Let's get to the top quickly."

"Im with you. Let's head to the rookery immediately.

Anton looks back at the others before slowly opening the the trap door, prepared to leap back down should there be anything unexpected.

Open door but ready action to move away from it if there is opposition.

The trap door creaks open a bit, making you wince, but the forge (and it is definitely that) is quiet and still. Nobody is manning the forge fire...the anvil...the grinding wheels...or anything else scattered around this...round room. If not for your...exceptional...vision, it's dark, too.

Dane quietly mumbles. "This way." And begins ascending the staircase without giving the room much attention.

Durova casts Detect Magic and follows closely behind the group.

Sion follows the others, constantly checking the way ahead with detect good.

Are people heading toward the door? I'm just not really sure if you're doing anything beyond going into the forge...

I'm not sure if you guys actually have a map of Balentyne, IRL...

The way to the rookery is straight up the tower, keeping you out of the main keep entirely...stairs wind up...assuming you're trying to maintain some level of stealth, can I get rolls, please?

With those circlets, we can pretty much take any image we want. We could be guards, or similar to any servants we see. I wasn't worried too much about being stealthy since we had the ability to change our looks. I think Durova would go in dressed as a guard, and change to a servant, if necessary, assuming that ok with the group.

If the group does plan on trying stealth, however. Here goes:

Stealth 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Not using stealth is fine...IF you have an appropriate disguise. I never did catch any decisions, there...that's actually one of the reasons I was waiting...do you go in as guards? Servants? A mix? Stealth isn't everyone's forte...but stealth by blending in should work fine.

Dont know if I ever discussed it, but I'd prefer to go in as a guard, and see how that goes. If the group is okay with that, of course.

Well, while it's possible to change the shape of an object, alas, one cannot make one disappear. So, Dane will go as a soldier, as there's few servant disguises that'd make sense to be carrying anything the general size or shape of the Rhomphaia. I know Anton was planning a servant disguise, and I think the same goes for Sion. So it looks like we're doing 50/50.

Guard disguise here.

Ok...as guards...when you get up the stairs, you're greeted...Hellooo...is it shift change already?

One guard steps up...stretching, while another stays in place, looking at you quizzically.

Inside this room are banners, pennons, and flags all around.

And yeah, we do got a map IRL, here's the link. http://duderlybob.imgur.com/all/ :) And also to confirm, are we at Tower Level 4, or did we run into these guards along the way?

These are in the second level.

Dane chuckles and shakes his head. "Not for you lot at any rate!" Dane tries to keep climbing the stairs, hoping that he won't be stopped.

Roll me a bluff, please...(I'll allow it to come from Sion, if he wants to step in).

I'll go ahead and try since Dane can't keep his trap shut.

Bluff: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

Perfect!

Damn...well...a man can hope. He grins, turns away, and rubs at his shoulder. The other guard barely looks up.

The next level is quiet...it's an armory, stocked with thousands of arrows...and the level beyond...is blocked by a heavy iron door. A particularly ugly stench...exudes from beyond the door.

"Well. Let's hope they don't hear us past all this stone. Looks like this door could be locked. Any ideas for getting past it?" Sion says when they are at the iron door.

"I can try to pick the lock. Move aside."

Perception 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11 to look for traps.

If a trap is present, Disable Device. If not, it is to try and pick the lock. 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

You can take 20 for perception. but I can't see why they would trap a relatively commonly used door. How about knocking and seeing if he will let us in?

"Perhaps he will let us in if we tell him we have an urgent message for him."

It is locked, indeed, and doesn't give in to your ministrations...is someone attempting communication?

Ah, the Bardic Knock Spell. Always a classic!

"Let me see what I can't do about this." Dane approaches the door and produces two keys, Eddarly's and Varning's, trying them in the lock.

No key you have in your possession seems to work...

Dane shrugs helplessly and knocks loudly on the door.

Anton looks around at the others before settling his gaze upon Durova. "Did you wish to try again or..." he is interrupted with Dane's knock. "...nevermind." he finishes as he waits to see the results.

Sorry for the late reply. I only know noticed things were moving again, lol.

HUH? Eh...who's that?

The sound of an old man's voice is muffled by the heavy door...

...muttering too soft to be understood...

Dane whispers to Anton, "Captain Mott may be one of few let in easily..."

Anton, recalling the guard captin who had made the announcement in the town, nods. "Just get him inside and close the door quick. Who knows how long he'll be fooled by such a disguise. It's one thing to be one of the masses, quite another to be a specific person." His form begins to shift as he takes on the presence and demeanor of Captain Mott.

Disguise: 1d20 + 4 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 10 = 19
The fellow will likely get a perception bonus of some sort to see through the disguise, depending on how well they knew each other.

"Open up. It's Mott. I have a message to send about that blasted criminal that's still on the loose"
Bluff: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (18) + 14 = 32

Incredible!

In the middle of the night, yet! Be patient...I'm still an old man...

...there's some fumbling about...barely audible...*click*...CLANG!...Creeeeaaak....and the door slowly opens, revealing a frazzled old man in a nightshirt, standing before a backdrop of hooded cages...

I'm here. Just waiting for Anton's awesome modifiers and hot dice to take over and carry the day!