GM BPC's Deepmarket Deception PbP (Inactive)

Game Master Black Powder Chocobo

Gob makes a double somersault as he dives headfirst towards the ground; with a somewhat uncomfortable jerk, his body twists around to land on the ground with only minimal harm.

@Aspex: You believe that any coating between skin/leather and the roots should suffice in preventing the scented reaction. Grease would be a good spell to use to cover someone; since it can be targeted, you can just use it on someone's boots to kick off from the tree roots while using ungreased hands on rope.

@Shasta & Aspex: Because the oils don't react with plantlife, you can also cover parts of the body, hands, and shoes with various large leaves to provide an appropriately thick layer, especially using some of the waxy large fern leaves above.

To gather enough leaves for a person will be a DC 12 Survival check; you can get enough materials to gather more for every 5 you beat the DC. Also don't forget that you get +2 for all Survival checks thanks to Gob's useful knowledge he provided before.

To use ropes to bring the mule down, I'll need three DC 15 Strength checks. If multiple people work on this, then the highest roll is the primary and the others are assuming to aid. Fail one roll and the mule will touch the roots on its way down. Fail two rolls and the mule will fall down and be injured; fail all three and the mule will arguably die from the 60-100 foot fall.

Finally, the Climb DC goes up by 5 for not using the roots (even if using roots, since again, you're actively trying to avoid contact), but there are enough handholds to make it work.

@Shasta: I'll let you decide if you wish to try one of the methods described above to avoid skin contact while using the roots to aid the climbing. If not, then you'll be even more noticeable now :)

Down safely: Gob

Gather leaves: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
Climb: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Marduk has enough leaves to cover someone else and can easily climb down on his own!

Iroran discipline ftw! :)

str check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
str check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
str check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Anyone else going to help poor Hakime? :)

She rolled a 20....that's good.

Str aid: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

Sorta; see, I need 3 separate successful Strength checks. Hakime only passed the last one. Still need to pass the first two! However, your first roll there will do it, just need a successful second roll :)

Str aid #2: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Oh noes....

Wyeth has been quiet; hopefully his mighty muscles will save the day!

After their conversation, Aspex looks around for leaves to cover her hands in to keep the smell off.

Survival: 1d20 ⇒ 19

Not that Aspex is going to be much help on a Str check, but it doesn't hurt to roll.

Str 1: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2
Str 2: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (17) - 1 = 16
Str 3: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8

Aspex gets some materials, too, enough to cover another person! Also, she happens to have a bit of infernal inspired strength and helps bring the mule down safely and unscented!

Wyeth's been quiet the past couple of days, I'll give him 2 more hours before botting him and continuing.

Gob waits as everyone makes their way down, giving him plenty of time to heal back up. "Pretty sure those leaves look more ridiculous then my suit. Not only did I get down here first, but I looked good doing it."

Wyeth just posted in another thread, hopefully he checks in here soon.

I'm here boss, been working on a post with a buncha rolls. Wow, you guys have been busy!

I made a post with a remark about the 100 GP inflation on Gob's suit as well as an allusion to Vincent's hair (inside joke) and some rolls that seems not to have posted. Oh well. Let's see if I can offer some useful numbers.

DC 18 Kn: Nature for Monkey Tree: 1d20 ⇒ 16 It's a who what now?
Craft (Alchemy) for deskunkification knowledge: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11 DiceBot, I do know where you live...
Spellcraft for ditto (if a backup roll is legit): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
DC 12 Survival for leaf gathering: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21 DiceBot is finally leafing me alone!
DC 15 Mule Strength #1: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
DC 15 Mule Strength #2: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
DC 15 Mule Strength #3: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Good ol' Wyeth, as useless as ever! Clearly DiceBot was instilling a false sense of security.

Wyeth pulls a fifty foot coil of rope from his backpack and commits it to the effort. ... then proceeds to make a fool of himself, apparently. If we have more than enough rope to make the descent he'll suggest using some of it to rig safety lines, so if someone falls they won't plummet all the way down.

Climb DC 15: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22 Well at least he doesn't plummet to a gory death.

Thanks to leaf covers and surprisingly good climb rolls, the party makes it down safely, mule and all and stink free!

Glad to see you Wyeth and good jorb! :)

Fallen trees, rocky streams, hanging vines, and other obstacles litter the ravine floor, making travel through this area just as difficult despite the sparser foliage. After several hundred feet, the terrain gives way to a natural trail running through the middle of the ravine. In most places the trail is a mere five feet wide, though it widens to fifteen or even twenty feet in some areas. The ravine walls and the distant canopy still block out most of the natural light along the path.

Where the path narrows again, a humanoid corpse—one hand stuck in its vest as though desperately trying to reach for something—lies sprawled in the dirt next to a thick, thorny plant. Countless biting ants swarm over the corpse, making its features difficult to discern.

Map is updated!

Wyeth glances around as they walk along the floor of the ravine. "Good place for an ambush," he muses. "Not a lot of ways to run."

When the group comes across the dead body he stops early, not wanting to get near the ant swarm. Squinting, he studies the scene from a distance.

Kn: Nature: 1d20 ⇒ 4
Survival (with +2 Gob Bonus): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

He rubs his chin while pondering the situation. "Yeah... I have no idea. Pretty sure he's dead, though. And we probably don't want to disturb those ants."

The oracle looks about to see if they can give the body a wide berth and continue onward.

The ravine is narrow enough that you'd have to climb along the walls to avoid the ants; possible, but time consuming.

Gob waits as everyone makes their way down, giving him plenty of time to heal back up. "Pretty sure those leaves look more ridiculous then my suit. Not only did I get down here first, but I looked good doing it."

Aspex gives Gob her skeptical look again. "You jumped a hundred feet straight down. I'd like to see the mule do that."

Kn:Nature: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
Survival: 1d20 ⇒ 5 Aaaaand... nothin'.

She grimaces at the ants and nods at Wyeth. "Agreed. That does not look pleasant."

Sorry for getting behind on posting. Long day yesterday. Some of these are redundant, now, but wanted to see how Shasta would do.

Survival: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Shasta starts gathering leaves and comes back with enough for an extra set if anyone needs. If no one else needs them, she'll put them on the mule.

Strenth 1: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15
Strenth 2: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Strenth 3: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

The slender teenage is surprisingly strong and manages the mule by herself if need be.

She'll cover herself with leaves. Her earlier climb roll was 21, so I think she makes the climb as well without acquiring the scent.

At the bottom, Shasta looks around at the situation.
Knowledge (Nature): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Survival: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

When the group stops to gawk at the corpse in the trail, Shasta squints and begins to focus her attention on the ground between the group and the ant picnic. She begins to point at tracks on the ground. "Humanoid tracks. I count about 6. Looks like they passed through but have not returned. My guess is these guys who got a head start ran into some trouble here and scarpered off leaving their buddy to contribute to the local food economy." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out one of her doses of vermin repellent.
Can Shasta tell if the tracks were going the same direction as us or opposite? Would vermin repellent allow her to search the body without being bothered by the ants? Assuming the answer is yes:

Shasta begins to dose herself with the vermin repellent. "All that trouble to avoid the monkey tree sap and I end up with a different cologne. Ah well, I knew the job was dangerous when I took it."

She'll wait on approaching the corpse to see if anyone else notices any other hazards. If no one does, she will approach the corpse and carefully search it for supplies and clues to who it was.

While she is there, she will try to see if she can see what caused his death.
Heal: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Know nature: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

Gob furrows his brow in thought, "I don't think I've read anything on these type of ants, probably not a good sign that there is a corpse next to them." He looks around at the steep walls of the ravine. "I don't have any ideas on getting the mule through other then eliminating the ants. Unless anyone else has a better idea I have a burning hands spell prepared and a flask of alchemist fire."

@Shasta: You can tell the tracks are going the same direction as you! Also, the ants will get a save against the repellent each round, so the investigation would be brief, at best, without dealing with the swarm more directly. Still want to apply the repellent?

Wyeth shrugs at Gob's comment about Alchemist's Fire. "I have some as well. Pricey stuff to waste on ants, though. You suppose acid would work?"

So what'll it be? Fire? Acid? Let Shasta just walk in? Something else crazy and/or awesome? :)

Shasta will put on the vermin repellent, ask those with splash weapons or area spells to back her up and she will go 10 feet west of the nearest swarm and cast chord of shards at the swarm.

I'll wait to actually do that for others to prepare their actions or suggest something else and for the GM to roll initiative, if necessary.

I'm assuming these ants are bigger than fine size (otherwise the vermin repellent is supposed to work without a save). Was the knowledge (Nature) spoiler for identifying the details of the ant swarm or is that a separate roll? Before I attack, I'd like a chance to know how tough these might be.
knowledge (Nature): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15
To identify the type of ant swarm.

When in doubt, burn it, burn it good!

"Those ants are quite voracious, aren't they?
I'm no entomologist, but walking into them seems an unwise thing to do."

The Kn: Nature was for the ants, so no go 9n another knowledge roll.

They are Diminutive size, thus the saving throw.

I'll do those later, local Pumpkin Festival today!

-Posted with Wayfinder

"Let's get ready with whatever flasks of acid, alchemist's fire, and alkali we have (keeping in mind it takes a full round action to ready such a weapon) and area effect spells to try to hit the closest swarm hard enough to disperse it. If we can drag the body away from the other one, then we won't have to take it out as well."

Shasta takes out her violin to play a rousing melody to get folks fired up [pun intended] before we attack.

... it takes a full round action to ready such a weapon...

Please see Discussion.

Aspex purses her lips. "I'll stand back here."

She doesn't have anything that can hurt a swarm, unfortunately.

"If anyone has extra flasks to share, it might help if we are prepared to hit them with everything we've got rather than giving them a chance to come at us. If anyone has some oil, perhaps we could create a line of burning oil to keep the swarm from moving toward us. I'm assuming this jungle is not going to catch fire if we light up a little bit of it, but maybe those with more experience can confirm that."

Marduk checks his light pack., then shakes his head.

"I carry none, i shall purchase some splash items when we get back."

I'll retcon any reasonable prep :)

Shasta sings out to the party, then yells out her sounds as needle-like projectiles that swath the area!

Red swarm Reflex: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

The nearby swarm is annihilated, the majority of the surviving bugs scattering. The other swarm, though begins to stir, moving towards Shasta!

Inits:
Blue swarm: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Aspex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Gob: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
Hakime: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20
Marduk: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Shasta: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
Wyeth: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

The party ready against the swarm, it is easily defeated with the tools and spells available!

It's not worth going into combat; the swarm can't handle the entire party going before it :)

Shasta: going to keep the vermin repellent on for safe keeping?

The ants defeated and scattered, examining the body is a far safer experience, much unlike how it is for the poor victim. His hand appears pinned by a large thorn, but much of his flesh has already been eaten by the ants, making him impossible to identify.

On the person (and near the body), there are:

• a masterwork composite (+2 str) longbow
• , two flasks of alchemist's fire lol
• a potion of invisibility
• a potion of cure moderate wounds
• two oils of magic weapon
• two sleep arrows
• a rope of climbing

Also on his person is a note which can be found in the Scions handouts link, addressed to a man named Jace, perhaps the body?

Anything else you wish to do or press on?

Aspex looks over the note appraisingly. "It's a shame whoever wrote this didn't sign it. Whatever group Jace belonged to, they seem to be a bloodthirsty bunch. But I suppose you deserve what you get when you cheat your companions at dice."

On the person (and near the body), there are:

two flasks of alchemist's fire lol

Bah, RPG Catch-22! "You must defeat the stone golem to acquire the weapon that defeats stone golems." :o/

Swarm routed, Wyeth approaches the body and examines the thorn-pinned hand. Is this some sort of trap he tripped, a crude spear-tip that was broken off, something fired from a plant? Also, can we determine cause of death? Rolls ordered for the questions pondered:

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Kn: Nature: 1d20 ⇒ 8
Heal: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22 (For cause of death.)

"Any thoughts on this?" he asks, gesturing at the thorn. "Is there a native tribe that uses thorns as weapons or sets traps with them, perhaps?"

@Wyeth: It's part of the plant the hand was caught on. The knowledge nature doesn't have much, but it doesn't appear to be a trap. Cause of death, probably eaten alive by the ants.

"Well, time is money. Shall we press on?" Gob says after they collect the loot.

Shall I mark off my burning hands spell as part of the auto defeat?

That or a couple of people using alchemist's fire, which would be a wash with those found on the body. I'm ok with either

I'm one of those with Alchemist's Fire, so you can wash one flask to me if you'd like.

Shasta will hold off on the vermin repellent once it's clear we can handle the swarms with splash weapons and other magic. She would like to carry at least one of the two sleep arrows (she's pretty good with a short bow) and one oil of magic weapon. Once the stuff is divied up, she's ready to move on. Regarding the fellow whose body we are looting, he says, Guess there was no love lost for this guy, although I would think they would have tried to keep hold of all this nice stuff. Anyone recognize what might have killed the guy? Probably wasn't the ant swarm, hey?

It's a shame whoever wrote this didn't sign it. Whatever group Jace belonged to, they seem to be a bloodthirsty bunch. But I suppose you deserve what you get when you cheat your companions at dice.

Yeah, cheating your comrades is like pissing where you eat. I'd never do that to any of you.... ah, ... not that I cheat at gambling mind you... at least not if I don't have to.... It looks like the trail goes off this way, hey?

"Guess there was no love lost for this guy, although I would think they would have tried to keep hold of all this nice stuff. Anyone recognize what might have killed the guy? Probably wasn't the ant swarm, hey?"

Wyeth rises from his squatting position. "Actually, I think it was. I don't see any hint of a trap, and I don't think this plant is poisonous. Maybe he just stumbled into this bush and the yanking from the thorn got the ants stirred up. If they swarmed him that'd explain why all this stuff was left behind, especially if he was at the back of the group. Everybody else probably just fled."

Above based on this comment:

@Wyeth: It's part of the plant the hand was caught on. The knowledge nature doesn't have much, but it doesn't appear to be a trap. Cause of death, probably eaten alive by the ants.

"Hang on a second, I just remembered something that's been bothering me." Gob takes a look at the feet of the dead man, looking for missing toes. As he goes about his piggy count he explains, "We noticed earlier that one of the rival group was missing some toes, and it seems odd that the Aspis are ahead of us. My thoughts were that maybe they caught up with our missing venture captain and have been removing digits to get the info they needed."

Aspex chuckles at Shasta's comment and nods at Wyeth. "So we must be close, then. Maybe we can catch them and discourage them from continuing their expedition."

Then we carry on! :)

The loot mostly divvied up and the mentality of the presumed Aspis group in better view, the party continues on.

The floor of the ravine slopes downward slightly and the foliage overhead gradually thins. The ravine is wider here, and numerous boulders scattered throughout the area attest to steady erosion. Some of the boulders bear strange carvings and are even hewn into rough pillars, but they jut at odd angles out from the landscape and don’t seem to be a part of any surviving structure. Nestled in the shadow of two such pillars is a shallow pit scraped out of the earth by some massive creature’s claws. The nest contains several branches, the half-eaten body of a leather-clad humanoid, several broken shells, and a several large, intact eggs. In the trampled foliage near the nest lies the corpse of a massive, bipedal dinosaur, its tooth-lined maw agape and its hide pierced with dozens of crude javelins.

Four lizardmen surround the nest. Six eggs had remained, but one of the lizardmen just starts biting into one, gulping its yellow contents. They are so focused on the eggs that they are currently unaware of you!

Surprise round so far :) What do you do?
Combat map updated!

are these the eggs we're looking for?

Hakime shouts to the lizardmen, "Drop those eggs! She'll not worry about the one with the already damaged egg, and fire at one of the others instead, especially if there's one that is about to damage or bite an egg.

ranged attack to hit: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
dmg if hits: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

They are large, saurian eggs, so it is a good bet!

They turn as Hakime's arrow flies, striking one in the forearm.

Doing inits now, but still surprise round for the party!

Init Order Surprise Round (bold = up)
Lizard blue
Hakime
Lizard brown (3 damage)
Gob (surprise round standard action)
Aspex (surprise round standard action)
Lizard Red
Wyeth (surprise round standard action)
Shasta (surprise round standard action)
Marduk (surprise round standard action)
Lizard Orange

Wyeth grimaces, for two reasons. First, the casual discarding of the element of surprise; second...

"Don't tell them to drop an egg!"

"దీవించు," he intones while sweeping his arms out.

Blessing our team. All allies get +1 morale bonus to attack (and fear save) rolls for three minutes.

(And yes, I know the eggs are probably leathery, but it was too good a line to pass up. :o)

Luckily, the eggs weren't being held at the time, although that would have been amusing :P

Aspex pulls a scroll from her belt and starts chanting off the incantation.

She'll use a Sleep scroll centered on the 4 lizardmen.

That'll fire with after your standard action next round! Let's see if we can get more sleep-induced shenanigans :)

"Gentlemen and lady, let's see if we can make a lizardman omlette without breaking any eggs!"

Inspire Courage using Perform(comedy).