GM Captain Trips - Kingmaker! (Inactive)

Game Master Chad Newman

Brom looks into the darkness from their hiding place, wondering after Dendarial, "I vonder zhe time zhis scouting vill take him." he mentions offhandedly to the others.

He turns to Will, "Good Vill Zhatcher, a song vould be bad, but perhaps a story to pass zhe time?" he inquires.

Chuckling quietly, Will smiles as he begins, "This one I heard from a rather eccentric Gnome, very odd fellow, obsessed with goo. Anyway, once there was a Gnome tavernkeep, and his best customer (and friend) was a Dwarven physician. The physician and the bartender had known each other for years, ever since the dwarf started to practice his craft and had chosen this village to do it in. Every day after work, the dwarf would stop at the tavern, pull up to the bar, and ask for a strawberry daiquiri (the name of the drink that the gnome brewed special). The dwarf and gnome would chat and laugh, keep abreast of the others doings. Day after day, week after week and year after year."

"One winter day, the gnome glanced at the clock, as was his habit, and knew at this hour the dwarf was closing up shop, and would be in to the tavern for his drink. With a grin, the gnome turned to his bar to mix the special draft. To his surprise and horror, he saw his special strawberry elixir had run out. Being delayed on the road, the specially ordered strawberries had yet to arrive. This had never happened before in all their years as friends! The gnome was beside himself! Throwing open all his cupboards and drawers he searched for a strawberry elixir stashed away somewhere, to no avail. Heaving a great sigh of disappointment, he turned his sharp mind on what to do."

"Suddenly a plan formed, and the gnome went to work, pulling other flavors and sniffing and discarding them, trying to find the next best draft to mix for his friend. Finding settling on one, he steeled himself, and mixed the drink. Just then his dwarven friend entered the tavern, tipped his hat to the locals, and moved to the bar, already licking his lips in anticipation of his accustomed strawberry daiquiri. The gnome, his guts in knots, placed the drink before the dwarf, willing his hands to be still and not shake. Grinning broadly at his gnome friend, the dwarven physician tipped back his head, quaffing the drink. Suddenly he righted his head, sloshed some liquid back and forth over his tongue and turned with wide eyes to the gnome. 'Oi! What be this drink!? Tis not my customary Strawberry Daiquiri!' The gnome answered straight back and says, 'Tis not! But a new drink for you! It's a Hickory Daiquiri Doc!”

That said, he leans back against a nearby rock, curious about his companions reactions.

Now, where have I heard that before?

Karse smiles at the joke, but does not laugh. He almost seems troubled (which is admittedly not unusual for the paladin), but keeps to himself.

Brom has to stifle his ordinarily booming laugh, and barely refrains from clapping aloud as the story fills him with mirth, "Zhat is good! Yes, very good!" he says through the restrained chuckles.

Finally getting himself under control and waving a meaty paw at his face to calm himself, he notices Karse looking a tad out of sorts. "Good Karse, vhat is troubling you my friend?" he asks, placing a friendly hand on the paladins shoulder.

Watching the two warriors in intense whispers, Will feels left out, slowly digging the toe of his boot into the ground while he waits for Dendarial to return.

Den wants to circle the fort inside the tree line, looking for any signs of pickets or guards stationed outside the walls specifically. When he gets to the road he will look for frequency and kind of traffic, but not cross the road. Instead he will double back and search around the other side, again to the road and back.

Scouting around the entire circumference of the hillside takes some time, and it is nearly 2 hours before the ranger returns. As far as Dendariel can tell there are no signs of any guards to be seen outside of the walls of the fort, but he can indeed make out torches moving along the upper perimeter of the wall which tell him two things; the fort is guarded, and the guards are likely human. The road itself is devoid of traffic at night but the gate also appears to be manned, he just cannot make out the numbers at that distance. From all of his scouting he can be certain that the hillside is not in itself guarded from approach other than the pacing guards on the wooden battlements.

Hadin stays vigilant and quiet, doing his best to keep an eye on Denderial as long as possible, but quickly the ranger is out of view.
Nevertheless, the young man stays alert and tense all the time till their friend is seen coming back, not noticing the whispered converasation between Sir Karse and Brom

Dendarial is content with his scouting. We have information we can now share with the others to make our eventual battle plan. Let us be away from this place while our fortune holds.

Brom lets out a pent up breath he didn't know he was holding when Dendarial returns, "Vell done Dendarial, you vere not seen zhen?" he asks even as he retrieves his weapon, pack and Tuskgutters remains. "Indeed let us avay."

With Den returning, Karse joins the others to hear what has been discovered.

Will exhales a breath he didn't know he had been holding when Dendarial returns, quietly pleased the elf did not have any amusement at their expense. "Yes, lets away and explore more of the general area. Perhaps if we can find their watering site or hunting grounds we can reduce their numbers before we attack."

Let me know where you all are planning to head from here. You are obviously in the hex with the fort. You are also a full 3 days time ahead of the other group, so I need to get you all in some trouble for a while so the time pans out. I already have a few ideas. :)

[ooc]If Den thinks they can safely explore the hex he wants to do that, then off to another hex on the way back to meet up with others.

Nodding at Will, "Zhat idea is good. On zhe vay back ve can explore more of zhis land."

I agree. As long as we are careful, we can try to reduce the number of our oppponents. I'm glad to see you unharmed, Dendarial. In fact, I'm glad to see you... You really have a knack for going unnoticed, my friend

Hadin smiles gently, really impressed by Dendarial ability

The ranger nods, accepting the complement. It comes from a life of living in the woods.

Getting all my ducks in a row before pushing you forward. A little setup needs to be done.

Will begins to examine the ground for aligned ducks, incase someone tries to Trip him over them.

Badumpcha!

As long as heavy calvary does not come out of the fort I am pretty much good. :)

Shhh, don't give away the plot! :)

The group finishes up their reconnoiter of the fort and backs away into the night. They decide to travel an hour or so into the darkness to put plenty of distance between themselves and the bandits to avoid any chance encounters before they are ready to tip their hats and announce their presence. Thinking to explore some of the area between themselves and the post as they make their way back the group decides to head northwest, cutting back into the forest and then making their way north along the western edge.

The group follows the Skunk River west, deep into the forest and spends the next day and a half traversing bogs and dense thickets, looking for anything that might be worth further inspection. At the end of the second day of travel Dendarial spots a stone structure peeking through the trees and takes a moment to scout ahead, using his woodcraft skills to move easily within the dense foliage. Upon closer inspection he discovers that the structure is a tower, apparently long since abandoned and in ruin. Twisting vines and vegetation cover a majority of the crumbling stone walls and piles of stone from the fallen crenelations cover the ground at the base. He is able to make out the shape of a door at the bottom of the seventy foot high structure with a crumbling stone stair leading up to it.

Den reports back to the group. The structure looks deserted but the door is closed. Someone, or something could be lairing there. We should investigate. Lets prepare for a fight but hope for a new friend. he councils.

Will nods in agreement, readying his shield, but leaving his other hand free for any spellcasting that may be required. ”Lead on. I’m sure Krasa has been growing bored without a worthy foe to smash, eh Brom?”

Safe to say I’m in the back of the group, with Dend leading the way and the 3 melee ahead of me for possible charges .

Hadin looks at the structure, trying to figure its solidity and usefulness, and anything that could give an hint about its inhabitants, past and present

Knowledge-Engineering 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
Knowledge-Local 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20
Perception 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Brom chuckles at Will's comment, already picturing his mighty weapon smashing in what is probably a long unused portal, "Zhis is a most happy zhought for me and Krasa. Lead us onvward Dendarial."

The barbarian hefts his hammer onto his shoulder as they approach, scanning the structure and finding himself literally itching between his shoulder blades for a good foe to fell. The Tuskgutter was too weak to scratch it, and the man's blood is up after walking away from a Fortress full of foes. He reaches up and scratches Krasa thoughtfully, not wanting his weapon to suffer from the same lack of itch-scratching he is currently going through.

Dendarial leads the team to the forgotten tower but before they close with the structure he has Acio fly above it and scout it for obvious danger (from an owl's perspective anyway). If the owl does not seem worried about the tower after looking at it from above then Den recommends someone knock on the door. He hangs back about 20' from the door.

Mechanically, do you have a way to communicate with Acio other than visual queues of a basic nature? It could have an impact here.

As Acio circles above, something startles the owl and it immediately swoops back down to the ranger's hand, appearing very agitated and upset.

No. Den has a link with hind but it does not extend to speech. He has to read his body or sense his emotion. Den cannot yet speak Owl. Your call on the link. I am fine with how much info you have already imparted.

Acio says something nasty awaits behind the door. Prepared for the worst.

Brom grins at the latest revelation, and limbers up his shoulder as he moves close towards the portal. If will, he'll make sure Karse and Hadin at close at hand to share the glory.

Are we single file up to the door? Should I wait for a map?

Yea, the link is more for imparting commands, not really the empathy an arcane class has with a familiar. That would probably make getting the point across easier.

Acio continues to seem agitated as the party prepares to make their way towards the tower, and alights from Dendarial's hand again, coming to the top of the tower and circling for a moment before returning to the hand of the ranger.

Perception (Poor Lighting, 60 feet distance): 1d20 + 9 - 5 ⇒ (3) + 9 - 5 = 7

Nope, no dice there.

No map yet, the door stands 20 feet away still.

Brom pauses briefly, giving Dendarial a questioning look. The little owl has proven formidable in the past, and it's agitation is enough to give even the battle-hungry Brom pause. "Vhat is zhe bird saying?" he asks the elf.

Den shrugs. He does not like it, that much is evident. Could be a serious threat. Could be a trap or something dead. Could be undead I guess. Whatever it is we need to clear it.

Brom echo's the Rangers shrug, then marches onward towards the door, scanning around as he goes.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

As they creep forward, Will begins to casting Guidance and Resistance on the warriors before him.

Starting with Hadin, then Karse, then Brom, since that is probably the reverse order. You can decide how many get the minor buffs before stuff happens.

You have plenty of time. I am going to post in the morning after I give the other two a chance to act before moving forward.

Hadin closes his eyes, then slowly open them, whispering a prayer to Erastil

Detect Evil on the tower

Brom, I will try to open the door, if you don't mind. I don't want you to take all the risks, and your might and prowess with Krasa are too worthy to the group to take a chance of losing you to a trap.

Map is up. Arrange yourselves accordingly and let me know how you are proceeding.

I can't really tell where the door is on the map. Is it where the indentation in the darkness is on the right side nearer the top? Is is possible for Den to be farther away to the left and still cover the door with his bow? You described a ruined stone stare but the image looks like a wooden deck with hand rails almost. How high off the ground is the door? (i.e. How high are the stairs?) What is the diameter of the tower? Trying to get a feel for the place. Thanks.

I'm improvising due to my PC at home not having all my map making software reinstalled yet since I got my new machine. So the map doesn't represent some aspects correctly. The tower is roughly 70' x 50' with a square shape inset with a round tower on the southern side. The indentation is the door, although there is no actual door shown on the map, so use your imagination there. The stairs are stone, just shown as wood. The door is roughly 6' from the ground. If you want to cover the door from further out with your bow I'm ok with that, but it won't show on the map.

Can't access map at work, but as long as Will is in the back with the melee in front of him I'm fine with wherever you stick him.

Den recommends Lets get the door open and if there is a fight, pull them out here and fight in the open.

Karse nods his agreement with Den's plan. "Bring them to us. I like it."

The stairs lead to an iron door, which appears to show plenty of wear. There appear to be no signs of recent activity near the approach to the tower and door, with piles of leaves and vegetation covering the ground and stonework.

Brom steps forward and tugs mightily on the portal, trying to jerk it open quickly.

Currently no access to the Map. Please put me up front. Probably side by side with Karse or Hadin, whoever is up there.

Hadin goes right in front of the door, as he intended, and prepares to open it

Had trouble remembering my password to access the map.^^