Navior's Jade Regent (Inactive)

Game Master Navior

What's the scale on the map, Navior? Corinna would have to get within 30 feet of the gate to be in range.

Each square is 20 feet. The forest ends just a little over 20 feet from the gate, so it's certainly possible to get within range of the spell and still have the cover of the woods.

Looks like it's the spellcasters on Team Not-Sneaky and Tevyn and Melon on Team Sneaky.

So be it!

For simplicity, I'm going to assume everyone takes 10 on Stealth checks (the same for guard Perception) unless you tell me otherwise. That results in 14 for Gilfroy, 16 for Melon, and 18 for Tevyn. The sentry gets 11 on Perception before accounting for any distance penalties.

Gilfroy, Melon, and Tevyn set out to the left, making their way around the castle. The sentry on top of the ramparts is not particularly attentive, and doesn't notice your passage.

As the group makes its way around the wall, the three of you catch sight of another sentry walking along the top of the wall. Now that you're closer, you can see that is definitely a bird-like humanoid covered in black feathers. It has thick, muscular arms. It does not appear to be wearing any armour (or any clothes for that matter) and does not carry any weapons. However, its sharp claws probably work just as well as any manufactured weapon. This second sentry is also not doing a particularly good job of watching and you slip by with ease.

You don't see any further sentries as you make your way around to the far side of the castle. You also haven't seen any doors or windows yet, just occasional arrow slits. Once you make it to the east side of the castle, you spot another sentry on one of the guard towers. This one appears to be half asleep and also doesn't notice you as you pass.

Finally, you make it back to where you started, without having found any other entrances.

Gilfroy Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Melon Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Tevyn Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

Close-Up Map of the Castle
Unfortunately, this map does not show any details outside the wall. The position of the characters is not your actual position.

The full map of Brinewall village can still be viewed here.

Tevyn crouches down behind the trees again. "We saw no other point of entry but the sentries are not keeping a close watch. I counted three corbies and it's obvious they have no idea that we're here. At least one of them was half asleep. The back side appears to be unwatched but again, no source of entry. I wish I could be certain a single shot would slay them. I've no doubt I could catch them by surprise but they'd surely call the alarm immediately after.

"I have a spell that has a good chance of knocking them unconscious, but I'd have to be close, and the spell isn't exactly subtle, so the others would probably notice."

"Also we'd have to risk that there may be other guards that we haven't seen. Do we have rope and grappling hook? We might be able to get in quieter that way than through the gate."

Or failing hook-rope; how scalable did the walls look?

"Scaling the walls, particularly in back, may be a good idea. But I do not have rope or hook."

Or failing hook-rope; how scalable did the walls look?

It would be possible to scale, though not easy. The surface is rough, but there aren't many handholds to grab onto. It would be a DC 20 Climb check to scale. The exterior wall is 15 ft high, so people with speed 30 could reach the top in 1 round with lucky rolls. No one in the party has a high enough bonus to take 10, so you would be reliant on good luck with dice rolls. In addition, Gilfroy has a penalty to Climb making it impossible for him to succeed without assistance.

"Oh, for Nethys's sake," Corinna sighs. "Let me at least try the door. Even if it's locked, my unseen servant might be able to draw a little attention and give us a better idea of how many of those bird things are close by and ready to pounce."

Barring anyone objecting, she'll go a little farther back down the road to be absolutely sure her spellcasting won't be overheard, then come back to the group and instruct her servant to open the door. Everyone else get ready, in case this actually works.

Hmmm...15-foot walls, colour spray is a fifteen foot cone. Gnome on someone's shoulders would be able to just reach...cone wouldn't go any higher, therefore being obvious to the other guards...

Gilfroy suggests this plan.

Or are the corbies on the castle roof itself, and not the wall?

Melon Sash wrote:

Or failing hook-rope; how scalable did the walls look?

It would be possible to scale, though not easy. The surface is rough, but there aren't many handholds to grab onto. It would be a DC 20 Climb check to scale. The exterior wall is 15 ft high, so people with speed 30 could reach the top in 1 round with lucky rolls. No one in the party has a high enough bonus to take 10, so you would be reliant on good luck with dice rolls. In addition, Gilfroy has a penalty to Climb making it impossible for him to succeed without assistance.

What a pity that we don't have a bard to sing "climb climb climb the steep wall"; Melon could make it then ;) - except, with somebody aiding, Melon should be able to make it taking 10.

"If the door fails, I can try climbing. If somebody aids me, it should be no problem. If we have some rope, I'll tie it up and it'll be easy for the rest to follow."

Or are the corbies on the castle roof itself, and not the wall?

The corbies are on the wall, so 15 ft up. One is directly over the main gate on the south side. It's staying mostly stationary, although it shifts side to side occasionally. The second is along the west side and when you last saw it, it was moving, presumably patrolling. The third is on the east side. It was half asleep and stationary when you saw it.

Corinna's unseen servant approaches the gate (well, you presume so since you can't actually see it) and attempts to open it. The gate doesn't budge and is clearly locked.

A few moments later, you hear a raspy cry from the other side of the gate. The sentry over the gate suddenly snaps to attention and begins peering out over the front of the gate and then down the road. The sentry was previously taking a -5 penalty to its Perception due to inattentiveness, so taking 10, it now gets a 16 on Perception. However, distance penalties combined with the tree cover means it still doesn't spot the party. After a few seconds, the corby noticeably shrugs and calls out something to whoever's behind the gate. There's a brief reply from the voice behind the gate, and then the sentry slumps against the edge of the rampart, staring out at the road. It yawns, but continues to watch, more attentive than it was earlier.

"Well, that confirms that there are more..." Melon's face distorts in effort of calculation, then noticeably gives up, "uh... Corinna. Assuming that there's a total of 4 or 5 crow people on guard currently. How many does that make in total for the castle? Would they have 1-in-...8? ...on guard at a time when they expect to be bored? ...the goblin village was one thing - but I'm not sure we can do that here."

Gilfroy Fezziwig wrote:

Or are the corbies on the castle roof itself, and not the wall?

The corbies are on the wall, so 15 ft up. One is directly over the main gate on the south side. It's staying mostly stationary, although it shifts side to side occasionally. The second is along the west side and when you last saw it, it was moving, presumably patrolling. The third is on the east side. It was half asleep and stationary when you saw it.

And I think the spell requires line of effect, so would be hard to pull off standing at the bottom of the wall.

"One in eight? Is that a common ratio? I suppose it allows for four-hour shifts, assuming they set a guard at all hours. If they're indigenous to a subterranean habitat, the darkness oughtn't to hinder them. Er, yes, accepting for the moment your one-in-eight hypothesis, that would translate to 32 to 40 crow-people in the castle." She frowns at Melon nervously. "I do hope you're wrong."

So to condense Gilfroy's proposed plan from the two threads...

"Here's what I suggest. All of us go wide to the sleepy one. Melon lifts me up on his shoulders. Somebody makes a small noise to attract his attention and when he looks over the wall, I hit him with colour spray. The light will only go up to his height so the other sentries may not even notice. The rest of you ready to shoot everything you have into him in case he manages to resist the magic. A good climber would then have at least twenty seconds to scale the wall, slit his throat and prop him up to look like he's still 'sleeping'. Meanwhile, the rest of us take our times climbing the wall."

"I can certainly have an arrow ready for him. Hopefully they'll not be as alert as the ones in front here are. It sounds like a fine plan." Tevyn inclines his head in respect to Gilfroy.

"Okay, that can work. Provided that we can risk getting close without making too much noise as a group. Or we try with less people, but have less chance if the spell fails."

Sneaking through the woods to the east side of the castle is simple enough. The guard there seems to have woken up (perhaps due to the commotion at the gate), but still looks quite inattentive as it picks at its sharp claws in a bored fashion.

Close-Up Map Updated
I've added a line of trees to show where the forest starts. Let me know how you'd like to position yourselves.

Tevyn would try to take a position at AI63 where he'd have a clear shot.

Stealth Check: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

If they retreated back around the south corner, would the wall itself possibly give them cover to sneak up to a position directly underneath the corby (corbie?)?

If you look closely at the map, you'll see that the ground around the castle is covered in some complex magical runes. Obviously we need to destroy that to save Ameiko!

Melon will stealth along with however Gilfroy wants to approach the corby. She figures she'll be helping him to do his magic, and that she's got the best shot at making it up the wall quickly.

"Rope? Anyone?" Melon whispers.

Did Lorenz take it again!?

If they retreated back around the south corner, would the wall itself possibly give them cover to sneak up to a position directly underneath the corby (corbie?)?

The wall will give total cover up until you come around the corner, at which point there is a chance the corby could see you. It's being inattentive though, so has a -5 penalty to its Perception check. When taking 10, it'll have a result of 11 before distance penalties are applied (and since the wall is 15 ft high, the distance penalty will always be at least -1).

Can we take ten on Stealth checks to approach?

If not, Stealth, with guidance: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 1 = 12

Taking 10 on Stealth checks is acceptable.

Malan is good where you have him positioned. He'll also ready to fire his bow at the corby if Gilfroy's spell does not take it out or he takes notice of us.

Shortbow: arcane pool (+1)
to hit 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 4 + 1 = 14 damage 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

So Gilfroy and Melon make their way around the south side of the walls. Gilfroy then climbs onto her shoulders, secures himself, and then squeezes her shoulders with his knees like he's seen horse riders do, grabbing a few locks of hair to flick like reins.

Once they're in position, he has his trusty steed toss a rock into some bushes, and as soon as he sees a bird head peer down to check it out, blasts it with colour spray. DC 18

Making sure there's no objection to Corinna bringing her unseen servant along. It sticks around for 2 hours as long as she doesn't send it away, and it might come in handy at some point. As far as positioning, put her under the tree at AG 62 if she has sufficient concealment to hide there; that ought to put the corbie in range for an Acid Dart.

"Rope? Anyone?" Melon whispers.

Tevyn has rope on his equipment list, so I'll assume he offers this up.

Once Corinna, Tevyn, and Malan have positioned themselves amongst the trees, Melon and Gilfroy sneak carefully around the corner of the castle wall. The dire corby is still picking at his nails and doesn't seem to notice them. Once directly underneath the corby, Melon hoists Gilfroy up onto her shoulders, then tosses a rock, making it clatter nearby.

The corby is actually somewhat slow to respond. Tevyn, Malan, and Corinna see the corby's head tilt slightly at the sound, but he takes another couple of seconds to finish picking at his nail before leaning forward to see what made the noise. A flash of coloured light envelops the dire corby's head.

Dire Corby Will: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12 -- fail
The corby is unconscious, blinded, and stunned for 2d4 ⇒ (4, 1) = 5 rounds, blinded and stunned for an additional 1d4 ⇒ 2 rounds, and then stunned for 1 further round.

The corby slumps over, his head resting on the edge of the battlement, apparently contentedly asleep.

Gilfroy dismounts Melon so she can climb up on top.

Ride check for fast dismount: 1d20 ⇒ 12

Tevyn has rope on his equipment list, so I'll assume he offers this up.

I do? All I see is twine. I didn't think twine would hold even Gilfroy.

Satisfied and slightly surprised to see the plan work, Tevyn hurries toward the wall. "Want a boost, Melon?" He whispers as he links his hands together and bends down so he can help her up.

Navior wrote:

Tevyn has rope on his equipment list, so I'll assume he offers this up.

I do? All I see is twine. I didn't think twine would hold even Gilfroy.

Ah, yes. I saw 50 feet of it and because that's a common length of rope, I read it as rope. No worries, Malan has silk rope in his equipment list, so maybe he offered that up. :)

Fast dismount? hahahahaha

Climb, assuming Tevyn counts as aiding 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 8 + 2 = 20

Melon takes her sweet time, but just, just manages to reach the top of the wall with one smooth effort.

Assuming nothing interferes with turn sequences, I'll post Melon's actions as she goes along:

Round 2
Melon quickly kills the corby with one brutal elbow to the back of the neck.
Coup de grace 2d6 + 8 ⇒ (6, 1) + 8 = 15

Round 3
She props up the crowman as good as she can, draping him over the wall as if he's slouching and leaning heavily on the wall.

Round 4
Melon ties one end of the rope around herself and pushes the remainder over the edge of the wall down to her companions. She then lies down - facing up - and props her feet against the wall while slinging the rope around her one arm and steadying it with the other. She breathes deeply as she readies to hold the weight of others scampering up the wall. When they do, she starts in a lying squat position and pushes to help the climbers along an extra few feet.

Climb, aiding others 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Accelerated climb should get him up 15 feet with a double move: 1d20 - 3 + 2 ⇒ (18) - 3 + 2 = 17

Spider-gnome...spider-gnome...does whatever a spider...ummm...comb?

"Is this a good idea?" Corinna worries to Malan. "We may be able to get in ... but how will we get back out in a hurry if we need to?"

"No. This is not a good idea. However, it is the best we have had to this point." Malan responds. "Stay calm. Your wits will often serve you better than your feet in such a situation. Even a hasty withdrawal should be an orderly withdrawal." Malan then tilts his head toward the rope. "I believe you are next, Lady Corinna. Tevyn and I will come last."

Keep a watch to see if anyone noticed the bright lights.
Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Dire Corby Fortitude DC 25: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4 -- fail

Melon easily kills the unconscious dire corby, then lowers the rope so the others can climb up. The other sentries do not appear to have noticed anything as yet.

Assume with the rope that a take 10 for 10 will suffice to climb the wall?

Assume with the rope that a take 10 for 10 will suffice to climb the wall?

That was my question too. If so, Tevyn will take 10.

Tevyn grabs the rope that Melon drops down, checks to see if it's reasonably secure and then climbs carefully up, dropping down on the other side and quickly scanning the area for trouble.

Perception Check: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

Yes, with the rope, the DC to climb the wall becomes 10.

One by one, you each climb up as quickly as you can. Peering along the ramparts, you can just make out the sentry over the main gate. The sentry is not looking in this direction, however, and is apparently completely unaware of your presence.

There is a trap door in the floor here. Just to the north, the wall widens and there is a small building on it. The roof of this building seems to have collapsed.

Upper Level Map

Gilfroy stands ready to blast down the trap door, and nods to Malan or Melon to open it.

"Search the bird-thing," Corinna urges someone else, trying not to look at the way the corby's head angles impossibly away from its broken neck. "Maybe it has a key to the front gate."

Malan looks for a key on the corbie.

The corby has no key on it. Nor does it have anything else. It is entirely naked and carries no weapons or equipment.

It is entirely naked

Corinna averts her eyes even more.

Tevyn readies his bow and nods to indicate he's prepared to proceed.

"Remember guys: we want to live forever!" Then Melon tries to open the trap door, "On three. One... Two... Three(!)"

Malan nods his readiness.

Melon pulls open the trap door and reveals a ladder leading down to a cramped room beneath. The room contains several old crates and barrels thickly covered in dust. Apart from an obvious trail through the dust from the door to the ladder, the room appears not to have seen use in a long time.

Lower Level Map Updated
I've put Melon's token into the room just for the purposes of the program's vision controls (which only work in two dimensions, not three). Until you say otherwise, she's still at the top of the ladder.

Corinna Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11
Gilfroy Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
Malan Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
Melon Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Tevyn Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26

Corinna frowns at the sight of the dust-covered barrels and crates. "These corbies," she asks Tevyn, "intelligent creatures? I can't imagine commandeering a building and not looking to see what useful items might have come along with it. Why wouldn't they open the boxes?"

"I'd always imagined the corbies to be somewhat intelligent but how far that goes, I'm unsure. It does seem strange that they haven't investigated. Unless they did look and weren't interested in what they found."