There, in the distance, ploughing through the sleeting rain, we catch the first glimpse of our heroes. Starting out in Absalom, the city at the centre of the world, the first heard the rumours of the Fallen Fortress, and old - some say ancient - siege fortress, one of many located in the Cairnlands.
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A stout and self-assured looking Vudrani male walks up to the group of hopeful heroes assembled.
"Greetings friends. You may call me Mahasi Mi Khaing, I am of the atanapratta of Vudra. You may know me as a man of miracles. It is my gift to wield magic, yet I have no spellbook, and no Jinn or Dragon has tainted my bloodline. I am a servant of Irori, and by discipline of mind alone I have tapped into the ebb and flow of the currents of magic, unlike lesser beings."
"As an atanapratta, it is my calling to explore the world. I have been to many lands, and forgotten keeps such have these have always proven to be great troves of wealth and knowledge. It seems that with our combined skill at magic and arms, we might make our own fortunes in this old fortress"
Sealed shut by strong magic wards and forgotten spells, nobody has been able to breach the fortress to get inside. Until an earthquake struck the land and the walls crumbled, leaving open what had been closed to civilisation for so long. Excitement, adventure, treasure, prestige, each of the heroes have their own reasons for moving out here. Who can tell?
The rain continues unabatedly as the heroes catch the first glimpse of the fortress they've been looking for. This must be it.
The ruined siege castle now being called the Fallen Fortress rises out of the churned earth of the Cairnlands. No doors or windows mar the otherwise smooth expanse of the tower's walls. The tower is quatrefoil in plan; its eastern wing has largely collapsed, exposing the interior floors to the open air. Only the topmost level seems whole, though its eastern portion hangs precariously over the mountain of rubble left by the collapse. At ground level, the rubble frames a gaping hole in the side of the building that provides access to the tower's darkened interior.
The heroes are about 500 meter aways from the tower.
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Thaurux is eager to be out of the crowded city and gladly lets the rain wash away its smell. The rain makes his bare arms and calves glisten like gold.
So far the only thing he has said to his companions is:
“You may call me Thaurux. I can use my glaive.”
Thaurux stands tall glaive in hand and scans the building from a distance.
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Naiyra is slim, attractive, above average height and young with piercing green eyes. She is dressed in what appears to be a fashionably modified soldiers uniform and studded leather armour with a short sword at her hip. Though she doesn't appear to be strong, she moves with a sense of confidence and experience beyond her years.
"Приветствия," she says in Elven. "I'm one who finds that which goes missing and returns it to those who are very grateful for their return," she says with a sly smile.
"This place looks like nobody has been inside for a while, which means that whatever was sealed inside is probably still in there. Though, I dare say we will be lucky enough to be able to walk in, look about the place and just leave with whatever catches our fancy. This could be dangerous and profitable. Perhaps we might be able to work together for our mutual gain?" see says looking around at the others trying to gauge their reaction to her proposition.
Nairya examines the ruins and the surrounding area.
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Sardon eyes the barbarian carefully and shifts his grip on his guisarme. [As long as nothing gets under our guard, we should be ok, he thinks. Or maybe he should just use the flail this time out. He is a small Tian man with hair beginning to grey, with a battered suit of skirted scale armor and a polearm slung over his back. At his hip, a heavy flail.
"Greetings," he says, approaching the others, assessing their capacity. "I suppose I'll occupy the front line, this time around, but I might not be the best choice for a scout. Shall we see what this old tower holds?"
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Naiyra giggles in amusement. "There's no glory in death, just death. I have no plans of dying here. I'll scout. I some experience and skill with it. Besides, you would be heard from a mile away and wouldn't realise you walked right into an ambush."
She starts off towards the ruins and takes the lead, as she says to Sardon, "Do you have a name or shall we call you the fellow with the glaive?
As she approaches the ruins
And so our heroes approach the tower, or at least, what is left of it. The rubble-strewn eastern side proves difficult, but not impossible, to get across. As the heroes are ready to climb the first rocks, they spot a triad of starved, wild dogs.
Nayria and Thaurux get the jump on the dogs. Though one of the dogs barks at Nayria, the two others seem to be oblivious of her presence.
Perhaps needless to say, please be clear in stating your action. State movement as N, NE, N, etc. If your actions contain conditions (if this, then that), I will follow them to the letter. Also, if your rolls depend on conditions, or if they are out of turn (some people like to advance-post a turn), please hide them in spoiler tags. I will, unfortunately, have to discard any rolls if they should have been in spoiler tags.
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Terrain and Obstacles
From tangled plants to broken stone, there are a number of terrain features that can affect your movement.
Difficult Terrain: Difficult terrain, such as heavy undergrowth, broken ground, or steep stairs, hampers movement. Each square of difficult terrain counts as 2 squares of movement. Each diagonal move into a difficult terrain square counts as 3 squares. You can't run or charge across difficult terrain.
If you occupy squares with different kinds of terrain, you can move only as fast as the most difficult terrain you occupy will allow.
Flying and incorporeal creatures are not hampered by difficult terrain.
Charge
Charging is a special full-round action that allows you to move up to twice your speed and attack during the action. Charging, however, carries tight restrictions on how you can move.
Movement During a Charge: You must move before your attack, not after. You must move at least 10 feet (2 squares) and may move up to double your speed directly toward the designated opponent. If you move a distance equal to your speed or less, you can also draw a weapon during a charge attack if your base attack bonus is at least +1.
You must have a clear path toward the opponent, and nothing can hinder your movement (such as difficult terrain or obstacles). You must move to the closest space from which you can attack the opponent. If this space is occupied or otherwise blocked, you can't charge. If any line from your starting space to the ending space passes through a square that blocks movement, slows movement, or contains a creature (even an ally), you can't charge. Helpless creatures don't stop a charge.
Sighs and as she sees Thaurux try to charge the wild dogs.
With complete disregard of his surrounding, Thaurux thrashes forward throughout the rubble. Despite the difficulty in moving, he manages to get near a dog and bring his Glaive to bear. A brief moment later, one of the dogs is completely torn to pieces.
The dogs move to avenge their brother
but Thaurux manages to slice up the first dog that comes within range with great ease.
The other dog, however, bites the Barbarian in the shin.
Forever settling the discussion as to which is the better polearm, Sardon is far less successful with his Guisarme as Thaurux is with his Glaive.
Mahasi fires an arcane bolt, but sadly misses.
With a swift stroke, Naiyra ends the life of the remaining dog. A renewed silence fills the rubble-strewn entrance to the tower, as our heroes start noticing the rain again.
Several floors are visible on the collapsed east side of the tower. The eastern room of the ground floor is among the collapsed spaces, and two doors, one to the north, the other to the south can be made out behind the rubble and wet sludge.
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Well fought. It's good to know that we can handle ourselves in combat, though we would do well to improve our strategy and team work. I haven't often seen the use of weapons with reach employed, though from I have seen they work well when you let your enemy come to you. That would give me a chance to stealthily move into a flanking position as well.
Naiyra is glad the Barbarian did not fair worse for his foolish actions, though he acquited himself well in battle. Perhaps he will learn to combine better tactics with his skill in the future.
Naiyra examines to bodies of the dead creatures to see if they had anything of value with them.
As Naiyra searches the rubble, she find nothing but dog meat. We see Thaurux being somewhat spooked. What is it that could cause such a big warrior looking so faint? He certainly does not seem eager to enter the fortress. Who will be the first to enter? The doors, as of yet, remain shut.
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Nothing of value with these beasts, not that I had expectations, though it never hurts to look.
Looking at the ruins, "There appears to be an entrance on the north eastern side of the ruins. That looks like a good way in, I'll scout ahead unless anyone has an objection or other suggestions."
Naiyra heads towards the northern door, looks inside and stealthily prepares to enter.
Poor Naiyra, sneaking into that room al by herself.
The northern wing of the tower seems to have escaped the worst effects of the collapse, but rubble still litters the floor and everything is covered in a thick layer of stone dust. Thick cobwebs cloak the ceiling and hang down the walls like gossamer tapestries. A single archway stands open in the southwest wall.
As Naiyra moves through the room, she catches a silvery glint in the corner of her eye. Looking up, it is too late! She has been caught in a mess of sticky strands. A giant arachnid is lurking from the ceiling and looks ready to come down.
N || Y || N
Y || Y || Y
N || Y || N
Where Y denotes places from where you can reach, and the middle square is the one the spider is at. AOO should follow similar reach rules
Naiyra struggles against the web, and in an uncanny display of agility, manages to break free of the strands. Meanwhile, the Sorcerer starts blasting the spider, filling the air with the smell of ablated chitin.
The spider drops. Dead, that is, gutted by the vicious 'tickle' that Sardon delivered.
Our heroes spot a cocoon, about two feet in size, near where the spider was sitting.
Other than the cocoon in the spider web, the room yields little other of interest. As Naiyra investigates, she catches a glint of something inside. What would be in there? It could be something of value, but it could also be... what do spiders do with their prey again... ugh! Gross!
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Naiyra looks at the cocoon containing whatever unfortunate creature that chanced the spider.
That's twice we've been attacked by some damned creatures and we've haven't a copper to show for it. This place better have something worthwhile in store otherwise what a waste of time this would have been. At least this lot is competent, would have hated to end up like that poor fool whatever it was.
Nothing of value, no sense wasting time. Lets move on... unless any of you are hungry." she adds with a wicked little laugh as she walk over to the door/doorway in the south western corner of the room and inspects it for traps. I've had enough surprises for today.