TOZ's Way of the Kirin [PbP Gameday VI] (Inactive)

Game Master TriOmegaZero

If you wish, but to thoroughly search rooms it will take at least 5 minutes per room. Your Perception result may change that or it may not.

Rika stops, frowning. Something within her does not feel comfortable leaving rooms unsearched. With a Sigh, she begins checking through the room she is in, before checking whatever it is that lies beyond the trapdoor above.

Perception - Current Room: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19
Perception - Beyond the trapdoor above: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17

Rika finds the lower room cluttered and disorganized, increasing the time needed to examine the contents. A quarter of an hour passes, before the iron fittings and lumber are identified as a disassembled catapult. Also among the supplies are two rusty bear traps and a 20-gallon barrel of whale oil. Climbing the stairs, the trapdoor opens out to the narrow walkway around the lantern room. Many of the glass windows as well as the focus lens are damaged and weather worn.

Rika has taken about 20 minutes so far. The rest of the party is welcome to search other rooms while she is busy with that.

While Rika is carefully searching downstairs, Darshan will carefully search upstairs. (Use the last Per roll I rolled.)

Darshan finds the second floor devoid of anything meaningful, completing his examination quickly.

Darshan: 5 minutes
Rika: 20 minutes

Shigeru and Chomper enter the lower floor's main room and work in tandem to search it thoroughly but quickly, utilizing Detect Magic/low-light vision combined with an Elixir of Vision and dark vision respectively.

Shigeru Perception: Detect Magic & Enhanced Low Light: 1d20 + 2 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 2 + 10 = 20
Chomper Perception: Dark Vision: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

The elixir will last for a hour. Please let me know when it wears off. Ideally Karasuma will enter first and check for traps, but posting now for expedience. In any case, Chomper will take point before Shigeru. Gotta protect the squishy.

Kensaku, unsure of where to go, follows Shigeru and Chomper into the other house. When they start searching the bottom floor, she makes her way to the second floor, randomly choosing a door and opening it to search the room. A bedroom, by the looks of it.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

Shigeru and his squiggly companion find themselves in a large hall, devoid of much comfort after so long. Two massive bay windows have seats topped with ruined silk cushions facing north, offering a spectacular view of the ocean and a cluster of smaller islands. An immense fireplace fills the southern stretch of wall, and as Shigeru's enhanced senses scan over it, the catch of a hidden door presents itself.

Kensaku enters a master bedroom dominated by the large, rotting bed along side a relatively well-preserved desk and chair. The ceiling sags from water damage and the floor in the center of the room slants alarmingly. Little else catches her eye however.

Darshan: 5 minutes
Rika: 20 minutes
Shigeru/Chomper: 5 minutes
Kensaku: 5 minutes

Can I take further actions?

If you wish, but you are temporally displaced until the party catches up.

I'll wait for the time being. I'm already 15 minutes into the future aren't I? Do we have a clear view as to what's been/being searched?

I have updated the map as such.

"..." The attorney is silent as he watches the party begin their explorations and go in about three different directions. It's Harrowstone all over again, damnit. he thinks as he examines the door to the immediate right for any issues.

If there are none, he will enter and peruse the room, then move to the rest of the party to examine the room to the 'south' before going up the stairs, leaving a thinly scribed note in the dust of a given location that the area is clear if it is so.

Numbers of order of Karasuma's exploration are noted on map, 1, 2, 3 is the stairs and upstairs landing, 4, 5. That should catch him up to speed and provide a good direction for investigation.

Take 10 Perception is 28, Trapfinding +2 not incorporated in that, if needed to roll permission given to bot rolling. Disable Device is +21 and if there is a trap that Kara runs into, he will take his time and do it right with due diligence (Take 20 for 41)

Karasuma finds the room to the right of the entryway still contains a massive table, once suitable to grand meetings and conferences. Now the smooth top is broken with rot, and the chairs surrounding it have lost their seat backs, some even collapsed into kindling. No further secrets reveal themselves to his eyes, however.

Darshan: 5 minutes
Rika: 20 minutes
Shigeru/Chomper: 5 minutes
Kensaku: 5 minutes
Karasuma: 5 minutes

Shigeru sub-vocalizes and his companions hear a buzzing voice in their ears. "I've found a secret passage in the fireplace on the ground floor. No obvious magic, so hopefully it won't explode on me here."

His companions informed, he gives it a once over for traps and locks before stepping back while having his eidolon open it.

Shigeru take ten perception: 10 + 10 + 2 = 22
Chomper perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24
Chomper take ten disable device, if needed: 10 + 12 = 22

This will need adjusted if there is a magical trap, as Chomper does not have Rogue Power(TM)

Seeing no danger, Chomper eases open the hidden compartment. Beyond, a darkened staircase leads only a few feet down before the passage becomes unworked stone, a rounded tunnel that descends deeper into the island.

Having not noticed anything in her current room, Kensaku shrugs and moves to one of the rooms she passed on the way. As she puts her hand on the doorknob, the smacks herself on the forehead as she remembers she has a tool specifically for this: spells. She casts Heightened Awareness on herself before continuing her search in the next room.

Perception: 10 + 11 = 21

Darshan makes his way across the bridge into the house, and searches the first room through the door.

Perception Take 10 + Free Inspiration: 1d6 + 19 ⇒ (5) + 19 = 24

Darshan finds a hallway between rooms, devoid of any trappings from the former occupants. A sideboard molders to the side. Kensaku finds what must have once been a study, judging from the degraded desk and chair to the side. Nothing else of interest remains.

Karasuma glides in like a shadow to find the kitchen has several large, empty chests that once served as pantry space, an oven with openings in the top for pots of various sizes, a sink, and a single wooden stool. More interestingly, the oven has a symbol stamped into its tiles.

Darshan: 10 minutes
Rika: 20 minutes
Shigeru/Chomper: 5 minutes
Kensaku: 10 minutes
Karasuma: 10 minutes

Before I post what I do, I'm going to see if Karasuma calls and asks for others to look at that symbol....

Predicated on Message being up to Karasuma...

The stealthy attorney cautiously examines the kitchen area in a timely fashion.

Linguistics: 10 + 11 = 21

"The Tsuneo Clan either made the stove or owned it at some point. Family insignia on it is very much theirs." he speaks in a low tone.

He's not whispering per se as whispers can draw more attention than a quiet little bit of speech.

Chomper wriggles back and forth in agitation until their master places a hand on a tentacle and gestures forward. The eidolon then carefully begins to lumber down the steps.

watching for traps: 10 + 9 = 19

Chomper finds the tunnel twists and turns, opening out after perhaps a hundred feet. The darkened tube continues without any sign of further construction, appearing to be a natural formation.

Not hearing any calls to assist with interpretation of symbology, Darshan heads into the small room (the bathroom?) off of the room he was just in and searches it.

Perception: 1d6 + 19 ⇒ (1) + 19 = 20

Darshan indeed finds the lavatory. There is little to find within and the toilet is thankfully free of waste. In fact, Darshan notes that it appears to have been stone shaped to empty from the cliffside over the sea below.

Not going to charge time for the bathroom, that's just silly.

Darshan nods appreciatively. So many buildings don't seem to have any consideration for this very real human need. At least the person building this mansion had some consideration for practicality.

He moves through the house, nods a brief greeting to Kensaku as he passes her, and moves to a new room (3 on the map) to search it.

Perception: 1d6 + 19 ⇒ (4) + 19 = 23

Darshan finds the upper room devoid of any identifying marks. The fireplace suggests there was a purpose as perhaps a den, but without the original furniture it is impossible to say. Karasuma finds a similarly empty room off to the side, with no obvious secrets either.

Darshan: 15 minutes
Rika: 20 minutes
Shigeru/Chomper: 10 minutes
Kensaku: 10 minutes
Karasuma: 15 minutes

Rika continues to inspect the lighthouse with increasing exasperation.

Kensaku returns Darshan's nod as she moves to the next room on her path to search it, though she's confident she'll find nothing.

Perception: 10 + 11 = 21

Kensaku finds the forward room to be devoid of any interesting features, long abandoned and emptied. Karasuma finds the remains of modest beds in his final investigation, surmising them to once have been servants quarters.

Darshan: 15 minutes
Rika: 20 minutes
Shigeru/Chomper: 10 minutes
Kensaku: 15 minutes
Karasuma: 20 minutes

Well that was less eventful than I was hoping, Kensaku mutters to herself. After a moment of contemplation, she searches out Amara Lee and inquires, If we were to be attacked, how much of a force should we expect to come for us? A small group, or a fairly large assault force?

Kensaku finds the porters have constructed a privacy screen in the main hall, behind which Amara Li appears to be dressing for the meeting. "One cannot say. I expect any foes to come with as much force as they can muster. If you have secured the grounds, I would suggest fortifying the house as you see fit."

Rika, finally done with her designated area, comes barreling down, her nostrils wide and breathing heavily, like an angry bull. "I find nothing. We fortify? I find catapult in pieces. Maybe we put on top of lighthouse. Also beartrap. Much beartrap."

How would someone with no crafting skills go about fortifying the lighthouse? Is this left to our own inspiration and imagination, or are there specific avenues the scenario expects us to go down?

"If you have a lot of bear traps, maybe I can do something with the blankets or tarpaulins and make a nice cozy path of surprise for anyone trying to come up from below? Does anyone have an objection to me looking into that?"

Karasuma is suggesting taking the bear traps and then covering them with a blanket and spacing them out so it'd be really hard to see them in a dark tunnel...

There are a number of things you can do to fortify the house. You are welcome to come up with your own ideas to implement as well.

• There is enough old furniture in the house to build barricades across 12 5ft squares. It will take about 5 minutes of work to construct one square of blockade.
  
• Setting up the catapult will require more work, as it appears to be missing a number of lumber parts that will have to be crafted with Craft (Carpentry) before it can be assembled. It will then need a Disable Device, Knowledge (Engineering), or Profession (Siege Engineer) check to assemble. This process will take roughly 30 minutes.
  
• There are two spots on the upper floor that could be turned into trap areas, the master bedroom and the front landing. With Craft (Carpentry) or Disable Device the bedroom floor could be weakened and murder holes could be installed in the front room.
  
• The fireplace or kitchen could be used to boil liquids or even cook up an alchemical weapon with Craft (Alchemy).

Rika shakes her head moodily. "I not have the objections. But important to make catapult. You make. I move things." And without further ado, she begins to block off certain rooms and windows with the old furniture.

Let me know if you have any suggestions about where to place them. I've already put some down.

"The underground cave could be a viable escape route should we need one, assuming any enemies do not come out of it. Can we see about making a lock that would be easy to open from this side, but not the other?" Shigeru asks as he direct Chomper to help Rika with the furniture.

Are we worried about fliers? All the suggested barricades I see are on the second floor. And does anyone have Craft(Carpentry)? I assume we can't roll it untrained, so the catapult would be a lost cause.

Craft is an untrained skill, so you could attempt to repair the catapult.

I believe that our tengu friend was going to deal with rebuilding the catapult. I put the barricades on the second floor because we can always retreat there and it offers the most possible escapes. Also, if I were a cool ninja assassin, I would totally come through the second floor. It's also the easiest to completely barricade off.

Darshan says, "I can attempt to set up the catapault. I am not a carpenter per se, but, really, I've looked at things that are built, and how hard can it be?"

+4 at Default because of INT, spend 1 point of Inspiration to add a d6.

Craft (Carpentry): 1d20 + 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (8) + (2) + 4 = 14

"Hmm," he says. "Perhaps carpentry actually isn't as easy as I thought."

Not good enough, I assume?

Okay, Darshan is spending some time learning to carpent or whatever you call it. Unless there is an objection, I'm going to go with the barricades as shown and dole out work times.

Darshan: 45 minutes
Rika: 20 minutes
Shigeru/Chomper: 10 minutes
Kensaku: 15 minutes
Karasuma: 20 minutes

Rike, once satisfied with the barricades erected goes to find the bear traps the others found and begins to set them at the bottom of teh secret passageway.

Any particular roll needed here?

As Chomper and Rika place the barricades on the second floor, Shigeru works to light up the fireplace using his flint and steel to begin boiling whatever liquids we have on hand, searching as necessary for firewood/oil/a water source.

Perception/Survival: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

Once the barricades are complete, Chomper focuses on weakening the floor of the master bedroom and front landing.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14

Not sure which rooms those are exactly. Can you mark them on the map and ensure that the barricades don't block them off, TOZ?

Gray squares in the rooms mark floors that can be weakened/murder holed. Building the barricades do not require any checks.

The team sans Darshan manage to get the barricades setup in good time, and Rika finds the bear traps a simple task to setup in the hidden tunnel. Chomper then begins the task of cutting holes in the floor as Shigeru boils the water. Rika, Kensaku, and Karasuma find themselves finished with their tasks while Darshan and Chomper continue to work the wood.

Darshan: 45 minutes
Rika: 30 minutes
Shigeru/Chomper: 40 minutes
Kensaku: 30 minutes
Karasuma: 30 minutes

Alright, as a GM I have failed the team in keeping this moving. I apologize for that lapse, but now that you are my only PbP team, I will be focusing on finishing our play before starting a new one. I also have at least one PbP playthrough finishing soon and should be able to whittle down my bandwidth as we go. Again, I apologize for the limbo. Let me know how you would like to proceed.

Anything else that would come to Rika's mind with regards to turning this meeting place into a Tucker's Kobold's run? I don't know what else I could do and I don't want to be caught with Rika's kimono down because I was too aloof to think of something to do that was blatantly put before me earlier on.

Kensaku goes and barricades the windows (if possible), remembering her own client-side adventures with a ruined temple and the snakes involved.

I believe all material for the barricades has been used at this point.

The tengu peers at the shambles that is the catapult with a bit of a grumble.

Sure, build a catapult they said. It'll be EASY.. they said. I'd rather be in court.

Still, he starts sorting out pieces, focusing on the primary movement bar, the stopping bar, and what would be required to make them work.

After that, he'll work on lashing the motion arm, then move to the winding assembly.

"Won't turn down anyone's help with this that isn't already busy on something, going to need some muscle and some grit." he offers after a bit of work, giving Darshan a curt nod. "Thanks for starting on the support bars, I'd have no idea how to cut them down."

Unfortunately, Karasuma finds himself unable to complete the catapult without the parts Darshan has been working on. When he goes to collect them, the Pathfinders find that the measurements are off just enough to be useless.

Darshan: 45 minutes
Rika: 30 minutes
Shigeru/Chomper: 40 minutes
Kensaku: 30 minutes
Karasuma: 45 minutes

Darshan unfortunately failed the carpentry check.