Sean's Master of the Fallen Fortress (Inactive)

Game Master osuracnaes

Quartes looks up the wall to the upper floors, a finger tapping his chin as he thinks. Well; seems like it wouldn't be too difficult to make it up. Unless anyone else has any better ideas? He pauses a moment and looks about to see one is offered, then sheathes his dueling sword and spits in his palms, then rubs them together.

After a second glance at the daunting wall before him, he turns to Noran. That is, of course, unless anyone else is a better climber than I? Whomever can get up there could tie off a rope to give the rest of us a better chance.

Noran takes out a 50' rope, and begins tying knots in it every two feet or so to make climbing it easier.

"I'm a dwarf, I usually prefer to keep my feet on the ground or under it. I can climb some, but hopefully someone else is better at it."

"There is one thing I could try though, before somebody has to try to climb it unassisted. I don't see anywhere to throw a grappling hook, but this might work..."

Noran pulls a grappling arrow from his backpack, and steps back 20 feet or so. He fires the grappling arrow up into the second floor as if he was aiming at a spot 100 feet away.

The grappling arrow has a range increment of 30' instead of 100, so if I fire it like that it's well within how hard I can launch it, the rope is 50' long so I'm hoping somewhere in that floor it will catch on something.

"Now, to see if that worked."

Noran starts pulling on the rope slowly, hoping it will catch before it comes down.

I am certainly game for the climb...I have done a little second-story work in my day.

Climb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

The check can be applied with the aid of the knotted roap, or without, based upon DM ruling. I believe that those details simply effect the DC and are not a modification to the check.

Quartes looks to the dwarf and the elf and steps back from the wall, a wide grin on his face. Both fine ideas; I'll step aside then, gentlemen. It's painfully obvious that Quartes wasn't keen on the idea of scaling the wall himself.

I guess if your climb is +5 and the DC is 15 you should be able to take 10 to climb carefully, and you can secure the rope?

Noran's arrow clatters against the stone floor above. It seems that the floor is still smooth, however, despite the collapse of the section, and the hook fails to catch on anything before falling to the ground.

Further up, it does appear that the highest floor is surrounded by a stone railing 80 feet above you that the arrow might be able to catch on.

Filios, however, has no difficulty climbing up the rough remains of the walls onto the exposed floor above. (This requires 3 checks, but you can succeed by taking 10.) Two doors lead into the fortress: one to the northwest and one to the southwest.

MAP updated!

Well I only have 50' of rope, so I won't be shooting that railing. :)
"Filios, can you see anywhere to tie the rope now that you are up there?"

Otherwise, the climb skill description says: "Rope: You can use a rope to haul a character upward (or lower a character) through sheer strength. You can lift double your maximum load in this manner." So, Filios should be able to haul any one of us up, etc.

"If you find no place to secure the rope, you can pull one of us up, and we can get the entire group to the ledge that way."

There really isn't anywhere to tie off the rope, but provided no one weighs more than 350 lbs, Filios should have no problem hauling any others to the floor above.

Filios dangles the rope over the edge.

OK...who's first?

"I'll go and help haul the others."
Since we seem to be the ones posting right now :)

Once Noran reaches the ledge, the two work together to raise the rest of the group to the ledge.

Quartes nods, and allows the others to go before him. Once topside, he once again wields his sword, while keeping his other hand open for use of his art. Well, here we are with a decision once again. North proved a bit dangerous below...shall we try the south first?

As he waits for the others to gather round and make ready, he examines the door to the south for any obvious traps or pitfalls, and...of course...a lock.

Perception
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

"I'll go last, to cover our rear", as I sink back into the shadows. I'll stow my shield for now, too.

Stealth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

After some hard work, Noran and Filios manage to pull everyone up to the second floor. You take a moment to catch your breath before continuing with your exploration.

You notice that a larger section of the floor above you has collapsed. About five feet above the northern door, there is a gap between the floor and the eastern wall. The dotted line on the map is where the floor above you ends.

As Quartes examines the southern door, you see that it's identical to the wooden door on the floor below that led to the ruined stairwell. It has no lock... just a handle to open it. You notice nothing out of the ordinary, and hear nothing from the other side.

Jareth, you still with us? Haven't heard from you in awhile. :P

Filios checks both doors for traps.

Hold on guys, let me take a look at those doors first.

South Door Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
North Door Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

"Sounds good to me, Quartes."

Noran steps back, and readies an arrow pointing at the door.

Quartes nods at Filios and steps back to allow him to have a look. Barring any unforseen warnings from him, he opens the doors wide and stands ready for whatever vile creature decided next to make the party into a fine snack.

Jareth, you still with us? Haven't heard from you in awhile. :P

Also, Jareth will assist in the hauling once he reaches the top. He should be able to hoist up someone on his own.

Jareth, climbs up with the rest of the group, afterwards keeping his sword and shield at the ready. He keeps close to Quartes, should something spring into vision.

Perception1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

So far nothing of any real note, can anyone make a guess as to who built this thing?

Any knowledges that can be rolled based on its architecture?

I know, I've been uncool recently :(

Well glad you're still here! :)

It's fairly common knowledge that Absalom has attracted many who thought they could take the city by siege. Some of these would-be conquerers built fortresses to serve as bases of operation... this is probably one of those siege castles of some long-lost human empire.

Assuming you opened the southern door...

This octagonal room is covered in a fine layer of dust. It’s clearly been abandoned for a long time. Another door lies in the northwest wall of the room.

Noran carefully examines the room.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Survival: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

"It looks like this room hides nothing, but I see signs of cold blooded creatures near the other door, use caution."

Filios again follows the dwarf into the room.

Quartes follows in, glancing down at the tracks Noran had seen. So...are we talking tiny lizards or the man-sized kind?. Attempting to find his own answer, he also performs a quick survey of the room.

perception
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

"Or the I don't have a heart beat, but still walk around kind", as I ready one of my many holy symbols.

Either way, these tracks have not been here since before the earthquake. The creatures that left these tracks may still be here. Be on your guard.

Perception 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
Survival 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Know(Nature) to maybe identify the creature that made them? Humanoid reptiles? or 4 legged ones? If arcana, then oopsie :p etc 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Jareth takes point with his shield held high and proceeds into the room.

The footprints are about 6 inches long... they probably weren't man-sized creatures, but slightly smaller. You can tell that they were bipedal.

Filios casually searches the room and tracks.

Can you tell what left them, Jareth?

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Spotting the trap, Noran steps back quickly, and says, "Whoa. Trap by the door guys! Don't step there unless you want your head perforated."

"Anyone skilled with traps? Otherwise, we can try to just trigger it with something."

Yes, Noran, I would imagine that task is right up my alley.

With a grin, Filios bends down to examine the mechanism, and as he traces the line, he deftly attempts to disarm the apparatus.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Quartes stands aside as Filios sets to work, a grin of easy confidence on his face. He stands ready to dismember little lizard person children, should the need present itself.

As Filios fiddles with the trap, his hands slip and the javelin shoots into the area in front of the door. The sound of wood hitting stone echoes loudly through the room as the javelin strikes the floor, narrowly missing the elf.

Noran looks very startled. "WHOA!"

"You okay Filios? Can it go off more than once or is it safe now?"

Filios stands slowly and shrugs...

Whoops...that certainly was not supposed to happen...let me check.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

I just hate having to keep scrolling so far for the MAP. . .

Can someone move me right next to Noran (troubles again). I'll go ahead and reattach my shield, and recast light. While I'm at it, in the room, I'll cast Detect Magic, and do a 360 scan of the room, and doors real fast a few rounds, if no one minds.

Noran stand next to the Elf as he scans the room, covering him in case of any surprise threats.

I always keep the map open in a pinned tab right next to this pinned tab. It's always the same URL, I would suggest bookmarking it at least?

It appears that the trap could only go off once. It would need to be manually reset in order to fire again.

Beckett's light spell bathes the room in a soft glow, and he slowly turns around trying to see if there's anything magic in the room. Just as he finishes, the door bursts open!

The first thing you notice about the two small reptilian humanoids is their putrid stench. A horrible odor wafts through the room. (Everyone make a Fort save! 10 or lower means you're sickened for 10 rounds.)

With dull gray scales and lizard-like figures, you recognize the creatures as troglodytes... probably young ones based on their size. Normally underground creatures, they must have found a way into the tower after the earthquake. They snarl at you, preparing to throw their javelins!

Initiative
Beckett - 22
Jareth - 16
Quartes - 14
Troglodytes - 8
Filios - 7
Noran - 4

Troglodyte 1 - HP 9/9; AC 16, T 12, FF 15; Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +0
Troglodyte 2 - HP 9/9; AC 16, T 12, FF 15; Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +0

Beckett's up first! Remember your Fort saves!

Fort: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

I'll shift straight up 1 square and Ready An Action to Aid whoever attacks the Trogs first.

Between holding my mouth closed and trying not to vomit from the abomidable stench, "Someone nab them quickly before they can sound an alarm."

You'd have to be next to one of the troglodytes to use the aid another action.

Round 1, Initiative 16
AC 16 (18 w/ shield), touch 11 , flat-footed 15(17 w/Shield)
HP - 12
Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +4

Fort Save 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20
Bah! g&+-d@*n trogs, shoulda known they'd hole up in a place like this!

Jareth uses a move action to remove his shield leaving it on the ground, then takes a 5-foot step and uses his standard action to attack the Trogloydyte with his scimitar(two-handed).

Attack Roll 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
Damage 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

EDIT - Crit!

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 241d6 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

@GM Sean: Are we still blessed?

Don't I just have to be within 5ft of the ally?
<Edit, nope you are right. So, in that case I'll. . . not much I can do at this pont. I'll ready to Channel Energy.>

@Filios: he said no early. Basically I wasted it for nothing.

Oh well, I got an attack in with it!

Quartes dashes forward in Jareth's wake, cursing himself for being so far behind the others. Not willing to let a companion battle the creatures alone, he charges past Filios to stand next to Jareth, his dueling sword darting out in a stab at the creature.

Fort. 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

Attack and damage
1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
1d8 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

think I may incur an aoo; so be it

Jareth brings his scimitar through the troglodyte that opened the door with a devastating attack, lizardy bits flying from its body as it falls.

Quartes lunges into the fray, but just misses the remaining creature. (No AOO... you didn't move out of a threatened square.)

Round 1 Initiative - (MAP)
Beckett - 22
Jareth - 16
Quartes - 14
Troglodytes - 8 <--
Filios - 7
Noran - 4

Javelin 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

The remaining troglodyte hisses at Quartes, stepping back 5'. It throws its javelin at the magus, but the weapon flies way over his head into the southern room. Growling in frustration, it draws a club as it slowly backs toward a door in the east wall of the room.

Round 1, Init: 7, AC: 17, HP: 10/10, Sickened 10 Rds

Fort: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Filios slips past both Quartes and Gareth, deftly weaving between the two while fighting down the bile rising from his throat due to the awful stench.

Heads up! Coming through boys!

Curveblade ATT: 1d20 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (13) + 4 - 2 = 15
Curveblade DAM: 1d10 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (1) + 3 - 2 = 2

Round 1, init 4, HP 10/10, AC 15/15/14, F:+3 R:+3 W:+6, sickened
Fort: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9 FAILED

Noran is overwhelmed by the stench of the troglodytes.

He steels himself and runs through into the other room, positioning himself for a clear shot on the remaining creature.

Up next: Beckett

Forgot to repost these...

Troglodyte 1 - exploded
Troglodyte 2 - HP 9/9; AC 16, T 12; Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +0

Round 2

HP:8/8, AC/T/FF: 16/12/14, Fort: +3, Refl: +3, Will: +6, Conditions: Sickened <9 Rounds, -2 to basically all>

I'll move and attack. Trying to set up a Flank for next round, I move near the battle, and just do a single attack while trying to keep my lunch down. "I think,. . . I would . . . . rather have. . . . the Undead. . . . Smell better."

Rose's Kiss Attack: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (18) - 1 = 17
Damage: 1d8 - 1 ⇒ (8) - 1 = 7