Sic Semper Tyrannis! (Thrune's Hell's Rebels Revived) (Inactive)

Game Master GM Aarvid

Lubella added, "Thank-you. We will not soon forget your help. We'll make sure nothing happens to your animals overnight."

She sampled the food, and found it much to her liking.

”No healing needed today. I just asks you all don’t be spreading word around that I helped you. I ain’t in the business to take in guests. The sooner you are gone the safer I will feel. “

Roderick points you to the barn and then retired for the night

The night passes uneventfully unless you have any special activities. You figure a good days March to the Oakrib Inn tomorrow.

Lubella thanked Roderick, "I wouldn't want to bring unawanted attention on you. I just want you to know that I'm glad to have met you."

She guarded the animals during her turn on watch. In the morning she recited her usual dawn prayers, and readied herself for the jouney to the Oakrib Inn.

In the morning, Talvek renews his disguise as a Chelaxian man, and leaves Roderick some coin to pay for his hospitality - three times what one would pay for a decent inn, the man was putting himself at risk by sheltering them.

As you depart, Roderick waves to you with a big grin as he holds the extra coins left by Talvek.

The next day, travel is a bit slower through the vacant fields as you climb the foothills towards the gap. By late afternoon, increased traffic is noticed and eventually the Oakrib Inn is reached.

The sizable roadside way house called the Oakrib Inn at the western
mouth of the Menador Gap is owned by Olradi Ormovor.

You are greeted by the staff, and the food and accommodations are far nicer than those of the farmer's barn.

Welcome to the Oakrib Inn and Spa. We provide the finest accommodations in all the area of the Menador. How can we be of service?

You have the comfort of the Inn to consider overnight the task awaiting you to the east ascent of the Ravounel Road.

When the party reached the Oakrib Inn, Lubella cast a spell to help everyone learn infomation.

Casting Good Hope (extended with her metamagic rod (duration 16 min).

The asked at the font desk. "Hello, I'm Kyda! We need accomodations for the night. Who woud you suggest I talk to about travel through the Menador Gap? I gather that we would need to go to the Menador Keep?"

Diplomacy, Good Hope: 1d20 + 18 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 18 + 2 = 27

Once we ask our initial questions, Lubella may cast Heroism to help with extended inquiries.

She tried to judge the reactions to her questions.

Sense Motive, Good Hope: 1d20 + 17 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 17 + 2 = 24

"Ooooh, a spa? Tell me more! It sounds like just the thing before journeying through the Gap. What's the temperature there like, this time of the year?"

Talvek continues to ask questions about the area, and the Menador Gap in particular, of the inn staff.

"Do the soldiers ever come here for a bit of relaxation? I can't imagine being posted here and not coming for a spa day every now and then, haha!"

Diplomacy to gather info, Good Hope: 1d20 + 16 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 16 + 2 + (2) = 22
Sense motive: 1d20 + 12 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (18) + 12 + 2 + (1) = 33

you can use the gather intelligence as previously rolled - revealing the highest result below. Likewise on kn:geography - one check for the highest.

We welcome all kinds to the Oakrib. We cater to your needs to relax and escape, especially in these times of active rebellions and restricted travel opportunities. the host pulls up a large ledger.

And whom shall I record as guests and your purpose for the visit? Will you each require a separate room? I do not want to make any brah assumptions on room arrangements. The Gap? Well, that will be cool this time of year. In temperature and temperament. You are much better off staying here for awhile.

Lubella reported her dindings to her comrades, "We'll need to climb or fly to approach the keep via a direction other than the Ravounel Road. The walls of the keep are hewn stone. The guard gatekeepers keep track of the nature of travelers’ business at the pass. Merchants and loyal agents of Thrune or the church of Asmodeus are generally allowed to pass, but most other travelers are turned away."

She replied to the innkeeper, "My name is Kyda. Can you tell me where I can buy supllies? It sounds like I'll need some warmer clothing, and possibly mount, as well as rations. I'll consult with by comrades about the number of rooms."

Diplomacy. Good Hope: 1d20 + 18 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 18 + 2 = 36

”Welcome to the Oakrib Resort and Inn Ms. Kyda. Are you certain you are able to pay…I mean we do not get many of your people without their…well someone else as the primary guest.“

Obviously halflings have more often arrived as servants to Cheliaxian aristocrats visiting the spa.

”Supplies can be found in our gift shop. Scented candles, flowers, perfumes and silver spoons being our most popular items.“

Lubella replied, "Can you go through the check-in procedure with me? I'm trying to coordinate accomodations for several people."

I'm trying to figure out how to move the story forward, without getting hung up on how to arrange our accomodations.

The Innkeeper nods and checks in Lubella and the others. Besides a few stares by the other guests, you are not disturbed all night.

Supplies fro adventurers are not as easy to come by in the Inn as they would be in a town. So you are unfortunately limited to what you have or can improvise.

The morning arrives and you regather your group and head up the Ravounel Road towards the Keep in the Menador Gap.

The Innkeeper asks Shall you be returning?

The keep is easily visible from below and at a good distance. You suspect that traveling the roads will also give the Keep good visibility of anyone approaching without cover.

Knowledge local: 1d20 + 15 + 1d6 ⇒ (15) + 15 + (3) = 33

Talvek smiles pleasantly at the innkeeper. "My name is Tyvon Cordessa. We shall take three rooms." It was the name of a minor business associate of his father's, if anyone was going to inquire later.

Bluff: 1d20 + 5 + 1d6 ⇒ (10) + 5 + (4) = 19 Oh no, I really need to get bluff trained.

”Excellent. Glad to serve you. Master Cordessa. “

Lubella checked if it was possible to buy rope, or warmer clothing, before departing for the keep, since she hadn't had prior warming before setting out for Menador Keep.

Lubella is NOT prepared for this mission, having had no opportunity to buy apprpriate supplies.

Food and Warmer clothes are definitely available. This is not frigid dangerous temperatures but probably 50’s at 3500’ vs 70s on the hills and plains.

We have mink and fox fur lined coats and wool leggings.

Food and Warmer clothes are definitely available. This is not frigid dangerous temperatures but probably 50’s at 3500’ vs 70s on the hills and plains. No worse than at Sea . Sorry if I misrepresented it. L

” We have mink and fox fur lined coats and wool leggings. rope? I could have the Staff locate a coil or two. But it is not something we normally carry, so it may cost a bit more.“

figure all items are 5x normal cost either due to fine quality or rarity. Mark down expensive items on gp tally

Lubella equiped herself for the expected cool tmperatures in preparation. She also packed enough food for a couple of days. She spoke with her allies before leaving in the morning,

"I think we'll have to leave the road before we get too close to the keep, so we're not spotted before we reach it. It would really help if we had some rope!"

She DOES NOT have rope, should that be needed. That's why I asked previously; we should expect to have to make climb checks. We should also have the equivalent of cold weather clothing, and a couple of days of food.

Kenji is ready. "I have rope but I am not really sneaky." he admits.

Lubella replied to Kenjii, "I'm hoping that staying out of direct line of sight will be good enough. I'm ready to go."

Your party, provisioned and rested heads east on the road into the mountain pass. The keep is easily spotted at noon from a mile away.

figure 3 hour hike uphill. Return trip probably only 2 hours.

Lubella told her companions, "We should get off the road, before we're spotted as we approach."

She left the road and looked for a route that would keep the party out of sight of observers in the keep.

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (12) + 13 = 25

As you climb east, you have a steep mountain rise to your left (DC20 climb up the northern path she finds) and on the south side of the road, it falls off into a ravine (DC20 climb down)

Lubella spots archers on the Keep walls and the large fortified gates look shut.

Lubella consulted with her comrades, "It looks like we have two different ways we could try. Jackdaw, do you think you could try sneaking ahead to figure out which is the right way to go? Kenji has rope that we could use to help climb the correct route."

She cast a spell to help Talvek explore the possible ways forward. Then she cast Message (duration 80 min) on the entire party.

Casting Heroism (80 min duration) on Talvek. He gets a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls, saves, and skill checks. I figure that Talvek is the best suited to explore the possible routes, since he has free inspiration that he can use for some of the skill checks. Once we know the right one, she can cast a 16 minduration Good Hope spell on the entire party. Hopefully we don't need stealth for both routes. We can use rope to help with climb checks, once we figue out the right path.

"I can turn invisible for a while and scout ahead, yes."

Talvek quickly checks that his silk rope is on hand, then drinks the contents of two small vials and disappears from view.

Stealth, invisibility, heroism: 1d20 + 35 ⇒ (1) + 35 = 36
Perception, heroism, free inspiration: 1d20 + 16 + 1d6 ⇒ (8) + 16 + (2) = 26

with invis you can walk on the road. If you want to scout off road then a climb check will be needed +10 or better needed to use T10 without rolling

I think Kenjii's going to have trouble making difficult Stealth checks, so I'm guessing that climbing is likely to be a better choice. I'm guessing that staying together will work out best.

Talvek has terrible Climb, will take 10.

After getting all the information he could by simply walking down the road towards the fortress, Talvek carefully climbs a way up the side of the mountain, then down into the ravine to scout possible approaches.

Climb, if needed: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 2 = 26
Climb: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 2 = 14
Climb: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 2 = 25

Lubella cast a spelll to boost her perception for the next hour or so.

Casting Heroism on herself.

Then he carefully assessed the difficulty of the possible climbing routes.

Perception, Heroism: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 13 + 2 = 26

Are there any modifiers to the DCs to the different routes she can see, such as climbing a corner where you can brace against perpendicular walls? Trying to assess whether she can take 10 by using a rope. She has +5 Climb with Heroism.

Does it look feasible for someone to lower her down into the ravine using a rope?

Climb skill.

Spells used:
1st lvl: 0/5
2nd lvl: 2/4
3rd lvl: 0/3

The climb up or down appears difficult for any but experienced climbers (DC20)

So does rope not help at all?

It can but needs to be tied or anchored. Going down someone could hold from above. Going up would need a hook. In that case it would help.

Lubela suggested, "I could check out the ravine, if somone can lower me down."

Lubella weighs 30 lbs, and is carrying 16.125 lbs of equipment. She could take off her backpack to lighten her equipment by a further 3.125 lbs.

I'm not sure exactly how the mechanics work for someone lowering her down into the ravine.
The range of her Message spell is 180 ft.

Kenji takes off his chain mail and packs it up, he then suddenly concentrates and focuses his ki and climbs up!

Spending 2 ki on forgotten Trick ninja trick to gain Wall Climber Ninja Trick.
Wall Climber (Su) (Ultimate Combat pg. 16): A ninja with this ability gains a climb speed of 20 feet, but only on vertical surfaces. This ability cannot be used to scale perfectly smooth surfaces or to climb on the underside of horizontal surfaces.

climb, 20ft climb speed +8 take 10, STr +3: 1d20 + 8 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 8 + 3 = 22

look at him go!

look at him go! :)

How high is it? Sidius could Dim Door 2 medium creatures up there (not sure if he could also carry Lubella, since she'd fit within his carrying capacity).

it is at least 100’ up to get above the top of the keep walls. Figure 150’-200’ out, doing some trig, figure 250’ diagonal as the dimdoor flies

Dimension Door might be a good way to get into the keep.

Lubella could try to climb, with a rope secured in case she fails by 5 or more. It might take a few tries, since she would need to roll 15+.

Sidius nods at the decision to climb, and casts fly on himself, offering, "I can bring up and secure a rope, if needed."

Lubella eyed the slope and replied to Sidius, "Yes, Please. A knotted rope would be best; that would really help."

Climbing a knotted rope is DC 15, allowing Lubella to make the climb by taking 10.

ok that covers two of you with 40’ of knotted rope. What of others and where trying to land or climb? Any invisibility?

If we need more than 40ft of rope, we could tie two ropes together.

When Lubella finishes climbing, she can use Stealth to advance quietly. She'll move at full speed, giving her am effective stealth of +17 with Heroism.

I suppose Sidius could lower the knotted rope, and brace himself while Lubella climbs 35 ft or so, and then fly a bit higher and repeat the process, until she reaches the top of the slope. Her climb skill is high enough to pass a DC 15 climb check by taking 10.

You continue to survey the keep and your approach.

Is the intent to get everyone to the top or drop inside the wall?

Have wee been able to see the keep? I don't think we know what the siruation is.

Yes, you can easily see it at the top of the road and mountain pass. You have seen guards patrolling and the walls and locked gates.
Figure you are hundreds of feet away. See the inset pic on the maps page.

Menador Keep is located at the narrowest
and highest point in the pass, at an elevation of
3,400 feet (well below the tree line). The surrounding
mountainous terrain is trackless and steep;

Menador Keep sits in the shadow of an arch of stone that
hangs over the pass itself, forming a short, natural tunnel
through the mountainside. The road narrows to just over ten
feet in width as it approaches the keep, ending at a large
iron gate that blocks entrance into the keep’s courtyard.
South of this courtyard stands a one-story stone stable,
while the keep to the north is two stories tall, with half of
its upper floor built directly into the arch above. Numerous
arrowslits decorate the bleak stone walls looking out over
the pass

I think we want to get everyone onto the top of the upper wall of the keep, if that's possible. We would ideally like to get to a spot where Sidius could Dimension Door several people into close proximity to the enemy. When we get close, Lubella will cast Mirror Image on herself, and then use her metamagic rod to cast an extended Good Hope on the party. I'm presuming that Arcos will cast Fly, and quite possibley Mirror Image, shortly before we engage the enemy.

Lubella whispered to her comrades, "Does anyone want to use my wand of Mage Armor, or my wand of Cat's Grace?"

After getting to the top, Lubella can sneak closer to the keep. I'm trying to understand when the enemy could see us.

“I am fine! We need a plan of attack as this will be no easy task. The arrow slits suggest that there will be archers ready to defend from the keep's walls?“

he asks.

Lubella whispered, "I'm worried that they might start shooting if we are spotted. We want to close quickly and engage them in melee before they get too many shots off."

I want to avoid being spotted when we're still far away from the keep. I'm having a heard time figuring out how close we can get without being seen.