Way of the Wicked - the Fall of Andoran (Inactive)

Game Master increddibelly

Arryn, you're still allowed a 2nd Int Check in the kitchen for DC12. Also, if you exit the kitchen back into the mess hall, both may roll again. The first impression of the room may or may not trigger an idea in your head, and as you come in from a different angle than before (south rather than west), you get another chance.

Taking one of the knives and holding it beneath his sleeve, Aerent walks past Arryn, "I'll be right back, keep working on the medicine." Leaving the kitchen door open, he walks back into the mess hall and proceeds toward the door leading to the barracks.

As he passes the banner, a wide grin appears on his face, but disappears just as quickly as he remembers his goal.

Aerent opens the barracks door as quietly as he can, peeking inside to see how many guards are there, then closing the door again.

If there are bright lights in the dining hall, Aerent tries to dim them before opening the door.

Stealth to open the door: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Perception to count the guards: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
Int check: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (18) - 1 = 17

Next actions depend on the guards in the room...

Well.... not to sure what to roll but here's a d20...

Brew Poison: 1d20 ⇒ 11

The fire at the fireplace is going, yeah? I'm not sure.

"Yes," Sindran says to Grumblejack, amusement in his voice. "Just wait for a while. Hopefully they'll be done soon."

The half-orc stands and raps on the chimney to tell them to hurry up.

Aerent, as you sneak through the mess hall and head for the barracks(10 => 9) you suddenly realize that Ron's information about the number of guards simply cannot be correct. There's room in the mess hall for about two dozen, and that's with men crowding near the walls.

Then, you gently open the door to the barracks, and what you see confirms your suspicion; there's a whopping 3 guards sleeping in there, with 15 empty beds. Each bed has a numbered footlocker at its base.

Your skin grows cold as you suddenly realize that your chances of escaping have become infinitely better.

It's so odd, though. Ron seemed so totally sincere. He saw an opportunity to gain leadership, and if he was planning to double cross, you'd have noticed by now...no...or...nooo!....Could it mean...Yes...it would explain everything; his losing streak, the wrong number of guards...

Sindran, I believe Aerent has made an effort to douse the fire. Combined with the fact that no one is tending to it, it's not the raging hell it could've been. You're confident you could walk over it.

Course we got the retarded guard :D

Poor guy. And he's been trying so hard as well; couldn't say no to game night - that'd be odd. then bluff his way through poker, raising everything to a hundred, hoping he's dropping the right amount of money...always being invited back, for some reason...sigh.

Maybe - just maybe, if you all manage to escape, live, and sit around a fireplace with a good drink; maybe, I'll tell you what actually happened. For now I'm feeling rather cursed with a case of GM's Giggle - something really funny just happened and there's no way to share it with the only ones who'd understand without spoiling it for them :)

Hey, he's not retarded! He's uneducated. *sass*
Uuurgh, forums kept eating my post. And that was a nice twist! I'll look forward to someday finding out what that was. I'll hold you to it. <-- Lawful Evil

Sindran taps his fingers on the rail of his chair. "We're running out of time.

"Talon," he says, looking at the Strix. "Go down the fireplace and find out what's taking them so long. See if it's safe for us to go down as well. If the stairs are safe, rap three times then once then three times again." He demonstrates, rapping on his chair with his knuckles.

"If the stairs aren't safe but the fireplace is, rap twice three times." He demonstrates again.

"If they both aren't safe, well," he shrugs, "I suppose we'll see."

Talon nods, trusting the orcs judgement. He hasn't been wrong yet. He quickly makes his way down "Hey, things goin ok?"

Alas, Ron hasn't had much luck. Oh well, the least we can do for the poor ruse is put an end to his miserable boss!

Caladwhen raises her left eyebrow inquisitively, and interjects "Sindran, is it wise to split up like that? I think we need to give it a little more time, as thus far we've heard no commotion or yelling from downstairs, suggesting Arryn and Aerent are still at large."

Leaning her head against the hearth, Caladwhen further postulates "On his own downstairs, Talon increases the chances of exposing our plot."

Assumin talon made it down safely

"Yes... we are concocting a poison to throw into the food, should make quite an upset..." I say with a wink. Hopefully I'm almost done...

"Urgency outweighs the risk," Sindran replies. "They may not be working fast enough. Talon may be enough of an asset to them with his spellcasting and strength to be worth it."

Thanks to Aerent clearing a patch, Talon slides down the chimney and lands, creating a poof of smoke in the middle of a circle of hot coals - making quite an infernally dramatic entrance.

Arryn has used a soup kettle to create about 3 gallons of the Lerash Surprise - it's been quite a task for her to stay awake with so much of the belladonna fumes swirling through the kitchen. She's done well, though.

Arryn, if you have a plan for the poison, I'd love to hear it; otherwise the obvious choice would be the large keg that takes the role of the kitchen's water supply.

(I'm assuming the folks above listen in on the conversation through the chimney.)

a friendly reminder that time is growing short. Midnight approaches rapidly.

Aerent returns to find Talon climbing out of the chimney. "Well, since you're here, there are three guards in the other room that could use a dose of Arryn's belladonna mix. Don't kill them if you don't have to - too much noise and there are guards nearby. Close the door when you go in, and Arryn, you come out first to make sure everything is clear. I'll watch the door and make sure nobody enters until you come out."

Stepping close to the fireplace, he calls up, "Sindran, there are only a couple dozen prison guards total. Ron is stupid, can't count, or both. We're about to handle three more who are sleeping.

"If I'm timing this right, we should finish with the sleepers about the time the guard change happens. If the guards come in down here, we'll need you to come down the chimney so we can deal with them. If they head directly up there, we'll leave and follow them with more belladonna. Does that work?"

Aerent fills Grumblejack's mug with Arryn's belladonna tea.

I propose we assume Talon is drumming the 'hey man all is cool' beat on the chimney-drums - that's something his character would immediately do as agreed with Sindran.

"Too slow," Sindran grunts. "No time."

Sindran beckons for Caladwhen and Grumblejack. "Let's go down."

The half-orc climbs down the chimney and calmly walks out of the fire. "Don't bother with knocking the sleeping ones out," he says. "Give the tea to the guards at the hall as a drink with Arryn." He rummages around the kitchen for some cups and hands them to Aerent. "If they notice something's off, just force-feed them. Talon, you can have your way with the sleeping ones."

He looks around the kitchen. "Only a couple dozen guards, eh? Let's get out tonight."

Er, okay.

Do they all get down before anything happens?

Yes. Grumblejack causes quite the dustcloud, by the way. After he goes down, the fire is out. He looks up, holding his hands so that Cala may dismount the chimney with about as much dignity as possible.

Those are great plans, but for the twelve distant "dinggggggs" from what must be nearby Veryston's church. You never loathed the Sarenraeans more, with their noisy obsession of brightest daylight en deepest night.

One thing is for sure - it is now midnight, and all on duty guards are now expecting a shift rotation *really* soon.

You hear one of the two guards from (8) cheer, and footsteps approach.

perhaps we should roll initiative.
INI for guard looking for his replacement and his bed: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Sindran coughs and waves away the dust in his face. When it dies down, he takes out the flask he got from the guard earlier, unscrewing its cap. He brings it closer to his face, as if to sniff at it, but thinks better and just dumps it all out before filling it with belladonna tea.

Afterwards, he grimaces and washes his arms. Seems like the dust was irritating his blackened skin.

map hope that's a somewhat decent resolution Cala

Caladwhen only shrugs, "So be it. Sounds like the coast is clear in any event.".

Gathering herself, Cala thinks quietly to herself Humans and half-breeds... always in such a hurry.

Following Sindran down the chimney, Cala curses quietly as she tries her best to keep the soot off herself. Reaching the bottom, she moves as quickly as possible off the burning embers of the fire.

Taking in her surrounds, Cala listens to Aerent's report. "I guess we shouldn't be surprised that Ron isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer." Brushing off the excess soot, Caladwhen grabs one of the six knives of the table. Looking back at Arryn's handiwork, she addresses both her and Aereth "Good work by the way."

Pausing a moment, Cala considers "Fewer guards is a good thing, but it does present a different problem." Looking over to Arryn and Aereth, Caladwhen squints "If only a few dozen actually work here, all the guards are very likely to know each other quite well. They won't recognize you both, and may start to question or even raise an alarm. I would suggest a more stealthy approach to incapacitating them would be appropriate."

Int DC 13: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 18

I'll put a map together later tonight, though it will be after 10pm so not for another five hours or so.

Initiative 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
Intelligence 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Oh, Sindran. You just don't think straight when you're impatient and bloodthirsty. By the way, is the 'getting a flask of belladonna tea' okay?
What material is the signal horn made of?

"Tch." Sindran growls when the bell rings and his mouth is set in a deep line. "Out of time."

He grabs the meat cleaver, holding it menacingly in a hand.

"Blackerly will be heading back any time now. I don't think stealth matters much anymore. Grumblejack," the half-orc looks at him with a vicious smile, "want to smash some humans?"

Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

Aerent sighs and looks down. "Blackerly's game lasts another hour."

Init1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
Tensing up, Talon pulls out his dagger "This is gonna get bloody"

Sindran looks puzzled for a moment and then puts the hand not holding the cleaver to his face in embarrassment. "Ah, yes. I meant the watch. The watch will be switching any time now."

I'll post tomorrow, been working on the map below which I built so we could have an appropriate scale, and I'm beat. Right now, I haven't placed any guards, and I've only got us viewing two rooms (the map is much larger actually).

Ground Level Map

Let me know if you'd like anything added or changed.

puts the hand not holding the cleaver to his face in embarrassment.

the alternative would've been far more embarrassing. I lolled

As you're all hidden in the kitchen, trying to keep Grumblejack quiet, a guard strolls casually into the mess hall, humming a tune:
#..a knob on the end,
#It never will buckle, it never will bend,
#He cherishes it, and he calls it his friend,
#and he frequently takes it in hand

Aerent recognizes the guard with the signalling horn from (8). The guard is headed directly to the barracks along the path R27->R29->O31->M32, but that will take him 3 rounds as he's taking his sweet time. Plenty of time for you to interrupt him, if you so desire.

Updated map

Sorry, forgot to include the room numbers. The bottom is 11, the top is room 10. The door on the west wall of ten goes to 8, and the north goes to the barracks room 9. Updated to include guard.

(your turn!)

Readying her knife, Caladwhen smiles somewhat sardonically and mutters "I detest combat; I've never had an aptitude for it." With a raised eyebrow and a smirk, Cala muses looking over at Talon and Aerent's direction "That's okay, you strapping gentlemen can take care of it no? I suspect you both have a history of violence."

Staying put at Y34 for now. Cala excels at neither stealth or combat.

Sindran growls. "As much as I would love to have a chance," he says, and seems more calm since his embarrassment, "I admit you two would be better suited. Get rid of him and his partner. Arryn, go with them."

Moving up a square to Y-29 and staying there.

INI order :
Talon 18
Aerent 15
Arryn ???
Guard 7 - moving, unless attacked.
GrumbleJack 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (4) - 1 = 3 yeah. He's not too quick.
Cala 18 - delaying
Sindran 10 - delaying

Talon gives his blood curdling grin "I should tell ya bout it sometime" Talon takes an ambush point behind the door, readying himself to jump the guard with knife in hand

sorry

Initiative: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

I pull out my dagger, and will also make my way to be ready to ambush guards.

By the way increddibelly, the last map you posted will be decent enough... I just missed it! In any event, we'll use the map I created this time, but future ones can work at that resolution.

Aerent pokes his head out the kitchen door, "Oi, can you give me a hand quick?"

He backs away from the door and gives Talon a nod. He pulls his sword and holds it blade down behind his back.

The guard turns his head just in time to see a guard uniform duck back into the kitchen. He raises and eyebrow, shrugs, and trudges toward the kitchen. The humming is extremely useful as it makes it easy for you to keep track of his exact position.

Imagine his surprise as he enters the door, looks up, and sees the entire contents of death row before his eyes.

the guard is surprised, so you get a surprise round. Arryn is first, and with her first two attacks she takes the flat footed guard down quickly, quietly and cleanly. You all make a mental note not to get on her bad side.

The guard has a chain shirt, a uniform with two small tears in it and just a hint of blood, a longsword; and another numbered key - it seems every guard has one. The signalling horn is a meager, wooden affair that will simply produce noise without any hope of musical control over it.

FYI I only just noticed that the adventure doesn't say anything about boots. Guards without boots?? I think not. So, if you prefer basic leather boots over walking barefoot, feel free to fix that, as if you've taken a pair from any of the guards you've captured.

Talon loots the body, giving the key to their rogue and keeping the longsword to himself. "Anybody want this dagger? I prefer a little bit more steel in my hand"

Can I have them wearing Ugg boots? Fashion is important.

Sindran shakes his head and then starts rooting around the kitchen for something to eat.

Caladwhen quietly takes the dagger from Talon, and places the kitchen knife back on the table "I'll take the dagger, it will serve better than this kitchen knife."

Aerent watches as Arryn pounces on the guard. Watching the guard fall silently to the floor, he cracks the door open to peek into the dining hall.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20

If he doesn't see or hear anybody...

Seeing Sindran turn around and begin searching the kitchen, Aerent shrugs and looks back at his allies, "Talon, can you and Arryn take care of the sleeping guards before they wake up - do it fast, don't worry about cleaning up. Cala, you and I will watch the door (to the main hall) and hit anybody who comes into the dining hall. After that, we take out anybody else in this building."

Aerent glances back at the ogre and grins, "Grumblejack, you ready to hurt some guards?"

If he does see or hear a guard, he'll try to get them into the kitchen to repeat the ambush.

Thanks DM, I just assumed we were getting boots out of the deal! And please no Uggs, though that would be a fun role-playing aspect - the current fashion in the kingdom requires everyone to wear those, so we can't find "normal" boots or shoes anywhere. Frankly, that alone would be enough for Aerent to want to overthrow the government.

Talon will make his way into the guard room. Motioning Arryn to take one side, he begins taking out the guards by slowly creeping over them, then clasping their mouths shut while the burried his sword in their neck

Frankly, that alone would be enough for Aerent to want to overthrow the government.

You sir just made me an offer I cannot refuse.

Grumblejack bares his ginormous teeth. He grumbles: "Jack smash littl'uns. Hur. hur". The big guy moves over to P27 and pushes the bench a little to the side to give himself some room. stealth, but trying to be quiet has never been his talent: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (5) - 1 = 4
He positions himself at Q27, fist raised at face level, waiting for a guard.
Grumblejack now has a ready action : if guard at R27, Jack Smash.

Jack's not-so-stealthy approach draws a reaction from (8) : "Hey, you're not grabbing a drink before my replacement is in, are ya?!"

The three guards in (9) are cleanly coup de graced and you find the usual numbered key.

Awesome!

Aerent calls out through the door, "We gotta open another bottle, come and help us finish this one off!"