[PFS] GM Rinaldo's Night March of Kalkamedes (4-19 CORE) Table 2 (Inactive)

Game Master The Great Rinaldo!

Actually, I meant to write CMB - not sure why I wrote STR. I've adjusted your checks accordingly.

It is a struggle, and he nearly gets away at the end, but you are able to keep him at the edge of the briar patch until he finally stops trying to go into it.

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After another hour, Kalkamedes abruptly turns and begins walking west. His path points directly at a watery bog. Fortunately, eagle-eye Ironshanks notices a glint of moonlight in the water from about a hundred feet away, giving you a moment to prepare.

Once again, I'll need a CMB check to bring Kalkamedes to a halt, otherwise he will walk right into the water. A quick check shows that at the near end it is only a couple of feet deep, but gradually becomes deeper. It is 80 feet across in the directly he is walking, and stretches for about 200 feet on either side of you.

Note that for purposes of drowning rules, Kalkamedes is already unconscious, so would start making CON checks to avoid drowning as soon as his head is underwater, and failing two checks would mean he dies.

Ironshank's eyes bulge out of his helm as he sees the veritable ocean hidden by the moonlight ahead of them. "Full stop! Full stop!" He hollers in a panic as he digs his heels in for both his and 'snore jobs' well being. CMB: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

"Ain't no way in a hundred layers of hells am I swimmin' across THAT! You best think up another way n quick." He does his best to keep the rope yanker from getting closer.

Wraith looks for "other options" or alternate routes around the bog.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

It appears that it is possible to walk around it, if you can somehow force your ward to do so. It is larger than the briar patch was, so you may need a better solution than just dragging him by the leash.

Bah, sorry. My mind is a little frazzled at the moment. For some reason I though my cleric had 16 strength. No idea why.

Hypothetically, if I summoned, say a dolphin, could it carry Kalkamedes across? It would be here for 3 rounds. It has a swim speed of 80 feet, so could POSSIBLY double move and drop Kalkamedes over and be back in 1 round, carry someone else over and be back in one round and a third someone over before it de-summons.

If you can come up with a way to attach him to the dolphin such that he won't have his head underwater, that could work. You'll also need some way to explain to the dolphin what you want to do, as by default summoned creatures only fight automatically, anything else requires at least rudimentary communication, such as a Handle Animal check to push (DC 25) or Speak with Animals.

I like the idea if you can make it work! No one has thought of this before. ;-)

Hmm, ok. I will keep thinking. As a note to other players I do have hold person prepared also, so if we get stuck at any point I can try to lock him in place for 3 rounds so we can sort it out.

"Did that fella have some sorta swimmin' potion maybe in his stuff? Any of ye good swimmers n kin go with 'im and I'll catch up on the other side?" Ironshanks grunts as he tosses out some ideas as he keeps a tight grip on the rope.

CMB: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

There was a vial that tasted fishy, or so you said. Perhaps we can try that? I am not much of a swimmer, but could maybe make my way if I removed my armour.

+1 to swim if I take off my armour, -3 with it on

Ironshanks is +3 but has a thing about water and his armor so he won't volunteer.

"Take too damn long ta take off yer armor Bemmer you should know that!"

With STR 10 and no ranks, I doubt it. Would you be able to summon a water elemental?

"Perhaps some type of raft could be made....even a log or two that we can use to tie him to. Then the strongest can move it across while keeping him above the waterline. What do you tink?"

He is human, right? I am coming up blank with ways to get him across or around. Ironshanks and I could tag-team bullrush to push him around but that is a little rough and chancy I think. Could we collectively lift him and crowd surf him around the water?

No, I can't do elementals until summon monster II. I do have 6 castings of Touch of Law which gives you an 11 dice roll. If that guarantees a success on a skill or stat check that is doable.

The swimming elixir would help someone swim (it grants a pretty good bonus), but wouldn't prevent them from trying to breathe underwater. It could potentially be used by one of you who could then essentially try to "rescue" swim him across the bog, particularly if you had a way to prevent him from struggling.

To Hannar's suggestion: I would allow a Survival or relevant Craft check to try to fashion a raft or flotation device.

Without armor I would be +2 to swim before the elixir

Wraith sprints ahead to the edge of the bog. Ever ready to improvise, the ninja grabs two fallen logs and begins lashing them together.

Survival to build float aid!: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Acting quickly, Wraith fashions a flotation device. It looks sturdy, now you just need to make it work.

How are you going to use the floater to get him across?

Can we tie him to it? Maybe in combination with Hold Person?

That would certainly keep him still, then someone could make a (not too difficult at this point) swim check to get him across.

Ironshanks watches on as up ahead the shady human woman starts practicing her scout skills along the shore "Ye ain't makin' a bridge are ye? I ain't got time to waste on no bridge building!" He continues to lean back from his overzealous mastiff on the line. "Woah, he's winnin' he's winnin'!" As the Dwarf starts getting dragged.

CMB: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Sounds like Wraith is our swimming escort, down that elixir and guide this fella across and Ironshanks will meet you on the other side.

I will post a roll as if this were the plan to save pbp time. If we come up with something else, then disregard these actions.

Wraith quickly shimmies out of her armor. As the team straps Kalkamedes to the makeshift raft, she steps into the pond. She keeps a dagger between her teeth as she swims alongside the slumbering agent, guiding him to the other side.

Swim (without armor {before potion/elixir bonus}): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Mithril Chain doesn't have an armor check penalty so there is no useful reason to take it off for swimming.

Ironshanks resists the urge to shake a fist as Wraith starts stripping before the swim "Just dump yer pack n call it good, we'll bring it 'round. Those fine mithril links are practically rust proof so don't worry 'bout that."

So I'll either need a grapple check to pin him and tie him to the raft, or else Bemmer casting his Hold Person, which will be enough to let Wraith simply hold him on the raft for the swim across.

Grapple: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

"Ahh, I'll hold 'im down, you tie him to that baby raft ye got goin' there." Try as he might Ironshanks is losing the battle with Kalkamedes. "A little help here!" He huffs through his beard.

I will cast hold person.

I'm going to handwave the Will save, because I like this solution and am happy to let it succeed.

Bemmer casts a spell, and Kalkamedes freezes. Wraith quickly sets him onto the raft and swims across. The rest of the party hustles around the bog, and runs a bit to catch up as Kalkamedes recovers from the spell and begins walking again.

Other than Ironshanks taking up the leash again, are you doing anything else as you resume the march? For reference it has been just shy of 3 hours since you set out.

Ironshanks grabs Wraith's backpack and huffs and puffs as he chugs around the outside of the watery death trap to catch up "Woah man, been a while since I've done this much joggin', not since my trip to the plane of earth. They sent me there ta help train them earth elemental soldier guys."

He hands off the pack to Wraith then digs out a grappling hook from his own pack and hands it to the woman "Here, tie this sucker on the end of the rope so we can hook it up quick n easy when we need ta stop this fella."

Hannar will keep up with the Light spells. Mage Armors are good for another 3 hours.

When Hannar and the others get back in a group, Hannar tries to look around for anything out of the ordinary...

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 9

Wraith scoops up her gear and continues to seek out potential problems.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

He hands off the pack to Wraith then digs out a grappling hook from his own pack and hands it to the woman "Here, tie this sucker on the end of the rope so we can hook it up quick n easy when we need ta stop this fella."

How much distance are you going to leave between the hook and Kalkamedes?

The hook will be at the end of the rope, so with knots and it being tied around Kalk I'd guess that it was 40' between him and the hook.

Seeing as apparently everyone wants to scout ahead he'll tie the rope on himself "Keep me on a regular report, Bemmer get up there. At least you can see far up ahead without lights." He holds the hook as the leashed marches forward.

Bemmer hustles up and walks alongside Kalkamedes huffing and puffing a little until he catches his breath.

So Ironshanks is walking at the hook end of the rope, 40' behind Kalkamedes?

You resume the march, and Kalakamedes winds a westward path into the mountains. You ascend a good hundred feet before levelling off. Almost simultaneously, Bemmer and Ironshanks realize what is about to happen: just fifty feet ahead of Bemmer and Kalkamedes, the path terminates in a sheer drop.

Kalkamedes is walking directly toward a long drop into a canyon. You can't tell how deep until someone goes to look, but you figure it is a likely fatal fall.

Yup he's at the tail end holding the hook so it doesn't get caught up in things, unless of course he wants it to.

"Is it just me or is he about to take a long walk off a high cliff? Scramble! Ideas?" Ironshanks looks to wedge the hook onto a tree or a rock crevasse to stop Kalkamedes from cliff diving without a parachute.

"How far down is it? What's at the bottom?" He hollers as he works to stop the man in his tracks.

CMB if needed: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Ironshanks finds a nearby tree and throws his grappling hook over a limb, bringing Kalkamedes to halt.

He will continue to try to walk forward, but doesn't have enough awareness to untie the rope, so he's ok for now.

Walking up to the edge, you see that the canyon cuts directly across your path, with no reasonable way to go around. The drop is about seventy feet to a rocky bottom; thirty feet across from you the other side rises one hundred feet, the edge looming above your current location. The climb looks fairly difficult.

I wasn't given a picture, so I've put a basic sketch on the slide show for you to visualize the situation.

Well....crap.

I have 50' of silk rope, so getting him down should not be a problem.

I also have a grappling hook. I could toss the grapple, swing and climb, toss the rope back Shnks can come across, rope tossed back again and tie Kalemedes off (2 ropes now on either side of the gap) and we ease him to the gap, across, tie him off, and pull the remaining team across.

If this is the plan

Acro (reduce falling (aka 'swing') damage: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Fall Damage: 4d6 ⇒ (3, 2, 6, 3) = 14

Climb (rope) vs DC 10: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Climb (rope) vs DC 10: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Climb (rope) vs DC 10: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

I have rope. Could we make some sort of pulley system to lower him safely with the 40 feet of Ironshank's rope and the 50 feet of mine. We could use the same dealy to raise him up the opposite side.

Ironshanks looks down into the steep crevasse and whistles low and slow "Well. This, this is a problem." He turns to the others, especially the spell casters "So, what kinda crazy magics you got to get us past this? Looks like we gotta get him AND us down safe, then BACK up the other side. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll walk down the bottom instead." He stands there with hands on hips, keeping a close eye on their charge.

I have no boons, nor consumables to get past this obstacle. My one 50' section of rope is the leash. There is the grappling hook and I have a couple pitons to help with climbing IF we have more rope.

Another possible solution. Can we fire 2 ropes across and use them to cross? 1 as tight rope and one as a hand hold to keep our balance. Alternately, he is on the end of a 40 foot tether. If we secured it at our level he could fall and not die, kinda like bungee jumping. We could slide his tether across a line? I like Wraith's idea too.

Ironshanks is not approving any plan that allows Kalk to 'just fall' and hope he doesn't die on impact. Nor will he do that to himself. The rest of you numbskulls can make that choice for yourselves!

My thinking is that it is 70 foot drop with 40 feet of rope. That would pull him up a good 30 feet short of the ground. And Torag will protect him, I am sure :)

Bemmer's idea could work if you lower him carefully down so that he doesn't bounce off the side of the cliff as he goes. Wraith has a reasonable method of getting themselves across to the high side (assuming you consider taking damage yourself "reasonable" ;-) ), so it could be possible to set up a tether line across and not have to go all the way down. I will let you all discuss this further and consider how to improve on it, particularly for getting the <ahem> denser bodied folks over.

From what I read, all 3 of you have 50' of some kind of rope. So we lower everyone down except whoever has the best climb skill. They untie and climb down without rope, then climb the other cliff and secure the rope. Then one other climbs up, the two haul him up, then the rest of us climb.

Ironshanks nods as he hears everyone's ideas to tackle their current... problem. "A sling shot thing? I dunno... I'm kinda partial to Hannar here if one of us thinks they can climb down this face without a rope. We're gonna need all the rope we've got for that other face, if not again later."

Ironshanks is +3 to climb

I'm cool being the last to go, taking the last line with me when I swing to the other side, then being the first up the other side. Already 'took' the damage. It would just be fewer skill checks to get to the top. Of course, it could be that whatever Kalkamedes wants is actually at the bottom of the chasm.

The suggestion on the table is to use the rope to let someone climb down, then lower Kalkamedes down, leaving the person at the bottom to hold on to him. Everyone else climbs down except Wraith, who ninjas up to the far side and lowers the rope again. Pull Kal up, then everyone else.

With a secured rope against the cliff face, the DC will be somewhere between 5 and 10. Can everyone make that taking 10? If necessary, you can take the time to remove armor, so it mostly comes down to having a very low strength or other penalties to give you a negative Climb modifier.

My STR is 10 so I squeek by.

If I remove armour I have 11 with a take 10.

Ironshanks nods along with the plan, tracing out the mechanics of it in some sand near the cliff's edge "Ok, with the grapples, rope and wall to climb with I'll have no trouble climbin' up 'r down. As long as you all can make due then we should be able to wrangle him. Just lemme go first so I can keep 'im in arms reach."

Ok with the grapple leash anyone should be able to more or less keep him from wandering off until we're ready. Ironshanks will help lower him then head down. Then once the rope up is ready he'll head up first to help power the really long hoist up.

You combine your ropes, and with some effort, lower Kalkamedes down, hold him still while Wraith leaps across, then pull everyone up the other side.

Wraith takes the damage previously rolled for the swing across; Kalkamedes takes 1d6 ⇒ 2 damage from getting knocked around by his own motions on the trip down and back up.

Recover your ropes, heal as you see fit, and let me know if you are changing anything before releasing him to continue.

Sweat dripping down his face, Ironshanks helps heave the last of the crew to the top of the ascent "Is it me or is it hotter than Torag's forge out here now? I gotta take a breather n let some of this sweat dry up or I'll rust me armah." With Kalkamedes tugging at his grappling leash he takes a well deserved water break on a nearby rock.

"Good work on that rope work Wraith. Glad ta see most of ya brought rope. Hard ta have too much rope sometimes Pop always told me. Never know when yer gonna need ta drag a sleepwalker up and down a mountain right? Heh." He dumps a bit of water over his head and leans back to rest his eyes for a minute or two...

No changes on my end, just a break and some water.