GM Zero/GL's Giantslayer! (Inactive)

Game Master GM_Grandlounge

Despite having no real care for art (or knowing what different woods go to what trees) Ulretha does like a good, bloody story. He follows the panels around the room, avoiding the throne and carefully watching doors that he gets close to along the way.

"Well, I guess we know what happened to the druids here, except Silvermane, I guess. We should figure out how to do this part without having to do that part," he says, pointing first to the part where the druids sally out of the flower then to the part where they sacrifice themselves.

"Think this and this are the same thing and that's where we are?" he asks, then pointing to the large menhir in one carving then the blossom.

"From the looks of this place, I don't think there's anything left of the magic they used." says Lidia. "I sure hope this isn't a wild goose chase."

kn nature: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Ben is not exactly a scholar, preferring practical over esoteric.

"I would agree. This place does seem to be the circle in the picture. As for what is left, that remains to be seen. there is a lot more yet to be explored. If we are lucky, there won't be any more intruders that have ti out for us."

for a moment Ben explores the possibility of sitting on the throne (any results from the detect magic or poison?) but decides that it was meant for someone far grander than he.

Lidia moves to check the western door. She will open it if it is not locked.

Thyste is far grander than Ben, apparently. She sits the throne.

Nice. Gotta love a 'human' guinea pig.

Now would be a good time to mention that if an effect cannot affect both humanoids AND animals, it has no effect on me.

You detect no poison, the faint aura of conjuration magic is everywhere. Thyste sits in a chair it is an uncomfortable chair but normal uncomfortable not magically uncomfortable. She looks pretty good in the chair.

Lidia, the door is locked.

Now would be a good time to mention that if an effect cannot affect both humanoids AND animals, it has no effect on me.

Ben has the same feat, Animal Soul.

Thyste grins. ”Ben, I think this makes me king of you! Can I get a bow?”

Though undersized for the throne, she leans in such a way that she occupies most of the seat.

"Well, this door is locked." says Lidia. She then crosses the room and tries the northern door.

"Looks good on you," Ulretha comments when he sees Thyste on the throne.

"Ain't no doors locked for me!" he declares and throws himself against it.

Strength Check: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13

Then he remembers that doors are locked to him, since the invisible fey attack as he bounces off.

Lidia rolls her eyes.

"You have a legendary giant smashing hammer, and you throw your shoulder at the locked door?" she chides. Then she addresses Thyste.

"How are you with locked doors, Your Majesty? The Count of Snout is having some trouble."

Thyste grins; ”I suppose I could be coerced~” she chimes, hopping down from the throne. She crosses, working a pair of long, pointy, hooky metal bits from her backpack. ”Stand back, stand back~”

Take 10 With Mwk Thieves Tools: 10 + 11 = 21

Ben give me a nature or local roll. Whichever you like.

Kioshi will try to assist Ben to gain more understanding.

kn nature: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

* * *

Kioshi nods after Ulretha shows them the pictures.

"It is incredible that all the druids sacrificed themselves! Such courage. Just to protect this land and all life living here ... really moving." Kioshi says in thoughts.

* * *

Kioshi also detects magic and tries to see if there is a spell still active.

kn arcana: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20

Ben throws Thyste a melodramatic bow, more impressed by her chutzpah than the throne.

Meanwhile he wanders about the room, examining the murals, looking for names. Not that they would mean much. His life has been an isolated one mostly involving spying and keeping an eye on things to make sure the orcs don't ruin the land.

Kioshi no spell is still active in the area.

Ulretha this is the heavies door ever or your body is betraying you in front of these people.

Lidia, the north door is unlocked.

Ben, there are no names but the faces are all unique suggesting that they are depictions of specific people.

Any result on the kn nature.

Ulretha looks to Lidia then quirks his brow, his ear flicking on the same side. Without a word, he gives her a nod then pulls Aggrimosh out of it's loop.

A hammer is not the best tool for this kind of job but he starts smashing at the door for a minute or so.

Aggrimosh: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (4, 1) + 3 = 8

Aggrimosh: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 5) + 3 = 9

Aggrimosh: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (4, 2) + 3 = 9

Aggrimosh: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (3, 2) + 3 = 8

Aggrimosh: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (6, 4) + 3 = 13

Aggrimosh: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (5, 6) + 3 = 14

Aggrimosh: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 2) + 3 = 6

Aggrimosh: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 6) + 3 = 10

Aggrimosh: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 4) + 3 = 8

Aggrimosh: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (6, 3) + 3 = 12

Thyste, having likely already unlocked the door, hollers a cuss word as Ulretha gets out his hammer and scampers out of the way!

"He certainly scores points for determination."

Ben moves to the open door to the northwest to make sure the cacophony doesn't summon any more trouble.

As Ulertha destroys the door, taking a surprisingly long time (hardness 5) it does eventually give to his persistence as he builds a rhythm.

Kioshi you know that druids in the region were governed by a democratic high council a the throne was the seat of the head of that council.

Back from the mountains.

That is one thing that always annoyed me. When a character's history pretty much requires that they know something, if they miss a roll they don't.

"Well, then. I guess we go through the do.. the, um, opening."

I assume the group heads off to explore now?

I try to avoid that as GM. "Yeah, you'd just know that." Depends heavily on what it is, though-- and sometimes, things slip your mind, or memory plays weird tricks on you...

Behind the broke do is a seed room expertly organized and perfectly preserved.

The Council of Thorns packed this chamber with crates, burlap sacks, and gardening tools—which they used to tend to the flora planted within the Vault—and to conserve various seeds and heirloom specimens (especially those from exotic locales) for the future.

I understand that feeling. In this situation, I would chalk it up to knowing the government structure of any given municipality in North America. Not all druid circles in Golaron are run that way some are covens, others based on linage, some evil dictatorships. Ben knows the type he just did not know this hundreds of years old virtually extinct Circle

Lidia looks around the room from the doorway, and frowns a little with disappointment.

"They locked up their spades and sacks? Lame." she judges. She turns away. "Come on, let's try the other door."

Ben, the seeds and plants here are as vital as the day they were placed here.

"Isn't this food? Don't you fla...non-gnolls eat seeds?" Ulretha questions, though he's also obviously disappointed that an avalanche of gold and magic weapons didn't come tumbling out when he finally battered down the door.

”Depends on the seed, really,” says Thyste. ”Sunflower seeds are tasty with a little salt. Cherry seeds can kill you.”

She shrugs. ”They’re hardly a treasure, though, unless they’re seeds to especially fancy plants.”

”...which these might actually be.”

Lidia's cat meanders into the seed closet while everyone else looks in from the doorway. She noses around daintily, then seems to focus in on one of the empty burlap sacks. With great deliberation and determination, she disappears into the sack and then starts rolling and poking around intently from within.

Lidia opens the north door.

Lidia, you see an ornate staircase descends to a small platform. Several giant lily pads sway gently in the chamber’s air currents, each floating
at a different height. Below the lily pads, a sheer drop fades into darkness, where a droning buzz reverberates off the chamber’s walls. At the other end of the chamber, a second platform and staircase leading out of the room.

This chamber is essentially a giant compost bin. The floor is 100 feet below the southern platform, and the ceiling is 30 feet above that level. The northern platform is 20 feet lower than the southern platform.

"These seeds are rare and worth their weight in <insert appropriate coinage here>. For the avid gardener, or the protective druid, these seeds are not only unique, but of historical significance. Lidia, do keep your cat from peeing in them. And Ulretha, I'm sure we can find something more suited to your tastes than these seeds."

Ben enters the seed room to take inventory, looking around with wonder.

Can he carry the seeds or are there too many? And if so, could he cherry pick the most valuable ones?

"Lidia, do keep your cat from peeing in them. "Ben enters the seed room to take inventory, looking around with wonder.

Lidia stiffens a little and looks back at Ben with narrowed eyes.

"She can do what she wants. She's not hurting anything." she says defiantly, not even bothering to look and see what the cat might be doing.

"Forget the seeds. Come look at this!" she adds, pointing into the lily pad room. "I'd bet my last coin there's a plant trap of some kind in here. And listen to that buzzing."

Knowledge (Nature): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Does Lidia recognize the buzzing from her years in the wilds? Is it an insect of some kind perhaps?

Ulretha takes one look at the swaying lily pads and the long plummet below them and says something in gnoll. It's actually quite long and, even if you don't understand the language you can tell it's cursing.

"I don't suppose you can turn into anything big enough to carry us across?" he asks Ben.

Thyste shrugs. ”I don’t know what you’re all complaining about. Here!”

The foxling takes a few steps back, then takes a running start:

She skids to a stop just before the edge, then looks around with a grin to try to determine who was worried about her.

Ben ignores Lidia and goes into the seed room to protect the contents, shooing the cat outside. He calls back to Ulretha, "Not really. I can, however, turn into something that can fly. Not well, but I could fly. getting everyone across though? We do have rope, though, and outside there is plenty of wood."

he thinks for a moment and then adds, "It may not be necessary. The hallway heads back towards the main room and there was a door there. It might connect up."

Ben, some of the seeds are very old. Along with those you find 13 goodberrys. The seeds are worth money as some are from now-extinct plants. You think the plants would be worth more yet than the seeds, but for either, you would need a very informed buyer.

Lidia the ground is too dense here that cat refrains from bodily functions. the buzzing sounds cicada-like.

Everyone can roll me a bluff check if they want to be fake worried about Thysete or can express real feelings as they like. Thyste roll opposed sense motive against any one's bluff.

Ben wasn't really paying attention to Thyste, being occupied in a different room.

Ben collects the goodberries and the rarest of seeds that he can identify, and then joins the others in their investigation of the compost room.

"I'd be wary of the, I'm guessing, insects in this room. If we do invade their territory they might attack and it would be a pity if we had to kill them in self defense. Let's go investigate the other doors in the garden first."

Bluff: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

"Oh, Thyste, ehh ... yes. That is really ... well ... I am sorry." he says a little too dramatically.

"Wait!" Ulretha calls, even reaching out a hand to grab at Thyste.

He misses and gives her a glare as she draws up short at the edge.

He makes a move as though to push her, also drawing up short at the last moment.

Lidia doesn't Bluff much, on principle. And since Mario-hopping across the lily pads seems like it might be the best way forward, the smallest person making the attempt first makes some sense --so Lidia would be a little surprised at the impulsiveness, but not alarmed.

When shooed out of her new bag, the cat trots out of the room briskly, then immediately slows down to make it clear that it never cared about the bag in the first place. However, it's attention is immediately taken by a tiny cricket that jumps into the nearby shadows near the throne. The cat goes straight into stalking mode, intent on hunting the little villain down...

"I'd be wary of the, I'm guessing, insects in this room. If we do invade their territory they might attack and it would be a pity if we had to kill them in self defense. Let's go investigate the other doors in the garden first."

Lidia nods. "It does sound like bugs." she agrees. "And from the smell I'd say there's 50 years of rotten vegetation down there for them to munch on and breed in. I'm not too worried about some beetles or whatever, but that drop to the floor has to be at least 100 feet."

"So what other doors were you talking about, Ben? Are you talking about the greenhouse area under the bridge? Because that was about 100 feet down too."

Thyste makes an "ahhhh!" gotcha-type sound, pointing a finger at Ulretha-- until he tries to shove her! She gasps and begins to brace herself to catch the ledge.

When his hand stops just short of giving her an actual shove, she repeats the sound and gesture.

"This guy!"

The doors are down but you are adventures so you can go that way if you have the means. I will let the group create a plan.

"So, it looks like we have two options." says Lidia. "We can either lower ourselves down into the greenhouse from the bridge and explore down there, or we can try to jump across these lily pads and get to that platform on the other side."

"It seems to me that either way we face similar dangers -- long falls, difficulty moving the animals, possible traps or guardians waiting for us."

"The only thing I'll say is that it looks like the druids intended this lily pad room to be the path forward, and placed those lily pads there as the way to get across -- the platforms aren't broken ends of a former bridge, they're literally jumping off points. It's meant to be a challenge to dissuade any casual intruders who venture in here."

"There might be more fey who have taken up residence in here to make our lives difficult, or some clouds of bugs might fly up and attack us, but as I said, I think the chances of that are equally likely whichever way we go."

"I vote we try the lily pads. The jumps themselves don't look too hard."

Ben shrugs and nods.

"I'm good with that plan. Particularly if there is rope involved in case someone slips."

"I agree, I ... I just do not want to go first. That always ends badly." Kioshi admits.

Thyste shrugs. ”If you give me a rope or something, I can hop across to the other side and tie it to something sturdy. Give me two and I’ll make a rope bridge.”

Lidia turns to the gnoll. "Ulretha, will your hyenas follow you out across the lily pads? If not, maybe we can rig a basket or something out of the boxes and sacks in the seed closet and use the rope to ferry them across?

"I'm sure I can get them to do it with enough convincing," Ulretha replies.

He does not look pleased about the prospect of the jumps, but also doesn't put forward any other plan.

Ben looks at Little Buddy a bit dubiously. physically he is quite capable, and he is smart, but he tends to get a little excited in situations like this.

"Let's get started then. Who's got rope besides me?"

Ben pulls some silk rope out of his backpack.