Not in combat, map not required. I just need someone to attempt the check to get close to the horse, or you can leave the horse for now and start exploring the town.
NG Human (Nidalese) Male Champion (Shelyn) 1 | HP 18/18* | AC 18 | Perception +3 | Fortitude +6 Reflex +7 Will +5 | Speed 25' | Active Conditions: *Drained 1
Female Human Bard 01| HP 17/17 | AC 17 (18) | Fort +6 Ref +6 Will +6 | Perc +6 | Performance +7 | Speed 25' | Melee +6/+1/-4 (1d6) | Ranged +6 (1d8) | Hero Points 01 | Focus Points 2/2 |
"Uh... people. I'm not good with horses but I'd really like for us to save that poor beast. I don't think it deserves to become another of those undead horse things. Besides it might even help us locate his owner... which should be one of our colleagues I believe"
Klatzu surprisingly has the highest Wisdom score of the party, and will thusly attempt the check if no one else is willing to. He is also untrained in Nature. Klatzu does have a vested interest in learning to ride though, so he’s happy to give it a shot.
”What? ANOTHER horse! ...What you mean Klatzu not kill it!... Calm it? Fine! Master Animal Whisperer Klatzu on it!
If no one objects and everyone agrees to let Klatzu do it, Klatzu will act as such:
Klatzu approaches the horse, stopping some distance away from it. Klatzu sizes up the horse, before thrusting his sword as deep as it will go into the ground. He then sits down, his knees jutting straight up as he starts to dig through his pack. He pulls out a ration that he thinks the horse could find palatable and uses the blade to slice some of the food in half, eating part of it before offering the other half to the horse.
GM or I can roll once everyone has agreed to it: dice=Nature Untrained to calm the animal: 1d20 + 2 /dice
NG Human (Nidalese) Male Champion (Shelyn) 1 | HP 18/18* | AC 18 | Perception +3 | Fortitude +6 Reflex +7 Will +5 | Speed 25' | Active Conditions: *Drained 1
Tresten has a lower wisdom score but is trained in Nature, and as such, has a +4 bonus.
NG Human (Nidalese) Male Champion (Shelyn) 1 | HP 18/18* | AC 18 | Perception +3 | Fortitude +6 Reflex +7 Will +5 | Speed 25' | Active Conditions: *Drained 1
Emdi looks around for a vegetable garden or long grass that could be used as a bribe for the horse.
Emdi looks around, but doesn't find anything to offer the horse.
Looks like we don't have anyone who is able to deal with the horse, so I'm moving us forward into the Explore the Town phase.
For simplicity of timekeeping, we now go into "turns" of 10 minutes each. Each of you can specify a location you want to investigate, individually or as groups. Different locations will have different skill checks associated, and each person can make one of those checks each turn. Note that some of the checks are for different information, so it is worthwhile to try multiple checks if you can. You can also use those 10 minute blocks for things like refocusing to restore a focus point, or using Treat Wounds (both the healer and the recipient have to commit to this activity).
I have labeled the six buildings that you can investigate, and the fountain and exterior of the square counts as an "area". All of the below information has also been added as a slide for reference.
Fountain / Exterior
Besides the zombies you defeated, there are a number of corpses that have not animated which you could investigate.
Actions in this area:
Investigate corpses (2 checks: #1: Medicine or Perception; #2: Society)
Free the wayfinder from the body of the horse (no check needed)
Chapel
Dust-covered pews stand in silent rows in this small chapel, and shelves line the walls. Facsimiles of candles occupy the candelabras here—mounds of congealed wax and burned wicks. A body rests slumped against the pew in the northwest corner, surrounded by the charred remains of zombie shamblers.
Actions in this area:
Investigate the corpse (3 checks: #1: Arcana, Crafting, or Nature; #2: Medicine or Perception; #3: Religion)
Search the building (Perception)
Armory
Empty weapon cases and crates are scattered throughout this bare-bones building. Dust outlines the faint shadows of swords and shields removed from their resting places. Beside the building is a cart with broken axles; if repaired, it could be useful in taking things back to the Lodge.
Actions in this area:
Search the building (Perception)
Repair the cart (Crafting)
Guardhouse
This small house appears to be where guards would stay. The bed and table are crusted with a thick layer of dust.
Actions in this area:
Search the building (Perception)
Apothecary
Grime-caked and smashed glass cases occupy much of this apothecary, and dusty shelves line many of the walls. A door to the northwest leads to an emptied storage closet.
Actions in this area:
Search the building (Perception)
Inn
Outside this building, a painted sign reading “The Flaming Wheel” and decorated with a flaming chariot wheel hangs from one chain, swaying gently in the wind.
A secret Religion check can be made on this sign. Let me know your bonus if you want me to make this check for you.
A broken circular table and door, part of a makeshift barricade, rest near the entrance of this modest tavern. Other similar tables and accompanying chairs are scattered throughout the area. Long-dried blood smears decorate the floor and walls. The bar is haphazardly covered in tankards—signs of the final celebration of life.
Actions in this area:
Search the building (Perception)
Examine the body (3 checks: #1: Medicine or Perception; #2: Religion; #3: Society)
General Store
This appears to be the general store. The town’s inhabitants must have taken most of the store’s wares with them when they fled, as the shelves are mostly bare.
Actions in this area:
Search the building (Perception)
For each turn, decide who will be where making what check; provide me with your bonuses and then I will make the rolls all at once and tell you the result. If one person fails at a check, someone else can try it (possibly with a different skill, if one is allowed for that check).
If Tresten would like to use his better-than-average skills to search one of the more interesting locales, Klatzu is willing to try his hand at fixing the cart. (Trained +3/4 if blacksmithing due to the Specialty Crafting feat.) In addition, Klatzu has the Goblin racial Junk Tinker feat if the GM wants to rule that as a bonus to the check, as Klatzu is well used to appropriating various scraps and such for crafts. Otherwise, Klatzu will volunteer to search the Flaming Wheel with his Religion of +5 and Medicine of +5.
”Klatzu think cart need new wheels, Klatzu knows juuuust where find one!”
NG Human (Nidalese) Male Champion (Shelyn) 1 | HP 18/18* | AC 18 | Perception +3 | Fortitude +6 Reflex +7 Will +5 | Speed 25' | Active Conditions: *Drained 1
Emdi finds a dark corner has a solo mini-rave in honor of Shelyn to regain a Focus Point.
For group planning purposes, he has Religion +3 and Perception +3 and is untrained in Arcana, Crafting, Medicine, and Society.
He is more than happy to take care of the wayfinder, since it would allow him to saw off the zombie horse's head. Y'know, just in case.
Female Human Bard 01| HP 17/17 | AC 17 (18) | Fort +6 Ref +6 Will +6 | Perc +6 | Performance +7 | Speed 25' | Melee +6/+1/-4 (1d6) | Ranged +6 (1d8) | Hero Points 01 | Focus Points 2/2 |
"I'll rest when I'm dead!" proclaims Bellona before heading for the chapel.
"In the event of zombie apocalypse search the chapel first, clear as day..." she mutters fearfully as she enters the building and starts investigating the corpse there.
NG Human (Nidalese) Male Champion (Shelyn) 1 | HP 18/18* | AC 18 | Perception +3 | Fortitude +6 Reflex +7 Will +5 | Speed 25' | Active Conditions: *Drained 1
Bookkeeping: I think Bellamin is -6 HP, Klatzu is -3 HP, and everyone is full. Correct?
Sorry if it wasn't clear enough - I will be doing the rolls because whether you succeed or not (and critical success/fail) makes a difference and I will be keeping that secret. (2e has a lot more secrets than 1e did.)
Emdi and Bellamin take time to recover from the battle as the rest of the party begins exploring the town.
Klatzu works on the cart, but seems to have trouble finding the right parts - he keeps coming up with wheels that aren't round. No success, but can be retried.
Meanwhile Trestan looks into the Armory, and after searching it thoroughly finds nothing of interest.
Hiro goes into the Apothecary, and finds that most of the shelves have been cleaned out. He does manage to collect enough herbs, candles, and oils to be worth returning to the lodge for use by future adventuring parties.
In the chapel, Bellona looks at the charred corpse. It is badly damaged, and all she is able to determine is that it was small sized. This check could be retried for additional information.
===============
That's 10 minutes spent. Let me know what you want to do with your next round of searching. At any time you can decide to be done here and move on to the college.
NG Human (Nidalese) Male Champion (Shelyn) 1 | HP 18/18* | AC 18 | Perception +3 | Fortitude +6 Reflex +7 Will +5 | Speed 25' | Active Conditions: *Drained 1
Emdi will investigate the corpses in the exterior with Perception.
Bellamin goes into the Chapel, glancing briefly at the sign but seeing nothing particularly notable about it.
Bellamin: For the body in the inn, Medicine or Perception is for one check, and Religion is for another. I need to know which you want to try. Hiro is using Perception, so you could either assist him, make your own check, or try the Religion check.
So far I have:
Emdi examining corpses outside
Bellamin examining the body in the inn
Hrio also examining the body in the inn
Trestan searching the inn
Bellona is unable to discern any additional information from the corpse. Hiro and Bellamin are likewise unable to find anything useful on the body in the inn, and Emdi is stumped by the level of gore and decay on the bodies outside.
Trestan fares somewhat better searching the inn. The place was clearly defended for a time, then abandoned; in one of the bedside tables he finds a small coin purse with 10sp. Its owners are long gone, so this could be put to good use in the Society's coffers acquiring supplies.
Meanwhile, you all hear a loud crash from the side of the armory; when you look, you see Klatzu amid a pile of broken lumber and metal. Critical fail, I'm afraid. Further attempts to fix the cart are going to be harder and take more time.
The random number generator was really not on your side this round. Hopefully things get better soon!
You have been in town for 20 minutes, and can select new checks to try.
NG Human (Nidalese) Male Champion (Shelyn) 1 | HP 18/18* | AC 18 | Perception +3 | Fortitude +6 Reflex +7 Will +5 | Speed 25' | Active Conditions: *Drained 1
My attempt at summary so far. If the description sounds like failure but not critfail, I am listing only that it was attempted, on the assumption that if we didn't find anything it's possible there was nothing to find.
Exterior Medicine / Perception: Emdi attempted
Exterior Society: unattempted
Exterior Wayfinder: Klatzu succeeded
Chapel Arcana / Crafting / Nature: unattempted
Chapel medicine / Perception: Bellona partially succeeded
Chapel Religion: unattempted
Chapel Perception: unattempted
Armory Perception: Tresten attempted
Armory Crafting: Klatzu failed
Guardhouse Perception: unattempted
Apothecary Perception: Hiro succeeded
Sign Religion: Bellamin failed
Inn Medicine / Perception: Hiro and Bellamin attempted
Inn Religion: unattempted
Inn Society: unattempted
General Store Perception: unattempted
Corrections welcome.
Emdi will visit the chapel, and look at the religious surroundings to get clues on the body. (Religion +3)
Klatzu curses loudly. Klatzu do that on purpose! Klatzu better working with junk anyways!Deception:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
Its fairly apparent that Klatzu is just trying to save face as he storms off to look for more things to use as parts.
Klatzu will roll Religion on the Inn, thinking he could maybe use the wheel iconography for its depicted purpose and mildly attempting to remember what it represented. +5 Religion. If the secret check doesn’t count towards my one action, he’ll also attempt Religion on the body inside.
NG Human (Nidalese) Male Champion (Shelyn) 1 | HP 18/18* | AC 18 | Perception +3 | Fortitude +6 Reflex +7 Will +5 | Speed 25' | Active Conditions: *Drained 1
"I think Bellona is in the chapel too, but no problem, the more the merrier!"
Male, NG, Human | HP 19/19 AC: 17 | F: +8 R: +7, W: +6 | Perc: +4 (T)
Class Abilities:
Focus Pool: 1/1
Default Exploration: Scout
GM, having done many complex task and achievement PbPs, you're doing a solid job staying organized. Very solid. I dig the 4th wall bend to help us track progress. I know we're supposed to be collecting stuff beyond the bodies/survivors/etc. Do we need to specifically call out what we take?
Bellona and Hiro search the chapel thoroughly, double checking every corner. They find a few interesting items: in a small safe in the back they find a collection of census and historical documents kept by the town council; and under a pew, as if it rolled away from its owner, a wayfinder. The wayfinder lacks the usual engraving of initials to identify its owner.
Emdi takes time to look over the body in the chapel, and realizes that around its neck is the charred remains of what was probably an ankh, identifying the owner as a devotee of Sarenrae.
Over at the inn, Klatzu realizes that the name "Flaming Wheel" and the flaming chariot wheel symbol are important symbols to the faith of Iomedae, and the sign itself might have historical significance. Inside, he notes that a blood-soaked body wears broken plate mail with a similar set of symbols. Meanwhile, Bellamin studies the body itself, and through the damage determines that it was either a gnome or halfling - the body is small, but the head is the wrong proportions for a goblin.
Over in the guardhouse, Trestan finds nothing of interest or use other than a cold iron buckler left behind. This is a "low-grade cold iron" buckler per the CRB, if anyone wishes to use it. Otherwise it has value and is worth recovering for the lodge.
That was a good round. You have now been here 30 minutes. I've updated the slide with what you have completed. Let me know if you want to continue making checks here, or move on to the college.
NG Human (Nidalese) Male Champion (Shelyn) 1 | HP 18/18* | AC 18 | Perception +3 | Fortitude +6 Reflex +7 Will +5 | Speed 25' | Active Conditions: *Drained 1
I count 7 things not yet done, and vote we stay for at least one more round.
"This small sized worshipper of Sarenrae could be Gibb Pottsmasher."
Female Human Bard 01| HP 17/17 | AC 17 (18) | Fort +6 Ref +6 Will +6 | Perc +6 | Performance +7 | Speed 25' | Melee +6/+1/-4 (1d6) | Ranged +6 (1d8) | Hero Points 01 | Focus Points 2/2 |
Bellona shruggs:"Didn't do much for him in the end..." she comments, then adds:"We'll need these documents and the wayfinder, of course... I wonder why the initials were erased though... and why hid it there? Someone had a reason for doing that..."
"Let's search the apothecary shop next... I'm sure we can find something useful there!"
To the Apothecary! Bellona uses perception again. Also I vote we stay 3 turns more , for an hour total
Male Human Monk 1 | HP 18/18 | AC 18 | F: +6, R: +8, W: +6 | Perc: +4, Stealth: +6 | Speed 30ft |Hero Points: 1/1 | Focus Pool: 1/1| Reactions: None | Conditions: None
Shaking his head, Bellamin stands and steps away from the small body. "For better or worse, I don't believe this is one of ours. They don't match the description of any of our dossiers. I think I'll check the bodies around the fountain again." He then heads outside to do just that. Medicine +4
Klatzu looks at the wheel signage before sizing it up next to the cart. ”Not fit well. Better keep.” Klatzu scratches his head, yells in frustration, and grabs his tools once more. ”Klatzu has fixed worse! Klatzu show everyone!”
Since the cart is not officially a shambles going into this and I intend to use the junk from the Inn’s barricades, if I get any bonuses for using Junk Tinker now I will gladly accept them. +3 otherwise or 4 if blacksmithing is involved.
Hiro looks around the armory, but finds nothing of use or interest. As he comes out, he is amazed to find that Kaltzu is no longer sitting in the middle of a pile of junk, but now has nearly functioning cart, though it appears that the wheels have been reattached in different locations than they started, and the harness is upside down.
The cart is now back to where it started, and requires one more success to make it working.
Bellamin examines the bodies by the fountain, but ascertains nothing about their demise or who they might be.
Trestan enters the general store, and sees a few items of food that were left behind. Unfortunately, he doesn't see the mold growing all over the darkened building, and inhales some spores.
Trestan, you failed the perception to notice the hazard. I need two Fort saves vs poison, please.
=====================
Emdi/Bellona: After doing the rolls, I realized that the apothecary was already searched, but I didn't mark it on the main list. Go ahead and give me a different location for this round.
NG Human (Nidalese) Male Champion (Shelyn) 1 | HP 18/18* | AC 18 | Perception +3 | Fortitude +6 Reflex +7 Will +5 | Speed 25' | Active Conditions: *Drained 1
I'll pretend I didn't read about Tresten in the General Store, and say General Store.
I've already failed Perception on the bodies by the fountain, so I can't reattempt, correct?
