Gameday IX GM Tyranius Scenario #1-05 Trailblazer's Bounty (Tier 1-4) (Inactive)

Game Master Tyranius

Kya and Bina are able to ford the river as she shows Athmar where exactly to step to get across safely. With this Athmar with Mandower are able to improve the ford by shifting a few of the rocks and boulders around.

heading in the opposite direction Athmar finds the perfect location for a bridge, Grabbing a couple lengths of rope it takes a few hours but soon a decently improvised bridge spans the lenth.

You need to spend 2 ropes (50 foot) to build the bridge. Who is using their ropes?

1: Identify local wildlife: Success
2. Identify local plant life: Crit Success
3. Mapping the area: Success
4. Fording the stream: Success
5. Improving the Ford: Success
6. Finding bridge location: Success
7. Improvising a bridge: Success

On the other side of the river, the Pathfinders look back with pride at a job well done!

After several more days of travel, the Pathfinders move out of the mountain forest, cross the tree line, and approach the snow line. Without cover from the trees, the freezing temperatures can quickly turn deadly. Thankfully, you have been gifted the winter clothing and putting them on makes the journey much more bearable.

You have been traveling upward and approach a wide valley that’s a clear pass over the mountain range. The wind has built up layers of snow on the slope. After studying the terrain for a while, a number of you with experience in such terrain realises that the bottom layers are likely unstable, as they would lie on top of loose scree. When disturbed it might trigger an avalanche!

For the group to pass the scree, all characters in the group must attempt an Athletics check, including any animal companions that are not flying.

"Muzzo has a rope to use for the bridge. Here." The goblin slips off his pack and pulls a rope out. Swiftly he unbinds the tie keeping it coiled.

At the scree, he is dismayed that he no longer has a rope. Still, how hard can getting across loose stone be?

athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

Bina frowns at the scree. "Okay," she mutters. "Light on my feet. Easy peasy. Just like dancing."

She gingerly steps out onto the scree and moves with as delicate and soft of step as she can manage.

Athletics: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

WELP. RIP Bina. X_X

It goes off of the groups total successes Bina. So either you all pass or all fail.

Azu tries to asses the scree field.

Survival: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

Azu uses a rope from anyone who has one, and ties the group together.

Azu then attempts to cross the field.

Athletics: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 7 + 1 = 19

I would think if we detect an avalanche potential, we could just trigger the avalanche before crossing???

Athletics (companion): 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 1 = 13

spend rope
athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
survival: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Phone post
Athletics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

Did Mandower give the 2nd rope? If not, Kya will donate hers.

Athletics: 1d20 ⇒ 15

Mandower spent his rope from his adventurer's kit.

Alright, Mandower and Muzzo are down a rope then.

With Muzzo leading the way, the rest of the group follows along his footsteps and manages to reach the summit quite smoothly, hardly needing the rope at all. Bina struggles for a bit, but thanks to the rope, she finally manages to pull herself up. The rest of the Pathfinders manage to pull her up with the rope.

Success, without triggering any avalanches!

Taking a breather after that harrowing experience, you can't help but wonder how the group of nobles would have fared if you had not convinced them to turn back.

Once ready, the Pathfinders press on. Once across the wide valley and mountain pass, you descend into the trees once more after a few hours. And that's when you spot a very large and extremely fluffy dog amongst the trees. Around its neck is a thick leather collar from which hangs a small barrel. The dog stares at your party silently, taking no action to approach nor retreat, showing no signs of being friendly or hostile.

Azu designates the dog as his prey and tries to bond with the creature. Nature: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

Azu then looks for any tracks to see where the creature came from.

Survival with +2 for Prey: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25

"It's a fuzzy! Muzzo likes fuzzies! C'mere fuzzy, Muzzo will scratch you behind the ears."

Muzzo headed off towards the dog, a hopeful gleam in his eyes. He wanted to pet the fuzzy!

A faint growl erupts as Azu moves to look for tracks, but as soon as he pulls out a little dried meat he is able to bond with the dog, it breaks out in a wide grin, approaching carefully and once certain that Azu makes no hostile gesture, it grabs the piece and gobbles it up. It gives a short bark and heads back into the trees, but stops to look back, clearly wanting you to follow it.

The dog leads you through a rather circuitous route through the forest and undergrowth, and you soon realize that it is not trying to get you lost, but rather the path is well hidden and confusing to keep out unintended visitors. But soon, you arrive at a wooden hut well-hidden in the woods, surrounded by what appears to be pear trees.

When the dog nears, it lets out another bark and shortly after, the door opens. Standing at the door is an elderly half-orc.

He studies the party warily, before speaking up in a coarse but steady voice. "I don't get many visitors, but I trust Wilbert's judgement here. Since you're here already, you can come in and warm up a little."

The interior of the cottage is not large. The room you enter consists of a sitting area and the kitchen. A door at the back presumably leads to his bedroom. There are insufficient stools for everyone so some of you have to sit on the floor. Together with the large dog, it is rather cramped, but the heat from the hearth is very much welcomed and soon you are warm enough to remove your winter jackets.

The half-orc busies himself in the kitchen area before bringing over several cups and a bowl of sweet-smelling liquid. Throughout the kitchen hangs all kinds of plants and herbs. He lays one in from on Wilbert which starts to greedily lap up the contents, before handing one each of the Pathfinders. "My personal home-made pear schnapps."

He settles down into a hand-carved armchair, takes a sip from his own cup, before speaking up again. "My name is Bark. What are you doing high up here in the Menador Mountains?"

Bina gratefully wriggles out of the stuffy winter coat and plops on the floor near the hearth, basking in its heat. A little drier of a heat than she prefers, but still welcome after the biting cold of the outdoors. She even peels off her boots and splays her legs out in front of her, wiggling the toes on her hair-coated feet to get some sensation back in them.

When Bark hands her a cup, she gasps. "Schnapps??" she gulps down a mouthful and closes her eyes, enjoying the sweet aftertaste and the pleasant burning sensation as it coats her throat. "By Chaldira, that's good," she mutters. When their host introduces himself, she says, "I'm Bina! Nice to meet you. We're trying to ford a path through the mountains that might be safe for traders." Her feet absently wiggle back and forth as she talks.

"More like Meander Mountains. If dog no bring us here, Muzzo sure we get lost in trees. Like Bina say, we are pathfinders...in two different ways! Nice dog bring Muzzo and friends to new half-orc friend. Good doggo. And good new friend for warmth and drink!"

Muzzo took a deep draft of the schnapps and smacked his lips appreciatively.

"Much thanks, Bark. Silly name, though. Hopw half-orc get silly name and end up in woods on mountain?"

Oh, thanks for the schnapps.

Kya, settles comfortably on the floor and sips at her schnapps. "I've never heard of pear schnapps. It's so nice of you to invite us into your home! Yes, like Bina said, we are trying to find a path for traders. So far, I think it's going pretty well!"

She holds the drink in her hand and swirls it around in the cup. She waits curiously for his answer to how Bark ended up way out here - she had been wondering the same thing herself!

Athmar sniffs the sweet scented liquid. Ugh, smells like burning Muzzo's socks. He then proceeds to dip his finger in it, staring at it curiously before taking a taste.

"Mmmm... *cough* tastes like burning," Athmar says to no one in particular before piling on to the conversation, "What Bina said. We're heading to Mole Tune."

All those who drank the schnapps feels a warm glow percolating throughout. It is somewhat on the sweet side, but that additional energy is welcomed in the cold climate here. More importantly, the alcohol perks you up.

"Ah, I see. That would have explained the increase of traffic recently in the area. But you are the first group to have gotten this far. Had to rescue a group from an avalanche a few days back." Bark sighs. "Wilbert did good though in alerting me."[b] He pats the dog unconsciously.

He considers briefly before continuing. [b]"I am not opposed to a trade route going through this territory, provided that no excessive damage to done. And I doubt that would be possible with how rugged the terrain is." He then breaks out briefly in a grin as he adds "Besides, I would like to see how popular my schnapps are down in the towns."

He then turns serious as he continues. "The journey up ahead will be more dangerous. You see, the orc tribes recently has been ... problematic. I have an understanding with the orc tribes in the region. They leave me alone, and I leave them alone." Here, he mutters something about mutually assured destruction under his breath. "But recently they have been crossing through my territory more often, even hunting and placing traps. This is strange. While the local tribes can be as brutal as any other orc tribe, they have kept this arrangement for many years. I've not been able to contact the tribe to find out what’s going on. There must be some dispute between the individual groups over territory, or maybe a disease is ravaging one of the camps. For the caravans to be safe, you would need to either make a pact with the orcs or drive them off." He then gives you directions to one of the smaller scout camps in the region.

Hopw half-orc get silly name and end up in woods on mountain?"

"Bark has been my given name. I came here to be closer to nature and my Schnapps." He looks out at his beloved pear tree.

Bina blinks at the tree. "Huh. I thought fruit trees needed warm climates?"

Bina has no idea if this is true or not. Nature check to know? Maybe not important, but she's curious. Her Nature is +2.

At the mention of the orcs, Bina frowns. "Mm. I'd like to talk them down but it will have to be somebody else. I'm, uh... not great at talking to people, except under very specific circumstances."

And by 'very specific circumstances,' you mean when you're swindling them for their life savings. The thought makes her blush. Not anymore! That's behind her now! Right?

She stares pensively at her wiggling toes and sips her schnapps.

"Muzzo thanks Bark for the directions. Is there orc chieftain Bark has talked with in the past that would recognize the name. Maybe we can talk to orcs and not fight. Or maybe we fight and Muzzo gets a nice fresh orc leg to chomp on. Win-win, yes?"

Muzzo is excited to be off. He liked Bark and his fuzzy doggo Wilbert, but he longed for warm ocean waters and the smell of sea salt in the air.

"Well, the Shattered Fang orcs are known for keeping oath-keepers, so it was strange that they have been encroaching into my terrority."

As the dusk gradually falls, Bark offers to let the Pathfinders stay the night. His house is rather cramped, but it sure beats making camp out in the cold freezing night.

Assuming no further questions.

Next morning, you wake up all refreshed. Bark feeds you (and Wilbert) a warm hearty stew before sending you off on your way in the cold. "Take care now," he gruffly bids you farewell.

Staying exposed above the snow line is dangerous, so you press on to reach the tree line while descending from the mountain. The overall temperature is still low but no longer poses a risk. Nonetheless, it is still not easy going. You are not particularly fit and hearty overall, but you make up for it with good understanding of the terrain and make good time over the day.

Along your path, you come across a tall cliff that reaches above the surrounding trees. It is immediately clear this cliff would give a great view of the surroundings and assist with scouting the terrain.

The team veer towards the cliff, and find that is about 25 feet tall. Requires a Athletics DC 15 to scale. A skilled climber can easily prepare the way for team members that are less adept at climbing by climbing up first and securing a rope at the top Reducing the DC to 12 Conveniently, there are hardy bushes growing at the bottom of the cliff, which would cushion the fall of anyone falling off the cliff. This reduces the fall distance by 10 feet.

Kya breathes into her hands and stomps her feet. It's better today, but still so cold! If only it were a little bit warmer, I could sit and paint this beautiful landscape...but, I suppose we do have work to do! She looks at the cliff. We're not really going up that, are we?

The halfling looks back to the others. "So...uh...what's the plan here? How do we get up that?!

Bina shrugs. "Not the best climber, but I'm alright. I'll give it a shot. Nice floofy bushes at the bottom just in case!" She digs out her rope, loops it over her shoulder, and starts climbing.

Athletics: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

At the top, she ties off the rope and takes a good look at their surroundings.

Dunno if this is a secret check. My Perception is +7. :)

With Bina having successfully climbed the cliff. Azu joins her.

Athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Muzzo will wait at the bottom to help the others up before ascending himself. Once at the top, he looked around to see what there was to see.

athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20
Perception +4

Only a secret chack if it has the secret tag.

Bina climbs the cliff face little by little as she takes her time, with Azu right behind her. Muzzo stays near the bottom to begin helping guide the others.

As soon as Bina and Azu reach the top, they find a herd of wild mountain goats grazing on the plateau. Most don't pay him any attention, but a group of three nearest to Azu lift up their heads to stare at him. One in particular starts snorting and pawing the ground. Bina quickly ties off the rope she brought up to a safe anchor to before turning to face the goats.

Azu and Bina, you can attempt to calm down the goats with Nature checks. (Give me 6 checks.) Or go murder hobo on them. The rest of you are at the bottom of the cliff until we see how this goes.

"What's going on up there? It sounds not so good," Athmar asks.

Eventual Athletics Roll Up: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

"Oh. I see. That's how we are getting up." Kya gazes up the cliff face and tries to muster the courage to start climbing.

Just waiting until we get the go ahead to take an action

Perception to see if she hears anything from up above: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

Woohoo!

"What on earth is going on up there? It sounds like an angry bull!"

Athletics to climb when ready: 1d20 ⇒ 16

"Ermm... Nice goat..." Bina tries very hard to look as non-threatening as possible.

Nature: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

In retrospect, she probably shouldn't have been holding her cane out defensively.

Azu holds out his hand to stop Bina, knowing she probably is less skilled than he, "Please, let me try first. "

Have a hard time believing mountain goats wouldn't just run away, but oh well

Nature (each gets +7): 6d20 ⇒ (6, 3, 14, 10, 6, 20) = 59

The pair tries to calm the mountain goats but a few still seem very agitated. While normally mountain goats would flee Azu begins to get the feeling that this appears to be a territorial behavior as they look ready to charge.

For those at the bottom climbing keep in mind that you will need multiple checks to get to the top. Climbing Rules Each success gets you 5 feet. DC is 12 Athletics due to the rope.

Round 1
Kya
Azu (44/44)
Mandower (25/25)
-----------------------------------
Mountain Goats
-----------------------------------
Bina (17/17)
Athmar
Muzzo (20/20)

"We need to move away from the edge."

Azu advancest to the nearest goat,, draws his weapons, and attacks.

Strike (longsword): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29 Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

We'll, I guess we are attacking, but I'm up here.
Mandower delays to go last since his best ranged weapon is a light hammer, which will never reach.

2nd climb check: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Kya begins to climb. She makes it up about 5 feet, cast guidance on herself and then begins to climb again. However, she can't seem to find any handholds or footholds, so she takes a moment to breathe and try to focus and calm herself before making another attempt.

Hearing the noise above Kya grabs ahold of the rope and begins to climb, making it up 5 feet before her arms begin to shake and she can't find an immediate handhold.

Azu moves away from the edges of the cliff. Drawing his sword Azu chops into one of the goat's neck, immediately killing it in a single stroke.

Mandower listens to the battle at the bottom of the cliff, 25 feet down and unable to see from his location. The mountain goats panic as one of their herd is brutally slaughtered.

The goats begin to charge, ramming at Azu.

Orange Horn vs Azu AC 20: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5 + Push 5 feet

The goat's horns catch Azu and fling him back 5 feet as the second mountain goat charges in at him.

Blue Horn vs Azu AC 20: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5 10 crit damage + Push 10 feet

Azu is hit hard from the side as he is pushed over the side of the cliff.

[ooc]You have a reaction called grab an edge. DC 15 Reflex save to grab the edge before you fall. Grab an edge

The third goat charges at Bina as it rakes its horns at her.

Pink Horn vs Bina AC 18: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Bina easily steps out of the way.

Round 2
Kya (5 feet up)
Azu (29/44)
Mandower (25/25)
-----------------------------------
Mountain Goats
-----------------------------------
Round 1
Bina (17/17)
Athmar
Muzzo (20/20)

Azu tries to grab an edge.

Ref: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22
I wouldn't have any hands free as I drew both weapons.

Oh my. Who angered the Billy Goats Gruff? Where's Dresden when you need him?

Athmar will climb x3.

Athletics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Athletics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
Athletics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

@Azu- It just calls a requirement of not being restrained or hands tied behind your back.

Hearing a noise above her, Kya looks up and sees Azu come flying over the cliff. She screams. "Azu! Hang in there! We are coming!"

She makes three more attempts to climb.

Climb - 1st attempt: 1d20 ⇒ 2
Climb - 2nd attempt: 1d20 ⇒ 14
Climb - 3rd attempt: 1d20 ⇒ 17

Kya is so distraught over her concern for Azu that she leans too far back trying to see if he's alright and loses her own grip on the cliff face.

This is not working. Alright. Breathe. Think. Maybe I can do something from down here?

I'd like to replace the last two climb attempts with a two action heal on Azu.

Heal: 1d8 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

That's more like it!

@Kya- 2 action heal has a range of 30 feet. You are well beyond that.

Muzzo, seeign Azu being flung off the cliff, shouted, "Longshanks hang on! No need to fly down. Muzzo come up to you!"

Using my climbing roll from above, plus 2 more, as neededd

athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Bina watches Azu get voiped off the side of the cliff and just barely cling to the ledge. She tries her best to keep her cool, darting back and forth to evade the horns of the aggravated beast in front of her. She isn't built for this! She's a dancer, for crying out loud!

So dance, dummy.

She's never danced for a goat before. But then, she's danced for a few tall folk who were a whole lot worse. So why not?

Slipping the blade out of her cane, Bina begins to almost prance in place, her feet moving in such a wild and spurtive patterns that it probably looks like sheer randomness without the accompanying music. But Bina hears the music.

She always hears the music.

She doesn't stop to see if the goat has been dazzled by her footwork, simply lashes out with the blade.

So I didn't see anything stating animals can't be fascinated by the performance (I only need a normal success if it can be, thanks to Focused Fascination) but even if it's immune, I only need to meet its Will DC to gain panache regardless. Here goes!

A1: Draw sword-cane.
A2: Fascinating Performance: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
A3: Strike vs Fuchsia Goat: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12 Piercing Dmg: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 (+2 precision dmg if Perform successful)

OOF. Those were... not great rolls.

Mandower still can't do anything of use cause he didn't bring a bow with him, and he is at the top of the cliff, not willing to risk falling while climbing down, so he does nothing.

@Mandower- you are at the bottom of the cliff, not the top. Azu and Bina are the only ones currently at the top being punted off by the goats. Let me know if you still wish to stay below.

@Kya- Let me know what you wish to do about that out of range heal, or would you rather keep your last two climb checks?

Bina begins to dance around the mountain goat as she watches Azu get punted from the edge. The goats seem to have their full attention on getting rid of these intruders rather than Bina's fascinating performace, her sword cane missing.

Athmar makes it 10 feet up the 25 foot cliff-face as he crawls right over Kya, putting his foot on her face for leverage. Muzzo plays leap frog and does the same as he scurries nearly to the top. 20 feet up with that crit success.

Kya and Mandower stay at the bottom of the cliff as they listen to the sounds of battle above.

As Azu falls he reaches out grabbing ahold of a root, hanging on for dear life as he dangles. You can climb back up with an Athletics check DC 15.

Round 2
Kya (5 feet up)
Azu (29/44)
Mandower (25/25)
-----------------------------------
Mountain Goats
-----------------------------------
Round 1
Bina (17/17)
Athmar (10 feet up)
Muzzo (20/20; 20 feet up)

Kya, don't worry about healing me just yet. The goats are only doing 4-7 points of damage.

Athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Azu climbs back up. "What was a close one." Visibly annoyed that despite his preventative actions, he was still nearly knocked off the edge, he advances on the goats and attacks one with his sword.

Strike: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11 Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Ugh. I had an idea to use a tanglefoot bag to help glue a falling ally to the wall, but alas, the pre-gen doesn't have it. Apparently tanglefoot bags aren't as good in 2E with their static DC?

Oh, gotcha, I was looking at the map, thinking I was at the top standing over the edge. The north end is the bottom.
athletics to climb up: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27 I'm coming guys.
second move action to climb further up athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Sorry I didn't get to this earlier. I thought the cliff was 25 feet high? Which would put Azu within range of the heal if he was hanging off the cliff. What am I missing? It's a moot point now, but still worth knowing in case it comes up again.

Kya wastes several seconds freaking out about Azu almost falling to his death (in her mind) and generally not knowing what to do. She is brought back down to earth by Athmar's foot in her face. At a loss as to what else she can do, she spits dirt out of her mouth and gives climbing up the cliff another try.

Climb: 1d20 ⇒ 4

I can't do this. Why didn't I do more pull ups like Elred told me? Near tears from frustration and a feeling of helplessness, Kya casts guidance on Mandower.

I think that spell will reach Mandower - by my calculations he is only 15 feet up.

@Kya- He was on the opposite side of the cliff where the goats pushed him.

@Mandower- Yea, the southern end of the map is the top of the cliff. I had problems with that map when I played as well. It played a trick on my mind thinking that I was at the top and the others were at the bottom. Just the way it is drawn.

Azu manages to swing his legs up as he climbs back up onto the edge of the cliff. He swings his sword at the goat only to lock the blade in its horns.

Still climbing the rope Kya kicks and kicks, not making much progress while Mandower manages to kick 15 feet up the cliff as he finds several suitable handholds.

One of the mountain goats stays Bina as it looks to punt her back further.

Pink Horn vs Bina AC 18: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4 Crit damage is 8 and pushed 10 feet

Bina is rocked back as she slips over the edge. The ram slamming into her hip.

[ooc]You have a reaction called grab an edge. DC 15 Reflex save to grab the edge before you fall. Grab an edge

With Bina out of sight the mountain goat turns and rushes at Azu.

Blue Horn vs Azu AC 20: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Blue Horn vs Azu AC 20: 1d20 + 5 - 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 - 5 = 14
Blue Horn vs Azu AC 20: 1d20 + 5 - 10 ⇒ (11) + 5 - 10 = 6

Orange Horn vs Azu AC 20: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7 + Push 5 feet

Only one of the goats manages to push Azu back a small bit.

Round 3
Kya (5 feet up)
Azu (22/44)
Mandower (25/25; 15 feet up)
-----------------------------------
Mountain Goats
-----------------------------------
Round 2
Bina (17/17)
Athmar (10 feet up)
Muzzo (20/20; 20 feet up)