[Non-PFS] [3PP Class Only] Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands (Inactive)

Game Master djpika

Taking one more glance around the courtyard, the novice Kunoichi lass notes that Zupon has ceased to examine the goblin corpse and is moving purposefully towards Braggi and Xephkiel as the tall Deva motions for the rest of the party to follow. Calling out to Andru with, "Andru, Xephkiel wants us to gather", in case the Varisian Gearhead is still busy yet with his goblin-corpse examination, Chigao will turn to Kurian once more and say, "Xephkiel and Braggi must've found something- we should go and see what it is that they've found...", with a quick bow and nod of her head before moving off to where Xeph, Zupon, and Braggi are all gathered at.

Once Chigao has moved over to where Xephkiel, Braggi, and Zupon are all gathered at near the eastward building with the opened doorway, she ask the Deva Caydenite and Ulfen Conscript, "What was it that the both of you found? It must be important if everybody is needed to gather over here."

If Chigao spotted anything amiss around the courtyard, she'll let the three of them/everyone presently gathered know in a more quieter/subtle manner.

Braggi points with his chin towards the the possible exists, one at a time. "Now it's up to you, should we try one of those or should we check the other possibilities in the courtyard?" Braggi doesn't want to influence anyone's opinion, though he's clearly on favour of checking one of the paths here.

Andru reluctantly moved towards the main building he said softly Are we sure we shouldnt check out that tower first? He kept his fire spray attachment in his hand, facing the doors to the keep

"Those goblins in the courtyard were more than likely taken down from the tower above", Xephkiel explained to Andru. "Traveling this way allows us much need cover."

Glancing back at the tower, then at the door they are at" If the tower is a dangerous pilbox.. Andru and I got pretty close looking at the corpses; it might be empty now. If we go inside and there are enemies in there-we could get pincered. While the tower we can escape through the gate. From the tower's height we may be able to see more too... I know I'm inexperienced but doesn't securing the escape make sense?" Zupon opines of those with perhaps more experience than he; but his time being hunted inclines him to secure the exit first and foremost of any situation. Rather than leave to be attacked on both ends.

"He has a point" Braggi affirms, changing his opinion. "Plus, the tower seems to be a limited space to explore. Here inside? We have zero idea."

A well fitting iron‐bound door provides access to the tower. In
places the door’s sturdy wood is pitted and splintered and the
bottom portion bares scorch marks. It is otherwise in good
condition and appears firmly shut.

Xephliel nods grimly as he's been outvoted, and doubles back to examine the tower door.

Mentally going over the contents inside of her pack, Chigao sighs in frustration over the fact that she hadn't managed to secure any pitons or kunais to help seal the lone tower door with but is resigned to the fact that they would have certainly weighed her down even further if she had.

"If I had thought to pack up some pitons, or a kunai or two, we might have tried sealing that lone tower door up temporarily- or at least could've attempted to do so."

Closing her eyes in some attempt to consciously "divining" a way through the party's present predicament, the Young novice Kunoichi carefully considers some likely options, based upon all the input from the others.

"This open entryway here to the east; it seems unlikely that we'll be able to close it again.", Chigao notes as she opens her eyes again to focus intently upon the lone, battered iron-bound half-door laying upon the stairs. "Blocking the open entryway now might attract some unwanted attention from whatever it is that's inside. Since we're all already here for the moment, I'll try to suss out any traps that might be warding this open doorway. Someone will have to keep a lookout to make sure nothing surprises us from the inside of this main hall; somebody else will have to keep watch on that tower- possibly even the main gate if more bandit or goblin reinforcements were to arrive soon."

Deciding that mentioning the unlikely possibility of an attack coming from atop the crenellated walls would do more harm than good at this point, Chigao goes to check the open half-covered eastern doorway for any possible traps as she carefully kneels by the unclogged parts of the stairway.

Perception for any traps: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8. If none are found, she'll declare it clear and move towards the tower.

Xephliel nods grimly as he's been outvoted, and doubles back to examine the tower door.

Dunno if Xeph's been outvoted per say, but perhaps Chigao's mention of the tower needing to be watched might prompt him to head over in that direction? ;)

As an aside, since Kurian hasn't posted yet, some of my earlier posts may seem strange given Chigao's current position upon the map; I took the liberty of adding in a blue moon to show where Chigao was when next to Kurian and a pink moon adjacent to Braggi to show where Chigao moved off to next when joining up with him, Zupon and Xeph. They could be removed if they cause any confusion though.

I'm confused - the decision seems to be to check thew tower, but no-one's icon is anywhere near there!?!

I'm confused - the decision seems to be to check thew tower, but no-one's icon is anywhere near there!?!

Thought I could have Chigao sneak in a quick trap checking for the eastern doorway before heading off to the tower- which may or may not be the wisest course of action to take, now that I think about it. ;p

Hopefully, if nothing comes of it, I'd have Chigao's token sent to the tower door for another trap detection attempt once the results are given by DM rel20. :)

PS. Now that I think about it, Chigao did put her vote in indirectly for the tower in the discussion section but the second trap checking came about spontaneously with tonight's gameplay post- I probably should've made for an allowance to give the other party members the chance to approve/disapprove of the attempt in the first place.

PPS. the moon shape seemed to be closest to the letter "C" which was why I chose that icon shape initially. ;)

I'm confused - the decision seems to be to check thew tower, but no-one's icon is anywhere near there!?!

Thread-wise, it looked like an overall party consensus still needed to be reached, so I'm ok with the tokens not reflecting location perfectly. Although it would be good to update the map if your character actually takes an action that involved movement... just do the best you can.

Deciding that mentioning the unlikely possibility of an attack coming from atop the crenellated walls would do more harm than good at this point, Chigao goes to check the open half-covered eastern doorway for any possible traps as she carefully kneels by the unclogged parts of the stairway.

[dice=Perception for any traps]1d20+5. If none are found, she'll declare it clear and move towards the tower.

Just to confirm, you mean the door by D4?

if there isn't a consensues later today we'll just roll a dice and go with one of the paths
shuffling and patting himself down, then tpulling out his bag. "I have 4 pitons mainly for scaling not blocking a door; but frankly its not the door opening and people coming that would worry me about the tower. Its raining arrow death on us when we come back out or if we get forced back out." Zupon shrugs as he looks at the tower to see if there are arrow slits facing the inside of the tower-trying to judge if his fears are warranted at all.
perception at the tower's structure for windows, slits, etc: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

If someone wants to make the choice for either way go for it. Zupon/me just wanted to point out the hazard of leaving it behind us. but we're lingering in one spot thats not good. So we should just choose and go.

Andru nods as the group comes to the realization as he had already noticed. The Tower would be a safer area to check first, and would provide more security, not leaving something behind them that could block their escape if needed. he turned and headed across the courtyard.

The tower's walls are solid construction, but the mortar between the stone blocks has started to flake away. No arrow slits are visible from the courtyard, although the top of the tower is crenelated.

Just to confirm, you mean the door by D4?

Heh, me metagame-senses be tingling on that one. ;p

That being said, I'd have to stick with the stated previous action since it was already made. Chigao will check the crazy-hinged door by D4 since I'm presuming that the fallen part of the door is obstructing the stairs on the already open part; she doesn't feel quite that confident enough to mount on the fallen door like some kinda "surfboard"- if I've got any of it wrong, do feel free to correct me onnit. ;)

shuffling and patting himself down, then tpulling out his bag. "I have 4 pitons mainly for scaling not blocking a door; but frankly its not the door opening and people coming that would worry me about the tower. Its raining arrow death on us when we come back out or if we get forced back out." Zupon shrugs as he looks at the tower to see if there are arrow slits facing the inside of the tower-trying to judge if his fears are warranted at all.

Pausing a bit in her attempt to gingerly cross over towards the parts of the stairs that aren't obstructed by the fallen half of the iron-bound door, Chigao considers Zupon's well thought out point of a possible arrow barrage from the lone West-side tower. "That would be most... inconvenient were it to happen while we were weakened from dealing with whatever is currently inside of this main building. Strange that it would be left out in the open like this while the much smaller tower stands fairly intact. And closed off- almost as if we're looking at two opposing sides in a war...", the novice Kunoichi muses.

Finding a patch that would lead her closer towards the remaining half of the iron-bound door that's hanging off its' hinge, Chigao ventures in for a closer look. Just to visually examine; will not dare to step foot into the open building if she can help it.

I'm confused - the decision seems to be to check thew tower, but no-one's icon is anywhere near there!?!

That's because most of the times I check the games on mky mobile, and that doesn't allow me to edit aliases or interact with maps without messing up everything - due to my fingers being close to a bunch of salamis.

Braggi stands watching while Chigao checks the door. He tries to get a vision angle which allows him to have both the main gate and the other building under vigilance moved my token already.

DM rel20 wrote:

Just to confirm, you mean the door by D4?

Heh, me metagame-senses be tingling on that one. ;p

That being said, I'd have to stick with the stated previous action since it was already made. Chigao will check the crazy-hinged door by D4 since I'm presuming that the fallen part of the door is obstructing the stairs on the already open part; she doesn't feel quite that confident enough to mount on the fallen door like some kinda "surfboard"- if I've got any of it wrong, do feel free to correct me onnit. ;)

Ok, let's try this a different way. I added labels to the doors. The half-opened door is 1.1. It is not by D4. So you want to step into the room to check one of the other doors (1.2/1.3/?) or did you really just want to check the entrance door(s)?

Note that I'm using [room #].[door #] here... I think that's easier in the long run as opposed to getting to the high 30's and 40's possibly at the end of a floor clear.

Just let me know to confirm and we can retroactively apply this...

For now, I'm putting everyone outside the tower in the courtyard because it sounds like that's the group's decision.

Preempting the trap check on the tower door:

perception Chigao: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Chigao does not see any traps but does hear the murmuring of voices coming from within.

Ok, let's try this a different way. I added labels to the doors. The half-opened door is 1.1. It is not by D4. So you want to step into the room to check one of the other doors (1.2/1.3/?) or did you really just want to check the entrance door(s)?

Note that I'm using [room #].[door #] here... I think that's easier in the long run as opposed to getting to the high 30's and 40's possibly at the end of a floor clear.

Just let me know to confirm and we can retroactively apply this...

For now, I'm putting everyone outside the tower in the courtyard because it sounds like that's the group's decision.

Thank you, DM rel20, the alternative labels for the various doors makes things much more clearer; for the most part, Chigao was examining the half-opened door [1.1] for traps- she wouldn't have stepped beyond into any of the interior areas on her own. Sorry for any unintended confusion about the D4 part. :)

Chigao does not see any traps but does hear the murmuring of voices coming from within.

Upon reconvening at the tower, Chigao will inform everyone whether or not she found anything hazardous by door 1.1. ;)

Reconvening with the others at the westernmost tower, Chigao goes to examine the closed and fire-battered door by kneeling down and leaning in for a closer view. Upon hearing the murmurs of voices coming from within the enclosed doorframe, the novice Kunoichi lass widens her eyes briefly with surprise but opts to stay quiet for another few seconds as she tries to make out anything more from the voices that she heard.

Is she able to determine the number of voices, what they are saying, and if they are speaking in Common or some other language... like Goblin- not that she'd understand it though. ;)

After a few moments more, Chigao will carefully stand back up- taking care not to make too many noise- and move off towards Andru as she motions everyone that's nearby into an impromptu huddle.

Stealth attempt to not alert the murmuring voices with her movements: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9.

Once she gets 3 or more into the huddle, she say in a quiet hushed tone, "I heard voices inside..." before describing what it was that she was able to determine from those murmuring.

Added in a green moon to show her position when examining door 1.1 and a yellow moon to show where she was when she heard the murmurs. ;)

Kurian shadows Andru and Xeph, bastard sword held tight, buckler ready...

Zupon moves down against the wall to hope to avoid issues in the near future. While mimming a knocking hand gesture as if to say 'Should we knock?'

Not sure if another perception roll was needed to make any sense of the murmurings behind the door; let me know and I'll roll one out just in case.

if needed: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22. Disregard if not needed.

While mimming a knocking hand gesture as if to say 'Should we knock?'

Depending on what she heard in there, she'll either give an affirmitive nod and a thumbs up for yes or shake her head with thumbs down for no; if she heard anything along the lines of hostility [intent to capture/enslave/eat us all up] or gobliny singing, she'd probably mime out a hand cutting across the throat. ;)

PS. maybe would even point to a goblin corpse with the hypothetical gobliny singing?

From his faraway position, Braggi struggles to decipher what Chigao means with all that gesturing.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

Without much success, anyway, so he walks a bit closer to check for himself.

Could anybody move me about 15-20 squares closer, please?

Could anybody move me about 15-20 squares closer, please?

No problem... done.

Chigao hears what sounds like core races talking, picking up sentence fragments here and there, but nothing too meaningful.

Xephkiel looks to everyone and makes a kicking motion with his leg to the door, holding his rapier, and nodding for approval.

Andru positions himself so he cloud ignite the interior with his fire spray of needed.

Once he sees Xeph trying to kick the door, Braggi trots to stand in front of the door and grabs his shield with one hand, ready to throw it at whoever's inside the tower.

The astral deva was actually hoping someone would give him the 'thumbs-up' to kick the doors down, but eventually Xephkiel gets the 'okay' from Braggi.

The caydenite opens the door, rapier in hand, and at the last second tries a new tactic.
"Hello. May I talk to you about the Savior of The Working Man, Cayden Cailean?"

Action!!!

May be too late, but if possible. Prior to Door kicking attempts. could we attempt to check for a lock? So we aren't like.. fruitlessly kicking an actual castle keep door.
Though I do not know if any of us are equiped to unlock doors. It is not within Zupon's forte

In either case when door opening begins
Stationing himself further back to allow combatants to act well. Zupon opts to keep an eye out at the other door, as well as at the walkway above. Taking his torch out upon entry of his cohorts.

The astral deva was actually hoping someone would give him the 'thumbs-up' to kick the doors down, but eventually Xephkiel gets the 'okay' from Braggi.

The caydenite opens the door, rapier in hand, and at the last second tries a new tactic.
"Hello. May I talk to you about the Savior of The Working Man, Cayden Cailean?"

Action!!!

Xephkiel reaches for the tower door and attempts to open it, but finds that it's held in place, making a heavy wooden thumping sound as it hits.

After some shuffling and murmurs, a voice yells back, "Go away preacher, do not bore us with your ramblings. Surely your gods a fool if he's lead you here."

The door is barred but not locked.

"And yet I have a small barrel of ale to share with those who wish to let me in and hear my 'foolish' teachings," Xephkiel retorted.
Bluff: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

"Ale you say? That must be a burden to carry it all this way. Leave it here and go," commands the gravelly voice.

Looking to the others exasperated, Xephkiel tried a final offer. "Yeah. We ain't gonna do that. Come on, ladies. I guess you Calistrians will have to find someone in town to show your goddess's many gifts."
Bluff: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

And Action, it is. :) BTW, got rid of the remaining moons since their purpose was already served. Also moved both Braggi and Xeph to be closer to the tower door- feel free to reposition them if needed. Or just let one of us know where to place them instead. ;)

As Chigao was considering giving the thumbs up to Zupon's unspoken Knocking suggestion, she failed to notice Xephkiel's own unspoken offer to kick in the door since her attention was partly focused upon the fact that Braggi had moved up to be closer to the gathered group while Andru was positioning himself to gain a better vantage point for using his odd fire spray gadget.

The startled Young Kunoichi definitely heard the loud thump made by Xeph though, as the massive Deva's foot kicked squarely against the stoutly barred tower door followed by the Waiter-turned-Adventurer incongruously offering to spread the word about his Drinking Deity.

Instinctively shifting herself five feet diagonally to southwest, Chigao was half-hearing the loud exchange between Xephkiel and the unseen tower inhabitants as she hissed out with, "Quickly, what can you tell me about Cayden Cailean, his rites, and what his holy symbol looks like?", in a lowered tone of voice to both Zupon and Andru.

While the novice ninja Waiyo was partway using her Sleeves of Many Garments to fashion herself with a saucy barmaid's outfit with the religious symbols of Cayden Cailean strewn there abouts on said outfit (done as faithfully to what it gets described as by either Zupon or Andru, perhaps even both), Xephkiel then makes his bluff about the "Calistrian ladies".

In an almost unthinking response, Chigao calls out aloud with, "Those who would keep their doors closed to the worshipers of both shall likewise find both places of worship be ever closed unto them in kind!"

Assist to Xeph's final bluff: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3. No assist there. ;p

Mentally berating herself for speaking up somewhat so prematurely on such unfamiliar subjects, the Young Kunoichi lass then quietly asks both Zupon and Andru about what they know of Calistria, her rites, and what Calistria's holy symbol looks like.

Once Chigao gets the gist of what Calistria is all about, she'll use her Sleeves to create a more appropriate outfit for a Calistrian [Courtesan's Outfit, Wasp aesthetics, and 3 daggers holy symbol ahoy!] ;p

This is the best "kick the door" scene of my life xDDD

This is the best "kick the door" scene of my life xDDD

Definitely is from my end, as well. :)

BTW, even though Chigao solicited opinions about both deities from both Zupon and Andru due to their high Int focus, everybody else in the party can feel free to add in their own input, if they so wish to. :)

Xephkiel smiles and gives Chigao the 'thumbs-up' for the assist.

Looking to the others exasperated, Xephkiel tried a final offer. "Yeah. We ain't gonna do that. Come on, ladies. I guess you Calistrians will have to find someone in town to show your goddess's many gifts."

[dice=Bluff]1d20 + 6

"Are you sure? Leaving it there is just making it easier for you and for us. After all, you could leave and carry all that heavy ale through the woods, only to die sweaty and exhausted. But then we'd have to carry it all the way back here. So this just saves work for everyone."

...

"Oh, calling us Calistrians, now that's just hurtful... She won't like that one bit," he says, feigning taking offense.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
Xephkiel now visibly shrugs his shoulders at the group, and points across the courtyard at the door the group first went through.

sorry, running this RAW, so the targets are high in this case... which echoes a lot of the 1st edition stuff of which this adventure pays hommage to.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Braggi also shrugs, not knowing what to do, but he still stands ready. The lightened menace doesn't go unnoticed (you'll die in the woods and we'll take the barrel back), so at least now he knows he must throw at first sight.

Andru says I could always set fire to the door. itll burn and then we can walk in....

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9 Man we're all rolling low there

Unknowing whats going on at the door-but trying not to stifle a laugh at how utterly calm this conversation seems to be... Zupon remains observing above us at the tower and the walkway fearing flanking.

How high was the tower again?

The tower is three stories tall. The battlements are even with the 2nd floor. The tower door has a DC of 25 to break in. Each story is about 14'.

Perception vs 17: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14. Probably should've aided instead. ;p

Perception vs. 12: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24. Saw the one door there; would another perception roll be needed to spot any movement/door-opening there?

Xephkiel smiles and gives Chigao the 'thumbs-up' for the assist.

...

"Oh, calling us Calistrians, now that's just hurtful... She won't like that one bit," he says, feigning taking offense.

Halfway between switching from the saucy barmaid outfit into something a bit more skimpier in comparison [black with yellowed accents] but lacking any overt holy symbols of Calistria, Chigao notes the thumbs up from Xeph followed immediately by the unseen spoken response from those hidden inside the tower. There was a reference to a "she"; these must be the bandits that were plaguing Swallowfeld!

Halting any continued adjustments to her illusory outfit but not yet rescinding its' outward appearance to something more covered up, the novice Kunoichi sharply says in a whispered tone, "These must be the bandits of that "She-devil" that everybody at the inn was talking about."

Andru says I could always set fire to the door. itll burn and then we can walk in....

Recalling some of the scorch-marks adorning the closed iron-bound door, Chigao softly mutters, "The goblins must've attempted to do that very same thing last night. I didn't notice any locks on it though; would you be able to direct the flames to whatever is barring that door closed, Andru?"

Speaking of goblins, where are the rest of them now? Chigao ponders upon that last bit when her eyes suddenly spot another door from the tower leading to the crenelated battlements. Pointing an illusory engloved hand to that very door she spotted, the Young Kunoichi says aloud, "Up there- another door from the tower leading to the battlements."

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Kurian hears nothing suspicious, and not particularly assessing the architecture, doesn’t really understand the importance of various portals, or how they might interact with the current situation.