Way of the Wicked Group 2

Game Master Diamondust

This sounds good to me as well!

If they're falling back, Tawg will be happy to take a breather. He wants to meet our ogre friend.

I might be slow for a couple of days. I caught something and my body is having a hard time shaking it off.

No problem Gildevar. Get better.

Hope you feel better soon, Gildevar.

Congratulations on winning your first combat! Everyone gets a small boon: 1 temporary hitpoint (lasts until leaving branderscar).

Yeeaaah temporary hp! Barbarians rejoice!

Getting clobbered at work. Please bot as needed. I hope to be back tomorrow.

Does anyone mind if Ceres takes a chain shirt?

Not me, we have 4. Hilda would also like to grab one.

As for the chimney, should the magic dampening thing wear off Hilda can Create Water to put out the fire at the bottom.

Another idea would be to block the chimney so that rooms below us that are linked to it fill with smoke.

Another idea would be to block the chimney so that rooms below us that are linked to it fill with smoke.

That's a really good idea, especially if we need to create a diversion or cause a ruckus!

It's a good thing Hilda isn't in the room where they are toying with the guard. She would have started a discussion on how she, in fact, does not eat fingers. The things are just skin, tendons and bone, no meat at all.

It's a good thing Hilda isn't in the room where they are toying with the guard. She would have started a discussion on how she, in fact, does not eat fingers. The things are just skin, tendons and bone, no meat at all.

If we can get down to the cooking area below, we can fry them? :P

I do have an idea for us escaping out of where we are but I am hoping to go when it gets dark. If we were able to see the courtyard as we were brought in, I am hoping that we can figure out if any of the walls up here connect to the ramparts. We could use the window to escape outside.

I'm imagining that the potion is one of healing and, since we're without magic, we can use it on Grengar and get him a little more healed up. I will take one of the other chain shirts and I am assuming Gildevar will as well.

Anyone else have any ideas?

I guess we can't know what the potion is until we have detect magic to use with spellcraft, right? If Grengar's willing to be a potion tester, that is fine with me.

Hopefully there's no good guys on the room and Ceres can get an idea of the layout of the jail, or some other useful information, once she's up top.

Walls connecting to ramparts seem like a good option to me.

Perception: Identify the powers of a potion through taste: 15 + the potion‘s caster level

Someone with a good Perception check could give it a little taste lol

^ Ah, right on Tawg, I knew there was something I was forgetting!

[g]GM,[/b] I have questions about the overhead prison image. You mention there's stairs to get up and down from the walls connected to tower and the gatehouse (but we can't get into the gatehouse or the big tower from those walls). Where are the stairs for each side on the map?

What does area 7 seem to be?

Are the only entrances to the tower and the gatehouse along the dirt paths?

EDIT:

What is the distance from the roof of the main building to the ground?

What is the distance from the top of the walls where the guards patrol to the ground?

I'm away from home so probably can't update for another 12 hours or so. Sorry guys. I will try to find some time to answer Ceres' questions soon.

Grengar, If I understand correctly you can go down the chimney - just not up and out to the roof. We can also use the window to go... somewhere, assuming you can fit through it. I don't know that we'll know until we try.

The chimney is full of smoke and brings warmth from below where a fire burns. It is large, 10x10 ft. chimney that wouldn't be difficult to climb up or down if it wasn't for the smoke, which makes it hard to what anything below or above.

From the GM'S post when Ceres when into the chimney.

Ahhh, I was thinking I couldn't fit at all.

So... how do you all want to proceed?

While the prison doesn't attach to the walls, we could still use the window to get outside, I think, and make a run for the gatehouse. We'll likely end up fighting at least 12 guards + 2 hounds (maybe more) to get through the gatehouse.

We could go down the chimney (if we can put the fire out).

Or use the window to go through the floor somewhere. I'd love to find this armory.

We can see if we can hole up until dark - not a given IMO.

Other ideas?

I wish we had an idea how long we're spell-less, but the armory might have some potions-- either down the chimney or out the door to look for the armory are my votes.

We could still try to point the ogre whichever way we aren't going.

I am for infiltrating down the chimney when night falls and question the staff that may be there. I'm willing to go down first; tiefling resistance to fire and all that noise.

We should definitely try to find the armory and prepare ourselves. After that, we should storm the gatehouse OR go for the building off to the side. That looks like a place a warden would go and I definitely feel that as soon as we can neutralize the potion that is stealing our powers away, we immediately jump in our capabilities and I think we could smash our way out of here without much of a problem.

I'm assuming the potion is one of healing and I feel Grengar should get that. He is big and tanky but has low AC for sure. I'm sitting okay at an 18 but I'm a glass cannon for sure.

Tawg wants to go down the chimney. Weapons and armor is necessary, and rations are a bonus. I'm not sure if waiting until nightfall is necessary. If Ceres shared the information, the prison is on alert. Waiting until night might just give time for reinforcements. I think we should strike while the iron is hot.

Waiting till night might be an advantage as that also gives time for that foul concoction that blocks casting to wear off.

Many of us can see just fine in darkness while not even the guard dogs have that advantage.

As for reinforcements, maybe they'll get them but probably they won't.
Also don't forget that, as far as they know, we're still contained. Basically we just got ourselves a larger cell and that's it.

Having our spells back would be a great boon, also for dousing the fire in the chimney (if they don't put it out themselves).

So it seems were are all set for heading down the chimney and trying to secure the armory for ourselves. So far, we have two for waiting until it is dark to make our moves and one for just going for now and not giving them the chance at all to reinforce.

I think once we get a party majority on either choice, that be our choice. Sound good?

Yes, this sounds good - thanks, Araton. Ceres would probably vote for going now, because I'm playing her Wis 6 as her being rash and making decisions based off of short-term payoffs and rewards rather than long-term thinking.

I also think in this case going now is the right course of action:

1. We have two entry points to defend if we get stormed, and if I'm the good guys I'm sending a crack team up the chimney while the bulk of the guard force comes through the front door. If we have to peel forces off, we'll be split and overrun easier.
2. If this suppressant potion is time-based, rather than antidote-based, we still don't know what the duration is. It could run out tonight, or tomorrow, or next week. Or it could be antidote-based. We don't know when it will run out, but the guards do (or least their leadership, if our captive was really playing dumb). They're not going to let it wear off, if possible, for the same reason we want it to: we're more formidable with our magic.
3. We have two cooks downstairs who are additional sources of information. They can be captured now, but probably not in the dead of night, when they'll be asleep. If we capture them, at the least they'll know where the route in and out of the building is. They may know where the armory is as well?
4. Eventually guards are going to be posted in the kitchen, even if they don't come up. I'd presume they have signal horns.
5. If we can get out of the kitchen undetected now, we have the element of surprise again, for a bit at least.

I'd like to give the ogre one more go at joining us, and if not, I like Grengar's idea of letting him loose. He's not prone to intimidation, but he could be a useful idiot with flattery, if we go this route ("Oh, you've proven you are the biggest and strongest! Lead the way, oh great and powerful ogre! We're right behind you and look forward to seeing you in all battle in all your terrible glory!" *Waits for sounds of battle, re-barricades door, goes down chimney*)

Oh, regarding the chimney - we have a big pot of soup, enough to feed forty guards, plus support staff, and maybe even us (not sure if we're being fed or not). If we go down now, tipping the pot of soup over may be enough to put out the fire.

Bonus: it ruins everyone's dinner :)

A question: how do we prevent the two cooks from running when someone comes down the chimney while also working hard to avoid boiling soup? Or not caring and landing in the pot for that matter.

Beyond that, Hilda can't even properly go down there without falling in said soup unless others go down first, incapacitate the cooks, remove the soup and put out the fire. I suspect she also isn't the only one in that, which means the group will have to be split up.
Now if the cooks do run because they already hear something coming down the chimney and they warn the guards odds are they'll also send a squad up stairs knowing we are split up and as such both groups are prone to getting overwhelmed.

Oh and Hilda might have 8 wisdom, be unstable and rash but she also has a very strong sense of self preservation, especially now the situation doesn't look hopeless.

A question: how do we prevent the two cooks from running when someone comes down the chimney while also working hard to avoid boiling soup? Or not caring and landing in the pot for that matter.

I got a really good Intimidate and won't get burned by the fire probably? I am open to ideas but I don't want us to get stuck on things either.

Good questions, Hilda. Here's my thoughts on how we'd do it:

1. Get the rope from the veil, knot it, tie it off on something (maybe the conference table wedged across the entrance to the chimney, not over the hole). Climbing a knotted rope is DC 5 IIRC.
2. Climb down, Araton first, someone right above him, someone right above them, etc.

PC
PC
PC
PC
PC with mobility/fire resistance
Araton
Soup | Kitchen
Fire | Kitchen

3. Araton tips the pot onto the fire (move action), and drops, (free action), and intimidates (standard action - this might need some GM adjudication - we're not trying to get the cooks to be friendly, we just want them to shut up and stay put. Coercing them to friendly is one minute of conversation. There's no rules for compelling an action from a target in a shorter time frame that I can see). I assume that they are commoners, so if we can do this, I'd think the DCs aren't high.
4. Get information, put the commoners in a cell (or kill them I suppose, though Ceres being working class would just want to detain them). Undo the rope, unknot it, and continue with our escape.

There is some risk here, but I like the odds of us cowing a couple of commoners rather than fighting guards (with signal horns) stationed in the kitchen later.

Tawg is already for going down the chimney, so he'd be right up front behind Araton. He doesn't have the best Intimidate (+6), but the "offer other limited assistance" check isn't terrible. Regardless, Tawg will happily rush into the room.

Also, I just read this part of Intimidate: "Size You gain a +4 bonus on Intimidate checks if you are larger than your target". That's helpful for Grengar.

Araton, could you just cannonball into the pot of soup and tip it over without getting hurt from the fire?

Depends on the fall height, the intensity of the fire, and Araton is a vain nobleman; being covered with soup deters from all that. :P

Loving the planning and discussion.

I'll answer some things that you would know.

1: Large characters can get up or down the chimney but not onto the roof. With a knotted rope AND a wall to brace on the Climb check is DC 0. It's also 15ft. down to ground floor and 15ft. up to the roof from your level. DC 15 acrobatics to avoid the fire/cookpot or get burned.

2: I will allow putting out the fire by tipping the cookpot (which is quite hot and will burn you but not as much as falling in the fire).

3: No magic - I have not meant this as a wall that you can't get past. You know the warden created it and made you drink it. If anyone would know anything useful it would be him.

We also have this 100 foot chain?

Is there a way we could use that to tip the pot without burning our hands?

Grengar, Gildevar, how do you feel about Araton's vote? Would you like to wait until dark or go now?

Good thinking on the chain!

I'm fine either way- but waiting seems to have the downside of possible reinforcements; I guess I'd tend towards preferring to take the current facts than assume there won't be any change over several hours.

It looks like we have three for going now. I had convinced the ogre to work with us for now. Araton will head down first with a knotted rope or chain, enter the room, and hopefully intimidate the civilians into complacency. He'll knock over the pot, hopefully smothering the fire, and letting you all in after him. I'll make a post in a moment :)

Sounds good. B/C Ceres is not very mobile, she can take rear guard.

I'm cool following right behind Araton. Maybe we should let Grumblejack run out through the door down the stairs.

Sounds like a plan. If you make the DC 15 acrobatics past the fire, you can push/kick the cookpot over from inside the kitchen, rather than while still climbing, without being burnt. I'll say the leverage from standing up means a swift shove works fine. But while climbing in the chimney requires grabbing it to get leverage to tip it.

With the fire out the acrobatics DC is 10 for everyone else not to take 1d3 (opposed to 1d6 before) damage from soup/coals.

Make a gameplay post when you're ready.

GM the imagur link seems to be broken.

EDIT: GM, is the damage from the soup/coals untyped or fire damage (important for resistances)?

It will be fire damage.

I'm reminded of the "I wanna get chocolate wasted" scene from Grown Ups.

Not familiar with that move, but I'm enjoying Grengar and Tawg's interaction :)

Think of Tawg as a very violent bully kid who literally looks up to Grengar since he's the biggest and strongest here.

For the plan, we're going to take the cooks and rations with us, find the armory, stock up on weapons and armor, then get into the tower, as that should be easier to defend and get us up and out of here?

Problem being we don't know the exact way to the armory. We know it's downstairs, but "downstairs" could be anywhere. I say we go through the mess hall, using the servants as hostages. If Grumblejack has ran ahead, he could be a distraction. We may be able to run around a bit more freely if he's drawing attention.

GM: Which door did the servant point to when they said "mess hall" and "garden"? Just so we choose the correct door when we try to leave.

Where are we at on people and weapons with these knives?

Grengar, Ceres has no need for weapons.

Tawg, sounds good to me!

EDIT: Do we want to take the rope and lock the commoners up? I'm going to assume yes and post so in the gameplay thread, but feel free to override Ceres if y'all feel different.

Tawg doesn't need weapons. He's all teeth and fists.

Ceres, my suggestion was bring the commoners with us as hostages, but Tawg would think the commoners would be happy in the cells since the cells are so nice in his eyes.

Hostages always provide complications, though, so if the group votes "lock them up", I'm good with that.

Oh, yes, I prefer hostages personally. I missed the edit window on my post in Gameplay - please disregard Ceres' post about peasants going in the cells.