GM Cody Age of Ashes

Game Master Codanous

Exploration Activities
Doxie - Scouting (+1 to party initiatives)
Oppa - Avoid Notice (Use Stealth for initiative).

Walking up to the the towering and crumb structure Lyra is awestruck by the grandeur of the old citadel. Growing up in a small village she never thought she’d see anything outside of it.

Lore Warfare: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

”Nurralkissh kaaaareeekik.” she loudly whispered as she takes in the citadel. ”It looks like the front doors are askew, do we want to head right in?” she looks around to her fellow adventurers and then begins to look around for anything out of place.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Grayson observes Ginger's interaction with Samael with a quiet smile, finding a moment of amusement in the awkwardness of young love. As Samael returns to the group, Grayson nods in acknowledgment, his expression one of understanding and support for his fellow adventurer.

Approaching the towering structure of Citadel Altaerein, Grayson feels a mix of trepidation and determination. The sight of the crumbling stone and overgrown vegetation serves as a stark reminder of the challenges they are about to face. However, the plumes of red smoke rising from the citadel's central tower spur him into action, his resolve strengthening with each step.

As Lyra suggests heading in through the partially ajar front doors, Grayson considers her words carefully, weighing the risks and possibilities. "It may be our best option," he replies, his voice low but steady. "But let's proceed cautiously. There's no telling what we might find inside."

With a glance towards his companions, Grayson leads the way towards the entrance. He, then, draws his sword with a smooth, practiced motion, the familiar weight of the blade reassuring in his grip. With a steady hand, he readies his shield, positioning it protectively in front of him as they approach the partially ajar front doors of Citadel Altaerein. His senses are alert, every muscle poised for action as they prepare to venture into the unknown depths of the ancient fortress.

Samael goes up, just to the right of the doors, with his bow out.
Avoiding Notice (Stealth): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Battered, reinforced doors hang ajar at this main entrance to Citadel Altaerein, once the headquarters of the Hellknight Order of the Nail. Above the doorframe, a tarnished seal depicting a sunburst made of nails stands out in relief on the keep’s stonework. Under the seal runs a worn but clear line of carved text.

It is easy to see the scrabbling marks on the bolt locks of the great doors from years of looters or monster intrusion. It is also evident the doors are not locked, since they are partially ajar, not enough to see easily into the foyer beyond however.

There does not seem to be any threat in the overgrowth around the entrance. The hinges up close are rusted, and would likely make a loud noise if they were thrown open. Samael does suppose that carefully opening, or squeezing through might be possible without any loud sounds but would require single file entry.

Samael listens carefully: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

Samael motions to the others to communicate what he hears via hand signals.

Diplomacy? Deception?: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

He appears to be confusing the issue.

"Can anyone here read Infernal? And there's something behind the door" Violant asks/remarks in Taldane, while casting Detect Magic next to the door.

Arcana Initiative: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Have a VTT session, will add another message afterwards.

So unless I'm mistaken we don't start initiative or turn based actions until we enter encounter mode???

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7 Perception

Also,does everyone roll perception or just those using the Search Exploration activity.

Yeah, I guess I am still learning the exploration activities, its one of the only things that hasn't just come to me naturally, but I'm working on it! I was wanting to give yall the chance to listen before barging into the foyer, especially since there are multiple entrances to the Citadel. Though I'm sure y'all would appreciate some old school combat by now. . . If whats on the other side is even hostile!

if you are okay with it i can use my perception from before.

Taking care to listen carefully as she approached the door Lyra heard the sound of creatures beyond the broken door. "Lets be careful it sounds like there is some sort of creature or creatures in there."

With his shield held protectively in front of him, Grayson steps cautiously through the battered doors of Citadel Altaerein, his sword at the ready in case of any sudden threat.

Glancing around the dimly lit space, Grayson's eyes are drawn to the tarnished seal above the doorframe, depicting a sunburst made of nails. His brow furrows in curiosity as he listens to Violant's question about the script carved beneath the seal. If she can read Infernal, perhaps they can glean some insight into the mysteries of this ancient fortress. "Don't keep us in suspense, Violant," Grayson urges, his voice low but firm. "What does it say?"

As he enters the antechamber, he nods in acknowledgment to Samael and Lyra, silently thanking them for their vigilance. Remaining alert to any signs of danger, Grayson keeps his senses sharp as they explore further into Citadel Altaerein. "Any chance someone has a torch?

"I can't read Infernal, I've always found the homophones and homographs far too confusing to try to reach any kind of fluency in it. That's why I asked if anyone here can," Violant says as she raises her shield along with Samael.

I can't make her the Linguistics nut she is in the TG campaign since well... RIP Linguistics/Culture giving a language.

So then, we don't know **what** language it is written in?

I at least imagine Infernal has a separate script?

or I imagine we all think it’s infernal but it’s actually goblin instead lol

Grayson Reeve pushes the door very carefully and slowly, with his shield, trying to keep the bruised and battered hinges from making a terrible squeak. He is successful in getting the opening to the foyer of the Citadel open just enough for all to enter and peer inside.

Lighting here is dim, even though no roof covers the entry. The large room beyond the doors appears to be a cluttered amalgamation of a formal receiving parlor and a ruined husk. Dented, rusted, and otherwise ruined suits of outdated Hellknight armor line the north and south walls; each display is leaning or entirely tipped over and missing its helm, gauntlets, boots or other pieces. Broken furniture is scattered about the area, as are what look like half-chewed carcasses of several small prey animals. A wide but dirty stretch of black carpet leads to two large doors, one to the northwest, and one to the southwest. Scuffs on the walls indicate where valuable paintings or framed documents once hung. Prominently displayed on each wall is a seal depicting a sunburst made of nails, carved in relief and identical to the one above the outer front doors. Toward the ceiling running the length of each wall, is the same motto, but this time presented in matching lines of Common and Infernal: "Savagery must be quelled in the land, home, and mind."

Lounging around the ruined foyer are four quadruped creatures. They are hairless and have blunt noses, thin bodies, and narrow legs. Their face is shaped perhaps more rat-like with large incisor teeth prominent. A thick white dander is visible on the creatures hides, even from a distance.

The beasts raise their heads as you enter, alerted to your presence by the change in light, if not the scent or sound. One growls low in its throat, the sound reverberating off the stone walls, but none move to attack, or even rise to their feet when they see you.

Citadel Map

As Grayson carefully maneuvers the door open, allowing just enough space for the group to slip through into the dimly lit foyer, he surveys the room with a cautious eye. The disarray of broken furniture and armor is unsettling, but the presence of the lounging creatures captures his immediate attention.

Lowering his voice to a hushed whisper, Grayson turns slightly to address his companions without taking his eyes off the dog-like creatures. "Does anyone have some jerky or food? We might be able to avoid a fight if we can distract them," he suggests. Keeping his shield raised, he waits to see if any of his fellow adventurers have something to offer while preparing for any sudden movements from the creatures lounging in the shadows of the foyer.

In regards to Infernal, I just meant to suggest if you are unfamiliar with a language, you are likely, unable to identify **what** language it is. I know that I couldn't look at a piece of writing and identify if it was French, Spanish, or Portuguese, as I don't speak any of the above.

Depends on whether it has a unique script and how well-known that script is. You could point at something that looks Korean and say it's Korean, right? I imagine Infernal is well-known-of enough to be able to recognize it, unlike say Galtan or Skald or Varisian which presumably share scripts with other languages, making it more of a "you have to at least know the orthography" situation there..

"I have two weeks of rations and a bit of extra money, perhaps I could spare some?" Violant says as she pulls out some of her rations.

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25 Nature

Oppa squints at the creatures trying to figure out what the ugly little things are.

"Oh. Them there are Goblin Dogs. Silly little Goblins often keep them for pets. Don't get too close though. That dandruff can be very aggrivating".

Doxie cranes her neck to look closer but doesn't leave Oppa's side. She prances a bit, looking first at Oppa, then back at the creatures as if asking his permission to go play with possible new friends.

Turning to Oppa, as he remarks on the goblin dogs she moves up closer to the door next to Grayson and extends a hand toward the rodent dogs.

"Here little goblin doggies, nice and gentle we wont hurt you, nice doggies" She tries to speak in a calming voice as not to scare them into attacking.

Knowledge Nature?: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

im thinking a knowledge nature might work for this? or a survival? which is also the same bonus at +7. GM if not thats okay too!

The Goblin dog that was growling, doesn't understand common but can sense the friendly nature of the Orc calling out to it. It gets up and pads slowly over toward Lyra, sniffing as it does so, its tongue lolling out of its mouth, dripping with drool. The white dandruff puffing off it as it walks.

Yeah, under Nature is the Command an Animal action, the dog has padded over to you, its indifferent but curious so far

Seeing that the others and the Goblin Dogs are not being hostile, Samael rummages around in his pack, finds some rations, moves into the room and offers it to the animals while making encouraging sounds to them.

Diplomacy with negative because I don't speak Goblin or Goblin Dog <<grin>>: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 - 4 = 15

Samael steps up holding out a ration bar to the Goblin Dog, it sniffs it then snatches it from his hand, cronching it loudly before dropping it on the floor, upset it wasn't a tasty piece of rancid meat and growls angrily at Samael for being tricked.

The other dogs also get up growling angrily, though none of them have actively started attacking.

Still holding her hands out for the goblin dogs to smell she continues to try and talking to them in a calming voice. Letting them sniff her hands and legs before trying to reach for a good scratch behind the ears.

”who’s a good boy? Yes yes you are.” turning her held slighting to her party members and continuing to offer ear scratches she says calmly ” aren’t goblin dogs usually pets? Let’s try and keep them calm. I don’t want to hurt them when we are here to help the goblin camp.

There are other entrances, you guys can try and backout, without the proper offering of tasty raw meat, these goblin dogs aren't likely to let you through without a fight. Its possible they are pets, its also possible its a coincidence they are here. They aren't wearing collars or anything.

Nature to Command Animal: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

"SIT! Samael says, unconvincingly.

Then Samael will advance to the NorthEast door.

Slowly backing out of the room as not to spook the goblin dogs Lyra follows as Samael heads towards the door along the north east wall. As she leaves the doorway she gestures to the other three adventures ” you coming?”

Violant heads that way as well, trying her best not to anger or provoke the Goblin dogs.

The Goblin Dogs growl as y'all retreat back out the front doors, but they are don't pursue you any further besides giving a yip and a bark as you leave, almost as if they said, "Yeah, you better run" but that'd be non sense, there's no way.

With the group assembled back outside, there are a number of other entrances to explore, though it seems this Castle holds danger behind every door.

There are four other entrances to try, one is immediately visible, the others require a little bit of walking around the castle to see how viable they are

Citadel Altieren Grid Map

"Since we cannot bluff our way past some 'dogs', let's go clockwise around the building to see if there is another way in."

"Sure. Lead the way Doxie and I have your back... though she was wondering what one of those rat-dogs would taste like".

Violant opens the door, saying that "A door must open, or it is not a door," while doing so to move the party along. "Hopefully, what is through this one is more amenable to either reason, or more ethical to deal with via violence."

The group heads South south towards the other visible set of entry doors. These are less grand with no formal reception room, and there is no visible sigil of the Order of the Nail.

Violant grabs the door handles and tries to pull them open, but finds them to be stuck fast.

From pulling on them, it feels like, if one tried, they could probably force the doors open, or perhaps someone could try to use some form of finesse to unsecure them.

An Athletics or Thievery check may get the doors to open, but may create enough noise or disruption to make your entry known.

After seeing Violant struggle with getting the doors open Lyra moves up and gives it a try. "Here let me see if I can get these pesky doors open!"

Athletics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

"Fhhruula'ash!"

With a grunt and some Orcish strength, Lyra is able to pry the doors open, with a loud squeel as the rusted metal hinges give a loud cry as they are pried open.

This dingy room is littered with toppled bunk beds and broken furniture, and doors to small but more private bedchambers hang open along the western and southern walls. In the room’s center, bed frames are stacked upon each other to form a sort of fort, with filthy and ripped bedding draped over the top to form its ceiling and walls.

Samael goes into the room. "Hello, anyone there?"

Samael's voice rings out through the dark dingy Castle interior. the only light is a a slice of sunlight gleaming through the door, the dark shadowy corners of the room revealing little.

Because of the dim lighting, Samael will go up to Lyra, and have her cast Light on him. Then, Samael will search the room. Going clockwise around the room, he will begin opening doors starting in the SouthWest. The arrow shows Samael's general path.

If needed, Samael will pick the locks (Thievery is +7).

Oppa will enter following Samuel (Perception +5)

Search Exploration Activity.

Doxie will follow as well. (Perception +3)

Scout Exploration Activity.

Oppa will also request that light be cast upon the butt of his longspear.

Lyra pulls out her Holy Symbol of Serenrae and touches it to Oppa's longspear. "Eeriikish fuul bisk" As she finished speaking it began to glow.

Moving into the room she comes upon Samael as he begins his exploration of the first room within. Touching his tunic with her holy symbol she spoke loudly, "Eeriiskish fuul bisk" as she finish incantation her voice echoed off the stone walls of the castle chamber.

I will follow along and have a perception of +7 if needed

As Samael, Oppa, Doxie and Lyra enter the room and begin exploring it, poking around the different doors and rooms, many of the doors are unlocked or have been broken open, requiring little effort to peak inside.

However, before you all have spent very long inside, from the center of the room, where the small fortress of beds have been built together, out jumps a large(Medium), hairy, goblin looking creature wielding a jagged bastard sword. Speaking in an ugly gutteral language "Gerrr Grak dor narg bark!"

Unfortunately, Grayson is second guessing the adventurer's life and is incapacitated on the grass outside. Been 20 days since he posted, not sure he is with us still

Round 1 - Home Alone?
Samael
Lyra
Yoletcha
Violant
Oppa
Doxie

i looked at the light spell again and even though its a cantrip i can only cast it on one person/item. I have low light vision and oppa i think you do too? ill retcon and only cast it on Samael

"Yikes! that's a big goblin, the biggest I've ever seen!" Lyra pulls her shield off her back and raises it while she moves up towards the creature. Once in front of it she yells and attacks with her tusks.

Tusk Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Damage(piercing): 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

action 1: shield raise
action 2: move 5 feet
action 3: attack attack

◆ Recall Knowledge, Society: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

◆ Samael steps forward

◆ He holds his hand in front of Lyra, and says, "Are you part of the Bumblebrashers? Warbal sent us to you." Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Round 1 - Home Alone?
Samael
Lyra
Yoletcha
Violant
Oppa
Doxie

Garbling in a heavy thick accented common, "Ain't no Bumblebrasher!"

The Large Hairy Goblin then swings her her big jagged bastard sword at Lyra.

Bastard Sword 1H: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19 damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

She then tries to grapple Lyra, grabbing her, Athletics DC17: 1d20 + 7 - 5 ⇒ (20) + 7 - 5 = 22 That's a critical success, so you are Restrained until the end of Yoletcha(the big goblin)'s next turn unless I move or you escape

Finally with Lyra grabbed and restrained, she settles her cruel eyes on the other poor fool next to her, swinging her bastard sword at Samael.

Bastard Sword vs Samael: 1d20 + 10 - 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 - 10 = 16 damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Slipping back into Utopian, Violant speaks in the language in its characteristic monotone,

Ignition: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Ignition Damage: 2d4 ⇒ (1, 1) = 2 Oof. This is why my SF character has a level in Soldier.

Violant moves forward into the building, casting a spell as she forms a ball of fire above her palm, and launches it at the creature with a flick of the writst. It goes wide after the arcane motions and chants are finished, however, and the hurled fire barely hits the fur of the creature in front of her.

Stride. Cast a Spell (Ignition fluffed as pre-remaster Produce Flame)

◆ Boost Eidolon
◆ Command Doxie to slam
◆ Raise Shield

"Sick em Doxie". Oppa points at the big hairy goblin hugging Lyra.

◆ Stride
◆ Strike
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17 Bowl over
1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 4 + 2 = 14 Bulky Scale Covered body.

Is the grabbing creature off guard as well?

No the grabbing creature isn't off guard or restrained, though depending on where Doxie movies, she might have flanking which would give it Off Guard anyways

Violant forms a ball of fire and singes the Large Hairy Goblin's fur just in time for Doxie to slam into the creature doing obvious and considerable damage!

Round 2 - Home Alone?
Samael
Lyra
Yoletcha 16 damage
Violant
Oppa
Doxie

Samael will Feint (Deception vs Perception DC): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19, and then strike: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15for (includes Sneak Attack): 1d4 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 4 + (3) = 10 piercing damage.

Then, Samael, will attempt to aid Lyra to escape using her unarmed attack bonus. Samael's unarmed attack bonus: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14