Duke McAdams's page

With apologies, I am following Shuo's example and withdrawing as well. Best of luck to those who remain.

"Sure, why don't we sleep here. We can take turns keeping watch." Duke will pray for a blessing in their fight against the mysterious evil.

It's alive!

"How did we end up here?" asks Duke. He basks in the glow of the stained glass windows. "Well, a sanctuary of the gods is a fine place to be when dealing with such evil as we have faced."

Duke looks to see if he recognizes the altar as being dedicated to good and holy gods. If so, he will kneel in prayer.

I confess to peeking at the spoiler, but only to keep things moving.

Duke walks through the door as well.

"I'm not sure we're ready for that beast. But there's a door down here that might get us out of the tower." Duke listens carefully at the door. Perception (take 20) = 28.

Do we need to deal with the dragon this instant, or can we keep moving? What happens when Eiron walks down the stairs and Shuo (again) throws a coin at his rear?

Wooo! Gratz on being done!

Ooh, a sprout of life on the thread again. We await the Herald in eager anticipation!

It's good that you're focusing on exams. Best of luck!

This is funny, two fighters looking for a princess to rescue.

Duke looks quizzically at the little girl. "Lady Adventurer? You mean you don't need to be rescued?" Duke was puzzled, but as the watery dragon takes form, it was clear there were more pressing matters.

Duke looks intently at the creature, trying to discern any weakness, any clue for how it might be defeated.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

"We need to get to some dry land, and fast. I'd hate to meet that thing in open water." Any information from going up and down the stairs? Do we run across ourselves if we go up and down? Is there another broken window?

Are the four of us "in the castle" for purposes of hearing these shrieks? I'm guessing yes, but I wanted to double check.

As he climbs through the window, Duke can't help but be shocked by seeing Ritti. "What the devil is a little girl doing here?" Then, regaining his composure, he remembers his chivalrous duty. "Fear not, my young friend. I, Lord McAdams, will protect you from harm's way!"

Duke nods as Ritti describes the seemingly infinite staircase. "We too came from a cursed room just now, one where the room was inverted and we walked along the ceiling. We should see if the windows are still broken further down. If not, let's try breaking another one, and see if we wind up elsewhere."

Duke walks down the staircase, and looks for another sunlit stained-glass window, to see if it is also broken. If not, he will break it. If it is already broken, he will take some time to see if there are other windows available, or perhaps a trapdoor.

Perception (take 20) = 28.

"Okay, here goes."

Duke grabs on to the rope, and makes an effort to climb it as well. He uses his strength to overcome the stiffness of the armor he wears, hoping that Eiron's work will make the task easier.

Climb, take 10 = 10+3-3 = 10

Duke reenters the room containing the hole. "I'm not much of a climber, and it doesn't help that I'm wearing this hide" he states, tugging at his armor. He looks to the soldier. "What about you, Eiron?"

"I'm not much for swimming, especially as far as we'll need to go. Perhaps the other hole offers a clue."

Duke goes to the other room and looks at the hole, which is (hopefully) up in the ceiling. Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

Duke is again puzzled, as he finds out their "floor" is like a wall, relative to this body of water. "More evil magic. Who knows if any of this is real?" He sticks some of the chunks of floor/ceiling out the hole, and sees if it falls "down" toward the water. He also listens to see how long it takes for the material to splash in the water (assuming it does so).

Happy birthday!

(I'm also feeling old...time to go to bed early.)

"Thank you Shuo." Duke takes the hammer and pounds at the spot, allowing Shuo to shovel away the material as it loosens.

"Now we hammer!" replies Duke enthusiastically. "That is, if you don't mind us borrowing your tools again, Shuo." It seemed Shuo was remarkably well-equiped just for such an attempt at digging.

"Okay, this is not funny at all," Duke declares, frustrated by the lack of exits. In the "original" room, Duke looks to the ceiling, trying to orient himself to the spot where the very loud noise seemed to have come from, many minutes earlier. He then moves to the "mirrored" room, where he's standing on the ceiling, and goes to the corresponding spot. He starts walking around from that point, tapping the butt of his guisarme on the ground to look for soft spots or a hollow echo - basically anywhere that might be worth digging into.

***Edit***

"Perhaps you have a point, Shuo. Let me just check to see if we can't dig a hole through the ceiling from this mirrored room. If that doesn't work, we'll give your plan a try."

If Duke's plan fails, he will follow Shuo's plan, by going back into the original room and shutting-reopening the door (once everyone's back in the original room). If even that doesn't work, he'll agree that they should try shutting the door, then destroying it.

Also, group events are neat. I just hope they're not all bad for us!

Still here - just not where "here" is. Duke sees that he's in a different room from Shuo and Eiron, right? The "original" room.

Duke tries speaking relatively loudly. "Hello?!" He listens for whether he can hear himself speaking, or if the image of himself lacks any sound.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Back in the original room, Duke looks in the opposite direction from the door the party went through, to see if he can find another exit. Is there another door at the opposite end of this hallway?

Duke spins about, dizzy and disoriented. "Vile sorcery! shouts Duke. He looks about, touching the walls to see if they are real. Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
Will save against illusions?: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Perplexed, he walks through the door back to where he came - but he does so while walking backwards so he can see himself in the distance and figure out what happens when he walks through. Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Weal

Duke hears the voice, then turns left and right. But nobody is speaking. He replies to Shuo's question. "Shuo, I heard it too." Too late, he notices Eiron charge into the next room, sword raised. "Forward!" he says simply, charging through the door behind Eiron.

Duke nods at Shuo. "Eiron and I will lead the way." He grips his polearm, ready to strike at any foes behind the door.

Duke sighs in relief, shaking his unchained legs as if to test them. "At last! Thank you both for aiding me. I can see you are good men. I, for one, want to leave this hallway immediately. There is an unnatural chill in the air, as if we are being watched."

Duke looks for exits to the hallway. Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28.

Going to the nearest exit, he will either listen at the door (if a door exists) or peer through (if the passage is open). Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Duke returns the hammer in exchange for his guisarme. He prays to the gods that the key fits.

Duke waits patiently for assistance... at least patiently until he hears the loud sound. "I think you all better move quickly!" he yells. He grabs the hammer that he had set aside - it was not his weapon of choice, but it would do in a pinch.

Duke sees if he can recognize the sound, or tell more precisely where it's coming from.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Duke will offer up his guisarme to Shuo or Eiron, if they need something to reach the copper key that Eiron found. It's at least 8 feet long, so if you reach your arm through the bars, it's hopefully long enough.

After much ineffectual hammering, Duke is exasperated. "Gah! These chains are too strong! He sits down and sets Shuo's hammer aside. Catching his breath, he looks around from his new perspective for any signs of weakness in the chains, or any secret escape buttons. Having nothing but time, he will perform a thorough search.

Perception (take 20) = 20+8 = 28

Duke observes that Shuo seems otherwise normal despite his predicament, and relaxes his grip on his weapon. He accepts the offered hammer from the soldier and attempts to break the chains.

Sunder: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Duke is so distracted with hammering, he almost fails to see Shuo prepare to follow Eiron. "Wait, Shuo. Whatever evil we face in these halls, we should confront it together. If you would but help me out of these chains." Duke continues to hammer, hoping it will be effective.

Duke is about to ask Shuo to unlock his shackles when Shuo moves to the skeleton and dons the ring. As black veins creep across Shuo's hand, Duke shouts, "Take it off, it's cursed!" Duke grips the haft of his guisarme, painfully aware of how ineffective the polearm is for a half-elf shackled within a tiny jail cell.

"Well met, Shuo. I am Lord ... McAdams" whispers the half-elf, his given name curiously absent. "But most people just call me Duke. If you will help free me of these chains, I would be in your debt.

Duke peers through the dust at the soldier hammering away at his chains. "You, soldier. Do you know who has brought us to this place?"

Duke awakens to the sound of whispered conversation. He looks around at his surroundings and sees two men, shackled to the wall. "What? Duke whispers. Have we been captured by brigands? Duke turns to take in his surroundings and sees the skeleton. "Hm, maybe not brigands. Whoever put us here didn't even take our things, and seems rather uninterested in our fate."

Duke bends over, searching for any structural weakness in his shackles, or in the wall. Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

Editing this post to save space.

Duke will also attempt a strength check to break free of the shackles (and hopefully adding any circumstance bonus from anything he discovers about the chains). Strength check: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

"Ah! A castle. Surely they would accept a wandering nobleman."

Duke McAdams, ready for inspection.