"Like viper" Swiftstab grins, staring upward at the bue sky above the chasm "Fast like and precisely where I want. Dexterity if you like that word. Granite was all about strength. He was rare. Us Goblins, we mostly use reflexes. Be faster then the tall-folk. Move faster and fight smarter. Stonefists is like falling rock, gyou not see coming till he splits yer skull."
He felt something stroke his bare foot and looked. A fish was inspecting his toes to see if they were edible. Swiftstab kicked, but as soon as he pulled his foot back, the fish already jumped and swam away.
If he does see the rock, he moves out of the way...
Swiftstab shrugged and relaxed again.
Swifty raises his eyebrows. If memory served him, he had been playing with the thought of offing this grey bozo just minutes ago. Or was that hours? Hard to say, the stream seemed to have some slightly intoxicating effect on him. What ever it was it was at least very relaxing. He smiled.
Oh, right he asked me something. What do I want? "Ehm, hows about an amulet that makes my fists somewhat more... efficient in their strikes? Would that be possible?" ((amulet of mighty fists with the agile special ability instead of enhancement))
sorry, was unsure if it was still waiting for something, no problem ;)
Swift blinks his eyes for a moment. Where did he end up? Good question. He had assumed he had simply landed in the river or something but he wasn't quiet sure. He looked about and answered then.
"I dunno, floating above the river it seems. There's rocks but you can see that f..."
Oh, he forgot. It wasn't the bird that asked him that question it was the person that send the bird who asked the question. Bird was just the messenger. It had rules or something. Its name first he believed, so that the bird knew you were talking to him.
"Purple Fixen," then came the message. "Tell him I am floating above the river, in some kind of magical stream. I see the cliffs on both sides, but with purplish mosses on it. There's some strange fishies here too, seems like they swim in the air, but theys really just floatin'in the magic stream too. I am floating... Northward, sun at my back it seems. All I did was believe real hard that the riddle was true and that the protectors would somehow catch me and all would be okay. Forget the ropes and safety stuff, only blind faith can save your butt."
And finally, the person you wanted the message send too. Now go find Five and tell him.
does the raven fly of? I mentioned its name, then spoke some words which it should see as a message, and the last sentence had "go tell Five", so even if it is not all intentional I do believe I filled out the complete procedure. I think.
There was an odd sensation of water on his skin, yet he did not feel cold or gasping for air. He was breathing though, and he could hear the rapid beating of the blood in his ears. He was alive and very much so! He opened his eyes, a little unsure how the falling sensation had ended so abruptly without the seemingly inevitable collision. Oh he had hit some body of liquid al right, but nothing compared to that of a real cliff-dive. He was floating now, facing up to the sky. There was a bird fluttering over him.
"Hello little one. You are Five's right? Purple Fixen I think he called you. I am fine. Not dead is always good. Unless your being tortured or roasted alive. Then dead would be better. Go tell Five I am al right."
will save:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
There is fear in Swiftstabs mind but there can be no bravery without fear. He made his choice when he leaped over the edge and all he can do now is hope and have faith. Either he was right to trust in the protectors, or he was wrong and will be dead in a moment. No use thinking about it more then that and so he holds faith that he did the right thing. To avoid second guessing, he closes his eyes and lets come what is to come. Grandmaster Granite would be proud. Or laughing his wrinkled old ass of. A broad smirk appeared on the round green face.
Swift looks up then back at Five
"Nah just a soul-devouring stack of papers bound in human skin. Nothing useful in there, just stupid riddles."
He hands the book back without even opening it. He doesn't know whether Five is being deathly honest or blatantly bluffing, but he decides it aint worth the risk.
A bit annoyed he walks of back to the cave entrance to see if there is something he missed.
'trust in the protectors, the farther you leap with your soul the safer you will be.' "Thats it. Leap with your soul. Its not how far you jump, but just how much blind faith you have."
The little green man spreads his arms, then takes just a small leap to be clear from the rocky cliffside. The next moment, he is sailing freely through the air, plunging towards the canyon floor 300 ft below.
He sure as hell hoped he had guessed the riddle right...
With some hesitation he accepts the book. All anger seems to have washed away and the faintest hint of fear replaced it.
This was the book he read about the town in?! All of a sudden Swiftstab wasn't all that sure anymore if they should even go to the town.
"Is this town even a humies town, or is it all demons and devils or somethin? What em..." he swallowed, somewhat afraid to ask "what page or chapter is it on?"
The little green man was now hissing the words through clenched teeth.
"We walking for full day, climbing cliffs, dodging demon-dogs, fountain spirits, flying snakes and fire-worms, jumping down chasms and then you say 'Gwoops! Wrong cave'. Why not just use stupid book?!"
Swiftstab's muscles started tensing up, like a snake poising itself to strike. The piece of parchment in his hand wrinkled as he clutched his fist around it.
sense motive:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
The two red beads turn up to face Five.
"You coppied it out of a book. One line from an entire chapter. That is in your possession. Why not use paper as pagemarker and read the book? Where is book? Don't say truck. If you say truck, kill you I will. Slowly. Then feed you to flying snakes. Who still have Gearhead. Do flying snakes eat metal? Or flesh? Probably flesh. So where is book now?"
After a long moment of contemplation over the short message, Swiftstab once more speaks up. "Five, how did you come by piece of paper and gwhere you learned of this supposed town and festival?"
He looks up to the grey man suspiciously but the anger and agitation seem to have ebbed away. Assuming Five was not a backstabber - he did after all came down here into the nest with them eventually - what other possibilities were left? Had he simply misinterpreted some ancient text? Had someone been playing him? Or was there simply a last piece missing to the directions that their leader had been given?
Its not that I cant interact in character, its more that I want to be sure nothing is "forgotten to mention". To me as a player/gamer, this note makes no sense. Not because of the words that are on it, but for the things that seem to be missing. That is why I kept asking these questions. But I'll accept that this truly is the whole note that Five has been examining during the trip and various stops and draw my conclusions from there.
wasnt there also something about the cave where we left the trucks? The fountain with the voice? Surely there must be more on it then the riddle, and it makes little sense to write a roadmap fragmented in different languages so I'm assuming the other language scribbles are his own side-notes. And is the cliff riddle the last one or does it hint at another obstacle after this one before reaching that town of theirs?
"Top of the cliff? We jumped down a long way! Makes no sense it does, no sense at all! Show me hints. Stupid snake-tongued wisecrackers."
Swiftstab holds up his hands for the parchment. He is clearly agitated.
"if right cave was up, then why put up rope halfway down? No sense at all!"
Could I get the complete write-out of the note? Swift does read draconic
Swiftstab straightens his back and glares angry at Five. "Pretty rock is good and all, but this no town or trail. Gwhat's you playing wise guy?"
He cracks his knuckles to try and seem more menacingly. "And Gearhead now lost cuz of this stupid cliff-jumping thing."
What Ida says. Its pretty difficult to determine the exact reach of a tentacle or snakes coil, until it lurches up to its full stretch. Which we now have seen.
Swiftstab grumbles and curses as Five doesnt appear to come back or reply. "That no-good grey skinned son of an elf has set us up!"
He rapidly moves back into the cave to see how things are going. He curses some more when he sees Balthe down for the count and
Elo badly wounded. He swiftly ducks under the fire-worms tentacles...
acrobatics tumble vs CMD:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20
... to come up with a hard punch to the beak.
stunning fist:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20 Fort DC 15
damage:1d4 ⇒ 3 (+1d4 bleeding on the worms turn, to be rolled by GM)
Swiftstab looks up in complete bafflement for a moment, then regains his breath and yells up the chasm at the top of his lungs. "WHAT THA NINE HELLS YA MEAN 'WRONG CLIFF'?! GET YOUR UGLY GRAY BUTT OVER HERE YA PIECE OF POINTY EARED TALL FOLKISH SON OF AN ELF, OR I'LL COME UP THERE GIVE YOU FIVE UP YER SNICKYDOODLE-DUNGHOLE!!!" And yes, that is my actions for this turn
Swiftstab sighs when he sees Five standing outside the way they came.
"Yo oldy, you coming or what? This stupid trip was your idea!" he yells up to the cliff.
Okay, lets think this over. People from town are likely tall-folks, so little maggot-invested hole is useless for them. Either there is a secret switch to make passage open, or this is wrong way. Better ask five if instructions have a hint
He sneaks back out and pulls Five's arm to follow him a bit back out of hearshot from the sleeping maggots.
"Kay, whats them lizard tongues write you? There be dead-end cave with maggot-holes, too narrow for tall folks. How them townies get in?"
stealth:1d20 + 22 ⇒ (19) + 22 = 41 Goblins too
Swiftstab sneaks closer to one of the holes where he had seen one of the worms rouse a bit to see if it had fallen back to sleep. If it would move when the group sneaked past, so he decided, he would smash it before it alerted its kin.
if it wakes up:
attack vs flatfooted:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15 damage:1d4 + 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + (1) + 3 = 5oi damn... bad time to roll lousy damage...
The maggot also receives another 1d4 bleeding damage on its own turn.
Swiftstab stalks several feet back to where the group is coming and steps forward from the shadows. "Shhh.... Worms ahead."he whispers"Worms in holes with tentacles, spikes and black-hole magic. Make less noise."
knowledge dungeoneering:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
Swift instinctively ducks into a corner when the vague eerie light suddenly illuminates the area. He tries real hard to remember if he knows any aberrations that resemble these worm-like beings or any that produce light effects when sensing life force.
He also thinks over the different creatures he found in the Pandora's Nature encyclopaedia
know nature (untrained, but I did take that book from the crates to read through so I can always try):1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Dead end? Huh... This town REALLY doesn't want to see visitors. A secret cave to leave the truck, a long climb along a steep cliff, a hound-pound, a magic fountain, an invisible half-bridge down a deep chasm with flying reptiles nest and now a dead-end bone-filled hole-wall? Must be another secret door around here somewhere then. perception search:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
Swiftstab searches the holes carefully for a lever to open the secret door, still clamping to the shadows for stealth.
Swiftstab pretty much vanished from sight as soon as he put his first steps into the cave. (DC 39 stealth vs perception, in shadowy lighting... good luck)
With the tall folk on his trail, the little goblin scurries ahead. When he reaches the far end of the 15 ft tunnel, he searches the ground intensely for a moment perception vs traps:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
He decides with absolute certainty that no traps are pressent at this particular point.
Swiftstab shakes his head. That thing was insane, no doubt about it. He then goes to venture into the cave entrance to see if all is safe for passage.
stealth:1d20 + 22 ⇒ (17) + 22 = 39 perception:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
Carefully he wiggles his way past the stony spikes into the cave. hopefully this town would present itself soon cause he did not like going so far from his truck.
root of 30^2 + (60-10=50)^2 (remember, the first rope was anchored 10ft below the cliffs edge) = is just under 60 ft diagonal distance.
30ft rope + 50 ft rope - 5 to 10 ft for loop and knots = 70 to 75 feet rope. Should clear the distance with ease. In fact, if balthe can TIE that rope down somewhere or hold it tight, the rest could climb down that rope rather then having to jump or drive straight into the canyon...
climb:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16 ((good for about 15 ft))
Carefully, one foot at a time, Swiftstab climbers down the rockface.
climb:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24 ((good for another 30 ft))
And when reaches the opening, he lets himself drop the remaining 10 ft.
"Whohohooi! Anyone seen Gearhead? Took a nasty tumble, the idiot."
Swiftstab blinks in utter bewilderment as he stares after the group jumping over the edge. Especially the little gearhead he was just speaking to and who decided to take a tumble rather then devising a more cunning solution.
"Tellin ya, there be kobolds laughing their asses of somewhere close."
And with that he too backs up and takes a running start at a headlong cliffdive.
acrobatics:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (19) + 12 = 31 "WHO_HOHOHOOI!!!"
The little bugger soars through the air like a bolt launched from a crossbow. His jump is so great even, he makes it all the way across BEFORE starting his descend, smacking face first straight into the wall, way above the caves entrance. Desperately he tries to grab hold of the rock rather then plunging straight down.
acrobatics:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30
His hands find some handholds to grab. Now all that was left was climbing down.
climb:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
Eh wha? 30 horizontal, then 60 down?! 10 feet rock climb + 30 ft rope = 40 down... Even with a perfect toss, Balthe would still be at least 20ft short! These townfolk must be truely sadistic. Have they mad an invisible staircase that stops 5ft short from the cliff?! Jump forward 5, down 35 to land on the uppermost step, or be smacked back first into the edges of it if you jump TO FAR!
Are you sure you got your math right on this obstacle?
Ah, sorry, forgot it. Normally I do include it. It was the intelligence check you asked.
I have edited it into the post.
Also did, you know professional midget tossers can reach about 10 to 13 ft?
And were tossing full grown men blindly over cliffs as improvised throwing weapons? According to the rules of pathfinder with a 10 ft range increment up to 5 increments for an astonishing 50 ft throw! Albeit at a 5x-2 -4 = -14 penalty on the throw at an invisible target... A leap of faith indeed.
Swiftstab, looking at the note, has a hard time reading it. Oh he knew Draconic al right, their neighbouring tribe spoke it as their main language. But those kobolds sure did not use the full sentences the dragons did. Where here it read "And when thou takes/leaps to the sky upon the wings of faith/conviction/unwavering certainty, thou shalt not plunge/descend (rapidly) forlorn in eternal twilight, but be caught/held aloft/arrested and harboured/sanctuaried (is that even a word?!) by thine trust" the kobolds would simply have written "Go nutz, jump cliff! Catch you we will! Maybe..."
"Oh boy. Stupid lizard-tongue. Hates that language. Well, aim for entrance, feet first. Perhaps pop a few rounds of yer crossbow ta see if theres anything ta hit down there." intelligence:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
Then he remembers how he first met the Claptrap. "Hey gearbox, youztill gots that falling cloak of yours?"
I am all for continuing, though I am not much used to socializing for socializings'sake. At least not with adventuring games. But I should be able to adapt if thats part of this campaign.
But as far as enthusiasm goes, I still have half a dozen plans with this little bugger. ;D
Swiftstab thinks about Five's instructions for a bit. Tie someone to the rope and then throw him? Well, to throw someone, you need some rope left, thus pull it up first. It is ten feet down, need about five feet to make a decent knotted loop around the middle, so that would leave you about fifteen foot. And then you throw him over the edge... To have him smack against the wall ten plus twenty-five is thirty-five feet below.\
"That makes no freakin sense at all. Give me those notes of yours, cuz what your suggesting is giving someone a running start to a mountainsized face-palm! If that's really what it says right there then they are watching us right now, waiting till they can laugh their asses."
The little goblin holds up his hands trying to snatch the notes Five is reading.
Have been out of of town for a few days. Wacken Open Air festival. Will read up swiftly and pick up the pace.
And yeah, didn't really think about small talk with the other crewmembers much. Should have picked up the "Five's gonna be busy for X time, sandbox mode now active" kind of hint.
"Townspipple needs way in and out too. Must be secret passage then. Like with tunnel from trucks. Maybe if you finds tracks or worn away spots, you know where secret passage starts."
Swiftstab begins eyeing the ground more closely for spots that seem unusually smooth, as if people have been standing and walking it really really often, perception(search):1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10 but doesnt seem to find anything of such nature
This is fun, its just like the treasure seeking game that we used to play with the kobolds when we were kids! Jup, there's another of them blue markers! Oh how much fun that was. Especially once they found the treasure chest, in the centre of a pit trap. The surprise on their faces when they couldn't resist their curiosity any longer and opened the chest while being trapped in the pit only to find out it was filled with venomous scorpions! Ah, fun times indeed. I miss being a kid.
Swiftstan looked up from his trip down memory lane when he here's the voice of a woman. Did she say something about slapping Five?
There was the squeeking sound of the rolling gear box.
And a hollow bang and a gruff voice yelling. Balthe or Jack?
Didn't matter, sounded as his band.
As he closed in there was another voice. A beautiful voice that he couldn't place.
will:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
It seemed to try to persuade him somehow, but Swiftstabs didn't give in that easily.
"Hey guys, I found puppies! What's with the gearbox?"
Silent as a butterfly, Swiftstab slips over to where Ida had pointed.
Oh, wow! Now that's a big dog! But they call this a nest? There's no eggs here at all! Only these weird dogs and... Oooh! Puppies! They's so cute! Better go and ask rest first if we can keep one.
Swift scuttles back to the cave to call the rest in, only to find that the group is gone.
Huh? Where's them tall folks gone of to?
He decides that the most likely scenario is that they simply moved on without him, so he follows the caves until he sniffs a breeze of cold air.
Ooh, big trees! Perhaps here there be special sleep flowers like in nature book! Better be careful, and keep eyes open for special flowers. Might even have black lotus or scorpionflower. Or green pepper! With a bit of basil and sage on sweet 'tators and fish! Rabbit stew would be nice too. What was I thinking about again? perception:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12 ((for 'special' vegetation))
survival:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15 ((for finding clues as to where the team went and no, I don't have track feat or scent))
sense motive:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24 ((a "what would Five do?" thought. It's kinda far fetched though, so you may ignore this if you so think ;) ))
swiftstab uses the conversation as cover to take to the shadows. Not very difficult, since light is minimal at best in here anyways.
"Ooh, nesting she says. Eggs that means! Wonder what skags look like though..." stealth:1d20 + 22 ⇒ (20) + 22 = 42
Silent as a butterfly, Swiftstab slips over to where Ida had pointed.
Swiftstab definitely wouldn't invite him, he hates the cold aura. Also, did you mean scrag? If it is not a typo, then please do give some description once they come in sight. And I take it you rolled secretly for perception checks and we must simply wait and see if Ida and Elo inform us, correct?
Swift rubs his arms a bit and recovers his breath from the climb.
"No trucks allowed in town I guess? Wonder how they do trade. Perhaps must make tackle pole for lifting goods up here."
Swift climbs up right after Ida, with little trouble. "Ooh, pretty view up here!" he exclaims as they rise.
1d100 ⇒ 92 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15 "Whoops! Sorry, broke one."
He has a little trouble grabbing past to the next, since his arms are somewhat shorter, but he manages.
1d100 ⇒ 4 +92 = 96
1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15 "Wowsers! 'Nother one!"
then he reaches 98 "Eh, this one I didn't do." 1d100 ⇒ 47 +96 = over 100 ft
Heaving himself up for the last time, he crawls over the edge.
it is late in the afternoon and Swiftstab and Johnny hang back in the truck cabin watching Five as he goes about his business along the cliffside.
"Think he's looking for a hidden passage?"
Swift was chewing on a piece of dried beef. letting his feet rest on the steering wheele
"Dunno, maybe he gotta take a leak?" Johnny threw out the last remains of a big juicy fruit. It had a pear form and was green on the outside, but the meaty part had been hell-red. The last remains of their lunch.
"An alchemist! Perfect!" the green face grins broad.
"You see," Johnny explains "Swift and I have been discussing the trouble with the bandits and all, and we decided to start a 'security' company. We specialize in traps and such to protect private properties, outposts and towns. And with Balthe, Elo and Jack we would have a hunting squad to eliminate bandit cells for bounty. Jack and I can design traps, but with an alchemist on board, we could create some very special things." "Bear claws with alchemist fire; poison-tipped spike-traps; Acidsplash showers!" the goblin marvelled.
We are still hoping on finding us a druid to grow bramble fences and accelerate the growth of poisonous plants and deadly plant creatures. We found a few nasty ones in this botanic manual about Pandora's nature. Though they might prove difficult to obtain. Are going to need air-tight crate-trap to capture and transport them.
Johnny and Swiftstab look in amazement to the little gearbox tinkering away. With a hammer. On a, what did he call it? A gerande? Making it more boomy?
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Johnny asked
"Yeazzz... but where are we going to find a druid at this hour?" Swiftstab replied
"Gearbox, what kind of things can you make? Other then explosives apparently"
Then Swiftstab hears the tapping and replies to Balthe: "Ish Five back already? Cuz'we're good ta go when he is!"
Swiftstab and Johnny make a check-up around the truck to ensure everything is tied down and nailed tight.
CL4P-TP (and anyone who likes the Goldylock story):
When Johnny and Swiftstab enter the truck on their check-up, they instantly notice something is of.
"Someones been sitting on my bench" growled the goblin
"Someones been sitting on my bench too" proclaimed the halfling
"Someones been zipping in our truck and we can see their tracks" they recited together
They stepped forward and noticed something up high
"Someones been touching my hammock" gruffed the goblin
"Someones been touching my hammock too" complained the halfling
"And filled it up with junk!"
The pair reached the big square open crate and peeked in.
"Someones been storing in this crate" grumbled the goblin
"Someones been storing in this crate too" pronounced the halfling as he opened the long one below the timber supply.
"Someones been storing in this crate aswell" sneered the goblin as he opened the one doubling as side-table for the workbench.
"And he'sh still in it!" he bellowed as he stared angrily into the lens of the maintenance bot eye.
He grabbed some tool from the tool-board and heaved it high, about to smash the intruders lens when suddenly something stopped him dead on the spot.
"Whohohohoooo" he marvelled "Such pretty thing! Where did you come from?" He lifted something out of the box, right next to the claptrap. It was a shiny orb with a dark swirly smoke inside.
"Forget the orb," Johnny said "What kind of a tool is that your holding?"
Swiftstab looked at the tool he had grabbed. It wasn't one of his. In fact, he never saw anything quite like it. "Wowsers... Are these yours?" He asked the little gearbox cowering in the now pretty much stuffed table-crate. His beady red eyes gleamed with something that was either admiration, awe, anger or aggravation... it was kinda hard to tell with him.
Sounds like a plan to me. He could be the cook aswell I guess. Maybe even gardener for the vegetable-patch on the roof. Though I aint gonna let him drive, since that would be free skill points/trait that could impact a future encounter on a road battle. That wouldn't be fair. And he aint coming along on any dungeon crawls either.
Unless of course you WANT to off him, in which case he will be the second casualty (the plan is always the first casualty in any battle)
And no, no new alias. I'm not making any checks on Johnnies behalf or levelling him or anything. If he is to have any impact on any form of encounter (like by starting a bardic song to heighten team-mates performance), the GM should be the pilot.
Swiftstab hops onto the pillow that is strapped on the small box in the drivers seat and grabs the steering wheel. Johnny takes up the centre chair and pulls a chain that dangles from the roof.
BOORPBOOOOOOOOORP howls the horn
"All aboard the Gobmobil, adventure and treasure await!" yells the little goblin.
"Eej beautiful ladies, who of you wants to rub the lucky halfling?" Johnny asks "We got one more spot up front, or two if either of you wants me on her lap. I'm lightweight and a gentleman you know."
