March 6, 2008
Side Passage
PLAY-BY-POST THE LOST CROWN OF TESH-NAGA (Part 6)
You all gather yourselves and take stock of your journey. (Gaining a Milestone.) The passag eout of the water-logged cavern leads you to a decision point. Straight ahead, there is a collapsed sinkhole in the middle of the tunnel, dropping 40 ft. down to sharp rocks below, tattered remains of what once was a wooden bridge connecting each side. To your left is a small tunnel, just big enough to fit a man, branching off of the main tunnel. A decrepit wooden sign sits planted in the ground in front of this small breach, Dwarven hieroglyphs burned onto its surface.
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Mavarothix giggles like a child at striking down the croc, then clears his throat and gets serious.
ReplyDeleteKulimvorith pries himself free of the croc, spray's the corpse with acid in disgust, partly at himself for getting surprised, and for the beast for not knowing its place.
ReplyDeleteOOC: Spend a healing surge (regain 11). If there is time, wait for 5 more min and spend again...
[Ghaaldar]
ReplyDeleteGhaaldar gathers his spent javelins (if he can) before proceeding into this interesting tunnel.
He tries to decipher the dwarven writing if he can. (OOC: No bonus to the roll, but hey, can't hurt to try.)
He looks down the left hallway, and gives a long listen for unusual sounds. (OOC: Perception +1)
Mavarothix cautiously looks down the tunnel and in to the larger chamber.
ReplyDelete"Yes, yes! Cautious we must be, lest bad things happen!"
[Tech]
Dungeoneering +6, Perception +6
If anyone except me makes a Dungeoneering or Perception check and they roll an 8 or lower, use Careful Advice (Encounter Utility power) and grant them a reroll. I cannot use this on myself.
OOC: Everyone ca pick up spent ammunition and spending healing surges as they please.
ReplyDeleteGhaaldar struggles with the heiroglyphs, but cannot decipher the meaning of teh alien words. Putting his ear to the ground, he can hear a solid and repetitive metal-on-metal ringing coming from the passageway on the other side of the ruined bridge.
[TECH] (6)+1
Mavarothix fares little better with the sign, but can see evenly spaced wooden supports along the wall in the cavern past the chokepoint on the left. Also, the kobold's sharp eyes catch the reflection of torchlight off of something shining and silver at the far end of that chamber, just at the edge of his eyesight.
Someone is carrying a torch, right?
[TECH]
(5)+6 Dungeoneering Check
(14)+6 Perception Check
Grimlock catches his breath after his fall down the shaft. He looks down at the carcass of the crocodile, a little perturbed that he didn't make it down quick enough to kill it himself.
ReplyDelete*SNORT*
Grimlock always follows his nose and ears. Especially in the deep places of the world.
DeleteHe strains to listen to the metal ringing and any odors coming from the passageway to see what this new devilry may be.
Grimlock's wide nose flares out, sniffing the damp air. From the path ahead, he can smell the remnants of a campfire. Ashes on the air. Burning oil.
DeleteTo the left, an odor wafts up that causes Grimlock to gag. The putrid scent of rotting meat. Dead prey. Disease.
[TECH]
(13)+2 Perception Check
[Ghaaldar]
ReplyDeleteGhaaldar looks intently into the pit to see if there is anything at the bottom of interest. Presumably seeing nothing, he then starts to proceed down the left hallway, searching for traps and secret doors along the way. Taking time, going slow. (Tech: Perception +1. He will stop at 6 squares away from the group.)
Ghaaldar finds no evidence of mechanical devices or hidden compartments. He leans over to examine the pit. It is 40 ft. deep, and broken bits of wooden planks and rotted rope can be seen among the jagged, spiked rocks at the base.
Delete[TECH]
(19)+1 Perception Check
The jagged rocks make the falling damage equal to 4d12 (brutal 2).
[Drum-Haak]
ReplyDeleteDrum-Haak looks on with interest as Ghaaldar ventures into the hallway.
"Don't worry, friend. The sign merely warns that tresspassers will be mutilated."
"Bridge not safe. Side passage best. There's something shiny at the end... Much safer than big hole in ground!"
ReplyDeleteOOC: I don't know if we decided who's carrying lighting, but I need both hands free. Who's the mage? Don't we have a Light spell?
[Drum-Haak]
ReplyDeleteDrum-Haak roots around in his bag and pulls out a sunrod. He peers at the bridge with a grin.
"I'm sure a nimble warrior such as yourself could make it."
OOC: I think I am the only arcane character here, and I am a sorcerer. So no light spell. But I have plenty of torches. I will light two of them, pass one to Mava, as he is at the front of the party.
ReplyDeleteOOC: Drum-Haak has Magic Missile, so I've assumed he was a mage.
ReplyDeleteOOC: And I am most certainly *not* at the front of the party... :)
Delete[Ghaaldar]
ReplyDeleteGhaaldar continues
carefully, so carefully
hallway of sure death.
OOC: While this does not preclude the possibility of someone traversing the pit, let me describe what Ghaaldar finds.
DeleteSlowly stepping forth, Ghaaldar's heavy iron-shod boots crunch the chalky, grey stone underneath. The stench of death is strong here. At the edge of the narrow passageway, the brave warrior sees that the corridor opens wider, and has three means of egress (see updated map).
The light from Drum-Haak's spells cast dancing shadows here, and it enables Ghaaldar to see some more detail. The room he is looking into has wooden posts spaced evenly every 6 ft. along all the walls. These posts are uniformly cracked and dry-rotted.
some information of the destinations of the two closest exits can be determined: both lead to some sort of drop in the floor or lower level.
Between these two exits (at the southern face of square N7), there hangs embedded into the solid stone a round iron shield, hung at chest height. It is inlaid with an array of thirteen small sapphires and a carved inscription runs the edge of the it, bearing Dwarven hieroglyphs. A pile of wilted flowers are set at its base, nothing more than desiccated husks and crumbling, dry leaves.
[Black Lotus]
ReplyDelete"Both ways seem they would be dangerous. Though yes, the little Kobold is the safest choice to scout across the bridge."
(OOC: Nice haiku. Also, I apologize for the quiet. I'm about to leave for California until the 18th tomorrow. I'll have internet access, but I'll probably be slow in posting as I won't have a computer of my own to use, just my phone.)
OOC: Although learned in the arcane arts, Drum-Haak did not bother to study a spell in order to solve a problem already solved by the common torch.
ReplyDelete[Drum-Haak]
Drum-Haak peers down the hallway, attempting to assist Ghaldaar with the light of his sunrod.
"The shield reads: Blessed be the souls of our brothers who gave the ultimate sacrifice."
"So we may have found a crypt. Sound promising for the location of an entombed crown." Duurkala intones with a grinning implication. "Shall we to the left with the shield or the right with the very dangerous bridge?"
ReplyDelete"Do not think bridge will support... bigger folk," Mavarothix says as he looks at Grimlock out of the corner of his eye. "Best to go through path on solid ground."
ReplyDeleteOOC: For clarification, the "bridge" is a few torn scraps of rope tied down at opposite sides of the pit. Any wooden supports or planks lie broken among the jagged rocks. As-is, it will support no weight at all.
Delete[Drum-Haak]
ReplyDelete"Let us to the shield, then."
Drum-Haak studies the shield intently, attempting to ascertain whether there is any magic about it (Arcana +12).
Drum-Haak can see the residue left behind on the shield from magics long-past, however they have been removed, leaving only a faint echo of its previous function. The sorcery imbued here used to be a set of Dwarven warding runes for sanctity and rest for the dead.
DeleteOOC: I put up a new initiative / conditions tracker, with what I think is the correct number of healing surges for everyone.
ReplyDeletePlease also note: It's been almost two days since I've seen a post from anybody. At Day #3, I'll start moving everyone along on my own in a manner I see fit, which is to say, with poor judgment.
[Ghaaldar]
ReplyDeleteGhaaldar seems most intrigued by the wooden posts, and takes his time examining each one carefully. He does not touch them.
OOC: Back from the weekend. Got some questions:
1. Are the wooden posts vertical or horizontal.
2. Poking out of the floor, wall or ceiling?
3. Length of the posts? Diameter?
4. How many posts? I'll count them.
OOC: Aha! Finally found a picture that resembles what I was going for.
Delete* The wooden posts are vertical, going from floor to ceiling, and placed against the walls.
* The posts are square, about the length of a man's hand on each side.
* There is a post in each square with a wall edge in this cavern, so a dozen or so posts total.
Something interesting; Ghaaldar is actually quite familiar with this sort of construction. These are mining support posts, designed to hold up the ceiling of this cave. When you get the chance, please describe for the group the part of Ghaaldar's history wherein he came to be familiar with these. A private email is being sent to you describing the exact mechanics of these posts.
[TECH]
(20)+1 Dungeoneering Check; You are a Critical Dungeoneer!
Kulimvorith moves up to the "bridge", and peers over its ledge briefly. "Are we really interested on finding a way across here before heading into a crypt?", "I may have a way to see around that corner...if anyone cared to bring a mirror..."
ReplyDeleteAlso, as he sees Ghaaldar move into the other pathway, he murmurs to himself "Yes, someone with armor is going first from now on. My brains are too valuable to our mission"
Tech: I'll move to O14 to check out the pit, and then to P12 afterwards. I only have a 5% chance to improve on Ghaaldar's dungeoneering check, but it doesn't hurt to try...dungeoneering+3
Also, spent the weekend going back and forth to Jersey, which is terrible enough in its own right, I couldn't possible survive that and this at the same time!
OOC: Oh man, I'm from Philly orginally, I have nothing but disgust and contempt for The Jers.
DeleteKulimvorith understands the gist of what these structures are for, but is unaware of the nitty gritty details.
[TECH]
(17)+3 Dungeoneering Check
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete[Ghaaldar]
ReplyDeleteGhaaldar uses one of his javelins to sift through the pile of dead flowers at the base of the shield.
You find naught but a pile of dead leaves and twigs, left here for untold years.
DeleteMavarothix stands in the back, bow ready, occasionally looking ahead to figure out what everyone else is doing.
ReplyDeleteOOC: I have nothing to add, but wanted to post *something*...
OOC: And I'm glad you did! It helps my ego knowing that you haven't forgotten about the game.
DeleteBlack Lotus follows along with whatever the others are doing, keeping his weapon ready.
Delete(OOC: I have nothing useful to add either, alas, but I am here, just crazy busy)
Shifting to the back of the group, Duurkala extends his forearm and whispers a magical phrase. With a puff of smoke, a jet black owl bursts into existence and opens its beak to hoot.
ReplyDeleteQuickly pinching his beak closed, Duurkala shushes the bird, "How many times have I told you 'Bert? Keep quiet when I call you."
The elderly Dhaakani rolls his eyes and looks back at the group. "Hold on a second, let me scout this out." Duurkala's eyes go gauzy white as the owls eyes glow red and with a lurch of his arm forward, he launches the owl down the hallway over the collapsed bridge scouting the pass.
TECH
minor: change familiar from passive to active
standard: gain line of sight from eyes of owl until the end of your next turn
move: fly to square J15 and scout out around corner, then fly back to Duurkala, who would be standing at back of group near the bridge.
free: kick myself for just remembering familiar I intentionally picked for JUST this reason.
OOC: Whoa, awesome Exploration power!
Delete[TECH]
(20)+6 Critical Perception Check!
This next comment/post was beginning to get kind of verbose, so I redid it as a new post here: http://dmg42.blogspot.com/2008/03/mining-machinery.html
Grimlock would prefer to find a way to traverse the bridge rather than into the passage on the left.
ReplyDeleteSmall places not good.