FOURTHCORE TEAM DEATHMATCH

March 4, 2008

Betrayal!

PLAY-BY-POST THE LOST CROWN OF TESH-NAGA (Part 4)



40 comments:

  1. "What are you doing?!?" Mavarothix shouts in Draconic as he quickly moves to a better position.

    He raises his bow but doesn't fire, waiting to see if anyone will turn on him and if he needs to provide Kulimvorith covering fire.

    [TECH]
    Move: Move to A10
    If someone attempts an OA for whatever reason, I get +2 to AC (Defensive Mobility), making my final AC 21.

    Standard: Readied action. If *anything* moves towards me in a threatening manner (up to your discretion) or attacks me directly, use Skirmish Shot.
    If the attack happens, prior to the attack I get to move my speed, but won't know to where until I see what happens to map.
    Attack is +10 vs AC (+1 for Prime Shot may apply; I don't know how this is handled in terms of who's an ally and who's an enemy), 2d8+6 thunder damage + deafened on hit.

    If anything attacks Kulimvorith and is within my line of sight, use Disruptive Strike
    Immediate Interrupt when he is attacked, +10 vs AC, 1d8 +6 damage and the target takes a -3 penalty to the triggering attack roll.

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  2. OOC: Sho nuff!

    Mavarothix draws his bow and scurries into the corner, eyes frantically shifting back and forth, worried, looking for the where the next strike will occur.

    Enemies and allies are kind of nebulous, so if they want to, Drum-Haak and Black Lotus could also make an opportunity attack against Mavarothix. Not Grimlock, though, because he is dazed.

    Duurkala is up and has until Monday at 10:00am to post or be delayed.

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  3. [Duurkala]
    "And thus it always shall be. Those who wish to stand tall will try and rise against those who are stronger. But not today! Today, brothers, we move against the forces of weakness and apathy have taken root within us. TODAY WE RISE AND FIGHT!" With his roaring cry still hanging in his breath, he tucks behind his shield and charges the kobold in the corner, his sword swinging snicker-snack.

    TECH
    Minor Action: Skald's Aura, all allies (i.e. Dhaakani and Grimlock at this point) on their turn may spend a healing surge +1d6 while within 5 squares of me. Someone may use this power on someone else if they are adjacent to them.
    Move and Standard: Move up to Mavarothix and melee basic attack. If he moves away because of his readied action, then I instead charge him. +9 vs AC (+10 on charge), 1d8+7 damage on a hit.
    Free Action: Listen to hear if they are exchanging information in a language I don't understand. Perception: +6

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  4. Mavarothix skitters out of Duurkala's way, then tries to plant an arrow in him.

    [TECH]
    I'd say that triggers my readied action, right? Here's where it gets confusing...

    I leave it to you to interpret how I defined my readied action. If it's triggered on his move action (by his speaking part alone that would be enough of a warning), I move to C10. I don't know if he gets an OA (it's his turn) or if he can charge me then (it's less than 2 squares). I'll accept either one.

    If his move action didn't trigger my readied action, his attack most certainly did. I still move to C10, out of range of his attack.

    Either way, he's getting Skirmish Shot as above.

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    Replies
    1. OOC:
      - If the former (move action) is the trigger, if he can't charge he can redefine his standard action.
      - If the latter (standard action) is the trigger, don't know if he gets an OA (his turn).

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  5. Alright, I got this, it ain't so bad.

    * Duurkala calls out to his allies and begins moving towards Mavarothix. The gauntlet has been thrown!
    * Mavarothix, prepared, skitters away and kicks off of the nearby wall, tumbling in mid-air, loosing an arrow with skirmish shot. The bolt clangs against Duurkala's shield harmlessly.

    [TECH] (1) MISS!!!

    * No matter where Mavarothix moves to, Duurkala (with a move and a charge) can catch up to him, bringing to bear his blade. The wily Kobold is too crafty, though, and escapes being decapitated by his Hobgoblin masters. I've arbitrarily moved the icons, although Mavarothix is really calling the shots here as to where he is running off to.

    [TECH] (4)+9+1 vs. AC 19; MISS!!!

    * Black Lotus and Drum-Haak may make opportunity attacks against Duurkala if they wish.
    * Grimlock, dazed, has until Monday 1:00pm EST to post or be delayed.
    * Talking is a Free Action. The Dungeon Master encourages everyone to post comments and hash it out. You may be surprised at the other dungeoneers' responses and opinions.

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  6. Black Lotus

    "Enough of this! We need to work together, not be at each other's throats! Foolish to charge ahead, perhaps, but eventually someone would have to touch the door. There is strength in numbers. Let us keep them while we can."

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  7. Clearly, you all have misjudged my intentions towards Ghaaldar. I was merely trying to free him from the door and it's trap. As you see, magic boils in my blood, I sometimes cannot control its power. Duurkala, why so quick to anger and harm mava, a great asset to our cause? You all just left him there, I was trying to help Ghaaldar. So please stow your weapons, I will be more cautious in the future when I attempt to save one of you from danger...

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  8. So ... what's up with the hatch, right?

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  9. [Duurkala]
    Squinting his eyes at the Kobold and Dragonborn, Duurkala sheathes his blade.

    "This time I will still my rage. This time I will let this pass." He turns to Ghaaldar. "Take heart my friend, your valor has earned you some hearty scars." He waves his hand back and forth to dismiss the smoke that rises from the Dhaakani knight then thumps him on the back with a laugh.

    He then paces over to Grimlock while giving an evil look at his two reptilian 'allies'. "And you great one, find strength in your sacrifice. You too have proven your mettle." He turns back and grumbles out something incoherent.

    Addressing the party he says, "Fine, shall we attend to this mysterious hatch?"

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  10. Black Lotus

    "Yes. Let me examine it first."

    (ooc: Perception or thievery here, whichever is appropriate to looking for traps here. I don't have my sheet with me so I don't know my mods, derp.)

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  11. OOC: Perception is generally used for detecting traps, Thievery is generally used for disabling traps.

    Black Lotus bends low to the hatch and slowly walks around it, looking for signs of any mechanical contraptions. He finds none.

    [TECH] Perception check (6)+7

    What is found is each of the eight brass knobs can be rotated. On each of the brass knobs there is a tiny aperture showing a sliver of gold.

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  12. [Drum-Haak]
    Drum-Haak moves forward to inspect the hatch, eyeing everyone suspiciously. He then attempts to detect any magic on the hatch and the brass knobs (Arcana +12).

    He also inspects the apertures of the knobs. Do they change at all when the knobs are rotated?

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    Replies
    1. Drum-Haak sees no sign of arcane manipulation.

      [TECH] Arcana check (13)+12

      The knobs can all be easily turned in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. Each time a knob is turned, Drum-Haak can hear a distinctive metal-on-metal *klunk*. Turning the knob also turns some small mechanism inside of it, revealing a different sliver of metal through the tiny aperture. Drum-Haak is not very familiar with the nuances of Dwarven metallurgy, so he's at a bit of a loss here. There definitely silver and gold in there. Those he is familiar with. There are eight different metals.

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  13. "Well, I'm no metallurgist, but it seems clear to me that these correspond to the constellations on the altar. Does someone more familiar with metals want to give this a go?"

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  14. [Ghaaldar]
    The knight takes one of his javelins and jams it into the door, attempting to keep the door from closing fully.

    Once stepping inside, he brushes himself off and says, "Kulimvorith, thanks for the back scratch. Hit a spot I couldn't reach for weeks. I didn't know your magic was so strong." The last part was delivered with some sarcasm.

    Allowing the others to fiddle with the strange device, Ghaaldar tends to his wounds.

    OOC: Not sure if I can accomplish all the above while dazed, but I'll even be willing to use an action point to keep the door from closing. Then, once I'm no longer dazed, I'll use two healing surges to bring myself up to 42 hp, with 10 remaining surges.

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    Replies
    1. Now that everyone has calmed down a bit, I will say that timing isn't of crucial importance and you can take as many actions as you like.

      Door is jammed!

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    2. OOC: While healing near me, during a short rest, you can also regain 5 additional HP from my stories of valor and success.

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    3. OOC: Thanks. That brings Ghaaldar to full hp.

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  15. [Grimlock]
    Grimlock takes his one action to assume a total defensive position. He seems to not care if either of the Dhaakani kill each other off. He thinks One less Dhaakani to bother me.

    The altercation over, and while the others investigate the hatch, Grimlock will nurse the lightning burns. Spend healing surge, 11 + 5 HP from Skald's Aura.

    He will let the rest of the party take the lead into the hatch.

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  16. Mavarothix hesitates, but eventually lowers his bow.

    "Yes, yes... Proceed we must." he briefly looks at Ghaaldar. "You good at opening things. Open hatch so we may continue!"

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  17. [Black Lotus]

    Black Lotus maintains a wary readiness, looking curiously at the trap door while keeping an eye on his companions.

    (I could swear I posted, but apparently not.)

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  18. "Hold on, you maggots, Ghaaldar's taken enough abuse. Let me take a crack at this!"

    Duurkala sheathes his sword, cracks his knuckles loudly and stoops to look at the knobs.

    "Let's see, silver and gold, eh?" Duurkala looks at the knobs and tries to set it so that four of the knobs display silver instead of gold and waits to see what happens.

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    1. With each turn of the knob you hear a solid *click* and can feel a solid *clunk*. Four knobs display silver, four knobs display gold.

      Do you grab the handle to open the hatch?

      Delete
    2. Duurkala very cautiously unwinds his rope from his pack and attaches his grappling hook. Standing back five feet (on the side the hatch swings to, so probably square L18), Duurkala leans over and tries to hook the grapple onto the handle of the hatch and wait to see what happens.

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    3. The grappling hook and rope are tied to the handle, wrapped around tight.

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    4. Duurkala pulls lightly, just testing it.

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    5. Duurkala careful grips the rope and the loops row taught. As the gentle pressure grows, an array of thin razors springs out from previously undetected slits in the handle, cutting the rope to ribbons.

      Duurkala's rope is destroyed.

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    6. "Alright lads, anyone got some chain? Or perhaps our thiefy kobold friend would like to disable the razor springs? I'm already one rope down." Duurkala backs up and extends his hand towards the handle with a bow.

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    7. It takes a few seconds for Mavarothix to realize that he was being referred to.

      Mavarothix steps forward and leans close to the hatch. He cautiously turns one dial to each of the eight positions to try and understand what the metals are.

      OOC:
      I don't know if that's Dungeoneering or Perception, but either one is a +6 for me.

      I'm guessing the eight dials need to be turned in the order they were on the altar, but I imagine I'd better know what the metals actually look like.

      Is there any indication of which of the eight dials would be "first", or are they evenly spaced around the hatch?

      If I'm completely clueless as to these metals, I'll bite the bullet and attempt a Thievery +13 check to disarm it (I can't believe I forgot to get a thieves' kit).

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    8. Mavarothix, growing up in his home Kobolds warrens, has an instinctive understanding of various metals. Twisting the knobs, he finds that they rotate easily in either direction and each display one of eight precious metals: iron, bronze, copper, silver, gold, platinum, mithril, and adamantium. The knobs are evenly spaced around the circumference of the hatch, so it is difficult to say which is the "first" knob.

      RE: Thievery. Please describe what specific activity/action your character is doing and with what tools and I will make any necessary checks.

      As is, I am interpreting your Comment as: Mavarothix stands over the hatch, waves his hands around, and yells out "Thievery Check!". Predictably, this has no effect.

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    9. OOC: :P

      Before Mavarothix gets any more creative with the hatch, he defers to Grimlock and his chain.

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  19. Grimlock reaches into his napsack and pulls out a ten foot length of chain and offers it to Duurkala.

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  20. "Wait!" Mavarothix steps in before Grimlock does something ill advised.

    Mavarothix positions the dials in what he believes to be a correct order before letting Grimlock attempt to open it.

    OOC:

    Starting at, let's say, twelve o'clock from the hatch, put the dials going clockwise in the following order: Platinum, Mithril, and Adamantium, Iron, Bronze, Copper, Gold, Silver.

    I believe that's the order of the fourth row, with gold and silver inverted. What happened to the posted image of the symbols on the altar? It was in one of these posts, but I can't see it (could be blocked from where I'm at).

    Once I do that, let the big guy yank on it with the chain.

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    Replies
    1. Since Ghaaldar has propped the iron doors open, Mavarothix can run back to take a peek at the inscriptions carved into the altar (see image above).

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  21. Mavarothix steps slowly through the open door, careful not to touch anything, to review the symbols on the altar before hastily returning to the hatch.

    When he's done adjusting the dials, he tells Grimlock "Know not if this is key, but try to pull hard and open!"

    OOC:
    OK, starting at the twelve-o'clock position going clockwise: Bronze, Copper, Gold, Silver, Platinum, Mithril, Adamantium, Iron
    (The 5th row in the puzzle image)

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  22. [Ghaaldar]
    Ghaaldar is impressed with Mararothix; surely that will be the right solution for the puzzle. He looks on smugly, expecting the hatch to open soon.

    OOC: I was trying to work up a hexen shot for the hatch, but it's taking me too long. By the time I get done, we'll be past this spot!

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  23. [Drum-Haak]
    Drum-Haak peers intently at the kobold's work; the creature's knowledge of metals was admittedly impressive. He waits eagerly for the result of the next attempt to open the hatch.

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  24. [Ghaaldar]
    After double-checking the settings on the dials, Ghaaldar steps up where others pause and delay, grabs hold of the handle and gives it a mighty pull.

    OOC: Sorry, just not a patient player today. Matches Ghaaldar to a T!

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    Replies
    1. Ghaaldar's strong hand wraps around the hatch handle, and with a strong jolt he lifts the heavy steel lid. Carefully, he removes the round disk and sets it aside. Peering down into darkness, you can see a tubular tunnel descending below. The pitch black of this dungeon prevents you from seeing far, and thus you do not know the true depth of the passageway. A crude ladder has been fashioned into the walls with rusted iron bars on one side of the shaft. Sounds of water splashing and the scent of mold can be easily observed from where you are standing.

      The next chapter begins here: http://dmg42.blogspot.com/2012/02/underground.html

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