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 It's morning in Zelkor's Ferry, the tiny waystop on the Canyon River. You've arrived recently, seeking fortune and fame in the fabled dungeon of graves, Rappan Athuk. Zelkor's Ferry was a bit of a shock--not a bustling frontier town, but a sleepy cluster of ramshackle buildings huddling behind a slightly overgrown wall. The people were friendly, if guarded, and your stay has been pleasant so far. Finding some like-minded compatriots at the Bristleback--the sole inn and tavern in the Ferry--you plotted late into the night. With the crow of the cock from the top of the wall, you've stumbled out to meet at the gate as agreed. The innkeep and his wife, clearly having seen adventurers before, were free with information about the surrounding area.  Odo Bristleback, innkeeper "Adventure, eh? Death's more likely, but you might be lucky, at that. Most head toward the so-called Mouth o' Doom, though few enough come back. You'd need to head upriver on the Old Path, then follow the stream at the ford. Ye'll come to a fork; take the left fork. There's a big hill, and the Mouth's somewhere up there, best I know. There's an old ruined cottage at the base of the hill near where the Mouth is. That's where you should head up from the stream. Been hearin' a bit about the old elven manor upriver, too. Some of the merchants talked like there was something unwholesome there. Normally it's a stop for them if they get caught at night, but they've been bypassing it for a bit now. It's cross the ford, upriver on the Old Path again, and ye'll see a low hill. The manor's ruin's on the back side. Mmm, mmm, what else to test yourselves? Ahh, yes, heard tale of a group that found a new entrance to Rappan Athuk downriver, in an old keep near the Fens. You'll need to head cross the Canyon and follow it toward the marshes. You'll see the towers up a hill. Don't go into the Fens themselves, though, we've heard that the trolls have been riled up by something and they're watching the river close." As everyone gathers just inside the gate with the crow of the cock, you must decide where to start your tale! These dungeons are "warmups" for the main area of Rappan Athuk, to get everyone in a decent state of mind. They're all within a morning's travel of Zelkor's Ferry. I'm generally going to elide overland journeys unless you all decide to make it the focus--e.g., if you decide to travel to the most well-known entrace to Rappan Athuk, that's a multiple-day trip and we'll play that out. In general, I assume things in regular text are IC and italics are OOC. Please put your character's name in bold at the top of your posts. When we get into combat, if you want to track your current HP and any status effects under your character's name that'd be handy, but it's not necessary.
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Apr 12, 2018 18:41
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 09:34 |
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 Jerol Cairnwalker Jerol looks around the rest of the Nameless and sees the indecision on their faces, "I'm inclined to investigate the elven manor first, I've heard tell the elven lord there may have succumbed to madness. Not good to leave mad elven lords free to roam the countryside. Anyone have a better idea?"
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Apr 12, 2018 19:02
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Meredith Hawking "Aye, the manor sounds good to me. Elves are rich, even dead ones." Meredith pats the pockets of her satchel, eventually pulling out a carrot and biting into it. "Better than getting lost in some rotten swamp, at least. And that 'new entrance' smells of treachery, if you ask me." megane fucked around with this message at 05:12 on Apr 28, 2018 |
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Apr 12, 2018 19:12
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 Cricket 5/5 HP, AC 11, 15 ST (+2 vs pois/prlz.) Cricket is thoughtful for a moment, taking in the appearance of the others who have come together to tackle Rappan Athuk, before finally speaking. "I am not sure about the elven manor. Rumor from some guards is that there were a couple of giants there throwing rocks, apparently they lost six guards in the attempt."
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Apr 12, 2018 19:37
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Benedict "Perhaps before we tackle giants, mad elves or the like, we should get ourselves a base of operations from which to tame this land." "Gnolls hold one such fortress along the caravan road. Attacking them in their keep would be folly, of course, but perhaps we could lure them out by posing as a rich caravan. Easy pickings. Clearing the beasts out would make the route safer and our future travels safer as well."
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Apr 12, 2018 19:55
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Elronron Figglewortmegane posted:Meredith Hawking "And our distant pointy-eared relatives usually dabble in the arcane, or at least play at it through layers of pomp and patois. In any case, better than a swamp, yup. Definitely better than a swamp." ritorix posted:Benedict "...and I'd bet someone would offer a bit of gold for our services, no doubt. It's a win-win!" "Stronghold, giants, terror swamp, got it. Got it!" Elronron begins to scribble out disjointed "plans" in his journal. Anomalous Amalgam fucked around with this message at 23:38 on Apr 12, 2018 |
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Apr 12, 2018 22:35
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Odrot Warjaw Odrot peers beyond the gate as his new party discuss their plan of action. He remains quiet for the most part, letting the rest of the party speak until he hears mention of giants and finally he states, "A manor could be as good a base of operations as a gnoll fortress, and most likely a lot cleaner. My vote is we head for this elven manor and see if the rumors about giants are true."
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Apr 12, 2018 22:42
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Kark of Uzbackistein "Agreed, a base of operations that isn't a stinking gnoll fort would help a lot. Although I would like to clean the Mouth of Doom as soon as possible, in Bracer's name" Kark says with a bright smile to the others.
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Apr 12, 2018 23:02
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Ash Watcher The Elven Manor sounds like the best approach to me. Manor means money and light fortifications. Believe me, you don't want to even try to attack a halfway competently defended castle. My uncle and his eldest did that for Lord Boringstein and neither made it back. If there really are Elves there, maybe they'll help us. If not, they often have magic armor. If there's any truth to the giant story at all, its probably just Elves rolling boulders or some such. Everyone knows Giants hate Elves.
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Apr 12, 2018 23:18
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Your destination decided, you set out upriver, following the Old Path as it winds within sight of the Canyon's track. It's a warm day in late spring, and the insects are soon nipping at your exposed skin. After perhaps 90 minutes of hiking, you reach a local landmark. A worn and weathered statue of what seems to be a demon, bat-winged and goat-horned, looms above the path on a small rise to the south. Its upraised arm points off to the southwest. Another half-hour's journey and you cross the ford, wading through the fast-moving stream that pours into the Canyon River. A few more hours of trudging, eyes keen for any sign of danger, the hill Bristleback mentioned comes into view. A smoothed stone has "50" carved in it, and a narrow but clear path leaves the Old Path just past the marker, skirting the base of the hill. The north side is steep, almost a cliff--the rangers judge it climbable with some preparation. Following the trail south into the light woods, 15 minutes of travel brings you around to the back of the hill, where the path begins to climb up a to a moderate shelf about halfway up the hillside. What appears to be a fortified manor squats on the shelf, its 25' tall walls nearly level with the top of the hill. A teetering wooden bridge crosses a dry moat on the south-eastern side of the house, and you think you can make out shapes squatting in the shade of the wall, but it's hard to pick out details at this distance.  It's a bit before noon when you arrive at the manor--the trip is obviously uneventful. You're perhaps 200 feet away from the bridge, covering in the woods while you discuss the situation.
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Apr 13, 2018 04:02
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Ash Watcher HP 6/6, Arrows 80/80, AC 11, Save 14 (+2 on rolls vs spells), Spells Memorize: Sleepx1 "Of course the manor has walls. Of course it does. Well, head-on assaults on walls are still a good way to die quickly and pointlessly. Lets circle around and climb the hill. When you can't go through a problem, sometimes you can go around it. My dad taught me that." LLSix fucked around with this message at 05:52 on Apr 13, 2018 |
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Apr 13, 2018 04:54
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Elonron Figglewort Elonron nearly runs into the rear-end of one of his companions as they stop within sight of the manor. "Agreed, I'm not quite ready to face the reaper." Elonron says looking towards Ash. "If the hill proves difficult to traverse, perhaps we'll find a route in the dry moat... provided we aren't crushed or maimed in the process."
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Apr 13, 2018 05:09
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Meredith "Oh yes, let's climb another hill," says Meredith, wiping the sweat off her forehead. "Easy for you to say, Mr. Wizard. Some of us are carrying around half our weight in metal." She points at the wall. "There's gotta be a front gate somewhere. If you ask me, that's the way in. If anybody tries to stop us, we can use 'em as a battering ram." megane fucked around with this message at 14:32 on Apr 13, 2018 |
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Apr 13, 2018 06:13
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Jerol Cairnwalker HP: 18/18 AC: 16 Saving Throw: 14 "Let's not be breaking that which don't need breakin'. A quick hike up a hill could show us what is inside the wall."
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Apr 13, 2018 13:27
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Benedict With sword and shield at the ready, Benedict nods towards the hill. "A quick look from above is advisable. If anything is tossing giant rocks I've like to know beforehand."
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Apr 13, 2018 15:34
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Aelf Having stayed silent most of this time, Aelf continues to scan the surroundings, keeping a particular eye out for anything humanoid or bestial. Actions over words, as his father used to say.
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Apr 13, 2018 16:17
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Kark of Uzbackistein "Since you are all so nicely agreeing with each other, can we get moving?" Kark asks with a bright toothy smile, sling idly spinning in his hand. His shield (oversized for his tiny frame) and hammer hang on either side of his backpack.
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Apr 13, 2018 16:52
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 Map of the exterior as seen from your vantage a bit further down the hill. The red X marks the location of the figures you can make out. Click to embiggen. Circling around the hill takes a good half-hour, particularly as you're trying to move quietly away from the manor. As far as you can tell, you haven't alerted anyone--or at least there's no overt response. The slope on the north side of the hill is steep, but isn't quite a cliff--the experienced climbers in the group (that would be the rangers and the monk at this point) think it's a simple climb, particularly once some ropes are attached at the top and the weaker climbers can be assisted. Climbing up is straightfoward--you can do it, it takes about an hour to get everyone up--but since you're trying to be quiet about it, you've got a 25% chance of messing up and making more noise than you should. As noted in the Discord, you'll all make it to the top, it's just a question of how quietly and/or how injured you get. Hypnobeard fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Apr 13, 2018 |
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Apr 13, 2018 18:06
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Cricket 5/5 HP, AC 11, 15 ST (+2 vs pois/prlz.) Cricket nods. "Yes making our way to the back, using the hill to get a better look, may be a good idea. We should probably at least try a stealthy approach to keep from being noticed as we make our way to the rear." He hefts his bow, ready to make use of it should a fight break out before they manage to climb into the manor.
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Apr 13, 2018 18:31
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Cricket rolled in the Discord, and unfortunately failed! Unfortunately, the climb up takes a while longer than you anticipated, and you're not sure whether you managed to stay quiet enough. No matter, though! Our bold heroes are on top of the small hill, moving quietly through some light woods that cover the crest like a combover. You can just make out what looks like the roof of the manor when Aelf notices a small cave mouth off to your right.
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Apr 13, 2018 18:50
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Meredith Meredith glares up at the sun. That hill climb had not been enjoyable. But she tugs on her armor and pushes her pack at Aelf. "Hold this for a second." She jumps heavily onto the rooftop, and when it seems like it can hold her weight, gestures for the others to throw down a rope and follow her onto the roof of the manor. "Look for a way in. And don't fall off, children!" megane fucked around with this message at 00:54 on Apr 14, 2018 |
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Apr 14, 2018 00:52
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Odrot Odrot takes a minute or two to secure his rope to an outcropping of rock on the hilltop. Once he's confident it won't come loose he mutters under his breath, "Hopefully you lot are quieter climbing down than you were climbing up."
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Apr 14, 2018 01:48
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 Old Elven Manor with roof Meredith drops down onto the roof, which holds, though there's some creaking and a low squeal as the loose clay tiles shift. Odrot secures the rope and tosses it over, the coils landing with a muffled thump. Down in the courtyard, you can see the figures you noted from the path earlier--a pair of hyena-headed humanoids! One points up at the noise as the pair hit the roof, and both let out a loud whooping barks. Warning bark In the southeast tower, you can see a large raven--large dog sized, at least--flap up and land on the crumbling top of the tower wall. It watches you mockingly, cawing loudly. The roof looks solid here. The reddish roof is tile and is the second story of the manor house itself. The brown roof is wooden and one story down (about 10'). There's no obvious breaks in the roof that you can see. Hypnobeard fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Apr 14, 2018 |
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Apr 14, 2018 02:21
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Ash Watcher HP 6/6, Arrows 80/80, AC 11, Save 14 (+2 on rolls vs spells), Spells Memorized: Sleepx1 Ash looked up from stringing his bow to see Megane jump down onto the manor roof. He watched nervously as a St. Bernard sized raven flew into onto one of the manor's towers. Was it an ally of those dog-like monsters? He'd never heard of an evil raven, but then, he'd never heard of whatever the hell was making that creepy barking noise either.
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Apr 14, 2018 09:00
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Ok, into combat we go! Casters, please declare your spells, if any. There are no spells on the enemy side.
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Apr 14, 2018 19:06
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Ash Watcher HP 6/6, Arrows 80/80, AC 11, Save 14 (+2 on rolls vs spells), Spells Memorized: Sleepx1 No spell this round, using my bow on the gnolls if they're in range, or the raven, or if nothing is in range moving East along the hilltop to get a better angle.
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Apr 15, 2018 02:06
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Elonron Figglewort As some of the others descended onto the roof below, Elonron wiggled his way around the hill that overlooked the manor, ready to provide support with his sling as the those better equipped for a scuffle moved in. No spells, just sling action.
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Apr 15, 2018 11:02
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Despite the warning, the humanoids and the raven seem content to let the Nameless take the initiative. An attitude they will no don't come to regret... Ok, you win initiative, and get to act first. Let's have movement or missile fire--post where you're going if you're moving or your target and to-hit roll & damage if you're going fire a missile at something. It's perhaps 75' to the humanoids and a bit longer to the raven.
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Apr 15, 2018 16:45
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Benedict Switching to his longbow, Benedict prepares to fire upon the gnolls. Putting away shield, sheathing sword, drawing bow and firing. For anyone else curious about this: [11:54 AM] Ritorix: Nothings in melee range, right? How long would it take to swap from shield/sword to bow and fire that? [12:13 PM] Hypnobeard: Not much, you can do it--rounds are a minute
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Apr 15, 2018 17:37
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Cricket 5/5 HP, AC 11, 15 ST (+2 vs pois/prlz.),20/20 Arrows Cricket stays back, looking for a shot on an enemy humanoid. Looking specifically for one armed with a ranged weapon, or failing that the one that looks like it would reach the party first. Ryuujin fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Apr 15, 2018 |
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Apr 15, 2018 18:27
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Ryuujin posted:Cricket Both humanoids look like they're armed with battle axes.
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Apr 15, 2018 18:30
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Cricket 5/5 HP, AC 11, 15 ST (+2 vs pois/prlz.),18/20 Arrows After lining up his shots Cricket fires one arrow at each of the two humanoids he sees. The first hits the one on the left, stunning it for some time. The second flies off into the shadows somewhere, failing to connect at all. First shot hits with a 20 which is more than 5 higher than the target roll I needed, so it is stunned for 2d6=5 rounds, it also takes 6 damage. The second arrow misses with a 9.
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Apr 15, 2018 18:40
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Meredith Eying the raven, Meredith heads to the edge of the roof at peers down. "Hey, shout if something tries to kill you, okay?"
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Apr 15, 2018 18:55
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Odrot Odrot watches the hill for anything that might come from behind and attempt to surprise the group while covering Elonron and anyone else staying back.
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Apr 15, 2018 21:27
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Kark of Uzbackistein Standing back on the hill, Kark begins to swing his sling around above his head as he takes an eye on the giant bird on the rooftop. It likely weighed more than he did, even in his armor. But that wasn't going to stop a good rock from hurting like a cracked tooth! 17 to hit and 3 damage, rolled in chat
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Apr 15, 2018 22:03
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The bird barely registers the solid impact from the stone, which clatters down among the rubble in the tower it's perched on. The raven turns to eye Kark, and for moment you'd swear the raven's eyes glowed blood-red.
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Apr 15, 2018 22:11
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Ash Watcher HP 6/6, Arrows 78/80, AC 11, Save 14 (+2 on rolls vs spells), Spells Memorized: Sleepx1, Arrows shot 2 Ash sprinted East along the cliff face and hastily launched two arrows in the general direction of the gnolls. Moving and shooting proved too much for the novice guardsman and neither came anywhere close to his target. Maybe he should have listened to his dad and spent more time practicing.
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Apr 16, 2018 01:53
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Elonron Figglewort HP: 4/4 Ammo: 19/20 Spell: Protection from Evil Elonron stopped his wiggle-waddle and swung his sling haphazardly. His limbs a bit more stiff from the hill hiking than he thought they would be. 5 in disc.
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Apr 16, 2018 06:58
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Jerol Cairnwalker HP: 18/18 AC: 16 Saving Throw: 14 Jumps onto the root to support Meredith, and wishes once again that he had managed to gather the funds for a good bow and some arrow.
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Apr 16, 2018 13:01
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Aelf Edit because I can't read for poo poo Sword and shield at the ready, takes a careful look around the roof, just waiting for something to pop out from somewhere. Toph Bei Fong fucked around with this message at 17:47 on Apr 16, 2018 |
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Apr 16, 2018 17:33
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