|
 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.
|
#
¿
Apr 12, 2018 18:41
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 15:06 |
|
|
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.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 13, 2018 04:02
|
|
|
 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 |
|
#
¿
Apr 13, 2018 18:06
|
|
|
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.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 13, 2018 18:50
|
|
|
 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 |
|
#
¿
Apr 14, 2018 02:21
|
|
|
Ok, into combat we go! Casters, please declare your spells, if any. There are no spells on the enemy side.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 14, 2018 19:06
|
|
|
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.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 15, 2018 16:45
|
|
|
Ryuujin posted:Cricket Both humanoids look like they're armed with battle axes.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 15, 2018 18:30
|
|
|
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.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 15, 2018 22:11
|
|
|
There's a muffled thud from the southwest tower, and you can hear the sound of running feet. Nothing's properly in view yet, though. Faintly, from inside the manor house itself, you can hear some yelling in Goblin--those who can speak it say it sounds like "What the gently caress is going on out there?" The heavily-wounded humanoid staggers across the courtyard toward the main manor, left in the dust by his buddy, who easily reaches the interior wall--handy cover from your bows unless you move up to the edge of the tile roof and shoot down. The raven caws twice mockingly, ruffles its wings, and steps to the right on the tower wall a few feet. End of the round, since there's no melee or spells at this point. Please declare spells for next round, if any.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 16, 2018 18:33
|
|
|
 Start of round 2 The creatures shake off their initial indecision at your appearance, and some barking growls come from the door to the southwest tower, across the courtyard. The creatures you fired at, covering in the angle of one of the towers, respond angrily. The door on the tower is pushed open slightly, and a gauntlet-clad hand sticks out and makes an obscene gestures. The raven preens a bit, keeping one beady eye on you at all times. Jerol and Meredith can see into what looks like a smithy just north of the southwest tower. A goblin is visible, intently watching some short iron bars as they heat in the furnace. He seems to be paying no attention to either you or the howling going on behind him. OK, no missile fire or spells coming your way. The two you were shooting at are in cover from everyone up on the hill right now; the only target visible is the raven. You'll need to move if you want to get an angle on them again. A - Odrot B - Benedict C - Elonron D - Cricket E - Kark F - Ash G - Aelf H - Jerol I - Meredith 1 - "Left" humanoid 2 - "Right" humanoid 3 - Goblin smith Star - Raven
|
|
#
¿
Apr 17, 2018 03:32
|
|
|
Once Meredith and Jerol drop down onto the lower roof, they can see the arrow slits in the second floor of the manor building and on the tower behind them.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 17, 2018 15:04
|
|
|
 Start of round three The two creatures at the base of the tower--one still heavily wounded, glare up at Elonron and the others on the cliff. The goblin smith mutters something to himself and moves a bit deeper into the smithy; you can hear the sound of a hammer striking metal from inside. You've won intiative; movement or missile fire is next.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 19, 2018 01:50
|
|
|
Ash's shot catches the wounded humanoid in the throat, and it goes down with a gurgle. Benedict's shafts fly true, thudding into the torso of the second humanoid. It barks something that sounds like a curse and shakes its axe up at the archers on the cliff.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 19, 2018 13:57
|
|
|
 Round 3, after movement & missile - arrow next to H indicates he's still on the roof of the smithy. The two humanoids that had been on the gate drop under the hail of arrows pouring into them from on top of the cliff. Meredith and Aelf drop down from the smithy roof, peering into the dim space. The smith glances up at the two of you, but returns his attention to the white-hot piece of metal in his tongs, bringing the hammer down with a clang that echoes through the courtyard. This mixes with the sound of the door on the southwest tower banging open and two more of the humanoids charging at the pair, howling a cry and clashing their axes on the front of their shields as they come. Jerol, up on the smithy roof, notices that the main doors to the manor are swinging shut. Two more of the same kind of humanoid--up close it's obvious they're gnolls (if it wasn't already). Melee time!
|
|
#
¿
Apr 21, 2018 03:22
|
|
|
The gnolls, barking their laughs, slam into Meredith and Aelf. Their axe blows glance off the pair of shields, though, as their initial charge is pushed back. The goblin smith pauses his hammering as the gnolls attack, shifting around so he can view the melee. He barks "hey, keep it out of here!" in Goblin. Back to the next round! Declare spells, please!
|
|
#
¿
Apr 23, 2018 15:03
|
|
|
The familiar sound of arrows slicing through the air heralds the barrage from the arrow slits to the right of the manor doors. A pair of arrows from each, in fact. One lodges in Aelf's upper back (3 points of damage) while the others embed themselves in the ground underneath the two combatants. Some cursing in Goblin can be heard from the arrow slits, though it's hard to make out the archers (-2 to try and hit them). The manor doors close with a crash, causing a patter of dust and debris to shake loose from the eaves. Movement and missile fire, please. Elonron's is already rolled, go ahead and post. Note that when firing into melee, the actual target is randomized among those combatants near your intended target.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 23, 2018 18:42
|
|
|
The gnolls press Meredith and Aelf, swinging their axes with powerful overhand strokes, but can't manage to sure a telling blow on either. Odrot grunts, dropping from the main roof into the smithy roof and then down onto the ground in the courtyard just behind Aelf. The others hustle across the roof, vaulting down of the cliff and scrambling across the tiles. Melee attacks for Meredith and Aelf if desired. Odrot can engage next round if he wishes. Those seeking to get into the smithy roof are crowded together just in the corner. The others are at the edge of the main roof just above the smithy.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 26, 2018 00:33
|
|
|
Round 4 There's the muffled sound of yelling in what sounds like goblin from inside the manor house, though even the goblin-speakers can't make out what's being said. The gnoll is looking pretty nervous as more and more mean-looking types drop off the roof and its comrades drop. It barks a loud, questioning yelp at the manor, though no answer is immediately forthcoming. Declare spells, please!
|
|
#
¿
Apr 27, 2018 20:18
|
|
|
There's a flurry of arrows from the slits again, though they thunk harmlessly into the smithy roof and floor, save for one which glances off Meredith's shield, nearly hitting the gnoll. The smith yells, "Hey, I'm workin' here!" in Goblin. The gnoll, faced with overwhelming odds, steps back, tosses down his shield and axe, and slurs "quit, quit!" Movement and missile please.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 27, 2018 21:37
|
|
|
The gnoll slumps down against the wall, tongue lolling. As the doors creakly slowly open, you hear a loud pair of twannnngs and the sound of something thudding into the backside of the door. From above you, in the arrow slits, you hear some cursing in Goblin. No melee unless someone wants to attack the smith or the gnoll, so on to next round. Map goes up in the AM. Declare spells, if any. Hypnobeard fucked around with this message at 14:08 on Apr 30, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Apr 30, 2018 03:58
|
|
|
Round 5 Outside  Inside The interior of the manor is dingy and there's trash and loose bits of the stone floor scattered everywhere. The thunks apparently came from two crossbows rigged to fire when the doors opened; whoever set them must have given them too little slack, as they've fired too quickly as the doors opened. Cricket's footfalls are light on the grime-smeared floors. He can hear scraping sounds ahead and to the right--sounds like wood moving on stone--and muffled steps and cursing in goblin from above. There's no missile fire or movement--you're all out of line of sight.
|
|
#
¿
May 2, 2018 04:24
|
|
|
 The corridor continues both ways, turning at, appropriately enough, the corner towers. There's one door on each wall, north and south, on each side, and doors in the angled wall of the towers. The north door on the right side is open, but there's something blocking the lower half. You can hear movement from inside the room.
|
|
#
¿
May 4, 2018 13:58
|
|
|
 Ash barrels down the hall, neatly braces and flips over the up-ended table and crudely braced chairs behind it and lands.. face-to-face with half a dozen angry looking goblins, several of whom have bows at the ready... Surprise check to see if you can get into melee before the archers can fire at you, please.
|
|
#
¿
May 4, 2018 19:54
|
|
|
 After movement & missile fire The two goblin archers hiss as the Nine(-ish) swarm through the doors. Not reacting fast enough to Odrot, Jerol, and Ash's assault, they switch targets to Meredith, bracing by the left door. A quartet of arrows streaks toward her--one slips past her shield, driving painfully into her shoulder. The cleaver-wielding goblin gibbers slightly and charges after the arrows, crashing into the now-wounded Meredith. One of the other goblin warriors shuffles over to support his comrade, pressing in on Jerol. The last goblin, net spinning from one hand, saunters toward the main melee, whistling an odd tune. Four damage to Meredith from an arrow; everyone's in melee if you're adjacent. Attacks now (Odrot you've already missed, go ahead and post), please.
|
|
#
¿
May 10, 2018 04:08
|
|
|
 Jerol's blade bites into the goblin, who falls shrieking. The other goblin takes advantage of Jerol's strike on his fellow, burying his blade in the ranger's leg. The warrior facing Ash darts in and lands a nasty slice on Ash's abdomen. Six damage to Jerol and three to Ash. Declare spells, please, new round!
|
|
#
¿
May 10, 2018 15:58
|
|
|
 After movement & missile The goblin chef looks confused, whining briefly as Meredith retreats out of the door. Jibjack turns, and gestures with a growl: <Well, go get her, jackass!> The archers look briefly panicked as Jerol advances, the one nearest dropping its shortbow and scrabbling to get a shortsword out of the ragged scabbard. The other fires quickly at the pack in the corner, and woe! scores two strikes on the hapless, lightly-armored contingent. Elonron drops, an arrow transfixing his throat, gurgling. Cricket is the other target, and the arrow digs deep into his vitals. He's still up, however, if badly wounded. As noted in Discord, Elonron is dead, at -1. Cricket's at 1hp remaining. Melee attacks, please!
|
|
#
¿
May 11, 2018 03:42
|
|
|
The goblins, despite being heartened by their archers, fail to get through Ash, Jerol, and Odrot's defenses. New round. Declare spells, please.
|
|
#
¿
May 11, 2018 18:20
|
|
|
 Jibjack snarls, and turns to face Meredith, the net whirling in his hand. He tries several times to entangle her, but she slips away each time, deflecting it or knocking it askew before being caught. Finally, he tosses the net at her and yanks out his short sword. <Bitch!> The other goblins quail a little as Jibjack is unsuccessful, and their blows on Jerol and Odrot are weak and ineffectual. The goblins all miss, none rolling higher than a 6. Sidekick hates me, too.  Your melee attacks, please.
|
|
#
¿
May 13, 2018 13:09
|
|
|
 Jibjack staggers a bit under the blows, but regains his footing and glares bloodily at Meredith and Ash. The other goblins--one of the archers wounded--hesitate a bit in the face of the Nameless Nine's onslaught. New round. Declare spells, if any.
|
|
#
¿
May 14, 2018 17:03
|
|
|
 After player melee Jibjack, seeing his underlings fall under a barrage of blows, bares his teeth at all of you, then throws down his sword in disgust. <Quarter!> He mumbles something about <worthless necklace...> as he backs away from his weapon. Combat's over unless you want to hack Jibjack to pieces.
|
|
#
¿
May 17, 2018 03:11
|
|
|
 There's no sound from behind the door, and in fact the whole interior seems quiet. From outside, you can hear the faint occasional ring of the smith's hammer--he's apparently still working, ignoring the fracas. Benedict is nowhere to be seen. OK, moving out of combat and into more fluid time. Positions are as indicated for the folks that have posted. Loot from the goblins: 32 sp 4 cp 5 suits of goblin leather (hacked and bloody) 1 suit of goblin ring (hacked and bloody) 6 shields 6 short swords 1 net Jibjack is wearing a odd necklace:  The writing is not in goblin or a language familiar to anyone in the group.
|
|
#
¿
May 22, 2018 20:49
|
|
|
 Meredith, lantern held high, pokes around one end of the corridor, finding a lot of trash, some goblin waste, and a blocked stairwell. Odrot, Ash, and Jerol push open a door and see a mass of broken crockery and smashed furniture. The remains of a tea set--broken cups, kettle, and saucers--is set up in a hastily cleared area of the floor, just next to a large pile of broken pots and a rope hanging down from a hole in the ceiling.
|
|
#
¿
May 24, 2018 18:02
|
|
|
 Jerol, Ash, and Odrot head down the corridor. The door opposite to the area opposite the smashed crockery room opens easily.. and reveals a trashed armory. Weapon racks, armor stands, and various other cases lie strewn about. There may be a few items mixed in the wreckage but it'll take a bit to search through it (several hours, given the amount of destruction).
|
|
#
¿
May 28, 2018 13:32
|
|
|
 Meredith's door-cracking skills come in handy, as she easily forces the partially-chained door. The chain itself clatters noisily to the floor in the nearly-empty tower room. Light comes in from the arrow slits facing out of the manor house, and the light coming in reveals a ladder attached to the wall across from the door. It extends to the ceiling and ends in a closed trap door. Save for a few bits of wood and trash here and there, the room is empty.
|
|
#
¿
May 30, 2018 02:00
|
|
|
 Jerol heads down the hall, pushing open the first door, revealing a room similar to the ones Meredith found on the other side--empty save for some trash and perhaps a shard of wood here and there. The second door, however, is sturdier and less worn. Jerol pushes hard to open it, and is flung back across the hall by a strong discharge of purple electricity from the metal fixtures. The door swings open, thudding heavily against the wall inside the room. The room beyond is some kind of library--and it's undisturbed, from what you can see. None of the trash or other destruction you've seen is apparent. Jerol, smoking slightly, stirs groggily. Woof. 10 points of damage from the trap.
|
|
#
¿
May 31, 2018 20:24
|
|
|
Tired, bloodied, and sore from hauling Elonron's remains back from the manor, the Nameless Nine trudge through the gate of the Ferry just at dusk. Aelf and Benedict are nowhere to be seen, though the beaten and stripped body of the surrendered gnoll might provide some insight. The goblin smith watched you for a few minutes, then shrugged and went back to his work, the ringing of hammer on metal a constant theme as you methodically extracted yourselves from the manor. The goblins inside hurled insults, but were unable to fire at you and seemed unwilling to come down and fight. There was yelling and a scream or two toward the end of your retreat, but Kark couldn't make out the words. You deposit Elonron's body at the Necromancer's, and head into Bristlebacks for a mug of ale, a bowl of hot crocodile stew, and the scratchy embrace of a straw mattress. Tomorrow's a new day. OK! You make it back. Everyone heals 1 hp. Base XP for everyone is 200XP, plus mods. Current XP totals: pre:Cricket 230 (2500) Meredith Hawking 210 (2000) Kark of Uzbackistein 230 (1500) Jerol Cairnwalker 210 (2500) Odrot Warjaw 220 (2500) Ash Watcher 105/110 (2000/2500) 25 sp 3 suits ring mail (gnoll) 3 shields 3 battle axes You can offload the equipment at the trading post, if you like; Rasmus Pye, the trader, will generally buy things for 10-20% of value unless it's exceedingly rare or valuable. The goblin stuff is 10% of value, the gnoll stuff is 20%. (If anyone really, really, really wants to haggle or interact, let me know and we'll do something in discord. Otherwise just tote up the cash and divide it how you like. The Nameless Nine is now only six.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 7, 2018 03:37
|
|
|
OK, Ash's AC jumps to 13 when wearing the ring mail. Spell results: detect magic - The necklace is indeed magical. read magic - The text on the necklace is non-magical, but.. read languages - ...the words are an invocation to Mitor, god of protection and rackets, requesting his aid. This is a necklace of protection +1 - +1 to AC and saving throws. Hypnobeard fucked around with this message at 19:08 on Jun 7, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Jun 7, 2018 19:02
|
|
|
After some time recuperating and resting, on the morning of the fifth day, you're ready to head out again. Back to the manor is the group's decision, and the gate guards nod at you as the six of you head back into the wilds. An uneventful trip back up the old road, past the ford, and to the track that leads to the manor takes just a couple of hours. It's barely morning as you stand at the crossroads--up to the gate of the manor or back over the hill?
|
|
#
¿
Jun 10, 2018 02:38
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 15:06 |
|
|
After a bit of discussion, you retrace your steps up the hill--it's easier this time, since you've been up and down the steep slope already--and pick your way across the hilltop. You're just cresting the hill, angling away from the small cave mouth you noticed on the last trip, when Jerol hisses and points. There's a goblin, hiding behind a tree overlooking the game trail you're following. He starts as he spots you, and lifts a horn to his lips... Initiative please, there's no surprise. The yellow i is the small cave mouth you noted last trip through.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 12, 2018 03:21
|
|