Gus looks mildly disgusted as he scrapes pulverised rat from his hammer on the flattest rock he can find, "Eurgh, d'know what I was expecting down here, but it's already horrid."
He peers down the steps, "We all ready t'go? Keep yer eyes peeled, I fear big rats are the least of our worries."
[OOC] I don't mind you running the easy encounters. If it's just gonna be a hit once-die-repeat fight, makes sense to run them that way to keep the pace up a bit and the story moving.
Cursing the rats under his breath, Durthon takes the handholds to descend into the ravine. Turning to Gus he replies "there must be something for the rats to eat. Or some big creature that leaves enough food scraps and doesn't care about them."
Perception: 4
OOC: for encounters like these rats, having you roll for us is fine by me. If there were more meaningful enemies I would prefer to choose who to hit or which spell to cast.
A fortress emerges from the darkness. The subterranean citadel, though impressive, seems long forgotten, if the lightless windows, cracked crenellations, and leaning towers are any indication. All is quiet, though a cold breeze blows up from below, bringing with it the scent of dust and a faint trace of rot.
The narrow stairs empty into a small courtyard, apparently the top of what was once a crenellated battlement. The buried citadel has sunk so far into the earth that the battlement is now level with the surrounding floor. That floor stretches away to the north and south, composed of a layer of treacherous, crumbled masonry, which reaches to an unknown depth. To the west looms the surviving structure of what must be the Sunless Citadel. A tower stands on the west side of the courtyard.
Dwarves see:
The courtyard rubble can hold your weight but only if you move slow and steady. If you run or don't pay attention where you step, it may crumble under you.
Atillia sees:
Right in front of the door there appears to be a trap door of sorts, its the only thing that looks solid in the whole courtyard!
"Noted" says Durthon "and please don't jump, the stone here looks about to crumble under our feet."
OOC: could you use the portraits in the character's sheets for the maps? Or tell me which dwarf is Durthon to update my sheet and make it easier on my head.
With the warnings from Durathon and Atillia, Weber stops in his tracks and makes sure to follow the more surefooted party members.
"Well seem clear to me now where this places gets it's name. What did they build this place on that allowed it to sink so low." Weber scans the surrounding area for anything of interest. ((Perception: 10))
((I'm fine as well with the easy battles being auto-played for speed sake.))
Aware that he's not the lightest footed, Gus carefully steps around the edge of the room, avoiding the weakest looking stones.
"Aye, Durthon - it's the possibility of bigger beasties that I'm worried about."
"Thanks Attalia, didn't see that trap door m'self!" Gus kneels next to the trap, "anyone know much about traps? I'm more of a 'hit it and make it mushy' kinda guy."
you can see how the whole thing operates and where the catwalk is to go around it to reach the door. The cat walk is narrow, you can walk on it but very slowly and one at a time. You can also flip it open safely to see what is under it.
If you pass a DC15 Dexterity check and have Thieves' tools you can...
jam it closed if you wish and making it safe to walk on, if you passed by 5 or more you can permanently disable it.
I don't have a Thieves' Tools but I do have a crowbar, can I try jimmying the trap door with that?))
Weber carefully moves over to the area highlighted by Atallia, and has a look at the trap door. "There's a narrow catwalk over the trap" he taps the safe part with the end of his crowbar to show the others where it would be. "Should be able to cross one by one."
"Lets see what would be waiting for us at the bottom yeah?" he put some weight on the trapped side activating the trap.
[ooc] normally I would wait for more members of the party to have a say before moving forward with an action like this but since I knew it was an easy encounter, I believe it is better to keep things moving. As you head into the Citadel and the threat level increases, more actions will require party consensus.
((That's fair, wasn't really expecting an encounter to jump me in the face there!))
"Argh!" Weber shouts in surprise as the giant rat rushes past him and into Durthon's warhammer. "My bad! I'll wait next time for everyone." He takes a look down the revealed pit at the goblins and checks to see if there might be anything else down there ((Investigation: 7)).
((If nothing appears to him)) He sets about trying to jam the mechanism to provide safe passage. ((Dex check still? 4))
The goblin corpse has a scimitar and a shield, as well as 4 gp in a belt pouch.
Your crowbar goes flying, almost taking off your thumb and then almost taking out Durthon's scalp as it cartwheels through the air and then clangs loudly as it bounces across the courtyard.
"Tough bastard this one! best just cross over the catwalk, looks like the goblin down here has some stuff on it." Weber casts Mage Hand and collects the items at the bottom of the pit, before sheepishly moving to collect his crowbar and stows it in his pack.
Gus reaches for his spear, but stops as he sees Durthon dispatch the rat with ease, "Whew, that came out of nowhere, these rats are likely to be in every nook and cranny."
He chuckles as he watches the crowbar pirouette through the air, clanging to a stop behind them, "Very deft, pal," he says with a smile and a cheeky wink as Weber slinks past him to collect it.
"S'pose we'd best make sure this thing will take our weight, with all my gear, I'm definitely the heaviest, I'll go first... We all ready for this, might not be an easy way back?" Gus unstraps his shield and hammer and carefully tries to cross the catwalk.
Durthon smiles as he wipes his warhammer clean "finally got one!" and patiently waits for the other to deal with the trapped door, looking around for more rats.
This circular area is cobbled with cracked granite, upon which sprawl the bodies of four goblins, apparently slain in combat. One corpse stands with its back against the western wall, the spear that killed it still skewering it and holding it upright. Three wooden doors lead from this area. A hollow tower of loose masonry reaches thirty feet into the air, but the intervening floors and stairs are gone, except for a couple of crumbled ledges.
The courtyard you came from is Door C
Door B looks like it has not been opened for years and shows no wear patterns on the floor.
Door A looks normal and appears to have been used recently which is confirmed by the wear pattern on the floor.
There is a word written on the wall, if you can read draconic:
Ashardalon
If you take the time to look around and pass a DC20 Perception Check
Aha! There is a loose block in the wall that is actually a lever of some sort in the wall at the bottom.... do you pull it?
If you decide to listen at the doors..
you hear nothing..
OOC: I need to create a way to track time in the Citadel. Also, whoever shared all of the source books, thanks! Being new that really helps.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Gus looks around the room, walking counterclockwise around the edge of the room, running his hand across the stonework.
Perception: 17
He walks over to the goblin body in the centre of the room and crouches next to it, "Somethin's being doing our job for us, apparently."
"There's something written on the wall over there," he nods his head towards the writing, "I've seen words like that in a book somewhere, but I can't read it."
Gus turns back to the corpse and searches it for further clues as to what happened here.
The rats stumble and slip and fall as they trigger their ambush...
I rolled for Gus and one rat is squashed..
Atillia pierces one with her dart
Durthon misses
Weber blasts the last one with an Eldritch Blast..
all are dead...
you reach the landing safely and start heading down the steps...
ooc: let me know how you feel about me running the easy combats... I am still learning so a little clumsy I admit
Gus looks mildly disgusted as he scrapes pulverised rat from his hammer on the flattest rock he can find, "Eurgh, d'know what I was expecting down here, but it's already horrid."
He peers down the steps, "We all ready t'go? Keep yer eyes peeled, I fear big rats are the least of our worries."
[OOC] I don't mind you running the easy encounters. If it's just gonna be a hit once-die-repeat fight, makes sense to run them that way to keep the pace up a bit and the story moving.
Cursing the rats under his breath, Durthon takes the handholds to descend into the ravine. Turning to Gus he replies "there must be something for the rats to eat. Or some big creature that leaves enough food scraps and doesn't care about them."
Perception: 4
OOC: for encounters like these rats, having you roll for us is fine by me. If there were more meaningful enemies I would prefer to choose who to hit or which spell to cast.
from the source
A fortress emerges from the darkness. The subterranean citadel, though impressive, seems long forgotten, if the lightless windows, cracked crenellations, and leaning towers are any indication. All is quiet, though a cold breeze blows up from below, bringing with it the scent of dust and a faint trace of rot.
The narrow stairs empty into a small courtyard, apparently the top of what was once a crenellated battlement. The buried citadel has sunk so far into the earth that the battlement is now level with the surrounding floor. That floor stretches away to the north and south, composed of a layer of treacherous, crumbled masonry, which reaches to an unknown depth. To the west looms the surviving structure of what must be the Sunless Citadel. A tower stands on the west side of the courtyard.
Dwarves see:
The courtyard rubble can hold your weight but only if you move slow and steady. If you run or don't pay attention where you step, it may crumble under you.
Atillia sees:
Right in front of the door there appears to be a trap door of sorts, its the only thing that looks solid in the whole courtyard!
"Look out,, there's a trap door right in front of the main door."
Liarin: Against the Cult of the Reptile God
Adewild: Shadows and Light 2
Brother Thaddeus: Rime of the Frostmaiden.
"Noted" says Durthon "and please don't jump, the stone here looks about to crumble under our feet."
OOC: could you use the portraits in the character's sheets for the maps? Or tell me which dwarf is Durthon to update my sheet and make it easier on my head.
With the warnings from Durathon and Atillia, Weber stops in his tracks and makes sure to follow the more surefooted party members.
"Well seem clear to me now where this places gets it's name. What did they build this place on that allowed it to sink so low." Weber scans the surrounding area for anything of interest. ((Perception: 10))
((I'm fine as well with the easy battles being auto-played for speed sake.))
Aware that he's not the lightest footed, Gus carefully steps around the edge of the room, avoiding the weakest looking stones.
"Aye, Durthon - it's the possibility of bigger beasties that I'm worried about."
"Thanks Attalia, didn't see that trap door m'self!" Gus kneels next to the trap, "anyone know much about traps? I'm more of a 'hit it and make it mushy' kinda guy."
ooc: my mission later today is to fix the portraits, I just need to find out where the images files are stored in Fantasy Grounds so I can add them
Inspecting the trap door further...
If you pass a Investigation DC10 you can....
you can see how the whole thing operates and where the catwalk is to go around it to reach the door. The cat walk is narrow, you can walk on it but very slowly and one at a time. You can also flip it open safely to see what is under it.
If you pass a DC15 Dexterity check and have Thieves' tools you can...
jam it closed if you wish and making it safe to walk on, if you passed by 5 or more you can permanently disable it.
((Investigation: 10
I don't have a Thieves' Tools but I do have a crowbar, can I try jimmying the trap door with that?))
Weber carefully moves over to the area highlighted by Atallia, and has a look at the trap door. "There's a narrow catwalk over the trap" he taps the safe part with the end of his crowbar to show the others where it would be. "Should be able to cross one by one."
"Lets see what would be waiting for us at the bottom yeah?" he put some weight on the trapped side activating the trap.
ooc: considering it is a trap door and not some fine lock, I'd say worth a try! Crowbar could work...
The pit contains two goblin skeletons, one goblin that has been dead for about a day, and one live giant rat which moves to attack you!
but... Durthon moving quickly (but not too quickly) kills it with his warhammer...
Giant rat:
[ooc] normally I would wait for more members of the party to have a say before moving forward with an action like this but since I knew it was an easy encounter, I believe it is better to keep things moving. As you head into the Citadel and the threat level increases, more actions will require party consensus.
((That's fair, wasn't really expecting an encounter to jump me in the face there!))
"Argh!" Weber shouts in surprise as the giant rat rushes past him and into Durthon's warhammer. "My bad! I'll wait next time for everyone." He takes a look down the revealed pit at the goblins and checks to see if there might be anything else down there ((Investigation: 7)).
((If nothing appears to him)) He sets about trying to jam the mechanism to provide safe passage. ((Dex check still? 4))
The goblin corpse has a scimitar and a shield, as well as 4 gp in a belt pouch.
Your crowbar goes flying, almost taking off your thumb and then almost taking out Durthon's scalp as it cartwheels through the air and then clangs loudly as it bounces across the courtyard.
"Tough bastard this one! best just cross over the catwalk, looks like the goblin down here has some stuff on it." Weber casts Mage Hand and collects the items at the bottom of the pit, before sheepishly moving to collect his crowbar and stows it in his pack.
Gus reaches for his spear, but stops as he sees Durthon dispatch the rat with ease, "Whew, that came out of nowhere, these rats are likely to be in every nook and cranny."
He chuckles as he watches the crowbar pirouette through the air, clanging to a stop behind them, "Very deft, pal," he says with a smile and a cheeky wink as Weber slinks past him to collect it.
"S'pose we'd best make sure this thing will take our weight, with all my gear, I'm definitely the heaviest, I'll go first... We all ready for this, might not be an easy way back?" Gus unstraps his shield and hammer and carefully tries to cross the catwalk.
Durthon smiles as he wipes his warhammer clean "finally got one!" and patiently waits for the other to deal with the trapped door, looking around for more rats.
"I wish I hadn't taken my master too much at his word to leave it all behind when I left the guild. I really could have used those lockpicks."
[[Woulda bought thieves' tools (I'm proficient) but only had 10/25 gp.]]
Liarin: Against the Cult of the Reptile God
Adewild: Shadows and Light 2
Brother Thaddeus: Rime of the Frostmaiden.
from the source
This circular area is cobbled with cracked granite, upon which sprawl the bodies of four goblins, apparently slain in combat. One corpse stands with its back against the western wall, the spear that killed it still skewering it and holding it upright. Three wooden doors lead from this area. A hollow tower of loose masonry reaches thirty feet into the air, but the intervening floors and stairs are gone, except for a couple of crumbled ledges.
There is a word written on the wall, if you can read draconic:
Ashardalon
If you take the time to look around and pass a DC20 Perception Check
Aha! There is a loose block in the wall that is actually a lever of some sort in the wall at the bottom.... do you pull it?
If you decide to listen at the doors..
you hear nothing..
OOC: I need to create a way to track time in the Citadel. Also, whoever shared all of the source books, thanks! Being new that really helps.
Gus looks around the room, walking counterclockwise around the edge of the room, running his hand across the stonework.
Perception: 17
He walks over to the goblin body in the centre of the room and crouches next to it, "Somethin's being doing our job for us, apparently."
"There's something written on the wall over there," he nods his head towards the writing, "I've seen words like that in a book somewhere, but I can't read it."
Gus turns back to the corpse and searches it for further clues as to what happened here.
After searching the goblin bodies, you can tell that someone has already looted them. The bodies yield no further information.