Mae shook her head briefly at Kiersa. "An impressive find, but not something I will use, no."Mae looked into the rest of the woods and sighed slightly, her thoughts suddenly drifting back elsewhere as the rest of her companions made ready to leave.
"Well, if we can spare 10 minutes or so, I'll try switching armor," Kiersa says. "Still rather get rid of the Red Hand though. Guess that can be done later."
"We will make sure to remember you are not the enemy Kiersa." Valeria says with a warm smile. "Take your time my friend, we should all be fully prepared as we enter Vraath Keep." She adds, ready for Jorr to lead them on when Kiersa has donned her new armour.
/---About 3:30 PM, The Twenty-fifth of Ches, 1491 DR, Vraath Keep--/
Jorr leads on, keeping quiet. Eventually, you find yourselves on a dirt path, which according to Jorr, has been avoided most of this trip since the hobgoblins started to march around these woods. Now so close to the keep, this was the quickest way there. You look ahead and take in the sights.
Looming out of the shadowy woods ahead is a haunting sight - a ruined keep. The old castle sits on a small rocky hillock, and you can catch glimpses of a broken tower between the trees. A moss-covered stone at the side of the road you're following marks a footpath that looks like it leads up to the keep.
"This is the place. If you follow the path, it'll take 'bout 5 minutes to reach the keep. I recommend you take through the trees though... it'll add a dozen or more minutes to the trek, but you can't be too careful with the godsd---n gobs out there. I wish you well, but this is where we part ways." Jorr gives a polite nod to you all before turning around and starting his journey back home. "Ya'll know where you can find me."
Survival Check DC 10 to read:
There are about a dozen footsteps here... as well as large paw prints. You also find a few quills. Some of them are jutting from the ground near a bush. They are about a foot long in length.
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
While the others tend to wounds and focus on recovering their energies, Iravon keeps watch over the swamp in the direction the hydra had fled. If it came back he wanted to be prepared. He wasn't going to let it get the jump on them again, not when they had almost lost Maevla. If any of this group died, he would have utterly failed in his duty, and he could not allowed that to happen.
He watches carefully as Kiersa searches the ruins of the coach, and pulls out the breastplate. He has seen the bones of his people many times before - old battlefields, traitors strung as an example - so the particular shape of the skull is easy to recognise. He wrinkles his nose at the symbol on the breastplate, and during the discussion says only "I will not wear anything that has borne the mark of these heretics." He is reluctant to allow anyone to wear it, but they are not Hobgoblin, they would not understand, and he could not force his beliefs onto them, so he remains silent.
Would Iravon recognise the footprints as Hobgoblin, and the paw prints as Worg? Would he recognise what the quills have come from?
He does indeed see those are both factors here. Worgs and hobgoblins. He doesn't see any signs of other typical hobgoblin allies, such as ogres or goblins. With regards to the quills... he realizes what they are, but not exactly how it figures into what he knows to be going on in this area. These quills look like the kind manticores fire off from their tails. Yet there doesn't seem to be signs of a fight here.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
His honed tracking senses firing, Iravon kneels down and brushes the path clear of leaves, revealing a confusion of prints."Red Hand," he says simply, "with Worgs. We must be extremely cautious."He picks up a long quill, and holds it up between thumb and forefinger. "Also manticore. Hobgoblins do no not breed or work with manticores, though I see no signs of a fight. I do not know what to make of this. It is frustrating."He offers the quill to Valeria.
Valeria follows behind Jorr, Iravon and Kiersa, riding her chestnut steed when possible. As she beholds the ruined keep it is clearly with mixed feelings. The condition of the castle was worse than she had expected and there would be much work before she could have this citadel as her seat of power for benevolently ruling the vale. "Thank you Jorr, your help is greatly appreciated." She says with a polite smile and nods to their guide as he returns whence.
Holding her chestnut horse by the reins, Valeria accepts the quill and studies it for a moment before handing it on to their loremaster Mae. "I have heard of these monsters. If they are half a fearsome as the stories say we should be very cautious. We must expect the Red Hand to somehow have this beast fight alongside them. Iravon, could you find us a good route to approach the keep unseen? Maybe we should leave our steeds around here?"She says, looking to Iravon and the others for thoughts on how to proceed.
Mae was quiet as they made their way along the path through the forest, keeping a lookout as best she could as they got closer to the Keep. When it finally came into view she got a slight smile to her face, thinking that if there was ever a place to build a keep, that was it. Though the wear and tear of ages and unknown was noticeable and the need for some repair was not lost on her, but her mind quickly turned over a few possibly ideas regardless. Her thoughts were interrupted though when Valeria handed her the quill, which she took and then looked over the area as the others spoke. "Hobgoblins, worgs, manticore...strange indeed...and deadly. There is no sign of struggle, so perhaps the creatures simply passed this way but at different times. Or perhaps the hobgoblins surprised a manticore who ran off. I would run too if there were sufficient numbers."She put the quill aside, "I'm not the tactician here so I would defer to your expertise, but it seems to me that some sort of reconnaissance would not go amiss here. The Keep does not seem too far off. I could grant one of us invisibility if they want to scout around. Valeria, can you get yourself aloft again? Between that and being invisible you could see a lot of area very quickly without drawing much attention. But as I mentioned, I will defer to others if there is a better idea."
(Nature: 17 to recall anything about manticores. Perception: 18 to notice any threats or other unusual signs)
(Nature: 17 to recall anything about manticores. Perception: 18 to notice any threats or other unusual signs)
Mae, you can read the manticore monster entry on DDB and you may embellish any story or rumor about them you'd like to make up. You are free to ponder and point to any particular piece of information you read to your allies. In short, read the entry and go ham!
(Side note, I will be MIA until later today or even tomorrow. It's holiday in the US, so family obligations have come up for me! Just wanted to give you guys something to RP with while I am absent.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
(Nature: 17 to recall anything about manticores. Perception: 18 to notice any threats or other unusual signs)
[spoiler]Mae, you can read the manticore monster entry on DDB and you may embellish any story or rumor about them you'd like to make up. You are free to ponder and point to any particular piece of information you read to your allies. In short, read the entry and go ham![/spoiler]
(Side note, I will be MIA until later today or even tomorrow. It's holiday in the US, so family obligations have come up for me!)
(Spoiler tag borked! :) And enjoy the holiday!)
After a few moments looking at the quill again, turning it over in her hands. "I believe you Iravon, but I have heard stories of manticores who worked all manner of vile creatures. These quills, I've heard they have quite a range too, and then tend to come in pairs. Hard to tell if this was just one or more of the fearsome beasts. But if even one is stalking the area, keep your eyes in the skies as well, they are quite capable of launching their assault from the air."
Valeria listens attentively to Mae, knowing their erudite Aasimar would always provide her with useful knowledge and advice. "Yes, good thinking Mae, I will do reconnaissance and then we will make a plan on how to swiftly conquer Vraath Keep."She says proudly, looking to Kiersa and Iravon to see if they had anything to add before she took off.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(Kiersa Survival: 10)
As Kiersa rides along with the group, she now and then has to shift and adjust the new piece of armor, still trying to get it to where it fits exactly right. A few times she brushes her hand across the Red Hand symbol, wishing she could just scrub it off. She disliked it, but figured it best to take advantage of it despite the marking. "Just be wary when you're scouting Valeria. Ideally it would be great if we could divide their forces somehow."
Mae walked up beside Valeria and gave her a concerned but warming look, putting her hand on her shoulder. With her other hand she plucked a few strings of her bandalore softly and whispered her enchantment, and in a moment Valeria disappeared from view. "Let's hope you don't find anything too concerning my friend." Mae then went and stood by Kiersa to wait, feeling mildly nervous.
"Thank you Mae..." Valeria says, smiling back at the Aasimar. "...I won't be long."She adds in a reassuring tone. As she realizes she has become invisible to the eye, Valeria's winged boots carry her aloft through the air, quickly ascending to a fairly high altitude before approaching the ruined keep, first sweeping over the perimeter before coming in for a closer look, making detailed mental notes of paths to approach the keep undetected as well as any threats visible in and around the keep. To make the most of this important scouting mission Valeria uses her divine powers to grant herself heightened senses to be able to notice even minor details.
To the space where Valeria is standing unseen, Iravon says "Fly well Valeria. The bard is correct, manticore have a great range on their quills. You must not be discovered, I cannot protect you in the air. Be swift and silent."
/---About 3:45 PM, The Twenty-fifth of Ches, 1491 DR, Vraath Keep--/
[I'll say the flight there and preliminary recon took about 15 minutes. Here is what Valeria found. If you want to explore more while in the air and invisible, just specify where and we will see. We will continue to use your perception check for this recon!]
The old keep is in very poor repair. The gatehouse is partially collapsed, as is a section of wall to the south. A small wooden building sits next to the remains of a long-abandoned garden in front of the structure. The walls surrounding the keep are about fifteen feet high, with a two-story tower looking in the southwest corner of the courtyard within. Large boulders lie strewn amid the ruins of the two watch towers, and a massive humanoid skeleton slumps amid the ruins of the northern one. This skeleton still wears tattered fragments of hide armor , and a large club lies next to one of its bony arms.
From the southern section of the keep, you see a thin plume of smoke rising from the southern section of the keep. There is a gap in the ceiling, you realize, from which the smoke is escaping.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
After her first survey of the keep, Valeria descends, first to see if there are any windows to peer through at the small wooden building, then trying to take a peek down the gap in the ceiling if possible. Finally she tries to find any windows or arrow slits at the big tower to peer through, hoping to locate the enemy she's convinced is hiding somewhere inside her keep.
/---About 3:55 PM, The Twenty-fifth of Ches, 1491 DR, Vraath Keep--/
[Just adding 10 minutes to give this more thorough a look.]
For Valeria's eyes only:
On the ground level, this keep has no windows. The areas labeled 4 and 5 would have had arrow slits... but those walls have been destroyed. The windows and arrow slits that still exist are in the tower. Here is a bullet point of things to notice -- and also a correction on my part:
The center is a courtyard, I forgot to let you see it in the first map!
Getting a closer look in the courtyard, you can hear people speaking in that room where you see a bed -- the room where you can see just a bit of it. I will tell you, you can see at least 2 hobgoblins, but there are definitely too many voices for just 2. You would guess at least 4 creatures are there. You would need to take a closer look -- as in, go there and peek adjacent to the damage in the wall, to get a perfect head count.
The very top of the tower is incredibly ruined. It will take a lot of elbow grease to bring it back up to acceptable standards. What's worse... you see the corpse of a human man. They have the look of a peasant, like a farmer or day laborer, and the stench when you approach is disgusting. This body has been here a while. For some reason, it glows faintly.
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
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Mae shook her head briefly at Kiersa. "An impressive find, but not something I will use, no." Mae looked into the rest of the woods and sighed slightly, her thoughts suddenly drifting back elsewhere as the rest of her companions made ready to leave.
"Well, if we can spare 10 minutes or so, I'll try switching armor," Kiersa says. "Still rather get rid of the Red Hand though. Guess that can be done later."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
"We will make sure to remember you are not the enemy Kiersa." Valeria says with a warm smile. "Take your time my friend, we should all be fully prepared as we enter Vraath Keep." She adds, ready for Jorr to lead them on when Kiersa has donned her new armour.
/---About 3:30 PM, The Twenty-fifth of Ches, 1491 DR, Vraath Keep--/
Jorr leads on, keeping quiet. Eventually, you find yourselves on a dirt path, which according to Jorr, has been avoided most of this trip since the hobgoblins started to march around these woods. Now so close to the keep, this was the quickest way there. You look ahead and take in the sights.
Looming out of the shadowy woods ahead is a haunting sight - a ruined keep. The old castle sits on a small rocky hillock, and you can catch glimpses of a broken tower between the trees. A moss-covered stone at the side of the road you're following marks a footpath that looks like it leads up to the keep.
"This is the place. If you follow the path, it'll take 'bout 5 minutes to reach the keep. I recommend you take through the trees though... it'll add a dozen or more minutes to the trek, but you can't be too careful with the godsd---n gobs out there. I wish you well, but this is where we part ways." Jorr gives a polite nod to you all before turning around and starting his journey back home. "Ya'll know where you can find me."
Survival Check DC 10 to read:
There are about a dozen footsteps here... as well as large paw prints. You also find a few quills. Some of them are jutting from the ground near a bush. They are about a foot long in length.
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
While the others tend to wounds and focus on recovering their energies, Iravon keeps watch over the swamp in the direction the hydra had fled. If it came back he wanted to be prepared. He wasn't going to let it get the jump on them again, not when they had almost lost Maevla. If any of this group died, he would have utterly failed in his duty, and he could not allowed that to happen.
He watches carefully as Kiersa searches the ruins of the coach, and pulls out the breastplate. He has seen the bones of his people many times before - old battlefields, traitors strung as an example - so the particular shape of the skull is easy to recognise. He wrinkles his nose at the symbol on the breastplate, and during the discussion says only "I will not wear anything that has borne the mark of these heretics." He is reluctant to allow anyone to wear it, but they are not Hobgoblin, they would not understand, and he could not force his beliefs onto them, so he remains silent.
Survivial: 15
DM - Storm King's Thunder
DM - Torosevia (WIP homebrew world)
Kelytha Meliamne - Matti Silverstorm - Silver - Star-Setting-In-The-East - Tor Baltos
DM:
Would Iravon recognise the footprints as Hobgoblin, and the paw prints as Worg? Would he recognise what the quills have come from?
DM - Storm King's Thunder
DM - Torosevia (WIP homebrew world)
Kelytha Meliamne - Matti Silverstorm - Silver - Star-Setting-In-The-East - Tor Baltos
He does indeed see those are both factors here. Worgs and hobgoblins. He doesn't see any signs of other typical hobgoblin allies, such as ogres or goblins. With regards to the quills... he realizes what they are, but not exactly how it figures into what he knows to be going on in this area. These quills look like the kind manticores fire off from their tails. Yet there doesn't seem to be signs of a fight here.
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
His honed tracking senses firing, Iravon kneels down and brushes the path clear of leaves, revealing a confusion of prints. "Red Hand," he says simply, "with Worgs. We must be extremely cautious." He picks up a long quill, and holds it up between thumb and forefinger. "Also manticore. Hobgoblins do no not breed or work with manticores, though I see no signs of a fight. I do not know what to make of this. It is frustrating." He offers the quill to Valeria.
DM - Storm King's Thunder
DM - Torosevia (WIP homebrew world)
Kelytha Meliamne - Matti Silverstorm - Silver - Star-Setting-In-The-East - Tor Baltos
Valeria follows behind Jorr, Iravon and Kiersa, riding her chestnut steed when possible. As she beholds the ruined keep it is clearly with mixed feelings. The condition of the castle was worse than she had expected and there would be much work before she could have this citadel as her seat of power for benevolently ruling the vale. "Thank you Jorr, your help is greatly appreciated." She says with a polite smile and nods to their guide as he returns whence.
Holding her chestnut horse by the reins, Valeria accepts the quill and studies it for a moment before handing it on to their loremaster Mae. "I have heard of these monsters. If they are half a fearsome as the stories say we should be very cautious. We must expect the Red Hand to somehow have this beast fight alongside them. Iravon, could you find us a good route to approach the keep unseen? Maybe we should leave our steeds around here?" She says, looking to Iravon and the others for thoughts on how to proceed.
Perception to notice threats: 17
(Survival: 16)
Mae was quiet as they made their way along the path through the forest, keeping a lookout as best she could as they got closer to the Keep. When it finally came into view she got a slight smile to her face, thinking that if there was ever a place to build a keep, that was it. Though the wear and tear of ages and unknown was noticeable and the need for some repair was not lost on her, but her mind quickly turned over a few possibly ideas regardless. Her thoughts were interrupted though when Valeria handed her the quill, which she took and then looked over the area as the others spoke. "Hobgoblins, worgs, manticore...strange indeed...and deadly. There is no sign of struggle, so perhaps the creatures simply passed this way but at different times. Or perhaps the hobgoblins surprised a manticore who ran off. I would run too if there were sufficient numbers." She put the quill aside, "I'm not the tactician here so I would defer to your expertise, but it seems to me that some sort of reconnaissance would not go amiss here. The Keep does not seem too far off. I could grant one of us invisibility if they want to scout around. Valeria, can you get yourself aloft again? Between that and being invisible you could see a lot of area very quickly without drawing much attention. But as I mentioned, I will defer to others if there is a better idea."
(Nature: 17 to recall anything about manticores. Perception: 18 to notice any threats or other unusual signs)
Mae, you can read the manticore monster entry on DDB and you may embellish any story or rumor about them you'd like to make up. You are free to ponder and point to any particular piece of information you read to your allies. In short, read the entry and go ham!
(Side note, I will be MIA until later today or even tomorrow. It's holiday in the US, so family obligations have come up for me! Just wanted to give you guys something to RP with while I am absent.)
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
(Spoiler tag borked! :) And enjoy the holiday!)
After a few moments looking at the quill again, turning it over in her hands. "I believe you Iravon, but I have heard stories of manticores who worked all manner of vile creatures. These quills, I've heard they have quite a range too, and then tend to come in pairs. Hard to tell if this was just one or more of the fearsome beasts. But if even one is stalking the area, keep your eyes in the skies as well, they are quite capable of launching their assault from the air."
Valeria listens attentively to Mae, knowing their erudite Aasimar would always provide her with useful knowledge and advice. "Yes, good thinking Mae, I will do reconnaissance and then we will make a plan on how to swiftly conquer Vraath Keep." She says proudly, looking to Kiersa and Iravon to see if they had anything to add before she took off.
(Kiersa Survival: 10)
As Kiersa rides along with the group, she now and then has to shift and adjust the new piece of armor, still trying to get it to where it fits exactly right. A few times she brushes her hand across the Red Hand symbol, wishing she could just scrub it off. She disliked it, but figured it best to take advantage of it despite the marking. "Just be wary when you're scouting Valeria. Ideally it would be great if we could divide their forces somehow."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Mae walked up beside Valeria and gave her a concerned but warming look, putting her hand on her shoulder. With her other hand she plucked a few strings of her bandalore softly and whispered her enchantment, and in a moment Valeria disappeared from view. "Let's hope you don't find anything too concerning my friend." Mae then went and stood by Kiersa to wait, feeling mildly nervous.
"Thank you Mae..." Valeria says, smiling back at the Aasimar. "...I won't be long." She adds in a reassuring tone. As she realizes she has become invisible to the eye, Valeria's winged boots carry her aloft through the air, quickly ascending to a fairly high altitude before approaching the ruined keep, first sweeping over the perimeter before coming in for a closer look, making detailed mental notes of paths to approach the keep undetected as well as any threats visible in and around the keep. To make the most of this important scouting mission Valeria uses her divine powers to grant herself heightened senses to be able to notice even minor details.
Cast Enhance ability Owls Wisdom
Perception: 14
To the space where Valeria is standing unseen, Iravon says "Fly well Valeria. The bard is correct, manticore have a great range on their quills. You must not be discovered, I cannot protect you in the air. Be swift and silent."
DM - Storm King's Thunder
DM - Torosevia (WIP homebrew world)
Kelytha Meliamne - Matti Silverstorm - Silver - Star-Setting-In-The-East - Tor Baltos
/---About 3:45 PM, The Twenty-fifth of Ches, 1491 DR, Vraath Keep--/
[I'll say the flight there and preliminary recon took about 15 minutes. Here is what Valeria found. If you want to explore more while in the air and invisible, just specify where and we will see. We will continue to use your perception check for this recon!]
The old keep is in very poor repair. The gatehouse is partially collapsed, as is a section of wall to the south. A small wooden building sits next to the remains of a long-abandoned garden in front of the structure. The walls surrounding the keep are about fifteen feet high, with a two-story tower looking in the southwest corner of the courtyard within. Large boulders lie strewn amid the ruins of the two watch towers, and a massive humanoid skeleton slumps amid the ruins of the northern one. This skeleton still wears tattered fragments of hide armor , and a large club lies next to one of its bony arms.
From the southern section of the keep, you see a thin plume of smoke rising from the southern section of the keep. There is a gap in the ceiling, you realize, from which the smoke is escaping.
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
After her first survey of the keep, Valeria descends, first to see if there are any windows to peer through at the small wooden building, then trying to take a peek down the gap in the ceiling if possible. Finally she tries to find any windows or arrow slits at the big tower to peer through, hoping to locate the enemy she's convinced is hiding somewhere inside her keep.
/---About 3:55 PM, The Twenty-fifth of Ches, 1491 DR, Vraath Keep--/
[Just adding 10 minutes to give this more thorough a look.]
For Valeria's eyes only:
On the ground level, this keep has no windows. The areas labeled 4 and 5 would have had arrow slits... but those walls have been destroyed. The windows and arrow slits that still exist are in the tower. Here is a bullet point of things to notice -- and also a correction on my part:
What is everyone else doing?
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status