Thus far, the consensus seems to be to follow the path(s) shown in the map below. The yellow line represents the party's path through the woods (no stealth check necessary). The blue line represents the path from the woods to the stable (which might require a stealth check, depending on how the individual or group approaches it.). I am not assuming that all of you are actually attempting to reach the stables, however. I'm merely doing what I can to be as prepared as possible. I will wait to see what you decide to do.
If invisibility is utilized, then reaching the stables is a foregone conclusion. No die rolls will be needed, unless, of course, you're singing your favorite pub song as you go.
NOTE: Any group checks (stealth or otherwise) are considered successful if more than half of the individual rolls are successful.
Horatio Hirschfeld - Squire imbued with fae powers, in the Coliseum of Conquest (W2/L1) DM for Reavers of Harkenwold, and sometimes The Fighting Grounds of the Coliseum
Xellos says, "Anytime we can use the terrain to our advantage, we should do so. I'd like to check out that hidden passage anyway so I say stick to the trees. Ozum we may even need your rope to open a door from a distance or something by anchoring it onto a handle."
Arissa: The stables show no signs of life. You can dimly see some typical stable items--two saddles, and a few harnesses and bridles hanging on one of the walls. You can also see the outlines of several hay bales.
Everyone: Unless you state otherwise, I will assume that you are now standing at the edge of the woods, north of the keep and west of the stables (at the point marked with a "1" on the map above).
Everyone:You watch as Kurt dashes off into the darkness toward the stables. He quickly leaves the range of your darkvision, and you can no longer see him. But you know he's still running because you soon hear him stumble slightly as he nears his destination. You wait for a suspenseful few minutes to see if Kurt alerted anyone or anything in the keep. Nothing happens, however.
Kurt:
Are you behind the stables or in the stables? Whichever the case, as you approach the building you can see it contains four stalls and a large open work area for grooming and shoeing horses. This open area also contains a few dozen bales of hay that have been neatly stacked. You do not see any horses.
Xellos looks on with complete shock and bewilderment at Kurt running off without saying anything then says, "What utter foolishness, he'll get himself killed darting off like that without saying a word. Did anyone see exactly where he went? Looks like he ran towards the stables, but who knows in this darkness? Sounds like he didn't run into guards, luckily. I guess we now need to follow his tracks or just assume he went to the stables... possibly the Keep itself."
He says with a huff, "Thankfully I didn't make him invisible I suppose. I'm not much of a tracker..."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Whispering to Xellos, "I don't know, I think he had the right idea, he just should have said something. Let's go." Ozum motions for everyone to head toward the stables and Kurt.
Arissa, Frandal, Ozum, and Xellos: You leave the cover of the woods and run along the corral fence in the direction of the stables. In under ten seconds, you're able to squeeze between the top and bottom rail of the fence and duck into the stables. You join Kurt where he is half-crouched behind a stack of hay bales. From this vantage point you can see the north side of the keep. You detect no movement, no light, and no sound.
The hay bales behind which you are hiding are stacked in a large open space that contains two workbenches, a few wooden stools, buckets, shovels, several saddles, bridles, leather harnesses, and an assortment of tools--in short, you see everything that you would expect to see in a place that houses horses. To your left are four stalls but no horses. Each stall is separated from the other by a low wall, roughly five feet high. Those of you who are tall enough can see into the stall immediately to your left. Other than than the straw bedding that is strewn about the floor, that stall is completely empty. Into the other three stalls you cannot see.
NOTE: Arissa and Xellos, I took the liberty of assuming you dashed to the stables with the elf and the gnome. If you had other intentions, that's no problem. We can made adjustments for that.
Arissa would like to cast invisibility on herself.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Horatio Hirschfeld - Squire imbued with fae powers, in the Coliseum of Conquest (W2/L1) DM for Reavers of Harkenwold, and sometimes The Fighting Grounds of the Coliseum
Arissa: You are now invisible and will remain so for the next sixty minutes, unless you tell me otherwise.
Frandal: The first three stalls reveal nothing other than the straw bedding on the floor and food and water bins for the horses. In the fourth stall, the bedding isn't spread evenly across the floor as you would expect. Some of it has been gathered together into a small pile in one of the back corners of the stall, and a short investigation explains why this has been done: the straw has been arranged to hide a body. You can see the soles of the dead person's boots and substantial amounts of dried blood on the floor. An investigation of the body reveals the following:
The person is a middle-aged human male (5'6" tall, medium build, sandy-colored hair) and his clothing is that of a commoner, and you assume he was probably the stable hand.
His wounds indicate slashing damage was the cause of death.
There is nothing of interest or consequence to be found on the person's body.
Frandal motions the others to approach and enters the stall. Drawing out his dagger he carefully takes away the straw with the point of his dagger to see the face of that person
“Someone took the time to hide and cover him. Maybe out of remorse o to avoid early detection.” His look is more stern. “My fears that we were late seems to be funded.”
Everyone:Thestable area is relatively small; so, armed as you are with the knowledge provided by Bharash that there is indeed some sort of hidden entrance to the keep, within a few minutes you uncover an entrance to an underground passageway. Beneath the stack of hay bales is a door that opens to a 4' x 4' square hole in the ground. On one of the four sides of the the hole is a series of steel rungs that are fastened to the stonework; these appear to serve as handholds and footholds. A descent of approximately 12' leads to the bottom of this square shaft that leads straight downward. You hear no sounds and see no evidence of light. The air coming from the hidden tunnel is slightly damp, musty, and very cold.
Xellos again looks in the place where Arissa stood just after suddenly phasing out of reality without a word, "What an impulsive lot..." but just shrugs it off at this point and sees that Frandal and Kurt discovers a dead body then the secret hatch.
He says, "There's definitely trouble here. Cut down just to tie up loose ends, I'd say. Unfortunate indeed."
"It seems Bharash was correct... let's see if these ringed footholds are secure...we might need your rope Ozum, if they break."
Xellos outstretches his right hand then grasps his wrist with his left, saying "Give it a tug." A spectral hand outstretches and gives the first 2-3 a good tug to see if they will support a small amount of force applied to them. (If any break the hand hangs on to it assuming the weight is lighter than 10lbs, and if they are light enough Xellos uses the hand to pull them out of the shaft) Mage Hand
Everyone:
Thus far, the consensus seems to be to follow the path(s) shown in the map below. The yellow line represents the party's path through the woods (no stealth check necessary). The blue line represents the path from the woods to the stable (which might require a stealth check, depending on how the individual or group approaches it.). I am not assuming that all of you are actually attempting to reach the stables, however. I'm merely doing what I can to be as prepared as possible. I will wait to see what you decide to do.
If invisibility is utilized, then reaching the stables is a foregone conclusion. No die rolls will be needed, unless, of course, you're singing your favorite pub song as you go.
NOTE: Any group checks (stealth or otherwise) are considered successful if more than half of the individual rolls are successful.
Arissa would like to see if there is any activity in the stables.
Perception: 18
(Arissa put a hand over her eyes to block the sun and accidentally punches herself in the eyes instead.)
Horatio Hirschfeld - Squire imbued with fae powers, in the Coliseum of Conquest (W2/L1)
DM for Reavers of Harkenwold, and sometimes The Fighting Grounds of the Coliseum
Xellos says, "Anytime we can use the terrain to our advantage, we should do so. I'd like to check out that hidden passage anyway so I say stick to the trees. Ozum we may even need your rope to open a door from a distance or something by anchoring it onto a handle."
After Apocalypse - Liavyre Withrethin Elf Ranger
Dragon of Autumn - Geoff Krowly Human Cleric
Princes of the Apocalypse - Leofir Sylvaranth Elf Rogue
The Windhovers' Call - Xellos Mazoku Tiefling Sorcerer
High Times at Low Tides - DM
Arissa: The stables show no signs of life. You can dimly see some typical stable items--two saddles, and a few harnesses and bridles hanging on one of the walls. You can also see the outlines of several hay bales.
Everyone: Unless you state otherwise, I will assume that you are now standing at the edge of the woods, north of the keep and west of the stables (at the point marked with a "1" on the map above).
Kurt tries to stealth to the stables.
Stealth:6
Kurt Stoneseeker
Ragmin Graybeard
Everyone: You watch as Kurt dashes off into the darkness toward the stables. He quickly leaves the range of your darkvision, and you can no longer see him. But you know he's still running because you soon hear him stumble slightly as he nears his destination. You wait for a suspenseful few minutes to see if Kurt alerted anyone or anything in the keep. Nothing happens, however.
Kurt:
Are you behind the stables or in the stables? Whichever the case, as you approach the building you can see it contains four stalls and a large open work area for grooming and shoeing horses. This open area also contains a few dozen bales of hay that have been neatly stacked. You do not see any horses.
Xellos looks on with complete shock and bewilderment at Kurt running off without saying anything then says, "What utter foolishness, he'll get himself killed darting off like that without saying a word. Did anyone see exactly where he went? Looks like he ran towards the stables, but who knows in this darkness? Sounds like he didn't run into guards, luckily. I guess we now need to follow his tracks or just assume he went to the stables... possibly the Keep itself."
He says with a huff, "Thankfully I didn't make him invisible I suppose. I'm not much of a tracker..."
After Apocalypse - Liavyre Withrethin Elf Ranger
Dragon of Autumn - Geoff Krowly Human Cleric
Princes of the Apocalypse - Leofir Sylvaranth Elf Rogue
The Windhovers' Call - Xellos Mazoku Tiefling Sorcerer
High Times at Low Tides - DM
Whispering to Xellos, "I don't know, I think he had the right idea, he just should have said something. Let's go." Ozum motions for everyone to head toward the stables and Kurt.
Stealth: 19
Survival to track Kurt: 12
I posted this before but I don’t see it. Please forgive me if the post is doubled.
“Let’s join the others” he says to the eagle and darts off from the forest towards the stables.
Stealth: 22
PbP Character: A few ;)
Kurt ran into the stables.
Kurt Stoneseeker
Ragmin Graybeard
Arissa, Frandal, Ozum, and Xellos: You leave the cover of the woods and run along the corral fence in the direction of the stables. In under ten seconds, you're able to squeeze between the top and bottom rail of the fence and duck into the stables. You join Kurt where he is half-crouched behind a stack of hay bales. From this vantage point you can see the north side of the keep. You detect no movement, no light, and no sound.
The hay bales behind which you are hiding are stacked in a large open space that contains two workbenches, a few wooden stools, buckets, shovels, several saddles, bridles, leather harnesses, and an assortment of tools--in short, you see everything that you would expect to see in a place that houses horses. To your left are four stalls but no horses. Each stall is separated from the other by a low wall, roughly five feet high. Those of you who are tall enough can see into the stall immediately to your left. Other than than the straw bedding that is strewn about the floor, that stall is completely empty. Into the other three stalls you cannot see.
NOTE: Arissa and Xellos, I took the liberty of assuming you dashed to the stables with the elf and the gnome. If you had other intentions, that's no problem. We can made adjustments for that.
“Let’s look for that secret entrance” says Frandal in low voice to the others.
While he looks around in search of it, he will take a look at the other three stalls.
Investigation (if it’s appropiate): 6
PbP Character: A few ;)
Arissa would like to cast invisibility on herself.
Horatio Hirschfeld - Squire imbued with fae powers, in the Coliseum of Conquest (W2/L1)
DM for Reavers of Harkenwold, and sometimes The Fighting Grounds of the Coliseum
Arissa: You are now invisible and will remain so for the next sixty minutes, unless you tell me otherwise.
Frandal: The first three stalls reveal nothing other than the straw bedding on the floor and food and water bins for the horses. In the fourth stall, the bedding isn't spread evenly across the floor as you would expect. Some of it has been gathered together into a small pile in one of the back corners of the stall, and a short investigation explains why this has been done: the straw has been arranged to hide a body. You can see the soles of the dead person's boots and substantial amounts of dried blood on the floor. An investigation of the body reveals the following:
Frandal motions the others to approach and enters the stall. Drawing out his dagger he carefully takes away the straw with the point of his dagger to see the face of that person
PbP Character: A few ;)
“Poor boy” says the elf.
“Someone took the time to hide and cover him. Maybe out of remorse o to avoid early detection.” His look is more stern. “My fears that we were late seems to be funded.”
PbP Character: A few ;)
Kurt helps Frandal look for the secret entrance. "We need to hurry, there could be some survivors. There always are"
Kurt Stoneseeker
Ragmin Graybeard
Everyone: The stable area is relatively small; so, armed as you are with the knowledge provided by Bharash that there is indeed some sort of hidden entrance to the keep, within a few minutes you uncover an entrance to an underground passageway. Beneath the stack of hay bales is a door that opens to a 4' x 4' square hole in the ground. On one of the four sides of the the hole is a series of steel rungs that are fastened to the stonework; these appear to serve as handholds and footholds. A descent of approximately 12' leads to the bottom of this square shaft that leads straight downward. You hear no sounds and see no evidence of light. The air coming from the hidden tunnel is slightly damp, musty, and very cold.
Xellos again looks in the place where Arissa stood just after suddenly phasing out of reality without a word, "What an impulsive lot..." but just shrugs it off at this point and sees that Frandal and Kurt discovers a dead body then the secret hatch.
He says, "There's definitely trouble here. Cut down just to tie up loose ends, I'd say. Unfortunate indeed."
"It seems Bharash was correct... let's see if these ringed footholds are secure...we might need your rope Ozum, if they break."
Xellos outstretches his right hand then grasps his wrist with his left, saying "Give it a tug." A spectral hand outstretches and gives the first 2-3 a good tug to see if they will support a small amount of force applied to them. (If any break the hand hangs on to it assuming the weight is lighter than 10lbs, and if they are light enough Xellos uses the hand to pull them out of the shaft) Mage Hand
After Apocalypse - Liavyre Withrethin Elf Ranger
Dragon of Autumn - Geoff Krowly Human Cleric
Princes of the Apocalypse - Leofir Sylvaranth Elf Rogue
The Windhovers' Call - Xellos Mazoku Tiefling Sorcerer
High Times at Low Tides - DM
Xellos: The metal rungs are perfectly secure. As you watch the spectral hand pull on them, you can see that they don't move at all.