The Undying Dragons - Campaign Thread

Janelle raises her hands to her mouth, miming a flute an begins tootling out a song to accompany Marrin's efforts to climb the greased pole or otherwise get up to the platform.

Performance: 11

She's making herself laugh too hard for it to be very good at swaying the audience more to their side.

Marrin readies herself and makes another go at shimmying up the pole.

Athletics (adv): 18

((Oh ya, bless 3))

((I like to think Jan's playing helped focus Marrin.))

((If she knew who Benny Hill was she'd be a little annoyed with Jan too :P))

Jan's performance appears to attract the entire attention of the audience and perhaps that as much as anything lets Marrin just concentrate on the slick pole. She manages to apply enough pressure and pulls herself up even with the second platform. As she gets her head above the edge of the next platform, she can now make out the floor of the platform, which she couldn't see from the ground. There appears to be what looks like several pieces of more rope; five if she's counted correctly.

Unfortunately, unlike the very sedate and very inanimate rope and pulley system on the first platform, these ones are quite clearly moving and alive. Jan doesn't know the specifics, but she's traveled enough to know snakes with colourful patterns aren't something to play with. And they all react to her presence.

Initiative from Jan

Pretty Snakes Initiative: 11  

Initiative from everyone else (will take the average of those rolls to see if as a group you figure out Jan's seen something and can all react before or after the snakes - the NPCs will just be along for the ride)

Ula Initiative: 17   

Sorry - should have been a separate initiative needed for Marrin in the post above.

Initiative: 11

Avaria initiative 4

[Not sure how my roll in post #1151 is coming up as manipulated.  It wasn't edited.  Right now it is showing 19, but the original result was a 12.]

Initiative: 13

((Got you mixing up Jan and Marrin now!))

Marrin just narrowly reacts to the sight of the snakes before the snakes react to Marrin. She can go first.

At this point the group looks to be tied with the snakes so Jan's roll is the tie break (more than 11 the rest of the group can go first; less than 11, it's the snakes first, if it's an 11, roll a second die for the tie break - 11 and over is a win)

Jarrin Initiative: 21

Avaria attempts to follow Marrin up the semi-greased pole..

Athletics  12

"I knew there was going to be snakes up here."

Marrin says angrily. She calls over to one of the colorful snakes,

"Couldn't decide if you wanted to be a rope or a jester's sock?"

Vicious mockery (DC 14 wis save): 1

She would then like to descend the newly climbed pole if possible.

With no line of sight to the snakes, Ethel curses to herself.  What can I even do here?  Damn it all three times over.

She turns to Hammerdasher.  "Think you can get up there and lend a hand?"

She looks to Ula.  "Does Istishia grant you any spells to protect against venom?"

Then she moves to where she can get a look at the two sleeping hobgoblins, hoping this all gets straightened out before her spells wear off....

The crowd is now only noticing the snakes as well and a hum of anticipation begins to grow.

Avaria grabs hold of the very greasy pole, makes it up a couple of feet and then promptly slides back down to the ground.

Hammerdasher looks at the pole and just shakes his head, but he still runs over to where Avaria is, dodging around the dead cat, still not trusting it, and like he's seen others do, cups his hands and stands up straight to let Avaria use him as a stepladder (providing either help on Avaria's next attempt or giving her a higher point from which to try climbing up on to the platform above.

Ula frowns and shakes her head. "I wasn't prepared for snakes," she says as she looks up at the tower. "Maybe they're not poisonous."

Regardless, Ula runs across the sand and decides to also make use of Hammerdasher's hands.

Ula Climb - Athletics - 13  

When Ethel looks up at the sleeping Festan and the other hobgoblin, she's pretty sure Festan should be asleep at least another 30 seconds, the other one a little bit longer.

All the while, the group of snakes try to make sense of what the new interloper has shouted at them. One though is pretty sure that what ever was said wasn't very nice.

Snake 1 Save: 11  

With the insult still hanging in the air, Marrin is able to let herself slip down below the edge of the platform.

Hissing can be heard from up above but no one sees any snakes stick their heads out.

------------------------------------

Marrin - Dex or Athletics check to keep hanging on to the pole (DC 10), otherwise 50/50 whether will slide all the way to the bottom or fall off on to the platform (50/50 whether will land on the hobgoblins in that case) as there wasn't quite enough movement left to climb up and all the way back down.

Jan's up.

Ula, despite the energetic attempt, steps up into Hammerdasher's hands, makes contact with the pole and slips right on past, landing on the ground, looking up.

And, Marrin is pretty sure that just before he dropped below the edge of the second platform he saw the snake he mocked go very still.

"Five snakes up there. The colorful bite you and you're dead variety."

Acrobatics: 14