"I have a scroll for that spell as well, available to anyone who can use it..." Theldrin says quietly as he frowns, peering into the dark of the rift at his feet.
Once Anator returns, Xanrym finds a fallen branch nearby and suggests using it as a Light to see how the climb looks farther down the cliff. "It might be nice to get a look for ourselves. We could lower it on a rope like we did on the ship, or if it's too far down for that, just drop it in."
FYI - Xanrym also has iron spikes and a light hammer.
Once Anator returns, Khessa stops using his senses and goes back to using her own; at that point, fixing her blue eyes on Xanrym's, she smiles and points out: "I just got a look for myself - albeit with my brother's senses - but still being able to see everyone won't hurt us. Go on and use your light, if you want."
Theldrin grin as he listens to Khessa and awaits the reconnaissance report from Anator. While the bat was below, he summoned Dusk from his pocket dimension and periodically shifts his consciousness into Dusk's. The cat perches at the rim of the rift, keeping an eye for any movement in the dark below.
Anator flies down into the darkness within the rift. He is able to follow the track of the holes in the side down to the cavern below. Once at the bottom, he sees that in fact there is a shaft that leads even lower into the earth. It seems whoever came down here went further below into the shaft. At this point he is at the 100ft limit away from Khessa, so would likely come back up.
No one notices any sign of an ambush or even any life at all around here. The people of Steaming Springs seem to have been right that no one else comes out here.
Khessa shares what she saw through her brother's senses then, considering that Xanrym has what it takes to secure the rope as the party descends, she suggests: "Shall we help ourselves with the rope and simply climb down the path with the holes? It shouldn't be too hard. Or, if you prefer, as I said, we can use magic... with a single spell, I can get all five of you to the bottom - then climb down to you myself."
"The rope perhaps..." Theldrin muses, dismissing Dusk back to his pocket dimension as he prepares for the descent. He scowls as he peers at the handholds leading down into the blackness of the rift below. "We'll want to have a way back up for one thing. But keep our Feather Fall spells at the ready?"
Xanrym says, "So, we climb down, one at a time, using a couple of the ropes tied together and secured to an iron spike at the top? Maybe we should tie knots in the ropes every 5-feet or so to make it easier to climb down?"
(OOC:
Xanrym has a +0 in Athletics, so he's pretty nervous about scaling down a sheer, 100-ft cliff. I have no idea what the rules are for using pitons and climbing. AFAICT, there's nothing RAW about it. If we're going to use a rope to descend, I guess we would just tie it off at the top. If there's not a sturdy tree near the rift, we could hammer a spike into the rock and tie the rope off to that.
Maybe would could even use a second spike to tie off a second rope that we could use as a safety line. If we each tie the safety line around us at the top, that might ensure that no one falls more than 50-ft. Once a PC reaches the halfway point in the descent, they would untie the second rope and do the last 50-ft with no safety line.
Depending on the difficulty of the climb, I think that we'll have to assume that someone is going to fall. So, we need to accept that and try to minimize the damage, or we should just hope that Avery or Coriana makes it down and assume that we may need to use Feather Fall to bring the rest of the group down. Put Khessa at the half-way point, and try to have everyone else climb down. If anyone falls, Khessa casts Feather Fall on everyone not already at the bottom so that they can just float down safely. Something like that?
While you’re climbing, each foot of movement costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in Difficult Terrain). You ignore this extra cost if you have a Climb Speed and use it to climb.
At the DM’s option, climbing a slippery surface or one with few handholds might require a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.
Basically, its up to drumdigby. RAW, ropes don't affect climbing, (not quoted) and climber's kit (not quoted) provides 25 foot anchor pointsthat you have to redo every 25 ft of climbing. IIRC, in 2014 or maybe 3.5 an anchored rope provided advantage.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards. DM - The Old Keep
(OOC: Assuming Syllen has find familiar cast normally. Note: Nav is Syllen's familiar.)
Syllen looks at Sentry.
"I think I will need to carry Sentry down. I can have Nav stay next to people as they climb down so that I can cast Guidance on you guys. After everyone is down I was thinking of turning into an ape to make climbing easier."
Syllen would take Nav out of his pocket dimension.
Xanrym can also inspire anyone (other than himself) who seems particularly worried about the climb. He suggests sending one of the stronger climbers down first to assess how difficult the climb is.
(OOC: Xanrym's Bardic Inspiration die is now a d8! It can also be stacked with Guidance, which would provide an average +7 boost to one ability check. Once one of The Company members climbs down, the others will have a better sense of how hard this climb will be for them.)
Khessa's Athletics to climb down with the rope (assuming Guidance, since it's free - but not asking for Bardic Inspiration, as it is limited, so better used on less athletic characters): 27
Assuming everyone goes down the rope using the holes seperately, you each can make a DC 10 Athletics check. For every person who doesn’t pass, Khessa will need to burn that many spell slots on feather fall.
"I have a scroll for that spell as well, available to anyone who can use it..." Theldrin says quietly as he frowns, peering into the dark of the rift at his feet.
Once Anator returns, Xanrym finds a fallen branch nearby and suggests using it as a Light to see how the climb looks farther down the cliff. "It might be nice to get a look for ourselves. We could lower it on a rope like we did on the ship, or if it's too far down for that, just drop it in."
FYI - Xanrym also has iron spikes and a light hammer.
Once Anator returns, Khessa stops using his senses and goes back to using her own; at that point, fixing her blue eyes on Xanrym's, she smiles and points out: "I just got a look for myself - albeit with my brother's senses - but still being able to see everyone won't hurt us. Go on and use your light, if you want."
Theldrin grin as he listens to Khessa and awaits the reconnaissance report from Anator. While the bat was below, he summoned Dusk from his pocket dimension and periodically shifts his consciousness into Dusk's. The cat perches at the rim of the rift, keeping an eye for any movement in the dark below.
Darkvisition 60 ft, Perception: 18
Anator flies down into the darkness within the rift. He is able to follow the track of the holes in the side down to the cavern below. Once at the bottom, he sees that in fact there is a shaft that leads even lower into the earth. It seems whoever came down here went further below into the shaft. At this point he is at the 100ft limit away from Khessa, so would likely come back up.
No one notices any sign of an ambush or even any life at all around here. The people of Steaming Springs seem to have been right that no one else comes out here.
Khessa shares what she saw through her brother's senses then, considering that Xanrym has what it takes to secure the rope as the party descends, she suggests: "Shall we help ourselves with the rope and simply climb down the path with the holes? It shouldn't be too hard. Or, if you prefer, as I said, we can use magic... with a single spell, I can get all five of you to the bottom - then climb down to you myself."
"The rope perhaps..." Theldrin muses, dismissing Dusk back to his pocket dimension as he prepares for the descent. He scowls as he peers at the handholds leading down into the blackness of the rift below. "We'll want to have a way back up for one thing. But keep our Feather Fall spells at the ready?"
Xanrym says, "So, we climb down, one at a time, using a couple of the ropes tied together and secured to an iron spike at the top? Maybe we should tie knots in the ropes every 5-feet or so to make it easier to climb down?"
(OOC:
Xanrym has a +0 in Athletics, so he's pretty nervous about scaling down a sheer, 100-ft cliff. I have no idea what the rules are for using pitons and climbing. AFAICT, there's nothing RAW about it. If we're going to use a rope to descend, I guess we would just tie it off at the top. If there's not a sturdy tree near the rift, we could hammer a spike into the rock and tie the rope off to that.
Maybe would could even use a second spike to tie off a second rope that we could use as a safety line. If we each tie the safety line around us at the top, that might ensure that no one falls more than 50-ft. Once a PC reaches the halfway point in the descent, they would untie the second rope and do the last 50-ft with no safety line.
Depending on the difficulty of the climb, I think that we'll have to assume that someone is going to fall. So, we need to accept that and try to minimize the damage, or we should just hope that Avery or Coriana makes it down and assume that we may need to use Feather Fall to bring the rest of the group down. Put Khessa at the half-way point, and try to have everyone else climb down. If anyone falls, Khessa casts Feather Fall on everyone not already at the bottom so that they can just float down safely. Something like that?
)
Khessa agrees: "That's fine; it's a very quick spell to cast... Let's try the rope and I'll keep the spell as an emergency solution."
Coriana agrees.
RAW on climbing:
Climbing
While you’re climbing, each foot of movement costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in Difficult Terrain). You ignore this extra cost if you have a Climb Speed and use it to climb.
At the DM’s option, climbing a slippery surface or one with few handholds might require a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.
Basically, its up to drumdigby. RAW, ropes don't affect climbing, (not quoted) and climber's kit (not quoted) provides 25 foot anchor pointsthat you have to redo every 25 ft of climbing.
IIRC, in 2014 or maybe 3.5 an anchored rope provided advantage.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
(OOC: Assuming Syllen has find familiar cast normally. Note: Nav is Syllen's familiar.)
Syllen looks at Sentry.
"I think I will need to carry Sentry down. I can have Nav stay next to people as they climb down so that I can cast Guidance on you guys. After everyone is down I was thinking of turning into an ape to make climbing easier."
Syllen would take Nav out of his pocket dimension.
(OOC: Thanks! That also reminded me of why I was thinking that putting knots in the rope might help with climbing. It's from Rope of Climbing.)
Xanrym can also inspire anyone (other than himself) who seems particularly worried about the climb. He suggests sending one of the stronger climbers down first to assess how difficult the climb is.
(OOC: Xanrym's Bardic Inspiration die is now a d8! It can also be stacked with Guidance, which would provide an average +7 boost to one ability check. Once one of The Company members climbs down, the others will have a better sense of how hard this climb will be for them.)
Avery is ready to head down the rope
Khessa's Athletics to climb down with the rope (assuming Guidance, since it's free - but not asking for Bardic Inspiration, as it is limited, so better used on less athletic characters): 27
"A little climb down a rope should be no problem for a sailor like me..."
Coriana heads down after Khessa. 11
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Assuming everyone goes down the rope using the holes seperately, you each can make a DC 10 Athletics check. For every person who doesn’t pass, Khessa will need to burn that many spell slots on feather fall.
Khessa and Coriana have both made it to the bottom of the chasm.
Theldrin takes a deep breath and begins climbing down the rope.
Athletics: 19
Add Guidance: 4