“Pisgah, would you like the necklace as you’re more of the scout roll and I’m more of the back of the line roll? If you do not wish to attune, I will wear it, but find if you want it, go for it.”
"Sure, I can take it and will plan to study it when we take our next break. It may be something to switch back and forth as well depending on the situation we find ourselves in."
Pisgah will put on the necklace and post up by the north door ready to cross to the hall running east. If the group concensus is to try and be sneaky at this point, Pisgah will cast Pass without Trace on the party.
I'm going to move it forward with the assumption that everyone is sneaking to the east then.
With the help of supremely muffled steps, everyone sneaks across the southern corridor into the eastern passage [stealth: Jaya 20, Rico 22, Steel 20, Pisgah 17, Nikk 24, Canti 34]. You quickly get to the bend and see a single 30 by 30 feet room. A putrid stench fills both this chamber and the hallway you came from. A lot of filth and dirt here, even less clean than the manticores you dealt with before. And oh, the smell, it's enough to give a gag reflext to the less worldly amongst you.
No creature is to be found here, and the filth doesn't look like it harbors any great treasures either.
I'm going to move it forward with the assumption that everyone is sneaking to the east then.
With the help of supremely muffled steps, everyone sneaks across the southern corridor into the eastern passage [stealth: Jaya 20, Rico 22, Steel 20, Pisgah 17, Nikk 24, Canti 34]. You quickly get to the bend and see a single 30 by 30 feet room. A putrid stench fills both this chamber and the hallway you came from. A lot of filth and dirt here, even less clean than the manticores you dealt with before. And oh, the smell, it's enough to give a gag reflext to the less worldly amongst you.
No creature is to be found here, and the filth doesn't look like it harbors any great treasures either.
Nikkitch looks anyway. Perhaps there's component value in the filth.
"Right then, shall we go after the smelly thing that was crunching on bones?" as Pisgah starts to quietly walk down the hallway with his longbow in hand and an arrow nocked.
OOC: Did we use the Pass without Trace? If so, I will mark it off my sheet.
As you walk down to the south for quite a while, you finally come to a bend in the corridor, pointing east. Peering around the corner, you see a sort of feast hall, occupied by 20-foot-long, 5-foot-wide stone tables standing in the middle of it, flanked by stone benches. Massive piles of rotting meat occupy each table.
You also spot the source of the chewing noises: the hulking humanoid figure is located in the middle of the room, bowed over the meat, devouring it in huge chunks, barely swallowing. It's six limbs are green and gangly, but any sign of weakness is betrayed by the sharp contours of lean muscle. Matted hair hangs over a large nose.
Nikkitch, Canti, Rico and Pisgah [survival and nature] immediately recognize the creature. It's a troll. Those monstrosities are known to adapt rapidly - and this one seems to have sprouted an additional set of arms. You know of their famous aversion to fire, too.
Seems your careful approach failed to alert the creature. And over the pungent stink of all that meat (and the troll), it's surely impossible to smell you.
Looking around, iron rods designed to hold tapestries are bolted to the walls near the ceiling. There are also two exits from the room, to the north and east each. And the hallway you're in now branches off into a southward direction.
Pisgah will hold up 1 finger then mime us all walking down the south corridor before he holds up two fingers and then point to Jaya, Steel, and Rico and then then the corridor to the south, pointing to Canti and Nikk he motions to back up into the north corridor, and then mimes shooting an arrow at the troll. If the party agrees and splits to those locations, Pisgah will lean out around the corner after the crew is tucked into the south corridor, fire two arrows at the troll and wait to see the reaction. If the troll doesn't know where the shots came from, Pisgah will move 5 ft around the corner in order to be seen, fire two more arrows at the troll, then move up the north corridor and stand in front of Canti and Nikk as he enters his rage. He will throw the longbow over Canti and Nikk as he moves the shield into place and draws his longsword.
OOC: Not sure how you want this to be rolled Preyfire so adjust as you need to if the party
Surprise Shot 1: longbow 9 to hit 10 damage Surprise
It's straightforward enough to check on the south direction, so this is what people going down there see:
There is a second, slightly smaller, feast chamber. It's decor is much the same as the one the troll is in. There is no apparent direct way to circle back, but there is a door at the eastern end of the corridor.
After several rounds of furtive hand signals, raised eyebrows/scales, and feather pointing, the party makes their way to the room south of the troll. Some of the party scouts out the smaller feasting room to the south of where the troll is while Pisgah uses the ear horn to listen at the door leading to the south out of the hallway.
Pisgah doesn't hear anything behind that door, but he smells the pungent odor of decomposition. His experience in survival tells the genasi that there's at least one long-dead body in there.
Pisgah will whisper to the team "There is a strong smell of decay beyond the door. Before we open the door, is there anything of interest in the feast room?"
Nikkitch is keen to explore the dining area. He carefully toes around the room, checking every corner, eyeing every nook and cranny and crack. He also checks for any symbols or etchings on the decor, under the tables and around the benches, looking for signs of any arcane reference. If there's a fireplace, he'll even check that.
As far as Nikkitch can put together, this place is old and of indeterminate origin. That is, it looks like something that a wizard might conjure with the vague idea of a dinner hall. There are no decorations and no marks that point to manual labor being involved in the construction. Judging by the lack of stain marks on the tables, not many dinners actually happened here, and certainly not recently. Everything is covered in a thick layer of dust.The iron rods bolted into the walls at regular intervals seem to have been intended to hang tapestries from, although the tapestries are nowhere to be seen.
Under one table, the kenku finds a copper tankard with a hinged lid. Even covered with dust, it looks like it could be sold for a good sum. It must have remained long after all other decor has been removed. Not magical though.
“Pisgah, would you like the necklace as you’re more of the scout roll and I’m more of the back of the line roll? If you do not wish to attune, I will wear it, but find if you want it, go for it.”
"Sure, I can take it and will plan to study it when we take our next break. It may be something to switch back and forth as well depending on the situation we find ourselves in."
Pisgah will put on the necklace and post up by the north door ready to cross to the hall running east. If the group concensus is to try and be sneaky at this point, Pisgah will cast Pass without Trace on the party.
I'm going to move it forward with the assumption that everyone is sneaking to the east then.
With the help of supremely muffled steps, everyone sneaks across the southern corridor into the eastern passage [stealth: Jaya 20, Rico 22, Steel 20, Pisgah 17, Nikk 24, Canti 34]. You quickly get to the bend and see a single 30 by 30 feet room. A putrid stench fills both this chamber and the hallway you came from. A lot of filth and dirt here, even less clean than the manticores you dealt with before. And oh, the smell, it's enough to give a gag reflext to the less worldly amongst you.
No creature is to be found here, and the filth doesn't look like it harbors any great treasures either.
Nikkitch looks anyway. Perhaps there's component value in the filth.
[Passive Perception & Investigation]
[Arcana: 14]
DM Comment: You can assume that I'm already taking your passives into account and will mention them when applicable.
Nikk doesn't get the sense that there is any magical influence here.
"Right then, shall we go after the smelly thing that was crunching on bones?" as Pisgah starts to quietly walk down the hallway with his longbow in hand and an arrow nocked.
OOC: Did we use the Pass without Trace? If so, I will mark it off my sheet.
DM Comment: Yep, I'm assuming you cast it and took it into account on the stealth checks.
As you walk down to the south for quite a while, you finally come to a bend in the corridor, pointing east. Peering around the corner, you see a sort of feast hall, occupied by 20-foot-long, 5-foot-wide stone tables standing in the middle of it, flanked by stone benches. Massive piles of rotting meat occupy each table.
You also spot the source of the chewing noises: the hulking humanoid figure is located in the middle of the room, bowed over the meat, devouring it in huge chunks, barely swallowing. It's six limbs are green and gangly, but any sign of weakness is betrayed by the sharp contours of lean muscle. Matted hair hangs over a large nose.
Nikkitch, Canti, Rico and Pisgah [survival and nature] immediately recognize the creature. It's a troll. Those monstrosities are known to adapt rapidly - and this one seems to have sprouted an additional set of arms. You know of their famous aversion to fire, too.
Seems your careful approach failed to alert the creature. And over the pungent stink of all that meat (and the troll), it's surely impossible to smell you.
Looking around, iron rods designed to hold tapestries are bolted to the walls near the ceiling. There are also two exits from the room, to the north and east each. And the hallway you're in now branches off into a southward direction.
@DM
[OoC: Is the flanking mechanic in play for this campaign?]
If there is a preference for it, I don't mind using it.
OOC: yes to the flanking, imo
Pisgah will hold up 1 finger then mime us all walking down the south corridor before he holds up two fingers and then point to Jaya, Steel, and Rico and then then the corridor to the south, pointing to Canti and Nikk he motions to back up into the north corridor, and then mimes shooting an arrow at the troll. If the party agrees and splits to those locations, Pisgah will lean out around the corner after the crew is tucked into the south corridor, fire two arrows at the troll and wait to see the reaction. If the troll doesn't know where the shots came from, Pisgah will move 5 ft around the corner in order to be seen, fire two more arrows at the troll, then move up the north corridor and stand in front of Canti and Nikk as he enters his rage. He will throw the longbow over Canti and Nikk as he moves the shield into place and draws his longsword.
OOC: Not sure how you want this to be rolled Preyfire so adjust as you need to if the party
Surprise Shot 1: longbow 9 to hit 10 damage Surprise
Shot 2: longbow 13 to hit 3 damage
Shot 1: longbow 8 to hit 5 damage
Shot 2: longbow 9 to hit 10 damage
It's straightforward enough to check on the south direction, so this is what people going down there see:
There is a second, slightly smaller, feast chamber. It's decor is much the same as the one the troll is in. There is no apparent direct way to circle back, but there is a door at the eastern end of the corridor.
DM is assuming that Pisgah would not attack with this new information, but correct me if I'm wrong.
You are correct.
After several rounds of furtive hand signals, raised eyebrows/scales, and feather pointing, the party makes their way to the room south of the troll. Some of the party scouts out the smaller feasting room to the south of where the troll is while Pisgah uses the ear horn to listen at the door leading to the south out of the hallway.
Perception roll of 12
Pisgah doesn't hear anything behind that door, but he smells the pungent odor of decomposition. His experience in survival tells the genasi that there's at least one long-dead body in there.
Pisgah will whisper to the team "There is a strong smell of decay beyond the door. Before we open the door, is there anything of interest in the feast room?"
Nikkitch is keen to explore the dining area. He carefully toes around the room, checking every corner, eyeing every nook and cranny and crack. He also checks for any symbols or etchings on the decor, under the tables and around the benches, looking for signs of any arcane reference. If there's a fireplace, he'll even check that.
[Investigation: 20 (13{+7})]
[Arcana: 17 (10{+7})]
As far as Nikkitch can put together, this place is old and of indeterminate origin. That is, it looks like something that a wizard might conjure with the vague idea of a dinner hall. There are no decorations and no marks that point to manual labor being involved in the construction. Judging by the lack of stain marks on the tables, not many dinners actually happened here, and certainly not recently. Everything is covered in a thick layer of dust.The iron rods bolted into the walls at regular intervals seem to have been intended to hang tapestries from, although the tapestries are nowhere to be seen.
Under one table, the kenku finds a copper tankard with a hinged lid. Even covered with dust, it looks like it could be sold for a good sum. It must have remained long after all other decor has been removed. Not magical though.
Nikkitch returns, cursing internally. He passes the tankard to Pisgah, uttering simply "valuable" in the corpse's cold whisper.