IV. The Witch Tower

[onlyme]

Fulp suggests,

Festus, why dont you go next, once he has the rope ready. that way you can pull up anyone who needs help. I will go next, followed by Sylvan. Kassal, do you feel comfortable tying the poor Sparrrow tightly in a hoistable loop? That order gives us the most strength to lift him up.

[onlyme]

Fulp adds,
Ciar, how much you think your rope will hold? Suspect we should send up our gear separately, to keep the weight down.

[Storm11]

The gnome is happy to.

[Alethan]

"It's fine. Quality silk rope. And I'm buying a bleedin' ladder for when we come back," he responds, shaking his head.

[AleBelly]

Sylvan agrees with the plan, and shows Kassel how to fashion a harness out of the end of the rope. As Festus climbs on him, he grunts. "Oafish bastard! Watch where you're stepping! "

[dmw71]

Before tossing down the other end of the rope, Ciar ties half-hitch loops every foot or two, creating extra holds for the climbing characters to follow. Fulp suggests Festus attempt to climb next and use his strength to pull up anyone else that has difficulty climbing on their own.

Festus grumbles at the thought of climbing, and determining that his best chances of success will involve him removing his chain mail, does little to improve his mood. "This comes up next, you understand!?" he barks, indicating his chain armor as he begins removing it. Once as unencumbered as he will ever be, Festus begins his climb, and appreciates the knotted loops which he uses for hand holds. As he nears the first floor, and begins to grow confident in his climbing ability, he loses his grip and, unable to catch himself, comes crashing down and falling solidly onto the platform, which thankfully doesn't collapse under his weight.

"SONOFA...." Festus howls angrily after the impact. He quicly rises to his feet, and without even bothering to collect himself, grabs hold of the rope again and attempts the climb again. This time successfully.

"My armor." he snaps and, once his chain has been connected to the rope below, he hoists it up.



Fulp is next in the order. Does he want to attempt to climb the rope, or be pulled up by Festus?



Rolls
Climb rope (70): [1d100] = 77
Climb rope (70): [1d100] = 50

[onlyme]

Fulp removes his gear and ties it along with Festus' armor and has Festus pull it up. Once completed, he will attempt to climb the rope, using the toe loops to climb and hoping to avoid calling on the cheerful dwarf's help.

[dmw71]

After sending up his possessions along with Festus' armor, Fulp is able to make the climb successfully.

Then Sylvan.

Then Kassal.

Sparrow, secured to the rope before Kassal or Sylvan made their climb, is successfully hoisted to the ground floor by Festus and is reunited with the rest of the group.

Ciar collects his rope and studies the distance to the second floor. While it's the same distance as their previous climb, the group no longer has the benefit of the 6' makeshift platform making the task look that much more difficult.

"Stupid!" Festus curses angrily. "He," indicating the unconscious Sparrow resting beside him. "Shoulda just left his rope where it was, when it was secured up there." he bellows, pointing at the level above.

"So, what now?" Festus asks. "A dwarf, a halfling, and a gnome. Ain't exactly the tallest group, are we?"



Rolls
Fulp climb check (80): [1d100] = 53
Sylvan climb check (80): [1d100] = 10
Kassal climb check (65): [1d100] = 22
Sparrow hits "ceiling" (10): [1d100] = 96

[Alethan]

Ciar closes the hatch to the lower level so nobody accidentally falls down the hole.

"Oh, I fully agree we shoulda left the rope attached. Having to even consider the idea should have been a warning that we weren't prepared for the trip and should have gone back to town and stocked up on some supplies before we went down. We know better now, if we can get out of here..."

He looks around in desperation.

"Look... best I got is a crowbar; maybe I could tie my rope to it and try and use it as a grapple to snag that beam. Otherwise, someone's just going to have to throw me or Kassal up there."

If Fulp agrees, Ciar retrieves his crowbar and ties one end of his silk rope to the middle of it, then stands on Fulp's shoulders and tries to throw it up through the opening and snag it on the beam they'd left near the opening.

[AleBelly]

"Bunch of assholes live in this village" grumbles Sylvan. "They send us down here to do their dirty work, and don't even leave a rope for us when we ask them."

"I wonder if there's enough rubble here to stack up so we can use the same trick we did below."

[onlyme]

Fulp thinks about it a moment.
If only someone had a lance, we could just pole vault outa here. Yes, it should be easy enough to toss a rope 15 feet up as long as it is tied to something with weight. Do we have anything softer than a crowbar? the rope is long enough to let the other side down to us. Shouldn't need a grapple.

[dmw71]

Looking through Sparrow's supplies reveals that the unconscious human does have a grappling hook.

[Alethan]

Ciar takes the grappling hook, ties one end of his rope to it, and then tries to use it to catch the beam through the trap door.

If getting up on someone's shoulders makes this task easier, then he will.

[onlyme]

Fulp will assist, either by hoisting him for more height, or by laughing at him trying to toss a grappling hook that far away.

[dmw71]

On his first toss, Ciar catches the hook in the beam, or something else equally secure, and creates an opportunity to escape.


I will let everyone make their own climb checks, so I'll need everyone to make a percentage roll, please.

I'm a bit rushed this morning, so instead of calculating the success chances for each character individually, I'll just post the modifiers I'm using, below.


Base: 80%
Dwarf: -10%
Gnome/Halfling: -15%
Chain armor: -15%
Studded leather, padded armor: -5%
Encumbrance: -5% per encumbrance category above unencumbered
Climber wounded below ½ hp: -10%



Just roll low and you'll be fine.

[dmw71]

Please indicate any precautions your character is taking before you roll (e.g. taking off armor, backpack, etc...).

[Alethan]

Ciar shrugs off his pack and lashes it to the bottom-most loop on the rope. Then he easily climbs the rope. He pulls it up after himself to retrieve his pack. Then he makes sure the grapple is properly set for the next person and lowers the rope back down.

[onlyme]

Fulp calls out,
I think we go in the same order we did before. And likewise taking off extra gear to lighten the load.
Festus next, so he can help pull up the rope for anyone who is struggling to climb, then me to assist once up, then Sylvan, the poor Sparrow and finally Kassal.

[dmw71]

Ciar is seen almost effortlessly climbing the rope and reaching the second floor which opens to the dark, crisp night sky. To the southwest, lanterns hanging outside various buildings in Belhaim light the sky like fireflies. Smoke billowing out of chimney's offer the promise of warmth, and comfort. He quickly inspects the grappling hook and, determining it is safely secure, urges Festus to join him topside.

Festus, tired and achy, begrudgingly attempts to climb next, but only after insisting that his armor be sent up directly behind him. Climbing as lean as possible, the dwarf muscles his way up safely. Fulp sends Festus’ armor and pack up next before making the climb himself.

Below, Sylvan and Kassal begin to execute the same plan of securing Sparrow for being lifted. Once secured, they tug on the rope and suggest their unconscious companion go up next.

Once Sparrow has been safely lifted, “You’re next,” Fulp calls down to Sylvan quietly, though there are no signs of anyone or anything else in the area.



Rope
Rope climb (60): [1d100] = 25
Sparrow hits ceiling (10): [1d100] = 26

[onlyme]

Fulp calls down,

Kassal? Sylvan? Come on. What are you waiting for? He will then be as quiet as possible to listen for a reply.