IC 004 - Water Never Sleeps

[Rex]

Ciarra

She has Survive 0. I think we are set for supplies right now.

[Marullus]

Collecting giant-sized snake spell components:
Int+Magic [2d6+3]=12+3=15

Is this just for fun? In the parlance of 1e, spells in WWN have verbal and somatic components but no material component. At least not to the best of my knowledge.

Glad we don't use material spell components.

I was assuming he was extracting what is magically useful, like we did previously for resale. (If you want it to be Survival instead of Magic, it is 13 instead of 15. I hoped magic was useful there.)

A good opportunity to discuss, though. Gars doesn't cast spells but he can make magic items, such as single use potions or calyx that mimic a spell. (p.92) This requires that he gather components by adventuring. In the book it recommends "devoting a game session to an ingredient" but in PbP that is months of play and really selfish. It also requires you as GM to write an adventure around the thing i am seeking which violates your point crawl. In other games (and i recommend for this one) we implemented gathering suitable components from the creatures fought in the normal gameplay -- it then puts the onus back on me as a player to propose what magic item i can devise from what we acquired instead of forming the adventure around what i desire. In this case, you would say "giant snake antecedents for x000sp" and that's the value for magic item creation. This also helps control inflation of coin, because actually hordes large enough to fund even the simplest potions at book prices is an issue. I would recommend you allow the full value of an antecedent for magic item creation and a value of no more than 50% if we try to sell it to other mages instead.

This also goes with the idea of Occult Exemplars (p.264). A wonderful component of WWN, you can add non-useful magical trinkets from past ages (random generators have great ideas) that bump up the flavor of otherwise empty rooms. You assign the sp value to it and it is useful as parts for making other magic items in downtime. This again puts the impetus for utility back on me as the player and slows monty haul acquisition. Again, i would allow retail at 50% or less.

Tl:dr - when i have time to investigate giant/strange creatures, i am hoping to roll Magic and gather useful parts that you assign a sp value to for item creation (prices are in thousands on page 92, so the parts are saleable at less than 50%)

[sulldawga]

Marullus is easily able to remove some scales from the snake, as well as some sort of internal gland positioned behind the snake's skull that he views as valuable.

You are all ready to return to the Ruin, if you wish. There is no sign of any other snake, nor any other living creature larger than a songbird or squirrel.

[Rex]

Ciarra

Heading back inside, "I think the snake ate everything around here."

[Marullus]

Turning to the others, he continues. "Beyond the door is some sort of sacrificial pit with an observation dais... its proximity here to the front door alludes to it being a main attraction for those that gather. No exits I could see, but the drain holes in the floor imply a room below, where the spilled blood was collected likely for ritual purposes. I'd say we can get out the prybars and try to go straight down as a path less travelled. Or we can go left or right from this antechamber."

[Rex]

Ciarra

"We could search the sacrificial room for secret/concealed doors."

[The_Wanderer]

Sleepy unslings his bow and prepares an arrow.

"I'll let you all lead. A sacrificial pit? Sounds like I've landed in something interesting rather quickly."

[sulldawga]

Please give me concrete actions from people, vs the conditionals and suggestions I've seen thrown around so far. Who is doing what with which implement? And if I don't see any action assigned to someone, I am assuming they are just standing around watching others, vs keeping watch for wandering monsters.

[Rex]

Ciarra

Ciarra will move into the room with the pit and search the walls for secret doors. She will start at the entrance and go clockwise. She has the lantern.

[Marullus]

Gars climbs to the bottom of the pit, heedless of the darkness. He inspects the drain holes for both effluent channels and recency of residue. He looks for evidence of an opening or room beyond (and if it has any glow of magic if the opening is large enough to put an eye to.)

[The_Wanderer]

Sleepy stands at the edge of the pit looking downward and covering Gars with his bow. He scans the walls for anything interesting...
Notice + Wisdom
[2d6+1]=2+1=3

...but is distracted by a bug buzzing around his ear.

[sulldawga]

Round 4

Ciarra makes a show of listening at the walls, knocking on the stone, poking any cracks with a dagger, etc. She is unsuccessful in finding any hidden apertures.

There are two steel "loops" bolted to the floor where the previous inhabitants had secured the now-decrepit rope ladder before lowering it into the pit. Gars secures a rope to one of these loops and lowers himself down. He finds no evidence that anything living has been down there for a long time. He peers into the small drains but sees nothing that suggests the final destination of any fluids poured within.

Sleepy is looking at the walls and the pit and thus is caught unawares when a sextet of skeletons rounds the corner and marches into the room!

Wandering monster check is 1 in 6. We have a winner!

Let's have an opposed check. My skeletons have rolled a 7 for surprise. I gave them a +1 because no one was specifically watching the door. Pick the best PC and roll a Wis/Notice check and beat it.

[Rex]

Ciarra

Looks like you are up for the roll Sleepy.

[The_Wanderer]

Sleepy

Notice + Wisdom: [2d6+1]=8+1=9

Sleepy's head snaps to the marching forms and he reacts immediately to cry out in alarm and warning.

[sulldawga]

Round 1

Sleepy is just attentive enough to his surroundings to avoid being surprised by the unnaturally quiet skeletons, but they still catch the party on the back foot.

Each skeleton pairs up to assault a party member, with Gars safe (for now) in the pit. All wield a rusting or dull weapon, which could make open wounds susceptible to infection!

Still, the party is mostly able to dodge or parry the attacks, with Sleepy suffering a minor wound.

It is now the players' turn to respond!

Skeletons win initiative. Skeletons 1 & 2 attack Lavin, 3 & 4 attack Sleepy, and 5 & 6 attack Ciarra.

Attack rolls are 5 and 13 (both misses on Lavin), 9 and 13 (one hit on Sleepy) and 6 and 4 (two misses on Ciarra). Sleepy takes 2 hp dmg.

Skeletons have AC 13. HP for the skeletons are 3, 7, 7, 3, 2, and 5, in order.

[Rex]

Ciarra

Ciarra attacks with her war hammer.

War hammer [1d20+3]=6+3=9 to hit [1d8+3]=1+3=4 damage, shock 3/AC 20

[The_Wanderer]

Sleepy ducks and dodges the two skeletons, doing his best to stay in one piece. "A little help here...? I really prefer NOT to see the whites of their eyes...or blacks of their eye sockets in this case."

He maintains a grip on his bow as he draws a hand axe from a loop on his waste. He starts hacking at the undead, of limited effect.

Hand Axe: [1d20+0]=6+0=6 to hit, [1d6+1]=2+1=3 damage or 2 shock against AC15 or worse

HP: 10/12

[Marullus]

If one move action is sufficient to scurry up the ladder, Gars will attack the ones on Sleepy. If not, he spends his whole actionmaking sure he gets up the ladder. Either way, he uses his reaction to cast Weeping Wounds on one that is injured but not slain/destroyed. (Assuming there is a magically-draining equivalenteffect to blood loss here, an interesting experiment. )
Accursed Blade (1-hand): [1d20+6]=13+6=19, [1d8+6]=6+6=12, Shock: 8/AC 15
Weeping Wounds [1d6]=6

[sulldawga]

Round 1, continued

Ciarra swings her warhammer with such force that even a glancing blow crushes the unlife out of a skeleton.
Sleepy pulls out his handaxe and chops at another but finds much less success than Ciarra.
Lavin freezes in fear. Perhaps it's her first encounter with the walking dead?
Gars scrambles up the rope, kills one skeleton attacking Sleepy with Weeping Wounds, activates his Accursed Blade, and kills the other skeleton attacking Sleepy.

Ciarra misses Skeleton 5 but Shock damage kills it.
Sleepy misses Skeleton 3 but does 2 Shock damage.
Gars' Weeping Wounds affects skeleton 3. It misses its save and takes 6 damage, which kills it.
Gars then hits Skeleton 4 and kills it.

[sulldawga]

Round 2

The skeletons attacking Lavin know no remorse or pity, and they tee off on her, striking her twice. Ciarra dodges the remaining attack with contemptuous ease.

To-hit rolls are 16, 21, and 3, in order. Lavin takes 9 damage.