Daisy's Little Night Business

[Eris]

Daisy pauses outside the Guild Hall door and waits for those coming on her adventure to join her.

Daisy says to those that join her, "Let's get changed into some less noticeable and more protective clothing and grab our gear. I'll meet you back down here in the Guild Hall rooms in say, 10 minutes?"

OOC: Post in here if you're joining this adventure.

[Rex]

Da

"I will be set shortly."

He hurries to his room and gets set in his adventuring gear and back down as quick as he can.

[trawets]

Trawets nods and says I'll be back shortly. Need to grab a few things and we're off.

He heads upstairs and comes back with his gear, ready to go, if a little out of breath.

[subaltari]

Vurna comes back down wearing a simple (but fetching) serge dress with a belt, no hat nor broom, and her nearly empty leather backpack. "Ready."

Zberac flies in lazy circles well above the guild hall, watching it and nearby streets to see if the group will attract any undue attention.

[Eris]

Daisy strolls into the Meeting Room dressed in dark brown leather armor. She has a black cap covering her blonde hair and has a dark neckerchief tied around her neck which she will pull up to cover her face while the party is sneaking about. A shortsword in a scabbard is at her waist and she has a brace of six vicious darts hanging from a bandolier over her shoulder sash style. A second bandolier is over her other shoulder crossing with the first over her chest, this one has 3 small bottles attached to it. Her boots are soft soled and she moves noiselessly. She is holding a hooded lantern in one hand.

Grinning she looks around and greets those in the room, "Da, Trawets and Vurna. It will be the four of us then and a nice easy division of the 20 gp on offer."

Daisy goes, "Hum." and looks at each of you, "A bard, wizard, witch and fighter all go into a, supposedly, empty warehouse."

"Before we go, I think we need need to remember this is a sneak, an investigation and maybe some exploration." she adds, "I don't think we want to get into a fight tonight, right?"

"I've got three healing potions." she taps one of the small bottles on her chest, "But let's try not to need them."

"I'll lead the way to the warehouse." she says, "Da take the rear and make sure we don't get jumped from behind. Trawets and Vurna between us."

"Any questions about what we're doing tonight?" she asks and will answer them and when everyone is satisfied she'll nod.

---

"Are you ready?" she asks and if she gets agreement she will blow out the lamp that is lighting the room and say, "Wait a few seconds for our eyes to adjust, they we're off!"

Daisy opens the door you see that the street outside is visible. A street lamp a ways up and down the street from here, gives just enough light to allow you to see where you are going. Looking back and forth, and seeing no one in the street, Daisy leads you north and into an alley between the building where the Guild Hall and the Tavern are located.

The alley is darker, but you can see shapes as you move along past crates and piles of smelly garbage. You can hear the scurrying of little feet on the cobblestones, and know that they are mice and rats...and maybe cats...but you can't see them in the dim light.

Daisy pauses at the end of the alley and looks both ways before waving for you to follow her around the corner and onto the edge of the docks. There are no lights along the docks, but a crescent moon provides just enough so you can feel your way along. It is also quiet, you can hear the waves lapping against the wharves and the ships tied to them. Occasionally, you hear murmured conversations coming from in front of the warehouses along the docks...guards most likely. Staying close to the buildings and in shadow you move along until Daisy stops across from a large warehouse.

She whispers back to you, "This is the place!" adding "Vurna, can your crow see in this light? Is there a guard anywhere around this warehouse?"

[Rex]

Da

Da follows along, bringing up the rear.

[trawets]

Trawets moves along behind Daisy. He isn't the quietest as he occasionally bumps into things. He stays silent unless spoken to.

[subaltari]

She whispers back to you, "This is the place!" adding "Vurna, can your crow see in this light? Is there a guard anywhere around this warehouse?"

Good question... even after I looked it up!

Corvidae are diurnal, not nocturnal so they don't have the uncanny night vision of owls. However, they can see into the UV spectrum and many times better than humans in the visible light spectrum.
He should be able to spot guards if there's any lamplight or starlight. What phase is the moon in?

Wow, for a simple RPG this gets complex fast!

[Eris]

She whispers back to you, "This is the place!" adding "Vurna, can your crow see in this light? Is there a guard anywhere around this warehouse?"

Good question... even after I looked it up!

Corvidae are diurnal, not nocturnal so they don't have the uncanny night vision of owls. However, they can see into the UV spectrum and many times better than humans in the visible light spectrum.
He should be able to spot guards if there's any lamplight or starlight. What phase is the moon in?

Wow, for a simple RPG this gets complex fast!

OOC: Hee! It's a crescent moon, and is holding water...ie. horns up. Crows, all members of the Corvidae family have poor night vision. He should be able to see the shapes of any human guards moving about from the few streetlights and the crescent moon, but he couldn't recognize them specifically as human. It might be best to just say "Maybe, but not for sure."

Daisy moves across the dark alley to the side of the warehouse where a door is located. She places her hooded lantern on the ground andtakes out a flat piece of metal and a small pick and mutters as she manipulates the lock on the side , "My misspent youth should come in handy for something."

With a click! The lock releases and she opens the door and whispers, "Everyone inside!"

Once inside she closes the door and you are in complete darkness, but only momentarily as Daisy opens the hood on her lantern a bit and the inside of the large warehouse is bathed in dim light.

The warehouse isn't very full. There are some stacks of crates and more scattered here and there, but you can move about it and see all around inside easily. There is one internal room over in the northwest corner with several large windows all facing inward...probably an office. The floor is flag stone.

"I suppose we should look for some sort of entry point that isn't obvious." Daisy says looking around her, "Whoever is doing the pilfering has to have a way to get in and out. I'm sure it can't be as easy as picking a lock on the side door like we just did."

[Rex]

Da

Da gives Daisy a thumbs up and indicates he will follow her lead.

[subaltari]

He should be able to see the shapes of any human guards moving about from the few streetlights and the crescent moon, but he couldn't recognize them specifically as human. It might be best to just say "Maybe, but not for sure."

Vurna's answer to Daisy: "Perhaps, but not for sure.

"He might make out the shape of a guard, but there appear to be none outside right now." She continues softly as they move along: "Beloq the Stygian, a member of my former coven, had an owl familiar who'd be better at this, I confess."

"I suppose we should look for some sort of entry point that isn't obvious." Daisy says looking around her, "Whoever is doing the pilfering has to have a way to get in and out. I'm sure it can't be as easy as picking a lock on the side door like we just did."

"Let's trace the walls and find it, then. We could split up, but stay near."

[Eris]

OOC: Okay, now that Daisy has gotten you into the warehouse. She's going to become much more passive in what she says and does. I really want the players and their PC's to carry the action. She'll make suggestions from time to time and if combat comes up she'll take part, but the Adventure is now YOURS!

"I suppose we should look for some sort of entry point that isn't obvious." Daisy says looking around her, "Whoever is doing the pilfering has to have a way to get in and out. I'm sure it can't be as easy as picking a lock on the side door like we just did."

"Let's trace the walls and find it, then. We could split up, but stay near."

"That makes sense to me." says Daisy as she moves along one wall looking at the wooden planks for any sort of unobvious opening.

She turns to Da and says, "Say, Da! You're dwarven, right? How's your stone sense or stone craft or whatever it's called? Can you, like, detect voids under stone, for example?"

OOC: This is an example of how I run Shadowdark. Although, there's nothing like the above in Shadowdark, if a player suggests there might be something that Dwarves can do with stone floors, walls, etc., that other Ancestries can't then I'd be amenable to giving a PC a shot at attempting it. It might be as simple as Da's noticing where "stone blocks don't quite fit together", or as magical as "feeling a void under a stone floor or behind a stone wall." The key is to tell me what your PC is trying to do and you can use Ancestry and Background just as much as Class and Talents to try things. The worst I'll do is say, that didn't work. Slightly better I'll say roll for that at Disadvantage. All the way up to yes, of course you can! Creativity and outside the box thinking is highly rewarded! Surprising me (especially if you make me laugh and think) is very highly rewarded.

[trawets]

Trawets begins moving along the outer wall tapping and feeling for and inconsistencies that might be another way in. As he does so his eyes stay focused on the ground looking for any tell tale markings of passage. Before I concentrated on my wizardly studies I did some scouting. A lot of times what you hear and feel tells you more than what you can see. Pay attention to where the wall and floor meet, that is probably where you could see an indicator of things opening.

[Rex]

Da

"I will try, I have certainly spent plenty of time around stone."

He works his way around the outside wall, tapping the floor with the butt of his axe every so often and listening for any possible hollows, maybe from a tunnel or loose stones.

[subaltari]

Although there's nothing like the above in Shadowdark, if a player suggests there might be something that Dwarves can do with stone floors, walls, etc., that other Ancestries can't then I'd be amenable to giving a PC a shot at attempting it …
The worst I'll do is say, that didn't work. Slightly better I'll say roll for that at Disadvantage. All the way up to yes, of course you can!

My instinct for this is to allow that character a normal check where other types would usually fail.

I've been toying with the idea (whenever I run SD) of giving all Dwarves "stonecraft" as an extra ancestry ability, or perhaps a choice between that and smith work. Likewise, Elves would get either a check to passively notice hidden doors and objects (but not when searching − that's automatic!), OR else a chance to resist sleep, charm, ghoul touch, etc. Something not too strong, but essentially global for the race.

[subaltari]

Zberač perches up on the rooftop, using the light of the crescent moon to watch for figures or moving shadows in the area − chiefly overlooking the side of the warehouse where the party entered.

Vurna follows the cues of the cunning dwarf and the self-proclaimed former scout, tapping the floor (is it stone or wood?) and looking for seams in the walls.

"Before I concentrated on my wizardly studies I did some scouting. A lot of times what you hear and feel tells you more than what you can see."

As they move along Vurna asks, "Speaking of wizardly things... just in case our visit here is interrupted, you know, what sort of spells do you have prepared? Mine are mostly defensive, but if needed I hope as a team we can get ourselves out of danger."

[Eris]

Present: Daisy, Trawets, Vurna, Da

Vurna: [1d20]=14, Da: [1d20]=7, Trawets: [1d20]=14

Vurna taps along the flagstone floor (with her staff, right?) and stops when there is a change in sound.

When she stops it draws Daisy and Da's attention and they walk over. Da examines the flagstone floor, but doesn't see anything different about it...at first look....

Trawets, however, as he feels along the wall comes across what at first appears to be just another sconce where a candle or torch may be placed, but there is an anomalous button looking circle on it's side that he didn't see on the other sconces he has passed by.

Edit: There was never a doubt you were going to find whatever you find, but I rolled to see how you'd find it.

[trawets]

"Speaking of wizardly things... just in case our visit here is interrupted, you know, what sort of spells do you have prepared? Mine are mostly defensive, but if needed I hope as a team we can get ourselves out of danger."

As Trawets searches along he says Currently, I have a mix prepared. I can detect magic, protect myself with mage armor and attack with magic missile. Ah! I think I found a trigger for a door or something. He then pushes the button.

[Eris]

"Speaking of wizardly things... just in case our visit here is interrupted, you know, what sort of spells do you have prepared? Mine are mostly defensive, but if needed I hope as a team we can get ourselves out of danger."

As Trawets searches along he says Currently, I have a mix prepared. I can detect magic, protect myself with mage armor and attack with magic missile. Ah! I think I found a trigger for a door or something. He then pushes the button.

"What?" Daisy asks looking up, then seeing Trawets pushing the button hisses, "Wait!"

Daisy: [1d20]=3 Da: [1d20]=16 Vurna: [1d20]=20

But too late as the button is already pushed. Everyone hears a low pitched hum and then with a grating sound a section of the floor suddenly falls open leaving a square about 5 feet across of darkness leading to something somewhere below.

Everyone looks around....where is Daisy?

From below, in the darkness you hear Daisy whisper loudly, "Trapdoor! I fell, but I grabbed something, so didn't fall far. I'm okay, but I can't see anything down here...dropped my lantern and it's gone out."

Up top the light from Daisy's lantern is no longer brightening the room and all of you are in almost complete darkness! A little light, just enough, to barely make out shapes is seeping in from what are probably holes in the wooden roof of this warehouse.

[Rex]

Da

Da lays down and creeps forward to the edge of the trapdoor. He then reaches down and sees if he can feel Daisy. "Reaching for you Daisy, hold on a little longer."

If that doesn't work he will remove his belt and lower it down to her. "Here grab my belt."