Tyrrell puts on his helmet, glaring upwards then lighting his lantern. One final creature descends the rope - a matronly goblin bearing a good-quality longsword that is taller than she is. She drops to the ground, the mounds of trash shifting beneath her. "I'm Tog. That's Gurzlak," she grins broadly at Tyrrell, showing all her pointed teeth, then nodding down at the corpse once more. "Rat food. Big rats." The hatch above is slammed shut as the ropes disappear and you hear the bolt slide into place. Tyrrell's lantern is now the only light on the gristly, trash-strewn room.
Tyrrell moves to the stone door and pulls the handle to check the visible lock. Regrettably, the handle doesn't yield. It is indeed locked. There is an ominious "click" sound, just a little too late. A spear shaft thrusts out from the wall, hitting Tyrrell squarely. The cleric has only time to flinch, partially deflecting the spear with the lantern that happens to be in his hands. As a result, the spear just grazes him and then retracts, but the lantern shatters sickeningly. Its reservoir punctured by the spear and its glass panes tinkling to the floor, it winks out, plunging the group into inky darkness.
Tog cackles maniacally in the sudden dark. Then you hear a rustling along the east wall. A chittering sound follows.
Spear trap [1d20] = 20 [1d6] = 4 Accepting double damage would have killed Tyrrell, so I opted for the impediment of breaking the lantern (and Tyrrell takes 1 hp). Both Elves and the goblin can see with Infravision currently and neither elf is carrying light sources. Dorath has some candles, Tyrrell has some torches, then you're out. Please track your inventory carefully and note when you're lighting a new item. Both torches and candles last one hour, and non-combat actions are 15 minutes each, usually. So, you'll get about four actions per torch/candle as I advance the clock.
With a new light struck and Carchannoi rushing it's location, the chittering creature disappears back through the rubbish by the time Carchannoi reaches the spot.
The candle is a mote of light in the dark space, the shadows shifting wildly on the surrounding walls, the room now quiet once more.
Fyi - the candle provides full light in a 5' radius, but it is better than having nothing in the room. When in the room but outside the radius, I'll apply the -2 penalty for partial darkness instead of the -4 for full darkness.
"Let there be light the Holy Canon says. Dorath, use your candle to light the spill of oil, then we may all see what assails us."
The room had four doors but three were closed and the north one broken. I presumed the chittering had come from that direction since we spotted no movement prior to that. Tyrrell will move the twenty feet, 8 measured strides to the centre of the room from the stone door. Feeling for the rope to get his bearings.
He looks for the candlelight, hoping Dorath does light the lamp spillage and he listens for approaching rats to bash.
Carchannoi stands along the east wall, the source of the chittering and scurrying, ready with his warhammer should it reoccur. Tyrrell measures his paces from the southern door back to the center of the room, groping about in the dim light for the ropes which were pulled up and taken away when the goblins shut the door above. He monitors the northern door closely in case chittering occurs from there.
Dorath uses his candle to light the oil spill which is on the floor in front of the southern stone door. The oil flares to life, lighting the room brightly, but for a limited time. Poured oil burns for 10 minutes - everyone gets one action in full-light conditions.
Takes the spear that shot from the wall and wraps some old cloth strips or fabric around the head. ( Loose detritus or shirt taken from Gurzlak). He rolls it in the soaked flaming oil to get another few minutes of flaming light from the ad hoc firebrand.
"Is there a specific place we need to get to? A chapel, a hall?"
You can make a torch out of the trash in the room, though. There are several femurs and a few chunks of wood, plus mouldering clothing and sacks. You can find enough suitable material to make [1d6] torches if you spend a turn to do so.
"Perhaps you've mistaken me for one of the acolytes or servants that you clearly ordered around in your churches. Should you wish something perhaps you could remember that I am not your slave and will not respond to such commands. I will help because it is for the good of the group but in future, mind your tone."
Dorath will use his staff to shift through some of the rubble on the floor to separate out some good material for torches. Seeing as he is carrying the candle, he will not be going any closer to the now burning oil patch as he needs to.
"FFS, you aren't being asked to do anything which I am not doing myself, scrabbling about on hands and knees amongst femur bones and shit to take advantage of a small window of opportunity to make some torches that will aid US ( the group), in the future
."
OOC responses redacted.
I meant to make 1 torch but the 'good lord' has shown I can scrabble about and make maybe up to six. If you did the same we could have 12, if folk had a brain and used 1 turn to be creative, well you could have 5d6 additional hours of light, how precious an extra days light?
"FFS, you aren't being asked to do anything which I am not doing myself, scrabbling about on hands and knees amongst femur bones and shit to take advantage of a small window of opportunity to make some torches that will aid US ( the group), in the future
If you had taken the time to read my full post, I clearly stated that I would assist for THE GOOD OF THE GROUP. My characters issue is one with Tyrrell's general tone.
You can make a torch out of the trash in the room, though. There are several femurs and a few chunks of wood, plus mouldering clothing and sacks. You can find enough suitable material to make [1d6] torches if you spend a turn to do so.
I read this the way the Marullus explained later that there was only enough material in the room to make 1d6 torches total. If folk had a brain, perhaps they wouldn't just jump to quick assumptions.
If IC conflict(which I'm fine with) is going to spill over into OOC conflict, we should just close this thread and move on. This is supposed to be fun, right?
If IC conflict(which I'm fine with) is going to spill over into OOC conflict, we should just close this thread and move on. This is supposed to be fun, right?
Agreed, as stated originally. It is my character that takes issue with how Tyrrell addresses him. I personally have no issue with how anyone plays their character as long as it stays in character. My characters will react according to their background and alignment. I apologize if I have said anything that came across as personal. I just want to have some fun!!
Lets stay IC, please. If the characters are bickering, that can be okay, but we shouldn't be spilling over to OOC.
If there is OOC disgruntlement and concern, lets address that too, but not in the game thread. Please take a moment to review the Game Concept, specifically: 4) This is a game, and it is meant to be both enjoyable and fair for all players. To this end, I operate under a strong concept of the Player Compact. In this sandbox, characters can love, hate, work together, or work against each other, but the involved players should be witting and able to all enjoy it at an OOC level. Secret actions against other players through the DM are limited. We are playing a game here as friends, no matter what transpires among characters.
If you have an issue with another player, first take a step back. We can walk away from the keys for a day and nobody gets hurt. Second, if the issue continues, please reach out respectfully to each other privately to talk as players. It IS important that we are all playing a game here as friends and it is harder not being across the table from each other. Third, If a PM doesn't fix it, then let me know. I am willing to cut off an IC situation if called for.
For this situation, I'll also re-post this piece of the Game Concept as well:
3) I believe that characters should have strong beliefs, should act on them, should be challenged in them, and should grow through gameplay. I will shape the game to challenge your characters, including the development and world-involvement of deities, the moral and ethical challenges characters face, etc. The bedrock of the game is the exploration, discovery, and civilization of the Northern Wastes, but the heroes of the story are your characters. The story we tell is one in which they will struggle, grow, and either die or overcome.
Tyrrell is a pompous jerk. Stirling is not. I appreciate that Tyrrell "has strong beliefs and acts on them" - as a cleric he epitomizes the idea that "lawful good doesn't mean lawful nice" and I'm okay with that.
The next part of that statement, however, ALSO applies - "[the character] should be challenged in them and should grow through gameplay." We all, as players and GMs, are both playing our own PC and being literary foils to other PCs. The rest of the party bristling at Tyrrell's behavior until one or both sides adapt and change, displaying character growth, can be a great thing. It is the kind of thing I give RP Awards for.
In order for it to be a great thing, though, it needs to be witting and enjoyable by all players. Even as our characters struggle and grow, we should be having fun playing it out. If it isn't fun, follow the three steps above.
If we're all okay with this, lets just get back IC and move forward. If anyone needs to talk after taking a break, let me know.
Dorath moves over to inspect the body on the floor. He is looking for signs of what killed it. Also, he wants to see if there is anything useful left on the corpse that may help out in the mayhem that is sure to come.
