A Dark and Stormy Knight IC [3.5]

[zlefin]

OOC thread is here:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?531969-A-Dark-and-Stormy-Knight-3-5-OOC

The party begins its journey to check on Hightower, to see if anyone has tried to open up and use the old place as a base.


The sky has been slowly darkening all day, and
the smell of rain has been thick in the air. Now it
has finally begun to fall, accompanied by loud
peals of thunder that seem to roll across the landscape.
The sun is hidden behind massive stormclouds,
and a cold wind blows from the north. As
bolts of lightning begin to slam from cloud to
ground and pieces of hail begin to strike the
earth, the need for shelter becomes obvious.
Ahead in the distance, Hightower rises from the
ground, its form illuminated by the occasional
lightning bolt.
Best get a move on and get there before it gets worse!

[caesar193]

Father Govanan was not the type to travel alone. Usually, he stuck to merchant caravans and the like, offering his services as a healer for a spot on the cart. Such things had guards, and merchants, and more. These groups of people really needed someone like Father Govanan. They were usually serious, and concerned with such serious topics as "bandit attacks" and "selling enough to make it through winter." What they really needed was some fun. Enter the good Father.

But tonight he did, though he did spy a couple others on this dark and stormy night. The rain pelted down on him, like it did them, but he paid it no mind. He had more important things to worry about. He rattled his flask, and finding it empty, proceeded to curse in a manner unbecoming of a religious figure. He had a little something to refill it, naturally. But that could wait- should wait- until he was in the dry.

"Ah, but the anticipation will make it taste all the better!" the gnome half-announced, half-muttered into the wind, and proceeded to walk towards the tower with a fresh skip in his step.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk glanced up at a sky quickly becoming as grim as his own countenance. A flash of lightning drew his gaze down to the group's destination, and he grunted as thunder rolled over them.

"Come," he said to the others, looking around at Govanan, Siannodel, and Lars, "We must make cover before the storm makes the mission impossible."

Though weighed down by his armour, he strides forward through the rain with determination toward the shattered black spire.

[Jopustopin]

The elf that accompanied the group was an unusual sort; unlike the elves that one would normally encounter. This one seemed to have his own agenda and marched to his own beat. He wore studded leather that looked well traveled. At his side he had a short sword and a dagger.

If there was any racial hatred the elf had for the half-orc he had never expressed it. He had an arrogance about him that you hoped was justified. When the hail started he took the lead, pulled out his dagger, and proceeded carefully towards the tower; eyes alert to archers and ambushes despite the weather.

http://i.imgur.com/t6xs4oB.png

[Morof Stonehands]

Lars looked on as his newly encountered companions made their way out of the storm and toward the tower. "Well, they seem smart and reasonable already!" he thinks to himself. Not one wanting to be left alone, he quickly covers his head with his gong, and makes for the tower as well. Turns out gongs double as good head cover against hail!

[zlefin]

Other than the worsening storm nothing troubles the party as they make their way to the great hill overlooking the lands. As they go up the hill, they find the massive, arched entryway which is at least 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide. clearly made to allow for the ogres that once were a part of that ancient kingdom. A great stone door is in the entryway, closed. The area around the entryway has been shaped so as to have an overhang protecting against weather, and to let water flow away, so it will provide enough shelter from the storm for now. The remains of what must surely have been an enormous boulder can be seen scattered around.

[Jopustopin]

Aareon

"Well, no need to be quiet if someone is around; doubt anyone can hear us." the elf yells over the storm. Soaking wet, the elf pushes his hair out of his eyes and begins trying to open the door.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk looks up and around the vast archway as the group passes through it. Normally portals are too small for him; the way that this one dwarfs him is slightly unsettling. He nods to Aareon, setting down his glaive and lending his prodigious strength to the effort of opening the door.

If the door is stuck, please make a Strength Test for me, DM. Torokk has a +5 modifier.

[zlefin]

The door opens quite easily. While large, it appears to have been well counter-weighted. The door will swing shut again when you stop pushing it.
Inside you can see a very large hall.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk grunts again. He jams the door open momentarily while he retrieves his glaive, then gestures to the others. "Any signs of life?"

He licks his lips; if there are inhabitants here, there shouldn't be - and that meant conflict.

I don't think we have a trapfinder? So maybe just some Search, Spot, or Survival checks to find traces of passage?

[zlefin]

Peering through the door you can't see any obvious foes inside, but it is quite dark indoors after all with only the light that makes it through the storm and the door, and the inner hall is large. The din of the storm makes it impossible to hear if anything is lurking within.

[caesar193]

Father Govanan smiled at Torokk. "I see four signs right here!" The smile turned to a grin, which then turned into a cryptic prayer to Garl Glittergold. Pretty soon the holy symbol that hung from Father Govanan's neck blazed with holy light.

"Hopefully we can find some more, though," he continued jovially, his eyes searching the corners for anything of interest. If there isn't any other signs of life, then he proceeds to fill his flask back up from his gallon of ale (oh, if only there'd been whiskey in the last town!) while humming a very annoying and catchy tune.

Casting Light on my holy symbol. But you could've guessed that.

[Morof Stonehands]

"Well at least there is some light now!" Lars says semi cheerily. "Better than nothing at this point." He quickly scans the room trying to see if there is anything interesting about this old, damp place.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Hm." Torokk clearly doesn't seem impressed with the joviality. Instead - so long as nobody else has any better udeas - he simply grips his glaive and strides forward warily into the hallway.

[zlefin]

You enter the hall from the great doorway in the south. The hall is very large, nearly 100' square, and has wooden doors at the east, north, and west. The doors are locked, but show substantial signs of deterioration from age, and bits of the bottom of the doors have fallen off. They don't appear to have been used in ages, and have quite a covering of dust upon them. The hall was well decorated long ago, with many peeled paint chips upon the floor, and the tattered remains of what once would've been fine tapestries.
Outside, the storm continues, getting even fiercer, and hail has begun to fall.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk sniffs and looks about. "Doesn't look like there's anyone here." He shrugs, "Mission completed, then? We're sent to check if anyone's turned this place into a fort. Doesn't look like anyone has."

[Morof Stonehands]

"Well it sure seems that way doesn't it!" Lars says cheerfully. "Easiest job ever! Now that that is done, I think we should just shack up here till the weather improves. No sense in going back out in that storm with this perfectly good and empty shelter right here."

[caesar193]

Govanan nodded sagely. "Hmm, yes, yes, I agree. We should stay here the night." He started wandering over to the east door. "Or, I propose that we do a teeeeeensy bit of exploration." He whipped open the door and peered through the threshold.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk nods curtly. "Aye."

He starts peering at the painting and tapestry remnants on the east wall out of idle curiosity - though staying near to the rest of the party in this large chamber. No sense inviting catastrophe.

[zlefin]

Govanan yanks on the locked door trying to open it, but the door still holds. some of the dust on the door falls off onto him from his attempt. While the door held, it's clear by how the door twisted a bit that it should be possible to force the door with enough effort.

[Jopustopin]

Aareon slumped his wet backpack onto the ground before pulling out a crowbar. Walking over he places the crowbar between the door and the frame and begins trying to pry the east door open.



Aareon will take 20 trying to break the door.

Strength +6 on the check.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Alright..." Torokk ambles over from his fruitless examination of the walls and joins Aareon straining at the crowbar - where Aareon pulls, he pushes.

Assisting for an additional +2, giving a final result of 28

[zlefin]

Aareon is able to pry the east door open with a few rounds effort. There's a hallway around 40' long, which opens up into another room. There's something in the middle of that room, it's hard to tell exactly what from this distance, but it's not moving and it looks like a box or other container.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk glances at Aareon. "Treasure?"

[Jopustopin]

Aareon shrugs while putting the crowbar away. He picks up his backpack and puts it back across his back. Checking his dagger and short sword at his hips out of instinct he shrugs at Torek, "I doubt it. Let's quickly check each room and then get ready for the night. I'm feeling like a drink myself."

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk nods, "Aye, that's good." He takes his glaive firmly in both hands, and advances down the passageway toward the box.

It's more of a military than casual advance, of course. There's no sign of life, but everyone's heard enough fireside tales of haunted ruins that he's alert and ready.

[zlefin]

The room is empty except for the chest in the middle of the floor. It's a small stone chest that appears to have been built into the room (i.e. is physically connected to the floor).

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk looks about for a second, then shrugs. He flips the glaive around in his grip, and uses the butt of the weapon to push against the lid, trying to open the chest.

[zlefin]

As Torokk pushes the chest with the butt of his glaive a flurry of darts shoot down! they hit all the area around the chest even several feet away. Even with his cautious distance, one of the darts manages to graze Torokk's hand (1 point of damage). The chest does open as it was pushed, and inside there are a few small items, some of them quite shiny, others not shiny. (more details will be given when you decide to look closer).

[Jopustopin]

Aareon pulls out his short sword and dagger and looks around the room carefully for signs that anyone's been here.

"Someone's been here since the fort was abandoned." Aareon says somewhat quietly.


What's the room look like? Are there any important features or other doors?

[Mr Adventurer]

"Gah!" Torokk whips his injured hand back, chagrined. "Huh. Thought this was a fort. Why'd anyone trap a chest near the main entrance?"

Grumbling, he steps over to the chest and examines the contents. As he does, he responds to Aareon, "What makes you say that?"

He even peers at the darts that now litter the floor - could they be salvaged and used as thrown weapons?

[zlefin]

Aareon pulls out his short sword and dagger and looks around the room carefully for signs that anyone's been here.

"Someone's been here since the fort was abandoned." Aareon says somewhat quietly.


What's the room look like? Are there any important features or other doors?

The room is about 30' by 40'; it has no other doorways than the one you came in through. There is nothing else in the room. There aren't even remnants of decorations as there were in the main hall.



"Gah!" Torokk whips his injured hand back, chagrined. "Huh. Thought this was a fort. Why'd anyone trap a chest near the main entrance?"

Grumbling, he steps over to the chest and examines the contents. As he does, he responds to Aareon, "What makes you say that?"

He even peers at the darts that now litter the floor - could they be salvaged and used as thrown weapons?
The chest contains two pearls that look to be quite good, and a small pouch containing 100 gold coins. There's also a leather headband studded with small iron rivets.
The darts seem to be in good enough shape that they could be reused, or at least most of them could be.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Hey," Torokk calls, "There's money in here!" He scoops up all the treasure and shows it all around. "This mission keeps getting better!" He peers closely at the headband, then shrugs, holding it out to Lars. "Dunno what this is. Think it's special?"

Presuming Lars takes the band, Torokk gathers up as many of the darts as are re-usable. "No point letting them go to waste," he murmurs if anyone looks at him askance - and to be fair, even a small weapon like a dart could probably fell a warrior at a dozen paces, when driven by Torokk's mighty arm.

[Jopustopin]

Aareon actually looks surprised at the amount of gold and curses in elvish, "Kyr kali iar, That's how I know we're not alone. You don't abandon a place and leave that much coin laying around."

[Morof Stonehands]

Lars graciously accepts the headband, giving a small flourishing bow as a gesture of thanks. "I'll inspect the band at a later time," he says. "I make it a habit not to put on random things I find lying about in abandoned places. Heard to many ghost stories for that!" With a spin on his heel, he moves toward the western door. "Might as well check it all out while we're at it!" he calls over his shoulder.

[zlefin]

Torokk finds that 10 of the darts are still useable.

[caesar193]

At the sight of the darts and treasure, Govanan takes a quick swig from his flask before stowing it away quickly in one of his pockets.

"Well, I, for one, have become very curious about the mysteries of this place. What say you all that was do a tad bit more exploring?"

He turned and returned to the main hall. He hadn't appreciated the locked door ruining his stride early, so he let someone else choose which door they should try next. Instead, he ran his finger through the dust covering the decorations to try and see any hints to who inhabited the place before.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk steps out after Lars toward the western door. When they get there and find that it too is locked, Torokk and Lars share a glance, and the half-orc shrugs and heaves back to give the door a mighty kick!

Strength check to break open the door! [roll0]

[Mr Adventurer]

His stance is off, though, and he just rattles the door in its frame. He sighs. "Crowbar, Aareon?" He calls back to the wood elf.

[Jopustopin]

Aareon hands the Half-Orc the crowbar but doesn't help him open the door. He readies himself for anything, weapons in hand.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk grunts in thanks and sinks the crowbar deep into the gap between the lock and the frame, then yanks on it hard.

Crowbar time! [roll0]

[zlefin]

After putting in some effort for a few rounds this door opens as well. It opens into a hallway that runs around 30' then opens up into a room. You can see something on the far wall of that room, it looks like a coffin or sarcophagus standing upright.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk tosses the crowbar back to Aareon and takes up his glaive. "Don't think I trust these boxes any more," he mutters. "We gonna take a look?"

[caesar193]

Father Govanan bounded forward once he saw people hesitate (weren't they at all curious of what lay within? So what if the chest earlier had a little trap, nobody traps everything). He quickly crossed to the... corpse-holding receptacle with curiosity in his eye. "Well," he began. "Normally I'd say we should respect the dead and all that nonsense, but I say we should figure out why everyone died, right? In case why they died turns us into this poor chap. So we should search this coffin for clues!" He took a quick swig from his flask, then started trying to push open the coffin after doing a quick look for traps.

First off, rolling Search to see if there's something likely to kill me.
[roll0]

Second, assuming I don't see anything (which, let's be honest, I didn't see anything even if there is a trap), taking 20 on strength to get the lid off. My modifier's +1

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk nods, "Aye. It's good."

And follows into the chamber.

[zlefin]

I'm assuming everyone else is also coming along into the chamber.
As you enter the chamber you can see the head on the sarcophagus looks odd, the hair looks more like tentacles and has a pair of small bat wings coming out of the temple. Suddenly it opens its eyes, which have small green flames within! It attacks! It starts to fly forward and lets out a terrible and otherworldly shriek!



none of you succeeded at the spot check to notice it as an enemy, so it gets a surprise round.
rolling the saves against its shriek:
Aareon
[roll0]

Torokk
[roll1]

Govanan
[roll2]

Lars
[roll3]

Father Govanan is paralyzed with fear for now!
The rest, are unsettled by the horror but are not seriously affected (no penalties or conditions are applied).

Then rolling initiative for after the surprise round:
The monster's init
[roll4]

The party's init (using group initiative, party's average init is +2)
[roll5]

The party's turn to act is now (except for the paralyzed Govanan). the monster is about 20' away, still near the sarcophagus.

The monster is size small, and none of you can identify it.

editting in results after seeing the rolls

[Jopustopin]

The wood elf grimaces, and reacting on instinct moves his dagger into the hand holding his short sword so that he holds both weapons in one hand and with the other pulls out his light hammer and throws it at the creature hoping his blow will shut it up.

With the hammer connecting solidly, you see him move the dagger back to his off hand and re-position his feet in the ground.


Not an Action: Five foot step towards the creature
Move Action: Draw a light hammer
Standard Action: Light Hammer ranged attack [roll0] for [roll1] points of damage
Swift Action: Island of Blades stance

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk' big grey face scrunches up as the unearthly scream assaults him - but he bellows his own defiance in reply!

Blinking, his gaze locks onto the enemy. The elf is faster, though, and Torokk takes the lead from Aareon, adding one of the newly-found darts to the fullisade.

His arm hammers forward, driving the little metal spike with lethal speed.

As the haft of his glaive slaps back into his hand, he whirls it once and lifts the blade over his head in a driving, punishing stance, daring the enemy to approach...

Move: draw dart
Standard: throw dart
Swift: adopt Punishing Stance

Attack [roll0] and damage [roll1]

AC is currently 14.
Torokk has Reach, threatening spaces 10 feet away.

[Morof Stonehands]

"Oh ho ho, I can make noise too little fellow!" Lars exclaims. With a twist, he pulls his gong of his back and begins a steadily-growing-louder drum on the instrument. "Let's see whose noise is better!"


Move: Draw gong
Standard: Spend bardic music for Inspire courage, granting my companions a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn8A_Gl1MvY#t=2m41s

[zlefin]

The strange creature is missed by the dart, but hit solidly by the hammer. It collapses to the ground, twitching a bit, but not moving beyond that.

(that completes the creature's turn, party's turn again).

[Jopustopin]

Aareon waste no time, not knowing what the creature is or whether it's still a threat. He moves quickly towards the creature his blades trail with flame and, oddly, shadow. For a brief second it seems like Aareon's shadow splits from him and both shortswords trailing fire attack at the prone head.


Move Action: Move next to creature
Swift Action: Initiate Burning Blade
Standard Action: Initiate Shadow Blade Technique with shortsword.

Shortsword ([roll0], [roll1]) for [roll2] piercing and [roll3] fire. If needed: [roll4] cold damage.

[Jopustopin]

Shortsword [roll0] for [roll1] points of damage.

[caesar193]

Father Govanan shook his head, clearing his mind of the fright. He studied the creature, racking his brain to see if he remembered it from somewhere, before realizing what he had to do. He'd seen the... thing's fiery eyes, and figured putting it out might help. Or it might not, who knew.

So he muttered a quick prayer to his god under his breath while he stepped forward, and a quick downpour of water fell from the ceiling onto the creature.

"Hate to rain on your parade," the good Father said. "But I can't sea the point in sticking with dry humor."

First, Knowledge (Religion) on the off chance it actually helps- and might as well roll.
[roll0]
EDIT: Welp, natural one definitely don't know anything at all :smallbiggrin:. Good thing I didn't charge as per my original plan.

Second, walking 10 feet forward (which puts me 10 feet away from it, within walking range for next round for whacking), so all I got is magic. Specifically Create Water. Casting above it, two gallons of water on its head. Its got fire for eyes, so maybe this will blind it? Either way, worth a shot, and, regarding cost, its really just a drop in the bucket for me.

[Mr Adventurer]

"I think the elf killed it," Torokk advises Govanan helpfully. "I like your gong," he adds to Lars.

He shambles up to Aareon and peers at the smashed, burned, stabbed creature. If it still moves, he smashes it with his spiked gauntlet until it doesn't any more.

So from the description I think it's dead?

Torokk will close to adjacency and check it out. If it's still twitching he'll make an attack with his spiked gauntlet. In such a case, I assume it's Prone, granting +4 to attack rolls.

Move: move
Standard: attack with gauntlet

Attack [roll0], I messed up the damage roll so made it in the OOC thread, for 10 piercing damage

[zlefin]

The creature is now quite thoroughly dead and splattered across the floor, thanks to the additional blows. It remains quite clearly dead, and no further threats appear. The room is 30' by 40', and has no other exits than the one you came in by. It appears the creature had hollowed out part of the sarcophagus to use as a nest. There is nothing of note in the room other than the sarcophagus and the corpse of the creature.



(PS: I already rolled knowledges at the start of the battle; better to not know whether you should know or not, i.e. I prefer to keep the knowledge roll secret)

[Mr Adventurer]

"Weird monster," Torokk observes. "Hey. Anyone want a boost up to look inside the coffin? That thing made a hole and I can lift you to look inside." He glances at Govanan.

[zlefin]

As noone seemed interested, you set about searching it yourself, and you find a ring, and a bunch of cobwebs. There's nothing else of interest in the room.


(just trying to keep things moving along)

[Mr Adventurer]

"Huh!" Torokk polishes the ring on his tunic, then holds it up close to his face and peers at it. If he sees nothing unusual about it, he puts it on, then turns to the others.

"Good stuff. Where next," he points back through the doorway, "The next door?"

'Anything unusual' means iconography, signet marks, set gemstones, an inscription... Basically anything other than a plain gold or silver ring.

[caesar193]

Govanan wasn't quite willing to stick his nose in after seeing the scary little.... cephalopod? Eh, whatever. But now that there was a ring involved...

"Perhaps I might inspect this ring? For I am a priest of the God of Jewels, and as such would naturally know the most about this kind of thing."

Of course, he'd ignored that particular aspect of his faith for more practical concerns, like drinking, but they didn't need to know that.

If he's given the ring, he immediately slips it onto his finger.

[zlefin]

(ooc: the module notes say nothing about the ring's description; I guess I'll just outright say that it's magical, and assume it's appropriately ornate/marked/something)

[zlefin]

(making up some description per request, hopefully it'll all be consistent enough in the end,).

torokk -> The ring has two inscriptions on it, each in a different language; they're not in a language you're familiar with. they appear to be reasonably short one liners as far as you can tell based on how long the script goes for.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk stops short of putting the ring on as he spots the writing, and squints at it. "Hey, there's words on here. I can't read it. Lars, you know stuff. What's it say?"

He holds the ring out to the bard.

[Morof Stonehands]

Lars takes the ring from the orc gently, and holds it up to better see the inscriptions. "Hmmm, Let's see," he mutters to himself.


Lars knows Common, Dwarven, Elvish, Giant, Gnomish, Orcish, and Draconic. Do any of hose help here?

[zlefin]

One of the inscriptions is in Giant; and it says "This ring allows you to understand Giant"
The other inscription is in a language you don't know.

PS I'm using different alphabets for different languages, and ignoring the listed table wherein many languages use the same alphabet, cuzi'm not sure how to adjudicate it.

[Morof Stonehands]

"Well that's interesting," Lars says to the group. "It says in Giant that it lets you understand Giant. I don't know the other language, but if i had to make a guess I would say maybe it says the same in whatever language it may be in. I'm no expert though!"

Lars hands the ring back to Torokk. "Here, it may be more useful to someone else."

[Mr Adventurer]

"Thanks, good idea," Torokk says. He looks at the ring for a second, then puts it on, squinting at the writing as he does so. Can he read all of the script now? Does he feel any different?

[zlefin]

Torokk can indeed read all the script.
One is the giant one, which he can now read.
The other says "This ring lets you understand goblin", and it is in goblin.

Torokk feels nothing unusual. he feels the same as always.

[Jopustopin]

The wood elf mostly just stared at the thing he killed. Finally he gave the head a kick across the room before picking up his light hammer and stowing it. While he watched the half-orc and the human play with the ring he began to get an irritated look on his face as the investigation began to drag into the hour.

[Mr Adventurer]

"The other one is Goblin," Torokk supplies helpfully. He leaves the ring on. Looking around, he sees Aareon. "What? It's only been a minute. Like I said - what next? The other door?" He points back into the main chamber.

No way the diversion with the ring has been near an hour!

[Morof Stonehands]

"The other door sounds fine to me! Why not at this point, there may be other trinkets to be found!" Lars says cheerfully. He makes his way towards the last unchecked door, albeit a little more carefully seeing as the first was trapped and the second had a strange monster hiding in it. Upon arriving to the door, he leans in seeing if he can here anything.


[roll0] for a Listen check.

[zlefin]

as the party approaches the third door, a swarm of rats runs out from beneath it and attacks!

initiative!
party:
[roll0]

the rats:
[roll1]

[zlefin]

The 8 rats swarm in, biting and nipping at the party!

edit note: as per discussion in ooc I forgot to account for torokk's combat reflexes; he kills two rats via attack of opportunity as they come in, so the last 2 rolls by the rats will be discarded; those will be the 2nd attack on aareon and the attack on govanan.

all hits deal 1 damage.
3 bite at Lars
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]


2 gnaw at Torokk
[roll3]
[roll4]

2 try to chew on Aareon
[roll5]
[roll6]

1 nibbles at Father Govanan
[roll7]

[zlefin]

Lars's calf takes a sharp gash from one of the rats!

Torokk takes a sharp blow
critical roll for the rat:
[roll0]
and gets a fearsome cut on his right calf! (2 points of damage since i'ts a critical hit)

Aareon's foot gets chewed on! and being chewed on is not pleasant at all.

Govanan manages to avoid the rat.

edit add: torokk's quick reflexes managed to strike down 2 of the rats as they're rushing at the party!

it is now the parties turn.

(totals: lars takes 1 damage, torokk takes 2, aareon takes 1; for convenience and better tracking, please start listing your current hp when you post)

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk's training kicks in as the animals swarm forward, his glaive bisecting two of them in mid-air as they leap to his left and to his right. But it's not enough to save him a nasty wound in the leg! He shouts in pain.

"Arrr! Damned rats!"

Without pausing, he shortens his grip on the haft of his glaive and tucks it in tightly under his arm, letting go with the hand that's armoured and spiked. He swings his fist in a broad, deadly arc, timed perfectly to strike at both the rats leaping at him. Then, he steps back to form a better defensive line.

Thanks for making the adjustment, sorry to be awkward. Torokk's action is to initiate Steel Wind, making 2 attacks with his spiked gauntlet on the rats he's fighting. Then, five-foot-step back.

Steel Wind attack 1: [roll0], damage: [roll1]
Steel Wind attack 2: [roll2], damage: [roll3]

Current HP 10 of 13

[Jopustopin]

Aareon's blades ignite and he swings his blades across the swarm. He does a side leap away tumbling to avoid the creatures bites.


Swift: Burning Blade
Standard: Wolf Fang Strike; short sword [roll0] for [roll1] and [roll2]fire and dagger [roll3] for [roll4] and [roll5]fire
Move: Tumble [roll6] to move ten feet away from the swarm (if necessary to avoid AoO; not even sure if they threaten squares due to their size).

[zlefin]

As per policy, going to move things along and ghost the players that haven't acted in accordance with general guidelines people setup earlier.

Lars uses the withdraw action, moving to safety behind the warriors, letting them use AoOs if the rats try to approach.
Govanan will stay one square behind the warrior, and ready an action to hit any rats that get in range of him. (one square behind being a bit safer, but he coudln't use an AoO on a rat that entered that square in front of him, readied action will ensure he gets a swing in).


Torokk and Aareon have killed the rats that were attacking them, so only the 3 rats that were on Lars remain.

The rats turn:
The rats move forward to engage the warriors.
Torokk gets an AoO on each rat as they move forward, since he has enough AoOs for all of them. any hit will be fatal so not bothering to roll damage.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

Aareon will strike at the first rat that gets past Torokk with his AoO
[roll3]

and Govanan's attack on any surviving rats that enter the square.
[roll4]

if any rats survive they will all attack one of the warriors.
[roll5] 1 = attacks torrok, 2 = attacks aareon

[zlefin]

As the final rats approach, they're all sliced to pieces by the skilled strikes of the warriors. you all remain readied in case more rats come out, but none are forthcoming; nor do you see or hear signs of any more. There is nothing on the rats themselves.
This had all happened as you approached the North door, but before you had opened it.
The storm continues to rage outside.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Hm," Torokk says, rubbing at his leg, "They musta been hungry. Bet there'll be some stripped corpses through there." He points with his glaive at the North door. "Shall we take a look?"

[Morof Stonehands]

"Yow, that stung a bit! I agree, with monsters comes remains of what they found before us! Hopefully it won't hurt more than that to check out! ALthough I think I'll let someone else lead the way this time!" Lars says, gently rubbing his hurt leg.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Good enough for me, friend," Torokk nods amiably. He pauses, though, "Did any of those rats or anything hurt anyone too bad? I'm OK for now, nothing a handful of good clean dirt won't solve." It's clear Torokk's medical training is second to none, i.e. is barely more than nothing.

Presuming nobody calls a halt to treat wounds, he plies his shoulder to the North door with gusto.

Going to roll one Str check to see if Torokk can bust the door open in a display of manly strength. If this roll fails, DM, please presume he goes on to Take 20 and end up with 25 (plus any other assists)...

Strength on door! [roll0]

[zlefin]

The North door shatters open into splinters (none of which hurt you).
It opens into a very long hallway, so long you cannot see the end of it.
Shortly beyond the door there is a small rat's nest, which does not appaer to have any rats left in it.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Ha ha!" Torokk shouts in glee - clearly stealth operations weren't part of his training either. "Mightier than any crowbar, right, Aareon?!" He flexes at the elf and winks.

He stops, though, and peers down the corridor suspiciously.

"Huh. Reckon there's any more dart traps?"

Then he adds, "Rats collect shiny things sometimes right?"

[Jopustopin]

Aareon has a generally sour disposition; you're not sure why. Perhaps it's being soaked in the rain and then instead of a quiet night of sitting around a fire drinking some ale he has had to fight off abominations and rats and other things. But who knows...

He winces slightly as the half-orc makes a racket so loud it'll wake the dead but then seems to shrug to himself before putting the crowbar away.

"Let's get this over with. I'm wet, and I'm thirsty. Once I've had a few drinks in me, I'll be ready for jokes." Aareon says with a forced smile at the end.

[Mr Adventurer]

And Torokk can sometimes get on people's nerves with his simple approach. He gives Aareon a vigorous clap on the shoulder, "I hear you, my smaller friend!"

He walks carefully up to the rat's nest and overturns it with the sharp end of his glaive, poking through it - just in case.

[zlefin]

You find nothing in the rat's nest; and no further creatures present themselves.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Turns out the only things rats like is the taste of Torokk," Torokk grumbles, perhaps unfairly. He points down the corridor with a thick finger, "Anyone want to go first? In case of... traps?"

I don't think we have anyone with Trapfinding?

Also, DM, can I just check how long the corridor seems to be?

With a Light spell, or a torch, we can all see well for 20 feet (good light) and badly for another 20 feet (shadowy light) for a total of 40 feet.

Except people with Low-light Vision - such as our friendly elf Aareon - double these ranges and can see poorly out to 80 feet. Is the corridor longer than that?

Also, Torokk and anyone else with Darkvision can see using that, out to 60 feet.

[zlefin]

The corridor goes on for longer than any of you can see.

[Jopustopin]

Aareon leads the way following the corridor until he sees something.

[zlefin]

you see the end of the corridor soon enough as you inch forward carefully; it seems the corridor is around 150 feet long; and it looks to open up into a room ahead.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk shares a glance with Aareon, and moves to advance forward with him, side by side, toward the new chamber.

[zlefin]

The room has several tables with some old rusty iron implements on them, it also has a door at the far end, and a large hole in the ceiling with a rope leading down from it with some water coming in. An old drain in the center of the room is letting the water escape.
Suddenly the door at the far end opens, revealing two hobgoblins!

initiative!
for party
[roll0]

for monsters
[roll1]

The party acts first! the monsters are about 40' away, at the other end of the room.

[Morof Stonehands]

"Hmmmm, I don't like the look of those fellas", Lars says to his companions. He pulls out his gong and strums a soft tune (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbVtXkVIAk8&t=28s). "In case you guys need a bit of help," he says.


Move: Draw gong
StandardInspire Courage. +1 attack/damage/saves vs. charm and fear

[Mr Adventurer]

Hobgoblins look organised and brutal, and they aren't supposed to be here - and that's all Torokk needs.

"Finally!" His armoured boots pound the stone floor, kicking up dust and gravel, as he draws on the strength of the Stone Dragon with a battle-roar, and surges forward!

He barrels into one of the hobgoblins with a bone-crushing thud.

Full action: initiate Charging Minotaur, a Stone Dragon strike.

The manoeuvre is a bull rush that avoids attacks of opportunity and deals bonus damage. Torokk makes a Strength check that is opposed by the target.

Strength check: [roll0]

If Torokk's check beats the hobgoblin, then it takes damage and is pushed back 5 feet for every 5 points by which Torokk's check won. Unlike a normal bull rush, Torokk doesn't have to move with the target.

Damage: [roll1]

[Jopustopin]

Aareon follows quickly behind Torakk moving at a normal combat pace as Torakk barrels into one, Aareon suddenly leaps towards the other slashing at him with both weapons.


Move: Moves 30 feet towards hobgoblin
Swift: Sudden Leap five feet forward next to the hobgoblin
Standard: Wolf Fang Strike

Shortsword [roll0]+2 flanking, +1 Morale, +4 strength, -2 maneuver, +1 weapon focus for [roll1] and
Dagger [roll2] for [roll3]

I assume me and Torakk are next to each other. We're flanking the hobgoblin from my stance, Island of Blades

[zlefin]

as per note in OOC I'll be ghosting Govanan from now on. Govanan will follow forward behind the warriors. (due to his slow move speed even with a double move he won't reach the hobgoblins or be in a position to take any actions)

The hobgoblins opposed strength check vs the manuever
[roll0]

[zlefin]

The warriors' blitz is quite successful!
One is thrown back by Torokk's mighty charge and falls to the ground, the other collapses to a vicious blow through the chest by Aereon's dagger. Neither is getting back up. The party may now choose what it wishes to do next.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk straightens back up from his bodyslam-charge and flourishes his glaive in a weapon drill display. "Ha!" He looks at Aareon and grins widely, "We fight good, huh!"

He glances about, first at the room they find themselves in, and then - if nothing catches his interest - more closely at the bodies of the hobgoblins. "Wonder what they're doing here..." He mutters.

[Morof Stonehands]

"Well done lads!" Lars exclaims as he strolls into the room behind the other two. "Fantastic displays of strength! I wonder if they had a purpose like we originally did, or if they were just taking some shelter."


Lars will make a Bardic knowledge check on local hobgoblin tribes, to see if any had any past history with this region or tower.
[roll0]

[zlefin]

little. He can't recall any relation between hobgoblin tribes and this tower. That hobgoblin tribes exist in the wider area is known, nothing particularly nearby; they could just be looking for a good base for a camp.

The party needs to decide what to do with the fallen hobgoblins:
finish them off, leave them to their fate, or stabilize them. They're currently at the "dying" phase.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk doesn't seem to notice whether the hobgoblins are still something to worry about, or not. He does rifle through their effects, though.

"Might be... clues," he says defensively.

I say leave 'em. It takes ages to recover from Dying on your own, if you even manage it, so they're not an ongoing threat.

[zlefin]

The hobgoblins gear, which you may take any of if you wish:
2x of Studded Leather, light shield, short sword, javelin.
one of them has a belt sufficiently fancy that it's probably special or valuable in some way.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Definitely a clue," Torokk says, taking the belt. He doesn't bother with the rest.

"Hokay!" He dusts his hands off and looks about, "What's all this metal stuff?" He pokes through some of the implements on the table, trying to make sense of them.

When he's done with that, he squints up the hole in the ceiling.

[zlefin]

there are some very old stains near the drain, signs that blood often flowed down it in the distant past. It's likely this room was for preparation, either preparing the dead for the funereal rites, or preparing others for darker purposes.
The shaft leads up with its rope, but it's construction looks far shoddier than the main areas; it was likely dug by grave robbers rather than the original creators.

[Morof Stonehands]

"I say leave them too. No sense in killing em when they can't do anything to us now," Lars says. While Torokk inspects the table, Lars heads over to to the door that the hobgoblins came through, and peers through.

[zlefin]

Peering through the doorway Lars can see that the next hallway heads forward for some 45' then opens up into another room. About 30' down the hallway it splits into two, with one going off to the side, and the other being the aforementioned straight path.

[Jopustopin]

Aareon merely watches while they go through the hobgoblin's loot. Then when they are ready he proceed's down the hallway to the intersection using his elven eyes to scout further ahead.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk quickly finishes poking through the tables, his curiosity vanishing as he steps to back Aareon up.

[zlefin]

You inch forward carefully, making your way down the hallway; the room ahead features a large stone table in the center, with a well preserved corpse sitting upon it. As you reach the point where the hallway splits, (which is about 15 feet short of the room ahead, another 10 feet to the table), the figure rises! It stands tall, nearly 7 feet, and is wearing the trappings of a knight, though that has decayed considerably. It also wields a morningstar and a javelin. The hallway to your side (from where it splits) shows no sign of threats.


initiative!
party roll:
[roll0]

the Knight's roll:
[roll1]


the party acts first! (and someone's improved initiative feat helped, since it upped the party's average initiative by 1, so you won this roll rather than it being a draw and reroll)

[Mr Adventurer]

"Hur hur." Torokk doesn't know all that much, but he knows a monster when it's undead. He grabs out one of his scavenged darts and hucks it at the horror with full force!

Throw a dart!

Attack roll [roll0] damage [roll1] piercing.

I think, since we are acting before the opponent in the first turn, that he is flat-footed.

These numbers do not include any other bonuses that may pop up, e.g. from Bless.

[Jopustopin]

Aareon looks terrifyied and starts cursing a long string of words in elven. His weapons burst into flames and he waits for the undead monstrosity


Swift: Burning Blade
Standard: Ready an action to use Wolf Fang Strike if he comes within ten feet of me.

Note*: I'm standing next to Torekk and we're in front. We should be flanking him with my stance when he gets there.

[zlefin]

Ok, haven't heard back from Lars, so ghosting him as well as Govanan to move things along.
Lars will do as he usually does, and start bardic music.
Govanan will try to turn, which will fail no matter the roll, but rolling is fun, not gonna bother checking the proper modifier:
[roll0]
the creature ignores the holy symbol and continues implacably!


action results:
The dart bounces off the thick hide of the creature.


The thing throws its javelin at Aareon!
[roll1]
damage if it hits: [roll2]

a fierce hit greatly wounds Aareon!

It is now the party's turn again. The creature remains 30 feet away; it looks like that was its only javelin.

If the missing 2 don't show up I'll ghost them again as follows: Govanan will cast cure on Aareon; Lars will stop his music (it lasts for 10 rounds after anyways) and ask to have some of the darts. He doesn't have any ranged weapons, and doesn't want to be in melee with the monster. If allowed he'll grab some darts off you for use by him and potentially Govanan in future turns.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Sure, take them all," Torokk says generously to the others about the darts.

"You wanna throw things?" He yells at the monster, "I got lots of things to throw!" He pulls out one of his own javelins and hurls it full-force, before grabbing up his glaive again and brandishing it threateningly.

Retrieve javelin and throw!

Attack roll: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Including Bardic music bonuses

[Jopustopin]

The elf didn't look like he expected the undead monstrosity to actually throw a javelin at him and he nearly falls from the blow. Instead he staggers backwards before gathering his focus.


Five foot step behind Torek.
Full-Round Action: Recover Burning Blade
HP: 2/9
AC: 17

[zlefin]

ghosting the other 2:
Govanan casts cure light (converting his bless spell) on Aareon
[roll0]


Lars will throw a dart
[roll1]
[roll2]

[zlefin]

Aareon is healed up naer to full!
the thrown weapons land perfectly into the creature, but they don't seem to have actually hurt it much. It rushes forward towards the party!



It makes a charge attack on Torokk
[roll0]
[roll1]

but before that lands it will have taken an AoO from Torokk's glaive
[roll2]
[roll3]


it's morningstar is just barely stopped by torokk's armor, he nearly took a great blow there!
his glaive cut a solid gash into the creature!

it is now the party's 3rd turn! the menacing thing looms next to the party now!

[Jopustopin]

Aareon had a surprised look when he was healed and ignited his blades again. He moved gracefully at the creature swinging both blades at it in an arc.


Swift: Burning Blade
Not-an action: Five foot step towards zombie
Standard: Wolf Fang Strike

Shortsword [roll0] for [roll1] piercing and [roll2] fire.
*13 points of damage for bardic music.


Dagger [roll3] for [roll4] slashing and [roll5] fire.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Uff!" Torokk grunts as the morningstar bashes into his scale-armoured chest. He steps back with the blow, turning his body and transforming the step into a whirl that keeps his foe at the end of his glaive. As his foot lands, there's a solid-sounding boom and dust flies into the air as he whips the glaive up into an overhead, chopping stance - before leaning in to drive the edge downward in a devastating attack.

5' Step away to the side to put foe back in glaive reach.
Swift action: adopt Punishing Stance.
Standard action: Stone Bones strike

Attack roll: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] plus [roll2] slashing

If the attack is successful, Torokk gains DR 5/Adamantine for 1 round.

Torokk's AC is at -2 while in this stance: AC 14

[zlefin]

The skillful strikes of the warriors tear into the creature, and it drops to the ground and its flesh sloughs off and burns from the blows. You all ensure it won't be getting back up, and is quite thoroughly dispatched.

(you two ddi enough to kill it so not figuring out the others' actions)
No other threats present themselves; there look to be scattered coins on the floor i nthe room ahead. there is also the hallway to the side leading to another room; nothing of note is seen along that path.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Good work, yuh," Torokk acknowledges everyone as he yanks his javelin out of the creature's chest with a wrench.

"Wonder what he was doing up there," he gestures ahead.

He briefly returns his attention to the fallen corpse, and looks at the clothes and equipment it was carrying - maybe it had a uniform or was carrying something else with some clues.

[zlefin]

Most of the creatures' clothes and gear are extremely old and tattered. Mostly its in too poor shape for symbols to be recognizeable, though what little you can make out looks similar to some marks elsewhere in the Tor. It looks as old as the most of the rest of the things in this place, so the creature probably dates from back when the place was originally sealed. Amongst its gear you do find a secondary weapon: a shortsword that looks to be of high quality and is still in decent shape (though its scabbard is not).

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk whistles and tosses the sword to Aareon
"Any good for you, elf?"

He then moves to advance into the room the creature had come from.

[Jopustopin]

Aareon catches the blade out of the air and examines it closely.

[zlefin]

Aareon can see that the blade is well made and of excellent quality.

There are no threats found as you check the room. And the room is a dead end, the only way out being the way you came in.

There is a large stone table dominating the center of the room, from which the creature rose. Likely a resting place of prominence. There are a number of coins scattered about the floor.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk scratches his head. "Guess he was sleeping. Maybe the storm woke him up - or the goblinmen."

He collects as much of the coinage as he can, piling it onto the bier in the middle of the room to count it.

[Jopustopin]

The elf muttered to himself, he doesn't seem to be in the greatest mood. "Thanks for the healing." He says to the priest before beginning to collect the scattered coins.


Is the blade of masterwork quality? I'm assuming it's at least materwork, but just want to make sure.

[Morof Stonehands]

"Not at all what I was expecting to find in this tower today. Was just expecting some others taking shelter like us!" Lars exclaimed. "Undead though, that's a surprise indeed!" While the others pick up coins, Lars moves carefully ahead down the hallway to the side, just checking to make sure everything is gone in the area.

[zlefin]

The weapon is indeed masterwork.
The coinage totals 250 once you've gathered and counted it all.

Lars moves part way down the side hallway. It runs about 60 feet, and you can see that at the end it opens up into a small room; the door to that room has rotted away and clearly fell off long ago, it now lies on the floor.

[Jopustopin]

Aareon ties his old shortsword to his backpack and arms himself with the superior blade.

"Two hundred and fifty gold coins. We'll split it over some ale. This place is haunted though, not sure if I'm going to drink that much now." The elf doesn't look happy about recent events.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Not at all what I was expecting to find in this tower today. Was just expecting some others taking shelter like us!" Lars exclaimed. "Undead though, that's a surprise indeed!"

"Still dunno what them goblin-men were doing," Torokk observes.

"Hey - thanks for the gong just then. Good stuff!"




"Two hundred and fifty gold coins. We'll split it over some ale. This place is haunted though, not sure if I'm going to drink that much now." The elf doesn't look happy about recent events.

"Ale! Now you're talking!" Torokk is visibly excited by the prospect, "and two hunnerd fifty must be a LOT!" he grins toothily.

[Morof Stonehands]

"That last thing has got my nerves on edge," Lars says. "Best to be careful here." With a flick of the wrist and some finger wiggling and funny words, Lars tosses a small piece of the rotten door into the middle of the room to see if anything reacts to it.


Casting mage hand, and tossing a small chunk of door into the room to draw anything out just in case.

[zlefin]

As the piece of door is thrown through the doorway Lars notices a perturbation; it looks as if there was something in the doorway; suddenly a spider as large as a man rushes out of the room! you must have disturbed its web across the doorway.


not entirely sure how best to adjudicate the situation with respect to surprise/initiative; you were being careful; you made the spot check to notice the web due to a circumstance bonus for having tossed something through it, but not the check to see the spider who has a huge hide bonus. the spider could sense you the whole time with its tremorsense even before you neared its web. it just seems odd to give it an entire surprise round, then possibly winning initiative in the next round as well, when Lars was being careful and ready; the rest of the party of course is going to be unaware of this until Lars' screams for help, as they're still in the other room with the coins.
PS I made a bunch of spot checks offline to see how all that stuff goes.

PPS as i'm writing up this post, I realize I should give the rest of the party round 1 listen checks to see if they hear the commotion or not; and I'm not quite sure how to adjudicate all the variables involved with that. since they don't need to just hear the sound, but recognize that it's something other than Lars walking around. at least I can calc the distance modifier right (it's going to be 60ft, at least by the end of the spiders' first action)


Round 1 surprise round; only the spider gets to act.
It rushes out from the room, getting a mere 10 feet away from Lars!

Round 2; initiative rolled now; only the spider and Lars get to act (rest of party will get to act in round 3 after they've been alerted. for the rest of the party, this is the surprise round so to speak) edit adjust: Aareon can also act, he's the only member of the rest of the party to make the listen roll to notice a problem, he won't yet know what it is until Lars gets to say something, but he'll know that something's up.
party init:
[roll0]

spider init:
[roll1]

the party's action! Lars and Aareon can take their actions now. Aareon is of course still in the other room, about 50 feet away from Lars; including turning around one corner.

[Jopustopin]

"Aye, it is alo..." Aareon starts to say in response to Torek but trails off as he looks around slowly with a confused look on his face. Suddenly the elf drops the bag of coin and begins to move quickly towards where he last saw Lars.


Double move towards where I last heard Lars.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk looks confused, the expression crossing his face like a cloud scudding across a blue and empty sky. He glances at Govanan, "He musta heard somethin' with his elf ears!"

He grabs up his weapons and makes to lumber after the swifter Aareon...

Just filling the time until Torokk can act! :D

For the sake of it, when he does get a turn, Torokk will make all haste to catch up; sadly his Speed is only 20 feet, so he'll only move the first 40 feet in the first round!

[zlefin]

(haven't heard from lars' player; and sent him a pm a day ago. so gonna ghost Lars to move the game along)

Lars will back up; meeting Aareon at the intersection; and ready an action to attack the spider as it approaches.

[zlefin]

The spider skitters forward 30 feet, now 10 feet away from both Lars and Aareon; it then shoots a web at Lars!
[roll0]

Lars is covered by the webbing, and has difficulty moving!
(it applies the entangled effect)

It is now Round 3; party's turn: all party members may act.

[Jopustopin]

Move Action: Pull out light hammer
Standard Action: throw Light Hammer for 1d4+4


The elf pulls out a hammer and throws it narrowly missing the spider.

[Morof Stonehands]

"Damn this place to the Abyss!" Lars says. He tries to draw a dagger to cut himself loose from the web

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk clanks around the corner - and sees the monstrous spider! He tightens his grip on his glaive as he moves up alongside his allies, bringing it up horizontally over his head to flick the blade down in a powerful chop!

Move: get into position
Swift: adopt Powerful Stance
Standard: make an attack

Attack roll: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

AC is 14 while in Powerful Stance

[zlefin]

Govanan will join Torokk near the corner, and throw a dart at the spider
[roll0]
[roll1]
(technically there's probably a penalty for the dart's being sized ofr a medium creature rather than Govanan's small; and I'm not sure I ever figured out what size the darts are in the first place; but I do'nt feel like figuring it out, and it shan't matter that much)

[zlefin]

Lars tries to get out of the webbing:
(rules are a bit unclear here; the spider entry has rules for escape check, and a break check; and rules for the webbing when it's setup beforehand in a square, but not for how to clear it off a creature when the webbing is thrown; it's probably the same though, hp6 with dr 5/- in this case. seems odd, you'd think slashing weapons would work better on it; and that impaling weapons wouldn't be of much use. I'll just call it an escape check with a circumstance bonus of oh, +2; which counters the dex penalty from being entangled))

[roll0] trying to beat dc: 12
Lars is able to free from himself from the webbing!

[zlefin]

Torokk's glaive of course hit with a roll like that; and caused a deep wound in the spider, it's now badly hurt.

that's all the player actions, now for the spider's turn!
it takes a 5 ft step forward into melee range and viciously bites at Lars!
[roll0]
[roll1]
the spider's bite fails to penetrate Lars's chain shirt!

It is now the party's turn again, I rather doubt the spider will survive this turn.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk could back up to keep the thing at the end of his glaive; but then he'd be fighting around his allies - an awkward proposition! He's not the sharpest nail in the plank by any means, but his tactical acumen is at least passable, and he lets go of his glaive to smash the spider with a spiked gauntlet with the same downward power with which he had chopped with the glaive just a moment ago.

Attack roll: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] plus [roll2]

[zlefin]

(nobody else seems interested in posting a turn/taking an action; so i'll just skip them)
Torokk's gauntlet smashes through the spider, killing it. It's definitely the largest spider he's squished, and the mess is quite a lot worse than the next largest one was.
No other threats appear afterward.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk's been in blood and guts before, but not like this. His ugly face twists into an expression of revulsion. "Gah. Shoulda used the hammer."

He glances longwise at the others. "You OK?"

Presuming responses in the positive, he asks, "Shall we grab up the coins and stuff from back there - and then, then what?"

[Jopustopin]

The elf goes and picks up his hammer with a sour look on his face, "Then I suppose we finish searching this gods forsaken place and wait the storm out."

[Morof Stonehands]

Aye, indeed. For what we endured in this silly place, I think a few coins are good compensation, Lars says. He gives the room they are in a good once over, just to make sure they didn't miss anything.

Search: [roll0]

[Mr Adventurer]

"Good idea!" Torokk says enthusiastically, helping to poke around the place.

Attempt to Assist on the Search check! DC10 check, Search: [roll0]

If successful, improve Lars' score by 2 points.

[zlefin]

You're not in a room, you're in the hallway right now. You search the hallway thoroughly; and you search the room where the Knight was, and you did indeed gather up all the coins. there's nothing you haven't found already. do you want to go to the room the spider came from?

[Mr Adventurer]

Yes. Together, as a party.

[zlefin]

You cautiously approach the room the spider came from. Lars remembers there was something odd at the doorway he noticed when he threw a bit of wood in; you find that the spider had set up a strong web there. You're able to cut and/or burn it down quite readily and without trouble. The room is fairly small, maybe 20 feet square; it contains a number of remains of rats and cocooned rat bits; quite a bit of other webbing, and nothing else obvious. It has no exits other than the one you came in by.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Huh." Torokk looks around at the spider's leavings blankly, "Doesn't look like there's anything here.

"So... What now? I think we've kicked all the doors in we can find." He rolls his mighty shoulders proudly.

[Morof Stonehands]

"Well, now that it seems clear, I'd say we can finally rest until the storm passes us by. My vote goes to find the dryest, least smelly room to sit in!" Lars says. "And maybe block the door too. Don't want anymore unfriendlys coming in"

[Mr Adventurer]

"Yeah... not if we're resting..." Torokk says, unsure. His blood is up after encountering all the odd inhabitants of the tor so far, and no that there doesn't seem to be any more of them, he feels at a bit of a loss.

"Hey, maybe we should take a look up that rope. Maybe there's something up there."

[zlefin]

searchign the room the spider came from (covered in the ooc thread)
amongst the webbing and rat remains you find a pearl and a small bag containing 75gp.

[Jopustopin]

Aareon seems content on letting other people do the searching. He remains on alert for anything else in this haunted place.

[Mr Adventurer]

"Ooh, more treasure!" Torokk exclaims happily.

"We should look carefully everywhere. In case they dropped something." He nods decisively, even though he doesn't elaborate on - or doesn't appear to know - who 'they' are...

As in the OOC thread, let's do a search of the whole area Taking 10. It's not that large; it might take a few hours (it's one Standard Action per 5' square) but we have the time.

[zlefin]

you go back over the entire complex searching carefully; but it looks like there isn't anything you hadn't already found. it takes around a couple of hours to do so.
the storm is weakening some outside, and is bound to pass fully in a few more hours.

[Mr Adventurer]

Torokk is by now looking thoroughly bored, although he helped as much as he could with the search.

"Nothing else? Guh. Huh. Well then." He rubs his coarse chin with a rougher finger. "Climb the rope?" he looks at the others expectantly.

[zlefin]

(just gonna work on wrapping things up)
you climb the rope, it leads up through a small tunnel, with water and mud flowing down through a bit. at the top is a small camp that had clearly been abandoned long long ago. the tunnel was probably dug by grave robbers looking to loot the tor.

Nothing else of note happens, and you all wait a few hours and the storm fully dies down.

[Mr Adventurer]

"The... people," Torokk says, flapping his hand back in the direction of town to indicate the grandees who hired them, "Wanned to make sure no-one was usin' the tower, right? We better tell 'em about the tunnel I guess, they might wanna block it up." He shrugs.

"Not too bad for a few hours work, eh?" He jangles one of the moneybags, "An' we get paid when we get back, too!" He grins that half-orc toothy grin, "Ready when you are!"

[Morof Stonehands]

"Not bad indeed! A few bruises but nothing too bad in my book for an honest days work!" Lars says happily. "When the storm is finally gone, lets head back and report our findings."

[zlefin]

Nothing else of note happens.
You return to report your findings, are given a minor additional reward for your efforts (10 gp each; they assume you got plenty of worthwhile treasure, so they just let you keep that without enquiring or figuring taxation/legalities). Plans are made to reseal the Tor.

on dealing with other treasure you'd found:
the two non-magical pearls were worth 100 each;
I'm assuming gold is split evenly amongst the party.

the magic items are identified by the local scholars of your lord.
the magical pearl is a level 0 pearl of power
the translator's ring as you found out lets you understand goblin and giant (or whatever I said at the time)
the headband of hte stout heart gives you +1 resistance bonus to will saves
the lifting belt gives a +2 (i'm changing it from the module's +1) enhancement bonus to strength ONLY for purposes of determining carrying capacity.

The end! (plus whatever final words you care to add)
oh, and xp-wise, in case you use your chars elsewhere, I think the module totals to around 600 xp apiece.

[Mr Adventurer]

For his part, Torokk immediately falls to enjoying his newfound wealth - perhaps a little too much. If asked, he'll give up the ring he was wearing - others can probably make better use of it, after all. But he takes his full share of the gold, and embarks upon a life of high living - or as high as the town can manage, at least - until one weary morning he realises his funds have run out, and it just might be time to test his arm in exchange for coin once more.

Those hobgoblins can't have come from nowhere, after all...