With the boat secure Simon popped his head up to take in the surroundings. He searched for any sign of recent habitation or possible hostility and held his hand out prepared to summon Mordwyn.
Geth roll 1d20-1 for perception
if it matters Simon has left both his bound weapons at base and appears unarmed.
Meagre living conditions, but not unclean. The bed linen is ragged. The hearth full of ashes. A finely made chair sits out of place against a wall. Heaps of shed snake skin is piled up in one corner. A kettle is left on the floor. Fish bones have been made into a wind chime.
Alzav recalls Watki as a self-professed betrayer who failed to capitalize because the party held it together. Whether their success or her failure, her intent was clear. He sees something of himself in her, a shadow of his former life masking himself as a wizard that hunted sorcerers: deceit, treachery, and venom lying in wait. The risk she posed before was small enough to tolerate, but, for Alzav, the guesswork is done.
Shall we announce ourselves? I realize that going sneaky style would give us a fighting advantage but on the off-chance that this is just some(possibly snake-) persons home it seems overly murderhoboish to start sneaking about. Simon checks with the squad quickly to see if there are any objections to announcing our presence and if nobody speaks up he says...
"Excuse our intrusion any who live here. We mean you no harm. We are travelers from outside the swamp trying to get our bearings. We could perhaps trade resources for useful information?"
Simon also tries to get as much info about the snake shedding as possible and will walk over to examine them if nobody responds to his hale Specifically does it look unusually big?
On the other side of the river the trees are still.
You’re here while the party searches the hovels. I’ll ask you to make another check soon.
—
Simon
Simon, no one is home.
The shed skins are cut into reasonable sections, but the largest is as wide as your arm. The smallest snake might only be an ordinary adder, but the largest would be considered a monster where you’re from.
Is this setup that, there's one hovel we're docked at and we'd dock at each one if there are more? Or are they all attached in a way where we can move to them all from the single docking point?
Is this setup that, there's one hovel we're docked at and we'd dock at each one if there are more? Or are they all attached in a way where we can move to them all from the single docking point?
You’d need to jump across to the next one, or lean across together in a time consuming but safe manner. They’re built close enough together you can surmise one group built them and that same group now lives in them.
Arthur stays on the boat with Alzav, realizing his axe hand was going to be a pain to climb up. So instead, he sits down on the boat and takes out his book and begins making notes again. "What did you find Simon?" he says aloud. If Simon was yelling out to someone who might be living here and not getting a response, they likely weren't intending on stealth as a group.
Staying on boat because Axe, but Alzav should have any roll, so treat it as Arthur focused on his book for now.
Gruush clamors up onto the roughly hewn boardwalk just behind Simon, sniffing the air like a bloodhound and peering carefully into the empty, water locked homes...
"We should not tarry too long, lest whoever lives here returns." Solomon gives the inside of the structure a look over in case there's anything hidden or dangerous.
You find a well worn doll. A bead necklace with a wooden star. A fish gutting knife made from bone. Things a person might have in their home. Nothing that catches your eye particularly, in terms of magic, weaponry or wealth.
—
Kirina
You sense trace amounts of snake venom on dirty linen.
You know there is a spider on the outside wall of the third hovel with a bite that could paralyse a man.
—
Solomon
In the second hovel you slowly realise every wall is covered in tiny painted lines. Four down, one diagonally across. There are so many sets of these lines the walls have been fully painted many times over.
You also note horizontal cut marks on one wall arranged vertically. The first is knee height, then an inch or so higher over and over until they are at your shoulder.
And.... raising a child? The horizontal marks remind me of measuring a kid's height as they grow.
Kirina warns the group about the spider (maybe having to call back a bit if she's already in the second hovel with Simon). Otherwise, just generally looking around. Keeping an eye out for anything particularly unusual.
You untie the rope once you’re all onboard and continue along the river. You take turns to row as there is no wind to drive you and the river has slowed. The river grows increasingly wide. Dead trees hang over the now stagnant water, clumps of dark scum collecting in the shade. A skeleton of some predatory beast is half buried on the bank. A centipede as long as a leg coils around a bare branch, a stark red against the white bark. It’s long antenna wave rhythmically.
Suddenly, the wind picks up! Your sail is caught and you lurch forward as your boat finally picks up speed!
After a minute you begin to hear a churning noise. Distant and quiet… though building up all the time.
Gruush stares for a long while at the doll, as if trying futilely to remember something. When no one from the group is looking, he places it into his pack with a gentle care, and after returns to the skiff in a hurry
Alzav's hand flies up, and the water churns beneath the boat! "Arthur!"
Shape Water! "You instantaneously move or otherwise change the flow of the water as you direct, up to 5 feet in any direction. This movement doesn't have enough force to cause damage."
The goal of the directional change would be situational - is there something close to stop at? Redirect us there! Is the waterfall a massive, lethal drop or just something that could damage the boat? I could see redirecting the flow so that the boat just descends at a reasonable rate, if that seems feasible.
Let’s say it’s about a 40 foot drop. Not a lethal fall, and it might not even destroy the boat, but you’ll all get roughed up.
You begin to turn the boat until it points towards the port side river bank. You look like you’ll scrape the edge and still tumble over the waterfall unless your allies get involved!
I have Shape Water and can help. Busy untangling a child's hair now though, so if it needs any specific direction beyond "I'm helping" it'll have to wait
Arthur throws out his hands and magically reaches for the dirt below them, seeking to pile it up in front of them to redirect the boat closer to the shore.
Not 100% on how/ if this would work but I can dig up 5ft cubes of dirt over and over so maybe dig up from side we aren't in to pile in front of us.
When it appeared the magical attempt by Alzav wouldn't do it alone Simon held out his hand as if a child mimicking holding a weapon and in the time between moments his ball and chain appeared. He nearly collapsed to one side as the weight settled into him. He searched for anything that he could latch the ball on to. A tree at the end, a bush under the water, or even a rock might do. He took aim at his target and began cycling the end with the ball in tight circles. He tossed it.
I'm assuming that you'll want acrobatics but on the off-chance you want athletics I'll do that one, too. I still haven't completely finished making sure my sheet has all my equipment but I'll post it tomorrow regardless just so its there. Also right now just incase anybody needs to know my spells are Booming Blade, lightning lure, Find Familiar(extra), Identify, Thunderwave, and Protection from Good/evil. Also I can heat metal on anything I can touch with my sword. Not sure if that could be useful outside of combat but you never know.
I've pulled a bit of a Vesuvius with my familiar so far. Gotta make sure I remember this weird little guy!
While pushing the water with magic was not enough alone, you’ve manage to ease it to the riverbank which gave Arthur enough time to raise a pile of mud to the surface and, more importantly, give Simon close enough range to anchor the boat to a nearby tree!
The sail is ripped down. It’ll need a little work to put back right, but it isn’t broken.
From here you could hop ashore and carry the boat down a set of hills to reach the river again, or leave it here and carry on into the wilderness.
That sounds good - unless it's like we're scaling down a cliff? I think it takes 4 of us to carry it. Or maybe we can send the boat over and recover it at the bottom as a plan B?
Carrying it down seems like the best bet for keeping the boat in working condition as long as we can, but it would also be inviting a possible ambush situation
Posts
Geth roll 1d20-1 for perception
if it matters Simon has left both his bound weapons at base and appears unarmed.
Meagre living conditions, but not unclean. The bed linen is ragged. The hearth full of ashes. A finely made chair sits out of place against a wall. Heaps of shed snake skin is piled up in one corner. A kettle is left on the floor. Fish bones have been made into a wind chime.
Geth roll 1d20+4 for Perception if needed
"Excuse our intrusion any who live here. We mean you no harm. We are travelers from outside the swamp trying to get our bearings. We could perhaps trade resources for useful information?"
Simon also tries to get as much info about the snake shedding as possible and will walk over to examine them if nobody responds to his hale Specifically does it look unusually big?
Your time is spent being rocked by the current.
On the other side of the river the trees are still.
You’re here while the party searches the hovels. I’ll ask you to make another check soon.
—
Simon
Simon, no one is home.
The shed skins are cut into reasonable sections, but the largest is as wide as your arm. The smallest snake might only be an ordinary adder, but the largest would be considered a monster where you’re from.
You’d need to jump across to the next one, or lean across together in a time consuming but safe manner. They’re built close enough together you can surmise one group built them and that same group now lives in them.
You can search them as one place.
Staying on boat because Axe, but Alzav should have any roll, so treat it as Arthur focused on his book for now.
Geth roll 1d20+5 Investigation (Gruush)
Otherwise, she'd like to look for anyone living in the nearby buildings, but she won't go alone.
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
Geth roll 1d20+3 for Perception
You find a well worn doll. A bead necklace with a wooden star. A fish gutting knife made from bone. Things a person might have in their home. Nothing that catches your eye particularly, in terms of magic, weaponry or wealth.
—
Kirina
You sense trace amounts of snake venom on dirty linen.
You know there is a spider on the outside wall of the third hovel with a bite that could paralyse a man.
—
Solomon
In the second hovel you slowly realise every wall is covered in tiny painted lines. Four down, one diagonally across. There are so many sets of these lines the walls have been fully painted many times over.
You also note horizontal cut marks on one wall arranged vertically. The first is knee height, then an inch or so higher over and over until they are at your shoulder.
Make a Perception check.
And.... raising a child? The horizontal marks remind me of measuring a kid's height as they grow.
Kirina warns the group about the spider (maybe having to call back a bit if she's already in the second hovel with Simon). Otherwise, just generally looking around. Keeping an eye out for anything particularly unusual.
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
As the minutes tick by you see nothing untoward. Just white trees, still in the windless daylight.
It is a warm, clammy day. You’re into the afternoon.
—
Adventurers
It is time to move on.
Kirina! It’s your pick where the party heads next.
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
You untie the rope once you’re all onboard and continue along the river. You take turns to row as there is no wind to drive you and the river has slowed. The river grows increasingly wide. Dead trees hang over the now stagnant water, clumps of dark scum collecting in the shade. A skeleton of some predatory beast is half buried on the bank. A centipede as long as a leg coils around a bare branch, a stark red against the white bark. It’s long antenna wave rhythmically.
Suddenly, the wind picks up! Your sail is caught and you lurch forward as your boat finally picks up speed!
After a minute you begin to hear a churning noise. Distant and quiet… though building up all the time.
Waterfall! 10 feet away!
What do you do?
Shape Water! "You instantaneously move or otherwise change the flow of the water as you direct, up to 5 feet in any direction. This movement doesn't have enough force to cause damage."
The goal of the directional change would be situational - is there something close to stop at? Redirect us there! Is the waterfall a massive, lethal drop or just something that could damage the boat? I could see redirecting the flow so that the boat just descends at a reasonable rate, if that seems feasible.
Let’s say it’s about a 40 foot drop. Not a lethal fall, and it might not even destroy the boat, but you’ll all get roughed up.
You begin to turn the boat until it points towards the port side river bank. You look like you’ll scrape the edge and still tumble over the waterfall unless your allies get involved!
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
Not 100% on how/ if this would work but I can dig up 5ft cubes of dirt over and over so maybe dig up from side we aren't in to pile in front of us.
Not sure what kind of roll I need to do for that.
I'm assuming that you'll want acrobatics but on the off-chance you want athletics I'll do that one, too. I still haven't completely finished making sure my sheet has all my equipment but I'll post it tomorrow regardless just so its there. Also right now just incase anybody needs to know my spells are Booming Blade, lightning lure, Find Familiar(extra), Identify, Thunderwave, and Protection from Good/evil. Also I can heat metal on anything I can touch with my sword. Not sure if that could be useful outside of combat but you never know.
I've pulled a bit of a Vesuvius with my familiar so far. Gotta make sure I remember this weird little guy!
Geth roll 1d20+1 acrobatics
Geth roll 1d20+5 athletics
Success!
While pushing the water with magic was not enough alone, you’ve manage to ease it to the riverbank which gave Arthur enough time to raise a pile of mud to the surface and, more importantly, give Simon close enough range to anchor the boat to a nearby tree!
The sail is ripped down. It’ll need a little work to put back right, but it isn’t broken.
From here you could hop ashore and carry the boat down a set of hills to reach the river again, or leave it here and carry on into the wilderness.
Carry it down to continue on the river you mean? Yeah, +1 to that plan
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
You can definitely just let the boat go and chase after it.
Gruush still votes carry