In a handbasket
Subject: Turn
I am working on the next turn. I have a few NPC to write up and then I will be getting it out.
From: Mark
Subject: In a handbasket
"Ok" Harp says to himself "let's slow them down a bit." He puts his sword in its sheath and pulls his bow. Nocking an arrow, he sites down the dark tunnel as best he can. As soon as he sees what might be the faintest glint of light. He pulls and releases into the dark and quickly pulls and shoots another. He listens in the dark and hears a shout of pain and cursing (AC17, 20+? = auto hit, damage 6). He hears the sound of armor become louder.
Up above Mund does his best to get his allies to the top. The threat of the 4 guards and the risk his friends are in start his blood boiling. 4 on 1 is not great odds. Quickly down the shaft he whispers "We've got company up here. Get ready for some action, I could use some help." Still working the wheel Mund shouts over his shoulder "Hey, give me hand over hear, Hanz and Franz are down there so they called out for help. Wanna give me a hand with this lift?" (Bluff check, 6+4=10)
Three of the guards start forward (Sense motive, 4+1=5, fail), but the fourth holds out his arms (Sense motive, 15+1=16, success) and says "Hold on you three. Orders are not to go down the lift. Hey you, what are they doing down there? As a matter of fact, who the hell are you?" The man sheathes his sword and swings his crossbow up, pointing it at Mund. The other three standby, a bit confused as to what is happening.
OODM: Mund has had one round of lifting while enraged. He needs three more. The crossbow of the one guard is aimed at Mund from the door to the barn. There is plenty of light, since both Mund and the guards have torches.
From: Josh
Subject: In a handbasket
A few questions:
From what Kal remembers, what does the top of the shaft look like? Is there a border around it like well, or is it flush with the ground?
Is the central rope close to the walls? That is, can Kal hold on to the rope and walk/climb up the side of the shaft? Or would he have to just climb the rope?
Does Kal think he has a chance in hell of climbing the rope? I dont know how climb works in game mechanics, but he's got no ranks in it.
From: Karl
Subject: In a hand basket
"What is taking so long?" Salix mutters. "I'm going to help Harp. I can slow these guys, at least."
He will move down the tunnel a few feet and call to Harp, "Harp! Fall back. I can slow them." He will wait until Harp falls back and will then cast "entangle" in the tunnel, as far down as he reasonably can. (Give me a map and I'll pinpoint it for you if I need to.)
From: Mark
Subject: IN a hand basket
Now I have a problem. The spell description does not cover this, but how much root growth is there 40 feet under ground? There are no weeds or vines. :(
From: Mark
Subject: In a hand basket
There is a small wooden frame around the lift at the top. It is mainly there so that people do not fall in by accident. It also supports the lift mechanism.
There are a series of ropes that go up and down as part of the pully system. This can be very dangerous to try and use to climb while the lift is working.
The reason for the amount of time it is taking Mund is three fold. First, the lift was used more for letting things down then bringing them up. Second, Mund is trying to do the work of two fighter types, so even raging he is a bit underpowered to do the lift fully. Third, the only reason he can lift the party is becuase of the pully system. If you remember your pulleys, you get a lift benefit as a trade off for how much you have to pull. So to lift the party 40 feet Mund has to pull enough rope for something like 240 feet.
To climb I decide on a DC for the climb conditions and then you make a climb check. if you fail by more than 5 you actually fall. In this case you would not fall far since the lift fills most of shaft it is in.
From: Porter
Subject: In a handbasket
I'd say that 40 feet underground there is practically none in our universe.
However, there are entire ecosystems in D&D worlds which live on the plants which somehow magically grow underground.
From: Kevin
Subject: In a hand basket
Mark, there could be moss, lichens, any number of unusual plant growths underground. They might not be very big, but they "could" be there.
I agree, this is a dilema.
Does the spell description give any help?
From: Josh
Subject: IN a hand basket
It seems to me to be some sort of probability that there's useful plant life underground. Pick a % chance that there's fungus, moss or roots nearby and roll a die. That seems like the best option to me.
From: Kevin
Subject: In a hand basket
Mark, can Harp estimate about how far away the light is?
If he feels his is safe too, he will take a 5 ft step back and then fire 2 more arrows. After he does this, he will whistle back to the group to let them know that someone is coming.
If he feels that it is no safe to fire again (the people coming down the way are less than 75 feet away) then he will shoulder his bow and draw his sword.
From: Mark
Subject: In a hand basket
They are more than 100 feet away. He rolled a 20 for his shot.
From: Porter
Subject: In a hand basket
Mund continues lifting with his back to the group. "How the hell would I know what they're doing down there? Ask them yourself. If you don't want to help with the lift, fine, then just wait until I'm done."
From: Kevin
Subject: In a hand basket
Like I said, there is a chance, albiet a small one, that he could hit someone. They may think a little bit about how fast they are moving now, and they may not. But, if I had an unseen archer tossing arrows down the tunnel I was in, I might move a little more cautiously (or I might run even faster to get close to him sooner).
From: Mark
Subject: IN a hand basket
I wonder what moving faster would do? Make even more noise? :(
From: Kevin
Subject: In a hand basket
Well, there are two options - go slower and be able to protect yourself more (basic D&D rules) or, you could go faster, if possible, to get to your attacker quicker and stop him from firing at you (basic infantry strategy against archers). There are other options, I am sure, but those 2 would be the most common.
To me, 100 feet is not that much space, especially when a person can more 4 times his normal at a run. For a plate armor guy, that would be 80 ft. How long have then been running??? Who knows. What is thier constitution?? Who knows. If this was our evil game, both Monks could have run up, hit Harp, and run back in 1 turn from 100 ft.
From: Jason
Subject: In a hand basket
In plate armor you can only run 3x your speed, so that's only 60'. Pretty nasty. It also keeps you from doing other important things, like jumping or climbing out of the 10' hole you're in to help wind the lift...
From: Kevin
Subject: In a hand basket
Agreed, Harp is probably still going to pluck at them a turn or two more, while backing up 5 ft each time. Salix's idea to entangle them makes great sense, if Mark decides to allow it.
*rolls dice*
From: Bryan
Subject: In a hand basket
Will Surin be able to reach the cable to climb by jumping?
From: Mark
Subject: In a hand basket
He can reach the cable. The same problem applies to him though. The cables system is moving. It is like a block and tackle system. There is not just one rope that is going up. Also Surin has a lousy climb skill. Climb is also STR based and Surin has only a 10 STR. He has no ranks in it. He might have some type of racial or synergy bonus to it.
Mund has the best climb skill, that is why he went up.
From: Bryan
Subject: In a hand basket
Yeah, it's too bad Mund went up. He could probably have thrown Surin up like a football!
However, I think Surin will be letting other members of the party climb first if it comes to that.
From: Karl
Subject: IN a hand basket
I haven't read ahead, but before you write your decision into a turn, remember that Salix would know the likelihood of the spell being effective, even if *I* don't, or forgot how far down we are. In other words, if the spell isn't going to work at all because of a lack of vegetation, or is going to work very poorly, then Salix should probably know that and shouldn't waste the spell just because his controller is a goof.
From: Mark
Subject: In a hand basket
OK I can go with that. Is there something else you want him to do?
I was going to have the spell have a weakened effect. If the party had been in some type of subterranean location with strange fungal/exotic growth then I would let it work.
From: Karl
Subject: In a hand basket
I still think Salix would step toward Harp, away from the lift area, trying to keep an ear out for the lift's return, and concerned about what's happening with Harp, so have him walk toward Harp cautiously, whispering "Do you see anything?"
From: Josh
Subject: In a hand basket
Kal hears Munds whisper and his heart turns cold. "We're separated and trapped in a lift shaft. They're coming at us from both directions, and there are many more of them than us. If this doesn't resolve quickly, this mission will fail. " Kal thinks to himself. Without hesitation he jumps and tries to climb the ropes to the top.