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DM Mitch  
Monday April 3rd, 2023 8:14:32 AM
Dapple reasons they need to explore the T-Rex cave because it could be guarding an entrance to the cave network underneath the plateau.
R.J. suggests it might be better to focus on the town for a while before looking into the cave further

Yofiel organizes some cartography and then makes an observation about how one cave gave them safety during the attack while another holds a mystery they want to solve. She suggests maybe they could find a dwarf somewhere on the plateau to help with delving. She then suggests the Great Lizard may have moved on after observing R.J. but she says she’d be surprised if that ends up being the case. Still, she wouldn’t mind spending a few days in town.
Marest’s interest piques at the discussion of a potential dungeon crawl
Ezekiel suggests sending someone to watch the T-Rex would be akin to chumming the waters.
Grim Ripr asks if it was just the lift that was damaged or the rope as well. He suggests having one of them climb down the rope if it is intact, see what is out there, leave a note to anyone passing by and then climb back up.
Kazzor has no idea what to do next so keeps quiet.

The party starts investigating several things in the morning. The survivors are still mostly staying in the basement in the lift keep as it is the safest location, though people are starting to spread out to other parts of the keep and nearby buildings. Most meals are eaten in the tavern as that is where all the food is being kept. Two survivors, Gatter and Dori Oakencask, have taken over the tavern and are acting as quartermasters for the town - keeping up with food supplies and tracking what’s being eaten and how fast it will run out. There are several dwarven survivors, including Dori. Each morning is greeted with the pair serving up a hot meal to all comers.

Grim’s able to look over the lift again. The mechanism was broken, sending the lift crashing down to the forest below. That being said there is still a rope there, dangling over the abyss. No one has tried to climb down it - it is not knotted and is not close enough to a wall to brace yourself, setting the base DC at 15. Climbing down would potentially take hours (you climb at quarter speed) and any mistake would send the climber plummeting to their death. Even if they were capable of making the climb the exhaustion would leave them defenseless if any dangerous animals happened to cross paths with them at the bottom.

Dapple double checks the cave network thought. There are no direct records of any cave network in the plateau, but there’s lots of mentions in record and vague villager memories of caves and tunnels being found so it’s certainly possible. The extent of any such network is unknown.

Yofiel is able to recruit some helpers for her cartography project and it proceeds at a decent pace. For those not doing research of some sort there is still lots to fill the morning with. Though the corpses have been cleared out people are still going building by building, clearing out any pests that have moved in and searching for useful items. Guards are constantly set around the area so people can take a guard shift to fill the time as well.

Around lunch time while the party enjoys a meal after their morning efforts Dori approaches them. ”Ah don’t supposed I could recruit yall to help me solve a little mystery could you?” she asks.


R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 24 CMD 15 
Monday April 3rd, 2023 9:28:47 AM

RJ looks up. “For the right coin, you can recruit me for anything you want. What’s the target?”

'Marest (Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16  
Monday April 3rd, 2023 2:03:33 PM
...a little mystery

Marest hears Dwarf Dori ask question about a little mystery. Piqued, Marest look sup, and smiles. "Sure, I can help you a believe...wassup?"

Dapple (Kathy) 
Monday April 3rd, 2023 5:59:17 PM
"The gnome did it," Dapple replies promptly. "What do I win?"

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14 
Monday April 3rd, 2023 8:38:16 PM

Yofiel laughs at her friends' responses. "Hi Dori. Recruit away!" she tells the dwarf.

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 30/30 CMD 13 
Monday April 3rd, 2023 10:41:26 PM
Humor is not something Grim is used to. Badgering, harassing, belittling, bullying, irony, being obnoxious, making cutting remarks, yes, but just plain humor? No. So when Dapple chirps up that the gnome did it, he's confused at how she could have known a gnome did something before even knowing what was done.

On the other hand, he's glad something isn't blamed on an orc or half-orc.

"Mysteries are usually solved by the tribe shaman. But since we don't have one here, I'll give it a try." he says. If he gets a reputation of solving mysteries, then the tribe will most certainly be more inclined to promote him to chief when the time comes.

Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15/10/15 CMD 19 HP 29/29 
Monday April 3rd, 2023 11:11:23 PM
Kazzor isn't much for mysteries, but he isn't much good for rebuilding Cloudhaven either, so he grunts, "What do you need?"

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 14/14 
Tuesday April 4th, 2023 2:21:10 AM
Siolo takes Yofiel up on her offer and helps with cartography.

During lunch he smiles and nods at Dori, "I enjoy mysteries."

DM Mitch  
Tuesday April 4th, 2023 8:23:13 AM
R.J. says he can be recruited for anything for the right coin and asks what the target is
Marest has her interest piqued by the idea of a mystery and asks what’s up
Dapple suggests the gnome did it and asks what she wins
Yofiel[/] laughs at her friends responses and tells Dori to recruit away.
[b]Grim is not used to humor and is confused by Dapple’s quip. He says the shaman usually solves mysteries but he’s willing to give it a try.
Kazzor isn’t much for mysteries but also can’t think of anything else useful to do.
Siolo helps with the cartography. He likes mysteries.

Dori grins and the quip and explains the problem. ”One of the reason a lot of food here is that it’s secure against scavengers like rats and things. We even have a little charm that keeps them away. Something’s gone wrong though, and Gatter noticed that food is going missing and seals are being broken. We haven’t been able to figure out why the ward isn’t working and how they are getting in so we thought a fresh set of eyes might help. If this keeps up our supplies will run out a lot faster then we planned on.”


Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 16/16 
Tuesday April 4th, 2023 9:29:12 AM
"It must be mermaids," says Ezekiel. "No, that's not right. We're on land, not the sea, right? So some kind of land mermaid, with the top half of a woman and the bottom half of...legs of some sort."

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 24 CMD 15 
Tuesday April 4th, 2023 9:37:34 AM

RJ sits and listens.

Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15/10/15 CMD 19 HP 29/29 
Tuesday April 4th, 2023 10:05:11 AM
Kazzor stares daggers at Ezekiel. "That mage says some of the strangest things." he thinks to himself. Out loud he says, "Great, someone or something is stealing our food, food we have worked hard to obtain. I suppose we should investigate."

Dapple (Kathy) 
Tuesday April 4th, 2023 1:30:01 PM
"Wait--the seals are broken? Or chewed through?" Dapple asks. "Rats could maybe chew through a seal, but they wouldn't be able to just open it. Could it be raccoons?"

'Marest (Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16  
Tuesday April 4th, 2023 8:18:33 PM
Wards & Rats

Marest giggles and the various things her group is retorting...Secretly Marest thinks someone lost their marbles...

Replying to Dwarf Dori, " Sure, we can do that! Where is it that you are having the issue(s)?"

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 30/30 CMD 13 
Wednesday April 5th, 2023 12:05:08 AM
Grim is angry at such incompetence with the food stores. He growls, "So you are saying that the warehouse is locked with magical wards, and guards posted, and a creature still manages to get past the guards, break the seals, get to the food, and get out without being noticed? Someone needs to tied to a pole and given a good lashing!", then he adds, "And there's no trace? No tracks? No smell? Does this smoocher fly in and fly out? Didn't think to spread dust on the floor to catch any prints? Put an explosive rune on the seals?"
He grumbles "It or they may not be warded by the wards, but sure can be blasted by one."

Grim has said his piece. And, of course he'll join the investigation.

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 14/14 
Wednesday April 5th, 2023 2:12:37 AM
Siolo listens and contemplates the possibilities. "While it may not be rodents 'r th' like, if it is, I could jus' ask 'em how they're gettin' in."

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14 
Wednesday April 5th, 2023 5:17:11 AM

"Would you be so kind, then, Dori, as to take us to the stores?" Yofiel asks. "And then show and explain the measures you have taken, then we shall see what we can figure out from there."

DM Mitch  
Wednesday April 5th, 2023 8:03:49 AM
Ezekiel suggests that it must be mermaids before remembering they are on land not sea so a land mermaid with top half woman and bottom half legs of some sort.
R.J. sits and listens
Kazzor stares daggers at Ezekiel, thinking some thoughts before saying out loud that someone is stealing the food they worked so hard to obtain and that they should investigate.
Dapple asks if the seals on the food are broken or chewed through as Rats could chew through a seal but not open it and then suggests it could be raccoons.
Marest laughs at some of the ideas her group comes up with, secretly thinking someone lost their marbles before telling Dori they can do that and asks where exactly the issue is happening.
Grim gets angry and lays out several hypothetical punishments and methods of dealing with the problem
Siolo says he can ask any rodents they find about how they are getting in.
Yofiel asks to be taken to the stores and to hear what steps have previously been taken.

Rather than try to explain all the fine details Dori takes the party down to the cellar to show them what has happened and what she knows. Gatter the half-orc is down here, frowning at a cracker barrel, the other person who helps at the tavern with cooking and keeping track of things.

The party has been down here before, when they were first scouting the town, but things have been cleaned up a bit since then. The walls are lined with shelves and barrels full of food, the barrels tightly sealed to preserve their contents. The pair tell the party that they first noticed something wrong when they went to break open a new barrel only to find some of it’s contents already gone, but figured it was an error in their records or some survivor getting food from the wrong barrel while they were still getting things organized.

Gatter then says that two days ago they found a barrel that had been chewed open at the back, as if by pests. He motions to the one he was frowning at, stating ”This one was intact yesterday, but look here it’s got a hole in the side now where something chewed in and now it’s leaking crackers all over the floor. The ward there should have…”

He trails off as he motions towards the top of one of the shelves. A nail sticks out as if for hanging something off of it, but nothing is there. He walks closer and touches it, as if checking if whatever is supposed to be there just turned invisible. ”The ward is gone.” he states.

Dori walks over and puts her hands on her hips. ”Well ain’t that something. It was here yesterday right?”

”Yes! Remember we checked it together, even got it down and made sure it was intact. I know we put it back.” Gatter says, scowling. Dori nods in agreement. ”Yeah, I remember. Jus’ makin’ sure my own memory weren’t faulty. That tears it someone is definitely playing games here.”


Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 16/16  d20+6=23 ;
Wednesday April 5th, 2023 9:52:06 AM
"I see three posibilies," says Ezekiel. "One: someone broke in to steal food and broke the ward, and the animals came in later to help themselves to the unwarded food. B, no, two: someone intentionally sabotaged the wards allowing Critters to get in. Theee, or C: someone broke the wards and brought the rodents in themselves. And a very low four, or D, or the little "iv" they put in paratheses in the footnotes, the rats have figured out a way to bypass magical wards themselves."

Zeke will detect magic.

Know (arana), Know (planes), orbSpellcraft: 23

Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15/10/15 CMD 19 HP 29/29 
Wednesday April 5th, 2023 10:09:38 AM
Kazzor growls in frustration and anger, "First somebody sends dinosaurs to kill us, and now somebody is trying to starve us out! You don't suppose the two are related, and if so why? Why are we targeted for extinction?"

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 24 CMD 15  d20+8=10 ; d20+3=11 ;
Wednesday April 5th, 2023 10:58:52 AM

"Right," RJ muttered. "Looks like we need a lot less jawing and a lot less investigating. Is there anyone here with experience in removing wards because I'm not sure how I would go about doing that, let alone some racoon."

RJ kneels down to carefully peruse for clues (Perception 10) or for tracks (Survival 11). But he doesn't expect to find much of either, especially if someone has already started to clean it up.

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 14/14  d20=10 ; d6=5 ; d20=3 ;
Wednesday April 5th, 2023 2:43:57 PM
"Curious..," Siolo mumbles as he investigates the chew marks to see if he knows what could have caused them. (Kn Nature 10+6=16)

He then looks around for any further indication of animals in the room. (Survival 3+8=11)

((the d6 was an accident))

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14  d20+11=16 ; d20+2=12 ;
Wednesday April 5th, 2023 6:47:12 PM

Yofiel joins RJ, trying to piece together who or what has been pilfering from the food stores. She first looks for any tracks which do not match those of the dwarfs or of party members, before they are totally obliterated by the party and the dwarfs. If any are found, she points them out, measures, notes the shapes, and conjectures as to the maker(s) of said tracks.

Next, she wants to get others to help her, and have them explore the whole area for small openings through which critters might gain access. If any are found, look for means to plug them up.

================
Perception: 16
Survival, tracking: 12

Dapple (Kathy) 
Wednesday April 5th, 2023 6:58:31 PM
"So the ward was a charm or talisman that you hung on that nail?" Dapple asks to clarify.

"I dunno, guys, somebody may have to spend the night down here. Try to catch 'em in the act."

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 30/30 CMD 13 
Wednesday April 5th, 2023 8:02:25 PM
Grim follows down to the cellar. He listens to Dori describe the situation and Gattor chime in showing his dullness. Grim's human mother had him believing that being half human would give him an intelligence boost over the other orcs. Gattor seems to be missing something and it was a good thing Gattor was with humans, not orcs because he'd never make it.

"You are saying that despite how valuable this food is, you didn't post guards down here? You just trust everyone to keep their grubby fingers to themselves? What was this ward you put up? What was its power?" he barks and looks at Gattor with a certain disdain with the thought 'Living with humans has made you weak and dull!'

Grim nudges Yofiel as he inspects the place, "Look for some other way to get in here. I find it hard to believe a critter could get through the keep, down these stairs, past the ward, steal the ward, get food, and get all the way back up and out without being noticed unless invisible. But a secret entrance, and most places like these have some exit in case of an unplanned retreat, could easily explain it. Or an air vent to bring fresh air down here."

Then, with a smugness, he goes over to spilled crackers and takes one, tosses it up, then on its downward fall into his open jaws, snaps them shut with a loud snap.

"That's ONE cracker it not gona get!" he laughs.

To him, the whole thing is show of bumbling ineptness.

DM Mitch   d20=10 ; d20=20 ; d3=3 ; d3=1 ;
Thursday April 6th, 2023 8:27:20 AM
Ezekiel outlines a number of possibilities as to what is going on and then casts detect magic. He detects no magic in the room.
Kazzor laments that first someone sent dinosaurs to kill them and know somebody is trying to starve them out. He asks if the two plots are related and why someone is targeting them.
R.J. suggests they need less jawing and more investigating. He asks if anyone has experience removing wards because he isn’t sure how he’d do it let alone a Raccoon. He starts searching for clues or tracks.
Siolo investigates the chew marks and looks around for other indications of animals in the room.
Yofiel joins R.J. in the search for tracks being prepared to take notes and measurements if any are found. She then suggests they search the area for small openings through which critters might get through and plug them up somehow.
Dapple asks a question to confirm if the ward was hung on a nail and then suggests someone spend the night in the basement to catch whoever it is in the act.
Grim Ripr judges Gattor as being dull and berates the other half-orc for not posting a guard on the valuable food. He suggests that Yofiel look for a secret passage or air vent before preventing pests from eating one of the crackers that spilt by consuming it himself.

Siolo : Highlight to display spoiler: { you notice that there is some variance amongst the bite marks. Some appear to belong to tiny creatures while others appear to belong to small creatures. All of them appear to be rodent-ish in nature. If racoons are to blame they aren’t acting alone but in concert with some group of smaller rodents. }

Ezekiel: Highlight to display spoiler: { With your knowledge of magic you can guess at the type of ward being discussed. A fairly simple spell, it projects an aura of menace towards any vermain that might come seeking food. It causes them to avoid the area like they would avoid a dangerous predator, though starvation and desperation might be enough for them to briefly ignore the effect - though they’d likely snatch something loose and flee, never to return, rather then take the time to chew through a barrel bottom.}

As Grim starts talking Gatter flushes in anger, and when he gives his condescending look Gatter moves. Dori tries to grab him but he shakes her off (10 vs CMD, fail) and swings at Grim, hitting him right in the eye for 4 non-lethal damage (crit unarmed strike) and knocking him over.

”Now look here, we may not be high and mighty warriors like you but we’ve slept here every night to guard the food. Slept here away from other survivors despite our lack of combat experience making us lunch meat if the dinosaurs come back. We have counted up every scrap of food in the town, organized it all so we know down to the day how long our food stores will last, and now at the first sign of trouble, at the vanishing of a few crackers from a single barrel and a single broken seal we have sounded the alarm and you have the gall to talk to us like we’re incompetent idiots?!? No one would even know there was a problem without our meticulous efforts, and you better well remember that we’re all trying our hardest just to survive here before you start treating us like dimwit layabouts!”

Yofiel Highlight to display spoiler: {You notice one of the barrels is not lined up with the rest, as if it had been pushed out some so something could fit behind it.}


Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15/10/15 CMD 19 HP 29/29 
Thursday April 6th, 2023 11:08:23 AM
Kazzor doesn't say anything when Dori lays into Grim, but he tends to agree that the Barbarian seems to be quick to judge. He understands that Grim's background has most likely helped mold such behavior, but that doesn't make it right. He hopes that someone with flowery words can somehow express to the half-orc that being quick to judge and quick to accuse isn't how things work in polite society.

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 24 CMD 15 
Thursday April 6th, 2023 2:32:09 PM

The second Grim gets hit, RJ draws his crossbow on the other orc. He readies a bolt but doesn’t quite fire yet. A growl should be enough warning, he figures.

That said, he can’t help but chuckle at Grimms humiliation either.

Dapple (Kathy)  d6=5 ;
Thursday April 6th, 2023 2:46:56 PM
"All right, Gatter, you proved your point," Dapple says. She steps up to Grim and casts Cure Light Wounds. She could just as easily have channeled positive energy, but Cure Light is a touch spell, and she wants to help Grim calm down.

Grim heals up to 7 hp. After the spell is cast, Dapple leaves her hand on his arm hoping to calm him.

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14 
Thursday April 6th, 2023 3:02:05 PM

Yofiel is about to intervene but sees others are addressing the altercation. She says simply, "This barrel was moved slightly out of place. I am moving it the rest of the way." She does so, tilting it back just enough to be able to use some back-and-forth rolling motions to clear it and see what might be behind it.

If there is something of interest, she says, "Oh!"

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 30/30 CMD 13 
Thursday April 6th, 2023 7:34:04 PM
OOC: I appreciate all the effort the team has done for Grim, probably because you don't want him to go ballistic and create some rift with the town, BUT, DM forgot that these things just don't happen because it is a good story.
As much as the DM would like it, Gatter cannot knock Grim over with a slap in the face. Gatter can't knock anyone down with just a slap in the face. No one can knock anyone down with just a slap in the face. Per the rules, it takes a TRIP to knock someone down. Even a BASH or BULLRUSH just pushes the target back.
So Grim is very much on his feet after the slap.
Next, we technically go into Rounds at this point because Grim, very much on his feet, won't just let a slap go unanswered. So Grim will get his actions before anyone else. Grim will only be humiliated if he looses the brawl.
Next, DM rolled a 20 on Gattor's slap, but did not roll to confirm the Crit. Unless Gattor has the Feat of Auto Confirm Crit, he would need to roll for confirm. And Grim has Uncanny Dodge so no Flatfooted AC penalty on that confirm. But I'll take the 4hp nonlethal and not worry about the confirm roll.
Next, Grim get's his chance to answer the slap before anyone else's actions as Gattor is already in Grim's face and Grim's reaction will be immediate.
So hold your horses because the one needing the healing may be Gattor.
:)

I'm posting this here also as well as e-mail incase not everyone reads their e-mail. It can be deleted once it is sure everyone has read it and knows what's going on.

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 30/30 CMD 13 
Thursday April 6th, 2023 7:34:04 PM
OOC: I appreciate all the effort the team has done for Grim, probably because you don't want him to go ballistic and create some rift with the town, BUT, DM forgot that these things just don't happen because it is a good story.
As much as the DM would like it, Gatter cannot knock Grim over with a slap in the face. Gatter can't knock anyone down with just a slap in the face. No one can knock anyone down with just a slap in the face. Per the rules, it takes a TRIP to knock someone down. Even a BASH or BULLRUSH just pushes the target back.
So Grim is very much on his feet after the slap.
Next, we technically go into Rounds at this point because Grim, very much on his feet, won't just let a slap go unanswered. So Grim will get his actions before anyone else. Grim will only be humiliated if he looses the brawl.
Next, DM rolled a 20 on Gattor's slap, but did not roll to confirm the Crit. Unless Gattor has the Feat of Auto Confirm Crit, he would need to roll for confirm. And Grim has Uncanny Dodge so no Flatfooted AC penalty on that confirm. But I'll take the 4hp nonlethal and not worry about the confirm roll.
Next, Grim get's his chance to answer the slap before anyone else's actions as Gattor is already in Grim's face and Grim's reaction will be immediate.
So hold your horses because the one needing the healing may be Gattor.
:)

I'm posting this here also as well as e-mail incase not everyone reads their e-mail. It can be deleted once it is sure everyone has read it and knows what's going on.

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 30/30 CMD 13 
Thursday April 6th, 2023 7:34:40 PM
OOC: sorry, dang lag made me think I needed to click again. Sigh...

'Marest (Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16   d20+9=18 ; d20+9=15 ; d20+5=23 ; d20+8=12 ; d20+5=15 ; d20+6=10 ;
Thursday April 6th, 2023 7:53:00 PM
Secret Camera

Marest is excited to participate in this mystery. She tries her hand at investigating the area:

1) checks her perception of the area..perhaps where these vermin when off to or where they came from:
Perception = 12

2) Checks the teeth marks & the tracking of footprints against her knowledge of nature (Knowledge(Nature): 18)

3) Checks both knowledge (Dungeoneering) & Knowledge (Local) to see what can be determined:

Knowl (Dungeoneering)=15 & Knowl (local)=23

4) Marest then looks at the magics used, Knowledge (Arcana) = 15 & Spellcraft = 10

5) Lastly, Marest volunteers to hide in the area to watch what happens as her has Natural Darkvision when not wearing her smoked goggles.

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 30/30 CMD 13  d20+6=13 ; d3+4=6 ;
Thursday April 6th, 2023 8:43:37 PM
Grim tenses when Gatter steps up to him and gives him a piece of his mind. (OOC: Grim can't be Flatfooted: Uncanny Dodge) Whether Gattor's orc-self was coming out or not didn't matter to Grim, this was more like home to him and he was ready. Gattor swipes at him and with that, Grim can't take the blame for giving the first blow. Maybe for provoking it, but the story will focus on who struck first.

Gattor's punch in the face felt more like a slap and Grim smiles an orcish smile, his larger than normal tusk teeth making the smile even more menacing and Grim immediately punches Gattor right back.

Unarmed Attack vs unarmed = no AoO
Punch in face +6 = 13
If hit, dmg = d3 + 4 = 6 non lethal

Round 1 over, Round 2 Gattor gets to decide to keep going or pull back if he's still on HIS feet.

OOC: I didn't record the 6hp n-L but I'm keeping track. Presumably Dapple might be wise enough to not rush up and touch him just yet.

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 24 CMD 15 
Thursday April 6th, 2023 9:25:25 PM

RJ's growl extends to Grim as well.

"You two made your point, but this isn't some tent fight between loincloth wearing steers. You both go to your corners and cool down, and save this fight for whoever's been stealing our food. You both have a mission, and neither of you can afford to fight off some giant lizards and each other by yourselves, and if you can't remember that, the place I can fire this bolt will remind you well enough."

If they both back off, RJ will lower his weapon. "So, I think we need to ask the question that comes naturally to any brilliant canine mind. Is this squirrels?"

Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 16/16 
Thursday April 6th, 2023 10:55:53 PM
"It's a mutiny!" exclaims Ezekiel. "A mutiny...of squirrels?"

Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15/10/15 CMD 19 HP 29/29 
Thursday April 6th, 2023 11:10:09 PM
When the fists start flying, Kazzor forces himself between the two combatants. He doesn't say anything, but his body language and action declares his opinion.

Dapple (Kathy) 
Thursday April 6th, 2023 11:31:28 PM
[Even if Gattor is knocked out on the floor, Dapple would still heal Grim first, so her actions stand.]

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 14/14 
Friday April 7th, 2023 3:17:43 AM
"How dare you hit th' great 'thunder god' Grim!" Siolo mocks. "He'll hit you back 'because he can'. I'm failing t' see th' difference between Grim an' a thunder god." Siolo pauses for a moment before raising an index finger, "No..wait..thunder gods are more impressive."

DM Mitch   d20=14 ;
Friday April 7th, 2023 11:31:40 AM
Kazzor doesn’t say anything when the half-orcs have their spat. He hopes someone with flowery words can express that being quick to judge and accuse isn’t how things work in polite society.
R.J. draws his crossbow on the other orc and gives a warning growl.
Dapple casts cure light wounds on Grim
Yofiel goes to investigate the barrel that was out of place. She clears it with some back and forth rolling motions to see what is behind it and lets out an “Oh” when she sees what it is.
Marest tries her hand at investigating the area
Grim steps up and punches Gatter back
R.J extends his growl to Grim as well and effectively tells them to go to their corners, cool down and save it for whoever was stealing the food. He says neither of them can fight giant lizards by themselves and if they can’t remember that the place where he can fire the bolt would do a good job in making them remember. He then asks if this is squirrels
Kazzor steps between the combatants.
Siolo mockingly compares Grim to a thunder god.

Though he may have landed a nice punch Gatter is no combatant as he himself said. The barbarian’s heavy blow throws him to the ground causing Dori to cry out in consternation and run over to him. Gatter seems to barely be holding on to consciousness (damage matches HP). Dori takes advantage of this fact to scold him and Grim in equal measures. ”Idiot! That’s what you get for startin’ fights you can’t finish. And you! Just because you’re a trained warrior doesn’t give you the right to treat the rest of the town like garbage. Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves and stop acting like barbarians!”

She pulls Gatter to unsteady feet waving away anyone else’s attempts to help or provide him healing. ”You should both be made to heal your bruises the slow way so the lesson on idiocy sticks. We’re going back upstairs. You can stay down here until you’ve accomplished something more useful than beatin’ up fellow survivors.”

While everyone else is distracted by the fight and the scoldings Yofiel moves aside a barrel uncovering a hole. About two feet wide it looks like it was originally a large crack that some vermin dug out to make a small sized hole (as in the size catagory).

Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 16/16 
Friday April 7th, 2023 11:58:18 AM
"The ward would scare away animals," says Ezekiel. "And perhaps the simple minded. Either this was not an animal that burrowed through, or someone else disables the ward first."

Dapple (Kathy)  d6=6 ;
Friday April 7th, 2023 4:13:08 PM
Dapple channels positive energy, which she can do at a distance and still heal Gattor. Everybody heals 6 damage.

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 30/30 CMD 13 
Friday April 7th, 2023 10:04:33 PM
Grim still has his rational self in control and holds back as Dori rushes over to the stunned Gatter.
Relaxing a bit, he takes Dori's admonishment, respecting his position of authority.
"Alright, I'll do as you say, I won't go around treating garbage like garbage. However, if you had told us from the start that you had guards here and they took shifts so there was always someone awake and on watch and this still happened, I would have known you had taken all precautions. My words were to instruct and motivate', not demolish."

Oddly enough, it never had occurred to Grim he could be described as a barbarian just because he was mostly orc. Letting loose in a fit of rage seemed so natural, and certainly accomplished a whole lot more than sweet words.

He calls to Dori as she starts upstairs, "Being just a commoner at this point is no excuse. The village needs warriors. When Gatter's head clears, tell him I'll teach him warrior skills to best serve the village. If he does well, I'll change his name to Gattor."

Grim stretches and realizes that the bruise to his cheek is gone. Rubbing where it should become purple, he grumbles 'I'll be a lizzard's uncle...

His attention back to the cellar he catches Ezekiel's comment and he forgets the bruhaha with Gatter and focuses on the mystery at hand.

Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15/10/15 CMD 19 HP 29/29 
Saturday April 8th, 2023 8:33:42 AM
At Ezekiel's words, and after seeing the hole Yofiel found, Kazzor bristles, as he says, "That leaves only sabotage! I could easily go get a rock big enough to plug that breach. One that's heavy enough only someone like Grim or myself could move, but maybe we want it unplugged for the moment."

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14 
Saturday April 8th, 2023 1:12:27 PM

"Yes, I found a hole big enough for Dapple to walk through," Yofiel announced sometime during the hubbub.

"Oh, Grim, you add further insult to injury. You are being bad. Stop it."

She runs upstairs to catch up to Dor and Gatter. "I am so sorry. Grim does many things well, but he has a most intemperate mouth at times. I thank you two for your diligence. Say, I just found a hole big enough for quite a range of critters to get through. Will let you know what we find."

DM Mitch  
Monday April 10th, 2023 7:51:00 AM
Ezekiel points out that the ward would scare away animals and perhaps the simple minded. He suggests that it was not an animal who borrowed through or someone else disabled the ward first.

Dapple channels positive energy
Grim Ripr tells Dori he’ll do as she says and won’t treat garbage like garbage and that if they would have mentioned the guards earlier he would have known precautions were taken. He calls out that the village needs warriors and that he’ll teach Gatter warrior skills when his head clears and if he does well he’ll change his name to Gattor. He then turns his attention back to the cellar
Kazzor suggests it was sabotaged as he or Grim could probably get a rock big enough to fill the breach but perhaps they want to leave it unplugged for now.
Yofiel says she found a hole big enough for Dapple to walk though and that Grim is being bad by adding insult to injury and he should stop. She then goes upstairs and gives Dori and Gatter an update and that they’ll let them know what they find.

The NPC’s leave. The hole awaits. It is big enough for the small sized PC’s to duck through, or the medium sized PC’s to crawl through. It is dark and you cannot see what is on the other side.


Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15/10/15 CMD 19 HP 29/29 
Monday April 10th, 2023 10:31:57 AM
"Of course, the hole has to be too small for me! Why would it be anything else? If it opens up soon, maybe I could squeeze my way in, or possibly go grab a pick-ax and widen the entrance, but I'm not a worm, if that hole stays this size, you guys are going without me! Assuming you have the notion to explore it.

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 24 CMD 15  d20+8=11 ; d20+13=17 ;
Monday April 10th, 2023 2:06:52 PM

RJ takes a careful look at the hole. "Right, well I guess this is what I get paid for."

As a small creature, he can duck down without problems. Dropping in a lit torch first, he relies on his low light vision and some attempts at perception (11 - not my day) while keeping as alert and stealthy as he himself can (stealth 17).

Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 16/16 
Monday April 10th, 2023 2:21:01 PM
"Allow me," says Ezekiel. He casts light in a torch and mage hands it gently down the hole until it gets out of range.
.

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 30/30 CMD 13 
Monday April 10th, 2023 8:03:33 PM
Grim answers Yofiel, although his visage is the usual, snarly and mean looking, his tone is more the normal for halforcs.
"Being bad? ME? I don't work this hard for lazy people. If I see garbage, I call it out for what it is. Look! See that hole? Now how did that barrel get OVER that hole? Think whatever went down that hole managed to pull the barrel over it? Think that if you or me were in here keeping guard we'd see THAT happen? Something had to push that barrel over the hole from on top, from in here. And Gatter himself admitted to having SLEPT while on guard. Had this happened back home, he'd be flogged and put to gathering fruits and berries if not executed for sleeping while on guard. So for all that, he got off easy."

He takes another fallen cracker, tosses it up and lets it fall into his maw, snapping it shut just like the first one.

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14  d20+11=18 ; d20+7=10 ;
Monday April 10th, 2023 8:43:11 PM

"Blast it, Ripr, stop calling Gatter 'garbage' and 'lazy'," Yofiel answers Grim.

"First, very little has been taken so far.

"Second, they took steps to ward against it happening.

"Third, when it became apparent something out of the ordinary was happening, they came for help, which seems wise.

"Fourth, since when did you put on a judge's robe? After we figure this out, I'm gonna require that you buy Gatter a beer, or whatever it is you half-orcs like to drink, and .... oh, you can be such a hot head! I'm gonna help RJ, and whoever else wants to explore."

"If anyone wants to go ahead of me, go ahead. Then I'm joining in." She forms a lasso, gives other short- and medium-sized people make up their minds, then enters the tunnel on hands and knees. If no one enters before her, she follows RJ directly. If someone else does, she follows behind the someone else.
===========
Perception: 18 - better than RJ
Stealth: 10 - worse than RJ

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14 
Monday April 10th, 2023 8:44:53 PM
Errata:
... gives other short- and medium-sized people a chance to make up their minds...

Dapple (Kathy) 
Monday April 10th, 2023 8:56:38 PM
"Well," Dapple says, "I'm the only other one that fits down there, so I guess I'm RJ's backup. Not sure how much help I'll be, though."

Dapple follows RJ, but stops just on the other side of the hole, hoping to be a kind of bridge between RJ and the rest of the party.

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14 
Monday April 10th, 2023 10:59:56 PM

"I fit, too, Dapple - only, horizontally!" Yofiel says. "And I have rope. Say - can you pass this end of the rope ahead to RJ?" she asks the halfling, handing her a loop attached to a good length of rope. She follows behind Dapple. "Oh, and if it gets to that, and there's a need, feel free to run over me if you need to exit quickly. I'll try to squish to one side."

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 30/30 CMD 13 
Tuesday April 11th, 2023 12:00:03 AM
Yofiel isn't even close to talking down Grim. But Grim was not chosen for this task because he could whup the tar out of people. If anyone from his tribe was going to succeed in this quest, it would be him because of the little patience he has.

"Bug off Yofiel. Everyone is a judge. Don't tell me you don't have your own criticism of the 'ward' system to protect the food rather than the presence of a guard with a weapon, awake and watching, even if he can't use it well. Just seeing a guard with a weapon can be a big deterrent, and he'd see how the barrel got moved. However, it could be that my tribe's security measures are honed to a higher level due to the dangers we face that this plateau doesn't. They need to learn, and learn fast. SO if you don't criticize, don't point out the problem, then the problem doesn't get fixed. Think Gatter will sleep on guard duty again?"

He looks at the hole, then adds with a hoarse laugh, "I know, he and I will stand guard duty here tonight. He won't dare fall asleep out of sheer fright."



Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 14/14 
Tuesday April 11th, 2023 2:02:40 AM
"It's like talkin' to an animal," Siolo sighs in exasperation as he follows behind the delving crew. "I prefer not wishing ill o' people, but Grim certainly tests m' patience with that."

Siolo imagines the sight of Grim yelling at a t-Rex and the scene unfolding with amusement.

DM Mitch  
Tuesday April 11th, 2023 8:11:56 AM
Kazzor laments that the hole is too small for him to fit through.
R.J looks at the hole and then says that is what he is paid for
Ezekiel casts light on a torch and mage hands it gently down the hole until it is out of range.
Grim Ripr tells Yofiel that he doesn’t work hard for lazy people and he calls them as he sees them with respect to garbage people. He says if any of them were keeping watch the barrel wouldn’t have been able to be move and put back without them noticing it so Gatter was asleep on guard duty and if he was in an orc tribe he’d be flogged or executed.
Yofiel tells Grim to stop calling people garbage and lazy, enumerating several ways in which Gatter was actually responsibly handling the problem they detected. . She then enters the tunnel on her hands and knees joining the others already down there.
Dapple volunteers to be backup for R.J
[b]Yofiel follows suit and asks Dapple to hand R.J. a rope.
Grim tells Yofiel to bugger off and makes a lot of assumptions about how the food is protected.
Siolo says talking to Grim is like talking to animals and imagines him trying to berate a Trex.

The small passage is about 100 feet long before it opens up some. Not much though - the torch shows a rough tunnel big enough for a medium sized creature to move through comfortably. It looks like this may have been a natural crack or crevice in the stone that was dug out by someone or something. It’ll be an uncomfortably tight fit for most of the party, though not so much as to limit their movement.


Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15/10/15 CMD 19 HP 29/29 
Tuesday April 11th, 2023 10:31:02 AM
OoC... Just a reminder for our friendly neighborhood GMs, Kazzor is a large sized minotaur. while the rules say he can squeeze into such a space as described, he will need to use the squeeze rules namely moving at 1/2 speed, and taking a -4 penalty on AC and attack rolls. I'm fine with this, as it is part of playing a taurish race, but I thought I should remind you guys, since you stated in your post that no one's movement would be hampered.

Kazzor growls, "I'll go last. I don't want my slow movement to slow anyone down."

While in the tunnel, Kazzor continually grumbles under his breath. Anyone listening will hear him say things like, "I can't believe I'm crawling along like a worm." or "This is loco,what the heck is a grown minotaur doing crawling on his belly like a snake." They would also hear him say things that would make a sailor blush, however out loud he says, "If I get stuck, finish me off and collapse the tunnel. It will save you the headache of burying me later."

DM Mitch  
Tuesday April 11th, 2023 12:38:03 PM
Dori pokes her head down to check on the party and sees the 10 foot taur trying to squeeze into a 2 foot hole. ”What on earth are you doin, you’ll get stuck for sure. Just wait here a moment I think someone managed identify a wand of reduce person. Let me fetch it a you’re all set.”

She returns 10 minutes later with the indicated object.

Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15/10/15 CMD 19 HP 29/29 
Tuesday April 11th, 2023 1:10:12 PM
When Dori returns with the wand, Kazzor looks at it and frowns, "I have no idea how to work this thing, does anyone have the appropriate skills?"

Assuming someone uses the wand on Kazzor he says, "I feel short, how do you guys survive being this small?"

Note to self: Reduced, Kazzor is at -2 str and his ax does 1d12 damage, but he gets +1 to hit and +1 to AC.

Dapple (Kathy) 
Tuesday April 11th, 2023 5:40:52 PM
Dapple is a little concerned when the rest of the party begins squeezing through the narrow passage, but she steps aside to make way.

"I think Ezekiel can use that," she says, nodding at the wand. "I know I can't."

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 24 CMD 15  d20+8=13 ; d20+13=23 ;
Tuesday April 11th, 2023 8:53:35 PM

RJ shrugs at Kazzor while tying the rope around his waist. "Helps to be a small but hardy breed. Besides, I've found that the loud, big targets really do go down easier. A guy like Grimm? He so needs to get in the last word that he'll still be talking when someone eventually snaps and fires three bolts into him and then bites his... but I digress."

RJ continued to try moving torches and peering further (Perception 13), followed by tossing a small stone down the tunnel and listening quietly (stealth 23, signals the rest of the group for quiet) for anything making noise. "It's always the small, quiet ones..."

Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 16/16 
Tuesday April 11th, 2023 9:50:14 PM
"Let's see how this works..." says Ezekiel. He waves the wand around and says some nonsense word and somehow makes it work.



Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 30/30 CMD 13 
Tuesday April 11th, 2023 10:50:04 PM
Grim leans up against a wall and watches the preparations to go down the hole. If he heard Siolo, he makes no sign of it. Maybe that's a plus for Siolo.

OOC: at this point, I believe no one has been shrunk yet.

He watches Ezekial wave the stick around and stifles a guffaw, mostly because he knows that if it was waved around the wrong way, bad things could happen.

"If you get that thing to work, how long will the effects last? I don't want to be stuck down there because it doesn't last very long."

So he turns his attention to the items in the cellar, crates, barrels, and stuff. "Whatever dug that hole, even if some of it is natural, had to know to come up right here. Can this critter smell crackers from underground?"
Then he has an idea, "Marest can speak to monkeys an Thunder Gods, perhaps she can speak to a mouse and have it run down there for a peek and then report back? Beats trying to get shrunk."

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14  d20+9=26 ; d20+7=13 ;
Wednesday April 12th, 2023 12:26:32 AM


"That's only going to last, what? About two minutes? Come, now, and don't dilly-dally," Yofiel urges Kazzor - if Ezekiel's efforts were not futile. If they were futile, she say's, "Here, let me try." She activates the spell. If Grim or another wants to get smaller, too, she'll use it on them.

Other than that, down the tunnel she goes!

DM Mitch  
Wednesday April 12th, 2023 7:28:08 AM
Kazzor volunteers to go last as he doesn’t want his slow movements to slow anyone down.
Dori notices this and returns with a wand of reduce person
Dapple points out that Ezekiel can use the wand
R.J shrugs at Kazzor while tying the rope around his waist rationalizing it helps to be a small but hardy breed as the loud big targets really go down easier. He tries to move some torches and peer further in while stealthily listening for anything making noise.

After Ezekiel used the Wand Kazzor notes that he feels short and asks how the others put up with it.
Ezekiel waves the wand around until he figures out how it works (reduce person is a 1st level sorcerer spell so he can use the wand with no problems)
Grim wonders how long the effect lasts. He suggests Marest ask some sort of animal to go scouting for them and points out whatever dug the hole had to know it came out here.
Yofiel urges Kazzor to move as the wand shouldn’t last very long.

RJ is unable to determine how deep this tunnel goes. Farther then the torch light and farther than his thrown rock - he’s able to judge it bounces off the floor and not a wall.

For the medium sized creatures squeezing through the entrance is an unpleasant experience. They all manage it, but the rock is rough and the passage narrow, catching at clothing and feeling like you might get stuck at any moment. Reaching the other side where there’s at least some elbow room and plenty of space to stand is a relief.

As people cross over a new problem is discovered - the narrow tunnel makes it hard to pass people. You’ll have to figure out a marching order and stick to it and decide if everyone is directly behind each other or if they want to space out. If any sort of fight starts then it’s unlikely anyone not in the front will be able to move up and help in melee.

It is discovered that the wand does not last long - only a minute or two - but it seems to have plenty of charges so Kazzor can choose to stay medium or try to squeeze his larger form through the small, dark, cramped tunnel.


Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15/10/15 CMD 19 HP 29/29 
Wednesday April 12th, 2023 12:17:40 PM

Kazzor will remain medium-sized for the moment. "I can take point unless you want to Grim. Maybe your orcish eyes will fare better in the dark them mine.

Note to self: Reduced, Kazzor is at -2 str and his ax does 1d12 damage, but he gets +1 to hit and +1 to AC.

Dapple (Kathy) 
Wednesday April 12th, 2023 2:04:20 PM
Dapple's main concern is to stay within 30 feet of her companions, so she can channel positive energy and heal them if she needs to. She is not much of a fighter, so she's fine staying toward the back. Kazzor wants to bring up the rear; Dapple will be directly in front of him if that's okay with everybody.

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 14/14 
Wednesday April 12th, 2023 2:47:46 PM
Siolo remains silent through the passage, but ponders to himself about the value of the attributes of animals that thrive in these kind of situations. The thought is followed by a wondering of what it would be like to be such a creature.

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 24 CMD 15 
Wednesday April 12th, 2023 6:23:49 PM

“Do people still want me up front?” RJ asks. “I can maneuver the tunnel fine but I don’t know if crossbows are a good choice in small, dark tunnels. And my perception seems limited so far.”

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14  d20+11=23 ;
Wednesday April 12th, 2023 9:03:19 PM

Yofiel is fine with either Kazzor or Grim taking point. If Ezekiel can pass the wand to her, she could use it to help keep Kazzor to medium size.

"Say, Grim? You wanna be near the front? If you'd like, Ezekiel or I can zap shrink you, too, although, after the first hundred feet, this tunnel opens up a bit. I can walk upright most of the time past the starting stage. I'm fine being second or third in line. I can figure out what's ahead of me, most of the time."

For a moment, she squeezes up to the front, about where RJ tossed a rock, to take a look. An elf, she has good low-light vision (x2). Is RJ holding the torch with light on it? If not, who is?

=======
Perception: 23 - What can she discern that waits ahead of us?

'Marest (Kim for Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16 
Wednesday April 12th, 2023 9:30:17 PM

Mainly just listening and observing for the past several minutes, Marest ponders what spells she might want to have ready. Her mental list includes grease, divine favor, dancing lights, detect magic, shield of faith, lesser confusion, doom... and what else might she have at the ready? She'll be among those toward the end of the line.

Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 16/16 
Thursday April 13th, 2023 12:01:37 AM
"Here, you can take it," says Ezekiel. "I prefer to stay back a bit."

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 30/30 CMD 13  d20+6=10 ;
Thursday April 13th, 2023 12:41:29 AM
It's a tight fit for Grim, but has his guisarme which will keep anyone in front of him 10 feet IN FRONT of him or get poked, so he takes the lead.

"Save the shrinking of me until it is really necessary. We might need all that magic just to get back."

Once the order is determined, he gets down into the hole and moves forward.

Dark vision 60'
Perception +6 = 10

'Marest (Kim for Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16 
Thursday April 13th, 2023 5:59:10 AM

"Thank you, Ezekiel," says Yofiel as she accepts the Wand of Reduction.

DM Mitch   d20+7=14 ; d20+11=24 ; d20+14=28 ;
Thursday April 13th, 2023 8:56:14 AM
Kazzor says he can take point unless Grim wants it noting the half-orc’s eyes might fare better in the dark.
Dapple’s main concern is to stay close enough to her companions in order to channel or heal as needed. Being not much of a fighter she goes towards the back and is okay if Kazzor plays rear guard.
Siolo remains quiet pondering the type of creatures that might inhabit such a place and what it would be like to be one
RJ asks if folks still want him out front as he can maneuver fine but his crossbow might not be optimal for tunnel fighting and he has limited vision.
Yofiel is fine with one of the heavies taking point and if Ezekiel can pass the wand to her she can keep Kazor medium. She asks Grim if he wants to be in the front and optionally shrunken. She then turns her elvish eyes to see what she can see, squeezing up front for a moment.
Marest listens and observes while pondering her spell list and stays towards the back.
Grim takes the lead

The party advances. The passageway goes straight for a while, becoming possibly even rougher, with cracks and tiny holes at various heights running along side it. The passage takes a sudden sharp turn after a bit, and you cannot see around the corner.

Yofiel hears something as they advance - the slight scrabbling of small feet and a low, harsh whisper, though she can’t make out the words. Someone is in here with you.

Please mention whom is carrying lights and others can try to perceive hidden enemies now Yofiel is alerted to at least 1 of them.


Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15+1/10+1/15+1 CMD 19-1 HP 29/29 
Thursday April 13th, 2023 10:46:37 AM
As Kazzor needs both hands to swing his great ax, he is relying on his low-light vision and whatever light source his friends have provided.

Assuming Yofiel lets everyone know of what she hears, Kazzor stands at the ready. As rear guard, there isn't much he can do, but he prepares himself none the less.

Note to self: Reduced, Kazzor is at -2 str and his ax does 1d12 damage, he also takes -1 on CMB and CMD, but he gets +1 to hit and +1 to AC.



'Marest (Kim for Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16 
Thursday April 13th, 2023 2:02:15 PM

Yofiel taps Grim on the shoulder, holds one finger to her lips, cups her ear, then points ahead. She then turns to face those behind her and uses her hands to focus her voice in their direction, cutting down on the noise going on ahead of them. "Small feet scrabbling, someone whispering. Critters ahead. Lights and weapons ready."

Of the two ropes she carries, one is with RJ. The other she readies and places over her left shoulder for quick access, then nocks an arrow, ready to loose if it looks like someone gets aggressive towards them.

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 24 CMD 15  d20+8=24 ;
Thursday April 13th, 2023 2:04:43 PM

RJ still has his torch, but he drops it so that he can draw his heavy crossbow (loaded).

It can be hard in the narrow tunnel behind Grimm but he does his best to see what he can (using that and his low light vision) before dropping the torch.

(Perception 24)



Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14  d20+11=16 ;
Thursday April 13th, 2023 2:07:07 PM

[OOC: OOPS!!! - Header for "Marest" Post should be Yofiel, like this. I'll do a Marest post later today -Kim]

Yofiel taps Grim on the shoulder, holds one finger to her lips, cups her ear, then points ahead. She then turns to face those behind her and uses her hands to focus her voice in their direction, cutting down on the noise going on ahead of them. "Small feet scrabbling, someone whispering. Critters ahead. Lights and weapons ready."

Of the two ropes she carries, one is with RJ. The other she readies and places over her left shoulder for quick access, then nocks an arrow, ready to loose if it looks like someone gets aggressive towards them.

Perception after she does these things: 16 - so-so

Dapple (Kathy) 
Thursday April 13th, 2023 3:23:21 PM
Once the group got going, Dapple drew a dagger and cast Light on it, so there's light at the back of the group.

Now she pauses, waiting for those up front to ascertain what is next.

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 14/14 
Thursday April 13th, 2023 7:38:10 PM
Siolo eagerly awaits the reveal of what is making the sounds. He does not prep any hostile action. He just hopes that unless whatever-it-is is not evil, it successfully flees from his 'allies'.

Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 16/16 
Thursday April 13th, 2023 8:55:59 PM
Ezekiel lights the tip of his staff to use it as a magic torch like some wizard in a movie with a bunch of halflings.

He notices Dapple doing the same thing. "Great minds think a like. Guess the same is true for crazy ones."

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 30/30 CMD 13  d20+6=18 ;
Friday April 14th, 2023 1:00:55 AM
Grim's Darkvision is sufficient for the twisting tunnel but any light from behind that gets by him is helpful. He uses one hand for the guisarme and one to steady himself as he moves on the uneven surface.

A tap on the shoulder brings him to a stop. He understands from the whispering that there's something, some critter up ahead.
As soon as the column stops and the noise dies down, he does his best to listen for 'it'.

Perception +6 = 18

DM Mitch  
Friday April 14th, 2023 7:52:26 AM
Kazzor relies on his low-light vision and whatever lightsource his friends provide needing both hands to swing his ax. He stands at the ready.
R.J drops his torch so he can draw his crossbow. He does his best to see what he can before dropping the torch
Yofiel taps Grim on the shoulder in order to get his attention and let him know what she perceived. R.J has one of her ropes but she places the other on her shoulder and knocks an arrow
Dapple draws a dagger and casts light on it before pausing to wait for the front line to figure out the next move
Siolo eagerly awaits the reveal of what is making the sound. He doesn’t prep any hostile actions, hoping his friends scare whatever it is away
Ezekiel lights the tip of his staff, notices Dapple doing similar and makes a quip
Grim’s darkvision lets him see well and he stops and tries to find the enemy when Yofiel taps him.

A figure steps out around the corner pointing a crossbow at the Grim. She almost looks like a rat based beastfolk, but is far too large. She has dirty, matted white fur with missing patches and red eyes that reflect the torchlight, giving them a strange glow. ”Orcses. I knew it. So you finally found me. WELL YOU WON’T TAKE ME WITHOUT A FIGHT!” she screams.

Rats begin to pout of of the walls, swarming over the party. Yofiel and Grim get completely covered by the things, and RJ is able to detect several dire rats about to close in as well. Yofiel takes 4 damage and Grim takes 6 damage and both must make fortitude saves.

Rat Fight Map

DM Mitch  
Friday April 14th, 2023 7:55:31 AM
If you are local to the town (I think that's Dapple, Kazzor, and Yofiel) you may make a knowledge (local) DC 15 check. Highlight to display spoiler: { You think you recognize that voice as someone local, though in the dark and with all those people in front of you you can't get a good enough look to be sure. }

Dapple (Kathy) 
Friday April 14th, 2023 1:21:40 PM
Seeing Ezekiel dealing with a rat swarm directly in front of her, Dapple uses her Bit of Luck power on Ezekiel.

[You can touch a willing creature as a standard action, giving it a bit of luck. For the next round, any time the target rolls a d20, he may roll twice and take the more favorable result.]

[Dapple does not have ranks in Knowledge Local and the DC is above 10]

Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 16/16 
Friday April 14th, 2023 3:30:19 PM
Ezekiel casts mage armor.

"We must stand our ground and deal with these vermin," he says. "Fleeing rats sinks ships!"

.

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 24 CMD 15  d20+10=24 ; d8=1 ;
Friday April 14th, 2023 3:38:07 PM

RJ notes the Dire Rat next to him and considers his options. He can't really move past his friends. He could take the tunnels but the Dire Rat must be in there. He can't shoot in any direction near his allies.

Despite being in melee range, RJ sighs and fires his heavy crossbow (Attack Roll 24+riccochet, damage 1). He reloads quickly (move action) while bracing for the Dire Rat to respond (Attack of Opportunity).


Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 14/14 
Friday April 14th, 2023 8:40:16 PM
[[I'm not on the map.]]

Siolo shouts back "WAIT! WE DIDN'T COME DOWN 'ERE TO ATTACK ANYONE! CAN WE JUST TAKE A MOMENT AND TALK ABOUT THIS!?"

Siolo begins trying to diplomacy.

DM Mitch  
Friday April 14th, 2023 11:35:52 PM
(Oops. I don’t have access to my computer can you place yourself and shift everyone a space forward to fit you?)

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 24/30 CMD 13  d20+5=10 ; d20+6=22 ; d4=1 ; 2d4+6=12 ;
Sunday April 16th, 2023 8:48:37 PM
OOC: I don't know what 'LR' is on the map unless it is supposed to be 'WR'.

Fort + 5 = 10
Rats swarm over Grim but he ignores them for the time being. The Rat humanoid in front called him an 'Orcses'. How so 'primitive'!
"You got nothing to brag about yourself, Ratses!" he calls out as he takes a 5' step forward and jabs the guisarme at LR.

Att w/ reach +6 = 22
dmg = 2D4 + 6 = 12 (ignore the d4=1)



Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 24/30 CMD 13 
Sunday April 16th, 2023 8:54:17 PM
OOC: if I understand correctly, if these swarms now move into his square, or move into RJ Muffins' square, Grim would get an AoO?

Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15+1/10+1/15+1 CMD 19-1 HP 29/29  d20+1=5 ; d20+8=13 ; d20+4=9 ; d12=12 ; d6+2=5 ;
Sunday April 16th, 2023 11:11:45 PM
Knowledge local: 5 Fail

Kazzor sees the small sized dire rat trying to squeeze out of the tiny sized hole in front of him and he decides to attack before being attacked.

Bonvar (Great Ax) hits AC 13 for 18 damage
Gore hits AC 9 for 5 damage

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 9/14  d20+4=8 ;
Sunday April 16th, 2023 11:35:07 PM

Yofiel recalls the pack of monkeys her rope bound together. Might it work with rats? Not worrying about her bow and arrow, she drops them (free action), firms her back against the wall, and animates the rope to coil and knot around the rats. She tries to direct the rope such that it coils around the rats, not to include her.

'Marest (Kim for Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16 
Sunday April 16th, 2023 11:50:34 PM

'Marest sees the rats swarming Yofiel. She says, "A pox on you rats," targeting the swarm. [Pox Pustules: "You inflict a painful, itching rash on the target creature. The target is sickened and takes a –4 penalty to Dexterity (this penalty cannot lower Dexterity below 0). The target can spend a move action scratching furiously at the rash to remove the sickened condition (but not the Dexterity penalty) until the start of its next turn." Lasts two minutes (20 rounds)]

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 9/14 
Monday April 17th, 2023 7:56:27 PM

[OOC: Where is everyone on Tax Day eve?]

Dapple (Kathy) 
Monday April 17th, 2023 8:30:36 PM
[Monday post while it's still Monday]

'Marest (Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16  
Monday April 17th, 2023 9:06:25 PM
Pox on Rats!

'Marest sees the rats swarming a small distance from her different from those on Yofiel. She says, "A pox on you rats," targeting the swarm at AD10. [Pox Pustules: "You inflict a painful, itching rash on the target creature. The target is sickened and takes a –4 penalty to Dexterity (this penalty cannot lower Dexterity below 0). The target can spend a move action scratching furiously at the rash to remove the sickened condition (but not the Dexterity penalty) until the start of its next turn." Lasts two minutes (20 rounds)]

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 24/30 CMD 13 
Monday April 17th, 2023 10:01:06 PM
ooc: the 'I'll forget to post if I put it off' post

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 14/14 
Tuesday April 18th, 2023 1:50:03 AM
Siolo hopes that this can be resolved without more violence.

DM Mitch   d6=6 ; d6=6 ; d20=15 ; d20=16 ; d20=14 ; d20=6 ; d20=17 ; d4=3 ; d20=1 ; d20+5=16 ; d8=3 ;
Tuesday April 18th, 2023 6:49:47 AM
Dapple sees the rat swarm in front of her and uses her Bit of Luck power on Ezekiel.
Ezekiel casts mage armor and tells the other that they must stand their ground and deal with the vermin.
RJ notes the dire rat next to him and considers his options. He can’t move past his friends, he could take to the tunnels but the Dire Rat must be in there and he can’t shoot in any direction near his allies. R.J. fires his crossbow and hits the dire rat with a glancing blow of his ricochet.

The dire rat responds with an attack of opportunity and misses with its bite attack.

Siolo tries to diplomatically engage explaining they didn’t come there to attack anyone and asks if they can take a moment to talk about things. He hopes things can be solved without further violence.
Grim attacks the rat woman with his guisarme quipping while he does so. He notices his attack doesn’t seem to do the damage expected.
(OOC 1: yes, swarms moving through squares provoke AOOs)
Kazzor fails to recognize the rat woman and tries to attack the dire rat in front of him but it is small and nimble so his weapons both miss.
Yofiel remembers the monkeys and decides to do the same animate rope tactic that worked there. She manages to entangle the rat swarm near her with the rope as it fails the reflex save (10 vs 14)
Marest attempts to cast pox postules against the rat swarm only to see the spell fizzle as the rat swarm is not a valid target

(OOC2: A swarm is immune to any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate))

The entangled rat swarm has limited mobility and a reduced attack roll, but this does not affect them from doing damage to Yofiel, who’s square they occupy and automatically damage per the swarm rules. They roll 6 damage on their d6 and she has to make a fortitude save (twice since you forgot to roll last round)

The other rat swarm moves onto RJ, drawing an Attack of Opputunity from Grim. He also takes 6 damage.

Dire Rat 1 takes its AoO vs RJ, and a follow up bite, but the agile hunter avoids both with ease.

Dire Rat 2 squeezes into the small hole it’s next to and sticks it’s head out to attack Grim, but gets only boot leather.

Dire Rat 3 goes for Ezekial but is easily dodged.

Dire Rat 4 swarms out of it’s hole going after Siolo, scoring a hit for 4 damage and Siolo must make a Fortitude save

Kazzor in the back takes the final attack from the dire rats, #5, who gets briefly stuck in it’s hole and accomplishes nothing (nat 1)

The Rat woman does not seem to hear Siolo’s cry over the sudden noise of combat and squealing rats (A diplomacy check is ineffective in combat - things will have to calm down before you can make one). With a snarl she shoots Grim for 3 damage.

Rat Swarm 1
Rat Swarm 2
Dire Rat 1 - 1 damage
Dire Rat 2
Dire Rat 3
Dire Rat 4
Dire Rat 5

Rat Woman: 2 damage


Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15+1/10+1/15+1 CMD 19-1 HP 29/29  d20+8=9 ; d20+4=17 ; d6+2=5 ;
Tuesday April 18th, 2023 11:19:59 AM
Snarling as his attacks hit nothing but thin air, Kazzor goes for a second attack against Dire Rate # 5. Bonvar once again hits nothing but air (Nat 1) but his horns hit AC 17 for 5 damage.

Dapple (Kathy) 
Tuesday April 18th, 2023 3:12:55 PM
Now Yofiel, not Ezekiel, is in front of Dapple, and she isn't sure how that happened. Nevertheless, she gives Yofiel a Bit of Luck to help against the swarm.

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 16 Tch 11Ffted 16 HP 24/30 CMD 13  d20+6=7 ; d20+6=12 ;
Tuesday April 18th, 2023 8:32:08 PM
Grim notices the rat swarm behind him move away and strikes at it with the but of his quisarme (treat as a quarterstaff for damage purposes I think).

AoO +6 = 7
The constraints of the narrow passage don't give him a chance to aim very well.

Grim knows he hit that Ratses pretty hard but where he's used to seeing a lot of blood, there's very little. He snarls!
"The Ratses is more that meets the eye! May explain why the ward didn't work!" he yells over his shoulder to his teammates.

Seeing a good hit does little damage, Grim tries another tactic. Using the hook at the end of his guisarme, he tries to trip the Ratses.
OOC: normally a Trip attack would provoke an AoO, but since the RW is 10' away, I don't think the AoO would apply in this case.

Trip Att d20 + CMB (6) = 12 vs CMD

'Marest (Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16  
Tuesday April 18th, 2023 10:35:25 PM
A Pox on Rat Woman!

'Marest sees the rats swarming & after unsuccessfully casting at them, moves to cast POX PUSTULES on the proposed leader at AD16.

[Pox Pustules: "You inflict a painful, itching rash on the target creature. The target is sickened and takes a –4 penalty to Dexterity (this penalty cannot lower Dexterity below 0). The target can spend a move action scratching furiously at the rash to remove the sickened condition (but not the Dexterity penalty) until the start of its next turn." Lasts two minutes (20 rounds)]

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 3/14  d20+9=13 ; d20+9=29 ; d20+3=8 ; d20+3=21 ; d6+1=6 ; d20+1=14 ; d20+1=16 ; d20+1=4 ; d20+1=2 ;
Wednesday April 19th, 2023 3:53:26 AM

Ow-ow-ow winces Yofiel as several bound rats somehow manage to sink their teeth into her.

That voice. It sinks into her. She knows who that is. "Rat woman. I know you. I am Yofiel. You must know me. Do we need to kill each other?" On the other hand, the rats are killing her. She somehow manages to draw her rapier and skewer the rats (AC 21, 6 hp damage).

With the bit of luck from Dapple, she manages to figure out pretty well who the rat lady leader is (knowledge, local: 29), poke her rapier through several bodies of the swarming rats (AC 21 for 6 hp damage), and, depending upon the DC, make two, or one fortitude saving throw (not going to bother rolling twice if the 14 saved, thus the 16 also saved - but if the 14 did not save, and the 16 did, then she failed once and succeeded once - it's always nice to know the DC when you ask us to make a save).

If she does know the rat lady's name, she will have used it when she spoke to her.

DM Mitch   d6=1 ; d6=4 ; d20+10=30 ; d20+10=19 ; d8=7 ; d8=6 ;
Wednesday April 19th, 2023 5:48:31 AM
(Since this is a tough combat and no one was able to Sub for RJ this round I decided to allow his PC a basic action)

RJ moves 5 feet and shoots the rat swarm for 7 damage (halved to 3 by swarm traits)

DM Mitch   d20+1=10 ; d20+1=5 ; d20+1=12 ; d20+1=5 ;
Wednesday April 19th, 2023 5:53:44 AM
Kazzor goes for a second attack against dire rat 5. He misses with Bonvar but hits with his horns.
Dapple uses her bit of luck ability on Yofiel this time
Grim sees his attack do little damage and attempts to trip the ratses but the ratses appears to be stable as if it were part Dwarf somehow and resists the trip attempt. He shouts out to his teammates that the ratses is more than meets the eye.
Marest sees her spell not work on the swarm and then attempts to cast the spell on the rat woman leader.
The rat leader resists the spell (22 vs DC 16 fort save);
(OOC: To help your DMs, in the future if you cast a spell that lists a save could you list the DC that the enemy has to beat in order to not be affected? I had to look up the spell and then check your character sheet)
Yofiel recognizes the voice as Grimilda, a dwarf local from the town. She has lycanthropy, the wererat version, and moved to this remote outpost away from civilization, and with lots of high powered townsfolk, to keep others safe until she could control the curse. Unfortunately Yofiel has similar problems as Siolo, unable to make her diplomatic efforts heard over the sounds of combat in this narrow tunnel. You’ll have to find some way to calm things down/end combat to make a diplomacy attempt.

Rat Swarm 1 takes the hit easily and continues to bite at Yofiel but only does 1 damage this time. She must make a fortitude save again (It’s only once per bite)

Rat Swarm 2 assaults RJ, biting him for 4 damage. This draws an AoO from Marest.

Dire Rat 1 snaps at Marest but misses.

Dire Rat 2 continues to try to chew through Grim’s boot to something vulnerable.

Dire Rat 3 bites at Ezekiel but his mage armor protects him.

Dire Rat 4 snaps a Siolo but has no more luck then last round.

Dire Rat 5 gives a high pitched squeal of pain as it’s hit, cutting through the sound of combat. Hearing it’s distress, the rat woman calls ”Run away Jaghuc! Don’t die like everyone else!” Whether it understood the advice or not, Dire Rat 5 retreats down the tunnel, provoking an AOO from Kazzor

Rat Swarm 1: 6 damage
Rat Swarm 2

Dire Rat 1 - 1 damage
Dire Rat 2
Dire Rat 3
Dire Rat 4
Dire Rat 5 - 5 damage, disabled

Rat Woman: 2 damage

Rat Fight Map


Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15+1/10+1/15+1 CMD 19-1 HP 29/29  d20+8=20 ; d12+6=10 ;
Wednesday April 19th, 2023 11:09:56 AM
(AoO) Kazzor sees his prey fleeing and he swings Bonvar in it's direction hitting AC 20 for 10 damage.

Seeing his friends under attack and not being able to do anything about it, Kazzor yells out towards the rat chick, "Unless you want the rest of your "pets" to find the same fate as Jaghuc, you need to call them off! We have a certain skill set, and we are getting pretty good at it!

Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 16/16  d20+6=7 ;
Wednesday April 19th, 2023 1:06:04 PM
Ezekiel attempts to defensively cast ray of frost at rat number 3.

Concentration: 1d20 + 6 = 7. Fail.


Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 14/14  d20=6 ;
Wednesday April 19th, 2023 7:18:48 PM
Siolo continues shouting about how unnecessary the violence is, despite the bite wound in his side.

[[Fort 6+1=7]]

'Marest (Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16   2d4+2=9 ;
Wednesday April 19th, 2023 8:18:11 PM
Clam & Sooth

Hearing that Yofiel knows this Rat Woman and she in fact may be a Lycanthrope, Marest makes an about-face and casts Message pointing to all her comrades, she explains she will be trying to calm the rat woman with her next spell, but if any of them threaten her or her friends it breaks the spell.

The second spell she will cast will be Calm Animals on the Rat Woman occupying spot AD16.

Calm Animals
The DC is 16. The maximum number of HD of animals I can affect is 9.
Only ordinary animals (those with Intelligence scores of 1 or 2) can be affected by this spell. All the subjects must be of the same kind, and no two may be more than 30 feet apart. The maximum number of HD of animals you can affect is equal to 2d4 + caster level.

The affected creatures remain where they are and do not attack or flee. They are not helpless and defend themselves normally if attacked. Any threat breaks the spell on the threatened creatures.



Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 20 Tch 15 Ffted 20 HP 24/30 CMD 13 
Wednesday April 19th, 2023 8:33:24 PM
Grim hears Marest's message and is doubtful that this Ratses qualifies as an animal at this stage, but the others, the dire rats and the swarms are certainly animals. So he holds his ground and goes into Total Defense.
AC bonus of +4 added to header.

Dapple (Kathy) 
Wednesday April 19th, 2023 9:49:48 PM
Siolo seems to be having trouble, so Dapple gives him a Bit of Luck. [Siolo can roll twice and use the most favorable result.]

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 10/14  d20+3=23 ; d8+2=8 ;
Wednesday April 19th, 2023 10:13:09 PM

"Dapple, I am squeezing in with you. Because rats."

She saves (nat 20+(not 3, but rather +1)=21), and casts CLW on herself, healing 8 hp, up from 2, now at 10, after squeezing into AD8 with halfling Dapple. At least Yofiel is slender.

"GRIMILDA! GRIMILDA! LET'S STOP FIGHTING. YOU GIVE THE WORD, AND I'LL STOP. MEANWHILE, I WILL KEEP STABBING RATS WHO ARE BITING ME!"

So, diplomacy may not work. but she'll keep trying. And will resume stabbing next round. She adds in some gratuitous counsel. "ATTACK SIOLO, SO THAT WE DON"T DIE. UNTIL GRIMILDA CALLS TRUCE."

DM Mitch   d20+5=8 ; d20=16 ; d20=3 ; d20=4 ; d20=20 ; d20=7 ; d6=4 ; d6=5 ; d4=3 ;
Thursday April 20th, 2023 7:40:21 AM
Kazzor sees his prey fleeing and turns the rat into a bloody smear on the floor with Bonvar. He tells the rat chick that unless the rest of her pets want to end up like Jaghuc she better call them off.
Ezekiel attempts to defensively cast ray of frost and fails
Siolo continues to shout about how unnecessary violence is despite his wound.
Marest casts message letting her friends know what is going on.
(OOC: Are you using a hero point to cast a second spell? In combat
You normally get a standard action and a move action and casting a spell is standard action. Hero points allow you to take another action among other uses for them. You can also purchase or find a rod of metamagic quicken that can allow you to cast one spell as a swift action meaning you could cast 2 spells in a round
Also calm animals specifically only targets creatures with 1 or 2 intelligence. It will work on the regular rats, but the rat woman talks so clearly has far more intellegence)
Grim takes a total defense action
Yofiel tells Dapple she is squeezing in with her because rats and casts cure light wounds on herself. She also tries to yell out to Grimilda while encouraging Siolo to fight back. (You cannot end your move in the same space as another character unless they are 3 size categories smaller or larger then you. I moved you to a valid square since you intended to retreat)

Between various failed rolls and party members refusing to attack almost nobody does damage to the enemy, or even really tries. Grimelda hesitates, confused by this sudden lack of action, and for a moment it looks like things might be ended non-violently.

Then the death rattle of the rat Kazzor was fighting echoes through the tiny chamber. Face suffused with rage Grimelda raises her crossbow to try to shoot Yofiel in the face. ”LIES LIES WHY MUST YOU KILL EVERYONE I LOVE?!?”

Fortunately the arrow deflects off someone’s armor before it reaches Yofiel (8 to hit) and the battle resumes.

Rat Swarm 1 has it’s target escape, so starts chewing on the next in line - Dapple. She takes 4 damage and must roll a fortitude save.

Rat swarm 2 moves after Grim as the one threatening their leader. He takes 5 damage and must roll a fortitude save.

Dire rats 1, 2, and 3 bite at their targets ferociously with the death of their comrade, but fail to land any bites.

Dire Rat 4 rolls a nat 20, fails to confirm, and does 4 damage to him. He must roll a fortitude save.

Rat Swarm 1: 6 damage
Rat Swarm 2
Dire Rat 1 - 1 damage
Dire Rat 2
Dire Rat 3
Dire Rat 4
Dire Rat 5 - 15 damage, dead

Rat Woman: 2 damage

Rat Fight Map


Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15+1/10+1/15+1 CMD 19-1 HP 29/29  d20+3=6 ;
Thursday April 20th, 2023 11:12:08 AM
Kazzor is beginning to despise the tight quarters he finds himself in. He especially hates the fact that his friends are under attack and he is unable to do anything to help. He decides to try throwing a javelin at the rat chick, but misses.

Rolled 6 - 4 for throwing in melee - 2 for range = 0

Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 16/16  d20+1=17 ; d6-1=2 ;
Thursday April 20th, 2023 1:38:28 PM
"I cast THUNDERSTAFF!" says Ezekiel as he swings at rat number 3 with his stick.

Attack: 1d20 + 1 = 17.
Damage: 1d6 - 1 = 2.



Dapple [ACCm18; hp 15/19] (Kathy)  d20+2=20 ; d3=2 ; d20+5=7 ; d20+5=16 ;
Thursday April 20th, 2023 2:22:49 PM
Dapple was holding a dagger, so she gets an Attack of Opportunity as the swarm enters her square. She pokes one of the rats, doing almost nothing. [Hit AC 20 for 2 damage.]

"Ghhkkk!" Dapple chokes when the swarm attacks her. Rats carry disease, and suddenly Dapple doesn't feel so good. [Fort save 7]

Domain spells can't be converted to Cures, so Dapple decides she might as well cast her True Strike. Or try to. [I assume she needs a concentration check? She gets a 16 for a first-level spell.]

'Marest (Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:14/16   d4=2 ; d20+2=17 ; d20+2=4 ;
Thursday April 20th, 2023 8:36:32 PM
Oh, Rats!

Marest scraps her original spell-casting plan and casts Spectral Hand losing 2 hit points in the process. Using her only Hero point to make a second action so as to cast another spell this round.

Marest turns toward Dapple casting Remove Disease by means of her Spectral Hand.

The melee touch attack needed to deliver the Remove Disease spell to Dapple is 17. The DC for Remove Disease is 4.

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 14/14  d20=12 ; d20=6 ; d6=2 ;
Thursday April 20th, 2023 8:59:38 PM
Siolo clenches his jaw in frustration as he draws his sickle.

"Why do you send your loved ones to be killed!?" he says angrily as he swings at the rat.

***********
12+3=15 to hit for 2+2=4 damage
6+1=7 Fort

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 19 Tch 13 HP 18/30 CMD 13  d20+8=15 ; d20+5=12 ;
Thursday April 20th, 2023 9:10:50 PM
Grim is now really angry. He purposely did not attack and now has rats crawling all over him again. Over the noise of combat and squeaking rats, he's not aware one got killed and doesn't know what she means except to keep on fighting!

He drops his guisarme (Free Action) and swells his muscles up before letting out a loud burst of anger (amplified by the tunnel channeling sound effects I hope).

Standard action Intimidate skill:
Demoralize +8 = 15 vs DC (10 + target HD + target WIS mod)
Demoralize range 30' (sight/hearing), 1 round of shaken + 1 round per 5 over DC

Move Action:
5' move forward drawing falchion.
Initiate Rage: gains uncanny dodge (+4 AC), -2 AC for Rage, +4 aux HP, +4 STR, +4 CON
Rage HP 22/30

Fort vs rat filth = 12 (not in rage when bitten)


R.J. Muffins (Kim for Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 24 CMD 15  d20+10=13 ; d20+10=18 ;
Friday April 21st, 2023 5:37:03 AM

RJ attempts again to damage the rat swarm that molests Grim. RJ misses, barely (AC 13) (and ignore 2nd roll - accidentally hit Roll key twice).

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 10/14  d20+7=24 ;
Friday April 21st, 2023 5:56:26 AM

The bard would love to send arrow shafts against the rats who now bother Dapple, but her bow and an arrow she left behind on the ground.

So Yofiel sings forth to inspire courage in her mates.
We sought the thieves who took the food
And scurried down the tube.
Eventually, we caught them up,
Found them in most foul mood

'Twas they who launched the melee,
It's us who will them down.
Though truce we offered they refused:
In their own blood they'll drown
Effects of Inspire Courage: All of Yofiel's friends gain +1 competence bonus on attacks & weapon damage, and +1 morale bonus on saves vs charm & fear effects.

===========
Perform, Sing: 24

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 10/14  d20=8 ; d20=17 ;
Friday April 21st, 2023 6:00:56 AM

For Siolo: Since Dapple had cast Bit of Luck on Siolo, he should have rolled twice for any d20 rolls. So this is to reflect what he missed applying.

Attack: 8 (still missed)
Save: 17 (likely saved)

Our DM may grant, or not, these supplemental rolls. I just did not want Dapple's spell to go wasted.

[And, friends, pay attention to what your fellow teammates do which may affect your actions - for instance, be sure to add to attack and damage rolls for the next few rounds due to Yofiel's singing]

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 10/14 
Friday April 21st, 2023 6:01:44 AM
oops - Siolo gets to keep attack vs AC 15, which should hit.

DM Mitch   d20+3=13 ; d6=4 ; d6=6 ; d20=2 ; d20=3 ; d20=16 ; d4=2 ;
Friday April 21st, 2023 8:13:13 AM
Kazzor is beginning to despise the tight quarters and the fact that his friends are under attack and he can’t do much so he decides to try throwing a javelin at the rat chick but misses. (there are clear spaces for you to move up and attack the swarms in melee - you can move through allied spaces and swarms do not block movement either)
Ezekiel says he casts thunderstaff and hits rat number 3 with it with a glancing blow.
Dapple holds her dagger and gets an AOO as the swarm enters her square. She concentrates and casts first strike (swarms specifically cause Distraction, a DC 12 concentration check so you passed)
Marest casts spectral hand and then heroically casts remove disease on Dapple using her spectral hand.
Siolo clenches his jaw, draws his sickle and asks in frustration why the rat woman sends her loved ones to be killed. He hits the dire rat he was fighting.
Grim is angry. He drops his guisarme and tries to intimidate everyone on the other side with a loud yell.
RJ barely misses a shot on a swarm.
Yofiel inspires courage with a song.

The Rat woman is shaken for 1 round by Grim’s rage as is Rat Swarm 2 and Dire Rat 2. She does not answer Siolo’s question, if she even heard it - highly unlikely considering all the yelling, squealing, and crashing of weapons. She misses her shot on Grim badly.

Rat Swarm 1 chews on its target Grim, doing 4 damage. He must make a fortitude save.
Rat Swarm 2 is shaken, but this does not affect it’s damage output. It chews on Dapple for 6 damage. Remove disease does not prevent re-infection - she must save again and may merely catch the disease again.

Dire Rat 1 and 2 miss their attacks.
Dire Rat 3 just manages to hit Siolo through his mage armor, doing 3 damage and requiring a fortitude save.

The rat woman calls for Dire Rat number 4 to retreat as well, “Run for your life Klauth.” Dire rat 4 retreating provokes an AOO from SIolo

For those party members trying to sue for peace and/or understand why the rat woman and her beloved rats are fighting you can make a sense motive check.

Rat Swarm 1: 8 damage
Rat Swarm 2 - shaken 1 round
Dire Rat 1 - 1 damage
Dire Rat 2 - shaken 1 round
Dire Rat 3 - 2 damage
Dire Rat 4 - 4 damage
Dire Rat 5 - 15 damage, dead

Rat Woman: 2 damage - shaken 1 round

Rat Fight Map


Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15+1/10+1/15+1 CMD 19-1 HP 29/29  d20=8 ; d20+8=18 ; d12+6=15 ;
Friday April 21st, 2023 10:39:22 AM
sense motive 8

Kazzor Moves past his friends and swings Bonvar at Dire Rat 1, hitting AC 18 for 15 damage. He yells out, "That's two of your "pets", my ax has felled, and you're next if you don't call off this stupid attack!"

DM Mitch  
Friday April 21st, 2023 3:49:10 PM
Dr3 would have hit Ezekial not siolo. I even mentioned the mage armor so I’m not sure how I wrote the wrong name.

'Marest (Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:14/16   d20+4=22 ; d20+2=6 ;
Friday April 21st, 2023 8:43:49 PM
Oh, the Rat Motives!

Marest tries her hand at sensing the motives of the Rat Woman, and her brethren. (Sense Motive=22)

Marest then casts Scare on the Rat Woman "GRIMILDA" on location AD16.

Spell Info:
Spell Penetration: (1d20+2) = 6
Spell save DC = 17

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 6/14 
Friday April 21st, 2023 8:45:35 PM
Siolo sighs in relief as the rat flees from him, not taking the opportunity to fell the creature. He then moves back and pulls out an alchemist fire.

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 19 Tch 13 HP 14/30 CMD 13  d20+7=23 ; d20+8=21 ; 2d4+9=13 ;
Friday April 21st, 2023 9:03:43 PM
OOC: I did a booboo. I said Grim would take a 5' step then forgot to move him. Technically, that does mean he didn't move. Oops. but, maybe for the best, means gives Rateses another chance to surrender?

Fort + 7 vs rat filth = 23 (now in Rage)

Grim's Rage blocks out a lot of the squealing and such and with falchion in hand now, he slashes at DR2 with a vengeance;

Att +8 = 21
Dmg 2d4+9 = 13

He then takes a 5' step towards Ratses.

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 19 Tch 13 HP 14/30 CMD 13 
Friday April 21st, 2023 9:07:46 PM
OOC: forgot
Record keeping
Rage HP 18/30
Rage rounds 7/8

Dapple [ACCm18; hp 9/19] (Kathy)  d20+5=6 ; d20+22=37 ; d3=1 ;
Friday April 21st, 2023 10:41:34 PM
[OOC: Isn't Remove Disease a 3rd-level spell?]

Dapple takes more damage from the swarm, and now she really isn't feeling good. But it seems a shame to waste a perfectly good True Strike, so she pokes the swarm with all her might and main.

Poke! Dapple hits AC 37 for 1 damage.

DM Mitch   d20+2=13 ;
Saturday April 22nd, 2023 4:32:05 AM
Kazzor tries to sense motive as he kills another rat. He rolls low and does not get it.
Marest does better at getting into Grimilda’s head as she tries to scare her with a spell.
Siolo sighs in relief as the rat flees and doesn’t kill it.
Grim kills one of the dire rats in a rage.
Dapple uses her true strike on the rat swarm.

Grimilda fails her save. Quailing in terror, she flees down the corridor (withdraw action, no AoO). Dire Rat 3, seeing the other 4 dead or fled and his mistress fleeing, joins her in running away. The swarms disperse in terror as their larger allies leave the battle. The fight is over.

Perhaps due to the quiet, or perhaps just because she spent the time to concentrate on the problem, Marest is able to look at things from Grimilda’s perspective. First, she is a survivor of the town. Second, no one knew she was alive or had seen signs of her until now - she had probably been hiding down here since the attack. Third, upon reflection (and your high roll), Marest realizes she seemed terrified under the surface of her rage. Finally, this space is tiny. Like, extremely so. Every sound, every movement echoed in the tiny space, and combat meant people yelling in pain, rats squealing their anger, and several people were trying to scream over each other the entire time. The party could barely hear and understand Grimilda’s yells, she probably barely heard or understood the many calls for her to surrender.

Adding these facts together leads to a horrifying revelation. A giant dinosaur attack comes and kills everyone. Grimelda hides here, for weeks, terrified of whatever mysterious entity controlled them all. Then a heavily armed and armored group, lead by a half orc in a land where the species is known to fight, tame, and train dinosaurs, marches into her hiding place clearly looking for trouble. From the statements that Marest could hear this wasn’t an attempted murder, it was a desperate strike for survival against a terrifying foe that already murdered her entire town. She almost certainly thinks the party are the ones who sent the original dinosaur attack, here to wipe out the last survivor and her rat family.


Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 13/16  d20+1=17 ; d20+1=4 ;
Sunday April 23rd, 2023 8:14:14 PM
Sv Fort: 1d20 + 1 = 17.

Ezekiel swings wildly as the rat retreats! "Yeah, you better run!"

R.J. Muffins (Kim for Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 24 CMD 15 
Sunday April 23rd, 2023 11:37:51 PM

[Ignore roll - I went to post Friday, got interrupted, and have been running ever since -Kim]

"That ended better in some ways than it might have," says R.J. He retrieves what items he can, then waits to hear what the plan is.

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 10/14 
Sunday April 23rd, 2023 11:44:48 PM

Before she loses another coil of rope, Yofiel releases the rats she had bound up so they can scurry away freely, and she can keep the rope.

"Does anyone quite understand what just happened?" she asks the party as she also retrieves her bow and arrow dropped earlier.

DM Mitch  
Monday April 24th, 2023 7:56:41 AM
Ezekiel swings wildly as everything retreats and calls out that they had better run.
RJ observes that that went better in some ways then it might have, retrieving what items he can and then waiting to hear the plan
Yofiel releases the rat swarm she had entangled with the rope so they can scurry away freely and she can keep the rope. She asks the others if they know what just happened.

The fight is over and the party regroups in the tight corridor.


Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15+1/10+1/15+1 CMD 19-1 HP 29/29 
Monday April 24th, 2023 11:55:42 AM
"Should we go after her?" Kazzor asks, "We can't let our food stores continue to be pilfered, but maybe this rat lady will think twice about stealing from Cloudhaven now."

Kazzor really doesn't want to go after her, though he will if everyone else does. He doesn't understand what is happening, but he gets the impression that Grimilda isn't some fiend trying to destroy Cloudhaven, and that she is definitely not the one responsible for the dino attack, though the reason for her actions is a mystery to him..

Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 13/16 
Monday April 24th, 2023 2:58:59 PM
"We should leave," says Ezekiels. "If the rats are fleeing than this ship will be sinking soon."

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 20/24 CMD 15 
Monday April 24th, 2023 3:32:10 PM

RJ isn't sure what the sinking ship is supposed to be in this metaphor, especially since the rats ran because of the "sailors." But he's not really planning on reflecting any time soon.

"She attacked us, she may or may not do so again," RJ suggested. "I leave it to others to broker the peace."

Dapple [AC 18; hp 18/19] (Kathy)  d6=3 ; d6=6 ;
Monday April 24th, 2023 7:03:54 PM
"All right, gather up," Dapple says. She channels positive energy, and everyone heals 9.

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 6/14 
Monday April 24th, 2023 7:39:12 PM
Siolo stays silent because he is struggling with what he should have done. Should he have been more aggressive? The leader obviously didn't hear him over the combat. Trying to be more peaceful was clearly a waste of precious seconds. With the animals being controlled, maybe he should prepare animal charm magics...

'Marest (Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:14/16  
Monday April 24th, 2023 9:04:11 PM
GRIMILDA

Marest starts by sharing with the group her thoughts on the subject. "Friends, I think you have your understanding as to what has happened here twisted. From Grimilda's perspective,

1st) she is a survivor of the town.
2nd) no one knew she was alive or had seen signs of her until now - she had probably been hiding down here since the attack.
3rd) I have realized she seemed terrified under the surface of her rage.
Lastly, this space is tiny. Like, extremely so. Every sound and every movement echoed in the tiny space, and combat meant people yelling in pain, rats squealing their anger, and several people were trying to scream over each other the entire time. The party could barely hear and understand Grimilda’s yells, she probably barely heard or understood the many calls for her to surrender.

Adding these facts together leads to a horrifying revelation. A giant dinosaur attack comes and kills everyone. Grimelda hides here, for weeks, terrified of whatever mysterious entity controlled them all. Then a heavily armed and armored group, lead by a half orc in a land where the species is known to fight, tame, and train dinosaurs, marches into her hiding place clearly looking for trouble.

From what I could hear this wasn’t an attempted murder, it was a desperate strike for survival against a terrifying foe that already murdered her entire town. She almost certainly thinks WE are the ones who sent the original dinosaur attack, here to wipe out the last survivor and her rat family.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox now."

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 19 Tch 13 HP 23/30 CMD 13  d20+6=13 ;
Monday April 24th, 2023 10:40:00 PM
Record keeping
Rage HP 18/30
Rage rounds 7/8

Grim splits the dire rat in two but does not have the satisfaction of doing the same thing with Ratses as she scampers off faster than he can follow.
Instead, he lets out another roar (non-Intimidate kind) as he finally gets the chance to wreck vengeance on the rat swarm that has decided to 'jump half-orc' and live.
Maybe.
Grim swats, kicks, and slaps at the rats as their bite-sized bodies scatter and run.

His temper then subsides. He growls as he puts his falchion back in it's scabbard and picks up his guisarme.
Scratched all over, nothing serious, but his sweat stings the scratches. A sudden wave washes over him and the scratchy feeling largely subsides. (Dapple's healing).

Marest finishes her surmised perception of the events from Grimelda's perspective and Grim spits out a half gnawed rat tail at her feet.

"Well, dunno how you got all that out of all the yelling, but I vote you be our Tribe Seer. I'll make you the ceremonial mask to make it official."

He then turns his attention back to the corridor where Ratses ran. Just to make sure she's gone he peeks around the corner.
Perception + 6 = 13

"Well, the village could certainly use her. If we didn't kill all her rat friends, she could send them out to help keep guard and warn when any Thunder God approaches," and shrugs.



Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14 
Tuesday April 25th, 2023 3:06:03 AM
"Thank you, Dapple."

"If these things be so, then, 'Marest, you are raised in my esteem by a considerable amount," Yofiel says. "I had not known we have a mind-reader among us. Thank you for opening our understanding."

"You may have something there, Grim."

She says, "I propose the following. We get a barrel of mixed food items, and bring it to this place. We append a note to it. Perhaps,
'Grimelda, and companions, we regret the strong and most regrettable misunderstanding that took place when you apparently mistook us for those who sent the dinosaurs after Cloudhaven. We did not. You attacked us - I can see how having Grim at the front could have been quite frightening - yet several of us tried to end the fight peacefully, and shouted out offers of truce, but you turned them down. Regardless of how it played out, we do wish peace with you, not war, not animosity. Perhaps we can support one another, rather than oppose. We leave this food for you as a small token of goodwill. We are willing to meet with you to discuss matters. We also wish to give you space for mourning. Can we meet in a few days?'
"All right, that is poorly worded. But something along those lines might be a step away from combat, and toward some sort of more friendly agreement, if such be possible."

DM Mitch  
Tuesday April 25th, 2023 6:52:21 AM
Kazzor asks if they should go after her, getting the impression that she isn’t some fiend trying to destroy cloudhaven or responsible for the dinos but she’s still a mystery.
Ezekiel suggests they should leave since the rats are fleeing the ship then it will be sinking soon.
R.J. isn’t sure what the sinking ship metaphor is about but points out that she attacked them and leaves it to someone else to broker a peace.
Dapple gathers everyone up for some positive energy channeling and Heals for 9
Siolo struggles with what he could have done different since no one heard him over the combat but perhaps with the animals being controlled he could have tried to charm them.
Marest shares everything she surmised from Gimilda to the group before getting off her soapbox.
Grim lets out a roar in frustration that ratses got away before his temper subsides and he picks up his dropped weapons and gets healing from Dapple. He tells Marest that he doesn’t know how she gleaned all that but he votes her to be tribe seer and says he’ll make her a mask so it’ll be official before peeking around the corner and observing that the village could use Grimilda to detect potential dinosaur strikes before they happen.
Yofiel suggests a note and a food barrel be left for Grimelda and is impressed at Marest’s insight.

Grim sees the crack extends past the bend at least farther then his darkvision does. There’s no sign of her in the section of corridor he can see.

The consensus seems to be not to pursue, and as mentioned it is cramped and hard to hold a conversation here, so the party falls back to the basement where group discussion is far more reasonable. Along the way a problem with Yofiel’s plan becomes obvious - the small section of the passage is to small for a food barrel to go through. Maybe a food purse or sack might work.


Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15+1/10+1/15+1 CMD 19-1 HP 29/29 
Tuesday April 25th, 2023 11:22:46 AM
"Good idea Yofiel, but the barrel's too big. We could use a cloth sack or two, I'm sure we can find some empty ones, or ones that can be emptied. Wait, when that wand reduced my size, my gear shrunk with me, would the barrel shrink if it was being held by someone as they were shrunk?"

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 19 Tch 13 HP 23/30 CMD 13 
Tuesday April 25th, 2023 8:01:56 PM
Grim pokes around for another loose cracker.
"Waste of food, waste of wand, waste of barrel."
He finds a crumb and despite his dirty, bloody hands picks it up and flicks it into his mouth.
"Think. You think she'll come back soon enough to find any food you leave before her friends are half rotten and swarming with maggots and smelling bad enough to keep an ogre away? Shame to waste all that worg food but we don't have any worgs here. Anyway, even if she did come back she would assume it's a trap and laced with rat poison. No, Ratses is scared and is not gonna come back this way ever again. Bets on it?"

He shruggs. "She came here to find a place to belong, the village needs her, but it's a job for Rothlorian. It will have to be a few villagers to go look for her that she can trust. And it won't be by this hole," he looks down it again.

'On the other hand, if someone could animate one of her buddy dire rats and sent it down with a message of peace to find and deliver it to her, that would save a lot of trouble trying to look for her or entice her to come out. Eh? Beter ideas?"

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 6/14 
Tuesday April 25th, 2023 8:02:56 PM
Siolo runs his hand through his red hair anxiously. "I hope tha' works. I'll try t' be better prepared, all," he says sadly.

Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 13/16 
Tuesday April 25th, 2023 8:37:18 PM
"Can we leave now?" asks Ezekiel. "I don't want to still be here when the water starts flooding in, even if Marest does have a box of soap and we could use a bath."

Dapple [AC 18; hp 18/19] (Kathy) 
Tuesday April 25th, 2023 8:38:11 PM
"I think RJ and I should go try to talk to her," Dapple says. "We're the same size she is; we won't make a lot of noise scraping through the passage, and we're not scary-looking." She shoots a sideways glance at RJ. "And I'm not scary-looking," she amends.

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 20/24 CMD 15 
Tuesday April 25th, 2023 9:05:18 PM

RJ keeps somewhat quiet, having nothing to really contribute to the situation.

"I dunno if you really want me to play diplomat," RJ responded to Dapple. "I don't really feel sorry for shooting at her since they attacked first. And I can put myself in her shoes... enough to know I wouldn't have retreated unless I saw a better shot. Just the law of nature."

If RJ insisted, "OK, but I would recommend that you do the talking. And if you need me to be less scary looking, a frisbee should do the trick."

'Marest (Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16  
Tuesday April 25th, 2023 9:22:08 PM
Mad Skills

"Sir Grim, why I have Mad Skills...after all I am a Surface Drow BloodWitch! Did you expect anything less?" explains Marest with an air of confidence.

"Getting back to the topic at hand, I firmly believe Lady Grimilda could be of great help and a completely indispensable asset to this town. With her ability to organize the rat folks and squeeze them into tiny spaces, she could single-handedly create the town's best spy network! Which I believe could lead us to the culprit or culprits responsible for the town's destruction. Remember the famous quote, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend!" I believe Lady Grimilda can be that friend the town needs!



Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14 
Wednesday April 26th, 2023 4:11:59 AM

"You may be right about her not choosing to return to the spot of our... first introduction - for some time," Yofiel answers Grim. "However, I concur with Dapple, and 'Marest - we should seek to find her, and negotiate. I'd be willing to come along but would need the wand from time to time, no doubt.

"Let's quickly let Rothlorian know of our encounter - and ask Dori and Gatter to accompany us to meet with him before we tell them anything - so that Rothlorian can urge them to keep their mouths shut if he deems that the best course for now.

"Unless he comes up with a better idea, then let at least some of us try to track her down, and open up a parley."

"RJ has tracking skills and has agreed to go, as do I to a certain extent. Dapple and RJ fit best. Siolo was the most peaceful among us and could help no doubt. Siolo, no apology needed. It was a difficult situation, and I admire your irenic bent.

"Maybe, though, the smallest among us should reach out, and ask for a meeting, while taking food as a peace offering. Not a barrel's worth, but perhaps a quarter of that, if possible. You may be right, Kazzor, that a barrel might be shrunk if someone were holding it while going under the spell - but let a lesser amount of food taken serve as an appetizer, with the promise of more if a truce and parley can be set up.

"Were it not for the tight passageways - and evidently Grimilda's misinterpretation of your purpose in life, Grim, I'd suggest we all go. But the larger one is, the squeezier the fit."

She repairs the rat-dance-loosened braid on the right side of her head. "To sum up: A tracking/parley subgroup to find her, then a mutually agreed meeting place, then ... well, let's see where it goes from there."

Then she turns to Ezekiel. "We are far above sea level, sailor."

DM Mitch  
Wednesday April 26th, 2023 8:07:17 AM
Kazzor suggests that the barrel is too big and suggests a cloth sack or two unless if the wand of reduce size would shrink the barrel if someone was carrying it when they were shrunk.
Grim opines that Yofiel’s idea is a waste of food, wand and barrel and that Ratses is long gone and won’t be coming back anytime soon and even if she did come back any food offering would be likely assumed to be poisoned anyway. He suggests that unless anyone can animate one of her buddies to carry a peace message that this is a job for Rothlorien and anyone in the village she might trust.
Siolo hopes a plan works and that he’ll try to be better prepared moving forward.
Ezekiel asks if they can leave now as he doesn’t want to be there when the water starts flowing in even if Marest has a box of soap and they could all use a bath.
Dapple thinks that she and RJ should try to talk to Grimilda as they are the same size, won’t make a lot of noise and Dapple isn’t scary looking.
R.J. keeps quiet at first but then tells Dapple he isn’t sure if he should be playing diplomat as he doesn’t feel sorry for her and if he was in her shoes he knows he wouldn’t have retreated unless he saw a better shot. If she does insist he reluctantly agrees if Dapple will do the talking and suggests getting him a frisbee if he needs to look less scary.
Marest tells Grim she has mad skills being a Surface Drow Bloodwitch and suggests that if they could recruit Grimilda to their cause she and her remaining rat cohorts could become the town’s spy network and aid in getting to the bottom of who orchestrated the attack in the first place.
Yofiel thinks sending someone to talk to Grimelda is a good idea and suggests they go consult Rothlorian.

Hearing the voices Dori comes down to check on things as Yofiel is talking. Hearing that something happened and Rothlorian should maybe be consulted she tells the party they are in luck, he’s upstairs having a late brunch. She fetches him and he tromps down the staircase a moment later chewing on a sandwich. ”What seems to be the problem?”


Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15+1/10+1/15+1 CMD 19-1 HP 29/29 
Wednesday April 26th, 2023 11:30:49 AM
Kazzor lets his friends fill the village leader in on the details, as he isn't very good at that sort of thing.

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14 
Wednesday April 26th, 2023 2:25:44 PM

Yofiel speaks, as her voice is already warmed up. "Rothlorian, sir, we explored a ways down the tunnel you can see here," as she points at it. "It starts small, opens up a bit later, gets small again and, well, we heard something ahead - shuffling of feet, whispers. After a moment, a dire rat spoke, shot a crossbow bolt at Grim, and a whole bunch of regular rats came bounding up toward us, and attacked. A swarm caught me, and several others were bitten. There were, I don't know, another four or so dire rats besides the first. The leader spoke, and I recognized her voice. She is the dwarf, Grimilda. She called out a couple names of the other dire rats during the fight. Klauth, who ran away, Jaghuc, who died.

"Though we kept calling for truce, it was cramped and noisy. Grimilda finally seemed frightened, and she and the remaining rats fled away. But Marest was able to gain some insight - I'll let her tell you about that.

"The long and short of it is, though, that we think she was just trying to survive with her friends. She is a wererat, or whatever you call it - like a lycanthrope, but one who changes into a dire rat. Some of my companions think she could become a good ally to us here at Cloudhaven, but we need to try to find her, and set up a parley. It might be bumpy getting to that point."

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 20/24 CMD 15 
Wednesday April 26th, 2023 3:22:15 PM

RJ nodded to his teammates. "Certainly, you can rely upon my tracking skills, as well as my... professional disposition, if not a strong diplomatic ability."

To Rothlorian, "As you can see, your input and resources may be appreciated in regards to this moral dilemma and opportunity. It would be valuable to continue learning about this person further."

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 19 Tch 13 HP 23/30 CMD 13 
Wednesday April 26th, 2023 7:35:16 PM
After Dori heads on up to get Rothlorien, Grim's wide toothy grin, enhanced by his larger-than-normal tusks, catches Yofiel's attention.
"I do like to intimidate my foes into submission, then maybe smack them. But Grimilda isn't my foe. She was part of Cloudhaven before, she should be part of it again. She proves she can control herself in her shape-changed form she will have no problem fitting in. I know what it means to be an outcast."

He doesn't add anything to the report given to Rothlorien. He does comment though on the rat scratches, "My tribal healers have salves and herbs to put on wounds such as these. It keeps nasty sickness from knocking a warrior down. It's taken from the saliva of a great lizard. Not one of the Thunder Gods, but a less noble of their kind. I don't know what the Shaman does to the saliva, but it kills whatever nastyness you can get from rodents, thorns, and other jungle surprises. I wonder if Dapple would know of such medicine? My experience tells me we will need it soon. Like today."

'Marest (Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16  
Wednesday April 26th, 2023 9:21:13 PM
Seer

Marest hangs around listening to the conversation between her troupe & Rothlorian.

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 6/14 
Wednesday April 26th, 2023 10:07:13 PM
Siolo is feeling a strong pang of uselessness. His gratefulness of Yofiel's words is overcome by his melancholy. He is simply not used to resorting to violence and thought that was a good thing but is seriously questioning that.

As a result, Siolo finds a corner of the room and huddles there. He crunches down and, though listens to the debrief, focuses more on his iwn thought wrestling.

Dapple [AC 18; hp 18/19] (Kathy) 
Wednesday April 26th, 2023 11:58:19 PM
"Bumpy?" Dapple mutters. "More like bitey."

Louder, she says, "Can we maybe wrap this up? I don't feel so good."

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14 
Thursday April 27th, 2023 3:53:40 AM
Yofiel post 20230427

Yofiel gives Grim a crooked smile in response to his comment on Grimelda as it relates in some ways to his own situation, and adds a nod of her head in his direction. She reflects a moment on his observations concerning his tribal shaman's concoction to counteract the bite of rats, and thinks Dapple a good one to perhaps research the matter further, but says nothing at this time.

"'Marest: Three things. First - you know remove disease - a potent spell that Dapple needs now. Have you enough resources to cast that again upon her?

"Second - Waiting until after combat for such a good spell may be wise so that our active opponents do not nullify its effects a moment later. Anyway, a few of us may begin to feel the working of the rats' foul saliva before too many hours pass.

"Third, I thought you would be the best to share your insights with Rothlorian, so I asked if you might do so. You may not have heard me. I get distracted sometimes, too. I'll try to sum it up, though your clarity of expression on the matter was remarkable."

Yofiel then repeats, nearly verbatim, what Marest had to say about her understanding of Grimilda's perspective so that Rothlorian and Dori can benefit from hearing it.

Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 13/16 
Thursday April 27th, 2023 6:56:28 AM
"We may be above sea level now, but we won't be for long!" warns Ezekiel. "Rats leave, ship sinks. Never a miscommunication. You can't explain that!"

DM Mitch  
Thursday April 27th, 2023 7:30:49 AM
Kazzor lets his friends fill the village leader in on the details as that isn’t really his thing.
Yofiel lays out the situation to Rothlorien
R.J tells his friends they can rely on his tracking ability and personal disposition then adds his own comments on the Grimilda situation.
Grim Ripr tells Yofiel that he does like to intimidate foes into submission and then maybe smack them but Grimilda isn’t her foe as she was part of Cloudhaven before and if she can control herself in her shape changing form she could become again. When Rothlorien is summoned he comments on the rat scratches and what his tribal healer did for diseases and wonders if Dapple has any knowledge of such, suggesting they’ll need it soon.
Marest listens to the conversation between the group and Rothlorien.
Siolo has strong pangs of uselessness. His gratefulness towards Yofiel’s words is overcome by his melancholy. He isn’t used to resorting to violence and thought that was a good thing but now he is questioning his world view. He finds a corner to hunker down in.
Dapple isn’t feeling well.
Yofiel suspects Dapple might need disease cleansing and suggest Marrest give it a try. She also gives tactical advice and tries to summarize the party’s guess as to Grimelda’s point of view.
Ezekiel talks about sea level, rats, and ships.

Rothlorian listens to the story and considers. ”I think I remember Grimelda. She worked with the lift beasts. I don’t blame her for being scared and trigger happy, the attack left us all with scars. It seems the best option would be to have someone she knows try talk to her and convince her it’s ok and to come out. Did any of you know her at all?”

A voice comes from upstairs, calling Rothlorian. He grimaces and mutters to himself about never having a free moment. ”I suggest a small group, no more than 3 people, and someone who Grimelda will know, even if only in passing. The food offering is probably also a good idea.” The voice calls for him again and he tromps back upstairs, finishing his sandwich as he goes.


Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 13/16 
Thursday April 27th, 2023 8:04:39 AM
"Though it occurs to me that she and her rats fled Cloudhaven, which did not sink so much as was overwhelm the city, so I suppose rats fleeing is not so much an omen of flooding specifically so much as a general impending doom," mused Ezekiel. To Roth, he adds, "I'm sorry, were you saying something?"

Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15+1/10+1/15+1 CMD 19-1 HP 29/29 
Thursday April 27th, 2023 11:50:55 AM
As Rothlorian departs, Kazzor says, "I can go, there weren't too many minotaurs in Cloudhaven before the attack, only my family and Rita's family" He pauses for a moment to catch his composer. Remembering his loss is still a dagger in his heart, and those who are looking will see a tear in his eye. After he catches his composer he says, "It's possible she might remember seeing me around town, and everyone knew my dad, Blovis was a well liked member of the town guard. That said, I'm no diplomat, someone who can speak should go with. Dapple, as a healer, at the temple, she may remember you as well."

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 20/24 CMD 15 
Thursday April 27th, 2023 3:11:54 PM

RJ wonders if they will still need him (and notes that there might be people with better tracking skills than his, since it's not a class skill).

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 19 Tch 13 HP 23/30 CMD 13 
Thursday April 27th, 2023 8:41:14 PM
Grim pretty much ignores references to something called ships. The water vessels he is familiar with ply the rivers that traverse the region and when the rains come, the rains create large lakes in the low-lying areas where the boats spend a lot of time fishing. But those boats aren't suitable for rats, not being big enough for any to really hide and live in. And living upon a plateau a little smaller than this one, there's no occasion to really get to know boats and what critters might hide in them.

"I'm perfectly fine staying up here while you go delving down there. Besides, I've got a mask to make for Marest."

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 14/14 
Thursday April 27th, 2023 8:44:53 PM
Siolo thinks about it for a few moments. He kinda fits the needs of the mission. Could this be his opportunity for proving his usefulness?

Siolo raises a hand from his crouched position. He says a little quietly, "I could try and talk to them. I'm pretty okay at tracking."

'Marest (Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16   d20+2=20 ;
Thursday April 27th, 2023 9:56:43 PM
Remove Disease

Marest turns and casts Remove Disease on Miss Dapple.

Caster level check - 1d20 +2 = 20
Spell DC =17

Looking around, Marest asks the rest, "Is there anything else ya'll need?"

Dapple [AC 18; hp 18/19] (Kathy) 
Thursday April 27th, 2023 10:01:26 PM
"Thank you, Marest," Dapple says. "That's better."

"Grimelda might remember me," she continues. "Just about everyone came to the temple at one time or other. I remember one time she'd hurt her arm trying to pull one of the animals back on course."

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14 
Friday April 28th, 2023 2:32:59 AM
"Then how about Dapple, Siolo, and RJ? Kazzor, I think you are right that she would remember you - but, well, it's going to be real hard for you to fit through the small tunnels, and right now, those tunnels are our lead.

"Ezekiel may be weirdly right, though, well, I'm not going to delve too deeply into that. But I think we need the rats. And they, us."

She turns to Dori. "Dear, would you be so kind as to assemble some of the food? Place it in three sacks - small ones for Dapple and RJ, and a bigger one for Siolo. Let's send a good mixture, including grains, some fruit, veggies, and maybe a bit of meat - not too much of the latter, though. Enough all told for a peace offering." As the discussion has been going, she has taken a moment to write a note for the ambassadors to take to Grimelda.
'Grimelda, and companions, we regret the battle and most regrettable misunderstanding that took place. Please know, we did not send the dinosaurs, and are trying to figure out who did. You attacked us - I can see how having Grim, the half-orc, at the front could have been quite frightening - yet several of us tried to end the fight peacefully, and shouted out offers of truce, but you turned them down. I know it was hard to hear over the noise. Regardless of how it played out, we do wish peace with you, not war, not animosity. Perhaps we can support one another, rather than oppose. We leave this food for you as a small token of goodwill. We are willing to meet with you to discuss matters. We also wish to give you space for mourning. Yet, can we meet soon? Kazzor, son of Blovis sends his greetings. - signed: Yofiel the elf, with hopes of peace, and mutual help'
"Does anyone else feel strongly they ought to go - and can fit in the tunnels, wherever they may lead?"

DM Mitch  
Friday April 28th, 2023 6:40:07 AM
Ezekiel corrects himself that fleeing rats is not so much of an omen of flooding but rather general impending doom. He asks Rothlorien if he said something.
Kazzor volunteers to go as there weren’t too many minotaurs in Cloudhaven and Blovis was well liked. With that being said he mentions that he isn’t a diplomat and suggests maybe Dapple should come as well.
R.J. wonders if they will still need him and notes there are those with better tracking skills than his
Grim Ripr ignores references to ships as they don’t seem relevant to the location logistically. He says he’s fine waiting while others go down, plus he has a mask to make.
Siolo thinks about it for a few moments and thinks he fits the needs of the mission and if this could be an opportunity for proving his usefulness. He raises his hand and says he could try and talk to them and he’s also pretty okay at tracking.
Marest casts remove disease on Dapple, even though IC no one should know it’s neede yet.
Dapple says Grimedla might remember her.
Yofiel suggests Dapple, Siolo, and RJ. She asks Dori to get some food packed and writes a note to Grimelda.

The chosen party, whomever they end up being, heads out. The others can get some food upstairs or wait in the basement. The crack remains tight, claustrophobic, and uncomfortable, especially the first section for the medium sized PCs. Fortunately tracking efforts don’t seem to be needed - though the walls are rough and cracked there is only 1 reasonable path for a medium sized creature to take. It leads around the turn and about 100 feet onward, the end of which you can see it opening up slightly. You can hear sobbing echo softly down the tunnel as you get closer.


Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14 
Friday April 28th, 2023 1:08:28 PM

Just before the small group heads out, Yofiel tells them, "I am going to go above and spend some time in prayer for you, for Grimelda, and the rat pack, that we might obtain an irenic outcome. If any care to join me, that's fine. I know there are other tasks available - like a mask," she says, smiling at Grim.

She finds a quiet place overlooking the cliffs and begins to intercede with heavenly powers for the protection and success of the brave ones.

R.J. Muffins (Melvin) AC 19 (before prone)/15/15 HP 20/24 CMD 15 
Friday April 28th, 2023 4:56:05 PM

RJ leads the way back to their quarry, easily finding the sobbing woman.

"So, anyone want to go first?"

'Marest (Jon-Paul) AC:13 (T:13, FF:10), CMD:12, Saves:(F:5/R:2/W:3), HP:16/16  
Friday April 28th, 2023 8:51:37 PM
Waiting

As Marest is sure she is not part of the chosen, Marest will await their return. In the meantime, she will meditate.

Siolo (Joe) - AC 15/12/13 ; HP 14/14 
Friday April 28th, 2023 11:38:33 PM
Siolo stands slowly intentionally to stretch out.

He waves off the suggestion that he need any disease curing with a, "I feel fine, thank you."

((If he is one of the three))
Siolo says, "I need a couple minutes to prepare an incantation that charms animals."

Yofiel (Kim McCoy), female elf bard AC 14/14/12 HP: 14/14 
Saturday April 29th, 2023 12:21:17 AM

Anyone who wants to go with the group can go. Yofiel simply suggested who she thought might be best to go - but if you want to be on the outreach team, then you're on it.

Ezekiel (BrianW) - AC 13/13/10; HP 13/16 
Saturday April 29th, 2023 2:10:55 PM
"I best stay in town," says Ezekiel. "It has been my experience that blasting things with lightning is not very effective at getting others to calm down."

Grim Ripr (JonathanT) AC 19 Tch 13 HP 23/30 CMD 13 
Saturday April 29th, 2023 6:54:18 PM
Grim shrugs, "I'm going up for some fresh air and bandage these scratches. Clean some rat blood off my shinney armer, and get something more substantial to eat than cracker crumbs."
He wishes the Diplomatic envoy good luck and heads upstairs.

He goes to the well (if we have one) and removes his armor to clean it. Then washes the remaining rat scratches, intending to look for bandages in the temple later.

When done with that, if the group has not yet returned, he makes a trip to the leather working shop, what's left of it. He rummages around for some leather that's ideal to make straps and a section of leather ideal for a cap. While rummaging around he finds a bottle. It is labeled 'if you cut yourself badly while trimming the leather, drink this'.
He's not sure what it is and takes it to Rothlorien and asks him if he knows what it could be. Rothlorien identifies it as a potion of Cure Light Wounds.

OOC: adding a potion of Cure Light Wounds to my gear and Wealth By Level.

By now the party probably is back.

Kazzor (Jeremy) AC 15+1/10+1/15+1 CMD 19-1 HP 29/29 
Sunday April 30th, 2023 7:31:55 AM
Kazzor considers Yofiel's words and since neither she nor Ezekiel are going, no one is there to use the wand on him, so he opts to stay behind. He heads out of the basement, and joins Grim at the well to clean off Bonvar and his chain shirt.

DM Mitch  
Monday May 1st, 2023 7:46:06 AM
Yofiel says she is going to pray for Grimelda, the rat pack and that they receive a favorable outcome. She finds a quiet place overlooking the cliffs and does so.
R.J. leads the way back to the sobbing woman and asks who wants to go first
Marest awaits the return of the group that went after Grimelda choosing to meditate.
Siolo stands slowly and intentionally stretching out. He waves off the suggestion that he needs disease healing and if he is in the group that goes to see Grimelda he needs time to prepare an incantation to charm animals.
Ezekiel says he best stay in town as blasting things with lightning isn’t good for calming folks down.
Grim shrugs and says he’s going to get fresh air, bandage his scratches and clean his armor, wishing the diplomatic team good luck. He then goes to the leather working shop or what is left of it and finds some supplies.
Kazzor opts to stay behind as neither Yofiel or Ezekiel are going after Grimelda so noone can use the wand on him and he stays behind. He too cleans his armor and weapon at the well.

In the tunnel, with RJ, Siolo?, and Dapple?, Gimelda doesn’t react to their presence. She’s sitting in a small chamber staring at the wall, rocking back and forth gently, muttering to herself about how the orcses have found her and are coming to finish the job. Sense motive 10 Highlight to display spoiler: { she seems to think the group are a hallucination of dead people she used to know.}

The rest of the party emerges from the basement. Rothlorian is the only one there, everyone else having long ago finished breakfast, and it seems even here he cannot escape being the unofficial leader of the place. A small group of people crowds around him, asking for advice on how to solve various issues. He tries his best to answer between bites of food and looks very tired. Noticing the group he waves them over - the small crowd pauses, letting the respected adventurers cut in line.

”I’ve just been informed that there’s some more useful items that have been found you should look over. It should help a lot with whatever trouble comes along later.”

You may get another 1000g worth of items to your total, putting each PC at up to 2000g total (it’ll increase to 3k in about a month when we level). Remember non magical items like masterwork gear you can just claim, but any magical gear you will need to go order at the Catacombs board.


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