(069) Pilgrims & Practicalities

[Condorcet]

Josiane (particularly 5th Level Josiane ) wonders if the team going into the pit might not benefit from her presence? Although she will certainly not want to leave the pilgrims undefended.

She is also rather concerned about their colleagues, who appear to have vanished into thin air!

She'd like to have an idea of what's become of them if possible.

But not if it's going to hold you up, ways. If you want to move things along I'm happy to go with your suggested course of action.

| Helmut is with Josiane - if we have achieved 'the next day' with no sign of the ring crew it would seem like the only option would be to first check on them yes?

He will otherwise go with the pit crew - wanting very much to 'get a feel' for these shadows - unless Josiane recommends otherwise of course, she being his superior (and The Saint) |

[waysoftheearth]

Armando and Josiane switch to the Pit Team, leaving Ulric (in NPC-mode) to handle the Pilgrims, and Beringar and Valorn (both in NPC-mode) to visit the Ogre cave.

So be it.

Night falls on the forlorn abbey... the pilgrims and adventurers are equally exhausted by their efforts, and fall into a deep sleep content in the knowledge that Dhren and Dorgan and Ulric will have the watch.

Night is the time for mishaps; particularly in a semi-ruined abbey in the middle of nowhere recently taken by force! Three checks are rolled 3d6=4,5,4 and come up empty.


Dawn dawns, and everyone awakes to another meal of elvish bread and their day's duties.

Valorn and Beringar set off early, having a respectable hike to make this day.

The ref rolls a reaction check for the Pilgrims under Ulric's wrathful watch 2d6=12! The wizard must have enchanted them...

Meanwhile, the main crew head down to the Shadow Lair equipped with the fabled Ward; what could possibly go wrong? 1d6=3 Apparently, nothing today! The company head down to the Basal and check in on the Ring Room and discover it to be empty; no sign of Dieter or the others.

That done they lever open the trap-door to the chute, rig a system of ropes so that persons (and treasures) can be hauled up and down briskly. They cast down several torches so that the baleful pit is illuminated before they arrive, and send Josiane down first so that she can dangle above the woeful Shadows and read aloud the Ward 4d6=16 that causes them to scatter like flies and not return for at least an hour.

In this time our "heroes" search the lair with impunity, and locate among the broken remains of fallen men an incredible treasure including one particularly dazzling necklace, bejeweled beyond any sense of decorum, other jewels and a modest hoard of coins. By the hour's end the sum of treasure removed from the pit is this:

900 sp (worth 900 XP)
500 gp (worth 3,000 XP)
3 pieces of jewelry (worth 700, 1500, and 7000! XP)
1 potion and 1 dusty scroll.

The whole of it is hauled back to the refectory in time for the noon meal.

Counting and division of the loot is the primary focus of discussions for a good while, until Dieter and Co. are missed again. At that point (early afternoon) it is noted that Valorn and Beringar have not yet returned. And nor do they for the rest of the afternoon...


How do you want to allocate the loot?

And what are your orders for tomorrow?

[flightcommander]

[ehiker133]

| Josiane should examine the scroll to see if it is something she can use. (While she is at it, she should examine the black book Desmond gave her to see if that is also something she can use... *HINT HINT*. We could also use some objects with Continual Light on them so we don't need torches for light sources...)

If possible, maybe Ulrich can further extend his NPC role and examine the potion to see if he can determine its use? It is our first potion that I can recall, so I'm not sure how they are handled in the Hinterlands. Unfortunately, all of our elves are currently at an undisclosed location, so they aren't of any use in examining it. If it helps, Desmond is willing to do so. |

| How do you want to allocate the loot? |

|

If this is referring to the jewelry, then I'm not sure. Of course Desmond is happy to hold on to it, along with the three gems, to sell once we get to some place where such things can be sold. But he's fine with anyone else who wants to hold them (as long as they remain active on the forum! Nothing more irritating than giving treasure or magic items to a character and then that player goes MIA - Ulrich and the ring being the example in mind in this case) if the idea is to keep the look with different people. He can certainly afford the space; not sure how others fair with backpack space at this point.

We could bank on the doppelganger not finding the secret passage in the Reliquary and store it there. Better yet, we could try and set a trap for it, having the secret passage left open and the treasure left in the open on the table in the secret room. Then, with a few lawfully-minded people waiting in the room, we could see if he takes the bait and attempts to pass the wards to get to it. If he fails his save, then we have a blinded doppel to fight instead of one that can see. Just a thought...

If it is a reference to whether or not we want to allocate loot (XP) to just active players, then I say yes, just the active players and not the players currently being NPC'd.

If this latest boon gives Desmond enough XP to get to 4/4, then he would dutifully request another full night's rest for the purposes of leveling up again.

For the next day, Desmond is concerned about Valorn and Beringar not returning and will volunteer to lead a group to investigate. He would prefer to have Ashtad with them as a guide to the ogre's lair.

This is all suggestion, of course; I'm open to other (better) ideas. |

[sully]

Ulric should be carrying the ring only in order to examine it. It's not his yet, though he may have a claim. Entirely reasonable for us to ask his character to yield it, especially if he's going to disappear.

Even the sword that Dieter carries could conceivably be claimed by Olaf, Gustave, Desmond, or Torben, if we assume that only Neutrals can wield it. But for now at least, no point in arguing it. Magic items grant no XP.

EDIT: I guess Highbough could claim it but I left him out because he already has a magical weapon. I suppose Armando could have a claim as well, if we don't want to arbitrarily limit the weapon to fighters only.

[sully]

Active PCs: Dieter, Olaf, Highbough, Wen, Dorgan, Josiane, Armando, Dhren, Helmut, Ashtad, Desmond

Not sure what to do about Gustave.

Torben? I'll let Ways decide if he counts as active or not.

Let's call it 11 active PCs for now. 13,100 XP divided by 11 is 1,191 each (rounding up).

EDIT: Forgot the loot that Des found. Another 1,047 XP divided by 11 is 95 each (rounding down this time).

[sully]

Dorgan will ask Ashtad how far away the ogre bridge is. He wonders aloud if they could make it there and back before dark.

Dorgan is going to claim one of the vintage crossbows. He'll also collect the remainder of the bolts lying around.

[ehiker133]

Dorgan will ask Ashtad how far away the ogre bridge is. He wonders aloud if they could make it there and back before dark.

Dorgan is going to claim one of the vintage crossbows. He'll also collect the remainder of the bolts lying around.

Desmond already collected all dozen bolts. Armando took two, so Desmond will happily divide the 10 up with Dorgan.

[sully]

Desmond already collected all dozen bolts. Armando took two, so Desmond will happily divide the 10 up with Dorgan.

Thanks, Des!

[ehiker133]

Desmond already collected all dozen bolts. Armando took two, so Desmond will happily divide the 10 up with Dorgan.

Thanks, Des!

Desmond hands Dorgan 5 of the bolts he lifted from the traps.

| Inventory updated |

"You'd think they'd have brought more than just one for each crossbow, even if they just planned on making traps with them... I wonder if there is a storage room somewhere we've missed. And speaking of leaving stuff, it would have been nice if Dieter and the elves had left a note indicating what they were going to do before they off and activated that ring!"