Dice The Shattered Soul - OOC

[Silanon]

Short note: I started a short post during my train ride, and posted half of it by accident when I arrived. For those who found it before: It's finished now. Whoops.

 

[Purr]

Captain Hesperus

Thomas calmly knelt by the broken dead thing and handled it without concern. The dead, the truly dead, did not concern him, it was simply part of the cycle of life. He turned it over, spread its wings, examined its wounds both old and new. He would get to the bottom of this. He listened to his compatriots' conversation and chipped in as he worked.
"A scout would be a sensible proposition, an Undead construct sent in the dead of night to spy. Bats are known to have senses beyond our five, perhaps this one was gifted with additional ones by way of its Undead nature. Anything it learned could have been gleaned by its creator by arcane means."

Sweet die roll on that check, Cap'n! =)

 

[Purr]

If someone wants to learn more about the arrowhead, checks in Knowledge Local, History, Planes or something fairly similar might yield results.

Silanon Hey, Sil? Dreamy would like to try Knowledge: Religion (at 1st level, I'm pretty sure it's one of the few Knowledge Skills available to the party as a whole)? What tales of gods and heroes might there be involving special weapons used against the undead? If applicable, Dreamy's modifier is +4.

Kaiju Cat Heya Catzilla! *waves from Parrot's Phonograph* Good to see you viewing here! 8D

 

[Silanon]

Hey, Sil? Dreamy would like to try Knowledge: Religion (at 1st level, I'm pretty sure it's one of the few Knowledge Skills available to the party as a whole)? What tales of gods and heroes might there be involving special weapons used against the undead? If applicable, Dreamy's modifier is +4.

Sure thing - didn't mention religion because it is not the best fit, but it's close enough to give you results. As long as the dice cooperate, that is.

 

[Silanon]

Alrighty - is there someone who would like to make further investigations, or do you feel like you're done?

By the way - feel free to write down the arrowhead and/or the dead bat if you want to take them with you, Captain Hesperus (or someone else for that matter).

 

[Purr]

Dreamy was going to bring up taking the undead corpse along (for proof for anyone who needs it).

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Dreamy was going to bring up taking the undead corpse along (for proof for anyone who needs it).

I hardly think that's necessary. You have a cleric of Pharasma who positively identified it as an Undead giant bat. Who's going to need more proof than that. Also, it's probably gonna start to get stinky.

Captain Hesperus

 

[Kaerri]

Fijit: "I can maybe concoct something for that..."

OOC: there's nothing she's currently capable of, as far as I'm aware, that will hide the smell. xD

 

[Purr]

I hardly think that's necessary. You have a cleric of Pharasma who positively identified it as an Undead giant bat. Who's going to need more proof than that. Also, it's probably gonna start to get stinky.

Captain Hesperus

Silanon As much as I like to hang on to that statement, I have to ask the Dungeon Master. Is this statement true? Are clerics of Pharasma known well-enough in these parts of the world?

 

[Silanon]

Silanon As much as I like to hang on to that statement, I have to ask the Dungeon Master. Is this statement true? Are clerics of Pharasma known well-enough in these parts of the world?

Short answer: Yes.

Slightly longer answer: Pharasma is one of the deities who are present in almost all cultures on the continent - and likely beyond. No matter which kind of society you form, it knows birth and death. The Duke's domain is probably the sole exception since it relies on undeath - but that only means that its neighbors, like Roots, value Pharasma's blessings even more. As long as a cleric of her hasn't proving untrustworthy in other ways, their word on the undead will be trusted. It's their expertise.

 

[Purr]

And with our Thomas, that's no problem at all! =)

 

[Silanon]

Not yet =D

 

[Purr]

Such faith in our Cleric from our Dungeon Master! =)

 

[Captain Hesperus]

And with our Thomas, that's no problem at all! =)

Suddenly secret necromancy

Captain Hesperus

 

[Purr]

Silanon O Mista DM, sir!

Those familiar with the area (mostly everyone who does not just stay at the mansion) know that it's a short-cut that'd buy you about an hour, most likely; and it's wide enough for a horse to pass by, though only barely at times.

You've mentioned that Dreamy has taken long rides out here with folks who know the area really well. How familiar is she (or any of us with similar knowledge) about this particular path?

Also, how many hours do we have until we are expected?

 

[Silanon]

Dreamy has definitely taken the path a few times - the twin rangers prefer the street since it allows them to ride side by side, but that's just their preference. In other words - feel free to ask if there are any specific questions, and there's no chance to get lost under usual circumstances.

As for being expected - you're not sure whether your arrival was communicated like that, but Lord Jordenin hoped for you to arrive before nightfall. If we're taking a late summer/autumn day with maybe 11 hours of sunlight, then you've got about eight left to make it there. Taking the road, that seems reasonable; taking the short-cut comes with more difficult terrain and less space to maneuver, but would leave you with another hour to lose elsewhere if you're expecting trouble (problems, not the mechakitten).

 

[Purr]

if you're expecting trouble (problems, not the mechakitten).

Ha ha ha ha! =)

 

[Purr]

In other words - feel free to ask if there are any specific questions, and there's no chance to get lost under usual circumstances.

Silanon

taking the short-cut comes with more difficult terrain and less space to maneuver,

Does the path have any history of being used as an ambush site by anything (natural predators, sentient creatures, etc.)?

Are there any Ride checks required to make use of the path (we are 1st level, after all)?

Does the path provide cover from the air or is it open to the sky (in case there are more of these undead bat-things)?

 

[Silanon]

Does the path have any history of being used as an ambush site by anything (natural predators, sentient creatures, etc.)?

Not as far as you are aware - wild animals are usually spotted before they get that deep into the barony, and bandits have never really been a problem when the valuable targets are usually protected by well-armed dwarven guards.

Are there any Ride checks required to make use of the path (we are 1st level, after all)?

No - the path itself is easy enough to travel, just too narrow in some places for carts and the like; if you want to leave the trail, that's a different story, since the forest is very much dense and wild.

Does the path provide cover from the air or is it open to the sky (in case there are more of these undead bat-things)?

It does not, in general - for the most part, you'll have the river to your left, the forest to your right, and a narrow path ahead of you.

 

[Purr]

Captain Hesperus jaydude Kaerri Psychie Sherwood

This is the part where I ask my fellow Players - which path do you think we should take?

 

[jaydude]

I'm kinda feeling inclined towards the shortcut. While the narrowness might turn out to be a problem later, it feels like the option that would make the most sense to our characters (or at least those who know about it).

 

[Psychie]

Amber is good with the short cut.

 

[Kaerri]

I'm inclined towards the shortcut myself.

 

[Sherwood]

Sure. The short cut is fine with me, too.

 

[Purr]

Captain Hesperus What'choo got ta say, cat-boi? =)