3dmmD&D: EPISODE 1 - Sailors on the Starless Sea

[Dungeon Snake]

yes.

[Trooper]

Walter goes to retrieve Genghis's horse. He'll put the chest on its back if possible, like a pack mule.

[Dungeon Snake]

the pony is stomping and snorting nervously, but you wrangle it pretty easily. it's clearly distraught by the death of Genghis, and the falling masonry which nearly crushed it.
I'm just gonna say you can go ahead and strap your chest to it. it's used to labor as a pack-pony, and Genghis probably left some straps and such on its body. It seems grateful to have a new master.

[Trooper]

Okay cool. Walter, Jasper and Norman horse approach the front gate and examine it.

[Dungeon Snake]

okay that's fine.
the rotten drawbridge creaks and sags under the weight of the pony but does not break.
The gatehouse is pretty much as George & Rufus observed - grim, rotten and covered in leering gargoyles of toads and beasts that threaten to gulf forth boiling oil, arrows, spears and whatever else can be forbodingly imagined.

George waves you over, making a "listen!" sign with his cupped ear. Standing beside him, Walter and Jasper hear strange noises coming from within the Gatehouse - muted sounds like claws on stone, and lowing animalistic grunts and hisses. Imagine a python and a giant weasel communicating with each other. Suddenly, the noises stop.

whattaya y'all wanna do?

[Trooper]

Is there a keyhole/peephole in the gatehouse door that Jasper can peer through? If so, he takes a look.

Walter turns to George and whispers to him "Wanna head straight in there or do you have a better idea?"

[Dungeon Snake]

it's not really a "door", more of a portcullis. somethin like this:

(only raised about 3 feet off the ground)
you can easily peer through.
There's a passage beyond the portcullis that leads through the gatehouse. As stated, there are numerous murder-holes in the ceiling and walls

in the shape of toad-mouths and beasts.
the passage is only about 10 feet long. Beyond, you can glimpse the Courtyard. Large, unwholesome plants proliferate within the courtyard like an overgrown understory of a bilious jungle devoid of trees.

[Dungeon Snake]

Originally Posted by BjergClimber

Bigsby begins preparing the vines to make them into a rope, hoping it could be used to scale the wall at some point.

Bigbsy produces 9 feet of average-quality rope!
including the 100 feet he started with, Bigsby now possesses 109 feet of rope.
(uhhhh ps: i dunno if some of y'all are using meters or whatever but 109 feet is about 33 meters.)

[Skittlebrau]

Wolf cannot bear to look at what used to be Keary any longer. He goes to check Carl's body, in the vain hope that he might still cling to life. He wonders, is this the fate of those who have been abducted?

Salazar leans in towards the vine creature that was just killed, inspecting its various viscera and seeing if he can learn anything from it.

Frast gives a hollering shout, "Walter! That was fantastic! Good show everyone!", and walks toward the group of people near the portcullis.

[Trooper]

Okay, portcullis. So, I'm guessing we can't just walk in there at the moment.

Walter calls up to Snake-Roy and asks him if there's anything he can get down into the courtyard and maybe open it for us from the other side.

[Dungeon Snake]

Originally Posted by Skittlebrau

Wolf cannot bear to look at what used to be Keary any longer. He goes to check Carl's body, in the vain hope that he might still cling to life. He wonders, is this the fate of those who have been abducted?

Salazar leans in towards the vine creature that was just killed, inspecting its various viscera and seeing if he can learn anything from it.

Frast gives a hollering shout, "Walter! That was fantastic! Good show everyone!", and walks toward the group of people near the portcullis.

the sight of Carl's body is horrific. Vines have penetrated all of her orifices, leaving a ravaged wreck of a body behind. You can take her equipment, if you want.
- 1 Staff

- 1 Sheep-dog (still at large)


Salazar inspects the corpse of Keary. The method by which these plant creatures reproduce is interesting, on an academic level - seeds are planted within a host body, which then multiply to create a parasitic organism which draws nourishment from the host's flesh.
You also realize that Keary was still carrying some equipment when he died. A short sword and a dagger, both still sheathed, are belted around his torso. They bear the stamp of his own smithing.





Frast goes over to the gatehouse.

[Dungeon Snake]

Originally Posted by Trooper

Okay, portcullis. So, I'm guessing we can't just walk in there at the moment.

you could - you would just have to crawl under the rusty spikes which are 3 feet above the floor.

[Skittlebrau]

Salazar stows the dagger, hopeful that he wont be in dire need of it at any point. The short sword, however, he offers to Jasper, who seems underequipped given his clear physical capability. "Might do you some good, especially if something gets the drop on you. Knock on wood." He taps his remaining log. (That reminds me, time allowing, he should retrieve the log from the "moat" and the one he threw at the monster).

Wolf goes to collect the sheepdog, returns to Carl's body to pick up the staff and to let the dog briefly ponder it's master's mortality, and then joins the others by the gate. He hands both to Frast. "If I had gone in with my trowel alone, I would be dead for sure. Good looking out."

Frast hands back the trowel, accepting the staff, and leashes the dog along with his sheep. "No problem. We're all in this together, right?" Ramza is notably on edge being this close to a sheepdog.

[Dungeon Snake]

Originally Posted by Skittlebrau

Salazar stows the dagger, hopeful that he wont be in dire need of it at any point. The short sword, however, he offers to Jasper, who seems underequipped given his clear physical capability. "Might do you some good, especially if something gets the drop on you. Knock on wood." He taps his remaining log. (That reminds me, time allowing, he should retrieve the log from the "moat" and the one he threw at the monster).

Okay. So Salazar now possesses 3 logs and a dagger.
Being a craftsman himself, Salazar cannot help but notice the quality of the dagger. This item clearly shows the mark of a caring hand.
KEARY'S DAGGER:
any 0-level character who wields this dagger has his attack modifier increased to +0, if it would normally be negative. In all other regards, it is a normal dagger.
the short-sword, though finely crafted, is just a regular short-sword.

Here's Salazar's weaponry, which i imagine he keeps in a toolbelt of some kind:

SALAZAR:
Quality Dagger +0, 1d4-1 damage, can be thrown up to 15 ft.
Chisel -1, 1d4-1 damage
Cudgel -1, 1d6-1 damage

of course, he can also always throw stuff.
Also, keep in mind that carrying 3 logs around on your shoulders is a huge drawback in combat, tight spaces, etc

Meanwhile, Jasper now has the following weaponry:

JASPER:
Shortbow -1, 1d6 damage, 30 ft. range, 10 arrows
Short-sword: +2, 1d6+2 damage

Wolf goes to collect the sheepdog, returns to Carl's body to pick up the staff and to let the dog briefly ponder it's master's mortality, and then joins the others by the gate. He hands both to Frast. "If I had gone in with my trowel alone, I would be dead for sure. Good looking out."

Frast hands back the trowel, accepting the staff, and leashes the dog along with his sheep. "No problem. We're all in this together, right?" Ramza is notably on edge being this close to a sheepdog.

The sheep-dog is quite well-trained and does not in fact even need to be leashed, unless you want to. It does have a habit of trying to corral Ramza at every moment, though.
It's gonna take some time for it to fully adjust to a new master, but for now it seems friendly to Frast/Wolf.

Wolf pries Carl's staff out of her cold fingers, and hands it over to Frast:
Staff: -2, 1d6-2 damage.

[Skittlebrau]

Wolf attempts to lift the gate. "Somebody help me with this."

[McJuicy]

I would like carls dog

[Skittlebrau]

"Er. Well. I suppose your way with animals got us out of a scrape back there. Sure, why not?"

Frast directs the dog over to Clitson.

[Dungeon Snake]

Carl's dog is transferred to Clitson. The dog seems to have little compunction about this transfer.

Meanwhile, Wolf attempts to lift the gate. Despite his years of back-breaking feces-shoveling labor, he is unable to budge it. the portcullis weighs a couple hundred pounds, and on top of that it is partially rusted into place and appears to have been so for some time. it will take at least several more people to lift.

[Bobby Swisha]

Snake Roy attempts to help Wolf lift the gate.

[Trooper]

Okay sure. So do Jasper and Walter.

[Skittlebrau]

Frast and Salazar do their best to help as well

[McJuicy]

HOOK SOMETHING RIG UP TO MY DONKEY

[Dungeon Snake]

holy shit sorry for the long pause guys i didn't realize it'd been like 4 days. my bad, i'm sorry


Anyway, after a few moments of grunting and straining the combined strength of all of you guys is enough to heave the portcullis upwards. it reluctantly and groaningly shifts in its rusty slot until it is up at about shoulder height. You guys now have free access to the Courtyard, but if you want to keep the portcullis raised to its current position you either need to have four people holding it, or use something to brace it, or else have 1 or 2 very strong people make Strength checks to keep it braced.

[Dungeon Snake]

SNAKE ROY, as the humans struggle with the gate, your superior snake-senses hear a noise from directly above the portcullis, echoing faintly through a murder-hole. it sounds like a softly-spoken guttural word, something like "....Khaaaa..."

[Bobby Swisha]

SNAKE ROY: "Beware! I sense danger lurking ahead! Everybody be on-guard." "As for this gate, it will not hold by itself. Perhaps we can use a log or old tree trunk to hold it open, lest we be trapped."