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[ThLunarian]

Alf manages to power through the fear and joins Stricia at the edge of the deck. His breath is shallow and his palms are sweaty; looking down at the endless waves below makes him dizzy.

She is right, though. This is a mental fear, constructed entirely inside his head, and he isn't sure how he hadn't realized that before now. Armed with that knowledge, suddenly this obstacle seems surmountable, if still intimidating. He thanks her before they part ways. Learning to swim is an excellent idea, but now would not be the best time to start.

Over the next few days, Alf's mental state improves drastically - though no one could ever get him to say he enjoys being on a boat, he no longer confines himself to his cabin, and does not appear to be in a state of extreme stress at all times.

When Niko's cry of "Land Ho!" echoes over the decks, a wave of relief washes over Alf. He realizes that they'll need to start making preparations for what they might find on the island.

"Tiberious," he says when he finds the gladiator, "What else you know of these fire-beasts? I want to being prepared for volcano-monsters."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Leo is busy trying to carry large containers filled with water when Alf approaches him. "Well Alf, truth be told, I don't know a whole lot about them. Just that the sundial Stricia has has some connection to a version of our world entirely made out fire. Which at first seemed awesome because that meant we could go get fire versions of ourselves. But that also means there are fire orphans. And if there are fire orphans, they may possess the requisite teamwork to fuse into a giant volcano that is a champion of evil, and if they came to our plane and did that, it would be bad news. I'm assuming they're weak against water, which is why I've been gathering all the water I can. If you want to help me grab some containers, we'll stand a better chance if burning orphans happen to show up."

"Also, full disclosure, I don't really have much of any experience in the wild. I've gone out into the woods to kill monsters for worried townspeople before, but I've never been out there for more than a day at the time, so my living off the land skills are preeeeetty much nonexistent."

 

[KittenMaster]

<Time for some checks with arbitrary DCs

Knowledge (Geography) DC 15

Spoiler

Although islands are typically formed through volcanic eruptions, any mountainous formations you see on the mountain don't resemble obvious volcanoes.

"Firey Creatures" is Knowledge (Planes); trained only btw

You can generally take 10 on wisdom checks to decide whether listening to Tiberius is worthwhile.>

 

[ThLunarian]

Alf squints at the horizon. "Ain't no volcanoes on this island right now, so looks like we safe at least til they form new volcanoes of evil. Good thinking on water for to fight fire creatures." He squats down and grabs one of the containers. "I lived most of last three years in wilderness. We be fine. I show you how it's done."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

You can generally take 10 on wisdom checks to decide whether listening to Tiberius is worthwhile.>

((This is my new favorite house rule))

Leo breathes a sigh of relief when Alf says he'll show him how it's done. "Glad to hear that. I was a bit concerned that this might turn into a situation where it's vital that I set up tents and hunt for food. I don't really know how to do stuff like that."

 

[DeadPhoenix]

K Geo: (1d20+8+1d6=26)
K Planes: (1d20+14+1d6=29)

"Don't worry Leo, we've got you covered. Also fiery creatures don't generally live on our plane, unless someone calls them here, so even if there were a volcano, we likely wouldn't have anything to worry about from such beings."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

"Well, that's good to know. Sounds like we should be fine as long as no one does anything crazy with the sundial, then. I guess we don't need these countless containers of sea water I spent the ride here gathering."

 

[Mike M]

Dreadstone comes up from below deck, cloak wrapped around him to ward off the wet sea air. The island looms before them, dark and uncultivated, a hostile environment if he ever saw one.

Ignoring the continuing discussion of lava people and volcanos , he walks u to Alf and says, "Kid, you've got the most experience with this sorta terrain. You and Lady are on point, we'll fall in behind you."

 

[Azih]

Stricia ponders the island. "They captured monsters alive and transported them to Southport. Unless there was great magic involved they must have had a beachhead of some sort. Do we start with the coast and work our way inwards?"

 

[KittenMaster]

Dreadstone comes up from below deck, cloak wrapped around him to ward off the wet sea air. The island looms before them, dark and uncultivated, a hostile environment if he ever saw one.

Ignoring the continuing discussion of lava people and volcanos , he walks u to Alf and says, "Kid, you've got the most experience with this sorta terrain. You and Lady are on point, we'll fall in behind you."

At the declaration that the wolf takes leadership, he should feel confident taking them through familiar trees.

 

[Jackben]

"Stricia is right. If they were shipping the monsters in by boat as claimed by Southport's finest, they would need a staging area. Starting with the coast would be prudent."

 

[KittenMaster]

<I'm already starting you at the coast.>

 

[Jackben]

"Yes we should definitely search the coast. By that I mean walking the perimeter of the island searching for clues before delving into the jungle and getting lost. I suppose it's up to Alf though."

 

[KittenMaster]

<Alf can still make a post responding to stuff that concerns him in past posts, I am going to go ahead and get you guys onto the grid.>

---

As the greens of the trees draw closer, does the face of the new land that appears come widen in their view. As it turns out, it is an island set atop various cliffs leading up to its misty elevation. A strip of sand lines the front, acting as a sort of natural entrance to settle into.

With the plank firmly set into the sand and the ship settled well enough, men and women, yourselves included, pour out onto the land, relieving themselves of the mobile prison that they have been riding in for a week. You find your boots sinking into the wet of the shallows, before staining them with the hot sand after. This is the beach.

The beach is a wide area of sand, melding with the immediate forest before you. It will remind Alf of the times he has romped with Lady and his pack at the southernmost tip of Shifter's Woods, blissfully ignorant of human worry and issue. It will soon be apparent that the climate here is, while still chilly this time of year, is naked of the snow that otherwise still blankets the land back home.

To the north is the shallow edges of the forest, where the sun still shines on the grass brilliantly, and to the west and east are the coastlines that line the cliffs.

---

<You can make perception checks before going into an area to see if there's anything of note, keeping in mind that I will enhance DCs based on distance by an arbitrary 15 (the map design is arbitrary, so that will be too). This will also be kind of like a text adventure in going north, south, etc.

Also, I want to apologize for being sluggish. I had finished a piece of art awhile back and it has burnt me out (being a thing I've had on my plate for about a month) and I wanted to start on an oil painting (which I'm not good at) for my uncle as a present, so I'll have to draw sprites and whatnot on the spot if an encounter happens.>

 

[ThLunarian]

The cool breeze rips through Alf's untamed mane as he disembarks the floating wooden cage. He exhales in relief and closes his eyes. He takes off his boots and digs his toes in the sand, clutching the earth with his feet for a moment and relishing the feeling or steady ground.

This is all the luxury he affords himself before replacing his footwear and getting down to business.

"We should scout the beaches for maybe mile or two on each side of camp, to make sure boat and crew are safe, but unless we find tracks or other danger, shouldn't waste time circling outside of entire island. When we know crew is safe, we go into forest."

He looks over the party.

"We don't know what we looking for, so we want to look out as efficient as we can. I focus on area in front of us. Stricia, you watch close to the left. Draco, close to the right. Dreadstone, you focus on stuffs in the distance ahead of us; Leo, focus on stuffs in distance behind us. Niko, use your magics to disguise our sounds and make sounds of the forest instead. Don't want to worry TOO much of stealth, but no reason to make us very obvious. We might need light also, even during day, if trees make too many shadows."

He then looks down at Lady and Gnaw. After some thought, he speaks to them directly, using his ability to make them understand him.

"Lady and Gnaw," he says, "Focus on sounds. If you hear something out of ordinary, bark and point."

Alf looks around at the environment. "Some of this only matter when we enter forest, but good to know the plan ahead of time. Use beach scouting as practice. Even if this means watching the ocean."

He strides westward, motioning for the party to fall in line.

Perception roll going west down the beach (1d20+12=20)

 

[KittenMaster]

Before going to the west, Alf can see that the beach stretches a fair distance, but at the peak of his vision it eventually curves into the steep cliff-side, essentially making it a dead end.

The cliff itself could in theory be climbed, but by only the most skilled climbers.

 

[ThLunarian]

Alf squints and peers ahead, nodding to himself in confirmation. "Dead end ahead. We try east now."


Perception roll going east down the beach (1d20+12=13)

 

[Jackben]

"Got the lighting covered, chief. As for the noise distraction, I can cook something up when we get in the forest and hear what it naturally sounds like." Following behind the others he suggests they walk closer to the water if possible, so their footsteps are washed away naturally by the ocean tides. Where this is not possible, Niko summons a ghostly hand to follow behind the party, smoothing over the prints they leave behind with a piece of driftwood.

 

[Azih]

Stricia marvels as she steps lightly onto the beach where the others in the party struggle a bit on the wet surf. "You say you only gave me the sundial Draco, but these slippers are an astounding gift"

"I think I may be able to climb that cliff, if need be" she says as they head back from the east and head west

Perception east: 1D20+14 = [7]+14 = 21

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Leo is following along with Alf's directions as the party sets off, as he is thoroughly out of his element. He is glad that volcanic champions of evil are probably not a thing the party will have to deal with here. Convinced that there is no threat there, he is now lugging along only one excess container of seawater. You know, just in case.

In the unlikely event Leo spots something Alf fails to, he will alert the party to it.

Perception: 1D20 + 5 = [4]+5 = 9

 

[KittenMaster]

It is only after the group is led to the opposite end of the beach, that it can be seen that it also leads to a dead end. Similarly, the cliff holds a piece of the island's nature above.

<If you do climb a cliff, please only split the party if deemed necessary, as I don't like doing two things at once. You can still climb up for a perception, or find a way to get everybody up.>

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"Those slippers weren't really mine to give, but thanks none the less."

Draco of course keeps a sharp eye out for trouble, as they travel.

Perception: (1d20+13=30)

((EDIT: I've got spider climb, so as long as i take the time to prepare it, i could get everyone up a cliff no problem. And thats only assuming Niko doesn't have fly on his spell list.))

 

[Azih]

((Yeah from the prison breakout part I think we have enough tricks to get up if we want. Stricia can probably get up the mundane way))

 

[Jackben]

"Another cliff! But merely a bygone facet of nature thanks to the power of ethereal wind! And by that I mean a flight spell." Niko looks up the face of the rocky outcropping wistfully.

"I bet it'd be fun to soar over the island like in the stories of Daring Dan in Ever Ever Land, but that would probably give away our presence. Also it's kinda costly so unless we have a reason I'd rather conserve my energy for later."

"I could send one person up to do some scouting though. Any takers?"

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Disclaimer: Exams are done and I am drunk))

((Yeah, Tiberious may or may not be good for wall climbing straight. He's not trained in climbing, but he has a solid STR modifier. I'm sure the various means of assistance from the party make climbing pretty free.))

 

[Azih]

"I believe I could get up without assistance if that is what we decide. If not we can go into the jungle instead"

 

[ThLunarian]

Alf stays quiet as the rest of the party discusses the various methods by which the cliff can be scaled.

When their points seem to have been exhausted, he speaks. "Seems a waste of effort for all to scale cliff, when might happen that nothing is up there and we have to go back down anyway. But, it could be valuable for someone to get bird's-eye view of island. Niko, can you levitate one of us? Dreadstone seems best to see things far away, but it not matter who. Just someone to get a high view of island and maybe spot something for to approach."

((The Levitate spell seems like it could be appropriate here if you don't want to waste Flight. The spell lasts 7 minutes and the target can move up to 120 feet per minute, so we could get someone 350 feet up safely, and maybe even higher in a less-safe manner.

Also, in-character Alf would pick Dreadstone to be levitated because of the whole shooting-arrows thing, but OOC it seems like Stricia has the best perception out of the party. Or maybe Niko could go so he could recast Levitate and get even higher if he needs to))

 

[Azih]

((If we want to save on spells Stricia might be able to climb up. How tall is the cliff and what is the DC to climb? Taking 10 will get Strica a 23 climb when including the climber's kit she has and her climb speed is 10 feet per round (20 feet if the DC is 18 or less) so she can get up pretty fast too)))

 

[KittenMaster]

EDIT 2: <After remembering what I set the DC at, even though you can take 10 for climb, you won't be successful for this cliff, so you would need to roll as normal, about 4 or 5 times (I'm gonna rule that you won't be able to start with a jump if you're using a climber's kit, so make it 5 rolls).

I am going to rule that it takes two failures that would result in falling in a row to begin falling while using the climber's kit, otherwise they count as not making progress.>

 

[Azih]

"If we are to conserve Nico's magic, then I can go up without assistance to scout. It should not take me very long." Stricia says.

 

[KittenMaster]

<I edited my post again.>

 

[Azih]

((Is the rule that you need to fail by 5 or more to fall otherwise you just fail to climb in effect (So would have to fail by 5 or more twice to fall with climber's kit)? Also how tall is the cliff? So I can figure out fall damage in case of failure.))

 

[KittenMaster]

<I said about 5 climb checks, so 1d6 per 10 ft. you've climbed.>

 

[ThLunarian]

((Can we get a cliff height? If a Levitate spell could get significantly more height than the cliff itself, then we might as well just use the spell. If the cliff is over 300 feet though, then attempting to climb might be worth it if it's only 5 climb checks.

If we're going with the rules in the Climb skill, then 5 checks at one quarter of Stricia's speed (which I'm guessing is 40 feet) would make the cliff 50 feet tall. If that's the case, then I think it's worth it to spend the Levitate spell))

 

[KittenMaster]

<About 50 ft or so. You guys can see the top.

It should actually be much higher than 50 ft as I imagine it, but I figured 5 climb checks was fair.>

 

[Azih]

((Got it. Stricia can negate 30 feet of it with Slow Fall so should be fairly safe. We shall see though))

If there are no objections from Alf ((if there are then please just disregard the post)) Stricia puts down her sack and remove her climbing equipment. After preparing herself and tying her humble container of gear to her back she get to the business of climbing.

((Assuming DC is 25))
climb cliff: 1D20+13 = [10]+13 = 23
1D20+13 = [15]+13 = 28
1D20+13 = [7]+13 = 20
1D20+13 = [1]+13 = 14
1D20+13 = [7]+13 = 20


It goes worse than she though it would. The cliff face is less solid than expected and she only goes up 10 feet. ((I don't know if she fell between the fourth and fifth attempt. If she did then please disregard the rest of the post.))

Unwilling to give up while clinging to the cliff face 10 feet up. She continues her climb.

remaining 40 feet: 1D20+13 = [7]+13 = 20
1D20+13 = [4]+13 = 17
1D20+13 = [8]+13 = 21
1D20+13 = [2]+13 = 15


((Bad rolls ahoy.))

Burning with embarrassment that she can't even get halfway up, Stricia drops down. "It is harder to climb than expected."

The whole process took a little less than a minute so everybody else probably didn't notice the 8 attempts to climb that didn't work but she resolves to work on her climbing technique when she gets the chance later.

((No Ryu style cliff climbing for Stricia today. But in a few levels she'll be able to do this no problem... Of course by then everybody will by flying around with boots and spells or be mounted on Pegasi or something.

Monks
))

 

[KittenMaster]

<If it makes you feel better, it was a completely optional climb.>

 

[Azih]

<If it makes you feel better, it was a completely optional climb.>

((Yeah it's no biggie. Stricia is able to go up DC20 surfaces with no issues at all which is what I based the idea on. ))

 

[Jackben]

"Hey I meant enchanting everyone would be a work out. One person? No sweat!" Shortly after the monk returns after what appears to Niko to be her appraising the height of the cliff, he places a hand on her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, he concentrates, closing his eyes and gripping her shoulder tightly.

"Take it easy now. Don't fly too close to the Sun." A white light glows upon the sorcerer's fingertips before passing invisibly into the monk's body. He has bestowed upon Stricia the power of flight!

 

[Azih]

((Alf wants Dreadstone to go. I can RP a request by Stricia to go up if that's ok with everyone.))

"I would like to go up still if I may Alf. I believe my eyesight is the strongest of all of us."

 

[KittenMaster]

<the actual spell for reference. I believe Fly checks are only used for performing certain maneuvers in the air.>

 

[ThLunarian]

Alf shrugs and nods at the same time, giving Stricia the go-ahead. "Don't just go to top of cliff. Go as high as needed to get a view of the forest. Look for buildings, giant monsters, or other point of interest." He glances at Tiberious. "Specially volcanoes and fire beasts."

 

[KittenMaster]

<Gonna wait on Azih. Even though Alf is leading, still have to wait on her.>

 

[Azih]

Stricia listens carefully to Nico's instructions on how the spell works and how long she has before it gives out. She rises up carefully at first but quickly getting used to it rises faster and faster giddy with the sensation. Later she will feel sober when reflecting on how hard it was for her to ascend with her physical skiils but how easy it was under the influence of Nico's sorcery but for now there is just the thrill.

She remains careful though and only rises as far as she can to carry out a thorough examination of the island before dropping back down with double speed. She cuts it fine enough that the spell gives out while she is still about 20 feet off the ground but she slow falls using the cliff face to land unharmed.

((So mechanically rises up as fast as possible as high as she can go so she can take 2 mins to take 20 on perception, giving a perception of 34 and still have time to drop down to about 20 feet before the spell gives out))

 

[KittenMaster]

<Do you mind if I just give a brief description of the surrounding parts instead of the whole island?>

 

[Azih]

((Sounds alright to me))

 

[KittenMaster]

Immediately it is apparent that there isn't need to climb the cliff, the opening leading into the forest would have led them uphill where they could walk along the top of the cliff had they wished. Just below her view are two dinosaurs scouring the lighter parts of the woodlands, the feathered lizards looking up and chattering at the flying creature in anticipation like cats whose fascinations take their minds.

Far east from the space she watches is a natural spire towering above the forest, with faint hint of colorful floral decor even at such an extreme distance. Towards the north the land continues to staircase, and in the northwest a single tree can almost be studied even at the distance she can see.

 

[Azih]

Stricia relays this to the group. "It is a wondrous and dangerous place"

 

[KittenMaster]

After she settles back onto the sands below, the dinosaurs above continue to take notice, watching the group from over the edge of the cliff with high alert and intent.

 

[ThLunarian]

Alf enters a state of high alert. His body grows tense.

"We just become prey," he says urgently. "Quick into forest before dino creatures decide to strike." Assuming the forest is still in view, he begins to move toward it in all haste. If it's not in view, he may have to reevaluate his tactics.