IC - The Sunless Citadel

SMARTAgentKC · November 30, 2023

Brick made a light grunt "got it. Rebe once he's clear you go, then Violet and then Jin and me."

"Okay." Rebe agreed

"Fine..." Violet muttered

With a little time, the group made it down to the ledge.

Area 1 - Ledge

A sandy ledge overlooks a subterranean gulf of darkness to the west. The ledge is wide but rough. Sand, rocky debris, and the bones of small animals cover it. A rough-hewn stairwell zigs and zags down the side of the ledge, descending into darkness.

~~~

Brick makes it down with a grunt from the rope. "everyone okay."

Violet hummed "I am fine."

Rebe made a noise of agreement

Jin hummed "so where to next."

(don't mind the dice roll, forgot to drop the lowest)

Brick hummed "I'm guessing the stairs that lead down into the darkness."

Jin made a noise and went for the stairs "alright last one down is a..."

Out of the nearby rubble a giant rat comes out with a loud ambushing squeal and headed right towards Jin and latch onto him with it's teeth

Jin made a yelp of pain (22/25) as the rat bit him

Violet made a disgusted noise "ugh, giant rat."

Jin flung the oversized rodent off of him "Giant Rat wasn't what I was going for but I'll take it."

The one that attacked Jin hissed at him then ran back into the nearby rubble.

Violet became aware of something "Rebe watch out!" She flung a firebolt spell towards Rebe

Rebe yelped as she dodged and the firebolt just missed another giant rat that had popped out to attack Rebe

The rat would scurry away back into the rubble

Two more Rats jumped out and attack Yopine and Zorian. The one attacking Yopine (unless she has a way to nullify the advantage it has on her, by having a 20 or higher perception roll) would bite her for 6 damage while the one attacking Zorian would miss outright bouncing off his armor

Brick took up a protective stance of the girl and growled "A rat nest? Great guess we got our first encounter."

BobtheWizard · November 30, 2023

Zorian Arakan (Half-elf Paladin 3) sheet

AC: 20 | HP: 31/31 | Initiative: +0 | Passive Perception: 12 | Features

Zorian starts to head down the stairs.

"There's no point staying up here. Let's see if we can find the siblings."

He lets Yopine go first if she wants to scout ahead, but he resists a little thinking it's safer if he takes the lead. He then recommends the others follow behind with Brick bringing up the rear if he's ok with it. But he doesn't get a chance to go very far before the rats jump out at us.

He swings his sword and tries to stab the rat in front of him.

Mechanics

Main Hand: empty
Off Hand: empty

Action: Your action goes here.
Bonus Action: Your bonus action goes here.
Move: Your movement goes here.
Manipulate: Your one free object interaction goes here.

Notes

Lady Kerowyn Hucrele, Matriach of the Hucrele Merchant family

My son, Talgen Hucrele and daughter Sharwyn Hucrele

Brick, faith so maybe cleric

Jin, bard

Rebe

Violet

PixCO · November 30, 2023

Yopine Quietclock (Deep Gnome Ranger 3) Sheet

"Ah, ya' Svirfing bastard!" Yopine swore as the rat came at her from the shadows.

The short bow she'd been about to prepare was quickly abandoned in favor of her short sword. It was in too close for the hand crossbow still in her left, but rats were quick like that. Fortunately, so was she.

Mechanics

Main Hand: Short Sword
Off Hand: Hand Crossbow

Action: Attack
Bonus Action: Dread Ambush Attack
Move: Your movement goes here.
Manipulate: Draw Weapon

SMARTAgentKC · December 1, 2023

Zorian longsword slayed the rat that had attacked him (0/7)

Yopine managed in two hits to kill off her rat (0/7)

Scurrying was heard as the rats moved through the nearby rubble

Jin huffed "I don't think so!" He advanced and grabbed his stringed instrument and slung it around himself and then strummed it harshly sending out a pulsing wave from himself

The pulse blew away the nearby rubble and hit both rats (3/7) (3/7)

Rebecca hummed as she charged up magic and sent out a burst of radiant magic however it missed it mark

Brick grunted "I got em!" He charged the rats then lashed out with some fast-moving blows and sent the remaining two rats airborne like broken rag dolls and sent them flying far away (0/7) (0/7)

~~~ Combat Complete! ~~~

Brick snorted "you alright Jin."

Jin rubbed his arm where the rat had bitten him "he didn't get much, I think the other one took a bigger bite out of Yopine."

Brick hummed "We should be more alert, Rats love places of darkness and populate if there's plenty of food for them."

Jin huffed "well he didn't need to make a meal out of me anyways let's keep going."

~~~ Advancing to Area 2 - Switchback Stairs ~~~

The group would go down the stairs following them as they zigzagged down the ravine and soon a fortress emerged from the darkness. The subterranean citadel, though impressive, seems long forgotten with lightless windows, cracked crenellations, and leaning towers. All is quiet, though a cold breeze blows up from below, bringing with it the scent of dust and a faint trace of rot.

Violet made a displeased noise as she fanned her face "place stinks." She grumbled

~~~ Area 3 - Crumbling Courtyard ~~~

The narrow stairs empty into a small courtyard, apparently the top of what was once a crenellated battlement. The buried citadel has sunk so far into the earth that the battlement is now level with the surrounding floor. That floor stretches away to the north and south, composed of a layer of treacherous, crumbled masonry, which reaches to an unknown depth. To the west looms the surviving structure of what must be the Sunless Citadel. A tower stands on the west side of the courtyard.

Jin whistled as he looked around "looks like we found our citadel and the entry into it."

Players give me a perception check

PixCO · December 1, 2023

Yopine Quietclock (Deep Gnome Ranger 3) Sheet

OOCPlaceholder for the Perception roll.

Mechanics

Main Hand: Short Sword
Off Hand: Hand Crossbow

Action: Attack
Bonus Action: Dread Ambush Attack
Move: Your movement goes here.
Manipulate: Draw Weapon

BobtheWizard · December 1, 2023

Zorian Arakan (Half-elf Paladin 3) sheet

AC: 20 | HP: 31/31 | Initiative: +0 | Passive Perception: 12 | Features

Zorian agrees with Jin, and then takes the lead entering the courtyard towards the tower, stopping if he notices any obvious danger.

"Yep, this looks like it's it. Let's see what we can find."

Mechanics

Main Hand: empty
Off Hand: empty

Action: Your action goes here.
Bonus Action: Your bonus action goes here.
Move: Your movement goes here.
Manipulate: Your one free object interaction goes here.

Notes

Lady Kerowyn Hucrele, Matriach of the Hucrele Merchant family

My son, Talgen Hucrele and daughter Sharwyn Hucrele

Brick, faith so maybe cleric

Jin, bard

Rebe

Violet

SMARTAgentKC · December 1, 2023

Both of you notice that directly in front of the entry into the tower. There is a rectangluar shaped spot where the floor looks quite off as there is no mortar holding the stones to the rest of the courtyard flooring. Yopine and her knack for looking for stuff almost outright sees what's there. It appears to be some sort of door most likely covering a pit trap,

Give me an investigation check to see if you can tell how to disable/bypass the trap

PixCO · December 1, 2023

Yopine Quietclock (Deep Gnome Ranger 3) Sheet

Yopine felt that old familiar frustration enter her mind as she studied the odd door. She could see all of the details, that was no problem. Just like she could see all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, but that didn't mean she knew how to put it all together. Her patron had been trying very diligently to quicken her mind and get the most out of what intellect she possessed. The results were...

"Oh, what's this?"

Mechanics

Main Hand: Short Sword
Off Hand: Hand Crossbow

Action: Investigate
Bonus Action:
Move: Your movement goes here.
Manipulate:

Edited December 1, 2023 by PixCO (see edit history)

SMARTAgentKC · December 3, 2023

"what's what?" Jin asked Yopine "I don't see nothing." He took a few steps forward

Rebe gasped "Jin stop!"

Jin froze midstep just before the trapdoor "what,"

Violet hummed "Jin, unless you want to fall into a pit trap you will step back." She calmly stated

Jin hummed as he stepped back "Pit trap?" He looked

Violet hummed as she pulled out a paint brush and with a slight wave of it caused paint lines outlining the trap to appears (see image) "There is nothing holding the stone tiles to the others in this square here," She stated evenly "judging by the size and shape, it looks like it's a trap to prevent people who don't know about it from entering the citadel from this courtyard.

Jin hummed as he looked "huh, you're right, I wonder what," he lightly pressed his foot on the tiles

The floor suddenly swung downward on a hinge about 8 feet in front of Jin causing the entire 10 foot by 10 foot spot to flip vertically with a hard bang and open up into a pit, Jin fortunately pulled back the second it gave. A two foot wide catwalk just in front of the door and under the fake floor was the only thing connecting the door to the rest of the courtyard had someone walked normally on the floor they would have been dumped into the pit below. Yopine you can tell that the mechanism controlling the trap is connected to the catwalk, it appears to be a weight attached to a gear and pulley system that after being triggered slowly pulls the trap back to the closed position. It looks like with the right set of tools (thieves tools) and a decently quick hand (DC 15 Dex/Thieves Tools check) the trap can be locked open, or locked closed and with a really fast hand (+5 over the DC) the trap can be outright disabled

Brick whistled "that's one way to greet intruders."

"not gonna get any mail with a front door trap like that." Jin muttered

A clicking was heard as the trap started to slowly reset itself but before it could get far a giant rat climbed out of the pit quickly and scurried away

Jin hummed "it's a fancy rat trap I'll tell you that much."

PixCO · December 4, 2023

Yopine Quietclock (Deep Gnome Ranger 3) Sheet

"Aye, but they forgot to use a facade." She said that last word a little uncertainly. It'd been part of her recent educational attempts at engineering. She knew it had something to do with false covers, and that was an easy enough concept to understand without fancy words.

"Trip it again and keep an eye over there, by the catwalk. You'll see what I mean."

The gnome indicated where she'd seen the exposed mechanism and waited for the trap to be sprung again. This time she'd pay more attention to the bottom of the pit now that the trap was understood. They were looking for two missing people. It was a sadly consistent fact that pit traps were always a good place to start.

Mechanics

Main Hand: Short Sword
Off Hand: Hand Crossbow

Action: Investigate
Bonus Action:
Move: Your movement goes here.
Manipulate:

BobtheWizard · December 4, 2023

Zorian Arakan (Half-elf Paladin 3) sheet

AC: 20 | HP: 31/31 | Initiative: +0 | Passive Perception: 12 | Features

Zorian looks into the pit with Yopine, hoping not to find any bodies at the bottom of the trap.

"Gosh, I hope they're not down there."

As long as the chasm is empty, he then motions that we proceed into the tower. If there are no objections, he walks around the trap and tests the door.

Mechanics

Main Hand: empty
Off Hand: empty

Action: Your action goes here.
Bonus Action: Your bonus action goes here.
Move: Your movement goes here.
Manipulate: Your one free object interaction goes here.

Notes

Lady Kerowyn Hucrele, Matriach of the Hucrele Merchant family

My son, Talgen Hucrele and daughter Sharwyn Hucrele

Brick, faith so maybe cleric

Jin, bard

Rebe

Violet

SMARTAgentKC · December 5, 2023

Jin hums as he moved towards the upper part of the trap as it reset "Brick hit it again. I'm gonna see if I can get it to lock up."

Brick triggered the trap again and Jin attempted to do something but the mechanicism was resistant to his work "oh come on, you can't be that difficult."

"Focus Jin, you're good at this." Rebe called out then a little magic surged

"yeah yeah..." Jin muttered then with a bit more work and a click he completely disabled the pitfall door causing it to remain open "There we go!" He chirped "one trap disabled."

Brick hummed "yeah but is anyone down there."

Rebecca shined a glowing light spell and lit up the pit to see what was down there "I see what looks like two goblin skeletons and one that look like it just died a day or two ago, I think the rat was eating it." She reported

"ugh..." Violet muttered

Brick hummed "no humans huh."

Jin made a noise "hey Rebe shine your light on the third one."

Rebe shined her light again and something reflected it

Jin moaned "shiny on the goblin" He called out then jumped into the pit

Violet made a disgusted noise "oh Jin..." She moaned

Brick chuckled "Jin doubles as our treasure hound, if he sees something shiny he's usually on it. Naturally this disturbs Violet because it's usually some place that either got dead or dirty stuff"

"oh hoo hoo... Jackpot!" Jin called out with glee "Treasures coming up."

A mage hand shot upward carrying a scimitar and dropped it off then went back down.

"hey a Scimitar. Not bad Jin." Brick stated

A shield then came up via Mage Hand followed by Jin climbing out with a pouch. "heh. Not a bad haul." He opened the pouch and hummed as he looked through it "23 silver and 4 gold nice."

Violet groaned "I hate when you do that Jin,"

Jin chuckled "oh come on Violet, money is money and this scimitar a decent weapon and a shield always nice." He hummed then used a little Prestidigitation magic to clean the stuff.

"yeah but you can't use them." She retorted

"I'm learning to." Jin retorted as he put the things onto his pack "They will come in handy, I'm sure."

PixCO · December 5, 2023

Yopine Quietclock (Deep Gnome Ranger 3) Sheet

Yopine had moved to the worrying Violet as she popped the cork from a healing potion. That rat had gotten a lucky shot, getting at least one tooth right through a seam on her leg-armor. She knew that because she found it as Jin was examining the bottom of the pit. It made a delicate clattering sound when Yopine dropped it in after him.

"Best to let 'em be." She wanted her voice to be sympathetic, but the pain and her natural lack of social skills probably added an awkward tone. "It's graveroobing, I know that. It's wrong on a lot'a levels but only the third or fourth most dangerous thing you'll see him do today."

She turned her gaze towards the reckless Jin and didn't bother to maintain a sympathetic tone this time. "Just so long as he remembers that he's got folks up here worrying about him. Maybe just a little more consideration towards them could be incorporated into his delving?"

Yopine remained quiet after that, letting her disapproving stare bore into the reckless adventure as the healing magic cleaned up her leg.

Mechanics

Main Hand: Short Sword
Off Hand: Hand Crossbow

Action: Healing Potion
Bonus Action:
Move: Your movement goes here.
Manipulate: Stored vial

BobtheWizard · December 5, 2023

Zorian Arakan (Half-elf Paladin 3) sheet

AC: 20 | HP: 31/31 | Initiative: +0 | Passive Perception: 12 | Features

Zorian watches with mild impatience as Jin wastes time scavenging from the dead goblins. He's not against grave robbing to survive. The dead don't need their treasures anymore, but he thinks it's a bad idea to waste time picking bodies clean before we've found the siblings. We should get them first and then loot things on our way out.

He keeps this to himself though, not wanting to upset his new companions.

"Nice haul, Jin. But let's keep going. I'd hate to be too late to rescue Talgen and Sharwyn."

He then enters the tower.

Mechanics

Main Hand: empty
Off Hand: empty

Action: Your action goes here.
Bonus Action: Your bonus action goes here.
Move: Your movement goes here.
Manipulate: Your one free object interaction goes here.

Notes

Lady Kerowyn Hucrele, Matriach of the Hucrele Merchant family

My son, Talgen Hucrele and daughter Sharwyn Hucrele

Brick, faith so maybe cleric

Jin, bard

Rebe

Violet

PixCO · December 5, 2023

Yopine Quietclock (Deep Gnome Ranger 3) Sheet

The gnome rolled her eyes and felt like kicking herself for the lack of professionalism. Zorian was absolutely right. She knew better than any of them not to waste time on a rescue mission, yet here she was acting like just another typical adventurer. They had to move now before it was too late.

She spared one last sympathetic glance towards Violet and then hurried after the paladin.

Mechanics

Main Hand: Short Sword
Off Hand: Hand Crossbow

Action: Investigate
Bonus Action:
Move: Your movement goes here.
Manipulate:

Text_1	Text_2	Text_3	Bold_1	Accent_1	Mood_1
Warm_1	Warm_2	Warm_3	Bold_2	Accent_2	Mood_2
Cool_1	Cool_2	Cool_3	Bold_3	Accent_3	Mood_3
Bright_1	Bright_2	Bright_3	Bold_4	Accent_4	Mood_4

IC - The Sunless Citadel

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