Completed [Play-by-Post] Magic World/BRP: "In Search of the Sorcerer"

[nikolokolus]

Spoiler

Does Urash's bag count as significant encumbrance, requiring a Swim roll?

If so, he fails!

[1d100] = 62 vs 30

Spoiler

How much shit is in the bag? If it's "significant" (like more than 20 lbs ish) then Urash starts to get swept away, but you can always let go of your burden and get back on track.

 

[nikolokolus]

"Come along, lad!"
Rhenmyr backs up to the far railing, activates the Far Striding Girdle, and takes a running leap for shore.

Spoiler

Rhenmyr needs to jump about 30 feet to get to the rocks. Make an Climb roll to see if you can grab hold of the steep-sided cliff face. Otherwise you could always try to jump up and land on the trail cut into the rockface, but that's about 20' above the water's surface. If you jump "up" then you'll need to burn about 3 MP and make a Jump Roll to land safely.

 

[Grimgravy]

Spoiler

Do I need to make the path or catch the wall to avoid ending up in the river? I there a 'shore' or just a cliff?

 

[nikolokolus]

Spoiler

Do I need to make the path or catch the wall to avoid ending up in the river? I there a 'shore' or just a cliff?

Spoiler

Just a cliff, and if you can't hang on you'll fall in the water. If you fail your jump roll it means you will take some falling damage.

 

[Grimgravy]

Sorcerers Leap Jump (94): [1d100] = 89

Activating his rune and with the girdle's aid, Rhenmyr leaps to path cut into the cliff and looks for something to tie a rope to for the others.

 

[nikolokolus]

Rhenmyr spots a horn of rock that will make for a suitable anchor and loops a bight of rope around and dangles the rest into the water. You hope that the Ogres don't break it.

One by one, the party swims (or is carried) to the shoals where the water is still deep enough that your feet don't touch the bottom, but you are able to cling to the rocks along the limestone cliffs and hang on. Luckily there is a rope being dangled from above by Rhenmyr after he somehow managed to spring 30' over and about 20' up on to the trail cut into the living rock.

Make easy climb rolls to ascend the rope (failure means you waste a round and make no progress, a fumble means you fall off and have to make a swim check to avoid being swept away by the current.

Mab's Climb attempt (44%x2=88%) roll [1d100] = 86%. Solon's attempt (45%x2=90%) roll [1d100] = 3%
Ogres' attempt: roll [1d100] = 50%, [1d100] = 67%, [1d100] = 47%, [1d100] = 42%
One by one you take a turn climbing up the rope and Mab, Solon and the four ogres reach the ledge without issue. You look back up the river and notice that the barge is free-floating past you about 100 feet away from shore. The maidens are nowhere to be seen, but the weird hound-master with his antlered helm and his two bleach-white hounds with red ears stand on top of the barge eerily still, and quiet as it floats past.

 

[Grimgravy]

"Anyone with more rope come up first. If we split the load, our big friends will be less likely to have issues."

Rhenmyr takes stock of the immediate area.

 

[nikolokolus]

Rhenmyr looks out over the river and sees the barge floating past towards the falls, which even here fills the canyon with a low, dull roar from a half-mile away. The path leading downstream is cut into the cliff and you think you are beyond the adit that went under the river to get to the goblin market a couple of "days" ago. From what you can see the path leads all the way to the precipitous drop of the falls, but where it goes after that is impossible to tell from your vantage point. Looking back upstream in the direction of Dreg, the path climbs upward for about one hundred yards and disappears over a rise.

 

[Grimgravy]

"Make haste, friends! Be on the lookout for the Lady's barge-women. I don't see them on the raft. I'll scout the path ahead. Bring my rope if you please." Rhenmyr heads down the path towards the falls.

 

[nikolokolus]

L'ennui Llywelyn ap Gruffydd both need to make (easy) climb rolls to get out of the water (just don't fumble).

 

[Llywelyn ap Gruffydd]

Climb: [1d100] = 14 vs 172= Special success.

 

[nikolokolus]

Urash's climb attempt (45x2=90%) roll [1d100] = 48%

The last of you ascend to the path and shiver slightly in the cool air. The trail descends downward about a half-mile terminating at the edge of a cliff, where a rocky outcrop juts out into the dizzying open space adjacent to the falls. Those who look down can see the mighty river emptying itself over the side, falling in a cascade through a series of "staircase falls." Water collects into several pools staggered one below another, about every twenty or thirty feet. Roughly 100 feet below you the water disappears out of sight into a roiling sea of cloud-tops that extend as far as your eyes can see. In an unsettling display, the clouds and opalescent sky seem to fuse together and bleed into each other where a horizon should be; almost like a water color painting that has been doused with water and all of the details and colors bled together. For lack of a better word it appears you have reached a dead-end.

While you stare over the edge and ponder your options, your situation becomes slightly more dire. Behind you, several figures come into view over the rise about half-mile away. From the glint coming off of their heads, shields and spear-points, you guess that the barge-maidens must have swam to shore and followed after you, although from this distance it's difficult to tell just how many are on the narrow path blocking your only escape route.

 

[Llywelyn ap Gruffydd]

Spoiler

So, Thermopylae or Battle of Saragarhi?

 

[Grimgravy]

Spoiler

Any obvious way down?

 

[nikolokolus]

Spoiler

Any obvious way down?

Rhenmyr stares over the edge, it occurs to him that a well-placed running leap from the outcropping would probably deposit a person into the first pool below the falls, but gods be damned if that water isn't churning awfully fierce where the massive volume of the river empties into it. That said, it seems like with a bit of luck, a hale and healthy person with no small amount of endurance or a knack for avoiding nasty submerged rocks maybe, just maybe could ride the falls to . . . well, wherever the hell it empties into. A badly timed jump, or a faulty step on the outcropping would seem to spell disaster as the leaper would almost certainly find themselves dashed against the rocks that flank the first pool.

 

[nikolokolus]

Alternatively one could always loop a bight of rope around a horn of rock and abseil into the void . . . How much rope is needed? Who can say. Without rope the climb down would undoubtedly be a 'difficult' attempt; the rocks are slick with mist and coated in a thick blanket of slimy looking moss.

 

[nikolokolus]

At the rate the barge-maidens are approaching you probably have 4-5 minutes to do something.

 

[Grimgravy]

"Shall we jump or try a rope? Both? I'm for jumping while my rune is still active."

 

[L'ennui]

"I'm afraid that jump is a bit much for me. Let us try a rope while there is still time."

 

[Llywelyn ap Gruffydd]

"Let's try the rope route first. Anyone have a rope? Mine are still hanging from a cliff."

 

[Grimgravy]

"I have one. I think we'll need more."

 

[nikolokolus]

Mab holds up his hands and shakes his head, "Sorry, nothing friends."

 

[Llywelyn ap Gruffydd]

"Does anyone have any ideas besides jumping or ropes? I'm out of tricks, and out of equipment. I'm not sure our diminished numbers are enough to fight the boat women back, and if they have Borric with them, it will not go well."

 

[nikolokolus]

As the women get closer, indeed Borric is amongst their number, in fact he's leading the way with his maul held high over his head.

 

[Grimgravy]

"Earth magic, anyone? If not, let's throw our fishy friend in and then jump or climb ourselves. I may be able to make the leap carrying someone light."