Umirboic down under

Dec 16, 2024 3:49 pm

caravan guard

Safe travels the rearmost guard calls to Umirboic as the caravan trundles on toward the small town a short ways off.

Umirboic stares at the tunnel in front of him. Glancing back at the deep cavern holding the town that was the end of the road as far as his contacts could take him. The caravan dropped him off at this point at his request as they continued on their way to the town. Umirboic wanted to get a feel before making his next decision. The library was a well respected institute and held influence in many regions allowing him to travel in relative safety to this point. Having plotted his course with care beforehand Umirboic had decided on this slightly riskier route before setting out in earnest.

The path leading into the tunnel is well traveled and you were told to expect other dwarves and perhaps the odd deep gnome or elf. Though they are less common in this region their presence is not unknown in the area. The next village is only a single days travel through the Under and the region between this town and it should be relatively safe. The only real dange you expect to encounter are the odd slime or tunnel rat pack or snake. But you decided it best to get a taste of depending on your own wits and reflexes while still within easy reach of true civilization. Having spent much of your earlier travels talking with the caravan drivers and guards you feel you have a good sense of what to expect and how to react. You hope. Do you press on, relying on earlier preparations or head into town to gain more information and possibly a travel companion or just press on?

Dec 17, 2024 3:43 am

Umirboic lights one of his torches and looks down into the tunnel.

Well, just about as dark as I thought it would be...

A chill passes over him, causing Umirboic to shiver.

"No reason to be worried!" he says out loud, attempting to reassure himself.

With a harrumph and a shake of his head, Umirboic heads into the tunnel, not willing to start his adventure off on a fearful foot.

OOC:

I think Umirboic is the kind of character who would have done his research, so I think he’ll be relying on earlier preparations.

Dec 17, 2024 4:07 am

You make your way down the passage while periodically consulting your map, which is more a series of descriptions with a few diagrams. Luckily the path is easy enough for the first several hours but you note the further you travel through the under passage tunnels the fainter the trail and you begin to struggle at intersections where the options are less clear. Some bear small marks made by other dwarven miners that have traveled the was but you can not always find them.

Give me a Test on reading the map, you gain Advantage (roll 3d6) from your Librarian trade.
Also give me a basic test (2d6) on navigating the tunnels.
Note : this system has a "Focus" mechanism (succeed on a 4 or higher instead of 5 and higher) for combat that I allow used for any/all tests provided you take extra care and time in an activity.

[ +- ] Tests

[ +- ] Advantage

[ +- ] Focus

OOC:

Feel free to add story content on how you may overcome challenges or react to good/bad rolls. Some players prefer adding to the story and world while others are content with directing just their character.

Dec 18, 2024 2:54 am

Umirboic stares at the map, wondering which tunnel to take next. With a nod, he puts the map back in his pack and carries on his way. Happy to be back underground for some time, Umirboic takes his time through the next passage, enjoying the scents and dampness of the tunnels.

Last edited December 18, 2024 2:57 am

Rolls

Reading the Map - (3d6)

(326) = 11

Navigating the Tunnels - (2d6)

(45) = 9

Dec 18, 2024 1:22 pm

You manage to navigate past a couple tricky intersections and gan confidence as you note the trail is once again clear and contains traces of other people. The path travels from wide clefts in the stone of the under, to tunnels carved by one of the great stone worms, to the more dangerous trails through vast caverns. It is while moving through one of the smaller caverns that you feel something is off.

The cavern is only about 100 feet long and 20 to 50 feet wide. You have crossed more than half when you pause due to a faint smell of death ahead of you. The trail is clearly leading to a passage that leads out of it but . . .

Dec 19, 2024 2:39 am

Umirboic stops and a sense of dread falls over him, the first time that he's felt fear in many years.

There isn't much to fear in the halls of a library...he thinks to himself.

Umirboic squats down and smothers his torch, now relying only on his darkvision as he attempts to sneak closer to the smell.

OOC:

I've rolled a roll to try and perceive what's ahead of Umirboic in the darkness (rolled 3d6 for that one, given my Perceptive trait), as well as a roll to sneak closer. Of course, if you want me to roll anything else, just let me know!

Rolls

Perceiving What's Ahead - (3d6)

(351) = 9

Sneaking Ahead - (2d6)

(61) = 7

Dec 19, 2024 4:33 pm

OOC:

Tada - you are now a master of Tiny dice rolling :)

As you move forwards you you see nothing odd but the scent comes in more distinctly and you recall stories of parasitic and even carnivorous fungus growing in the depths of the under. Glancing around you spot an odd formation overhead that you do not believe to be natural stone. The growth must camouflage itself to resemble stone or something similar. If you had not caught the scent you would not have noticed the wrongness of the ceiling.

Thinking back to your readings on dangerous fungi you realize it was likely brought here by a beast it infected in the wild that stumbled upon the path then died nearby. The fungus then took root on the ceiling and began infecting travelers on the route. You recall some fungus are more active and can actually move but most that use spore clouds are stationary. As long as you move outside of its spore cloud you should be safe. Since you have smelled the scent of those before you that have dies to its effects you have likely already been exposed a small amount. But as long as you can get to the village beyond without more exposure a healer will likely be able to remove the infection before it grows to be a probelm.

Dec 20, 2024 5:05 am

Umirboic grumbles.

"Of course. Wouldn't quite be an adventure without a little danger now, would it?"

Umirboic, first pulling his shirt up to cover his nose and mouth, hurries past the fungi, now looking to get out of the tunnels as quickly as possible.

OOC:

Thanks!

Dec 21, 2024 6:11 pm