The Hills

Dec 20, 2017 4:27 am

"what a bunch of rebellious kids" father Tulfgyr says stroking his long grey beard thoughtfully." And I thought my lords mission here would be easy just kill some monsters. You always know just what I need!" Tulfgyr laughs talking in a general upwards direction.

Dec 20, 2017 7:10 pm

The party sets out again into the snow and wind, determined to retrieve the caravan supplies, and perhaps to also remedy their unfortunate encounter with the Tribe of the Elk. In order to accomplish both they must find the orc raiders, who should be fairly close by if they are carrying crates of loot.

The task is made more difficult by the arrival of stormy weather - the herald of a fierce winter to come. As howling wind rises and snow flurries violently, the heroes feel the temperature begin to drop even further. Continuing the search now - rather than seeking shelter - will mean risking exposure to the elements. However, the tribesmen who are also hunting the orcs face the same choice.

OOC:

Something worth noting is that - due to the goliath feature Mountain Born - Ug is basically unbothered by cold climates. Exposure to the cold of Icewind Dale doesn't have any adverse affect on him at all.

Dec 21, 2017 4:50 pm

Jabbbahut Inactive forever!

Alalla wraps her scarf around her head, creating a sort of balaclava. She pokes a couple dreads with metal beads into different positions so they aren't touching her face, and squints into the snow. She pauses only for a moment to reassess the trail. Her responsibility to the people of the Ten Towns was greater than any risk of continuing into the storm, and there was no doubt in her mind that they should continue.

Rolls

Orc Tracking/ Pathfinding (Survival) - (1d20+3)

(8) + 3 = 11

Ug

Dec 21, 2017 5:28 pm

Glancing at the others Ug sees some doubt across their faces. "Even if friends do not help barbarians, friends still need help village friends." he says as he picks up his pack from the snow. "Also, " he adds with a grin "mother always tell baby Ug, when in doubt, squish ugly orcs." He then turns towards the orc path and begins to trudge happily through the snow, humming another of mothers lullabies into the wind.

Last edited December 21, 2017 5:29 pm

Rolls

Motivates team to join him - (1d20+4)

(4) + 4 = 8

Survival - (1d20+4)

(7) + 4 = 11

Inspiration motivation - (1d20+4)

(17) + 4 = 21

Dec 22, 2017 5:08 am

Father Tulfgyr stands with Ug "the caravan might be dead and the tribesmen hate us but that does not stop us from ensuring the safety of those we care for, we must press on."

Dec 22, 2017 5:33 am

Hour 1
Squinting against the gelid gales, Alalla and Ug each try to determine the orcs' whereabouts, but so far are fruitless in their efforts to find a definite sign of where they might be.

OOC:

Maverick, Zenithral, and Father Tulfgyr can each try to use a skill to help out.

Everyone except Ug needs to roll a Constitution saving throw (Tulfgyr has advantage), anyone who gets lower than a 10 gets a level of exhaustion. If your save doesn't get rolled in the next 24 hours realtime, I'll roll it for you.

Dec 22, 2017 3:50 pm

Zenithral nods in agreement, but stays mostly quiet. He rewarms his clothing and his bow and keeps an eye out for any signs of orcs carrying large crates. There's only a few directions from the enclosed area from the caravan after all, and they would leave indentations in their wake. The snow night cover the footprints in heaps, however. That would leave pockets of air. Zenithral draws his short sword and keeps cutting here and there in the ground, hoping to collapse any pockets of air that might reveal deep footprints beneath the blizzard.

How hard could it be to find a band of blundering orcs?

Rolls

Investigation - (1d20+4)

(7) + 4 = 11

Constitution saving throw - (1d20+3)

(11) + 3 = 14

Inspiration for Investigation - (1d20+4)

(19) + 4 = 23

Dec 22, 2017 10:37 pm

The cold and wretched conditions start to get to Alalla, along with her daunting task, but she steels her mind to push her body to its limits. She was supposed to lead this party, and their actions madness mistakes were her responsibility. They WOULD press on and they WOULD find their quarry.

Last edited December 22, 2017 11:20 pm

Rolls

Constitution Save - (1d20+5)

(3) + 5 = 8

Inspiration Re-Roll - (1d20+5)

(12) + 5 = 17

Dec 23, 2017 1:19 am

Father Tulfgyr has spent lots time in the wilderness but not in any to this degree knowing his attempts at tracking might do more harm than good he turns to the gods beseeching them to guide them and to honour the party by bestowing their glorious favour on them. What we need now more than ever is the gods with them we cannot fail it is incomprehensible nay impossible to fail. Aid us Lathander in our search that we may bring hope back to the ten towns!

Rolls

Seeking aid - (1d20+4)

(5) + 4 = 9

Dec 23, 2017 5:37 am

Hour 1
The party's bold venture into the storm at first yields no substantial gain, in spite of their best tracking efforts. Even Father Tulfgyr's prayers seem to be lost in the roar of the wind. Still, in their determination to help Easthaven and the other towns they manage to fight off the bitter cold remarkably well - except for Maverick.

This land of ice and snow is much colder than the Underdark, and Maverick is nearly overwhelmed by the buffeting wind. If not for his sturdy companions, the gnome might be blown away completely! Even just maintaining his footing is exhausting.

OOC:

Maverick, you have one level of exhaustion - which means disadvantage on all ability checks until you can take a long rest to remove it.

The party presses on, and by the end of an hour's searching Zenithral finds an important clue...

OOC:

Zenithral, go ahead and describe what you discover and how. It should be something that starts to point the party to a much more specific area to search, but not the precise location. Beyond that the details are up to you.

Rolls

Maverick Con save - (1d20+2)

(2) + 2 = 4

Tulfgyr Con save - (1d20+2)

(12) + 2 = 14

Tulfgyr Con save advantage from Helm - (1d20+2)

(6) + 2 = 8

Dec 23, 2017 6:55 am

of course Tulfgyr thinks why would the gods want servants that can't stand on their own two feet. how can I be expected to serve the gods if I can't even help myself! I will pass this test and carry the party to victory and show my faith and strength to Lathander myself! marching forward with renewed strength and vigor despite the wind biting into Tulfgyr with seemingly living anger.

Last edited December 23, 2017 6:56 am

Rolls

hour two saves - (1d20+2, 1d20+2)

1d20+2 : (16) + 2 = 18

1d20+2 : (18) + 2 = 20

Dec 23, 2017 4:56 pm

Nine sixty three....nine sixty four...nine sixty five... Zenithral thinks, counting each step and wave of his sword to keep his mind off the stinging pain of the icy winds. ...Nine sixty--- A patch of snow collapses slightly as Zenithral's sword slides through it. He stops walking.

"What's this?" he says, bending down. He scoops a few handfuls of snow out, revealing a hole, a few feet deep, with the faint trace of a bootprint at the bottom. He glances around and spots some angular divets and depressions in the snow. "It appears they tripped and dropped one of the crates here," he concludes. "Caused some snow to collapse over the print instead of leaving it open to get filled up by the snow. Almost a miracle we came across it..." He sweeps his sword through the surrounding snow a few more times, but finds nothing. He points in a direction perpendicular to their current path with his sword. "The other bootprints were likely filled, but it seems they were at least heading in this direction."

Rolls

Constitution saving throw - (1d20+3)

(2) + 3 = 5

Dec 23, 2017 4:59 pm

Zenithral takes a step and trips right where he said the orc might have tripped, falling face first, sinking a few feet in the freezing snow. He struggles and slips as he tries to get back to his feet.

"I-i-i-t, a-a-ppears th-there's a r-r-rock there."

Last edited December 23, 2017 5:00 pm

Dec 23, 2017 5:32 pm

talking to himself Tulfgyr employs his own coping mechanism"most people think that dwarves are hardy and like the cold because we all live in the mountains...not true I lived in the hills. The big thing is that we live in the mountains and not on the mountains, its all nice and warm inside the mountains"

Last edited December 23, 2017 5:34 pm

Dec 23, 2017 6:08 pm

Al looks to see what Zenithral found. She grins when she sees the hidden prints. "I doubt the Elk group has found these! Hopefully we have a lead on them!"
As Zenithral trips she reaches out to try and catch him, but loses her footing and falls into the snow as well. She pulls off her scarf, now askew, and shakes the snow out of her dreads, but can't prevent a fair amount from falling down into her clothes. She shivers as she helps Zenithral up, almost tripping again, and turns to follow the direction the orcs travelled, muttering about snow in uncomfortable places.

Last edited December 23, 2017 6:16 pm

Rolls

Hr 2 Con Save - (1d20+5)

(4) + 5 = 9

Dec 23, 2017 9:27 pm

Hour 2
Encouraged by Zenithral's find, the companions continue their search. The cold continues to wear at them, however, and their resistance starts to wear thin as they make their way through the storm. Visibility is hindered both by the heavily falling snow and the waning light - though it is only mid-afternoon. Still, the heroes are sure they are on the right trail, and each shivering step hopefully brings them closer to their goal. The orcs (and supplies) have to be somewhere near! The search continues...

OOC:

So far for this second hour of searching Zenithral, Tulfgyr, and Alalla have rolled saving throws (so missing Maverick), but everyone can make another skill check of some sort to help find the orcs.

Zen and Al, you gain your level of exhaustion after this hour, so your skill check for this second hour doesn't have disadvantage from the exhaustion. However, if you do not find the orcs soon then your attempts next hour WILL suffer disadvantage from the exhaustion.

Dec 24, 2017 1:08 am

Zenithral starts to look for natural shelter. Partly because he was cold, but partly because he figured the orcs would need to have some shelter of their own. He figured their instincts would be similar to his own in that respect, at least in this weather. Telling where to find caves or outcroppings would be the tricky part, especially with such limited visibility.

Rolls

Survival - (1d20+4)

(6) + 4 = 10

Dec 24, 2017 7:02 am

knowing the various dens robbers like to use Tulfgyr also looks around for places a younger self would hide

Rolls

searching - (1d20+2)

(3) + 2 = 5

Dec 24, 2017 8:03 pm