RED OAK: Return to the Pass of the Hounds

[Woe]

I'm going to try a long post to make up for lost time. Let's see how well the plan holds once you start rolling dice. Post cleaned up a bit.

Yes, the party has decided this is too hot to rest right now, especially with Freya tending her wounds. The party will pack up and look to go elsewhere to hole up for a few days. Hopefully the goblins will stay away as well. The current plan (worst case scenario planning) is to hole up underground, though they won't look forward to finding out that a goblin tribe has moved in while they're underground. Ideally, they'll move to the other tower but that's only if there are no other goblins, bugbears, worgs, other evil goonies that involve dice rolling.

They'll exit the ground floor, with Kilian freeing up his barricade a bit and then Freya scouting out first. No ambushes at the doorway please, so she'll do a little bit of recon before the others exit. If everything is safe and quiet, they'll:

After dispatching the goblins, Kilian will behead everything all and stick the heads in highly visible locations. The bodies can rot. What tribes do the goblins belong to?

Tiana and the NPCs will gather the arrows they can from the encounter, as well as Bruce's hammer (half ok?). They will also search the slain. If Tiana is feeling nervous, she'll use mage hands for the collections and searching while she stays near the door.

Freya, Talin, and Fido will always be on watch.

Oh right. Everyone stays close to the door. Looking at the map, it seems very feasible.

Did that lone tower look to be defensible? Was it sturdier? I'm torn between being trapped in the tower and being trapped underground. Kilian has stories about dwarves from Moria who were trapped underground and the whole tribe was slaughtered. Freya starts to talk about some elves besieged in a tower, but Tiana cuts her off with a quick shake of her head. It's worthless to argue with a dwarf.

[Longman]

First things first - Sorry, I didn't really describe the lookout tower well enough. There's no real structure there - just a ruined stump, in a place that has a very good view of the valley. You could hole up there but there are lots of other places around that would be just as good. There is nothing there to find.

lookout.JPG (17.77 KiB) Viewed 2269 times

This rest of this post refers to the castle close up (photo with squares).

After Freya establishes there are no ambushes waiting just outside the tower, everyone leaves the tower via the eastern door in the ground floor. There is no noise from down the staircase to the underground.

As Freya and Kilian move out into G07 from G06 and towards the first two dead goblins in F09, Freya can hear that there are definitely goblins over behind the walls at G11. They are trying to keep quiet, but one of them is whispering and Freya's sharp ears pick it up very easily.

No one has else has left the inside of the old main keep yet. You are all at H06-H05. If you want, Freya and Kilian can duck back into safety without anything happening (like, getting shot).

If Tiana crouched in G06 and used a mage hand she could retrieve 4 arrows with one spell. Or, both of Bruce's thrown maces with one spell. She'd have excellent cover (+6).

Ideally, they'll move to the other tower but that's only if there are no other goblins, bugbears, worgs, other evil goonies that involve dice rolling.

Doesn't seem like it. There are armed goblins in hiding over there, and Abigall heard more goblins and wolves over the north east side as well, just beyond P02. And probably, bugbears as well. So it's very unlikely that you can't act freely in the castle grounds without a renewal of combat.

If you want to just run away, let me know the direction on the castle close up map and I'll keep it moving on the bigger area map.

[Woe]

If the goblins were to charge, that'd be G11-G10 to breech the outer wall and then G7-G6 for the inner wall; or if they flank, J10-J9 then J7-I7? I'm not sure if there are bottlenecks here.

Save the wolves jumping over the walls...

[Longman]

Definite bottlenecks at E07 and G07 where the blue arrowed lines are at. More at C03. Another possible route of entry at C06 climbing over a low wall.

If the came from the north it'd probably be through the blue arrows in the J-file. If from the east, up the embankment and in any number of places (J03, I03, etc).

You are probably quite defensible where you are. It's getting out that could be tricky. Or maybe you'll slaughter them again. Who knows, eh?

[Woe]

What I really want to do is find another place to ambush them again. Is that cruel of me?

But... if they were to move into the tunnel into the underground and ambush from there, would that be reasonable? The idea is to hole up, fire some arrows around (but not a web -- I need to unlock the door!) and then disappear when it gets too hot.

[Longman]

No, it isn't mean. If they caught you, they'd roast you over a slow fire.

I think you mean that you want to go a bit down the staircase, then wait for goblins to come looking for you, and then fire arrows at them, and then run away - - where? Underground?

The staircase runs about 20 from north to south, losing about 10 in height. Then it doubles back and goes another 20 south to north, coming in on the dungeon map. By that time, it has lost another 10' in height and you are 20' below.

(This is a a slight change to the way I described it originally, but nothing that will change your situation much right now).

If you want to use the stairwell as an ambush point, that is probably what would happen - you'd hole up on the landing where the staircase turns from >south to >north, and wait for them to poke their heads in the entryway.

[Woe]

Ok, the plan will be to wait at the top of the stairs for the goblins to arrive, then wait for a great time to ambush them, then ... ugh.

No ambush. If we do and then disappear into the underground, they'll trap the passageway and it will be a nightmare to get out. Best to disappear and have them wonder.

So, new plan: knock the door open, go inside, and close the door behind them. Bleah. Then find a nice place to hole up for the night. Probably the kitchen, because it is close and very defensible. Was there a door that we could close?

[Longman]

OK, I'm taking that as done.

You go down the stairs. Nothing happens. This goes smoothly - the staircase was only 10 feet away, after all. Tiana spends 2 of her 3 remaining spell points to knock the door open and everyone goes inside.

Yes, there is a store room door. However, it wasn't locked and you'd actually have to pick the lock shut. The secret door is open. You could close it and hole up in there?

In any case, it seems like nothing has changed down here, after a quick scan. And, there's no sign of goblins coming to check the door above.

Do you want to spend the night?

[Woe]

Yep, definitely spend the night. And probably the next day, and the next night. Freya needs to heal up a bit, and the last night didn't do great wonders for her health.

However, in midday Tiana and a few others will knock open the storeroom door to see what lies behind.

[Longman]

So you rest up for the rest of the night in the secret room.

It passes into Wed 27th of Aug. Inidentally Tiana has used 2 out of 5 sp for the day getting the door open. That spell came out of today's tally - I realized she had already spent 2 on Knock getting out on Tuesday morning. When does she get spells back? Can we make it midnight?

Bruce got 1 hp back overnight and is on 8/9. Kilian is on 21/22. Freya is down 4 hp from her normal total.

As for breaking into the storeroom / kitchen to see what's there. I totally do not understand you.

Firstly - you ave already been in the storeroom / kitchen. Secondly - it isn't locked.

There is nothing unexplored on this side of the river. You can hang out in the secret door room all you like. You know how the lock works.

Hear Noise rolls by the scouts and thieves throughout the day indicate nothing above. Abigall insists she may have heard something at about 10 am, but no one else heard it.

If you want to spend the next night in here let me know and I'll see what happens.