The Green Woman of the Erin

[Longman]

The rock pinnacle is pretty sheer on all sides. It's one of this type, except the srroudning terrain is different.



There's a much larger, stouter rock on the other side of the river.

So, the climb is certainly possible (a normal thief climb roll) and I'd let you do it in 50 feet intervals - 4 to reach the top. Or you could do it it in as small as 10 feet intervals, and hammer in spikes...however you want to approach it. But it doesn't matter what side you do it on - it's all pretty much straight up.

Engineering and building scaffolding will take you days...weeks? Not what I'd suggest with pouring rain coming in overnight.

[Woe]

"Well dank ye master wederman." grumbles Kilian at the weather report. "I'll 'ave ye know I ken get dis up faster dan dat." He stops grumbling when Anna shakes her head at him.

Four rolls @ 87% -> 57% likely to get to the top. Not great odds given a fall would be splatacular. If Anna uses spikes, would that prevent a fall? She'd definitely lose her grip (@ 10 rolls, her chance drops to 25%) but dying is worse than being roped on and slipping. Would belaying help also?

[Longman]

If Anna uses spikes (10' intervals), then I'd still ask for 4 rolls, but if she fell, I'd make a climbing roll for each spike to see of it was well secured. If she fell she'd take 1d3 per 10', not 1d6, from rope tension. Chances of spikes coming loose increase the further she falls, though.

Belaying will add +5% to her base chance so she'd be at 92%. The belayer needs a successful str or dec roll, though.

I'm making this up in the fly. Let's not push it. I don't want to have to invent a whole new climbing system.

[Woe]

You're doing great. I'm just trying to figure out how to keep Anna from plummeting to her death. 72% with Kilian belaying... that might be the best I can hope for.

"Ok Anna, rope up. I don't like it but I'll trust your judgment." agrees Talin.

Kilian will belay despite Talin's protests. Kilian will play the "you're in charge of the whole patrol and need to be free to react to anything without this fine lady lass tied about your waist" card, double entendre clearly not intended.

[Longman]

"I'll be fine," responds Anna. She pecks Talin on the cheek.

Her first roll is a 02. Nimble indeed. She looks like she could practically walk up the cliff face, but instead does as agreed and hammers in spikes. The sound of the hammering cracks back a half second later from the larger rock on the other side of the rapids.

Her second roll is a 006. She really isn't needing those spikes!

She sees a jutting rock, which has clearly been used as a hitching point in the past, but no sign of any rope there now. From here, the way straight up looks more difficult, but she thinks that there's a much easier route off to the right, and that someone has used it regularly. This will not require a climb roll.

Does she keep going? She can call back to Talin down the bottom, if she wants. It's not like she didn't just make a lot of noise with the spikes.

[Woe]

I dunno. What does she do? She is yours.

[Longman]

Oh, very well then.

She keeps climbing. She ascends the easy route off to the right. It goes up about 20 feet. The others down below lose sight of her a bit and have to walk around on the rocky side of the rapids to catch sight of her again. She is not belayed at this point.

Where Anna is now, it is extremely obvious even to a non-ranger that someone climbs further up from this place. Handholds have been dug and there's wear marks where a rope has been lowered and used over time.

She climbs further - a roll of 40, which is a bit more unsteady, but still a success. After about 30 more feet, she comes, very suddenly, to the mouth of a small cave, totally hidden in aspect from the ground.

At the mouth of the cave is a woman in late middle age, with greying red her, wearing a dirty green dress, who is pointing a home-made spear at Anna.

"Don't try anything or I'll spit you," say the woman. "Who are you and what are you doing up here?"

Anna is still on the lip of the cave and has her feet on a rocky ledge. The woman has Anna covered and has automatic initiative. If Anna tries to attack her or enter the cave, she will attack Anna automatically, with considerable bonuses, and Anna will be likely to fall.

You can play Anna now...

[Woe]

She slowly holds her hands out in front of her, non-threateningly. "I'm Anna. I live in Red Oak. I thought I saw something up here, a path that someone had taken before, and I wanted to see if I could. My friends are down at the river, probably making bets."

She can't help but wonder whether this is the hag.

[Longman]

(Anna can't actually hold her hands up. She needs them to hold on.)

How many people are down there? Did anyone send you?

She looks very anxious and upset. Behind her, Anna behind to notice that the cave extends back into the pinnacle some way, and she can see several lengths of knotted rope tied up ready for use to climb down, as well as other living effects. No sign at all of anything magical.

[Woe]

"About eight total. We were planning to hike further upstream when I noticed some tracks. Nobody else believed me so of course I had to prove them wrong. Can I come in? You can keep your pike. I already unfastened my safety line and don't want to fall. My hands are starting to get tired. It's quite the climb."