Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Wednesday 4 July 1280, Morning (Goblin Interrogation)

Varros moves to the group keeping his eye on the farmhouse, "Well done all."

Gaven looks at the slain goblin and then at the charmed goblin and remarks, "that was easy." Pointing to the bows and arrows, Gaven says to Varros and Stan, "either of you good with a bow?"

Stan declines, but Varros takes the bow and the goblins' twenty arrows from Gaven. "Ollie, gather the rest of any salvageable gear."

The goblin spear appears to be in good condition, so Gaven picks it up for use as a missile. While waiting for Duran and Oloc to approach, Gaven examines the shank and determines that it definitely is human, and male based on size and shape.

Oloc is pleased to see that his spell worked. Turning to Duran he says, "Let me go see if I can speak with this goblin." The mage musters his courage and steps out of the trees, waving at the charmed goblin. He walks calmly but directly, trying to hide his fears that perhaps the spell didn't work.

Duran nods to Oloc as he moves away. He pulls another arrow from his quiver and keeps an eye out for any other threats as well as a watchful eye on the charmed goblin. When Oloc waves him over Duran manages to retrieve one of his fired arrows.

When Duran and Oloc are present, Gaven compliments them, "Nice work, you may have, temporarily, saved us from a larger battle. Let's see what information we can get from this villain."

Duran and Gaven search the goblins for any valuables or clues to who they are and why they are here. Apart from their weapons, the only thing of note the goblins possess is a half a skin of vinegar-like wine, and a combined total of 24 sp.

Oloc then speaks in the goblin tongue to the charmed humanoid. "I am sorry about your friend there. But you see," he adds, pointing to the leg over the fire and trying not to get sick, "That is also a friend of ours. My comrades were sworn to avenge his death with blood. But now the debt is paid."

He then smiles at the goblin. "My name is Oloc and I am your friend now. Will you speak to me and my comrades?"

"Yes," says the goblin in a calm, friendly voice.

The others keep careful watch all around as Oloc interrogates the creature, sometimes posing his own questions, sometimes taking questions from his comrades and interpreting.

"Are there other gobs about? Where and how many?"
"Yes, in the basement of the farmhouse. About ten." He points in the direction of the building.

"How many are on the roads, hills or forests nearby?"
"None now. Only us."

"Who is your master and what is your mission?"
"Grimtooth is our leader. We were told to scout, though not to what purpose."

"Where did you come from? Why does the sun not affect you?"
"From the forest that you call Stagwood. We are wood goblins, different from our underground kin."

"Who is your deity?" The goblin simply stares blankly, as if he does not understand the question. Rephrasing it does not seem to help.

"Why did you attack the boy and girl? Are they still alive?"
"They came upon us here. We could not allow them to tell of our presence. The male is dead. He cut Borrg, and Borrg slew him. The girl was unharmed when last I saw her. She is in the basement with Grimtooth. He keeps her in a back room, though I have not been there."

"Where are the boy's remains?"
"In the basement, just through the trap door."

"Are there any tricks or traps?"
"There is an alarm. I can show you."

"Any tunnels to a lair? Secret doors?"
"No."

The sun rises slightly higher above the trees. There is no movement you can see around the farmhouse and orchard.

OOC: Actions?

It is now approximately 8:00 a.m.

18 comments:

  1. 63*

    Varros - Fighter

    Varros speaks to the party, "I suggest we use our newly found "friend" here to try to bring out a few of his band at a time under some pretext." Varros shoots the goblin a menacing look, then goes on to say, "Bringing them out a few at a time will weaken their numbers and allow us to use our bows to attack from range." Glancing at Duran he smiles and says, laughingly, "I have not won any archery contests, friend,  but I believe I can hit a goblin. Care to wager 5 gold on who can drop more of the beasts?"

    OOC: I suggest having the goblin lure three of his fellows out with a minor ruse, enough to interest them but not enough to bring the whole group. My plan entails Duran and myself taking cover on opposite corners of the farmhouse with the door between us and having the goblins led back out to the fire. Once they reach that area it will be simple enough to open fire (Varros taking any target closest to him, Duran doing likewise) and if misses occur still prevent their retreat and ability warn others.

    As for the rest of the party, I suggest Olec ready another spell and position himself with Duran or Varros, while Gaven positions himself with the other and prepares to block the retreat or use the spear (can Clerics use spears? I was under the impression they can't.).

    As for Ollie, I believe he should be either bait, or remain hidden, while Stan keeps watch with one of the groups. My tactic would be to hide the evidence of the prior engagement and rinse and repeat this procedure as many times as possible to whittle down the goblins while avoiding the cramped confines of the house.

    If anybody has a better plan or alterations please feel free to suggest them.

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    1. Oloc - Mage

      ooc: I think the plan is fine, assuming it won't break the spell. Chris, does Oloc know enough about the Charm spell, I.e. Likelihood that this will break the spell?

      But regarding Oloc preparing another spell - I wish I could, but I have a few XP to go before I can pull that off!

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    2. Excellent question. Here's what Oloc would know about the charm: This should not break the spell if you just tell him to get his comrades to come out. It *might* break it if you tell him to bring them out so that you can kill them (unless of course he happens to personally hate them and want them dead anyway, in which case the latter command would succeed with flying colors). However, I do interpret the charm as stripping away a lot of the charmed individual's personal initiative and ability to adapt to new or changing situations (this is kind of what happened when you cast it on him -- his eyes glazed, his arms sunk to his sides, and he sat down on the ground again). You could, for example, feed him a lie to tell his comrades, and he'd likely do it (he'd certainly do it if you hid your intent to kill them). But if he tells his story and his comrades question him once he's inside, he'd have a hard time coming up with believable answers on his own, and then they'd certainly put themselves on full alert.

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    3. Just for clarity, I'm adding a short blurb about the charm spell to the "Rules and House Rules Page" (I think I'll change the name to "Rules, House Rules and Rulings), just so that everyone has easy access to it for reference.

      I'll also add any future rulings there, so everything is out in the open and available for everyone's reference.

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  2. Regarding clerics using spears -- they can according to the "unauthorized weapons" house rule (clerics do 1d6 maximum damage with any "unauthorized" weapon, and magic-users do 1d6-1 damage (minimum of 1 damage on any hit) with any "unauthorized" weapon).

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    1. It will also likely be difficult convincing Ollie to pose as bait. It takes all his courage just to stand at the relative safety of the back of the group. Even more so with a human leg cooking on the fire. Stan, however, would be perfectly willing to act as bait in some plan, as long as he's confident you have his back, and he gets to stay armed and armored (i.e. concealing his armor and weapon under a cloak, for example).

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  3. Thanks Bard for the explanations. One other question as I am a White Box novice, I understand Olec only gets only one spell, but doe he have multiple slots based on intelligence score etc.? It may be an ADnD rule that is confusing me, I believe a first level MU in ADnD can have 1 spell but quite a few "slots".

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    1. Never mind Bard. I see that intelligence only gives additional experience and not slots. Ouch. Also as an aside, how do you plan on dispersing experience? I like the combat rolls summary, perhaps after encounters or canny play by party members you could let us know experience gained and we can notate it. I'm thinking this might alleviate some headaches for you in the long run by putting the ball in our court and letting us notate it on our character sheets.

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    2. My pleasure! It's really just my job to explain anything that your characters would know. And if you're ever not sure just ask. I'm always happy to answer!

      Regarding M-U's in S&W, Oloc can have multiple spells in his spell book. For example, if over the course of his adventures, Oloc picks up some M-U scrolls, he can copy them into his spell book (regardless of level). If they are of a level he is able to cast (for now 1st level only), he would then have the option of choosing one, out of his then multiple spells available, to memorize for casting each day. But at first level, no matter how many spells he has in his book, he'll only get to memorize and cast one spell each day. The "slot" is in the caster's brain, rather than in the book. And the energy discharge of the spell when cast effectively erases the spell from the slot and "exhausts" that part of the caster's brain (hence the need for a night's rest and a quick stint of re-memorization before recasting the following day).

      As Oloc gains levels, he'll increase the power of his brain to hold more spells at once (i.e. getting more "slots" in his brain). So there is no limit to how many spells Oloc can find and add to his spell book; the only limit is to the level and number of spells he can commit to his memory each day for casting.

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    3. Oops, I just hit submit on that one after you had already said "never mind".

      As for XP, my plan was to got the "standard" route and give them out to surviving party members (hopefully every one of you!) with each return to the safety of town. Since most of your xp will come from treasure spent, you probably won't have a lot in xp until you get back to town, sell of various items, and then spend.

      What I have done (just this morning as a matter of fact) is create a page ("Monsters and Treasure" -- the link is in the list to the right) that lists what you've picked up in the way of items and coins, and monsters overcome since the last in-town xp calculation, so that everyone has a clear record of what has been acquired (and so if I ever slip and forget something you picked up or someone you defeated, you guys can catch it and let me know.

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  4. Duran - Fighter

    Duran chuckles at Varros' bet and says "I'll take you up on that. Although I am not sure how many we can actually lure out. But I'll keep shooting till they stop coming out."

    If the plan goes forward Duran moves out to the corner of the the farm house and sets himself ready to shoot the Goblins as they come out.

    OOC: I see no problem giving the plan a try although I have doubts about how many times we can lure groups of them out. I say get as many out as we can but once they stop we need to hurry inside before they kill the girl.

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  5. Oloc - Mage

    "I am a bit uncertain if the spell will hold, but I will support the plan," Oloc says. Once the party is agreed, Oloc will suggest to have the goblin bring out 3-4 of his comrades. "Tell them that you have found something special to eat, but that there is not enough for everyone. If they ask questions, tell them that they must see for themselves. Do not let the others hear."

    ooc: Once the plan is under way, Oloc will move to the back and take out his daggers for throwing as a last line of defense.

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    1. Assuming Professor P agrees with the plan and you guys move forward with this, do you give the Goblin back his gear (bow, axe, quiver + arrows) so that he looks relatively "normal" when going back into the farmhouse basement?

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  6. Gaven - cleric

    Gaven is not surprised, but still angered after hearing that Bill is dead. It takes all his willpower to keep from braining the goblin with his club then and there. Only the fact that Elsie lives and the goblin is charmed and therefore useful to the Light's cause stays his hand.

    "I agree with Varros, dealing with 10 at a time will be too much. I will stay back and hidden with Stan and Ollie to cut off any escape."

    Gaven takes hold of the spear and moves to hide in the most appropriate position.

    OOC: How many exits are there from the farmhouse? Would the goblins that survive the first wave of attack be able to run back into the house out a back door? Gaven would want himself and Stan to stand in the places that the goblins would most likely make their escape, so as to be able to make a surprise attack.

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    1. The farmhouse is so crumbled that it could be thought of as one big back door (there are large gaps everywhere in the outer wall, and the inner walls are virtually non-existent now). That being said, it's also so crumbled that you can pretty much see the whole area around the trap door to the basement from any position on the outside wall of the building -- giving you an excellent field of vision and missilry.

      I'll be putting up a detailed map of the house shortly, and you guys will have the opportunity to adjust position and make any last-minute tweaks to the plan before you give the goblin the order to actually go down to the basement.

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