A Goblin Hole

[tomcat]

With a nod from the others, Grimbeorn slowly lifted the wooden trapdoor. The smell of earth and stale air pushed up into his face, along with the smell of orc. They had been here a while.

Holding the door open for his companions, Arbogast stepped onto the ladder first and quickly descended. The Fire-watcher thinking he would go down into utter darkness was pleasantly surprised at the soft glow of light. His foot stepped down onto the rough stone of a cellar floor. It was apparent that this had once been the cellar for the old tower, but the goblins had hollowed out the wall which expanded into an unseen warren.

Arbogast quietly waited as the others followed him down. He looked down the passage to where two voices could still be heard muttering to each other. The acrid smell of smoke filled the air, along with the other scents.

[tomcat]

I will require Stealth rolls from each PC, which the lowest will set the TN for any potential enemy Awareness checks...

TN by PC skill info

Arbogast 2d 1d12 : 9, total 9
Rolled 2d6 : 5, 1, total 6

Grimbeorn 0d 1d12 : 9, total 9

Hathcyn 2d 1d12 : 5, total 5
Rolled 2d6 : 3, 1, total 4

Laeral 3d 1d12 : 2, total 2
Rolled 3d6 : 3, 4, 6, total 13

[Eclecticon]

Abogast winces at the heavy footsteps of the two Beornings, and then marvels as Laeral's descent of the narrow ladder occasions not a single sound from the metal rings of her mail.  Shaking his head to clear it once again of the bewitchment of Elves, he nods to the Fellowship and proceeds as quietly as he can down the passage. 


Doug, do you want more Stealth rolls, or has the damage already been done? 

Aly, Laeral's successful roll (successful in that you/she/Doug rolled more than 14, which is the target number unless otherwise specified) has earned her an Advancement Point.  If you have a look at your character sheet, you'll see that each row of Common skills has the group name next to it ('Personality', 'Movement', 'Perception' etc.) and three spaces.  The spaces record your Advancement Points, which you use to improve your Common skills.  For your first successful roll in each group, you get to record a point - so Laeral gets one in 'Movement' for a successful Stealth roll. 

The rule we've been playing with is that a Great success (i.e. a successful roll including at least one '6') earns you a second AP (unless it's your first successful roll, as in this case - natch), and an Exceptional success (with two or more 6-es) gets you a third one.  There may be a possibility of earning your second and third APs with a normal success if Doug considers it to have advanced the story or to demonstrate something about your character - I recommend pestering him a little to see.

[tomcat]

Hey Paul, those rolls will set the current TN for the orcs. I will base the need to test for the Orcs Awareness based on all of your narrative.
Arbogast followed down the tunnel. It was draped in shadows, but the passage slowly brightened from a light source around a bend. The man could hear the orcs grumbling at one another.

At the end of the corridor, Arbogast leaned out enough to see a larger chamber that was filled with crates, boxes, and other items. A small fire burned in the center of the room - an oily black smoke rising to cracks in the ceiling. Standing near - at guard - were a large orc and a diminutive goblin.

[Eclecticon]

The Fire-watcher looks back at his companions and raises two fingers.  Then he motions for them to come closer, his demeanour clearly speaking of his intention to swiftly defeat the two sentries. 


It looks as if the ambush gods have smiled upon us, and we might have the advantage of surprise.  If so, we can probably take these guys out quickly enough that they won't have an opportunity to raise the alarm if there are more of them further down the way. 

Shall we say Team Carrock takes the big one, and Team Other goes for the smaller?

[GandalfOfBorg]

Grimbeorn nods in the direction of the larger one and acknowledges. He turns to Hathcyn and motions for him to follow at his flank.  He was more than ready to end this annoyance.

[Eclecticon]

Alright, let's do it!

[AlyC]

Laeral takes her eyes off her prey just long enough to gauge the nerve of the human then follows swiftly but silently in his wake.

[tomcat]

I am doing something new with this particular scene. Normally, I would end the narrative thread and we would go into combat round threads. Because the Goblin Hole will be our current location for a bit, I want you guys to continue with any dialogue and narrative in this thread between combat actions.

I will post in this thread when to go to a combat thread. I hope this makes sense, but we'll see if I got my point across as we progress. 
The companions sprang out of the shadows into the cluttered chamber, catching the two orcs that stood there by surprise. Arbogast's fears of the Beornings' having given their position away were quickly allayed.

Axe and spear drove into the two spawn, their mouths still agape and unable to relay any other warning.

Go to this combat round thread

[Eclecticon]

The fight is over before it even truly begins.  As Laeral and Hathcyn's spears ease the two dead orcs to the ground, Arbogast wipes the blade of his axe and listens for any sound of more inhabitants further into the tunnels. 


Usual deal - I'm rolling Awareness to see what (if anything) he picks up.  Anyone else is welcome to try as well - Arbogast's ears are nothing special. 

1d12 : 8, total 8
Rolled 2d6 : 5, 2, total 7

[tomcat]

I will get the game updated tomorrow.

[tomcat]

Grimbeorn ascertained the fact that each of the orcs were dead. They had not had a chance to cry a warning, so sudden was the Company's attack. They stank and their weapons and armor were crude, and so the Beorning moved on not wanting to spend anymore time with the filth.

The chamber was large and it was lit by a small cook-fire, the smoke rising up to the ceiling and clinging there like a blanket. Arbogast could see where the orcs had bored holes through the earthen roof to allow it to be drawn out. He shook his head at the crude engineering, but it could not be said that the yrchs were ignorant in such things. Even if someone stepped in one above, it would be seen as a simple badger or rabbit burrow.

Laeral looked about the chamber with great interest. Around them were stacks of crates and wooden boxes, along with other manufactured things. There were bottles of wine, jars of honey, crates that probably once contained chickens or other birds. There was spoiled fruit and vegetables, along with a smelly area that had most assuredly been a box of eggs - now broken, rotten and dried. It was a treasure room of sorts - stuff that had been robbed from the many wagons that came north to Laketown, or from there to any compass point. The goblin's had been successful indeed with their raiding parties.

Hathcyn moved cautiously to where a passage exited the room at the far end. It went into shadows, but a hint of light could be seen further down. The sound of other voices could be heard, too.

[GandalfOfBorg]

Grimbeorn moved to join Hathcyn further down the hallway and heard the voices down the way.  He quietly calls attention of the other two to the presence of the new voices.  Not moving any closer lest he draw more attention to their presence, Grimbeorn strains to hear what is bring said.

 
 

Awareness -  1d12 : 7, total 7
Rolled 3d6 : 2, 1, 2, total 5

[AlyC]

Laeral ceases her inventory of the goods. Swiftly but silently she joins the two men in the hallway and begins to listen... 

[Eclecticon]

The smell of spoiled food reaches Arbogast's nostrils even over that of spilled blood, and he stands still, regarding the broken boxes and smashed jars.  They in Lake-Town barely even notice this loss, he thinks.  Despite all that the orcs can steal, there is meat and ale aplenty there while at the Black Tarn my daughters grow thin each winter... 

He turns and follows his companions, but his jaw is locked tighter and a familiar bitterness has begun gnawing in the back of his mind.