Shipwrecked! Exploration "Writer's Guild"

[smartaleq]

This is the IC/OOC thread for exploration in week 3 of Shipwrecked!

Our merry band of skillful non-adventurers will set off in search of civilized life. With no better trail to start on, we will first ascend the cliffs to gain a better vantage. As we are the first group to explore the cliffs, we will leave behind the necessary ropes and other affordances so later non-climbing groups can follow our footsteps.

- Preparation leadership and goals provided by Gil
- On the spot leadership by Maria, the most familiar with these woods

Our marching order is Epswitch (Climb+2, Use Rope+1) - Gil(Climb+0, Use Rope+7) - Maria(Climb+1, Use Rope+3) - Elias(Climb+1, Use Rope+2) - Roostin(Climb+0, Use Rope+5)

Standard practice is for our ascent:
-Epswitch decides how to best get up
-Epswitch climbs, with rope tied to him and rest of group
-Epswitch checks out area, relays information, looks for place to tie rope
-If he can tie rope, he does so, Gil climbs - reties, Roostin secures rope for future climbers rest of group climbs up, repeat.
-If no place to tie rope, Roostin climbs next, then those two pull up Maria, Gil, and lastly Elias

Whenever we get to a stopping point, Roostin will Spot+4, and Elias will Search+4, Maria will Survival+4 for usable plants

Once we see some sign of a trail or outside civilization, we will change plans/marching order/etc.

[jagadaishio]

Maria will also make a point of noting any caves which would be viable for even a small group to live in.

[Fisher]

Elias
Jogging slowly towards the departing group, Elias barely catches the four before they leave.

"Hey guys, I heard your going up towards the cliffs to search. Mind if I tag along?"

Slung over one shoulder is his backpack, a constant companion over the past few weeks. In one hand he holds a lantern while the other carries a simple walking stick fashioned from a fallen branch. He had hastily gathered several supplies to assist the search amongst the islands northern cliffs.

Spoiler

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Supplies on person for the trip:
-Backpack
-Rope, 50ft
-Lamp, Common
-Oil, 1 Pint
-Flint and Steel
-Empty Flask x2
-Shortspear

[lawful_evil]

Epswitch

{{ Oh, sure, put the little one in front. I hope y'all like walking slow. }}

Epswitch, having not particular object to Elias, says, "Of course not. There is safety in numbers."

As the team prepares to move out, Epswitch says, "I do have these 4 ten foot long ladders. I'm not sure if they'll be useful, but maybe we should bring one or two. They are really awkward to carry... but really useful for getting at chicken nests. They might help us with the cliffs."

As the team begins the long march to the cliff, Epswitch's thoughts dwell on his chickens.... I hope Larry is taking good care of them

Gear :

Spoiler

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Padded Armor
Sling+bullets
Backpack
Hammer
Knife
Rope
Ladders?

[TwoCents]

Roostin

Burdened with all the ropes he could collect from Imbrallius for this task, Roostin picked up his makeshift pack and took his place at the rear of the line. "Y'all don't rush now, cause all this dang stuff Ah'm carrying is slowing me down."

Climb +0, Use Rope +5, Spot +4, Listen +4

Gear:

Spoiler

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block & tackle
grapple hook
all the rope he could cadge from the group stores
enough spare canvas to rig a bosun's chair
flint & steel
2 candles
knife
spear
bosun's whistle

[storyteller]

Epswitch takes point and you begin your march to the cliff. After a long walk through the forest, you notice that the trees become sparser and the terrain gets rocky and uneven - you're close to your destination.

You reach the tree line, and you can see the cliff looming ahead, rising 100 feet above sea level. The cliff face continues to the northwest.

OOC:

If you want to try climbing here, Epswitch must make three DC 15 Climb checks to reach the top of the cliff (at 20', 50', and 70'). Failing by 5 or more means that you fall and take falling damage (2d6, 5d6 or 7d6).

Of course, you can follow the cliff face to the northwest and try to find an easier place to make the climb, or improvise somehow to lower the DC.

[lawful_evil]

Epswitch

{{ No problem walking slow. I can only do 20 and I might also be encumbered, so maybe only 15 }}

Finally having arrived at the cliffs of insanity, Epswitch looks up the massive cliff face that is more than 25 times his height. Epswitch lets out a whistle and says, "That is one big cliff. So.. what do think? Should we walk around to the left or to the right?"

[storyteller]

OOC: To give you an idea of what the cliff might look like from the perspective of a dragon hovering 120 feet above the sea: link

Ignore the vehicle.

[smartaleq]

Communicating in the traditional manner: "Perhaps we need not be discouraged, Maria should have pitons in her pack, and the four of us could stand below Epswitch with a cargo net taut to catch him if he falls. But it does not hurt to look for a better place to ascend."

[jagadaishio]

"I would rather not risk any of our lives until we must," says Maria. "Let's look around first."

[lawful_evil]

Epswitch

Epswitch nods at the woman and looks up at the others, with what would be a big puppy dog expression, if he weren't so bad at it and so darn ugly. Finally he says, "I agree, we can always come back to these cliffs if we don't find anything better. Its not like they are going anywhere."

[smartaleq]

Gil will defer to Maria's judgment and will follow as the group heads northwest along the cliff.

[storyteller]

A few hundred feet to the northwest, you find another place suitable for climbing. Here it takes two DC 15 Climb checks to make it to the top: one at 30' and another at 60'. Better yet, halfway up the cliff face there's a ledge wide enough to rest on between the climb attempts. You also notice small openings in the wall just above the ledge. Maybe natural caves?

[smartaleq]

Gil shrugs and points to the ledge, "Ep?"

If we decide to go here, I will again get out my cargo net to hold as a cradle beneath the climber.

[lawful_evil]

Epswitch

The little man looks up at the massive cliff, still more than 20 times his height. "I think that is a cave. Maybe we'll be able to throw up a lasso and get it to snag on a ledge or a rock. I don't weigh much, so it wouldn't need to be a very big rock. I could probably get up there, but it'd be better if I could make use of the rope while climbing." Epswitch takes a couple minutes to scan the area looking for a rock, ledge, or jut that we might be able to get the rope attached to or looped over from the ground.

(( Take 20 on spot ))

[Fisher]

Elias
Looking upwards toward the cliff ledge, Elias wondered if those were really caves. From here it could be a trick of the light. Shrugging nonchalantly, he begins to unpack his supplies.

Strange, these cliffs remind me of a story I heard somewhere. I wonder...

Spoiler

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Spot Check (+2): (1d20+2)[9]
Search Check (+4): Take 20 while Epswitch climbs.
Looking for signs of impact from above or that something heavy was dragged away.

[jagadaishio]

Maria gives Epswitch her pitons so that he can fasten more permanent rope once her gets to the top or use them to aid his climbing. "Be careful when you climb."

[storyteller]

Ep spots a number of places to throw a lasso to get the rope attached.

OOC: We'll use the same rules as for securing a grappling hook. There are many rocks, juts, etc, so just tell me how high up the wall you try to throw the lasso; this determines the DC. Max. height is 50' as per the Use Rope skill. You cannot take 10 or 20.

Elias finds no tracks of the sort Fisher described.

Epswitch

The little man looks up at the massive cliff, still more than 20 times his height. "I think that is a cave. Maybe we'll be able to throw up a lasso and get it to snag on a ledge or a rock. I don't weigh much, so it wouldn't need to be a very big rock. I could probably get up there, but it'd be better if I could make use of the rope while climbing." Epswitch takes a couple minutes to scan the area looking for a rock, ledge, or jut that we might be able to get the rope attached to or looped over from the ground.

(( Take 20 on spot ))

[lawful_evil]

{{ OOC: Actually, I was talking about throwing the rope up and over something, not really trying to attach it with a lasso type action(although I used that word). I was thinking more like tying a the rope to a small rock and then throwing the rock up and over a fairly low ledge/outcrop/etc. We'd then have both ends of the rope with it draped over the part on the cliff. It couldn't come loose and we could easily pull it down if needed(by releasing one end.) }}

[smartaleq]

Looking carefully up the cliff face, Gil decides that throwing the rope high enough to make a significant difference is unlikely. Even so, He'll make an attempt at grabbing on to something halfway to the ledge, at about 30'.

use rope - (d20)[10] +6 use rope, +1 dex, -1str (if it plays a part)

[storyteller]

Gil successfully throws a lasso around a protruding piece of rock at 30' on the cliff face. (Use Rope is Dex-based, so I guess your result was 17?)

You'll still have to make a DC 15 climb check at 30', but at least you can use pitons to better secure the rope and maybe some special knots so that Ep won't fall all the way down and take 3d6 damage if he fails. Once you've made the check, you can tie the rope around something on the ledge so that the rest of your group can climb up easily.

[jagadaishio]

Gil successfully throws a lasso around a protruding piece of rock at 30' on the cliff face. (Use Rope is Dex-based, so I guess your result was 17?)

You'll still have to make a DC 15 climb check at 30', but at least you can use pitons to better secure the rope and maybe some special knots so that Ep won't fall all the way down and take 3d6 damage if he fails. Once you've made the check, you can tie the rope around something on the ledge so that the rest of your group can climb up easily.

According to the SRD, "A rope with a wall to brace against, or a knotted rope, or a rope affected by the rope trick spell" is a DC 5 check, and I'm not sure what this is if not a rope with a wall to brace yourself against.

[lawful_evil]

Epswitch

Epswitch says, "Good throw." Epswitch secures his hammer and a couple pitons and walks up to the face of the cliff and grasps the rope. He then says, "So.. how do these pitons keep me from falling? Am I just supposed to climb up to the ledge, attach a piton and then transfer the rope to the piton?"

Epswitch pauses and looks at the various pitons and rope trying to puzzle out how to use the pitons and rope to keep himself from falling(much). After a while he says, "Uh... I've never really used this stuff before. What exactly do I do?"

{{ A rope with a wall to brace against.. DC 5. Can I just take a 10? }}

[TwoCents]

Roostin

RL: Sorry I didn't get back sooner, but between computer troubles, AOL trouble, and the site issues, it's been an interesting few days.

OOC: We have a grappling hook...and a block & tackle.

Roostin waited at the foot of the cliff, keeping Epswitch's line cleared and prepared to belay as needed. He stood ready to grab his assigned end of the safety net in case of any sudden emergencies.

[storyteller]

OOC: I required you to make a DC 15 check at 30' so that you can advance up from that height, because the Climb DC of the wall is 15 above 30'. Now the rope is looped around a piece of rock at 30', i.e. the DC is now 5 (instead of 10) below 30'. This is what I meant, see the difference?

(According to the SRD, "With a successful Climb check, you can advance up, down, or across a slope, a wall, or some other steep incline (or even a ceiling with handholds) at one-quarter your normal speed." In other words, you make the check against the DC of the wall "square" you're about to enter, not the one you're leaving. I know, nitpicking.)

Anyway, if Gil ties a few knots that prevent Ep from falling too fast and someone tells him how to use pitons, I won't require you to make the Climb check. Just RP it.

[lawful_evil]

Epswitch

After a moment Epswitch says, "Well we have more rope, right? I'll climb up till I have a place to stand on the ledge and then lasso something up even higher, just like Gil did here."

Epswitch takes the rope and puts a few knots in it, then makes the lasso so he has it handy one he gets to the ledge.

(1d20+2)[22] Climb to the ledge at the top of the rope. (not sure if I need the roll, but it doesn't hurt)

Attach a piton to the stone. Transfer the lasso from the stone to the piton.

(1d20+1)[19]Lasso the top(another 30 feet).
(1d20+1)[2]If the lasso falls(miss by 1-4), try again

Don't climb yet, but tie the bottom of the new rope to the piton as well(that way if the top lets loose, at least the bottom is attached and I don't fall really really far)

(1d20+2)[3]Climb up to the top (again, not sure if I need it given the wall and knotted rope).

[lawful_evil]

Gosh, I really hope Epswitch didn't need that last climb roll...

At least I managed to lasso the top!

[storyteller]

Epswitch makes it to the top! From the top, the cliff looks like a long, rocky ridge. The cliff top is fairly level. The highest point is 100 feet above sea level, and looks much like the cliff in the photo I posted earlier.

The view is magnificent - blue sea, green hills, dark green forest and white sand.

Ep looks around, trying to detect any signs of civilization on the cliff top or the surrounding area, but no, no buildings, ships or anything.

Map updated:

??????????????
????????????*-
???????????**-
???????^??*tt-
??????^^^ttt.-
???????^ttt.--
??????ttttt.--
??????tttt^---
?????ttttt^---
????ttttttt^--
---.tttttt.---
----.tttt.----
-----..tt.----
-------..-----
--------------

^ cliffs or hills
* marsh
? unknown; "fog of war"

[lawful_evil]

Epswitch

Epswitch looks around and around and around. He then calls down, "I don't really see much. Anyone have anything to make a map on? Bark and sharp stone maybe?"

Epswitch steps away from the edge to make sure he isn't accidentally pushed off a sudden wind.

[smartaleq]

OOC: can we all climb up those ropes? DC? what would we need to do to secure these ropes so others can follow?