I ran a session based on +Michael Prescott’s Tannòch Rest-of-Kings this morning (Aus time). +Dasra Kitava played Seldarin, a selfish elf ranger, and +Gabriel Aliaga played Garcia, a dwarf geologist/cleric/scholar.
Turn 1: The duo began as their boat broke through the fog into a clearing, with the island in view. They argued briefly about who was rowing, but decided Garcia’s geological knowledge might be better suited to studying the cliffs, so Seldarin took the oars. They saw a crumbled staircase to the west, and headed towards it while looking for a safe way to approach and land on the island. [i](Pathfinder Ob2, 2 successes)
Turn 2: At the foot of the stairs, they decided to try to secure the boat so they would have a way off the island. Garcia had a grappling hook, which he threw a short way up the cliff and made sure it was firmly caught. This allowed them to make sure the boat was secure and stable, and to climb one another onto the lower stairs. (Sailor Ob 1, Beginner’s Luck, 1 success)
Turn 3: The pair moved up the stairs. Driven by his selfishness, Seldarin made sure Garcia was at the front of the marching order, and as he emerged from the top of the stairs into an open area, a large stone whistled past his head. It had come from the direction of the tower, and as they turned to look up, another stone was heading Garcia’s way. Seldarin called out a warning to duck, but the stubborn dwarf (using his Born of Earth & Stone trait against himself) instead braced himself and defiantly allowed the stone to glance off his helmet. (Health Ob 4, 5 successes)
Turn 4: Tracing the trajectory of the stone back to the tower, Garcia saw something duck behind the crumbling stone of the parapet. Expecting further stones, the two decided to make a break for the stairs. Seldarin notched an arrow to provide cover while Garcia began to run. A third stone missed its mark. Seldarin fired an arrow, and would have hit the creature if it hadn’t dropped over the edge and started crawling head first down the outside of the tower. It dropped the last few yards, and Garcia lost his footing and found himself hanging off the edge of the stairwell, with the cliff below. The creature, which seemed to be a woman (though no longer clearly human) with long, sharp finger- and toenails, began to advance on Seldarin, who swung his bow to keep her at a distance. Eventually she managed to throw him backwards off the cliff. He landed in the deep water of the lake below. Garcia heard the creature hissing “get down, get down, get down” as it threw him into the water too. (Flee conflict, GM success with minor compromise)
Turn 5: Finding each other in the water, the duo managed to stabilise themselves and secure their belongings while treading water. (Survivalist Ob 3, 3 successes)
Turn 6: The pair swam together back towards their boat. About half way there, they noticed a cave entrance in the base of the cliff, though it was shrouded in total darkness. Nevertheless, they felt their way in for a few feet, but couldn’t see anything and couldn’t feel the bottom or any handholds. They decided to come back with a light source, and swam back to the boat. It was securely fastened where they left it. They ate some rations (arguing about dwarven vs elvish cuisine) and lit a torch before continuing. [i] Garcia yanked the rope and pulled the grappling hook out of the cliff, laughing as some chips of stone bounced off the elf’s head (harmlessly) as it came loose. (Laborer Ob 2, 2 successes)
Turn 7: They allowed the boat to drift back towards the cave, and Seldarin maneouvred it into the entrance - a tight fit, but not too difficult in calm weather. Inside, they found themselves in a spacious cavern, about 20 feet wide and just as tall. The stone was eroded smooth, and in the north-east corner was a tunnel a few feet wide. It looked like the cavern might have been eroded partly by water coming down through that tunnel, and Seldarin speculated it was some kind of drainage system. They decided to try to climb it. Seldarin took the torch as well as the oars, which made it hard for him to do anything else to help, and Garcia wound up to throw the grappling hook up into the darkness… (Dungeoneer Ob 4, 3 successes)
Turn 8: …but just as he released the rope, the boat was bumped from beneath. The grappling hook clattered into the boat, and the wake from the boat sloshed around the cave. The torchlight threw dancing reflections on the stone walls. Garcia and Sildarin were silent as they attempted to hear anything, and as they began to talk about what they should do, Sildarin felt something tug hard at the oar. He pulled it back onto the boat, but there were no bite-marks or other signs of recent damage. After a brief discussion about whether to start firing crossbow bolts into the water, they decided to try to identify the creature first. Holding the torch out over the water, they peered over the edge of the boat… (Scout vs [mystery creature], 1 vs 3 successes)
To be continued… As they looked out into the water, the boat again lurched, this time clearly bumped from the other side. The duo began to discuss a plan to try to use rations to lure the creature out of hiding, either to kill or catch it.
And we decided to leave that Capture or Kill conflict for the next session…