Monday, September 17, 2018

Scenario 6 scene 2 and 3. Tracking expedition


Scene 2

Can they track the missing skyship?

Since Dart is along for the ride, lets make actually tracking down the missing ship a challenge.

Lore, to decipher the navigation charts showing the ships intended journey.
Nature to look for signs of the ships passage, and to keep the expedition well provisioned during the search
Notice to actually spot the downed craft.

Kayla will start by looking over the charts and figuring out a likely flight path for the skyship (rolling lore for 0+2=2, success at a minor cost). She tracks the likely flight path, but cross checking that with storms that have been brewing further south in Breland show that the ship probably took a diversion over the mournland!!! That explains why something has one wrong. She tracks the most likely diversion route, requisitions the airskiff she has been allowed for the journey, hires a tracker, and they set out.

Dart takes charge of navigation, using his knowledge of the storms as well as the land the airship will have been flying over to avoid running into trouble of their own while tracking over the likely flight path of the skyship as closely as possible (rolling nature for 1+1=2, success at a minor cost). They skirt the border of the Mournland, following the fringes of the storm. They are fine for now, but Dart warns that time is limited as the storm seems to be heading their way. They have perhaps a few days at most before it hits them and they are forced to wait it out before flying the skiff again.

Spotting the downed airship is again Dart’s area of expertise (rolling notice for 0+3=3, success). He scans the surrounding land as they travel while Kayla steers the skiff, eventually pointing off to starboard and calling that he has seen something.

So what kind of shape is the airship in?

Does it look badly damaged? No. As far as they can see from the air it is still in one piece, complete with still bound elemental.
Is it deserted? Yes. Nobody is in sight.

So the Skyship looks like it has simply been grounded and left. Curious.
Lets figure the terrain we are in;

1 Forrest
2 Desert
3 Crags/Hills

1 – it has been brought down amongst the trees in a forest. Is it in a clearing? No, it has been brought down straight into the trees. So it looks like it was either forced to land or landed in a hurry for some reason without looking for a suitable place to do so.

Scene 3

Can they discover what has happened to the crew?

They put down near the abandoned skyship, and cautiously approach looking for signs of trouble. (Dart rolls notice for
-1+3=2, success with a minor cost). There is no sign of movement near the downed ship and everything is quiet as they approach. Too quiet. Where is the birdsong? The rustle of small animals in the undergrowth? Dart motions Kayla to be cautious and readies his bow, scanning the treeline for signs of trouble.

NOTE: This game has been on hiatus for a while, and on return I think I am going to try the excellent sorcery rules from the allies, gear, and sorcery expansion. This doesn’t affect much (if anything) that has happened so far, but has necessitated a slight rewrite of Kayla’s stunts. This change probably represents an overall reduction in Kayla’s power, but an increase in her flexibility and I think it models D and D wizardry quite well.

What is lurking in the underbush?
1)      Warforged scouts
2)      A wild Predator
3)      A third party
2!! There is a predator of some sort stalking the undergrowth…
A scan of the bestiary gives us
1)      Giant Ants
2)      A Carniverous Ape
3)      A Bear
4)      Bees
5)      A Blackwood
6)      A Lion

3, a bear is watching the downed craft.

Suddenly Dart tenses, and motions to Kayla “Move slowly, no sudden movements. We are being watched.” He gestures towards a large bear that is watching them from the treeline. “As long as we don’t spook him we should be ok. Just hope he isn’t hungry.”
(Dart rolls nature for 1+1=2, to overcome a difficulty of 2, succeeding at a minor cost)
They slowly back towards the crashed ship, never taking their eyes from the bear which growls softly as it watches them. Then they climb the boarding ladder and emerge onto the slightly skewed ships deck.

Are there any signs of a fight? No, nothing seems out of the ordinary at first glance.
Is anyone still hiding onboard? Yes
1)      Prisoners
2)      Ambush
Prisoners. There was a mutiny!!

The crew have been locked in the hold, and it is not long before Kaya and Dart have broken them free. They tell a grim story of mutiny by the Warforged members of the crew, and several sailors mutter darkly about Dart, throwing him distrustful looks that border on outright hostility. He barely seems to notice, and it doesn’t help that he is dismissive of the ordeal they have just been through (a compel on forged in the fires of war, gaining him a fate point). It quickly becomes clear that if he remains on the ship then things are going to come to violence, so Kayla sends him to scout for a trail while she negotiates the next step with the captain.
The captain is eager to get back in the air and complete his journey, however Kayla is not entirely willing to trust him. She insists on interrogating him using magic (compelling dealing with fools is a waste of time, for a fate point) and then casting a truth spell (spending the fate point to use Magic as empathy to determine the truth of his words, getting 0+4=4 for a success).
The captain is being truthful, his crew were captured by a warforged mutiny and forced to land, and he wants nothing more than to complete his mission and get paid. Unfortunately he is incensed by her use of magic to interrogate him and refuses to have anything more to do with her or her warforged companion, ordering her off his ship immediately.

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