[D&D] The Lost Mines of Phandelver

[Don't panic]

> How do you know!? I just worded it like that so you uneducated fools know what I'm talking about!

*gives bart the rope*

> you really forgot to bring some rope along?! Tz.

> thank you, Veit Frostbeard. i have no idea what happened to the rope i had packed​

* ties the goblin up, then takes the waterskin and pours some cold water on his head to revive him

> hopefully this does not kill him, from the smell of him it is not a substance he is very familiar with...​

 

[ravenvii]

>Mid-day, huh? I guess we should try not to sleep in this scary forest. There might be little snakes and spiders!!

Three things we should handle before leaving the scene though imo: bury the poor sap! There should be some shovels in our lugage. Interrogate the little bugger, Portia that's probably your job. I could use that Thauntology cantrip in case we need to frighten him a bit. Too bad we can't play the good ol' good-dwarf bad-dwarf! That always worked wonders!

And last not least I'm approaching carefully the dead horses ahead on the street and inspect the scene. Double-check on that if need be. I need to know what happened to my little cousin!

You approach the dead horses, scanning the scene. You noted that this area has been used many times before by goblins to ambush and loot anyone who travels along the trail.

> How do you know!? I just worded it like that so you uneducated fools know what I'm talking about!

*gives bart the rope*

> you really forgot to bring some rope along?! Tz.

You hand your rope to Bartolomeo.

> thank you, Veit Frostbeard. i have no idea what happened to the rope i had packed​

* ties the goblin up, then takes the waterskin and pours some cold water on his head to revive him

> hopefully this does not kill him, from the smell of him it is not a substance he is very familiar with...​

You tie up the goblin and inspect his body. You find a torn tunic, an arrow still sticking out of its back, a longbow on the ground a foot away, a scimitar on its side and a shield tied to its back. It has nothing else. You inspect the weapons -- they are in surprisingly good condition. You have already seen what they can do during the battle, so you know that the longbow is a decent long-range weapon, while the scimitar is a weaker, but light, weapon. You also know that the shield offers some protection if you are carrying a single-handed weapon (such as the said scimitar). Being in such good condition, they are also, of course, worth some money, though you could not tell exactly how much.

Veit watches as you pour the remainder of the water in your waterskin onto the goblin's head. The goblin wakes with a groan. It suddenly let out a string of obscenities as it struggled against the ropes. Giving up, it glares up at you and Veit.

@Don't panic, @twietee what do you do?

 

[Plutonius]

I ask Portia (@Moyank24) if she will join me in searching nearby for the Goblin's camp.

I ask Bart, Veit, and Syllin (@Don't panic, @twietee, @Scepticalscribe) to get the wagon and dead horses / goblins off the trail while Portia and I scout nearby for the goblin camp. Two of the dwarves are missing and we might find them as well as others tied up nearby. Syllin can question the goblin.

@ravenvii, Use my survival skill to track where the goblins came from.

 

[twietee]

You go searching for my cousin without even asking me?

 

[Don't panic]

I ask Portia (@Moyank24) if she will join me in searching nearby for the Goblin's camp.

I ask Bart, Veit, and Syllin (@Don't panic, @twietee, @Scepticalscribe) to get the wagon and dead horses / goblins off the trail while Portia and I scout nearby for the goblin camp. Two of the dwarves are missing and we might find them as well as others tied up nearby. Syllin can question the goblin.

Use my survival skill to track where the goblins came from.

syllin has the lowest charisma and intimidation factor. she is unlikely to extract any info. she might help with translating if the goblin does not speak common, but the questioning should be carried by Portia who has high charisma (16) and intimidation modifier (+3), given her background. Veit -as ex-military- also have good interrogation/intimidation skills. I can be very persuasive (+4) but not sure if it is very useful with a goblin. i can give it a shot.
and before moving the dead horses, we should try to investigate them

*the Count picks up the long bow, the better looking shield and scimitar. casually moving the scimitar around, as to evaluate its balance and feeling, he uses its sharp tip to raise the chin of the goblin.

speaking in common:

> well, well, well. How nice of you to decide to share our company after all. for a second i thought you were in a hurry to leave us.
I am Count Bartholomeus Lochaber, and I am not very happy with you right now.
you see, just killed our driver, Belaver, a commoner but a very good and reasonable man, and one of our horses.
plus your now defunct friends hurt -very badly- some of MY companions. And ladies to boost. tsk.tsk. that is not good. not good at all.
but however unhappy I am with you right now, you better believe I am your best friend here, because if you don't start talking right now, i shall have no choices but to leave you to my other friends here.
the dwarf is a holy man, but right now is extremely ill-disposed towards you and your entire race in general. and he knows tricks. magic tricks. you would not enjoy them.
The little lady was almost killed by your comrades. i don't know her well, but i can tell you this much: you do not want to cross her.
and the elf. you know their kind are not too fond of goblins either. oh, and did i mention she is a powerful wizard and it was her prized horse that you just killed?

so, what shall it be?
talk to me, or deal with them?

​

everyone please participate to the questioning if he does start talking

 

[Plutonius]

syllin has the lowest charisma and intimidation factor. she is unlikely to extract any info. she might help with translating if the goblin does not speak common, but the questioning should be carried by Portia who has high charisma (16) and intimidation modifier (+3), given her background. Veit -as ex-military- also have good interrogation/intimidation skills. I can be very persuasive (+4) but not sure if it is very useful with a goblin. i can give it a shot.
and before moving the dead horses, we should try to investigate them

*the Count picks up the long bow, the better looking shield and scimitar. casually moving the scimitar around, as to evaluate its balance and feeling, he uses its sharp tip to raise the chin of the goblin.

speaking in common:

> well, well, well. How nice of you to decide to share our company after all. for a second i thought you were in a hurry to leave us.
I am Count Bartholomeus Lochaber, and I am not very happy with you right now.
you see, just killed our driver, Belaver, a commoner but a very good and reasonable man, and one of our horses.
plus your now defunct friends hurt -very badly- some of MY companions. And ladies to boost. tsk.tsk. that is not good. not good at all.
but however unhappy I am with you right now, you better believe I am your best friend here, because if you don't start talking right now, i shall have no choices but to leave you to my other friends here.
the dwarf is a holy man, but right now is extremely ill-disposed towards you and your entire race in general. and he knows tricks. magic tricks. you would not enjoy them.
The little lady was almost killed by your comrades. i don't know her well, but i can tell you this much: you do not want to cross her.
and the elf. you know their kind are not too fond of goblins either. oh, and did i mention she is a powerful wizard and it was her prized horse that you just killed?

so, what shall it be?
talk to me, or deal with them?

​

everyone please participate to the questioning if he does start talking

True but if you want intimidation, go with Veit.

Speaking to Bart: "Veit is a more intimidating figure and intimidation is what is needed. Persuasion will not be effective on an enemy such as this goblin. In any case, I don't agree with what you are doing so I'll look for the enemies camp instead. Portia (@Moyank24), with her stealth, perception, and lock picking skills will be of much more value with me."
[doublepost=1456444007][/doublepost]

You go searching for my cousin without even asking me?

Speaking to Veit: Apologies but your cousin is probably dead and I thought I would spare you the agony of finding him. You are also very noisy in the woods with your heavy armor.

 

[Don't panic]

Speaking to Bart: "Veit is a more intimidating figure and intimidation is what is needed. Persuasion will not be effective on an enemy such as this goblin. In any case, I don't agree with what you are doing so I'll look for the enemies camp instead. Portia (@Moyank24), with her stealth, perception, and lock picking skills will be of much more value with me."

> maybe you should let Portia decide what she wants to do, Master Fletcher.
and why on Faërun would you disagree with interrogating a prisoner?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Loot Syllin's still warm corpse ?

Even in my comatose state, my elven ears twitched a little upon hearing this…..

And I thank my comrades for restoring me to full health.

In any case, bereft of a rather fine palfrey, but clutching my saddlebags which contain some rather rare tomes, I await further developments, while keeping a close ear on the exchange with the foul-mouthed goblin.

(This is a language with a great abundance of swear words, and a rich and varied vocabulary of brutish assault and offensive insult, but one which is sadly lacking in romantic endearments, not to mention verbs which describe strictly rational actions.)

 

[Plutonius]

> maybe you should let Portia decide what she wants to do, Master Fletcher.
and why on Faërun would you disagree with interrogating a prisoner?

say to Bart: "Of course Portia (@Moyank24) can decide what she wants to do. It doesn't change the fact that she would be more valuable finding the goblin's camp rather than sitting here poking the goblin with a stick. As far as the goblin, it is an evil monster that should have been killed in the battle. Torture is also evil even if it is a goblin."

 

[ravenvii]

syllin has the lowest charisma and intimidation factor. she is unlikely to extract any info. she might help with translating if the goblin does not speak common, but the questioning should be carried by Portia who has high charisma (16) and intimidation modifier (+3), given her background. Veit -as ex-military- also have good interrogation/intimidation skills. I can be very persuasive (+4) but not sure if it is very useful with a goblin. i can give it a shot.
and before moving the dead horses, we should try to investigate them

*the Count picks up the long bow, the better looking shield and scimitar. casually moving the scimitar around, as to evaluate its balance and feeling, he uses its sharp tip to raise the chin of the goblin.

speaking in common:

> well, well, well. How nice of you to decide to share our company after all. for a second i thought you were in a hurry to leave us.
I am Count Bartholomeus Lochaber, and I am not very happy with you right now.
you see, just killed our driver, Belaver, a commoner but a very good and reasonable man, and one of our horses.
plus your now defunct friends hurt -very badly- some of MY companions. And ladies to boost. tsk.tsk. that is not good. not good at all.
but however unhappy I am with you right now, you better believe I am your best friend here, because if you don't start talking right now, i shall have no choices but to leave you to my other friends here.
the dwarf is a holy man, but right now is extremely ill-disposed towards you and your entire race in general. and he knows tricks. magic tricks. you would not enjoy them.
The little lady was almost killed by your comrades. i don't know her well, but i can tell you this much: you do not want to cross her.
and the elf. you know their kind are not too fond of goblins either. oh, and did i mention she is a powerful wizard and it was her prized horse that you just killed?

so, what shall it be?
talk to me, or deal with them?

​

everyone please participate to the questioning if he does start talking

You now have added a shield, a scimitar and a longbow to your inventory.

*** CHECK ***
Nicely persuading a goblin to spill its guts, especially after it saw three of its comrades brutally killed. It's going to be a 20 DC challenge:

Bartolomeo: 16 + 4 = 20 - success

Amazingly, you succeed...
*** CHECK ***

As an image of the brain matter seeping out of its comrade's head flashed across his eyes, the goblin stuttered something Bartolomeo couldn't understand. You could not tell whether he is saying a string of obscenities, or spilling the beans on everything. Damn it, he does not speak common, though you think he does understand common.

 

[Plutonius]

@ravenvii, Scout the woods near the road and find the trail the goblins were using.

 

[Huntn]

You now have added a shield, a scimitar and a longbow to your inventory.

*** CHECK ***
Nicely persuading a goblin to spill its guts, especially after it saw three of its comrades brutally killed. It's going to be a 20 DC challenge:

Bartolomeo: 16 + 4 = 20 - success

Amazingly, you succeed...
*** CHECK ***

As an image of the brain matter seeping out of its comrade's head flashed across his eyes, the goblin stuttered something Bartolomeo couldn't understand. You could not tell whether he is saying a string of obscenities, or spilling the beans on everything. Damn it, he does not speak common, though you think he does understand common.

FMI, how did you calculate the 20 target number?

 

[ravenvii]

FMI, how did you calculate the 20 target number?

DM prerogative. Basically, unless it's given, I determine the difficulty class (DC) of a task. Generally it ranges from 1 to 20 in difficulty, 1 being the easiest and 20 being the hardest.
[doublepost=1456469179][/doublepost]

@ravenvii, Scout the woods near the road and find the trail the goblins were using.

You scout the woods to find out where the goblins came from --

*** CHECK ***
The DC for this is 10, and you use your Wisdom (Survival) modifier, so:

Plutonius: 3 + 1 = 4 - fail
*** CHECK ***

-- but you couldn't find anything.

 

[twietee]

Wait, Syllin paid close attentio to what the goblin was saying. Could she make out some useful information? I recall the Count asking specifically and very convincing about the goblin hideout his gang uses to retreat.

He also asked about my cousin Gundren, the dwarf. What did the goblin answer to that question? Could Syllin understand it?

If that didn't help I will ask Syllin what goblin speak is for those two specific questions (Goblin can't be too complicated), will take my great warhammer "Belaver's Wrath" go up on the goblin and use my cantrip Thaumatulogy (sp?) toask these things in a Christian Bale Batman voice - but in an actually intimidating tone.

I will also make it very clear - by gestures - that this is my very piece of rope and that i will neither leave it behind nor would i let him free after he killed my lil' cousin if he doesn't answer..


I'll also ask syllin beforehand and where the goblin couldn't see nor hear us, to stand behind this creature while i question him so that she understands his answers. I din't know about her cantrips but we both would use thise spells to further intimidate the little critter. So while i actually walk up on him i'll use my flaming fire cantrip (sp?) to shoot some fire outta my hands in his direction (missing on purpose) to gain his attention - then will i do the above interrogation.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

To @ravenvii: Does the DM script the goblin's speech? In other words, is what the goblin has to say germane to what we are trying to do?

 

[ravenvii]

To @ravenvii: Does the DM script the goblin's speech? In other words, is what the goblin has to say germane to what we are trying to do?

>>> yes I 'play' the goblin. As to whether he has anything useful to say, let's find out, shall we? You know the goblin language according to your character sheet, so it would be trivial for you to go up and translate. That is, if you choose to -- you have no obligations except to how you want to play your character.

Basically, if you do want to translate, you can just say "I will go to Bartolomeo and start to translate" and I'll take over from there.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Fair enough.

If the company are agreeable to this course of action, I will place myself at Bartolomeo's side, or behind the goblin, as he wishes, and translate what this creature has to say for the group.

 

[twietee]

> Yes, we would like to know, Syllin!

(I think you already heard what was said by the goblin, you just have to "tell" us now - via giving ravenvii the order)

 

[ravenvii]

Fair enough.

If the company are agreeable to this course of action, I will place myself at Bartolomeo's side, or behind the goblin, as he wishes, and translate what this creature has to say for the group.

You go up to Veit and Bartolomeo facing the goblin. "He said that he choses to speak to you. I shall translate," you say as you step behind the goblin -- you were listening closely since the interrogation began. The goblin struggles to look behind him, but fails, and hence could not see you.

"We raid from the hideout up north from here. The dwarf and the man that once sat on the horses --" the goblin jerked his head towards the dead horses "-- were taken hostage to the hideout. The dwarf and his map will be brought to our king."

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Hm. Interesting. Perhaps a few further questions are in order?

 

[Plutonius]

DM prerogative. Basically, unless it's given, I determine the difficulty class (DC) of a task. Generally it ranges from 1 to 20 in difficulty, 1 being the easiest and 20 being the hardest.
[doublepost=1456469179][/doublepost]

You scout the woods to find out where the goblins came from --

*** CHECK ***
The DC for this is 10, and you use your Wisdom (Survival) modifier, so:

Plutonius: 3 + 1 = 4 - fail
*** CHECK ***

-- but you couldn't find anything.

Burn those dice .

I'm not sure if I can attempt a failed skill roll again but continue to examine the woods near the road to find the main goblin trail.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Burn those dice .

I'm not sure if I can attempt a failed skill roll again but continue to examine the woods near the road to find the main goblin trail.

Will readily concede that similar thoughts have crossed my somewhat scrambled mind, too.

 

[twietee]

You should probably search up north from here specifically.

> Not sure what to do with our prisoner. Some more questioning? I have a bad feeling using him as our tour guide to the hideout, but maybe someone else has more experience with that. We should make sure that he can't squeek for help though. And I don't think we should separate our party that easy again for now. It's mid day, so taking a rest to regain some healing power would mean we try searching the goblin-king at nightfall - not the best idea.

In case nobody has a better idea I suggest we go to the spot frequently used to ambush travellers and go further north from there. But carefully and not searching for mushrooms! As tempting as it may be.

 

[Don't panic]

> I am glad our friend here has decided to collaborate. indeed, a most healthy decision.
Syllin, why don't you enquire with him in his cursed tongue to learn a bit more specific infos about this hideout of his? and about the conditions and current whereabouts of our friends


to Veit Frostbeard, in dwarvish:
> Master Frostbeard, it seems we have chanced upon a full nest of these wretched creatures, and that your cousin might still be with them, hopefully alive. Although i do not advocate unnecessary violence to be exacted on this now harmless prisoner -rather we should consign him to the authorities in Phandalin as he is a brigand and a murderer-, HE doesn't have to know this, and thus you should keep producing your best impression of the 'worst-dwarf' variety

back to common:
> Master Fletcher! do you not have any curiosity about what this sap might know? he appears to be in a loquacious disposition. Anything interesting to be learned from Gundren's horses?

 

[twietee]

> Huh? I was playing the bad dwarf?! But fair enough. I am torn between my blood driving me to free my kin as soon as possible and the insight that our party eventually wasn't fully prepared for this adventure hence possibly continuing our voyage to Phandalin (as fast as possible) first, maybe look out for another helping hand - I could invest the coin I found looting Belaver as a necessary payment...and also do as you said re- authorities. I want my rope back after all!