Session 2: The Belly of the Beast

[C. Steven Ross]

Garen: Did you want to spend that check now to recover from Angry? It is a Will Ob 2 test. Also, please update your sheet to reflect that you got rid of hungry/thirsty and drank your water.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Well you are in a bit of a... depression...

You making up your own conditions now?
I was hoping to shake off afraid before attempting to get out of this pickle so I could throw a die in to help. But if the water is up to my chest before that happens, I will leave it to Enoch to use a check to save me.

Knowing of the pride and stubbornness of dwarves, Rand had kept his idea to himself. But with the sudden shift in the floor Rand's fear heightened and he let go of his caution. "Norgrim and Garen. I have been mulling over an idea - something I recall from The Holy Delver - stating the importance knowing how to manipulate ropes when exploring the depths of the world. You two have spoken of such things. Do ou think it is possible to tie the rope around this rock and use Garen's hook as a pulley to lift it? I don't fancy drowning in the accursed hole."

Enoch's use of the rope made me think there might be a way to redesign the attempt to make sound more like a dungeoneering test. Particularly now that we are dealing with a dungeon hazard. If that were the case, Garen's got that skill and can throw in a die to help. Even with Enoch still exhausted, he will be up +4D for the higher skill level, inability to gain a check, Garen's assist and bright light.

[Marullus]

I plan to lodge a complaint with the Hobgoblins for providing not one of the success conditions that we won in that conflict... we are in an unsafe room, with no information, and no weapons against the Daedra. I got three conditions on the compromise. Winning sucks!

Ulrich is munching on his meager rations he hears Rand's complaint about the water. He goes over to help investigate, but has little to offer in terms of understanding underground features, looking to Norgrim for his advice instead.

[Consuming a ration and removing Hungry/Thirsty before we proceed.]

[C. Steven Ross]

To be fair, you're the ones who made the room less safe.

[Rusty Tincanne]

i seem to remember a certain GM was steering the ship when we were narrated out of the room we were shown to, and later when the floor broke more...

[C. Steven Ross]

Yeah maybe ... But you guys rolled badly! Against utterly ridiculous odds.

That's how Torchbearer works: you fail a roll, very bad things can happen.

[Marullus]

I've no issue with the bad things happening on failure... it is that good things didn't happen when we laid the smack-down and won a conflict. It is my learning experience from BW to Torchbearer... in BW, if the GM allowed something in the stakes, the stakes would make it real. It never occurred to me that we could raise our OB by demanding something, win, and then have the answer "they never had that anyway." Or that a demand for hospitality would allow us in a dark, moldy, cold, partially-collapsing, partially-flooded room with no food or drink. C'est la vie. Now I understand Torchbearer better.

Anyway, back IC. Let's hope Norgrim has some insight here.

[thesniperknight1]

Garen watches the bubbling water coming out of the floor and all his nerves are starting to calm down at the sight of the blue liquid seething into the room, he remembers the good old days when he used to go to the beach with his sister. He looks at the water level raising and simply starts playing with it, forgetting all the anger he once held.

[4d6s4] = 2

[C. Steven Ross]

Congrats Garen! Mark off a spent check, a passed Will test, and relieve Angry.

Who's next to spend a check?

Also waiting on Norgrim to use his Instinct to trap the campsite.

[C. Steven Ross]

Ulrich: True, but the Hobgoblins did tell you who has such information and maybe weaponry, their shaman Drum-Haak, whom Ghaaldar seems to really hate. And they told you where he is: sloshing around in the water-logged section of the dungeon.

[Marullus]

Ahhh. I didn't read it that way. Which section is that, specifically? I assume it was meant to be a clear, helpful answer. Might it also include information to help us with Drum-Haak? Assuming it was not your intent that he would cooperate naturally based on our current win.

[C. Steven Ross]

Check out the first page of the post to get an idea of where Ghaaldar was talking about.

Drum-Haak is an interesting fellow. How he reacts to you and/or your actions is yet to be seen.

[Marullus]

That's the reason for my question. 3 of 5 options are flooded. Did he indicate one?

3). Winding, narrow caves. A cold breeze wafts in from that direction and chilly water trickles across the floor.
4). A flooded passageway with stagnant, fetid water about chest high.
6). A flooded passageway with stagnant, fetid water about waist high.

[C. Steven Ross]

Oh no, path #3 is a little damp but it is certainly not flooded. Drum-Haak is somewhere back behind paths #4 and/or #6.

[Enoch]

Ob2 Dungeoneering:
[1d6] = 4, [1d6] = 5, [1d6] = 6, [1d6] = 2
Woot, the dice like me again! Odds were pretty good on that one anyway.

Norgrim finishes tying off a series of metal trinkets to his rope, ankle-high--it's especially rattley near the now-ruined door--when he hears Rand's cries. He takes a deep, dwarven breath and lets it out in a long-suffering sigh, shaking his head slowly. He seems unaware that his fingers are tangled in his beard and threatening to rip entire strands out by their roots.

Does he have time to try to recover from Exhausted before attempting to get Rand out?

[Rusty Tincanne]

I decided to go ahead and take another check. Enoch still has two checks and I have one - though I cannot hope to recover from my Exhaustion while submerged. So I will pass that check along to someone else. I would suggest Enoch take the next test though, so he is not stuck with two checks at teh end of the camp phase (and then unable to use one).

I would also love to hear what you all think of my "plan" to retry freeing me - to attempt to reword it as a dungeoneering test.

With his feet submerged in the water, Rand's mind focused as it never had before. He realized how useless his fear was - fear of a possibility. What good would that fear do him if he and his companions never reached the Daedra because he was too afraid to be useful.

He resolved to shed this childish emotion and to focus on what truly mattered. The moment. The now. And right now he was wet.

[1d6] = 4[1d6] = 4[1d6] = 6[1d6] = 4[1d6] = 6
Good lord. That is too good to be true. I will remember that when the roller fails me miserably.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Does he have time to try to recover from Exhausted before attempting to get Rand out?

My guess is that I will only slip into the water further (and drown) if someone makes a check or test to do anything other than a condition and fails. The rules state that failing a condition test is a twist of its own, so there shouldn't be any repercussions... Never can tell though, can we?

[Marullus]

If someone donates a check, I will gladly take a nap to get rid of exhausted, preferably borrowing that cloak and egg.

In the meantime, Ulrich is waiting for Norgrim's wisdom, and to provide helpful healer's advice as they try to free the stuck limbs.

[C. Steven Ross]

Correct! Rules as written, I'm not allowed to hit you with anything further when failing a recovery test.

Rand will be only lightly soaking until you fail a test and unleash a more forceful stream of water.

Good job recovering! Spend the check, mark the passed Will test.

Who wants to go next? Where are the checks in the group? Who is using them, who is donating them?

[Rusty Tincanne]

Checks:
Garen - 0
Norgrim - 2
Rand - 1
Ulrich - 0

So if Enoch tests for exhausted, we have 2 checks left - with three of us exhausted.

I have little chance of recovering from exhausted, and frankly, it is just becoming part of my character. I would suggest we use the checks to have Garen and Ulrich recover.

We have 2 cloaks and a hot rock, all giving +1D to that test. Garen has Health 4, Ulrich has Health 3. (

You guys fight it out. It is an Ob3 test.

Steven: Do we know if the water I am in is potable? If not, I suggest we start boiling some in my helmet to purify it. Is that a test/check, or can we just boil water because we are all bachelors and probably are used to eating the fantasy version of Ramen?