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Post by harknail on Nov 20, 2011 2:16:57 GMT -5
After an exhausting climb, the group pull themselves over the final ridge of Morningfall Summit. The find that the top isn't flat, but is an alpine valley that stretches in a bowl shape that is about one-half mile (500 squares) in diameter and 600 feet (120 squares) deep. The valley walls are steep near the rim but rapidly become less severe. The ground slopes downward everywhere, but once characters descend 50-60 feet from the lip, the incline is noticeable but managable. The group has not even begun to stow their climbing gear after pulling themselves over the final ridge when the name of this mountain suddenly takes on new meaning. The bowl-shaped valley that opens beneath you is littered with massive pieces of sundered marble and stonework overgrown with bushes, moss, and trees. The debris is not merely scattered across the ground but suspended in midair throughout the valley, as if frozen in place and weathered over a millennia. Not even the passage of time can disguise the catastrophic event that must have taken place here. Pieces of elaborate architecture, both embedded in the ground and hovering above it, radiate upward and outward from the lowest point in the valley. The most prominent edifice amongst the airborne flotsam is a nearly undamaged tower near the bottom of the valley but well above the surface. To see more than that, you will need to investigate from a closer distance. Image Tag all |
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Post by harknail on Nov 20, 2011 2:34:14 GMT -5
Barbatos, Llewelyn, Popol, Romra, and Tol all realize that the alpine valley did not form naturally, but resulted from an enormous impact. It's up to your characters to share this information or keep it to themselves.
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Post by sageaqua on Nov 20, 2011 20:50:19 GMT -5
I love the art! Can you print a copy for me?
Dart looks around. Thinking "Now this is why I live as I do. Before we head into a the area. I think we better make sure that this is not some kind of illusion and that the floating landscape is not going to fall on top of us when we walk under it." "Guy's what do you think? Truth or fiction?"
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Post by harknail on Nov 21, 2011 1:27:45 GMT -5
Even out at the edge of the bowl there are a few small bits of floating stone ranging in size from 3 inches cubed to 6 inches cubed.
Harknail goes over to the nearest, a block about 4 inches on a side, and puts his weight on it. It holds quite a bit of his weight before it descends softly to the ground. It stays there even he Harknail takes his weight off of it.
Harknail then tries lifting the stone and does so with the effort of lifting any other stone. But when he lets go, the stone stays in the air.
Finally he tries pushing the stone while it's in the air. It takes some effort (move at half speed), but he can push the stone around and it stays where he pushes it.
"Forsooth, these stones not falleth soon," says Harknail. "Mayhaps these stone provideth a faster way down."
Harknail then pushes the stone he had been playing with over the edge, where it tumbles down the mountain as fast as any other stone. "Mayhaps not," says Harknail as he watches the formerly floating stone fall.
Anyone want to do anything here, or select a specific destination?
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nobu
Veteran of the War
Posts: 104
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Post by nobu on Nov 21, 2011 1:43:29 GMT -5
Tol
After watching harknail i put a rod out in front of me and let go to see if it floats with all the other debry*. "Either way this place seems like it could be alot of fun."
(pick up the rod if it falls, or just sorta play with it twirling in the air if it stays)
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Post by harknail on Nov 21, 2011 2:32:04 GMT -5
The rod falls to the ground normally.
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Post by at on Nov 21, 2011 10:03:45 GMT -5
"Whatever magic did this must have been strong indeed to have lingered so long, or perhaps it's source is yet intact."
Barbatos surveys the area for magical auras.
[dice=20]+13 arcana[rand=704200387698352114912270634242608137491183170460055134589721128404]
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Post by harknail on Nov 21, 2011 13:30:57 GMT -5
Barbatos sees a magical aura that seems to cover the entire valley. But the aura seems to be a tattered remnant of the full spell. Looking at the floating structures that are mostly intact (passive history check), he decides that these match the flying citadels built by the dragonborn at the height of their now extinct empire. These citadels were foiled by tiefling wizards who unwove the magic that kept them aloft, killing thousands in the resulting crashes.
Combined with what he was able to derive from the origin of the valley, Barbatos concludes that this valley was created by the crash of one of the floating citadels. A truly powerful crash to have created a crater 1/2 a mile across! What is left floating that that part of the levitation spell that was not unwoven.
Reminder that only Barbatos knows this, until he shares this information. Barbatos thinks he might be able to identify the specific citadel with a bit of study of the debris.
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Post by sageaqua on Nov 21, 2011 22:06:49 GMT -5
Dart starts to put the floating stones into his back pack. He will test to see if it allows him jump super high.
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Post by harknail on Nov 22, 2011 1:56:41 GMT -5
Dart finds another small piece of floating stone, but when he tries to pull it down to put it in his backpack, he finds that that small hunk of stone can hold his entire weight.
The more massive Harknail comes over and helps, and soon they have the stone loaded into Dart's backpack.
Dart then tries jumping up. He doesn't jump any higher than usual, but he doesn't come down again. Instead he stays suspended in midair, held up by his backpack, which in turn is head up by the stone contained within.
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Post by harknail on Nov 22, 2011 2:18:09 GMT -5
Dart slips out of his backpack and then looks up at it, deep in thought.
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Post by sageaqua on Nov 22, 2011 7:21:20 GMT -5
"Well we now know how to build a stairway." said Dart, "We just collect the floating rocks, wrap them into a bundle, Make sure they can carry Hark nails weight and float them next to each other. When we climb we lift up the next stair to the correct height. That however doesn't tell us anything more about this mountain. Has anyone seen any sign of the dragons?"
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Post by at on Nov 22, 2011 11:26:00 GMT -5
"We do not need a stairway, observe that the castle lies lower in the valley" pushing a smaller rock through the air "with enough debris we could float the length of the valley, though some propulsion may be required ... a sail perhaps, or grappling lines"
"In any event we should not linger here, whoever has been training these Drakes will no doubt be watching for intruders"
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Post by sageaqua on Nov 23, 2011 7:34:29 GMT -5
"We should find some cover. But right now our big problem is retreating from a flying enemy. I can't can't run as fast as the rest of you can and you can't out run a flying enemy. I'd rather not kill the drakes as they are enslaved if at all possible. So I prefer to figure out how we can fight this enemy before we meet them on the Field of battle." said Dart
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Post by at on Nov 23, 2011 9:45:48 GMT -5
(that does remind me - today's daily power is sleep)
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Post by harknail on Nov 24, 2011 2:56:48 GMT -5
Initially the way down into the valley is steep, although not quite steep enough to need the climbing gear. But the further they go the less steep it gets. The floating pieces of stone start becoming more numerous and they start seeing larger pieces, 1 to 2 feet on a side.
Harknail tests one of these larger pieces and find that it easily holds his weight.
Anyone else want to play with bigger floating stones before continuing?
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Post by at on Nov 24, 2011 4:32:03 GMT -5
Anyone else want to play with bigger floating stones before continuing? Barbatos pushes one, to see how far it would float before stopping, and if it remained at a constant height or fell to match the slope of the crater. |
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Post by harknail on Nov 24, 2011 16:39:53 GMT -5
(that does remind me - today's daily power is sleep) |
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Post by harknail on Nov 24, 2011 16:52:11 GMT -5
Barbatos pushes one, to see how far it would float before stopping, and if it remained at a constant height or fell to match the slope of the crater. The small stones are no harder to push around than the tiny stones, both take enough effort that a person can't push them while moving full speed (half speed while pushing a stone). And they stop almost immediately when you stop pushing them (no coasting). When Barbatos tries moving one with mage hand he finds that the stones are very amenable to being moved by that method. Perhaps the mage hand spell is similar to the spell that propelled the entire fortress though the skies. Barbatos can move a floating stone (either tiny or small) sideways 5 squares as a move action when using Mage Hand (plus the minor action to grab the stone with Mage Hand). |
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Post by at on Nov 24, 2011 17:59:00 GMT -5
Recorded. Do you want Moonstride or Shield for a utility power today?
How small is a 'small' stone, and how much weight can it carry? |
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