[OOC suggested soundtrack: Wrath of the Lich King, by Russel Brower]

The climb to Hellwinter Peak is an arduous one, indeed; even more than you’ve imagined. You start trekking along a steep rocky path, that rapidly becomes frozen and slippery. There’s no sign of life here, and you all feel a little uncomfortable.
Unnatural gelid winds, bearing echoes of despair and death, whip your faces and the frost is almost unbearable.

[OOC please Test for SKILL + Terrain Lore: Mountain (if you have this Special Skill). Please let me know if you think you have other relevant Special Skills.]

Wrapping himself in his thick winter cloak, Sir Roland takes the point and pushes forward. To his mind, the wind and frost seem unnatural, beating down with otherworldly force on himself and his companions. He raises his voice to be heard above the howling wind. "Beware frostbite! Cover up! Leave nothing exposed to the cold! Stay close together! Buddy up in twos! Keep moving!"

He pauses briefly to cover his face in warm clothing, leaving only his clear glittering eyes exposed and alert for other presences or dangers. Wrapping his hands in his cloak, he looks behind to see that his comrades are all alright, then continues the journey forward, one foot in front of the other. Again and again.

12:21, Today: Sir Roland Halfstaff rolled 7 using 2d6.  Skill test. Vs SKILL 8.
Sir Roland has the Climb skill score of 1.

He also has the Awareness skill score of 1.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:44, Sat 20 Jan 2018.

15:43, Today: Garl Ligoosh rolled 4 using 2d6.  Climb.  (Made it!)

Unnatural gelid winds, bearing echoes of despair and death, whip your faces and the frost is almost unbearable.

About to start his tenth apology to Galendra for how his clumsiness with the axe back there had almost cut off her nose, Rorn instead notes he can't stop his teeth from chattering from the cold.

Step, step, step.  He lets himself fall into the middle of the pack, quite sore himself from those bruises suffered at the hands of goblins and gravity.  Once he feels warm enough to trust his speech again, he does address Garl:

"Thanks again for saving us!  Witch indeed, magic tricks to the rescue; and hopefully we'll never see a goblin-trap again."

Climb check  7 vs 7, succeeds!  Yay

14:58, Today: Rorn rolled 7 using 2d6.  Test vs Skill.

This message was last edited by the player at 23:02, Sat 20 Jan 2018.

17:04, Today: The Director, on behalf of Galendra, rolled 5 using 2d6.  SKILL test. :)

17:05, Today: The Director, on behalf of Larson fossas, rolled 6 using 2d6.  SKILL test. :)

You weren't used to mountain environments, but you all display the right grit and the right ability to choose where to direct your steps, staying as much as possible covered from the wind.

For a long while, as you walk, you can keep your eyes on Hellwinter Peak and this way you can't go in the wrong direction, however, as you come closer and closer to the Peak, the possible paths and pitfalls become trickier and trickier.
Will you find the right path?
[OOC please take a Test for SKILL (+ Navigation, or highlight me any other Special Skill you think may be useful) - if you fail, you can still avoid the worst with a test of LUCK]

07:54, Today: Sir Roland Halfstaff rolled 6 using 2d6.  Skill test for navigation. SUCCESS!

As you keep ascending on the ledges of the ice-covered path, despite the strong wind carrying snow straight to your eyes, you manage to pick the right paths leading to Hellwinter Peak. On one occasion, Garl and Gal stray from the right path, but luckily their path eventually took them back to the same path of the rest of the group.

[OOC: 22:54, Today: The Director, on behalf of Garl Ligoosh, rolled 11 using 2d6.  SKILL test (Navigation).
22:54, Today: The Director, on behalf of Larson fossas, rolled 6 using 2d6.  SKILL test (Navigation).
22:54, Today: The Director, on behalf of Rorn, rolled 7 using 2d6.  SKILL test (Navigation).
22:53, Today: The Director, on behalf of Galendra, rolled 11 using 2d6.  SKILL test (Navigation).

22:54, Today: The Director, on behalf of Galendra, rolled 9 using 2d6.  LUCK.
22:54, Today: The Director, on behalf of Garl Ligoosh, rolled 4 using 2d6.  LUCK.]

You are finally at the bottom of Hellwinter Peak and now you have to face the final climb to the Tower, that is few hundred meters above you.
You stop to have a meal before this last effort: you will need all your energies to ensure you can hang on and not fall down. [OOC please deduct one iron ration]

[OOC Once again you have to rely on your ability to overcome this last hurdle: please take a test of SKILL (+ Climbing Special Skill) to avoid slipping as you climb using not only your legs but also your arms under the pouring rain.
If you fail, you will fall down, but you can still take a test of LUCK and hope you somehow got caught on a spike of rock or on a mountain bush before facing a big fall.]
You are almost there!
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:07, Sun 21 Jan 2018.

Squinting his eyes against the swirling snow and howling wind, Sir Roland looks up at the sheer wall of the cliff as it rises up before him, stretching upwards to impossible heights. This climb is going to be the death of many of us.

He turns to his companions, yelling to make himself heard over the razor-sharp and shrieking wind. "Rope ourselves together! That's the only way we are getting up there alive!"

OOC - Ok guys...Sir Roland has SKILL 8 and the Climb skill of 1. That makes 9 total. I am guessing most of us have a TOTAL of 6 or 7. This means the individual Skill check is really very risky. Failure likely means falling hundreds of metres down to almost certain death.

By roping ourselves together provides a safety net of sorts. Its effect is alittle like a statistical averaging out of successful and failed skill checks for each of us, because at any one moment in time, anyone who lose his/her grip and fall, won't likely be losing the grip at the same time as other individuals. So those who are still steady can "hold up" the falling individual, allowing another chance to regain his/her hold and continue upwards.

So this is my proposal - that we rope everyone together, and scale the cliff together. So...anyone has rope?

Gal has enough rope for everybody, if everybody wants to rope together.
[OOC That will provide a bonus of +2 when climbing and a damage reduction if only one or max two out of five slip, as the others can manage to hang on, but if three or more fail their test, it will be a collective fall]

OOC - Ah thanks Gal. Are those straight out from the rules? The logic for ropes is that even if everyone of us slips up once or more times during the climb up, the likelihood of 2 or more of us slipping up at the same time is somewhat low...I think. So overall this plan would be a boost to our chances of getting up there alive together.

So my vote is still for roping us together for the climb.

[OOC that's why everybody has a +2 bonus roll ;)
by the way, on a fall we will anyway have the LUCK rolls]
Gal agrees that using the rope is a good idea.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:10, Sun 21 Jan 2018.

You stop to have a meal before this last effort: you will need all your energies to ensure you can hang on and not fall down.

While normally chatty, since the "goblin pit incident" Rorn has barely said anything - not angry or sullen but simply tired and perhaps a little scared-out-of-wits.

Now facing another tough climb, he munches on boar and some bread chunks and feels a little better as he helps tie off the ropes around the others.  Being one of the lighter members of the group, he suggests climbing last .. so if he did slip, there was less weight for the others to catch.

Climb check:  8 vs Skill 7 plus 1 for skill.  Assuming a bonus from ropes too, looks like a success!  Yay

12:23, Today: Rorn rolled 8 using 2d6.  Climb check vs Skill 7+1 = 8.

Could we get an additional bonus if Garls casts the spell Animate on the rope?

[OOC Don't ask questions: try it! For sure you will have a bonus for as long as your spell lasts]

21:52, Today: Garl Ligoosh rolled 9 using 2d6.  Cast Animate on rope.

Checking that the rope is secure around himself, and glancing at each of his companions one more time, Sir Roland turns back to the sheer cliff wall and begins the dangerous climb up.

OOC - Roland climbs 1st. Due to highest SKILL TOTAL of 11 from SKILL SCORE 8, CLIMB SKILL 1, and ROPE BONUS 2.

11:02, Today: Sir Roland Halfstaff rolled 10 using 2d6.  Skill test.

The first two minutes of the climb are great fun, as the animated rope does most of the job and you can enjoy the ride!
After two minutes, you are standing on a frozed ledge and the spell fizzles off. A fun start, but you still have a long way to go.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:26, Tue 23 Jan 2018.

DELETED...

Great work Garl! Never cease to be amazed by your wondrous bag of tricks! :D
This message was last edited by the player at 01:35, Tue 23 Jan 2018.

[OOC 19:27, Today: The Director, on behalf of Larson fossas, rolled 9 using 2d6.
19:27, Today: The Director, on behalf of Garl Ligoosh, rolled 10 using 2d6.
19:27, Today: The Director, on behalf of Galendra, rolled 10 using 2d6. ]

The climb is hard for all of you, but especially for Garl, that slips various times, but each time the strength of the group together prevents him from falling down the clift. The worst of his slips just leads to a minor knock and a bloodied nose. [OOC one point of STAMINA lost for Garl]

You finally reach the top of Hellwinter Peak when it is almost sunset. You are tired and hungry, but glad you managed it! [OOC before sleeping you will need another meal]

[OOC the Adventure continues here! link to a message in this game ]