LogFAQs > #985775267

You've chosen C. The Staircase Tumble. An excellent choice for maximum noise and theatricality. It's a plan with style.

Your eyes lock onto the target at the top of the grand staircase. It's a magnificent suit of full plate armor, polished to a mirror shine, with an ostentatious plume of purple feathers sprouting from its helm. It stands at attention, one gauntlet resting on the pommel of a massive greatsword. It's not just armor; it's a statement of wealth and power. A statement you are about to turn into a percussive symphony.

The challenge is getting to it. The staircase is a wide, open space. If Elias Vance happens to glance down from the second-floor landing, he might see you. You will need to ascend with the silence of a whisper.

You drop into a low crouch and begin to move, sticking to the edge of the stairs where the structure is strongest, avoiding the center of each step where a dreaded creak is most likely to occur. This will require your utmost skill in silent movement. A Stealth (Dexterity) check is in order.

(1d20 + 5 = 17 + 5 = 22)

You are a ghost on the stairs. You flow upwards, your feet finding purchase on the thick velvet runner, your weight distributed so perfectly that not a single board groans in protest. Your movements are economical and fluid, a dance of pure silence. You reach the top of the landing and glide behind the suit of armor without making a sound. You are now in position, hidden from the hallway that leads to the balcony room.

Up close, the suit of armor is even more imposing. It's mounted on a heavy wooden stand, making the entire structure top-heavy and stable... for now. Your plan is simple: give it a good, hard shove and let gravity do the rest.

This will take all your strength. You brace yourself, finding your footing on the plush carpet. You're going to make an Athletics (Strength) check to topple the armored behemoth.

(1d20 + 1 = 15 + 1 = 16)

You place your hands on the cold, smooth steel of the backplate, bend your knees, and push with every ounce of strength in your small gnomish body. For a heart-stopping moment, it doesn't budge. The thing is heavier than it looks. You grunt, putting your back into it, channeling your monk's focus into a single, explosive effort.

With a deep groan of stressed metal and wood, the stand tilts past its center of gravity. It teeters on the edge of the top step for a fraction of a second, its plumed helmet seeming to look down the long flight of stairs in surprise. And then, it falls.

The sound is glorious. It is an avalanche of steel and thunder. The helmeted head hits first with a loud CLANG! that echoes through the entire tower. Then the torso and limbs begin to tumble, a cacophonous, rolling catastrophe of CRASH-BAM-CLATTER-SKRAAANG! as it bounces off the stairs, shedding pieces of pauldrons and vambraces on its way down. It finally comes to rest in a mangled, clattering heap at the bottom of the staircase, a modern art sculpture of violent noise.

The silence that follows is profound and absolute. Then you hear it. From down the second-floor hallway, a door is thrown open with such force that it bangs against a wall.

What in the nine hells was that?! a mans voice screams, high-pitched with panic and rage. My armor! That was a 1,200 gold piece original! You hear heavy, frantic footsteps. Vance has taken the bait.

This is Vaela's cue. Your job is done. Now, you must escape. The footsteps are coming from the second floor. You are at the top of the stairs, hidden just around the corner. The path down is currently blocked by a furious, and presumably dangerous, homeowner.

What is your escape plan?

• A. The Window Exit: You are on the second floor. There may be a window in this hallway or a nearby room that you can use to get back to the rooftops, bypassing the stairs completely.
• B. The Hiding Spot: There might be a closet, a side room, or a large piece of furniture on this landing that you can hide in or behind. You can wait for Vance to go downstairs, then sneak out after him.
• C. The Bold Descent: As soon as Vance runs past you and down the stairs to inspect the damage, you can make a break for it, running down the stairs right behind him and out the way you came through the kitchen.
• D. Backtrack and Wait: You can quietly retreat back down the hallway, away from the stairs, and wait for things to calm down before planning your next move.
• E. Anything else.