I wander back to the corporal.

"Look mate," I say, in the tones of one going along with orders, a tone familiar to corporals everywhere, "we're going out there to find the Captain. Anything you can tell us would help us bring him, and us, back."

[Diplomacy: 16+12=28]

I wander back to the corporal.

"Look mate," I say, in the tones of one going along with orders, a tone familiar to corporals everywhere, "we're going out there to find the Captain. Anything you can tell us would help us bring him, and us, back."

[Diplomacy: 16+12=28]

The older corporal taps his fingers on his leg, considering.

[Okay, that was a good enough check to provide you an opportunity.  I give the lot of you a choice.  You all can keep pestering the guy with speech checks to get table scraps, you can do a moderate skill challenge to get a modest truth, or you can do a hard skill challenge to get a large truth.]

[Hard]

[Looks at speech skills.  Pepper returns to checking on the clawfoots.]

[I'm going to vote for moderate; rather get something than nothing, and with Astra having no good relevant skills I can think of, Pepper not doing that much better, and Mari I'm guessing taking some pretty hefty penaties for the being a ghost thing (maybe History and Insight used to assist the others?), that only leaves three who'll likely be doing well with their contributions.]

[I *could* use Timely Trick with Creon if the Corporal is an animal/dog lover.  It's a Move/Standard Action combo.  IDK.  Maybe have Creon dance to amuse and distract the guy?]

[For the modest truth:  8 successes required before 3 failures, requiring DC15
for the large truth:  12 successes required before 3 failures, requiring DC20
Primary skills (can be used twice each for the modest, thrice each for the large):  Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate, Insight
Secondary skills (can be used once each):  History, Religion, Perception
No one player can use the same skill more than once
You can earn a +2 bonus to your check by doing something particularly novel, at my discretion

this is a slightly bastardized version of the errata'd instructions for how to run a challenge - let's call it an experiment!]

[I'll tell you what:  you can start off by going for the modest challenge, and when you get to 8 successes at DC15, you can decide whether to continue on to 12 successes at DC20 or just quit while you're ahead, eh?]

[Bear in mind we can assist each other's checks to some extent. At our level, DC for assist is 13, so several of us will auto-succeed assists on multiple skills for a +2 bonus. Each check can be assisted by up to four players, subject to DM's discretion.]

[Bear in mind we can assist each other's checks to some extent. At our level, DC for assist is 13, so several of us will auto-succeed assists on multiple skills for a +2 bonus. Each check can be assisted by up to four players, subject to DM's discretion.]

[Assists are fine, but they must happen before the player makes his or her check, can't chime in afterward to shore up a bad roll - that's standard, but just a reminder!  And if the prospective assister rolls a natural 1, it becomes an anti-assist

On a personal note, I would appreciate it if you guys didn't sit around super long waiting for various players to be online to roll for assists, lol.  This could drag out interminably if we're doing up to five different people's rolls for every one check.]

Secondary skills (can be used once each):  History, Religion, Perception

[Okay so Mari on History, Olegov on Religion, Pepper on Perception?  Astra would assist on the Perception if she wasn't starting to hate Sergeant Palitinate with the fire of a thousand suns.]

[Perception Check: 1d20+13: 17+13 = 30]

[Perception Check: 1d20+13: 17+13 = 30]

What are you trying to perceive? 

[As Palitinate a way out of all this mindless, endless gobbing and to get on with it already.]

[I don't know, folks, what am I trying to perceive?  Whatever ever it is, I just did it really well.]

I would like to think that I am too disciplined to be bored around all this talking and badgering of this poor sot for gossip, but I am.  I quietly disengage from the group and climb to the look-out platform to see what I can see.

[Acrobatics: 1d20+13: 16+13 = 29; Perception: 1d20+13+ [whatever assist I get from the binocs]: 12+13+?=25+? specifically for this perception check I want to check out the surrounding terrain conditions, trying to spot areas of interest, areas of peril and areas where we could be ambushed or lay an ambush.  Do I spot any immediate threats?  Do I spot any likely hunting game?]

This is what happens when chair jockeys throw a group together on a whim and expect them to perform like a team.  Talking.  Talking.  Talking.

[Acrobatics: 1d20+13: 16+13 = 29; Perception: 1d20+13+ [whatever assist I get from the binocs]: 12+13+?=25+? specifically for this perception check I want to check out the surrounding terrain conditions, trying to spot areas of interest, areas of peril and areas where we could be ambushed or lay an ambush.  Do I spot any immediate threats?  Do I spot any likely hunting game?]

(plus a dusting of snow)

The terrain north of Fort Deepdark is marginal land, rugged and austere, if not actually barren, with some scrubby pines and prickly bushes as the tallest plant life.  A small group could conceal itself fairly easily in the space between hills, but only if they were committed to staying low and in position, and no one had spotted them moving into place.  There are no obvious threats, not this close to the fort, the fort having been strategically placed and the land well-patrolled.  With the spyglass, you spot some small movement here and there - probably hares or grouse or the like - and in the far distance, a few quadrupeds that look to be deer.  You know there is road and rail to the north, but those are too far to be seen from this post.

[As Palitinate a way out of all this mindless, endless gobbing and to get on with it already.]

[I don't know, folks, what am I trying to perceive?  Whatever ever it is, I just did it really well.]

[You guys don't have to do the challenge unless you want to.  Moving out is fine, too.]

[Astra's definitely in favour of trying to get useful info out of him, as evidenced by her attempts; Val seems to agree and Pepper has no patience for things like getting information on the person you're off to find, apparently   Other three characters?]

[Mari's good with pressing the guy, but she's unlikely to take the lead.]

[Yeah, Val stepped in and took over Astra's attempted interrogation, so she'll be deferring to him unless she sees a way to help she thinks either he'll appreciate or that is needed for them to have the necessary info.]

[Palitinate would order him to divulge all mission sensitive intelligence and if he refused assist in the extraction of said intelligence.]

[She can certainly try that approach!]

[Palitinate would order him to divulge all mission sensitive intelligence and if he refused assist in the extraction of said intelligence.]

[Sounds like an intimidate check to me!  At least for the former portion, lol.  The latter portion...IDK, athletics?  Reverse heal?  lol]

[lol I think the others might have something to say about the latter portion]

[I'll do an Arcana check on the Corporal, see if he has anything magical about him.

My stealth, bluff and diplomacy are also good.]