Research check (DC20)

You can “take 10” if you want, but then you won’t get any answers until after the morning — and trust me, you don’t want to wait that long. Once you pass that, there are four other pieces of information

Sam crushed this roll, and learned a few things.

1. The journal is not a diary with clear language, it is dense groups of short notes and codes.
2. The most confusing part is that the journal is not chronological order – pages are skipped and then seem to be filled back in later.
3. At least three, maybe four, pages are missing.
4. The journal is written in two different hands.
5. There are two other (nick)names in the journal – but not sure if they are partners, servants or mules.

Item A – Knowledge (life & earth science) @ DC15 (Untrained roll allowed, but no Aid Another)

You can make roll as untrained, but cannot aid other.

Sam succeeded on this roll – he was able to identify the tagged samples in the trunk and find their notations in the journal. Even more important, the quartz has inclusions of gold, silver, copper and lead and could be worth $20,000 per ton. This would make this find the biggest discovery in the past three years – and maybe one of the top twenty since the rush of 49.

Item B – Automatic if you have Background (prospector) or 5 ranks of Profession in a “gold country” profession

Nope.

Item C – DC25 check with Navigate (Aid Other only from trained characters)

Jost deciphered the notations, and believes this find is in a mountain range southeast of Nevada – probably on the right-hand (western) bank of the Colorado River.

Item D – DC20 check with Decipher Script

Group managed to squeak out this skill as well. The doodles in the margins form part of a map which suggests dry streams leading up from the river into several different canyons.

Shame that important parts are on the missing pages. Oh well … how many dry creekbeds could there be on the 100 miles of river, and how many canyons to search in? With the right prospecting crew you could probably find the strike after looking for a year or two.