[Game Thread] Chapter 3: A Member of the Wedding

[Fillyjonk]

The Estate Nukky, no way out but through. You tell them it is time to go, and here is the trail. Perhaps you take a final look back to see Tomas bent over his Dulcimer. His long hair has fallen forward, and you see that, far from a simple throat cut, the grievous wound goes all the way around. His spine does not quite perfectly line up. You half fear the whole head will slide forward, off the neck, bounce from the dulcimer to the ground and roll away toward the well. You face forward, resolute. Maybe this place is getting to you. A'ru, you send the rogue on ahead of you, mount up on Sneech, and leave the village behind. The wilds are all around you, but strangely silent. You hear no birds, and Sneech is not pulled by any scent of squirrel. It's green, and beautiful, but also as dead as a painting. Does time start? Hard to tell, because the canopy hides the sun. Laisren, Fain means joy. Your name means light. There are young men with ambitious parents in the village who are named Curad, and Laoch, and Seaimpín (all of which mean hero or champion). Laoch once tried some line on your sister, Aisling, something like, I dunno if you dream of being consort, but I'd be your Laoch. Eyebrow waggle, winning smile. Ha! You can guess how that went over! Is it ironic that you are the one who says to the party now, What if we change the story? That's Fain, half-packed already, pulling at your hand, eyes on a far horizon. You feel tied to the old story; you want to find your place in it, perhaps. But. If this one can be changed...maybe any story can be. Big if. Hlin, with Baly in the lead, you travel for well over an hour. You ask for a bawdy travel song in vain. The mood is un-cheery, the rogue wants to stealth, Nukky isn't bawdy, and possibly A'ru's best songs are all in a language only he speaks, now. You listen to the shrrrr shrrrr of your silly, soft feet in their dumb boots that syncopates the deep rhythm that usually drives the lives of hoof-havers. In your head, that absent rhythm sparks a memory of the work of the revered centaur poet, Donik Ekel. He penned this one on the even of his own wedding:   Nothing approaches a field like me. Hard gallop, hard chest – hooves and mane and flicking tail. My love: I apprehend each flower, each winged body, saturated in a light that burnishes. I would make a burnishing of you, by which I mean a field in flower, by which I mean, a breaching – my hands making an arrow of themselves, rooting the loosened dirt. I would make for you the barest of sounds, wing against wing, there, at the point of articulation. Love, I pound the earth for you. I pound the earth. As the lines gallop through your head, your own horse-nature stays close, submerged in you, ephemeral, with hooves that make no sound. Even sparkle'd one doesn't sound against the path. Baly, as the Wilds thin and open up into rolling farmland. You stay to the front, off the road, slithering like a piece of the landscape yourself to the side of what has now become a road. Still no sun, only a dim grayness. The cloud cover helps you hide. You see planted, fertile fields, farmer cottages, even a few long elven forms moving from house to barn or in the gardens, too far off the road to make out clearly in this light. You feel it when your foot goes wrong. You step into---gray. You looks down, and the color has leeched out of your book, almost. A haze is growing here, out of the ground, then spreading, blighting outward in a circle around you. Those cheery cottages closest to you crumble to wrecks and burned shells. The people are gone. You see only ruins. This effect grows as you push forward, and you can see that the others are experiencing this now, as well. If any of you pause and look back, you see the cottages restored behind you, but if you step toward them---no. Ruins. The more you go, the wider the effect becomes, until the lush pretty farmland is a distant horizon and desolation is all around you. On the far horizon, where there is still wholeness and beauty, you see the manor house. Very eleven, with stucco walls and arched doors and terraced gardens. As you get closer, the stucco crumbles, rots, and is gone, revealing the stone underwalls. The gardens die, the fences fall, the fountains dry and crack. By the time you get close, it is a horror. Ahead of you, that arched front door still stands, thick wood studded with metal. It is closed. There are some chimneys on the high roof, but no cheery smoke. No light in any of the filth encrusted windows. You all look back, and then side to side---and there is only blight and ruin, in all directions, as far as you can see The mansion stands before you, silent. The poem is from Donika Kelly's exceptional collection, Bestiary.

[bananabadger]

"Well, rogue," Hlin whispers out to Baly at the front of their column. "Do you want to silently scout ahead into the city as well?" He steps closer to him and adds. "Here, if you want to be silent and unseen and better protected if ambushed, then accept this blessing," Hlin begins and then pulls out one of his feathered arrows, turning the feather toward's Baly's nose. "May your stealth be resolute and sneaky, no matter what tickles at your skin or conscience," he finishes as he steps away.

 

Name: Hlin
Class: (Lore) Bard
Level: 3 Race: Centaur (Willow Herd)
HP: 18/18 AC: 13
Passive Perception: 16 Passive Investigation: 11 Passive Insight: 14
Spells Known:

• Cantrips: Mage Hand, Vicious Mockery
• Level 1: Cure Wounds, Silvery Barbs
• Level 2: Messenger, Cloud of Daggers, Cure Wounds (upcast), Hold Person, Nathair's Mischief
  Vine Spells: Entangle 3/3

Inspiration: No
Spell Slots:

• Four Level 1: {} {} {} {}
• Two Level 2: {} {}

Spell Save DC: Wis 12 Spell Attack Bonus: 4
Saves: STR: +2 DEX: +4 CON: 0 INT: -1 WIS: +2 CHA: +4
Bardic Inspiration: {X} {}
Attack modifier: +4 melee / +4 ranged
Weapons: Longsword, daggers and short bow
Special Abilities: Bardic Inspiration, Jack of All Trades, Song of Rest, Cutting Words, Charge, Hooves, Equine Build

 

Rolls:
Saving throws:
Move:
Action: Passes Bardic inspiration to Baly
Reaction:
Condition:
Concentrating:
OOC info:

[Yoshimi]

A-ru Sneech had stopped sniffing the air some time ago, instead resorting to sporadic whining. It's not something the ranger had seen before in his friend. He did his best to soothe and quiet the mastiff, until the party approached the moldering walls of the manner. The marda stares at them dully, his shaggy brow furrowing. Afraid of what his own voice might sound like in this empty shell of a place, he speaks softly."I think the story has passed this place by. I don't know if we'll be changing anythin'. But maybe she's in there with our Nukky's rock." While Baly decides what to do, he attempts to see if he can look through any of the windows from Sneech's back.

 

Name: A-Ru
Class: Beastmaster Ranger Level: 3 HP: 28/28 AC: 17
Inspiration:
Attack bonus: Melee: +1, Ranged: +4
Passive Perception: 15 Passive Investigation: 9 Passive Insight: 15
Spells Known: Cantrips: Shillelagh, Produce Flame; Level 1: Speak With Animals (Primal Awareness bonus), Absorb Elements, Entangle, Longstrider
Spell Slots: Level 1: 3
Spell Save DC: 13 Spell Attack Bonus: 5
Saves: STR: 1 DEX: 4 CON: 2 INT: -1 WIS: 3 CHA: 1
Special Abilities: Favored Foe, Primal Companion (Beast of the Land)

 

ROLLS: Perception 15
Out of Combat: Peering
Saving throws:
Move:
Action:
Bonus Action:
Reaction:
Conditions:
Concentrating:
OOC info:

[Wynamoinen]

Laisren Laisren is surprised when the village behind them appears to crumble. But he is visibly crestfallen when the manor house similarly falls to ruin before their eyes. He instinctively grabs his fork and his "spine" seems to stiffen. He glowers and mopes as A-Ru puts the situation into plain words: the story has passed this place by. Laisren doesn't have a clever retort to that, since it is a simple statement of truth. But the Marda's follow-up is just as truthful: Malve'en the banshee might be there, and that's just as important. With a brief look of embarassment, as if he had suddenly dropped trousers in public, Laisren loosens his tunic and his tail flicks back and forth until it is freed from its confines. "We're not in that story any more. Or, at least, that part of the story. But we might still be able to change it. If it's made from the Banshee's mind, if it's part of her torment..." He shrugs. This ground is totally new to him. Such is life at the edge of the Fae; you can simply never predict what comes next. It's usually foolish to try. Laisren looks to the ruined manor, uncertain how to proceed. He then looks to the ones he assumes might play the role of strategists here - his eyes flick between Hlin and Baly - and he makes a very simple request. "Tell me where I need to be." He is ready to hold the line, wherever is the right place for him to do that.

OOC I want to leave room for the rogue and other perceptive people to explore, so I'm happy to hang back. As long as I'm not performing other actions quite yet, please consider me to have my Blade Ward cantrip active, since my tail is out and ready to go..   Action block Laisren's stat block (full sheet link) HP: 32/32 | Armor Class: With a very high probability in combat of also having an additional 1d8 added on.14 | Saves: Str +5 ; Dex +2; Con +4; Int -1; Wis +0; Chr +1 Senses: Passive Perception 12 (+2); Passive investigation 9 (-1) | Move: 30' | Conditions: (None) Default melee: +6 to hit, 1d10+4 piercing (1d10+6 while Raging)The Family pichfork | Default ranged attack: +5 to hit, 1d6+3 slashing, 20/60 rangeHandaxe Expendables: . . . As a bonus action, activate Rage. +2 damage to STR-based melee attacks. Resistance to nonmagical BPS damage. Advantage on STR checks and saves. Ends if I don't either attack or take damage. Cannot cast spells.Rage 3/3 LR | Make a ranged spell attack against the target (+3, with CHA as casting stat). On a hit, the target takes 2d8 poison damage and must make a Constitution saving throw (DC 11). On a failed save, it is also poisoned until the end of your next turn. Acquired via Magic Initiate (Sorceror)Ray of Sickness 1/1 LR | Hit dice 3/3 LR | Inspiration: Yes Passive: . . . When I enter a Rage, I can use my tail both offensively and defensively. As a reaction when hit by a creature I can see within 10', I can add 1d8 to my AC. I can also use the attack action to attack with my tail with 10' reach, +5 to hit, and 1d8+3 damage.Form of the Beast: Tail Ie, my cantrips acquired through Magic Initiate (Sorceror)Tail Utility: A creature within 10' must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 11) or take 1d12 poison damage.Poison Spray | Until the end of your next turn, you have resistance against bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage dealt by weapon attacks.Blade Ward ----- Turn Summary Move: Action: Blade Ward (tail defense mode activated!) Reaction: Additional (bonus action, object interact, etc):

[Drachenspirit]

Baly-Ho! Baly pauses as those around him make comments and Hlin gives him some inspiration to keep being sneaky as he moves along. He nods a thanks and says, "We've come this far, might as well have a look. Maybe it's all gloomy so we'll turn back, something hidden in plain sight. Hmm." He keeps an eye out, looking, listening and goes to the closed door. He reaches out and tries the door. If it's locked, he'll pull out his tools and try to jimmy the lock.   BALY ACTIONS & STATS Balyarus Farfate<------ Character Sheet ROLLS : Dice Roll: 1d20+7 (1)+7 Total = 8 add Bardic Inspiration Dice Roll: 1d6 6 for a total of "14"Stealth, Dice Roll: 1d20+6 (7)+6 Total = 13 Investigation, Dice Roll: 1d20+5 (1)+5 Total = 6 Thieves' Tools Move: Action: Bonus Action: Reaction: Conditions: Concentrating: OOC info: AC: 16 || HP: 21/21 || Saves: St +0, Dx+6, Cn+2, In+5, Ws+2, Ch+3 Left Hand: Bow || Right Hand: Bow || Back: Pack, Quiver || Belt: Rapier +5, Short sword +5, Dagger +5, Pouch Longbow: +5 to hit, 1d8+3 dmg || Rapier: +5 to hit, 1d8+3 dmg || Shortsword: +5, 1d6+3dmg || Dagger: +5, 1d4+3 dmg Skills: Stealth +7 || Investigation +6 || Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Thieves' Tools +5 || Deception, Intimidation +4 || Perception +3 || Arcana, History, Nature, Performance, Persuasion +2 || Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Survival +1 || Athletics -1 Special Abilities: Bonus action of Dash, Disengage, or HideCunning Action 60’Darkvision One skill or tool prof extra a day after short or long restWhispers of the Dead: Arcana Skill After successful sneak attack, apply to any other target within 30' of one hit, Roll half # of sneak attack dice and target takes necrotic dmg as wails surround them Wails from the Grave have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put to sleep.Fey Ancestry Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years o f practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.Trance +1d6 to attack if ADV. If another enemy of target is 5' of it, no ADV neededSneak Attack Spells: Cantrip: Toll the dead Spell Save DC: 12 | Spell Attack Bonus: +3

[BestTeaMaker]

Nukky Nukky looks on as Baly makes his way ahead. He pauses as he looks at the ruins around them. Before Baly gets far, the young kobold taps his burnt staff on the ground. Immediately, a veil of magic surrounds the group. "Nukky make sure we go quietly." He puts a finger to his snout in a shushing motion. "Nukky not know who here, but not feel safe right now." Actions   Casting Pass Without Trace Character Nukky   Character Class HP AC Wildfire Druid 3 27/27 15 Senses P.Per P.Inv P.Ins Other 16 11 14 Darkvision (60ft.) Spell Slots 1st Level O O O O 2nd Level O Spell Mod Save DC +4 14 Saving Throws STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA +0 +2 +3 +3 +6 +1   Rolls Full Rolls Perception - 21 Saving Throws Full Rolls Move - Action Pass Without Trace Bonus Action - Reaction - Free Action - Conditions - Concentrating - Initiative - OOC - Inspiration - Wildfire Spirit Rolls - Saving Throws - Move - Action - Bonus Action - Reaction - Free Action - Conditions - Concentrating - Initiative 7 OOC -

[Fillyjonk]

At the Door Laisren, the story in Rie never changes. The solution to the problem never changes. Now here you are in a ruin where the story has not changed in a thousand years. A tail is easier to change than a tale—you release the latter and back burner the former. Hlin, you offer inspiration as Baly takes point, moving up to the door on practiced, soft feet. Baly, you are good at this. It’s not your fault it all goes sideways. You check the door with a deft touch. Locked. You take out your trusty tools and bend to the keyhole. But as you begin to work the lock, the huge and heavy doorknob, which looks fine, but is actually near-rusted off, falls and thunks to the ground with a loud bang and then rolls loudly away across the uneven stone. A’ru, you are peering in a window. It's dark in there, reducing everything to gray scale, and filth encrusts the thick glass on both sides. The windows each have a grate of iron bars over the panes, so you can't get in truly close. Even so, your sharp eyes make out some details. You can see a slice of what looks like a vaulted foyer with a grand staircase leading up. A double staircase, the like one Malveen used to traverse the phantom mansion layered over the hunter’s cabin. But this one’s carpet is worn away to shreds, and one side has collapsed. You see heaps of rubble about. Amid this ruin— movement. At least two murky human figures slink through the gray scale space in the third of the room that you can see. As you lean in, trying to make out details, the doorknob thunks, and the figures first freeze and then move with startling swiftness out of your view. One goes toward the door, one back into shadows that obscure it completely. You catch more movement in peripheral vision. There may be more… Baly, you feel the lockpicks bend. If you try to use them on this lock, you think it’s very likely break you will your tools, as it is rusted shut. Well, the door is old. You could likely force it in a more barbarian way. There's a gut with a tail and a spangly pitchfork who could likely manage it. And there are other ways in. You all see at least one intact chimney jutting out of the roof. No smoke, no sign of fire. The windows are all barred, but the grates are old and rusted and some might give. Or perhaps, in the back, they didn’t bother to bar the upper windows, at least. You could check. You all see these options, but before you can discuss it, you all hear the unmistakeable sound of an old bolt bing forced to shift. Then Baly, who is closest, hears a soft footfall or two on the other side of the thick door. Something inside has turned the bolt... Silence. OOC In your next post, please make sure you tell me exactly where you are. In my imagination. Hlin and Nukky are down in the courtyard, Lais would be closer, tail ready, Baly is right at the door, and A’ru and Sneech are to the side, peering in a first floor window.

[bananabadger]

"It seems Baly has chosen a different approach. A straight-forward announcement of our arrival. Let's back him up," Hlin says to the others as he races to take a spot by the thief at the door, his ghost's mane flowing behind him. As he runs, he concentrates on the door in front of Baly, ready to unleash a protective reaction if anything should strike from behind it at their rogue.

 

Name: Hlin
Class: (Lore) Bard
Level: 3 Race: Centaur (Willow Herd)
HP: 18/18 AC: 13
Passive Perception: 16 Passive Investigation: 11 Passive Insight: 14
Spells Known:

• Cantrips: Mage Hand, Vicious Mockery
• Level 1: Cure Wounds, Silvery Barbs
• Level 2: Messenger, Cloud of Daggers, Cure Wounds (upcast), Hold Person, Nathair's Mischief
  Vine Spells: Entangle 3/3

Inspiration: No
Spell Slots:

• Four Level 1: {} {} {} {}
• Two Level 2: {} {}

Spell Save DC: Wis 12 Spell Attack Bonus: 4
Saves: STR: +2 DEX: +4 CON: 0 INT: -1 WIS: +2 CHA: +4
Bardic Inspiration: {X} {}
Attack modifier: +4 melee / +4 ranged
Weapons: Longsword, daggers and short bow
Special Abilities: Bardic Inspiration, Jack of All Trades, Song of Rest, Cutting Words, Charge, Hooves, Equine Build

 

Rolls:
Saving throws:
Move: advances as far as possible to be just behind Baly
Action: Readies rection "Silvery Barbs" in case anything attacks Baly from beyond door
Reaction: "Silvery Barbs" is readied
Condition:
Concentrating:
OOC info:

[Drachenspirit]

Baly-Ho! Baly quickly realizes that the door is too far gone, either from age over time, or magic induced for him to bypass the lock. He quickly puts his tools away, and pulls his dagger though he tries to conceal it on the underside of his wrist in case he needs to stab whomever is about to come through the door. As he is doing all this he turns his head slightly so everyone can hear what he says, though he doesn't take his eye off the door. "Door's too rusted for me to jolt the lock. Doesn't matter though, someone's come up to the door and is opening it from the other side. Maybe they're friendly." In a very sarcastic and monotone voice he says, "Yes, and maybe I'll be the King of all Waterdeep wearing a shiny hat when we get out of here."   BALY ACTIONS & STATS Balyarus Farfate<------ Character Sheet ROLLS : Dice Sleight of hand: 1d20+5 (5)+5 Total = 10 Sleight of Hand to hide dagger at the ready Move: Action: Bonus Action: Reaction: Conditions: Concentrating: OOC info: AC: 16 || HP: 21/21 || Saves: St +0, Dx+6, Cn+2, In+5, Ws+2, Ch+3 Left Hand: Bow || Right Hand: Bow || Back: Pack, Quiver || Belt: Rapier +5, Short sword +5, Dagger +5, Pouch Longbow: +5 to hit, 1d8+3 dmg || Rapier: +5 to hit, 1d8+3 dmg || Shortsword: +5, 1d6+3dmg || Dagger: +5, 1d4+3 dmg Skills: Stealth +7 || Investigation +6 || Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Thieves' Tools +5 || Deception, Intimidation +4 || Perception +3 || Arcana, History, Nature, Performance, Persuasion +2 || Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Survival +1 || Athletics -1 Special Abilities: Bonus action of Dash, Disengage, or HideCunning Action 60’Darkvision One skill or tool prof extra a day after short or long restWhispers of the Dead: Arcana Skill After successful sneak attack, apply to any other target within 30' of one hit, Roll half # of sneak attack dice and target takes necrotic dmg as wails surround them Wails from the Grave have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put to sleep.Fey Ancestry Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years o f practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.Trance +1d6 to attack if ADV. If another enemy of target is 5' of it, no ADV neededSneak Attack Spells: Cantrip: Toll the dead Spell Save DC: 12 | Spell Attack Bonus: +3

[Wynamoinen]

Laisren Laisren is all nerves as the group skulks and scopes and skalds. A-Ru sees movement through the bars of the window. Baly finds a latch that will not give; the whole mechanism would rather fail than let the group in. Hlin and Baly arm themselves for the (presumed) evil to come. Laisren's tail twitches. Everything about the scene says it's time to hunker down, to be ready. Everyone is waiting on everyone else., including whatever is inside. Laisren takes a deep breath, exhales slowly, and says simply, "Here goes. Someone's got to do it." He drops his right shoulder, sets it with a bicep flex, and charges the door. He hits it with the full force of his body mass, delivering a blow that would bust down any door of Righ, save perhaps the church or the mead hall.

OOC Rolled a 19 on a straight STR check to bust down the door. If you're willing to call it Athletics, bump that up to a 21. That puts Laisren right outside the door if it fails (which I doubt), or as far inside as his momentum takes him if he succeeds (which seems pretty likely).   Action block Laisren's stat block (full sheet link) HP: 32/32 | Armor Class: With a very high probability in combat of also having an additional 1d8 added on.14 | Saves: Str +5 ; Dex +2; Con +4; Int -1; Wis +0; Chr +1 Senses: Passive Perception 12 (+2); Passive investigation 9 (-1) | Move: 30' | Conditions: (None) Default melee: +6 to hit, 1d10+4 piercing (1d10+6 while Raging)The Family pichfork | Default ranged attack: +5 to hit, 1d6+3 slashing, 20/60 rangeHandaxe Expendables: . . . As a bonus action, activate Rage. +2 damage to STR-based melee attacks. Resistance to nonmagical BPS damage. Advantage on STR checks and saves. Ends if I don't either attack or take damage. Cannot cast spells.Rage 3/3 LR | Make a ranged spell attack against the target (+3, with CHA as casting stat). On a hit, the target takes 2d8 poison damage and must make a Constitution saving throw (DC 11). On a failed save, it is also poisoned until the end of your next turn. Acquired via Magic Initiate (Sorceror)Ray of Sickness 1/1 LR | Hit dice 3/3 LR | Inspiration: Yes Passive: . . . When I enter a Rage, I can use my tail both offensively and defensively. As a reaction when hit by a creature I can see within 10', I can add 1d8 to my AC. I can also use the attack action to attack with my tail with 10' reach, +5 to hit, and 1d8+3 damage.Form of the Beast: Tail Ie, my cantrips acquired through Magic Initiate (Sorceror)Tail Utility: A creature within 10' must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 11) or take 1d12 poison damage.Poison Spray | Until the end of your next turn, you have resistance against bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage dealt by weapon attacks.Blade Ward ----- Turn Summary Move: Action: Break down the door. Reaction: Additional (bonus action, object interact, etc):

[BestTeaMaker]

Nukky As Laisren knocks the door down with a thunderous slam, Nukky immediately begins to look around the courtyard for a place to duck behind while maintaining eye contact with the rest of the group around the door, ready for whatever comes out. Actions   Hiding in the courtyard for a Nat 20 with PwT Character Nukky   Character Class HP AC Wildfire Druid 3 27/27 15 Senses P.Per P.Inv P.Ins Other 16 11 14 Darkvision (60ft.) Spell Slots 1st Level O O O O 2nd Level O Spell Mod Save DC +4 14 Saving Throws STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA +0 +2 +3 +3 +6 +1   Rolls Full Rolls Stealth - 32 Saving Throws Full Rolls Move - Action Pass Without Trace Bonus Action - Reaction - Free Action - Conditions - Concentrating - Initiative - OOC - Inspiration - Wildfire Spirit Rolls - Saving Throws - Move - Action - Bonus Action - Reaction - Free Action - Conditions - Concentrating - Initiative 7 OOC -

[Fillyjonk]

At the Door JoeWraith.com for this and more Nukky, this is a barren stone courtyard surrounded by dead gardens. You see no reasonable cover within thirty feet of the door. That's okay though. Nothing comes out. Hlin, you step up to the other side of the door, standing strong with Baly to take on whatever comes at him. Nothing comes at him. A'ru, you tell the others you saw movement, at least two figures, perhaps more. You are on Sneech, at the closest window. Baly, you know the door was locked. You felt it with your pick, and were unable to turn it. You alone were close enough to hear something slyly draw the bolt back---like an invitation. An invitation to come in, because after the door was unlocked, you also heard a soft footpad or two. It was withdrawing? Doesn't matter, because Barbarians gonna barbarian. As you all stand ready and braced for a thing that has zero intentions of coming out to come out, tail boy takes matters into his own hands. RARW! He thunders past you, full Leeroy Jenkins, smashing into an unlocked door. It swings open easily and BLOOP! He thunders forward, carried by momentum, and is within a scant few feet is swallowed up into the darkness beyond. Those with darkvision can see a vast foyer. The double stairs Malveen was using in the cabin are present, but now, the ones to your left have collapsed entirely, the carpet is shreds of mold, and the floor is littlered with rubble and the ruins of furnishings. Laisren, you stagger past someone---a being---and bang hard into a stone wall, knocking the breath out of yourself. At least you are not harmed. Not yet, anyway. But in the seething darkness around you, you hear feet as soft and overripe as old ground-plums padding fast and gooey across the stones toward you. As for the person caught in the dim light from the open door---Well, it was a person. You think. Once. It is surprised. Eyes bugging. Or maybe it just lost its lids a few centuries back? Who knows. It is wearing the tattered remains of a silk cravat. The one beyond the Door Unlocker, those with darkvision can see, is wearing a tiara on her rotted head. Her remaining ear is long and elven with dangly diamond drop swinging from the shred of lobe. Buts of moldered pink silk taffeta cling here and there. A third is emerging from around a corner... And gods! The smell! The one in the cravat, the one all can see as he stands in the dim light spilling through the open door, reaches out a rotty hand, as if to gently swing the door closed. You guys are letting in a draft...

OOC and MAP Below is the monster's initiative. If you beat this, you can go. If you do not, you can RP, but wait until next round to take Action/Movement etc. Dice initiative: d20+2 (20)+2 Total = 22 Between the lip of the arch and the sunless, dim conditions outside, it is DARK in there. A'ru has Dark vision to 60 feet, but can't see around that corner due to angle. He does see the two figures he saw moving. Baly can see everything shown. Hlin does not have darkvision (as far as I can tell?) and can only see 5 feet or so past the doorway. Nukky has no real line of sight. More than 5 feet in puts you in darkness.

[Drachenspirit]

Baly-Ho! Baly was jarred from his ready stance by Laisren running by him and right through the door like it was a curtain. His elven vision saw everything inside, and he was actually a bit relieved that there were moving things inside, even if they didn't qualify as life. The Barbarian's actions reminded him of a brash sailor he used to adventure with on the Sea of Fallen Stars almost a century ago. It caused him to chuckle as he drew his Rapier and flipped the concealed dagger back to his palm and moved through the door. "Smash and Grab is not really my thing, Laisren, as I prefer the more stealthy approach, but be sure that I've got your back here! Hlin, cover me! Everyone, we got walking corpses here, two more inside and ahead to the right!"   BALY ACTIONS & STATS Balyarus Farfate<------ Character Sheet ROLLS : Dice Roll: 1d20+5 (2)+5 Total = 7 Dice Dmg if hit: 1d8+3 (7)+3 Total = 10 Rapier Attack, Dice Roll: 1d20+6 (9)+6 Total = 15 Dice dmg if hit: 1d4+1 (2)+1 Total = 3 Dagger Attack with Magical Dagger Move: To Square just north of undead that is just inside Door Action: Attack with Rapier Bonus Action: Attack with Magical Dagger Reaction: Conditions: Concentrating: OOC info: AC: 16 || HP: 21/21 || Saves: St +0, Dx+6, Cn+2, In+5, Ws+2, Ch+3 Left Hand: Bow || Right Hand: Bow || Back: Pack, Quiver || Belt: Rapier +5, Short sword +5, Dagger +5, Pouch Longbow: +5 to hit, 1d8+3 dmg || Rapier: +5 to hit, 1d8+3 dmg || Shortsword: +5, 1d6+3dmg || Dagger: +5, 1d4+3 dmg Skills: Stealth +7 || Investigation +6 || Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Thieves' Tools +5 || Deception, Intimidation +4 || Perception +3 || Arcana, History, Nature, Performance, Persuasion +2 || Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Survival +1 || Athletics -1 Special Abilities: Bonus action of Dash, Disengage, or HideCunning Action 60’Darkvision One skill or tool prof extra a day after short or long restWhispers of the Dead: Arcana Skill After successful sneak attack, apply to any other target within 30' of one hit, Roll half # of sneak attack dice and target takes necrotic dmg as wails surround them Wails from the Grave have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put to sleep.Fey Ancestry Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years o f practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.Trance +1d6 to attack if ADV. If another enemy of target is 5' of it, no ADV neededSneak Attack Spells: Cantrip: Toll the dead Spell Save DC: 12 | Spell Attack Bonus: +3

[Fillyjonk]

OH NO The Guests Are Dead JoeWraith.com for this and more Nukky, you are small and silent and sly. You could stand here in this dim, shadow-coated ruined courtyard for nearly forever and be mistaken for a rocky outcropping. Unless you move. Alas, the fight is happening inside. Baly, you swing at the surprised nightmare, but he is drawing back, putting an hand over the rotting and unbeating heart you can make out through the visible bits of rib cage. Your second blow lands, carving away a slice of rotted flesh. You rabble were not invited! he says in Elvish, drooling, and slams the door. He throws the bolt, locking it. They can't come in, can they Agnesia? No, Rexorndon, but this elf can stay, and his Plus One, too! says the one in the tiara. She is drooling, too, big sticky strings of it hanging down from her mouth. Can they not, Dawnaril? These are all Elvish names, Baly. Hlin and A'ru, you see the door swing shut, hear the bolt slam home. Well, ****. Laisren, you hear them speaking Elvish, but you cannot understand them. The tone, you get. It's not friendly. With the door closed, light cannot penetrate more than a foot or two via the filthy windows. You are in darkness. You feel hot breath, and then teeth close on your shoulder as claws rake down your abdomen. The Tiara presses your cheek. She is trying to eat you alive! The third one speaks in common, saying, YEsssss Meat-Boy, you and your fine fat tail are welcome---as part of the buffet! She sounds close now, too. Worse, a cold lethargy infests your blood where the claws raked you open. It is getting hard to move...

Map, Combat Chart, OOC PLEASE check your AC and HP below and make sure I have them right. Inside is darkness except in the squares right beside the door (when open). Pay attention to CONDITIONS in the chart as it will say who needs to roll saves etc. (See: Laisren) Name Health AC Damage Conditions Concentrating A'ru 28/28 17       Sneech 20/20 15       Baly 21/21 16       Hlin 18/18 13       Laisren 18/32 14   BLIND (D10 con save or Paralyzed)   Nukky 27/27 15       Agnes HEALTHY 12     Dawn HEALTHY 12   Rex DINGED 12 -3 Unlocking the door from the inside takes an action (subsequently opening it is free). You need to be in a square adjacent to the door to do it. Kicking the door open from the outside is a DC15 Str check that takes an action. This roll can be made with adv by one player if two players work together to try to knock it open. MAP: The gold band on the map is space under the platform that can be entered via the two crumbled open places. Past that golden line, trash and rubble fills the space. The dark part is out of Baly's dark vision range and A'ru's LOS. You can see an interactive version of the map HERE. Please do not move tokens. You can use the drawing tool to show me where your character wishes to go or describe it in your action block or draw it on the static map and show me the image.

[bananabadger]

"A'ru! If you are secretly a high priest of Anubis, this would be a great time to reveal yourself and your powers against undead!" Hlin calls out as he notes the moans and taunts coming from inside and moves westward along the walls until he comes to the first window. "Nukky! Do you have any way to cast some light in there? I'll try to bring in a lantern, but I have no idea how long until whatever is in there snuffs it out," he asks, as he lights up his lantern.

 

Name: Hlin
Class: (Lore) Bard
Level: 3 Race: Centaur (Willow Herd)
HP: 18/18 AC: 13
Passive Perception: 16 Passive Investigation: 11 Passive Insight: 14
Spells Known:

• Cantrips: Mage Hand, Vicious Mockery
• Level 1: Cure Wounds, Silvery Barbs
• Level 2: Messenger, Cloud of Daggers, Cure Wounds (upcast), Hold Person, Nathair's Mischief
  Vine Spells: Entangle 3/3

Inspiration: No
Spell Slots:

• Four Level 1: {} {} {} {}
• Two Level 2: {} {}

Spell Save DC: Wis 12 Spell Attack Bonus: 4
Saves: STR: +2 DEX: +4 CON: 0 INT: -1 WIS: +2 CHA: +4
Bardic Inspiration: {X} {}
Attack modifier: +4 melee / +4 ranged
Weapons: Longsword, daggers and short bow
Special Abilities: Bardic Inspiration, Jack of All Trades, Song of Rest, Cutting Words, Charge, Hooves, Equine Build

 

Rolls:
Saving throws:
Move: proceeds left (facing building) along wall of building until he comes to first window
Free action:
Action: lights lantern (use an object)
Reaction: "Silvery Barbs" is readied with advantage going to Laisren for counter-benefit
Condition:
Concentrating:
OOC info: