[Other] Halforums Heist

[MindDetective]

Session 0: The Yawning Portal

Sitting at in the tavern is a welcome respite from the dreary, wet spring evening. You sit around a sturdy wooden table lit by a brightly burning candle and littered with plates cleared of food and half-drained tankards. The sounds of gamblers yelling and drunken adventurers singing bawdy songs nearly drown out the off-key strumming of a young bard three tables over.

The place is a stone building with a slate roof and several chimneys. Most of the ground floor is taken up by the tavern’s common room, which contains a 40-foot-diameter open well (actually the outer shell of a sunken stone tower) that descends 140 feet to the first level of Undermountain, the sprawling dungeon under Waterdeep. A rope-and-pulley mechanism is used to lower adventurers into the well and hoist them out. The upper floors of the Yawning Portal contain comfortable, nicely appointed rooms for guests. Durnan, the proprietor, charges standard prices for food, drink, and lodging

Looking around the room reveals a number of familiar faces that you recognize either by reputation or through past encounters.

(Take this time to introduce your character. You can be new and know nobody, you can know each other, you can know some of the characters above. Consider your first post a chance to improvise a bit.)

 

[phil]

A stout halfling pulls a stool along to the table. He hops up on top only to realize he's still a few inches from being able to sit properly.

"Ah, for cryin' out loud" he mutters as he switches the short stool for a larger one.

"Ah, that's bettah. Worse enough they got that jag Threestrings playin' like I ain't sittin' right here they can't even be accommodating to us so called lil folk. Like what am I? A kobold? Butcha jerks"

He produces a fiddle and quietly plucks at it

"Spare a buck for a manwich? Nah nah... Throw a copper at a warlock? That don't sound right neither. Ugh I donno why I'm even in this business some days. Been a rough few years for ol Ran Riddleson I tells ya. Hey pal, see if you can get that barmaid's attention. I could use onna them pints yous big folk like, ya know?"

 

[Wahad]

Charity

The young woman steps into the tavern with a bright smile and her blue eyes taking in the sights - such as they are - looking every but the picture of innocence, if not for the sizeable sword strapped to her back, looking more like a blunt weapon with how many nicks and dents are notched into the blade.

The well, in particular, gets her undivided attention for a while, and she even leans so far forward trying to catch a glimpse of what lies beneath, that it almost looks like she might fall in. A concerned word from the serving girl straightens the woman right back up, however. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry, ma'am. It's just, well, I've heard so many tales about the famous Yawning Portal, I just had to come see it for myself!"

She introduces herself as Charity, apparently not in the slightest bit concerned who might hear her name, and heads for the bar. The innkeep's grumpy disposition doesn't seem to dim her spirits in the slightest, and she orders, after some deliberation, a pint of ale, tucking into it with a gusto quite unlike what one might expect from a girl like herself, as she turns around on her stool and surveys the inn some more.

 

[Tinwhistler]

"Your regular, Marten?" Bonnie the barmaid asks.

There is a grunt of assent from a grizzled, white-haired man at the table. If it weren't for the chain mail stretched across his broad frame, you might have mistaken him for a peasant or laborer. Perhaps he's a retired adventurer, taking his ease in Waterdeep, as so many seem to do.

"You know, it don't seem right, a man of the cloth drinking as much as you do, every day," the barmaid said with an easy laugh. "You're here early, though."

"Lathander sed come ta Waterdeep," the man grunted. "Dint say nothin' about not drinkin'," he replied in the sing-song rhythm of a Northlander. "T'day, he sez someone here may need my help. Think he'd put me here and expect me not to drink?"

"Comin' right up, hon," Bonnie said with a smile.

(ignore the axe in the pic...he's got a mace. But it was the best representative pic I could google up)

 

[Vrii]

Ty sits in a corner, playing a slow hand of cards with a few of the regulars, the stakes low enough that he doesn't even feel the need to cheat. He doesn't come here often, not having been afflicted with the desire to go dungeon-diving, but he likes to check in now and then to make sure he's not missing out on any opportunities - or marks. Sadly there doesn't seem to be much in the way of excitement here tonight; the tavern is populated with the usual assortment of mercs, adventurers, and locals hoping to see some excitement, or at least hear about it from one of the musicians looking to earn some coin with their skills.

Oh well. Ty is used to waiting. He finishes his ale, signals for another, looks down at his cards. There's still plenty of evening left for something to happen, and if it doesn't he'll try again tomorrow, somewhere else in the city.

 

[grub]

You hear a cry of victory coming from the gamblers.

"Finally my time has come! I'm gonna quit while I'm ahead."

A moderately attractive (for this place) human stands up, walks up to the table and takes a seat.

"Bonnie, another round for my new friends!"

"You need to stop toying with the other guests Brad," Bonnie says as she brings another platter of drinks.

"Thanks, love" the human replies. Turning to the table he says in a low voice. "Brad the bard, at your service. Wherever you all are going I'll join you, I think I've overstayed my welcome here."

 

[MindDetective]

@HCGLNS is the last one and then we are off.

 

[HCGLNS]

The doors to the inn open with a flourish and remain open longer than is polite. Silhouetted in the doorway is a slender man and a small sheep, scanning the room intently he approaches the bar with familiarity and is met with exasperation by the bartender. Durnan throws his hands up in futility then turns over a pair of ales to the man and just shakes his head.

The slender man strides purposefully over towards the towering physique of Yagra, and proudly proclaims today is the day! Hands the half-orc an ale and sets about arm-wrestling the hulking woman. A blush crosses her face as she accepts an ale begins the competition of strength. The crowd around her starts to laugh as the slender man struggles to budge Yagras arm as she slowly drinks her ale, not even looking at her competitor. She finishes her ale and smiles at the man, but then with a few words whispered that only she can hear, he suddenly surges her arm towards the table. She catches herself at the last moment, then with a roar slams the mans arm into the table to a chorus roar of applause of all around them. Picking himself up, the man congratulates the woman and gives her a warm embrace then makes his way into the crowd.

Pausing at the table of a solitary halfling, he exclaims "Well hello there, you're new! And appear to be in short supply of company and drink! Here take this one while I get some more. " Then the man promptly hands the halfing the ale puts his sheep down on top of the table. Looking the ruminant squarely in the eyes and states plainly without concern for who is listening, 'Now I want you to stay here and make sure he doesn't leave. Have you got that? Stay here and make sure, HE doesn't leave. No you can't leave with him. Well if he tries to leave just sing him a song, why are you making this difficult? I'm just going to the bar for an ale. What do you mean what song? You only know one! I'll be right back." and stalks away to the bar hoping to get Durnans attention yet again, his passing strides accompanied by the subtle sounds of ba ba ba, ba ba ba ram.

 

[phil]

Ran stares at the sheep with a frown.


"Wait-a-minnit. Am I watchin' yous or is yous watchin' me..."

He sips the ale while pondering the events that just played out.

"Short supply? Ah I heard worse. Heard better, but I heard worse,"

 

[MindDetective]

It is a quiet evening in the tavern so far, with the occasional cheer or moment of revelry. Otherwise, a constant hum of chatter, music, and laughter settles over the patrons of the Yawning Portal like a fog. Then all the noise is eclipsed by a shout: “Ya pig! Like killin’ me mates, does ya?” Then a seven-foot-tall half-orc Yagra is hit by a wild, swinging punch from a male human whose shaved head is covered with eye-shaped tattoos. Four other humans stand behind him, ready to jump into the fray. The half-orc cracks her knuckles, roars, and leaps at the tattooed figure — but before you can see if blood is drawn, a crowd of spectators clusters around the brawl. (What do you do?)

Key:
Charity
Marten
Ran
Erythro
Brad
Ty
Yagra
Tattooed ruffians
An inexplicable sheep

Each square is 5'x5'.

(If you want a different color and/or are in a different place in the tavern than you thought, let me know.)

 

[DarkAudit]

 

[grub]

Brad runs to join the fray.
"Five on one is not exactly fair gents. Mind if I help even the odds?"

 

[phil]

Ooc: so with the pulley system used to lower people into the well. Is it just like a single rope or is there a platform or something? I'm wondering if I could realistically jump to it and go over the well instead of around.

 

[PatrThom]

Why is the sheep on a table?

--Patrick

 

[phil]

Why is the sheep on a table?

--Patrick

Because he's keeping an eye on me

 

[MindDetective]

Ooc: so with the pulley system used to lower people into the well. Is it just like a single rope or is there a platform or something? I'm wondering if I could realistically jump to it and go over the well instead of around.

No, that wouldn't be realistic. No platform. And everyone has to push through a crowd around the brawl anyways.

 

[Wahad]

Charity

The young woman was already halfway through her second pint when the ruckus started. She blinks in surprise, and gets up from her stool, trying to make her way through the crowd. "Um, excuse me!" she tries, though her voice doesn't really carry over the din of the brawl. "Excuse me! I don't really think this is the right way to air your grievances!"

 

[Vrii]

Ty had watched the initial confrontation with a roughly equal mix of amusement and concern: amusement he knew Yagra by reputation and felt a (very brief) moment of pity for the men provoking her, concern because these fights had a tendency to spiral, and he had no interest in getting involved. Seeing various patrons moving to get involved, he had nodded to himself and scooped up his coins in one hand, lifting his drink with the other, and rose from his stool.

As the others converge on the ongoing brawl, he steps quickly but quietly away from his table, placing as much furniture as he can between him and the combatants, then leans back against the tavern's wall to see how this plays out.

 

[HCGLNS]

[OOC: join the conflict by casting minor illusion, Roll for initiative was 10]

The slender man approaches the bar only to notice the bartenders distractions at the minor frackus at the other side of the bar. A few subtle gestures, a shrug, a nod and a touch of fluff is all it takes. When suddenly a pale ghostly vision that looks quite similar to the bald man attacking Yagra rises up out of the pit in the centre of the room. It's frightful appearance a new thread in the tapestry of this conflict,

 

[Tinwhistler]

Marten sighs, grumbling "I guess this is what Lathander meant," leaving his beer on the bar and rushing towards the conflict.

Taking a dash action on my turn, allowing 2x movement. Above location is my intended goal.

Questions:

• How are you playing diagonal movement? "Same as non-diagonal" or "every other costs 2x"? I only took one diagonal in the chart, not knowing.
• Would the cantrip "Thaumaturgy" be able to be heard above the sounds of the fight? I could either make my voice boom "three times as loud" or cause a sound such as distant thunder.
• I'm portraying my character as a 'regular'...someone who comes in every evening after 'priesting' during the day. Would I recognize Yagra or any of the ruffians? Because my personality is taciturn, I expect that I'm a loner/quiet drinker normally, and probably wouldn't *know* them, even if they were regulars, too. But would I have seen them before?

 

[MindDetective]

Marten sighs, grumbling "I guess this is what Lathander meant," leaving his beer on the bar and rushing towards the conflict.
View attachment 32793
Taking a dash action on my turn, allowing 2x movement. Above location is my intended goal.

Questions:

• How are you playing diagonal movement? "Same as non-diagonal" or "every other costs 2x"? I only took one diagonal in the chart, not knowing.
• Would the cantrip "Thaumaturgy" be able to be heard above the sounds of the fight? I could either make my voice boom "three times as loud" or cause a sound such as distant thunder.
• I'm portraying my character as a 'regular'...someone who comes in every evening after 'priesting' during the day. Would I recognize Yagra or any of the ruffians? Because my personality is taciturn, I expect that I'm a loner/quiet drinker normally, and probably wouldn't *know* them, even if they were regulars, too. But would I have seen them before?

1.) You get movement as well as your dash action, so you should be able to move 60 feet. Combat won't really start until people break through the crowd, once initiative is rolled.
2.) I tend to be forgiving on diagonal movement, but if someone is running only diagonally, I tend to discount them a square or part of one. I don't sweat the details too much, so including one or two diagonals in your movement is fine, especially if the straight line between you and your destination is shorter than the route you took!
3.) Three times as lout would be louder than the din of the brawl, yes.
4.) He would recognize Yagra as a regular for sure, even if he doesn't know much about her.

 

[Tinwhistler]

1.) You get movement as well as your dash action, so you should be able to move 60 feet. Combat won't really start until people break through the crowd, once initiative is rolled.
2.) I tend to be forgiving on diagonal movement, but if someone is running only diagonally, I tend to discount them a square or part of one. I don't sweat the details too much, so including one or two diagonals in your movement is fine, especially if the straight line between you and your destination is shorter than the route you took!
3.) Three times as lout would be louder than the din of the brawl, yes.
4.) He would recognize Yagra as a regular for sure, even if he doesn't know much about her.

Ok..then I'd like to take the above stated position as my movement, and use the Thaumaturgy cantrip 3 times in a row for the following effects (at least until the combat breaks out and initiatives must be rolled--let me know if I'm being too free with pre-combat time): first: Voice 3 times as loud, followed by thunder, followed by golden glowing eyes. ("If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to three of its 1-minute effects active at a time, and you can dismiss such an effect as an action.")
----------
An unnaturally loud voice booms over the argument, stern and angry: "Stay yer hand, ye ruffians! There'll nae be fighting in here t'day!" A crack of thunder peals ominously in the distance. As heads start to turn toward the sound of the voice, Marten stands there, feet squared off in a fighting stance, hefting a mace in one hand. His eyes glow with an eerie golden light. The voice continues, just as loud. "Take yer troubles elsewhere, or more trouble may find ye than ye can handle."

(If this can count as an intimidation attempt, I'd like to do so. If I don't have the time for all 3 cantrips before combat, I'll just use the booming voice)

 

[phil]

Ran looks over at the commotion and sighs.

"Well bud, looks like I gotta go for a minute. Try not to get in any more trouble than I'm about to."

He takes a last swing of ale before leaving the mysterious sheep to their own devices.

As he makes his way to the brawl he notices the....large bald man rising out of the well?

"I ain't the right amount of drunk for this"

[Ran goes north around the well to get to the brawl. He hasn't drawn his weapons yet since he's not sure if it's escalated to that point. Initiative roll = unnatural 20]

 

[HCGLNS]

A small ruminant hops down from it's perch on a table top awkwardly trying to carry an ale mug. Those that notice give a laugh at the notion of a serving sheep, as it brings the mug to a slender man at the bar. The man bends down to collect mug and give the sheep a tender scratch behind the ears. It quickly trots back to its perch on a nearby table.

 

[MindDetective]

OK, I futz with initiative a bit to make PbP work a bit more smoothly. I think it works well, so please forgive the departure. Initiative order will go as follows:

Ran, Ty, Brad, and Charity may go first in any order.
The ruffians and Yagra will go second.
Marten and Erythro will go last in any order.

As Ran, Brad, and Charity push through the crowd, they all stop at Marten's booming voice, followed by a thunderclap. The brawlers do not seem to notice the additional noise, but the crowd parts for the two bards and the paladin at Marten's attention-grabbing display. Others begin to point at Erythro's illusion rising out of the portal, buzzing about the strange events unfolding around them.

(Ran, Ty, Brad, and Charity are all up!)

 

[grub]

Brad pulls a feather out of his pocket and waves it in the air in a mocking sort of way towards the leader of the ruffians and casts Tasha’s Hideous Laughter on the leader. (he must roll a wisdom save vs 13)

"Yah, what the disembodied voice said. Use your words not your fists."

 

[MindDetective]

The ruffian leader looks straight at Yagra, a wide smile breaking out on his lips. Then he begins laughing, doubling over, and falls to the ground.

(Ran, Ty, and Charity are up next.)

 

[Wahad]

Charity

The young woman passes the now-doubled over leader and faces two of his cohorts. "Please, sirs. I understand you may have some trouble with the half-orcen lady, but this is not the way. Have you no decency, that you would gang up in someone like this?" She makes no move to attack them, though her posture is tense, clearly able to retaliate if they choose to focus their wroth on her.

Moving in between the leader and the top two ruffians. Holding an action for a grab attack on whomever strikes me first. Athletics on the grapple is 10.

 

[phil]

As Ran approaches the fight, he notices the leader laughing hysterically on the ground.

"Guess I ain't in in the joke. Might as well be in on the fight!"

Ran targets the center-left guy and goes for a kick to the knees.

[Unarmed strike, rolled a 10]

 

[HCGLNS]

[ooc]

Can you explain the map a bit more. It looks like there are exits above the bandits, and a veranda exit to the side and a main entrance to the south.

 

[MindDetective]

The halfling runs up to the ruffian and kicks him in the shin, doing nothing more than drawing a glower from the human in return.

[ooc]

Can you explain the map a bit more. It looks like there are exits above the bandits, and a veranda exit to the side and a main entrance to the south.

Yes, you have it exactly.

(Ty is up next! @Vrii still just watching or jumping into the fray?)

 

[MindDetective]

Okay, this is an opportunity to introduce a standard practice for my in PbP games. In order to make sure a game isn't bogged down because a player hasn't checked in for a while (for whatever reason. No judgments here!), I will advance the game by taking an action for a player. I always try to make it reasonable and based on what I know of the character's past experience in combat or previously stated intentions. As a rule, I generally try to avoid using up resources, like spells, Ki, potions, etc. It is *always* okay if you miss a post for whatever reason. It happens. Maintaining momentum is very important to the success of the campaign, though, so this is my solution for that!


Ty puts his hand on his daggers but maintains his distance, surprised at the number of people joining the fray.

(Ty readies an attack if any brawler, including other PCs, get within 5 feet of him.)

 

[MindDetective]

One ruffian moves to shove Charity out of the way, saying, "Stay out of it, girl." Charity grabs his arm surprising him with her speed. (ruffian is grappled, limiting his movement to 0).

The ruffian next to him (northernmost) moves to tackle Yagra. (Charity gets an attack of opportunity.) Yagra resists the ruffian's tackle, getting shoved back a step for his efforts against the large woman.

The other neighbor to the grappled ruffian is looking down at Ran, chuckling. He moves to kick the halfling back. Ran takes a solid kick to the stomach for 6 points of damage.

The last of the ruffians following the tattooed man looks at Brad, his eyes narrowed. "What wuz that?" he says. "What'd you do to him?" He charges the bard, grating Ran an attack of opportunity. The ruffian swings at Brad with a haymaker. The wild swing is interrupted by the man trying to navigate around the corner of the stage.

Yagra, rage in her eyes, punches at her would-be tackler, missing him with her left but landing against his jaw with a crunch on her follow-up right hook that nearly knocks him out. (5 damage.)

(Erythro and Marten are up! And Charity and Ran each get an AoO)

 

[phil]

Ran stumbles after the hearty kick to his chest.

"Pooh boy are *weeeze* you going to *weeeze* regret that"

Ran notices the other trying to move past him

"Where you think you're going, punk?"

[Rolled an 8]

Ran feebly takes a swing at the one moving past him with just enough time to miss him by a few seconds.

"That'll...*cough* that'll shows ya. Yeesh"

 

[HCGLNS]

A few thoughts flow between the slender man and his friend; "Well sheep, let's review. All five of those nitwits are likewise engaged, and the the tide is turned against them. What's next? They've lost the fight, so they choose flight? Well let's see what we can do to prevent that. Now be a good sheep and go over to that brooding fellow by the wall and just stare at him. Stay back, but just look at him." These mental communications go unnoticed by the bar, some notice the ghostly image disappear from above the well, but perhaps a few notice that the large doors to the south now appear fully open. A perfect escape route for the dim witted thugs...

While the slender man takes note of this, he calmly wipes down the ale mug brought to him by the sheep with a rag and steps behind the bar.

[OOC cast minor illusion on the doors to the south to make them appear open, hoping that the thugs will run into them trying to escape the bar and knock themselves out, and since there are no sturdy protectors between me and the thugs I retreat behind the bar, and no I am not sheep shaming the rogue, the sheep is the distraction so he does not notice the illusion behind him.]