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#1

MindDetective

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.

1580784076690.png


(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.)


#2

phil

phil

636339381635861851.png


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?"


#3

Wahad

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.


#4

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

1580821981841.png
"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)


#5

Vrii

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.

Attachments



#6

grub

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."


#7

MindDetective

MindDetective

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


#8

HCGLNS

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.


#9

phil

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,"


#10

MindDetective

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'.
Yawning Portal Battle Map.png


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


#11

DarkAudit

DarkAudit

:popcorn:


#12

grub

grub

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


#13

phil

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.


#14

PatrThom

PatrThom

Why is the sheep on a table?

--Patrick


#15

phil

phil

PatrThom said:
Why is the sheep on a table?

--Patrick
Click to expand...
Because he's keeping an eye on me


#16

MindDetective

MindDetective

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


#17

Wahad

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!"


#18

Vrii

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.


#19

HCGLNS

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,


#20

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten sighs, grumbling "I guess this is what Lathander meant," leaving his beer on the bar and rushing towards the conflict.
1580902032226.png

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?


#21

MindDetective

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
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?
Click to expand...
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.


#22

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

MindDetective said:
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.
Click to expand...
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)


#23

phil

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]


#24

HCGLNS

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.


#25

MindDetective

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!)

Yawning Portal Battle Map (1).png


#26

grub

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."


#27

MindDetective

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.)


#28

Wahad

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.


#29

phil

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]


#30

HCGLNS

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.


#31

MindDetective

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.

HCGLNS said:
[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.
Click to expand...
Yes, you have it exactly.

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


#32

MindDetective

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.)


#33

MindDetective

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)


#34

phil

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"


#35

HCGLNS

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.]


#36

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

"Young punks need to be taught a lesson in manners." Marten mutters to himself, rushing forward to join in the fray.
---------------
I can't quite reach Ran for a touch healing spell, so I'll use my move to reach immediately behind Charity (5 squares) and fire off Sacred Flame at the ruffian that kicked Ran.


#37

MindDetective

MindDetective

The bandit sidesteps as the sacred flame strikes where he was standing and he laughs at the attempt.

Meanwhile, a sheep trots over to stare up at Ty.

An older man is looking at him, stroking his whiskered face. He eventually looks away, but not for being caught staring. His interest has simply wandered elsewhere, taking in all the players in the room.

Yawning Portal Battle Map (2).png


(Charity, Brad, Ran, and Ty are all up in any order.)


#38

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Holding on to the ruffian with a tense grip, Charity yields in her push for a moment to let the man trip, stepping sideways and using the momentum to pull him to the ground. "Please yield, sir. I have no desire to harm you but this fight cannot continue." She pins the ruffian to the ground, making sure he can't go anywhere.

Moving one square up with my grabbed friend (so that he moves one square up as well) and using the Shove action to knock the ruffian I'm grabbing Prone. Notably, prone, grabbed enemies cannot stand up, since grabbed reduces speed to 0. Athletics for the shove is 22.


#39

MindDetective

MindDetective

Charity is much stronger than the ruffian expects and he stumbles to the ground, pinned by the paladin in an expert hold. "You bi--" he starts to say, but is cut off when his face is shoved into the floor.


#40

grub

grub

Brad laughs at the ruffian who missed him with the haymaker. "I did nothing that will harm him. I don't want to hurt anybody here tonight." He takes the dodge action. "I would appreciate the same courtesy."


#41

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Side question: Can you mark the prone guys on the map? (Tasha's victim and the grappling victim) so that we can see who's still up and swinging?


#42

MindDetective

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
Side question: Can you mark the prone guys on the map? (Tasha's victim and the grappling victim) so that we can see who's still up and swinging?
Click to expand...
Yup! Later today.


#43

phil

phil

Ran takes stock oh his situation and wishes he'd been a cleric like his mother wanted.

he also notices that the ruffian that barley escaped his wrath is now also upon Yagra.

"You got it Yara! You got the touch! You got the powwwweeerrr!"

[I'd like to use Bardic Inspiration on Yagra]

Ran focuses his mind, his body, his spirit and winds up his iron fist for what he assumes will be the knock out punch on this seemingly indestructible foe.

[Roll of an 8]

The punch lands in the hand of the ruffian who responds with a little "nuh uh" wag of his finger.



"Feel free to surrender whenever" Ran tells the man with a clear advantage over him.


#44

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

phil said:
The punch lands in the hand of the ruffian who responds with a little "nuh uh" wag of his finger.
Click to expand...


#45

MindDetective

MindDetective

Yawning Portal Battle Map (3).png


@Vrii is up with Ty, who is being watched by a sheep and some guy (who is NOT Erythro)


#46

Vrii

Vrii

Ty is bemused. The brawl has stayed mostly contained, but he's not used to seeing magic so freely used in situations like this. It's a lucky thing, it seems to him, that none of the men who started the fight have drawn weapons in response.

He watches a young woman remove one of the men from the fight without any apparent effort; maybe luck is playing a smaller role here than he thought.

Looking around once more, his eyes linger on the man he'd caught eyeing him moments ago. Ty shrugs and begins making his way across the room. If someone's interested in him he'd prefer to know why, and besides - he knows that the won't find the kinds of opportunities he's looking for by staying out of sight and hoping they'll come to him.

He walks up to the man, careful to avoid the ongoing scrap and the people surrounding it, and smiles slightly. "Turning into an interesting night, isn't it?"


#47

MindDetective

MindDetective

The ruffian leader continues to laugh uncontrollably on the floor while his gang continue the brawl without him.

The one that Charity has pinned, rolls slightly to the side and swings a clenched first at the paladin. His fist connects with her chin, causing a painful bruise and a bit tongue (3 points of damage)

Behind Charity, one of the ruffians draws his scimitar and swings it at Yagra. The blade slices through her forearm, eliciting a howl of anger.

Another ruffian takes a swing at Brad, this time with feet planted. Brad is too quick, though, stepping back and to the side to avoid the blow.

The last ruffian, amused by Ran, gives him another swift kick. This time Ran is able to roll out of the way before the ruffian connects.

Yagra throws two punches at the ruffian who bloodied her with a sword. The first blow lands, knocking the fellow out. He flops backward with a thud, unconscious before hitting the floor.

Ty, meanwhile, has a conversation...

"Hello, hello," the man says with a cheery demeanor. "I can't help but notice you are ready to fight but not joining in the fray. Not like the others." The man indicates the crowd and the patrons who are doing their best to ignore the scuffle. "You do not appear to be just another audience member..."


#48

MindDetective

MindDetective

Oh, and Marten and Erythro are up!


#49

Bubble181

Bubble181

Just asking, but...if the first blow connects and knocks the ruffians out - why would she throw a second one? :confused:


#50

PatrThom

PatrThom

Bubble181 said:
Just asking, but...if the first blow connects and knocks the ruffians out - why would she throw a second one? :confused:
Click to expand...
Just to be sure?

--Patrick


#51

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

1581264431313.png

Assuming Yagra's unconscious foe is at "U", I'll jostle up this way and take a whack at the prone guy P with my mace--going for a knockout instead of death (roll with advantage: 19). My thaumaturgy should still be active (1 min duration). If I knock the guy out, I'll move to the green circle with the remainder of my move. Otherwise, I'll stay put.

Marten's voice booms out as he steps around the fallen ruffian, wading deeper into the fray. "I sed, stop fighting!" he yells, as he brings his mace down toward the ruffian that Charity is tussling with--looking every inch like a crazy old farmer trying to ring the bell at a carnival game.


#52

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Bubble181 said:
Just asking, but...if the first blow connects and knocks the ruffians out - why would she throw a second one? :confused:
Click to expand...
[ooc that would be dramatic license in describing the attack, in pure game mechanics if Yaggra was able to attack 2x/round, she would be in no danger and way above our level of characters]


A whispered thought flows from the slender man to his staunch companion, "Save the hafling little one, you know what to do. And make sure you are seen." And suddenly the sheep scampers off towards the flailing bard, and upon nearing him bleets and baas as loud as possible, attracting the attention of the bar.

Once sufficiently distracted, the slender man kneels down behind the cover of the bar, a few moments later, a terrifying woman clad in red emerges.

flame sorceress disguise.jpg


familiar takes a double move to end up next to Ran, upon it's next turn it will use the HELP action to distract the opponent he is facing to grant him advantage on his attacks.

Erythro uses of the cover of the bar to cast DISGUISE SELF and emerges looking like a female human flame sorceress. Reason being if, he is about to start lobbing fire at the ruffians, it's best he not look like himself if he kills them, as spells don't deal sub-dual damage


#53

MindDetective

MindDetective

Bubble181 said:
Just asking, but...if the first blow connects and knocks the ruffians out - why would she throw a second one? :confused:
Click to expand...
She definitely gave him a good left jab for good measure as he toppled backwards.



#54

MindDetective

MindDetective

Somewhat tougher than the scrawny ruffian that Yagra knocked out, the fellow held down by Charity is considerably tougher and takes a shot to the jaw with surprising composure. He spits out a blog of blood and glowers at Marten. "I'm going to kick your ass, old man. Right after I deal with this little waif."

Meanwhile, Sheep runs over into the fray through the legs of the onlookers, sidling up next to Brad but glaring at the ruffian past Ran.

And a graceful human woman appears, eyes set on the brawl across the room.

Ty:

"Well, would you look at that," the old man says to Ty as the sorceress appears from behind the bar. "Very interesting..."

(Ty, Ran, Brad, and Charity are up! Round 3: Ding!)


#55

grub

grub

Brad sizes up the ruffian in front of him and laughs, "You're ugly, and your momma dresses you funny." He says scornfully. And casts vicious mockery (Wis save 13 or take 3 damage).


#56

MindDetective

MindDetective

grub said:
Brad sizes up the ruffian in front of him and laughs, "You're ugly, and your momma dresses you funny." He says scornfully. And casts vicious mockery (Wis save 13 or take 3 damage).
Click to expand...
The ruffian scowls. "I ain't got a momma. But I'll take yours all night long....after I throw you down into Undermountain."


#57

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

The young woman takes the blow with a yelp, before the old man comes to her aid, though the ruffian doesn't seem to be too worried about the mace. "Fine. If you will not yield, then I must make you," she sighs, winding up with her free hand to deliver a punishing blow to his kidney.

Unarmed Strike the ruffian (with advantage because he's prone) with a natural 20. Damage is still only 4, though.


#58

Vrii

Vrii

Ty takes in the scene unfolding around him: magic, weapons drawn and used, a combative sheep, the image of a woman who had definitely not been here before emerging from behind the bar,and shakes his head slowly. "This isn't exactly how I imagined this fight would go."

Another exchange of blows, the thugs still looking to be on the worse end of things. A thought occurs to him.

"Do you have any idea what this is about?"


#59

phil

phil

Ran decides that it's time to change his game plan. He stops trying to land the deathblow of a trained fighter and instead relies on pure luck. He jumps up and wildly swings his arm in the general direction of his opponent.

[Unarmed strike roll=17. Going to assume a hit for 2 dmg]

The wild series of slaps result in a bloodied nose for the ruffian and a shocked look on both fighters faces.


#60

MindDetective

MindDetective

The ruffian leader still laughs uncontrollably at Yagra's feet.

His flunky, pinned down by Charity, draws his sword. "That's it, little girl. You shouldn't have gotten involved." The sword gashes her forearm, leaving a gaping cut. (4 damage taken)

The shocked ruffian in front of Ran swings at the halfling with a clenched fist but utterly misses as Ran sidesteps the obvious blow.

Brad faces down the last one, who swings again, and takes one on the nose with a crunch. (Just 1 damage taken.)

Yagra, still furious at the leader, kicks him twice. The man stops laughing after the first kick...

Ty:

"I haven't a clue!" the man says. "But my trained eye may yet pick out the cause."

(Erythro and Marten are up!)


#61

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Acting like a guy putting in a fence post, Marten hammers down again on the prone ruffian.
Keeping the attempt to knockout, even though he's drawn a sword.
Attack roll with advantage: 14. If that hits, damage is 4


#62

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

The adorable sheep starts bleating and baaing as loud as it can, prancing and jumping around the feet of the villain attacking his pint sized companion, the half-bard.

While across the room a fever of heat sweeps out from the beautiful woman in red. She sweeps her hands in a circle as flames begin dancing around her fingers, when suddenly a blast of fire springs forth from her hands as she screams
"By Bahamev, Third of his Name,
I silence your prattling with ever burning flame!

FULMEN IGNEM MITTITUR!"

sheep uses HELP action, next ally to attack that target gains advantage.

I cast Fire Bolt and get the first 1 of the campaign, I'll let the DM describe what happens.


#63

phil

phil

....does my guy have any weapons on him that I can see?


#64

MindDetective

MindDetective

phil said:
....does my guy have any weapons on him that I can see?
Click to expand...
(Yes, all are armed.)

As Erythro casts his spell and the fire bolt flies low, scorching the stone well in the center of the tavern. However...

The wizard bites his own tongue! Cast no spells with a verbal component until the end of the next round.

Meanwhile, Marten successfully knocks the ruffian out with a strong blow to the man's temple.

Yawning Portal Battle Map (4).png


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


#65

grub

grub

"You scoundrel! That's my favorite nose." Brad unsheathes his rapier and attempts to stab the ruffian that dared to blemish his lovely face. (Attack Roll 21, 10 DMG). "I hoped it wouldn't come to this."


#66

MindDetective

MindDetective

Brad's rapier flashes from its scabbard and runs straight through the ruffian's chest. The man falls to the ground, gasping for breath and bleeding profusely on the sawdust-covered floor.


#67

phil

phil

Ran unsheathes his rapier

"Ok, so I didn't want to pull a weapon on an unarmed man. I'm wondering if you're onna them kicky-punchy fellas what with the martial arts whatnot. So really yous been fighting with your weapon the whole time. Anyway, imma stab ya"

[Natural 1 on my attempt to deal non lethal damage

OH WAIT THE SHEEP GAVE ME ADVANTAGE AND I GOT A 19 SUCK ON THAT RUFFIAN]

Ran, against his natural instinct to drop his blade out of sheer clumsyness, manages to slash his opponent in the leg

[6 damage]

"Thank the gods for sheep"


#68

MindDetective

MindDetective

As Ran whips out his rapier in imitation of Brad, it nearly flies across the room, leaving the halfling scrambling to hold onto the sword with both hands.

Hold up. Missed an advantage roll.


(Ty and Charity are up.)


#69

MindDetective

MindDetective

What really happened:

Ran draws his rapier and the bleating of Sheep allows him an extra second to get a handle on his blade before he drives it into the ruffian's thigh.


#70

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

"Thank you, elder. May the Great Mother smile on you and yours." Charity inclines her head to Marten before she wipes some of the blood from her mouth, before turning to look at the battle. Seeing only one of the ruffians still up, the young woman walks over calmly. "Sir? Please yield. The tides have turned against you and your comrades, but it is not too late. Walk away. Please." Her genuine plea is accompanied by a complete lack of defense of any kind on Charity's end. Should the ruffian continue to strike - even at her - then fate would not be kind to him.

Using Help action to grant the next attack roll against the final guy advantage, because ganging up on one dude is not Charity's style.

Edit: On MD's suggestion, Persuasion roll for 17.


#71

MindDetective

MindDetective

(I'm assuming that Ty isn't going to bolt across the tavern to assassinate the last guy. Feel free to do a non-combat post at any time for Ty, @Vrii )

The last ruffian looks around at Ran, Brad, Charity, and Marten and lowers his hands. Just then, Yagra rushes at him, pummeling him twice with a jab and a cross. The jab misses but the cross lands, knocking the ruffian out. He slumps to the floor with the rest of them. The large half-orc woman glowers down at the ruffians and spits on the floor with a sneer.

Shouts of alarm suddenly ring out as a hulking creature climbs up out of the shaft in the middle of the taproom — a monster with warty green skin, a tangled nest of wiry black hair, a long, carrot-shaped nose, and bloodshot eyes. As it bares its yellow teeth and howls, you can see that a half-dozen bat-like creatures are attached to its body, with five more circling above it like flies. Everyone in the tavern reacts in fear except for the barkeep, Durnan, who shouts, “Troll!”

New initiative order!

Brad
The Troll and Stirges
Durnan
Everyone else
Yagra

Yawning Portal Battle Map (5).png


Brad is up!


#72

grub

grub

Seeing the troll Brad wishes he had picked a different bar. He doesn't recognize the bat-things but reaches into his boot unsheathing a dagger and throws it towards the nearest one.

Brad's dagger flies straight at the creature and hits it in the head. (Crit for 4 DMG).


#73

MindDetective

MindDetective

The dagger bursts through the stirge and it falls to the ground with a splat.

The troll darts across towards Durnan with such speed and ferocity that it causes many patrons to gasp. The troll strikes Durnan twice, drawing blood and a stern look from the former adventurer.

Meanwhile, the blood-sucking stirges descend on patrons, who begin fleeing in a panic. Two patrons are brought down by stirges. Another one attacks Erythro and a fourth attacks Ty. Erythro is too slow to avoid the hit and it latches on to the wizard (5 damage). Ty manages to duck as the stirge swoops at him

Durnan swivels and pulls a lethal looking sword off of the wall. He whirls immediately on the troll, striking at the beast with a speed unmatched in the tavern. Four slashes blur past the monster and it is left with 2 large cuts across its chest.

Yawning Portal Battle Map (6).png


(Everyone but Brad is up!)


#74

Vrii

Vrii

Ty shakes his head as the fight descends into bloodshed; if he'd seen that coming, he might have joined in from the outset. He thinks about it briefly, smiles, decides that he probably still wouldn't have felt the need to participate in a brawl. He is turning to excuse himself from the conversation, intending to order a round for the victors (why not take advantage of circumstances to make some new friends?) when the new shapes emerge from the well, one of the bat-creatures flying towards him.

Reacting on instinct, he ducks under its attacks and draws his rapier, thrusting at the creature swooping around his head.

(17 to hit, 9 for damage)


#75

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Well, I was going to make some noble and dramatic scene about how we shouldn't be killing these young punks, and rushed to stabilize the one stabbed ruffian. But, you know, that poor bastard's on his own now.

Is there a reason one of the stirges is marked in black?

I have this feeling the fight just went way above my pay grade. If my Pythagorean math is right, Erythro's 75 feet from me and out of range of my Sacred Flame, so...

Of the two stirges closest to my group, if either one is attached to a patron, I'll attack that one. If neither are, I'll attack a random one as they're both about the same distance away. Sacred Flame cantrip, 8 dmg if the stirge doesn't dodge.

Marten spins at the sound of the commotion, eyes widening at the horrors coming up from the ground. "Mebbe this is why Lathandar saw fit to put me here today," he muses to himself, his heart quickening. Offering a quick prayer to his god, he releases the divine power he has been granted.


#76

MindDetective

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
Is there a reason one of the stirges is marked in black?
Click to expand...
That one is dead.


#77

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

A foul blood sucking monstrosity latches itself to the woman in red. A brief moment of shock flashes across her face but quickly passes. Calmly she strides over to the sword wielding man near the main doors.

A deft flick of the wrist removes the foul beast from her body, "Here, you deal with this while I take care of that." And casually points towards the troll.

This followed by a furious scampering as the small sheep barrels over to meet her.

move action walk to Ty standard action to remove the Stirge, double move by sheep to arrive next to me. Giving the stirge 3 targets next turn.

Has my passive perception (17) noticed any flammable liquid like torch or lamp oil or spirits that we could burn the troll with? If yes, I will call out instructions on where I saw it to the bar and encourage the others to dose the troll in it.


#78

phil

phil

Ran rushes over to the nearest Stirge. Since he won't make it in time before the Stirge attacks another patron, Ran grabs one of his darts from his belt and throws it at the monster.

[Rolled a 6. #Classic Ran]

The dart sails smoothly and cleanly right over the top of the stirge.

"Are you even on our side?" Yells an angry patron who's ale is now leaking.


#79

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Watching the monsters emerge, Charity's eyes grow wide. "Great Mother, give me strength," she murmurs in a quiet prayer as she places her hands on her chest, a soft glow suffusing the palm for a moment as some of her wounds close. Striding forward through the tavern, the young woman takes out a short, narrow javelin from underneath her sword and tosses it in her grip, before taking a few more strides and throwing it across the tavern with excellent form at one of the menacing flying creatures.

Using full Lay on Hands pool to heal myself for 5, back up to 10. Drawing one of my javelins and walking forward 30 ft across the top, then throwing it at the nearest Stirge. If all Stirges are down already, then at the troll, since I can't quite tell which stirges are dead. 18 for attack, 5 for damage.


#80

MindDetective

MindDetective

Everyone leaps into action as patrons scatter. Ty skewers a stirge, causing a bloody mess. Marten summons a heavenly bolt of flame that rescues a patron, now unconscious on the floor. Charity makes a running throw with her javelin that pins a now-dead stirge to the floor, also rescuing an unconscious patron. Erythro....struggles to remove the stirge that has affixed itself to his middle back. Still, he ignores the beast for a precious moment and spies several lamps that are unlit around the well as well as some hard liquor just across the bar.

Yagra snaps out of her intense focus on the ruffians and sees the troll attacking her favorite tavern. She charges across the taproom over dead bodies, drawing her weapon as she goes.

(Brad is up! One stirge remains, attached to Erythro still.)


#81

grub

grub

Brad yells at the stirge, "Hey you stupid stirge! You're the worst of your lineage! Your mother should be embarrassed by your awfulness." blows a raspberry and casts vicious mockery at the beast. (13 wisdom save 3 dmg)


#82

MindDetective

MindDetective

The remaining stirge falls into a deep melancholy unlike any that a stirge has ever known. The little blood-sucker detaches from Erythro's back and hiss-bleats mournfully. It drops to the ground, probably questioning its place in the universe, and vomits up its bloody meal before giving in to its ennui and dying.

The troll is oblivious to all of this and thrashes angrily at Durnan, followed by a vicious looking bite. The first swipe misses but Durnan cannot avoid the second, which rakes across his side evoking a painful cry. The troll's bite lands as well, drawing blood from the old fighter's shoulder.

With gritted teeth, he thrusts the blade into the belly of the troll, which screams, releasing the tavern owner. Durnan steps back and then lunges forward again with three rapid strikes, each landing in vital spots. The troll falls to the ground, bleeding profusely and breathing shallowly. Its wounds are already beginning to close.

"Fire! Acid!" Durnan says, grabbing a bar rag and wiping his bloody brow. "Quick! We need to put it down for good."

(Everyone but Brad is up!)


#83

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

MindDetective said:
The remaining stirge falls into a deep melancholy unlike any that a stirge has ever known. The little blood-sucker detaches from Erythro's back and hiss-bleats mournfully. It drops to the ground, probably questioning its place in the universe, and vomits up its bloody meal before giving in to its ennui and dying.
Click to expand...
That shit's hilarious, yo :D

I got no fire.
1581473688430.png

All of my spells are "radiant" damage :(

I'll take a dash action, while grabbing my tinderbox. I have enough move to get all the way to the troll, but I'll stop with a 5 foot space between us. If he's able to get up, I'd rather him focus on Durnan instead of one-shotting me to Lathander's kingdom. Should still have my cantrips up for a couple more rounds, at least.

The map shows a fire pit/fireplace. Is it lit?

Marten dashes across the bar, fumbling with his equipment as he does so. He screams, his voice still booming unnaturally loud, "Liquor! Douse it in liquor! Use the good stuff!"


#84

MindDetective

MindDetective

The fireplace is lit, yes, but mainly has hot coals in it at the moment rather than a raging fire.

(Ty, Charity, Erythro, and Ran are all up.)


#85

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

The woman in read, glides across the room with an authority known only to entitled nobility until she stands next to the slumpen green giant. A scowl crosses her face, then a rage fills her eyes. Fire begins to dance around her hair, her body begins to glow as flames well up between her palms. With a cry she spikes a mote of fire down into the giant!

"FEUERBOLZEN WERFEN!"

move action walk to troll, cast fire bolt on the downed target, attack roll of 20 vs AC, auto crit if a hit dealing 4 points of damage


#86

phil

phil

Ran gets as close to the bar as he can. The troll and the bar block his path to anything that could be used as a fuel. He reaches out with his mind and a ghostly hand appears before a bottle of top shelf liquor. It grabs the bottle and slowly but surely hovers over the troll as high as it can go. With a snap, Ran commands the bottle to be thrown down onto the beast.

[Cast Mage Hand and try to break the bottle by dropping it on the troll. Not sure what I might need to roll for that]


#87

MindDetective

MindDetective

Erythro's bolt of flame is not especially impressive to him but to those watching, it is impressive enough as the troll quietly lights with a "foomf" and burns with a sickly sweet smell.

Durnan relaxes as a healer comes over to attend to his wounds. He barks out a laugh at the blood and gore strewn around his tavern. "Packle! Grab the shovel!"

Someone calls out, "Already on it, boss!"

"Bonnie!"

"Pouring drinks now!" she says from behind the bar.

"If you are in the bar right now," Durnan says, looking around the room, "Your next drink is on me."

Everyone can see this won't set Durnan back much. Nevertheless, the injured are tended to (and then promptly ejected in the case of the ruffians). Seats and replaced and glass and bloody sawdust swept up. Within a few minutes, the tavern looks as if nothing happened.

Durnan pays no further mind to those who leaped in to help, getting back to running his business and cleaning his sword. But the middle-aged man who watched them continues to pay them heed. He does his best to gather them at a freshly cleaned table, buying them a drink and the promise of a job.

"You be adventurers, right?" he says as he greets them collectively.

The figure who approached you strokes his mustache, adjusts his floppy hat, and tightens his scarf. “Volothamp Geddarm, chronicler, wizard, and celebrity, at your service. I trust you’ve noted the violence in our fair city these past tendays. I haven’t seen so much blood since my last visit to Baldur’s Gate! But now I fear I have misplaced a friend amid this odious malevolence.

“My friend’s name is Floon Blagmaar. He’s got more beauty than brains, and I worry he took a bad way home a couple nights ago and was kidnapped — or worse. If you agree to track him down with all due haste, I can offer you ten dragons apiece now, and I can give you each ten times that when you find Floon. May I prevail upon you in my hour of need?”

Volothamp Geddarm is known to most Waterdavians as a braggart and a notorious embellisher of facts. For all his faults, though, Volo is also known as a soft-hearted sort who cares for nothing as much as his friends.


#88

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten looks around at the assembled crew suspiciously. He hangs back, though the promise of free drinks keeps him in place for the moment. He seems to be wrestling with his conscience before coming to some decision.

"Money don' mean much ta meh," he says. "But if yer friend is in trouble, I will help. 'Sides..tha gold will fill many bellies at the soup kitchens and orphanages. I will do my best to help, though I nae be an adventurer--only a humble cleric of Lathander."


#89

phil

phil

Ran looks about in disbelief.

"Wait so...so it's all done?"

Before he can comprehend what happened, he already had a beer and his missing dart back.

"Guess so!"

Ran listens to Volothamp and his story. If this jamoke is promising 10 gold for the each of us we'll be lucky to get 5. Still though, that would be 5 more than he had before. Plus he really felt the need to redeem himself after essentially doing nothing except taking a silent vow to never eat lamb chops again.

"Alright, guess I'm in. Where abouts was the last place you knew your friend was?"


#90

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

The woman clad in red smiles at Volo, a familiar smile shared among the ne'er do well of the city. Then speaking in a familiar masculine voice towards the worrisome wizard.

"So Volo, two years of wages just locate your friend? That's a ridiculous amount. Is there something you're not telling us? No, let me guess...he's wasn't mugged and left for dead in the street, you would have already heard that. And you wouldn't been offering such a large sum if he was not important to you. Important to your immediate needs or you personally. And you wouldn't know he's missing if you were not expecting him shortly or seen him recently. You mention he took a bad way home a couple of nights ago, am I correct in surmising you are the reason he took this bad way home and now feel an overwhelming guilt at his loss? No don't bother to answer, the sheer fact that you haven't noticed a sheep eating your coat suggests I'm right. Have no fear though, you knew the moment I walked into the bar I would find your friend for you didn't you?"

And as the woman in red monologues at the concerned chronicler, the image of her slowly fades to reveal a slender well dressed red haired man as a sheep nibbles on the coat of his companion.

"Now then, let us dispense with this monetary nonsense. I'll find Floon for no less than six rumours, three of which must be true."



#91

grub

grub

Brad wipes the blood off of his nose and downs his beer. "I'm in for whatever will get me out of town for a bit. I'm sure that poor bloke and his friends will be looking for me now, and I don't think I could handle all of them at once."


#92

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Charity helps where she can with the clean-up, though it becomes quickly apparent that she is not needed. Retrieving her javelin, she is about to tend to her drink again when the strange man calls them over. The young woman listens to his plea with genuine interest, and when it is her turn to put forth her answer, she does so with a compassionate smile. "I don't know if I am an adventurer, mister Geddarm, but it is my calling to help those in need. Chauntea herself has bestowed her power upon me to do so, so I cannot rightly say no." Upon the matter of price, she has nothing to say, though she adds: "Do you have any idea who might wish your friend harm? Somebody who he owes money, perhaps? It is usually a question of gold or greed when evil is afoot, in my experience."


#93

MindDetective

MindDetective

Volo clasps his hands together with a well-practiced smile as almost everyone seems inclined to help. To Erythro he says, "Well, money I can provide. I am not without some success in that regard. While I am happy enough to provide rumors instead, or even in addition, I'm not sure I can guarantee whether they are true or false, as they are just rumors, my good wizard."

The noted writer and, frankly, adventurer in his own peculiar way, retrieves a purse jangling with gold pieces. He dispenses 10 gold to the six before him as he continues his tale. "Floon is a handsome man, a human, in his early thirties with wavy red-blond hair. He was dressed in princely garb when I last saw him. Two nights ago, before Floon disappeared, Floon and I were drinking and merrymaking at the Skewered Dragon, a dark, and, I'll be honest, bawdy tavern in the Dock Ward. I recommend that you start your search there. I left before my dear friend did that night. My fear is that he was accosted on his route home. Please, bring him back to us alive."


#94

Vrii

Vrii

Ty scoops up his coins quickly, dropping them into his pouch. He hadn't expected to be making money through honest work when he came out tonight, but gold is gold and it sounds like this investigation plays into his skillset nicely.

He casts a well-practiced charming grin around the table. "If any of you truly don't want the coin, I'd be happy to take on your share as well?"


#95

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

"It's been a long day already," Marten says, scooping up his coin and downing his free ale. "Suggest we meet at the Skewered Dragon for lunch tomorrow to get started. If'n he was as drunk and as dressed as fine as this man says," he says, jerking his thumb toward Volo, "he pro'ly got mugged on his way home."

Looking pityingly at Volo, he continues. "Sorry, but yer fren is pro'ly lyin' cold in an alley."


#96

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Erythro smiles at Volo and pushes his coins back to him, "Keep your coins friend, I find your lost companion just for the exercise. Come friends if we hurry we can make it there in a matter of minutes. Come sheep." And with that the slender man stands up and walks over to Yagra followed by his sheep. "My darling what are your plans for the next few nights?"

insight check on Volo about his finances = 17

going to ask Yagra if she would agree to tag along for a price


#97

Vrii

Vrii

ooc: roughly what time is it now?


#98

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Still evening I would think.


#99

Vrii

Vrii

Yeah, I'm assuming that as well, but there's a pretty big difference between say, 6 and 9 in terms of going to investigate tonight or leaving it until tomorrow.


#100

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

The later the better I say. The people who eat lunch aren't the same as the people who drink late.


#101

phil

phil

Ran would like to inquire about receiving Erythro's cut


#102

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

ooc: The reason I suggested we start tomorrow, is because people have burned spell slots...a long rest would be a good idea before heading into potential trouble.


#103

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

OOC I think we will be fine. It feels like we get to RP for a while, combing the streets and such cultivating leads. Maybe get arrested or jumped by thugs in an alley.


#104

MindDetective

MindDetective

(It is about 7:30 in the evening and you can at least have a short rest, if that helps, before heading out.)

Erythro:

The wizard studies the famous writer carefully but cannot see past the man's excitement to have a group of people looking for his friend.


#105

MindDetective

MindDetective

(I'll proceed after you all decide on a short or long rest.)


#106

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Well, my guy's not the party leader...he's low on intelligence and charisma. I'll just do whatever the group consensus is.


#107

phil

phil

Ran is surprised to see the coins, but knows better than to ask questions.

He ponders how much of the story is true, and what might be left out. Still though, Ran isn't one to leave another in captivity.

"Which way would he have gone to get from the Tavern to his home? Could you show me? The longer we wait the less likely we'll be able to find him and help."

Ran gathers his things to leave.

"If the rest of you need to rest, I understand. I can meet you back here in the morning. Hopefully I'll have a lead by then."


#108

grub

grub

Brad grabs his coins before they disappear. Turning to Ran he says "I agree with you, I'll come with and meet the rest in the morning?"


#109

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Erythro approaches Yagra with excitement and arms out wide, then in mid step turns around. The scowl marring her normally angelic face tells the man, that now may not be the best time. Quick to notice that the dueling banjos have adopted the notion that time is not to be wasted he cries out "Excellent choice minstrels, let me lead the way. Together we'll have this matter settled expeditiously." A straightening of his coat and a nod to the bartender and he's out the door off to the Dock Ward of Waterdeep.

Exit, pursued by a sheep.


#110

MindDetective

MindDetective

For those heading out:

The Yawning Portal sits on the south side of the Castle Ward, just east of the base of Mount Waterdeep. The Dock Ward is only a block or so away from the tavern, although the character of the Dock Ward really only reveals itself after a few more blocks deeper into the ward. Tall, densely packed tenements leave most of the neighborhood in shadow at ground level. Most of the streetlamps have had their glass smashed and their candles stolen, and the smells of salt air and excrement linger as the party passes by rows of run-down buildings.

As they turn a corner, the group finds themselves on a street that has been cordoned off by the City Watch. Lying on the cobblestones are a half-dozen corpses, seemingly the victims of some terrible skirmish. Watch officers have disarmed and arrested three blood-drenched humans and are in the midst of questioning witnesses. One of the officers sees the party. “Get on,” she says. “Nothing to see here.”


#111

phil

phil

"First our guy goes missing, next Yagra is attacked, now this? Crime is on the rise in Waterdeep. Hang on a second, guys, I'm going to see what I can find out."

Ran makes his way along the looky-loos to try to get close enough to hear the witnesses.

[11 on a stealth check, if one is needed]


#112

MindDetective

MindDetective

"You gods damned gangs are..." The city watch officers look over at Ran. "Can we help you?"


#113

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

"Apologies, protectors of the city," Charity approaches hastily, looking every bit the disarming young woman she is. "We are in search of a man, who may have run afoul of some violence, and were worried to see that our search had already come to an end. Is it possible that you might tell us if a man of the following description was among the victims?" She gives Floon's description to the guards, hoping for the best.

Persuasion for....7. Oops


#114

MindDetective

MindDetective

"He sounds like a fancy lad," the city watchwoman says. "We got no fancy lads here, so I doubt we've got your lad. But, you can check with the morgue in the morning if you need to be sure."


#115

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

I'll wander along with the crew, with a shrug. I'm all up on spells and stuff.


#116

Vrii

Vrii

Do the humans being arrested have the same tattoos as the ones who started the fight in the Yawning Portal? If so, Ty will mention to the guards that there are some more people who could maybe do with some questioning.


#117

phil

phil

MindDetective said:
"You gods damned gangs are..." The city watch officers look over at Ran. "Can we help you?"
Click to expand...
"Just wonderin' what the word is."

Ran gestures to his instrument.

"Part of my Bardic duties to keep the people informed of what's going on. Lots of rumors bound to be running around. Might be good to set the record straight"


#118

MindDetective

MindDetective

Vrii said:
Do the humans being arrested have the same tattoos as the ones who started the fight in the Yawning Portal? If so, Ty will mention to the guards that there are some more people who could maybe do with some questioning.
Click to expand...
They do not.

phil said:
"Just wonderin' what the word is."

Ran gestures to his instrument.

"Part of my Bardic duties to keep the people informed of what's going on. Lots of rumors bound to be running around. Might be good to set the record straight"
Click to expand...
"No story here, bard. Just more senseless violence between the gangs. Now shove off!"

(Let me know when/if you want to move on.)


#119

grub

grub

"Come on fellow bard, let's go find our friend."


#120

phil

phil

grub said:
"Come on fellow bard, let's go find our friend."
Click to expand...
"You're right. We aren't getting anywhere here. Lead the way"

[Ran has a criminal/spy background. Would he have knowledge of the criminal organizations in the area?]


#121

MindDetective

MindDetective

phil said:
"You're right. We aren't getting anywhere here. Lead the way"

[Ran has a criminal/spy background. Would he have knowledge of the criminal organizations in the area?]
Click to expand...
Yes, some of them, at least. The Zhentarim are likely to be involved, you are fairly sure.


#122

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

I can't think of anything particularly insightful to ask, so I'll do ask the guard suggest, and move along with the bards.


#123

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Friends lets be on our way shall we? No need to distract the city guard from their duties. " Erythro states plainly, "Or let them study our faces." he adds with a whisper. Collecting the others as best he can direct them onward, the slender man starts plucking some wool fluff off his coat "This way, this way.... tús a chur le mionléasadh, yes this way."

Then behind the backs of the band of bar room brawlers, across the crowd booms out a voice heard earlier in the night "Ya pig! Like killin' me mates do ya?!" A quick turn of the head to look for the source of the voice as he walks away from the scene greatly concerned for his safety and respecting the guards authority as any law abiding citizen should.

Cast minor illusion in the voice of the guy from the bar, watch the 3 guys in hand cuffs to judge their reaction and continue on our way to the bar


#124

MindDetective

MindDetective

HCGLNS said:
"Friends lets be on our way shall we? No need to distract the city guard from their duties. " Erythro states plainly, "Or let them study our faces." he adds with a whisper. Collecting the others as best he can direct them onward, the slender man starts plucking some wool fluff off his coat "This way, this way.... tús a chur le mionléasadh, yes this way."

Then behind the backs of the band of bar room brawlers, across the crowd booms out a voice heard earlier in the night "Ya pig! Like killin' me mates do ya?!" A quick turn of the head to look for the source of the voice as he walks away from the scene greatly concerned for his safety and respecting the guards authority as any law abiding citizen should.

Cast minor illusion in the voice of the guy from the bar, watch the 3 guys in hand cuffs to judge their reaction and continue on our way to the bar
Click to expand...
The city watch and the three in manacles all look up at the sound of Yagra's voice. Notably, the three in manacles look at each other and then pointedly towards the ground before the city watch turn their attention back to them.


#125

MindDetective

MindDetective

As the band of ad-hoc rescuers moves on, they find they are quite close to their intended goal. The Skewered Dragon faces an alley that runs between Net Street and Fillet Lane in the Dock Ward. The tavern looks like a ruin. Both of its front-facing windows are smashed, and a ship’s anchor is lodged in the roof. Through the windows, you can see a group of haggard patrons drinking from huge tankards.


#126

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Gentleman, before we enter a quick word, " a groan is heard from the sheep, "if there are corpses on the ground, the city watch wasn't present at the start. And none of the people who saw it start will have stuck around. And six heavily armed "adventurers" asking questions about a murderous fight between two sides of six heavily armed thugs, the watch is going to think WE are involved." The sheep begrudgingly nods its head. " Now before we enter we will need a plan. We can't all go in at once. We'll stagger in as groups. Charity you and I look similar enough, we be brother and sister taking our elderly and addled father to his favourite pub for a drink. You'll play the perfect daughter who takes after her heroic father, and I'll be Stich the disappointing failure of a tailor for a son. Marten keep remembering this bar incorrectly and mention how your friend Volo always took you here. Ty, your just be you. The dangerous loner of a card shark. Make inquiries about the level of clientele this bar gets, see if it's worth your while to stay. Minstrels, you're a group trying to earn enough money for a stay at the inn, any inn but the street. Ask if you can play bawdy drinking songs in exchange for drinks of Giant Gnomes. If this is the kind of establishment it looks like, they will know what it means. Sheep up top please."


#127

Vrii

Vrii

As the mage starts his speech, Ty rolls his eyes and walks into the tavern. He walks to the bar, orders a drink, then looks around for a game to join.


#128

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten listens briefly to the speech, but as the details pile on, his eyes glaze over and he just starts looking confused. Eventually, he shrugs and follows Ty into the tavern.


#129

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Charity only looks perplexed. "Apologies, I don't understand. Why can we not go in as we are? We are simply looking for a lost soul, are we not? Surely this isn't such a strange thing, even in a city as large as Waterdeep." She offers Erythro a gentle, genuine smile and ruffles the sheep's head. "You'll see. Things won't be so complicated, as long as we are honest and up front in our kind intent. How bad can it be?" Without any further ominous statements, she turns, as well, and enters the inn.


#130

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Mendicants. I'm surrounded by mendicants. Might as well put out a trough of cheese dip."


#131

grub

grub

Brad looks at Erythro and shrugs. "Solid plan my good sir, but maybe tell us on the way instead of at the missing windows. I'm sure the patrons of this fine establishment could hear every word." With that he turns and saunters into the inn.


#132

phil

phil

Ran lingers with Erythro a moment.

"Listen pal, I ain't in any position to talk a big game. Whatever you say works. I'll hang back a minute and go in Afters yous."


#133

MindDetective

MindDetective

As each enters the bar, the regulars get quieter until the whole bar is silent. When Ty orders a drink, conversations resume in hushed tones. All eyes remain on the Interlopers...


#134

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten orders a beer at the bar. He slides one of his newly acquired gold pieces to the bartender and, keeping his voice low, says "yeh can keep the change if yer willin' to part with a little information. Lookin' for a guy wuz in here a couple nights ago. Fancy pants man with red hair. Might've been in here with another fancy pants guy. Red haired guy owes me some money." (19 persuasion if it applies)


#135

MindDetective

MindDetective

The barman eyes the coin and then sweeps it off the counter. He nods to a table of rough looking dock workers in the corner by one of the front-facing broken windows.


#136

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

As she walks in, Charity greets the intense looks with a big smile and a gentle wave. Heading straight for the bar, she waits for a moment 'till Marten's done with his question, then slides over one of the gold pieces she received from Volo. "A round for all these good people, if you will, sir. It has been a long day, no doubt, and a drink will make it easier to bear." Once she has her own drink, she raises it to the crowd in general as the barkeep goes about serving the drinks, taking a big swig of the - admittedly kind of weak - ale.


#137

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten walks over to Charity and nudges her with his elbow. "Those are the guys to talk to," he says, lifting his chin at the dock workers the bartender identified. "Tell the others 'fore they start speechifyin."


#138

MindDetective

MindDetective

The other patrons in the bar grudgingly raise their tankards in response to Charity but the thanks of appreciation are muted, to say the least.


#139

grub

grub

Brad wanders over to the dock workers and says "Any of you gents seen a well off red haired man in here a few days ago? I and my friends are looking for him. I've got 6 gold for useful information." He flashes the gold pieces in between his fingers and quickly puts them away.


#140

MindDetective

MindDetective

The dockworkers look at each other and then back at Brad. "Yeah, we seen 'im," one of them says.

Another nods vigorously. "Fancy fella. He was here with a couple of others..."

A third chimes in, hoping to earn his coin too. "Yeah, one left early. Then the other shows up to met your friend. The two drank and played a few rounds of Three-Dragon Ante before leaving around midnight. "

A fourth says, "Renaer Neverember. Chip off the old block, that one!”

“Just another spoiled, rich noble who likes to rub our noses in it!” a fifth says.

A sixth simply says, "Yeah" and drinks more of his ale.

The first speaks up again. "Those zhents had their eye your boys, I believe. Five of them followed the two out when they left."

"Right, right," says the third. "Haven't seen those blokes around here since."

The fifth chimes back in, "Strange, that. They's regulars."

Others nod in agreement with this. The first says, "Try Candle Lane. Look for the snake symbol on the door."

"Yup," says the sixth and takes another swig of his ale. He holds out his hand for his reward.


#141

grub

grub

Brad examines the men and they seem to be telling the truth, he distributes 2 gold to each of the men at the table. "Thanks gents it's been a pleasure."

Brad looks at his companions, "Off to Candle lane."


#142

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Erythro watches as his companions stumble into the bar and then walks away from the entrance. Taking on the persona of a tailors assistant looking for a client for his master last seen in this area he starts talking to the locals left on the street. The homeless, the indigent and the beggars. If any provide him with useful information he brings out three coppers and wonders how much he can spare before his master beats him, but always gives them what is fair. He never reveals the gold and silver in his purse. His thoughts linger on his companions, hoping they survive the bar, and hopes they don't find who ever has hurt Floon inside.

Passive Investigation = 20 for talking to the locals.


#143

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Charity beams as Brad returns from his talk. "See?! I knew everything would be just fine. Let us be off!" she exclaims proudly, before reconsidering, staring at her only half-empty mug. "...after I finish my ale?"


#144

phil

phil

Ran keep lookout outside the bar. He regrets not really asking the wizard just how long to wait.

He takes a moment to appreciate that he has yet to spend any of the money he just got.

Ran kills some time busking and maybe make a coin or two.

[Performance roll 11]


#145

MindDetective

MindDetective

Erythro:

Tall, densely packed tenements leave most of the neighborhood in shadow at ground level. Most of the streetlamps have had their glass smashed and their candles stolen, and the smells of salt air and excrement linger as you pass by rows of run-down buildings. Nobody is walking the streets right now, but one nearby shop stands out from the others. It has a deep purple facade, and in its window hangs a stuffed beholder. Above the door hangs a sign whose elaborate letters spell out “Old Xoblob Shop.” In the window sits a purple stuffed beholder. The shop appears to be open, even at this late hour.

Poking his head in, Erythro is met with a cloud of lavender-scented purple smoke trailing out of the shop’s door. Every wall is painted purple, and every dusty knickknack on the shelves is dyed a deep violet. A hairless old gnome sitting cross-legged on the counter wears plum-colored robes. His cheeks are decorated with nine purple face-painted eyes. The gnome lowers a pipe and exhales a cloud of lavender smoke before raising a hand. “Hail and well met! Come browse the shelves of the most curious curiosity shop in the world!”

Meanwhile, Ran earns 7 coppers for his trouble from a few of the bar patrons on their way out.


#146

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"This is Xoblobs yes? Excellent. I am need of assistance, post haste. I require a set of player cards that can't be shuffled without going everywhere? My friend, (Floons description) was supposed to get it, but I haven't heard word of him in days. So it's up to me to get the birthday present." Then glances around the shop, taking in everything.

Passive Perception 17, making a mental note about how strange it is to be open at this hour. And why would it have a window?


#147

MindDetective

MindDetective

Erythro:
"Oho!" Xoblob says. "I've nothing of the sort. He...uh...must have found what he was looking for elsewhere. As you can see, I collect...and sell...oddities, most of them in my favorite color."

He is definitely withholding something.


#148

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Oh, well that's too bad, hopefully he'll turn up. Your favourite colour isn't purple by chance is it? I got the strangest thing with dinner the other day, here let's see if I still have it on me, hmmm yes, a wine soaked cinnamon stick, look at that all purple from the the wine. Anyway, is that a set of funny dice I see over there? Something silly for gaming will do."


#149

MindDetective

MindDetective

"Oh, yes," Xoblob says. "That pair of knucklebone dice is carved with a purple skull symbol on the side that normally show a six. May I see your cinnamon stick? Oh, yes, I love that color. Perhaps if you purchase the dice for 2 gold, plus your purple cinnamon stick, I might reflect on where I might have seen your friend."


#150

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Uh, you can have the stick. Here. Would you take eight silver for the dice?"


#151

MindDetective

MindDetective

"Oh, well, no, not for the pair. That is less than I paid for them. And I would hate to split up the pair."


#152

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Well, I am pressed for time, so twenty silver. And is it true that rubbing the beholder in the window brings good luck?"

ROFLMAO rubbing the beholder, shit I gotta go check on dinner


#153

MindDetective

MindDetective

"Uh...no...that's not a...." Xoblob says as he takes the coins. "Thank you for your patronage, sir!"

As Erythro continues to stare at the old gnome after the sale is complete, Xoblob begins to fidget uncomfortably. "Is there something...Oh! Of course. Your friend. Yes, I believe I saw him and a well-dressed friend being roughed up by five tough-looking men a couple of nights ago. I did not recognize any of them but one of them had a black tattoo of a winged snake on his neck."


#154

phil

phil

MindDetective said:
Meanwhile, Ran earns 7 coppers for his trouble from a few of the bar patrons on their way out.
Click to expand...
"Aw yeah. Everything's coming up Ran. Looks like this halflings luck is about to change for the better"

Ran feels confident enough that enough time has passed that he could enter the tavern without it looking like he's with the others.

"Evenin' gents! Rumblefoots the name and song is the game!"

Ran plays a raunchy tune while scoping the place out and keeping his distance from the others.

[Performance 1, halfling luck reroll 21]


#155

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Oh, how terrible, but my friend would have been alone. Hopefully those two were okay, thanks again, and if I come across any purple curios, I will send them your way."

Pocketing the dice, he gives a nod, heads out the door, pauses to figure out which way he needs to go then, off he steps, While thinking "a beholder in the window, a window in a shop where everyone else has shattered glass, eyes all over his face, and that goon in the bar had eye tattoos. Points toward a gang using beholder imagery to scare people. And that shop is involved some how, no other explanation for it to be untouched. And now snakes? Snakes and beholders at war in the streets. Best get back to the others. "


#156

MindDetective

MindDetective

phil said:
"Aw yeah. Everything's coming up Ran. Looks like this halflings luck is about to change for the better"

Ran feels confident enough that enough time has passed that he could enter the tavern without it looking like he's with the others.

"Evenin' gents! Rumblefoots the name and song is the game!"

Ran plays a raunchy tune while scoping the place out and keeping his distance from the others.

[Performance 1, halfling luck reroll 21]
Click to expand...
As Ran begins to play, there are some groans and a "Shaddup!" from the back somewhere. But someone else gives a "Woop!" at about the same time in recognition of the tune. The grumbling stops quickly and soon the tavern is singing along with the chorus in perhaps the rowdiest rendition of the song that Ran has ever seen.

Charity, meanwhile, finishes her ale while Erythro arrives back at the tavern and can hear the loud, off-key singing accompanying Ran's performance from outside.


#157

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

:notes:Come now and follow me down
Down to the lights of Waterdeep where
There's fine sailors walking the town
And waiting to meet the ladies there
Watch now he'll soon be along
He's finer than any sailor so
Come on now pick up your spoons
He's waiting to hear you play them WHO!:notes:

Well at least they are still alive.


#158

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ran earns 14 more coppers for his bawdy performance.

(Where to next, then...?)


#159

phil

phil

Under the guise of collecting coppers, Ran checks in with everyone and confirms where they want to meet up next.

"Perhaps we should meet back at the first tavern to compare notes and plan our next step"


#160

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

phil said:
"Perhaps we should meet back at the first tavern to compare notes and plan our next step"
Click to expand...
"Fine wit' me."


#161

grub

grub

"sounds good"


#162

MindDetective

MindDetective

The party arrives back at the Yawning Portal. Volo has already departed. (It is about 9:30 in the evening.)


#163

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

"Near as I c'n figure, he was mugged, jes' as I thought. Locals say the thugs stay on Candle Lane."
Marten gives a nod to Brad by way of complimenting his interrogation skills.


#164

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Indeed, Floon and his friend were abducted not a stones throw away from this tavern. They appear to be victims of two gangs fighting for territory, much like todays earlier bloodshed. We seek those who adorn themselves with snakes. An odd situation to be sure, as we fought to save one of them to start our day. Candle Lane is this way."

Is this way to Candle Lane, in the direction of the Yawning portal or further away?


#165

MindDetective

MindDetective

It is not on the way back. North of the Skewered Dragon, East of the Yawning Portal.


#166

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

"Erythro's right. I've seen that snake tattoo on our half-orc frien' afore. Dunno how she's mixed up in alla dis, but helpin' her out may make these thugs more willin' to tell us somethin'"


#167

MindDetective

MindDetective

(Let me know when you head to Candle Lane.)


#168

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

I'm ready to go whenever everyone else is.
But I still advise taking a rest to recover spell slots, especially if we're about to go confront a street gang.


#169

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Let's do a walk by, then find a nearby Inn or wherever we are staying.


#170

grub

grub

I agree with the walk by and sleep.


#171

phil

phil

OOC: So we suspect a gang with a serpent tattoo to be responsible for mugging the guy? And Yagra also has one of these tattoos? Should we talk to her? Is she still here?


#172

MindDetective

MindDetective

phil said:
OOC: So we suspect a gang with a serpent tattoo to be responsible for mugging the guy? And Yagra also has one of these tattoos? Should we talk to her? Is she still here?
Click to expand...
No, she is no longer here.


#173

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

So if she is not there, then we are there so let's bed down and hit Candle Lane after a long rest and morning rituals.


#174

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Safely back at the tavern, Erythro exhausts his arcane energy in determining the nature of his recent purchase. Sleep soon finds him as he gently counts sheep.

When the gentle sounds of sleep fill the room, Erythros trusted companion Sheepy the Sheep stands upright, dons a deer stawker and quietly exits the room in search of the evil drow terrorist called Doofensmirtz.


#175

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Agreed..bed down and hit candle lane first thing.


#176

phil

phil

As everyone goes to bed Ran confirms with Brad that they want to at least scope out the other place first?


#177

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

I think we agreed to do that, walk by and then bed?


#178

phil

phil

HCGLNS said:
I think we agreed to do that, walk by and then bed?
Click to expand...
Ran recklessly leaves the safety of the group!

"Eh, what's the worst that can happen?" He says as he makes for the candle street


#179

grub

grub

"Wait for me," Brad calls to Ran. "I'm good for a quick stroll. A nice saunter, a constitutional if you will." Brad joins Ran on the way to Candle lane


#180

MindDetective

MindDetective

Brad the bard and Ran (the bard) head back out into the wet spring night. They are used to late nights and this night has only just begun.

Brad and Ran:

The pair head east, wending their way through tenements and run down shops before finally locating Candle Lane. The buildings on either side of Candle Lane are so tall and so tightly packed together that light touches the street only at highsun. Thus, gloom envelops a narrow alley as dark as a dungeon — and as odorous as one, too. Nearly all the streetlamps have been smashed. The only light that pierces the darkness is a faint flickering from down the lane, like a distant candle.

The flickering comes from the one streetlamp still intact on Candle Lane, kept alight by a continual flame spell. A warehouse is directly across the street from the lamp, which illuminates a black winged snake painted above the door’s handle. It is a ramshackle two-story warehouse that stands at the back of an outer yard behind a high fence. The gate on the fence isn’t locked, however.



#181

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Sheepy the Sheep will follow the minstrels.


#182

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ran, Brad, and Sheep return about 40 minutes after they leave with a good sense of the location but not much more than that. The next morning, everyone comes down from their rooms (unless they are residents of Waterdeep) at various intervals and with various degrees of alertness. Included in their 1 gp lodging price was a hearty breakfast.

Once everyone has arrived, they begin to discuss the next step of their investigation...

(Everyone gets a long rest.)


#183

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

"If'n Yagra is part o' that bunch, I say we jes' go down and try talkin' to 'em first. She might feel kindly disposed to put in a good word for us."

Marten pauses to think for a second.

"But if we gotta crack heads, that's ok too. I don't take to street gangs."


#184

phil

phil

[ooc: I'm going to be swamped the next couple days. If y'all are ever waiting on me feel free to take control of Ran. While he isn't one to hide from a fight, he'd certainly like to use an amount of trickery to solve his problems first.]

"Yeah, I'd likes to ask what she thinks about it all"


#185

MindDetective

MindDetective

Yagra is not around, so the party heads out after breakfast. They head east, wending their way through tenements and run down shops before finally locating Candle Lane. The buildings on either side of Candle Lane are so tall and so tightly packed together that light touches the street only at highsun. Thus, gloom envelops the narrow alley even at this early hour. Nearly all the streetlamps have been smashed. The only light that pierces the darkness is a faint flickering from down the lane, like a distant candle.

The flickering comes from the one streetlamp still intact on Candle Lane, kept alight by a continual flame spell. A warehouse is directly across the street from the lamp, which illuminates a black winged snake painted above the door’s handle. It is a ramshackle two-story warehouse that stands at the back of an outer yard behind a high fence. The gate on the fence isn’t locked, however.



#186

phil

phil

Ran examines the gate. He tries to determine if there is anything on it that would alert the inside to our presence of it were disturbed.

[Investigation roll 11]

If it looks all clear, and the party agrees, he would peek through what I'm assuming is a window at B8


#187

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Enythro studies the scene closely, putting all five of his senses to the test. A few odd looks are given when he tastes something on the ground. Then he slips the latch on the gate and carefully approaches the small door.

Stealth Check is a 5, Passive Investigation = 18, Passive Perception = 17

Funny Video



#188

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten shrugs and follows behind, whispering "Whyn't we just knock on the door?"


#189

grub

grub

Brad tip toes behind and whispers "we're trying to be sneaky".


#190

MindDetective

MindDetective

The gate appears to be safe and Erythro leads the party into the courtyard of the warehouse. They follow him single-file, avoiding the detritus in the yard. They arrive at the small door on the north side of the yard. A gentle tug reveals it is locked.


#191

grub

grub

Brad attempts to pick the lock on the door (8) with his pen, after realizing he has no real tools or ability to do so. He blushed with embarrassment "Sorry just got caught up in the moment". Brad will use a bardic inspiration die(1d6) for whoever wants to actually pick it.


#192

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

I listen intently at the door, if I don't hear, see or sense anything I will assist Brad in picking the lock.


#193

phil

phil

Ran, knowing his way around thieves tools, kicks himself for not having any on him and makes a note to buy some.

He offers up his crowbar with a shrug

"Always got a plan B. Is the other door locked?"


#194

Vrii

Vrii

Ty smiles and waves away the crowbar, pulling out a roll of tools and selecting a pick. He lowers his head to listen as he inserts the pick gently, hoping his skills pay off once more.

(modified roll of 25 to open the lock)


#195

MindDetective

MindDetective

The lock clicks in a soft, satisfying way as Ty navigates the tumblers into place. Pushing the door open reveals darkness beyond, but as their eyes adjust, they see crates and boxes haphazardly packed with weapons, rations, boots, black uniforms, and other gear strewn about the warehouse. Tables and chairs have been carelessly tossed across the floor. The corpses of at least half a dozen men lie along the walls, their rapiers and daggers lying nearby. Slightly to the east, stairs rise to an open level above.

Shadows move to the east and there is the clear sound of feet scuffing on the floor through the darkened warehouse.


Warehouse Floor 1.png


#196

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

The wizard silently signals to hold, studying the scene, in a whisper "We seem a bit late, perhaps the rival gang reached here first. No matter, we should endeavor to capture them alive, whatever they may be. If the appear to run, I will block their escape with a cloud of poisonous gas. Do not enter it or suffer a gruesome demise." Having whispered his advice, he scans the scene.

Investigate the area, any signs of traps or secret locations, do the corpses look familiar? The upstairs brothers me, great location for a sniper.


#197

phil

phil

"woa, I'm gettin' the Willie's here" Ran whispers.

Ran narrows his eyes and tries to identify any obvious marks on the nearest body without getting closer.

"Why are they all along the wall? Were they placed there or did the killing blow just happen to leave them there? These must have been the attacking gang. Otherwise there wouldn't be so much loot left. Can anyone see if they have snake tattoos?"

[Perception check 14]


#198

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Charity had been following along quietly, with a warm smile on her face, full of good hope to the succesful completion of their task. However, on sight of the corpses and the bloodied weapons, the smile fades and she sets her expression to a grim determination. Unbuckling the straps on the leather sheathe, she takes out her battered sword and prepares for the worst. While Erythro goes about his investigation, the young woman moves towards the sound of the feet with careful, measured steps, though she'll hold if the others indicate it's a bad idea.


#199

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

The slender wizard motions for Marten and Charity to move ahead, hoping that the minstrels will follow at there sides, so Ty and the wizard bring up the rear, trusting that the rogue keen danger sense will serve them well.

The sheep follows behind.


#200

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten hefts his mace and readies his shield, and creeps as best he is able into the room, keeping an eye on the stairway and being prepared for anything.

I should be able to get as far as A2, which would let me see if anyone's hiding behind boxes. I'll ready an attack if I stumble across a bad guy in melee distance.


#201

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Erythro creeps into the room, deftly looking around as stealthy as possible.

Stealth check 10...yay?


#202

MindDetective

MindDetective

At least one of the bodies, probably at least two, have the flying snake tattoo of the Zhentarim on them...the same on the outside of the warehouse. Creeping silently forward, the party can see five figures moving about to the east of them. By their silhouettes, they are kenku. Erythro scuffs his feet and Marten clanks his weapon against a crate. The kenku look their way and draw their weapons...

Initiative order:
- Erythro, Brad, Charity
- Kenku
- Ran, Ty, Marten

Warehouse Floor 1 (1).png


#203

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Grounded sky rats, scourge of society. Take them quickly before they slit our throats two for a copper." a mental command and five pounds of fluffy fury scamper towards avian menace, it's heroic action causing a great distraction."Bolt Tine Teilgthe!"

2 points of damage to number 5


#204

grub

grub

Brad throws a dagger at #5 (10 to hit) and presumably misses (maybe damage 4)


#205

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Moving forward, Charity steels herself as she readies her sword. "Come then, murderers. You will find me not so easy a target as those poor fools," she beckons the Kenku forward as she holds her ground.

Moving to the square directly below the stairs. Holding my action to attack the first kenku to come in range, but missing with an 8.


#206

MindDetective

MindDetective

Brad's dagger thuds into a crate while Charity moves to hold the narrow point between the warehouse floor and this side area.

Kenku1 shifts around the crate he is behind and fires an arrow at Brad. It thumps into the wooden box by his head.

Kenku2 charges forward and swings his short sword at Charity. It finds its mark on her thigh for 8 damage.

Kenku3 plunks an arrow into Charity's arm for 4 damage and the paladin falls to the ground, bleeding profusely on the warehouse floor.

Kenku4 fires an arrow at Marten and it glances off his armor.

Kenku5 steps forward, slashing at Sheep. The sword swishes along her back, leaving a tuft of wool floating to the ground.

Warehouse Floor 1 (2).png


#207

Vrii

Vrii

Ty takes the lesson from his brave (reckless) new ally, and keeps a wall between himself and the bulk of the hostile creatures as he advances slightly and throws a knife. It misses its intended target and bounces off the wall and further into the warehouse.

(Moving to D7 and throwing a dagger at Kenku #2, 7 to hit)


#208

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Seeing the paladin fall, Marten's face turns grim, and he calls upon Lathander for aid. As he rushes forward, a flash of light streaks from his holy symbol toward the nearest bird creature. "They've got bows!" he screams. "Close the distance!"

I'll move around the boxes to D7 if necessary to remove any cover advantage that Kenku #2 has.
Guiding bolt vs Kenku #2, hits AC 14. Damage of 9 if it hits.


#209

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Does Ty still have the inspiration or was that consumed with the lock picking?


#210

MindDetective

MindDetective

He still has it.


#211

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

@Tinwhistler don't forget that if you hit, the next attack against #2 will have advantage.


#212

phil

phil

Ran moves up between the crates and over. He should be to about where Charity fell. Putting himself between her and the kenku, he lobs a dart at #5

[21 to hit. 3 damage]

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size!" Ran says, taking more pride in his joke than in his role in the battle.


#213

MindDetective

MindDetective

Marten's bolt hits the tough looking kenku squarely, leaving the foe smoking and injured but still standing. Ran also manages to land a hit with his dart, whizzing it over the back of Sheep into the shoulder of the kenku.

Charity rolls a successful death save (18). Erythro and Brad are up.


#214

MindDetective

MindDetective

(Cancel the death save. I rolled it prematurely for Charity. Charity is prone but can take her turn!)


#215

grub

grub

Brad runs up beside Charity and heals her for 8 points.


#216

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Foul broken birds! You seek the solace of the clouds forever lost to you? Let the me ease your suffering!", and with that a dark ominous cloud fills the room, obscuring almost all the kenku from sight. A panicked scampering sees the fluffy fighter Sheepy scamper out of the mist and chastise the remainin avian adversary.

Cast Fog Cloud centered on #4, blocking all sight of everyone save #2, who sheep distracts to provide advantage to the next person who attacks. Hopefully Charity or Ty.


#217

MindDetective

MindDetective

Charity is up (not literally, though, since she is prone)!


#218

MindDetective

MindDetective

(Technically, Kenku5 gets an AoO on Sheep at disadvantage, due to the fog, as she moves away from him.)

Hearing Sheep trot away, Kenku5 blindly swings at her, slashing across her back. She falls to the ground with a bleat and disappears.


#219

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

"You have my thanks, mister Brad," Charity groans as she slowly gets up, raising her blade in a back-leaning grip as she turns to face the kenku that stabbed her. "I didn't want to do this," she murmurs quietly, but her face is set in grim determination as she slashes the blade with surprising force across the birdman's wing-arms and torso.

Half movement to get up. Attack Kenku#2 with 22 for 9 damage.


#220

MindDetective

MindDetective

The burliest of the kenku falls under Charity's blade. The remaining four, clouded in fog, are forced into action. Kenku4 moves to unlock and open the loading door, which Kenku3 moves through. Seeing the other door is still open, he takes a shot at Ty. The shot thuds into the door frame.

Kenku 1 runs out of the fog to the north and takes a shot at Brad. He sees it coming and ducks to the right as the arrow whizzes over his left should, lodging in a crate.

Kenku5 charges forward, blindly hacking at Charity. The blade finds its mark, almost felling the paladin with a stab through a gap in her armor. (7 HP damage)

Warehouse Floor 1 (4).png


(Marten, Ran, and Ty are up.)


#221

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten moves up beside Charity (F5 or F6, I don't care which) and swings at #5 with his mace. Unfortunately, he stumbles as he jostles in beside the Paladin, and his swing goes wide. (Rolled a 1).


#222

MindDetective

MindDetective

In his confusion, Marten strikes at the fallen Kenku instead of the one still standing. The bone-crunching sound of his mace is satisfying but ineffective on the downed Kenku.


#223

phil

phil

Ran, concerned about his allies, draws his trusty rapier and attacks kenku #5

"Here, lemme take a STAB at this!"

[Attack 22, dmg 6]


#224

MindDetective

MindDetective

The rapier pierces Kenku5 in the eye and he falls to the ground, dead.

(Ty is up! Kenku1, Kenku3m and Kenku4 are all that remain.)


#225

Vrii

Vrii

Assuming that Ty can see the Kenku moving to escape through the loading door, he draws his rapier and moves to engage #3.

Using the inspiration die from earlier, he has a 14 to hit for 6 damage.


#226

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ty's sword slashes through the kenku's arm, drawing a splash of blood.

(Erythro, Brad, and Charity are up for round 3!)


#227

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

A blast of fire rings out across the courtyard, slamming into the wall by the door. The wizard calmly walks out into the a strikes a relaxed pose against the exterior gate. " Your friends inside? They can't help you now. But all we are looking for are answers, none more need die today."

miss with fire bolt again, and walk to A13


#228

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Though she bleeds, Charity trudges forward without flinching, lashing out at the skittering Kenku with another blow from her sword.

Moving to K4, attacking #1 for 11. If it hits, 10 damage.


#229

MindDetective

MindDetective

Charity charges forward, slashing at the kenku and leaving a heavy gash on his armor but drawing no blood.

Brad is up!


#230

grub

grub

Brad runs to kenku4 and stabs it with his rapier (20 to hit) for 7 damage. "Have at you, foul beast!"


#231

MindDetective

MindDetective

grub said:
Brad runs to kenku4 and stabs it with his rapier (20 to hit) for 7 damage. "Have at you, foul beast!"
Click to expand...
Brad cannot really get there, with the barrels and boxes serving as difficult terrain. Is Kenku1 okay?


#232

grub

grub

absolutely, kill 'em all


#233

MindDetective

MindDetective

Brad's rapier pierces Kenku1's side, drawing a fair amount of blood. He retaliates by disengaging and running south into the fog.

Kenku4 also sees the tables turning and breaks across the yard, keeping his distance from Erythro as he dashes into the dark street.

Kenku3 disengages as well, but cannot make it as far before Ty, Ran, and Marten leap into action...

Warehouse Floor 1 (5).png


#234

phil

phil

Ran turns around and runs as fast as his chubby legs will take him. He makes his way past the crates and back into the yard to cut the kenku off before it can escape with the rest.

[I'd like to dash and get to, ideally E11 or as close to it as I can]


#235

PatrThom

PatrThom

I know it's supposed to be fog, but it's like you've got a Popeye/Bluto fraças going on in there.

--Patrick


#236

phil

phil

PatrThom said:
I know it's supposed to be fog, but it's like you've got a Popeye/Bluto fraças going on in there.

--Patrick
Click to expand...
Sheep is back and bigger than ever


#237

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ran finds a passage through the crates and makes it to his position easily.

Brad, Charity, and Erythro are up.


#238

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Before the Kenku can run, Charity lashes out once more with her sword - although this time, she tries not to make it a lethal blow, reversing her grip at the last moment to bash him with the pommel.

Sentinel feat allows me to attack of opportunity Kenku #1 even with disengage. Hit with a 20 for 11 non-lethal damage - if it doesn't knock him down, his movement is still reduced to 0.

"Better tie them up if we want to question him..." she murmurs, setting down her sword and getting some rope from her pack, setting about doing just that.

On my turn, I will tie up unconscious #1.


#239

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ran, since Charity knocked out the fleeing kenku, you can alter your turn, since that happened before you moved


#240

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Didn't get a chance to post...was playing music after 9 :D
Since one's unconscious and the rest appear to be fleeing (and there are folks better positioned to take out #1 when he exits the fog and heads out the side door to the gate), I'll do my best to assist Charity in securing the prisoner.


#241

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

A sharp eye for detail tells the slender wizard that the wooden fence has weathered very well, impregnated with a solution to protect it. A few simple whispers and a blast of fire explodes against the fence startling the avian cutthroat.

"I truly don't wish to see you harmed. I am simply looking for two young nobles who were abducted by men with snake tattoos. Just like the tattoos on the dead men inside. So, I'm not looking for you but if you can help me find the young men, you can leave. But I would answer quickly before the half elf reaches you, his questions will be punctuated with blood. "

As I apparently literally can not hit the broad side of a barn I am standing next to I may as well try to role play, attack roll to set gate on fire = 9


#242

phil

phil

MindDetective said:
Ran, since Charity knocked out the fleeing kenku, you can alter your turn, since that happened before you moved
Click to expand...
I like the idea of Ran being too quick on the draw and end up not helping.


#243

grub

grub

Brad walks to the base of the stairs and yells up "Come down peacefully before we come up forcefully." And takes the dodge action just incase.


#244

MindDetective

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
Didn't get a chance to post...was playing music after 9 :D
Since one's unconscious and the rest appear to be fleeing (and there are folks better positioned to take out #1 when he exits the fog and heads out the side door to the gate), I'll do my best to assist Charity in securing the prisoner.
Click to expand...
- You didn't miss a turn. Your last turn (hitting the dead Kenku with the natural 1) was your last opportunity.
- Charity had an Attack of Opportunity on Kenku #1 as it fled into the fog and knocked it out. Only #3 remains standing, ready to flee the yard.


#245

MindDetective

MindDetective

The remaining conscious Kenku runs out of the yard into the dark street before anyone can get close enough to force him to stay.

(Combat has ended! Results: 2 dead Kenku, 1 unconscious Kenku, 2 escaped Kenku.)


#246

phil

phil

Ran loots! He loooooooooots!


#247

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

MindDetective said:
- You didn't miss a turn. Your last turn (hitting the dead Kenku with the natural 1) was your last opportunity.
- Charity had an Attack of Opportunity on Kenku #1 as it fled into the fog and knocked it out. Only #3 remains standing, ready to flee the yard.
Click to expand...
Whoops..you're right :D

Since combat is over, I'll go over and look at the dead guys lined up on the wall. This looks like too many guys for those kenku to have all killed. Anything in particular to note about them? I'll let those with more smarts than me do the interrogations.


#248

MindDetective

MindDetective

The dead appear to a mixture of two different gangs. Five sport the known Zhentarim tattoo:

1582847297958.png


Seven others are inked with a tattoo on the palm of his right hand that looks like a circle with ten spokes radiating out from its circumference:

1582847443970.png


Collectively, they have 9 daggers and 5 rapiers of unremarkable quality. The unknown gang has 4 sets of leather armor that appear to be in usable shape. They have 52 gold (in various denominations), 2 silver, and 4 copper.


#249

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Are the Kenku sporting any gang signs? That Zhentarim tattoo..that's the 'snake' tattoo we're looking for, right? The same one Yagara has?


#250

MindDetective

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
Are the Kenku sporting any gang signs?
Click to expand...
Their feathers make it difficult to tattoo their bodies, so they do not appear to have any.


#251

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Erythro closes the open gate and locks it behind him, offering a silent curse at the kenku that escaped. Then locks the remaining doors. Before halting Marten, "Marten, I've locked us in, but the birds may return and in greater numbers, best we have our staunchest warrior at the ready. Hopefully Floon is not among the fallen. We appear to be dealing with at least two gangs, let's have a look at these weapons and armour. Perhaps if they bear a makers mark we can trace their origin and it can give us an indication of how organized they are. Hmmm, tattoos imply a tattoo artist, another avenue to investigate. Floon does not seem to be here, nor does the other man. I'm going to search the rest of this floor. Here sheep, here sheep."

Actually serious about the weapons and armour, the gangs might have a supplier or a quarter master. Same with the tattoos.

I investigate the first floor, looking for signs of our lost "nobles", they may have been dragged away to some secret location. Maybe a trap door or some hidden tunnel. Or maybe just a trail of dust out the door.

Passive Investigation 18

I dispel the fog.


#252

MindDetective

MindDetective

Erythro:

Erythro discovers two things as he investigates the main room. The first is a hidden cache of stolen goods just north of the door they all entered right next to the stairs (at 1E). Inside he finds two wooden crates. The first contains four wood-framed paintings wrapped in leather. The paintings depict the cities of Luskan, Neverwinter, Silverymoon, and Baldur’s Gate and are probably worth about 75 gp each.

The second crate contains 15 10-pound silver trade bars, all black from corrosion but still probably worth about 50 gp each.

His second discovery reveals another person! Ragged breathing betrays the person hiding in a storage closet under the stairs. The door to this back room hangs loosely on broken hinges. The cramped chamber beyond smells strongly of sour fish and vinegar. It is filled with discarded ropes, canvas tarpaulins, and splintered wood from smashed barrels. Under one of the tarpaulins is the man, dressed in fine clothing, which is filthy and reeks of rancid pickled herring. He looks terrified, but seeing Erythro standing over him in a non-threatening fashion, he relaxes some and crawls out from the storage closet.

As Erythro pokes around the main room, he opens the battered door to the closet under the stairs. A minute later, a nobleman in filthy clothing crawls out, shaking, exhausted, but otherwise unharmed.


#253

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Well hello there. Are your Floon? Are you hurt? Charity! Come hence, this man needs help." And helps usher the stranger out into the warehouse, "Don't worry, you're safe now."


#254

phil

phil

Ran looks up from his dividing the money.

"Hey wizard, you don't want your share rig---oh hey we did it!"


#255

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Ha ha a fine jest, remember that by taking Volos money, you're actually working for him, and he gets the first cut off any treasure you find."

name dropping so this dude this thinks we're cool. I'll study him for a reaction


#256

MindDetective

MindDetective

"Floon? Oh, gods. Floon." The man despairs for a moment as he stands, trying to straighten his crumpled and stained shirt and trousers. He composes himself. "No, I am not Floon. I am Renaer Neverember. I am unharmed, but the last few days have been trying. Floon was...is...my friend. We were accosted on our way home...some time ago. I don't know how long it has been. I was escorting Floon home as he was quite inebriated. Five men attacked us, dragging us back here. Still, others showed up not too long ago and dragged Floon away..."

Tears stream down the man's filthy face as he recounts his tale.

The name Neverember is a familiar one. Dagult Neverember was, until recently, the Open Lord of Waterdeep. He is currently the Lord of Neverwinter


#257

MindDetective

MindDetective

HCGLNS said:
"Ha ha a fine jest, remember that by taking Volos money, you're actually working for him, and he gets the first cut off any treasure you find."

name dropping so this dude this thinks we're cool. I'll study him for a reaction
Click to expand...
"Oh, bless Volo," Renaer Neverember says. "He found some worthy rescuers. I hope you will see things through to find Floon."


#258

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

[ooc]Anyone gonna interrogate the bird brains?[/ooc]


#259

MindDetective

MindDetective

(Still unconscious...)


#260

phil

phil

"we need to see what the little birdie knows, but we also need to see Renaer home safe. Can anyone speak uh... Kenku-nees? Kenukian? Bird talk."

[Ooc: I can cast comprehend languages but that doesn't let me speak it back]


#261

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Ooc:


#262

phil

phil

HCGLNS said:
Ooc:
Click to expand...


#263

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Erythro tends to wounds of the avian menace. It comes around with a squawk. "Gentle now, it's alright. This is my friend. He killed all of you friends, and now he has some questions for you." And introduces Ty to the tressed up duck.


#264

MindDetective

MindDetective

The kenku sits up, leaning against a crate, a sour expression on his face. He looks around at the dead bodies and shakes his head, huffing a sigh through his beak. Otherwise, he makes no move to speak.


#265

phil

phil

Ran whispers to himself "really....really skippin' over good cop and going strait to bad cop, huh?"


#266

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

"Sir, I apologize for pressing you in such a time of need," Charity begins, crouching at Renaer's side and handing him her waterskin, "but did you hear anything about where they might've taken Floon? Anything at all? We had hoped to find him here, but it seems time is of the essence, now."


#267

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Charity, we have not yet explored upstairs. We may find clues yet. But there may still be other cutthroats about and I would surely be dispatched while concentrating on my investigation if they are present. Will you escort me so I can search in safety?"

I will passively search upstairs for clues, I am actively using the help action to grant advantage to whoever interrogates the kenku.

No more classic interrogation trope than distracting the paladin.


#268

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten figures that if there were more bad guys in the warehouse, they would have attacked by now. I'll go ahead and actively search upstairs, and cast a Detect Magic for good measure.


#269

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

A wave of horror fills the wizard as he realizes no one is watching the outside. He scampers over to the window and resumes the surveillance, muttering to himself "It's almost as if they've never committed crimes before.." Then with a wave of his hands casts a spell.

I cast minor illusion over the window so it appears normal and does not reveal me looking outside. Heh playing a criminal is fun!


#270

phil

phil

Ooc: Is Renaer wearing gloves? Can I see the palm of his hand?

I'm finding it kind is suspicious that he wasn't really tied up or that the room he was in wasn't locked. I also feel like as a freed hostage he would be begging us to take him home. As a freed noble hostage he would be demanding we take him home.


#271

MindDetective

MindDetective

Wahad said:
Charity

"Sir, I apologize for pressing you in such a time of need," Charity begins, crouching at Renaer's side and handing him her waterskin, "but did you hear anything about where they might've taken Floon? Anything at all? We had hoped to find him here, but it seems time is of the essence, now."
Click to expand...
"I'm afraid not," Renaer says, rubbing his chafed wrists.


#272

MindDetective

MindDetective

phil said:
Ooc: Is Renaer wearing gloves? Can I see the palm of his hand?

I'm finding it kind is suspicious that he wasn't really tied up or that the room he was in wasn't locked. I also feel like as a freed hostage he would be begging us to take him home. As a freed noble hostage he would be demanding we take him home.
Click to expand...
No gloves. He has no tattoo. He claims to have escaped his bonds when questioned about it.


#273

MindDetective

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
Marten figures that if there were more bad guys in the warehouse, they would have attacked by now. I'll go ahead and actively search upstairs, and cast a Detect Magic for good measure.
Click to expand...
Upstairs, Marten and possibly Charity mostly find junk in the crates and boxes littered about on the balcony overlooking the warehouse floor. They find moth-eaten bolts of cloth, bottles of spoiled olive oil, and hundreds of pairs of wooden-soled sandals that were all the rage last summer but are now out of fashion. None of this junk is valuable. Adjacent to the balcony are a suite of offices. Opening the door rings a bell loudly, causing everyone to freeze for a moment. But nobody is inside the offices. The rooms have desks, chairs, and bare shelves covered with dust and draped in cobwebs. Harmless rats skitter about. The offices seem little used, actually, although the duo do find a single unused paper bird.


#274

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

I'm downstairs watching the outside. And your link takes me to a chance to buy the pdf.


#275

MindDetective

MindDetective

HCGLNS said:
I'm downstairs watching the outside. And your link takes me to a chance to buy the pdf.
Click to expand...
Fixed and good to know, so fixed.


#276

phil

phil

HCGLNS said:
I'm downstairs watching the outside. And your link takes me to a chance to buy the pdf.
Click to expand...
Try this?
forgottenrealms.fandom.com

Paper bird

Paper birds were magically enchanted pieces of parchment that conveyed small written messages by flying from the message's sender to its recipient.[1] After writing a small message (of 50 words or less) onto a paper bird, the sender whispered the name of the intended recipient. This caused the...
forgottenrealms.fandom.com forgottenrealms.fandom.com


#277

MindDetective

MindDetective

phil said:
Try this?
forgottenrealms.fandom.com

Paper bird

Paper birds were magically enchanted pieces of parchment that conveyed small written messages by flying from the message's sender to its recipient.[1] After writing a small message (of 50 words or less) onto a paper bird, the sender whispered the name of the intended recipient. This caused the...
forgottenrealms.fandom.com forgottenrealms.fandom.com
Click to expand...
That's the one I changed it to.


#278

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

That's a nice simple magic item that is hugely powerful.


#279

MindDetective

MindDetective

HCGLNS said:
That's a nice simple magic item that is hugely powerful.
Click to expand...
That is why it is single-use. ;)


#280

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

I mean from the stuff that happens in the background. It's able to devine the location of anyone anywhere and fly to them. Cast glyph of warding on it and it's a homing letter bomb.


#281

phil

phil

Can we send the paper bird to floon and then follow it?


#282

Bubble181

Bubble181

HCGLNS said:
I mean from the stuff that happens in the background. It's able to devine the location of anyone anywhere and fly to them. Cast glyph of warding on it and it's a homing letter bomb.
Click to expand...
any glyph is considered to be more than 50 words, according to Word of Author. It should technically be possible to create such a bomb, visit not easily and cheaply from existing material. DM can always rule differently, of course, but that's what's intended


#283

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

I think that may break the spirit of the module. We need to find a clue and proceed into a crawl or raid.


#284

phil

phil

HCGLNS said:
I think that may break the spirit of the module. We need to find a clue and proceed into a crawl or raid.
Click to expand...
Yeah but...think of the reward


#285

MindDetective

MindDetective

Doing anything with the prisoner or should I advance things?


#286

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

I'm waiting for Ty to chat with the bird.


#287

phil

phil

I don't think he knows anything. I'm guessing they were just here to loot the place after everyone else killed each other.

We need to ask Renaen what he knows. What they wanted with them and if Floon is likely still alive. Then we need to escort him home to get a reward for rescuing him. We also need to figure out if we want this to be our sweet base of operations as we take over the organized crime scene.


#288

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

I'll try to talk to the bird a bit more before you advance, if that's ok.
"Look, thinks will go better for you if you just tell us what you know," I'll say, as kindly as I can. (persuasion 7) It doesn't come across as nicely as I'd like. :D


#289

Vrii

Vrii

Ty spent the first period of time after the fight doing the following:

First, he reclaimed his own thrown dagger, along with any that his allies tossed, and returned them to their owners.

Second, he checked the bodies of both gang members to see what killed them (it seems awfully convenient that they would each kill the entire group of their enemies with no survivors, and survivors presumably would have tried to loot and/or remove the bodies!). Primarily he wants to determine whether the Kenku were involved in the fighting here, or opportunists coming in after the fact to loot the place.

Third, he checked the closet where the prisoner was, looking to confirm the claim that he was bound and managed to escape.

Once he's done those things he'll move to question whichever of the prisoners seems more likely to have useful information.


#290

MindDetective

MindDetective

Vrii said:
Ty spent the first period of time after the fight doing the following:

First, he reclaimed his own thrown dagger, along with any that his allies tossed, and returned them to their owners.

Second, he checked the bodies of both gang members to see what killed them (it seems awfully convenient that they would each kill the entire group of their enemies with no survivors, and survivors presumably would have tried to loot and/or remove the bodies!). Primarily he wants to determine whether the Kenku were involved in the fighting here, or opportunists coming in after the fact to loot the place.

Third, he checked the closet where the prisoner was, looking to confirm the claim that he was bound and managed to escape.

Once he's done those things he'll move to question whichever of the prisoners seems more likely to have useful information.
Click to expand...
After finding the daggers, Ty finds that the two gangs most certainly killed each other in a wide-ranging battle. Investigating the closet is more difficult, but he does find ropes inside that possibly bound Renaer's wrists and ankles.

Renaer has already spoken (and is he a prisoner?) The kenku thus far, is tight-beaked. When Marten poses his option to the ruffian, the kenku just turns away from him.


#291

Vrii

Vrii

Having collected his gear and what information he can, Ty speaks to whichever members of the group are within earshot.

"As far as I can tell, it seems that our friends with the dragon tattoo are the ones who kidnapped Floon and Renaer here, though judging by their treatment of him, and the fact that he was left here after the fight, it seems that Floon was the target. They brought the two back here , Gods know why, and before they could take their next step they were attacked by this other gang, probably in larger numbers than we see here, and Floon was taken somewhere else."

He pauses to consider for a moment before continuing, "These Zentarim must be good fighters to bring down as many as they did while outnumbered so heavily. Something to keep in mind."

He takes a breath, turning to Renaer. "I know you couldn't have seen anything from where you were, but if you heard anything at all that might tell us why they wanted Floon, where they were taking him, or even who they were, it might be important. Either way," and he turns to include his group in the conversation, "I think we can offer an escort to your home, or to a guard station, if you don't mind waiting while we wrap this up?"

Not waiting for an answer, he shifts his attention again, this time to the Kenku bound and being questioned by Marten. "These birds are harder to explain. Are they scavengers who happened to hear the fighting and saw an opportunity to loot the fallen? Were they sent here by someone to clean up the mess and dispose of evidence?"

He bends, making eye contact with the Kenku and addressing it directly.

"Answer our questions and we'll let you run off after your friends."

[17 for persuasion]


#292

MindDetective

MindDetective

Vrii said:
Having collected his gear and what information he can, Ty speaks to whichever members of the group are within earshot.

"As far as I can tell, it seems that our friends with the dragon tattoo are the ones who kidnapped Floon and Renaer here, though judging by their treatment of him, and the fact that he was left here after the fight, it seems that Floon was the target. They brought the two back here , Gods know why, and before they could take their next step they were attacked by this other gang, probably in larger numbers than we see here, and Floon was taken somewhere else."

He pauses to consider for a moment before continuing, "These Zentarim must be good fighters to bring down as many as they did while outnumbered so heavily. Something to keep in mind."

He takes a breath, turning to Renaer. "I know you couldn't have seen anything from where you were, but if you heard anything at all that might tell us why they wanted Floon, where they were taking him, or even who they were, it might be important. Either way," and he turns to include his group in the conversation, "I think we can offer an escort to your home, or to a guard station, if you don't mind waiting while we wrap this up?"

Not waiting for an answer, he shifts his attention again, this time to the Kenku bound and being questioned by Marten. "These birds are harder to explain. Are they scavengers who happened to hear the fighting and saw an opportunity to loot the fallen? Were they sent here by someone to clean up the mess and dispose of evidence?"

He bends, making eye contact with the Kenku and addressing it directly.

"Answer our questions and we'll let you run off after your friends."

[17 for persuasion]
Click to expand...
"I...don't think they did want Floon," Renaer says, a flash of guilt on his face. "I think they mistook him for me. The Zhentarim thinks that my father embezzled a large amount of gold while he was Open Lord here in Waterdeep, and that he hid the dragons somewhere in the city. They think they can find it by using an artifact called the Stone of Golorr, which was in the hands of the Xanathar Guild until recently. Apparently, someone stole it. The Zhents thought I knew something about all of this, but I don’t. My father and I haven’t spoken in years.”

The kenku, when promised with freedom, says in a very human sounding feminine voice, "I'm sure you would." Then, in a deep voice with an orcish accent, "Xanathar sends his regards."


#293

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Would that name, Xanathar, be familiar to me as a Waterdeep resident?


#294

MindDetective

MindDetective

Waterdeep residents:

There are rumors and rumblings about the Xanathar Guild. It is not a recognized guild in Waterdeep, for one. They are said to work in secret and have been connected to everything from thievery to slavery. The whereabouts of their headquarters is unknown but people speculate that they live in the sewers, in Undermountain, in the Sea Ward, the Dock Ward, the South Ward, and the cemetery. Who or what a Xanathar is is also an unknown.


#295

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten clears his throat, his face a mask of concentration, trying to put the pieces together.

"Sounds like to me is more of the same gang war we've seen on the streets. 'Cept now it sounds like there's a mebbe bunch of coin involved, which makes this more desperate. And more deadly. Zhents grabbed our boy Floon and Raener here, hopin to get that coin. And Xanathar's guild snatched Floon up fer the same reason. Xanathar's crew is a bunch of thieving, slaving thugs--no better than the Zhents here. Mebbe worse.

Ty, can you get these squawking birds to tell us where they took him? They seem to have some connection to the Xanathar guild from what little they've said so far."


#296

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Yes and be quick about it!" the wizard snaps. "Eventually the idiots will figure out that they took the wrong person, and then we will be searching for a corpse! Renaer are you well enough to fight and will you help us find Floon?"


#297

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ty cleans his fingernails with the deadly tip of his dagger as he asks the Kenku again. "Where did they take the human?"

The kenku finds the gesture utterly unthreatening. "Xanathar sends his regards," he says again in the precise orcish accent he used before.

Just then a pounding resounds from the gate. "City watch!" yells a voice from the street.

Without waiting for polite entry, the watch forces the gate open and rushes into the warehouse through the yard. The watchpersons see the bodies littered around the building and immediately begin taking stock of the situation, searching the rest of the warehouse. None of them draw a weapon, but several station themselves as guards to react to any sudden violence. The leader of the watch steps forward. "I am Captain Hyustus Staget," he says in a clipped and formal tone. "We are investigating suspicious activity here. What is your part in all of this?"


#298

grub

grub

Brad turns to the captain. (9 for deception) "Um, it was like this when we got here."


#299

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Charity comes forward, her hands upraised with her palms open, trying to not provoke the guards into rash action. "Hail, Captain," she starts, "my companions and I came here in search of a missing friend." The farmgirl gestures towards the dead bodies of the Zhentarim thugs. "We found those dead bodies, as well as some birdmen," another gesture, this time to their captive kenku, "who drew their weapons as they saw us. A brief skirmish ensued." Her own wounds are proof enough of that. "We were...victorious, if you could call it that, and found master Neverember who had been kidnapped, along with our friend, by the dead ones."

Charity does not lower her hands until the captain gives the indication to do so. "If it would be amenable to you, we would like to continue searching for our missing friend. Time may be of the essence; as the Xanathar Guild are intent on taking knowledge from him that he does not have."


#300

MindDetective

MindDetective

"Mmhmm," Captain Staget says to Brad.

He looks skeptical during Charity's explanation until Renaer Neverember steps forward. "I can vouch for their story, Captain," he says.

Captain Staget's eyes widen in surprise. "Lord Neverember!" The captain gives a polite nod of his head. "You look..."

The nobleman waves away the captain's imminent observation. "I was captured by..." he says as he looks around the room and points at several of them. "Those men. Zhentarim, I believe. The others attacked them an hour ago. A bloody brawl resulted, as you can see. I hid, having slipped my ropes, but for my cowardice they hauled away my friend, Floon Blagmaar, mistaking him for me." Guilt wracks the nobleman's face. "Several Xanathar thugs stayed behind, searching the place, and would surely have found me if these fine people had not arrived in time."

The Captain is clearly convinced by Renaer's words and the city watch all relax, stepping away to less strategic places in the warehouse or to help search the premises. "Of course, my lord," Captain Staget says stiffly. "The gods smiled on you this night."

Renaer fruitlessly smooths his wrinkled clothes. "Indeed, captain. And what will become of these fine folks?"

Captain Staget clears his throat, clearly unsure what to do with his hands before the nobleman. "Well, I see no glaring reasons to haul them to jail, my lord."

Neverember eyes the captain for a moment and then nods. "Very good, Captain."

"However..." Staget says. "I'll advise the six of you to stay out of this little gang affair." The captain snaps his fingers as he looks over his shoulder and a young watchwoman steps up promptly. He whispers into her ear and she runs off. She returns a minute later with a sheaf of papers. "As a reminder, please take a copy of the city Code Legal."

He hands Brad the sheaf of papers with a stern look. "That said, you are free to go. You have done Waterdeep a service tonight."



#301

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"You are too kind Captain, but our service is paltry at best, for two of these foul creatures escaped and out into the street! I'm sure you could catch them if you hurry. And there is the matter of this live one, we obviously surrender him to your authority. But we may still assist in some small way, my friends can escort his lordship safely home, while I help clean up here and dispense with this mess. My cousin sometimes runs a cart for the morgue, and I have helped him in the past."


#302

MindDetective

MindDetective

"The gangs seem to be taking care of themelves," Staget says to Erythro. "And I'll not send my men into the sewers after a few Xanathar thugs. Though we are happy to take the kenku. He won't see a good time in a cell, I'd wager."

The kenku keeps his beak shut, glaring at anyone that dares to look at him.

Renaer Neverember speaks up, "Thank you for the offer, kind mage. I'd prefer you continue after Floon in good haste."

Captain Staget's expression sours. "Yeah, well, keep the blood of the streets, okay? Not all city watch officers are as nice as me. And I don't arrange the morgue pick-ups. That would be back at the city watch station. You're welcome to have your cousin put his offer in there."


#303

phil

phil

"let's get Renaer home first and figure out our next step"

Ran takes a moment to say goodbye to his thieves hideout.

"One day..." He says to himself, taking one last look around.


#304

MindDetective

MindDetective

"Please," Renaer says again. "Spend your efforts on finding Floon instead."


#305

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Erythro will start investigating the warehouse again. Causally searching for clues. Making notes and such, plucking feathers from dead birdman. He does this for at least an hour, after which he turns his investigation to the surrounding areas.

Take a short rest at the warehouse. Then investigate the city, rolled a 15. If I am ever left alone in the warehouse I secure the treasure I found. Otherwise I make plans to return for it.


#306

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

"Bird brains wuzznt to keen on talking. From whut Lord Renaer seen, Floon was drug through the streets out in the open an hour ago. Someone hadda seen it. Gimme my share of that dirty thief money. Mebbe it can loosen some tongues and do some good. Find out where they drug him off to. Anyone wanna tag along?"

If I'm doing my math right, my share of the various coin carried by the dead gang members should come up to about 8 gold and 7 silver. I'll canvass the area and use coin where I must to loosen tongues to find out which way they drug off Floon.


#307

MindDetective

MindDetective

Erytho and Marten find out rather quickly from some of the people who work on Candle Lane, and without needing to spend any coin, that they saw Floon dragged into a side-alley. The alley is a dead end but harbors a sewer grate at the end of it.


#308

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Short rest and treasure?


#309

MindDetective

MindDetective

Short rest: Yes. Treasure, not while the watch is around.


#310

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

I'd rather long rest. I'm outa spells for healing, and if we're about to go down into a gang hideout, we might need some of that sweet juice.

Unless the Bards have enough healing to cover us. I know some of them spent spells too.

On the other hand, time is of the essence. If you think we can get by without the spells, I say we go for it.


#311

MindDetective

MindDetective

First level is rough.
Post automatically merged:

But...poor Floon can wait...right?


#312

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Well, I was hoping for a break long enough to cast Find Familiar again.

And to get enough treasure to pay for it...


#313

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Meh, whatever. If I die, then I'll just sit back and watch the rest of the fun from the sidelines. :D


#314

grub

grub

I have 1 slot left. I'm good with whatever.


#315

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

The injured can spend a hit die right now for healing. What are our health anyway? I got a single spell back.


#316

MindDetective

MindDetective

Charity is the worst off with only 1 hp left. Everyone else is at full health, I think.


#317

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

" Come Marten, time is our enemy today, into the depths below if we are to catch our grouse before it's cooked." and with that he prys open the sewer, strikes a torch, "Wizards first" and descends into the murk below.


#318

phil

phil

Ran shakes hands with Renny.

"Hey, just remember. Ran Riddleson. I saved your life. You owe me if I get in trouble. Ok byeeeeee"

Ran waddles off after his companions.

"Do y'all religious types have spells to help with the stink? Nah, didn't think so"

He follows down the sewer

[Ooc: just so everyone is aware, Ran has no healing. His spells are mostly centered around trickery and utility. His uselessness knows no bounds. I love him]


#319

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten will wave Renaer forward in an "after you" gesture, and then follow down.


#320

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

While the others pursue the clue that leads to the sewers, Charity spends a moment to tend to her wounds as best she can, and prays to Chauntea while she does. She follows the rest down the sewers without complaint, even if she still looks a little rough.

Spending a hit die to heal for 11 HP.


#321

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Question, do we know what happened to the Xanathar thugs from the bar brawl? Are they alive? Thinking about using disguise self as the one the started the fight or I could go with one of the corpses from the hideout.


#322

MindDetective

MindDetective

HCGLNS said:
Question, do we know what happened to the Xanathar thugs from the bar brawl? Are they alive? Thinking about using disguise self as the one the started the fight or I could go with one of the corpses from the hideout.
Click to expand...
They were kicked out of the tavern.


#323

MindDetective

MindDetective

The party descend into the sewer at the end of a dark alley, despite the late morning. This is not how any of them expected their day to go, but there they were, ankle deep in the muck running underneath Waterdeep. There is no natural light down here. Only Ty, the half-elf, can see in the very dim light down here.

Ty:
A putrid stream flows along this sewer tunnel, which leads in two directions. In one direction, you see a tiny symbol drawn on the wall in yellow chalk: a palm-sized circle with ten equidistant spokes radiating out from its circumference.


#324

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

That's why I lit a torch. Mamma said learn the light cantrip, but I was cool, I learned illusions.


#325

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

That's the same symbol as on the Xanathar Guild guys. Since that's who we're after, I say we follow it.


#326

MindDetective

MindDetective

HCGLNS said:
That's why I lit a torch. Mamma said learn the light ca trip, but I was cool, I learned illusions.
Click to expand...
Oop, so you did. Everyone can see what Ty sees.


#327

MindDetective

MindDetective

Assuming everyone is on board with Marten:

After an hour of following signs through the tunnels, the party come to a three-way intersection where a ladder leads up into a stone shaft capped by a circular metal cover. One of the familiar chalk symbols is marked on a wall nearby, and floating near the symbol is a spherical, grapefruit-sized creature with a bulging central eye and four stumpy eyestalks. It bares its teeth at the six adventurers...


#328

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Well that solves the riddle of Xanathar. That my friends is the personal plaything of a beholder. Kill it quickly before it tells Xanathar everything it sees!"


#329

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

That's a nasty looking piece of work. I'll ready my mace and shield and attack.


#330

MindDetective

MindDetective

Initiative order:

Brad
Gazer
Everyone else

Brad is up!


#331

grub

grub

Brad unsheathes his rapier and attempts to stab the gazer in the central eye (10 to hit) and misses as the gazer is too small and is gently bobbing. "I should have aimed where it was going to be, not where it was."


#332

MindDetective

MindDetective

Brad's rapier slices underneath the gazer as it bobs up. Its eye stalks waggle and writhe as two beams fire from two of the four eye stalks. One beam strikes Charity and the other strikes Erythro. Charity is hit with a dazing ray and is charmed (but speed is halved and attacks are with disadvantage). The gazer seems like a pretty cool frood, Charity...

Erythro is struck by a fear ray and is frightened.

(Everyone but Brad is up!)


#333

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten swings his mace at the gazer, bu the little bugger is bobbing and weaving, and martin's swing passes over it's head(body?). (Roll of 8)


#334

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

A fear takes hold of the wizard, unnatural and cold. It grips his mind with irrational thoughts. He thinks of attacking the beast, but is unsure if he could even cast a spell. All seems lost when a manic grin crosses his face and he stands jumping and screaming and taunting the beast.

I wait until just before Ty attacks then take the Help action to grant him advantage in his attack.


#335

phil

phil

Ran tries not to panic as magical beams shoot out of a floating eye thing. He steadies his blade and thrusts forward at the weird ball before him.

[18 to hit, 9 damage]


#336

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ran scores a direct hit into the beast's side. It does not fall, however.

(Ty and Charity are up.)


#337

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ty draws his rapier and slashes at the gazer. Any other time and it would have missed, but Erythro's gyrations attracted its attention and the aberration bobbed into Ty's sword at the right moment. It falls, deflated into the muck.

Moments later, Erythro's fear subsides and Charity's daze clears.

(Combat has ended.)


#338

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

"We must be getting close. Best we keep chatter to a minimum. Onward."

Marten gestures toward the passageway marked with the Xanathar symbol and continues deeper into the sewers.


#339

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

moving on and constantly searching for passageways and secret entrances, what if the gazer came out of a small pipe etc

Shaking the cobwebs from his mind, the wizard whispers solemnly "We're in it now gentlemen. We have invaded a beholders lair, and killed its dog. Eleven eyes now seek us out. Onward. I will lead." And the wizard cautiously goes forward, keeping a keen eye out for anything suspicious or dangerous.


#340

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

"Eleven eyes? That seems like a somewhat curious amount," Charity idly remarks, not having the slightest clue of what a beholder is, or why they have so many eyes, "but fear not, master Erythro. However many eyes there may be, I shall take the brunt of their scorn." Without any hint of irony, the farmgirl moves ahead of the pack, certainly not about to let the less sturdy folk take any hit on her watch.

Moving to the front, but if any perception leads to a warning from other party members, I won't move blindly ahead.


#341

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ran:
Ran knows them to be vicious, merciless, xenophobic, violent, and greedy. They are powerful and very dangerous.

Ignoring the ladder, the party continues to follow the symbols. Before too long, they approach a circular hub with a pair of arrow slits carved into its outer walls, directly across from each other. Two passages continue on to the north and south. A stone door is set into the back wall of a stone ledge to the west. Everyone finds space by the door out of the muck, relieved for this small piece of dry...well, damp....space.

Copy of Xanathar Hideout 1.png


(The party approached from the east.


#342

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

"Doors mean people. Let's make no undue fuss," Marten whispers. Looking over the assembled crew, he adds "I am the most heavily armored. I'll go first."
(assuming Raenar isn't wearing chainmail or better)

I push open the door as lightly as I can and step inside.


#343

phil

phil

Raenar isn't with us? He stayed with the city watch


#344

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Is Raenar actually with us?

Did I find any secret doors?

I cast disguise self and turn myself into the goon from the bar that Yagra fought

Erythro grabs a hold of Marten, silently urging him to stop. Then slowly the image of the slender wizard is replaced by that of a boorish thug with eyeball tattoos on his head.


#345

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

phil said:
Raenar isn't with us? He stayed with the city watch
Click to expand...
I assumed he came with us, because he was invited. But I looked back and couldn't find whether or not he actually said he'd come. And here, I waved him in with an "after you" gesture.
edit: but he wasn't in the initiative list of the last combat, or on the map, so, I guess he's not with us.


#346

phil

phil

Ran takes a second to examine his surrounding. The arrow slits give him cause for concern.

"Maybe we should consider our exit strategy before we go any further."

He pulls out his 5 candles out of his pack and offers them up.

"Does everyone have a way of seeing in the dark if we get separated?"


#347

grub

grub

Brad takes one of the candles "Thank you. It's days like this I wish my mother had hooked up with an elf."


#348

MindDetective

MindDetective

Renaer sloshes up behind Marten. "I'm here, I'm here," he says. "I don't suppose you could spare a couple of daggers and a rapier from those gang members. I saw one of you stash them away. Preparing to outfit an army?"


#349

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

If we detect no secret things, I will sneak into the door area. If needed, Stealth Check is 1d20+3.

With a silent nod, the disguised wizard opens the door.


#350

MindDetective

MindDetective

The party creep into a short hallway. Another arrow slit faces inward, sparking immediate concern. But nothing seems to happen. The next door has no lock either and they press through, finding a room to the left that is filled with junk. Rusty weapons and threadbare clothing litter the floor of this area, which appears to serve as a coat room and armory. It contains nothing of value.

To the right is a guard station. Two goblins doze in front of their arrow slits, one facing into the sewers and the other into the hallway the party just passed through.


Copy of Xanathar Hideout 1 (1).png


#351

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Much as I think it's unfair to bash a sleeping goblin's brains in, life ain't fair. And we have the greater good to consider. I will mime my intentions to the rest of the party.


#352

phil

phil

MindDetective said:
Renaer sloshes up behind Marten. "I'm here, I'm here," he says. "I don't suppose you could spare a couple of daggers and a rapier from those gang members. I saw one of you stash them away. Preparing to outfit an army?"
Click to expand...
Haha ok. I think etherio took the weapons because he wanted to sell them right? I didn't take any but can give him my dagger if he needs it.

As for the goblins, is there still like the old coup de Grace or do I just have advantage of I attack them?


#353

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

phil said:
Haha ok. I think etherio took the weapons because he wanted to sell them right? I didn't take any but can give him my dagger if he needs it.

As for the goblins, is there still like the old coup de Grace or do I just have advantage of I attack them?
Click to expand...
From what I'm reading on DnDBeyond, you have advantage (unconscious beings are 'prone'), and any attack from within 5 feet (ie: melee) is an automatic critical (double damage dice). Also, they auto-fail saves against STR and DEX--which would make my Sacred Flame automatically hit. But since it requires a dex save and not an attack roll, it's not an "attack" and wouldn't crit. You get more bang for the buck hitting them with melee in this state.


#354

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Roll to hit with advantage, if you hit in any way it's a crit


#355

phil

phil

Ran tip toes his way to the closer of the two goblins

[Stealth check 12]

He brings his rapier up and holds the pommel above the head of the goblin guard. Once an ally does the same with the other guard he strikes in unison, attempting to knock the goblin out.

[ 17 to hit, 7 damage, so a 14 crit. ]


#356

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten will sneak up with Ran (13 stealth), lofting his mace up high. somehow, he manages to completely whiff and miss the sleeping goblin (10 to hit).

[ooc---shoulda gone for the auto-hitting spell. lol!]


#357

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

The disguised wizards motions again for silence and with an eerie quiet dispatches the goblin next to Marten. Then motions for quiet and moves towards the other goblin.


#358

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ran and Erythro finish off one goblin while Marten bonks the other on the head, rattling his helmet and waking him up.

In goblin:

"Ai! Fugwug! What was that for? Ai! Humans!"

(Ty and Charity and Brad may still go in the surprise round before I even bother with initiative.)


#359

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

And Renaer? :D


#360

MindDetective

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
And Renaer? :D
Click to expand...
Nobody has given him any weapons yet, but he's ready to punch something if necessary!


#361

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Lol, after this fight, can we assume he either gets rapiers and daggers from whichever of us took them, or picks up a weapon off the dead goblins? Someone offered him their dagger a couple pages back.


#362

MindDetective

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
Lol, after this fight, can we assume he either gets rapiers and daggers from whichever of us took them, or picks up a weapon off the dead goblins? Someone offered him their dagger a couple pages back.
Click to expand...
As long as whomever took them subtracts them! I just want the accounting done properly. ;)


#363

grub

grub

Brad looks at the goblin and whispers "shhh, we're trying to be sneaky." And promptly stabs at him with his rapier (11 to hit). Hitting the wall beside him.


#364

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ah, it may not be clear who picked the rapiers and daggers up? This prompted the collection of weapons, though. So I assumed Ran had them. If he didn't pick them up, Renaer would pick them up from the ground himself.


#365

phil

phil

MindDetective said:
Ah, it may not be clear who picked the rapiers and daggers up? This prompted the collection of weapons, though. So I assumed Ran had them. If he didn't pick them up, Renaer would pick them up from the ground himself.
Click to expand...
Ran accepts your wise and infallible judgement and will add the loot to his inventory. So sayeth the DM, so sayeth we all. Ahmen.

He also, immediately following this encounter, will give a dagger to everyone in the group. He also gives Ranaer (who is definitely with us) a dagger, rapier and leather armor if he wants it.


#366

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

I'm tempted to say Ty should get a chance at kiling the git in his sleep, I also like the idea of chastising unsneaky people in chainmail.


#367

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Watching the others move into action, Charity mutters a quiet prayer under her breath. "Great Mother, forgive me for this violence I'm about to inflict." As she does so, however, she already is hoisting a sizeable club from her belt, and whacks the remaining goblin in the noggin with a fierce strength.

Hitting remaining goblin with 24 for 17 damage, or 11 damage if it's not a crit.


#368

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

phil said:
Ran accepts your wise and infallible judgement and will add the loot to his inventory. So sayeth the DM, so sayeth we all. Ahmen.

He also, immediately following this encounter, will give a dagger to everyone in the group. He also gives Ranaer (who is definitely with us) a dagger, rapier and leather armor if he wants it.
Click to expand...
How Ran looks now:
1583866631253.png


HCGLNS said:
I'm tempted to say Ty should get a chance at kiling the git in his sleep, I also like the idea of chastising unsneaky people in chainmail.
Click to expand...
Hey..I snuck successfully!


#369

MindDetective

MindDetective

Wahad said:
Charity

Watching the others move into action, Charity mutters a quiet prayer under her breath. "Great Mother, forgive me for this violence I'm about to inflict." As she does so, however, she already is hoisting a sizeable club from her belt, and whacks the remaining goblin in the noggin with a fierce strength.

Hitting remaining goblin with 24 for 17 damage, or 11 damage if it's not a crit.
Click to expand...
Charity knocks the goblin senseless and he slumps to the floor, soundly back asleep.


#370

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Now that we have so loudly dealt with these two, lets move on. I will take the lead. While in this disquise I will be safe. Ty can escort me. The rest of you hang back, if we need you we will signal you." Then the wizard sneeks away to the (top of the map).


#371

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

"I'm not keen on leaving an unconscious goblin to wake up behind our backs. Lets truss him up first. I have rope."

I proceed to hogtie the goblin and rip some of his clothes to make a makeshift gag.


#372

phil

phil

Ran hands out the daggers to everyone and equips Renaer with a dagger, rapier and leather armor.

If Ranaer would like, he can have a few throwing darts if he thinks he can use them.

everyone add a dagger to your inventory


#373

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

phil said:
everyone add a dagger to your inventory
Click to expand...
Done..also slinging my shield to my back and switching to my crossbow.


#374

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ty and Erythro:

The pair walk down some stairs that turn right and pass under what must be the sewers. They can hear the sound of the muck running past above them. The passage opens into a room that contains six tattered, straw-stuffed mattresses and nothing of value. They can hear the sounds of grunting wood-on-stone scraping through the thin wooden door. Dulled voices murmur over the noises.

Copy of Xanathar Hideout 1 (2).png


#375

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

I will motion for the group to join us, then listen at the door.


#376

MindDetective

MindDetective

(I'm just reposting what was in the spoiler)

The party walk down some stairs that turn right and pass under what must be the sewers. They can hear the sound of the muck running past above them. The passage opens into a room that contains six tattered, straw-stuffed mattresses and nothing of value. They can hear the sounds of grunting wood-on-stone scraping through the thin wooden door. Dulled voices murmur over the noises.

1584058055264.png


Listening at the door, the voices appear to be two different people.

"No, not like that!"
"Zemk, shut up. This thing is heavy."
"Get the blankets, you dolt!"


#377

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

If everyone is in agreement, once they are at the door, I will open it and look inside.


#378

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

I agree..do it quietly. (I will move up to be near the door so that I can take action when necessary)


#379

phil

phil

Ryan gets into position with marten. He also uses his inspiration on Ethyrio.

"You got this, bud!"


#380

MindDetective

MindDetective

Erythro quietly opens the door to find six tattered, straw-stuffed mattresses in a rather large room. A duergar is berating a human...the same human from the Yawning Portal that was beaten senseless by Yagra.

"Shut up with the blankets," says the human.

"Will y'listen y'daft smooth skin?" says the duergar.

Two doors exit to the east of this room. Both of the people in the room have their backs turned, engrossed in their argument.

Copy of Xanathar Hideout 1 (3).png


#381

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

HCGLNS said:
Is Raenar actually with us?

Did I find any secret doors?

I cast disguise self and turn myself into the goon from the bar that Yagra fought

Erythro grabs a hold of Marten, silently urging him to stop. Then slowly the image of the slender wizard is replaced by that of a boorish thug with eyeball tattoos on his head.
Click to expand...
Spider-Man-Pointing-Meme.jpg


#382

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

I motion for the others to follow, then enter the room weapons drawn. I cry out "Zhentarim scum! Kill the imposter!"


#383

MindDetective

MindDetective

The pair whirl around.

"Krentz," says the duergar, "What is this?"

"I..." says Krentz, the human, "Wait, they were at the Portal."

"Why does that one look like you?!"

"Obviously they saw me at the Portal too, Zemk!"

Initiative order (with only a little fudging):

Everyone may go first in any order
Krentz and Zemk go

No map for this battle. It is close quarters, so everyone is within 30 feet of each other while they are in the room together.


#384

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

I seem to recall the human thug went down pretty easily in the bar. I'll focus my attention on the dwarf.
[Crossbow, 6 to hit.]
Marten looses a crossbow bolt, but all the jostling at the doorway throws his aim and it goes wide.


#385

grub

grub

Brad steps towards the dwarf and also misses his target in the confusion. (6 to hit)


#386

phil

phil

Ran, ready for round two with the thugs leaps into the action against the one who escaped his wrath earlier.

[16 to hit, 7 non lethal. Thinking of including a reluctance to kill into Ran's story.]


#387

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

take DODGE action

Erythro begins a deliberate dance with his dagger, moving close to the combatants before positioning himself in such a way to gain the advantage on the thugs, "Gut this impostor! Spare the dwarf!"


#388

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Charity gives a bit of a panicked glance as the rest rush in but follows suit with a swift strike from her greatsword to the dwarf.

21 to hit, 11 damage.


#389

MindDetective

MindDetective

Both Ran and Charity hit their targets. The dwarf scoffs at Erythro. "Krentz doesn't use a dagger, you fool."

(Ty is up!)

@Vrii


#390

MindDetective

MindDetective

(I will post for @Vrii shortly.)


#391

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ty joins the fray, striking at the duergar with two daggers. The first finds a weakness in the armor (for 11 damage after sneak attack). His second bounces off the dwarf's armor.

Krentz (the human) strikes at Erythro. "Too bad for you I have plenty of self loathing!" His quip distracts even himself, though, and the scimitar finds only air.

Zemk (the duergar)suddenly disappears!

(Everyone may go again in any order!)


#392

MindDetective

MindDetective

I forgot Renaer.

The nobleman strikes with expert precision at the tattooed human. The man falls before the second blow can even land.


#393

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten takes a shot at where he thinks the duergar went...and misses pitifully.


#394

phil

phil

Ran looks for the footsteps of the invisible dwarf. Thinking he sees something move he strikes out!

[ Disadvantage roll of 14 damage of 6]


#395

MindDetective

MindDetective

His blade flashes through this air.


#396

grub

grub

Brad with misplaced confidence, stabs at an empty spot of room (ATK 6) and his rapier connects with the wall leaving a small hole in the plaster.


#397

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler



#398

MindDetective

MindDetective

Pretty much! Let's see if Charity, Erythro, or Ty can do any better.


#399

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Erythro picks up the fallen corpse of Krentz by the legs and swings it around in a giant circle. Around and around it goes, when he stops nobody knows!

I use the Help action to distract the invisible duergar and grant Ty ADVANTAGE on his attacks


#400

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Moving to block the passage so that the dwarf cannot warn his friends, Charity lashes out with her sword.

I will attempt to move to whichever passageway leads further into the den, then attack for 15, with 5 damage if I hit.


#401

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

3oHyVKs.gif


See, I thought this was a unique way to distract someone. Now I think it's a great defensive move.


#402

MindDetective

MindDetective

I will post for @Vrii again in 90 minutes ore so. he may be a bit pre-occupied and missing a couple of "sessions"


#403

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ty eyes the spots in the room where the duergar can possibly escape to from Erythro's wild distraction and Charity's blocking of one of the exit doors. Sneaking over to a corner, he feels the warm glow of another person where nothing should be. His daggers drive into the belly and neck of the dwarf, leaving the Xanathar thug dead on the ground.

(combat has ended!)


#404

MindDetective

MindDetective

Current map:

Copy of Xanathar Hideout 1 (4).png


#405

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Which door were they trying to plug up? I say maybe we take the other door...


#406

MindDetective

MindDetective

Insight check to figure it out


#407

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

14


#408

MindDetective

MindDetective

Erythro watches Marten with no hint of expression as the old cleric looks back and forth between the doors. "They were trying to block that one," he says at last, pointing to the northern door.

Erythro nods, "I concur."


#409

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Erythro picks up some of the effects of the fallen Krentz to complement his disguise and heads towards the door they were not trying to block. "I'll lead the way."


#410

phil

phil

Ran loots the dwarf!


#411

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten follows Erythro.


#412

MindDetective

MindDetective

Between the two thugs, they had 1 platinum piece and 9 electrum pieces.

The duergar had scale mail, a shield, a war pick, and a javelin. The human had leather armor, a scimitar, and a light crossbow with 9 bolts.


#413

MindDetective

MindDetective

That party follows the passage around a bend to the south. Once again they pass under the slow watery sounds of the sewer before climbing some stairs into a large hall.
Threadbare curtains hang on the east wall of the long hall, in the middle of which a muscular half-orc in dingy robes stands with his foot on the chest of a male human with wavy red-blond hair. Fire burns around the orc’s clenched fist, and his victim cries and squirms helplessly beneath him.

Seated on a raised platform to the south is a nightmarish figure wearing black robes. It has large white eyes and rubbery purple skin, with four tentacles encircling its inhuman mouth. It cradles and gently caresses what looks like a disembodied brain with feet.

Copy of Xanathar Hideout 1 (5).png


(I will roll initiative only as needed.)


#414

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Can we back up the icons a bit. I would like to go up the stairs super sneaky and slowly. Then when I crest the stairs still disguised as the thug (but now with his scimitar.)

Upon seeing the new room, I slump against the wall to the entrance and cry as if hurt badly "Zhentarim, right behind me!" then ready "my" scimitar as if to sneak attack the "Zhents" as they enter the room.

MindDetective said:
Seated on a raised platform to the south is a nightmarish figure wearing black robes. It has large white eyes and rubbery purple skin, with four tentacles encircling its inhuman mouth. It cradles and gently caresses what looks like a disembodied brain with feet.
(I will roll initiative only as needed.)
Click to expand...
a mind flayer?! Now serving fresh wizard brains!


#415

MindDetective

MindDetective

HCGLNS said:
Can we back up the icons a bit. I would like to go up the stairs super sneaky and slowly. Then when I crest the stairs still disguised as the thug (but now with his scimitar.)

Upon seeing the new room, I slump against the wall to the entrance and cry as if hurt badly "Zhentarim, right behind me!" then ready "my" scimitar as if to sneak attack the "Zhents" as they enter the room.

a mind flayer?! Now serving fresh wizard brains!
Click to expand...
Yes. Roll deception.


#416

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

phil said:
He also uses his inspiration on Ethyrio.
Click to expand...
Hurray! Deception roll of 19!


#417

MindDetective

MindDetective

The half-orc turns around, keeping the human under him pinned. "Well, take care of them," he says with a growl.

The figure across the room stands. "What is it, Grum'shar?" it says in a chilling, unearthly voice.

"Krentz. He says the zhents are attacking us."

The other figure narrows its alien eyes. It mutters an incantation, then raises its gaze to Erythro. "That is not Krentz, you idiot. Kill him. And his friends."

Ok, fudging things a little for simplicity here:

Everyone may go first except Ty and Renaer.
Foes will go second
Ty and Renaer go last.

Copy of Xanathar Hideout 1 (6).png


#418

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

[I don't know that I want anything to do with tentacle face or his brain. Would I know what a mind flayer is and how dangerous they are?

I'll move just inside the room and off to one side of the doorway (so others can enter behind me) and take a shot at the half-orc. (20 to hit, 9 damage). I'm going to assume that's Floon down on the floor.]

"Step off our frien', you fiend!"


#419

MindDetective

MindDetective

The bolt strikes the half-orc in the throat and he falls to the ground, dead.


#420

phil

phil

Do we have enough time for me to redistribute some of the gear? I think Charity might be interested in the shield and Renaer might want to upgrade his armor to the scale if that's more his style etc.

Edit: just saw the other posts. Whoops guess not haha!


#421

MindDetective

MindDetective

Renaer shakes his head at the scale but handing off the shield is fine.


#422

phil

phil

MindDetective said:
Renaer shakes his head at the scale but handing off the shield is fine.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, he can have it if he wants it. Otherwise Ran slips it to whomever might make use of it.

He also uses inspiration on Marten.


#423

grub

grub

Brad takes aim at the brain thing with a dagger and the dagger hits (23) with a squish for 3 damage.


#424

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

fog cloud on mindflayer.png


I cast fog cloud on the yellow dot which should fill the area as I drew. Then I move to the hallway to the right and hide from view (not the hide action, just out of line of sight) If an Arcana check will tell me what the walking brain is roll = 20


#425

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

As the half-orc falls, and fog fills the room, Charity mutters a brief prayer to Chauntea, and moves in, holding her sword at the ready and standing over the downed man, ready to strike if either of the nightmare creatures emerges.

Moving to where the half-orc was. Readying an attack on the first creature to come within range at 15 to hit, with 10 possible damage.


#426

MindDetective

MindDetective

Charity shoves the dead half-orc off the person laying on the floor to find Floon, per his description. He is badly beaten but manages a crooked smile through his wounds.

(Ran is up!)


#427

MindDetective

MindDetective

grub said:
Brad takes aim at the brain thing with a dagger and the dagger hits (23) with a squish for 3 damage.
Click to expand...
Brad runs to the top of the stairs and whips a dagger all the way across the hall. It is a spectacular throw, piercing the little brain-monster's hind leg.


#428

phil

phil

Ran rushes to the injured man and helps him to his feet if possible. If he can't seem to walk, Ran will start to drag him to Marten if possible.

"Hiya Floons, the names Ran, head of Ran's Rangers heroes for hire. We're here to rescue you. We're here with your friend Renaer. Blink twice if we shouldn't trust him by the way. Anyways, let's try to run away from the thing that's going to haunt my nightmares for the next month"

He also gives Charity a thumbs up gesture which inspires here to be the best person she can be [and eats up my last Bardic Inspiration]


#429

MindDetective

MindDetective

phil said:
Ran rushes to the injured man and helps him to his feet if possible. If he can't seem to walk, Ran will start to drag him to Marten if possible.

"Hiya Floons, the names Ran, head of Ran's Rangers heroes for hire. We're here to rescue you. We're here with your friend Renaer. Blink twice if we shouldn't trust him by the way. Anyways, let's try to run away from the thing that's going to haunt my nightmares for the next month"

He also gives Charity a thumbs up gesture which inspires here to be the best person she can be [and eats up my last Bardic Inspiration]
Click to expand...
Floon stands up and hobbles back towards the stairs down with Ran.

Meanwhile, the fog obscures whatever the alien creature is doing. But its pet comes charging out of the fog and is struck by Charity's readied attack. Charity finds her blade does not cut through the thick hide of the creature well. Then, it retaliates, slashing at her at an exposed part of her leg for 7 damage.

Charity feels an intense pressure in her mind from the creature as it attacks her psychically. She manages to fend it off, leaving her somewhat breathless at the alien assault.

Renaer charges forward and, like Brad, fires off his dagger, slicing through the top of the brain-like creature for 2 damage.

(Ty is up! @Vrii )


#430

MindDetective

MindDetective

Ty charges forward but cannot make it to help Charity in time. He is close enough to throw a dagger, however, so plants his feet and fires it at the vicious little creature.

The dagger sails wide as he tries to avoid hitting Charity.

(Everyone but Ty and Renaer is up.)


#431

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten swivels and trains his crossbow on the brain beast. A quarrel thunks into its hide, but doesn't sink nearly as much as it should in the beasts rubbery flesh. (17 to hit, 10 5 damage)


#432

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

As his companions weapons bounce off the foul aberration, a steely resolve overshadows the fears of detective, so much so he steps from his hiding spot and strides forth with purpose. Flames spark from his fist as he hurls a flaming ball directly into the creature as a familiar refrain is uttered "FULMEN IGNEM MITTITUR!"

cast fire bolt, 24 to hit, 8 damage

Note to self make magic weapons for party at level 3


#433

MindDetective

MindDetective

The foul little creature squeals as it burns, falling to the ground, dead.

Tense seconds pass and nothing else emerges from the fog. Erythro let's the fog go and they find the mind flayer is gone. The doors to the west are flung open but no other creatures or enemies are immediately visible.

Combat has ended.


#434

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"I strongly suggest we not follow it. Get Floon out of here while I make sure it is gone." The wizard then moves slowly forward past the fallen beast and investigates the room.


#435

MindDetective

MindDetective

Erythro finds a large room with multiple exits. In the middle of this otherwise empty room is a stone pillar carved with a small symbol: a perfect circle with ten equidistant spokes radiating outward from its circumference. In the middle of this circle is a smaller circular indentation that bears a passing resemblance to a lidless eye. On the south side of the room, purple magical energy swirls in a large disk. It is a portal, probably recently opened.
Post automatically merged:

Copy of Xanathar Hideout 1 (7).png


#436

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

The heads of his companions snap up as Erythro comes running back into the room. "Time to go! Now now now how now!" And runs straight to the fallen half orc. Quickly strips it of anything that could be valuable and runs into the hallway he was previously hiding.


#437

MindDetective

MindDetective

In a satchel, Grum’shar carried his spellbook, which contains the following spells: burning hands, disguise self, false life, shield, unseen servant, and witch bolt. He also carried a simply crystal globe as a casting focus and 21 copper pieces.

As the party flees back the way they came, they hear no one following them. They eventually arrive back at the sewer, where Floon and Renaer take a moment to embrace and pat each other on the back.


#438

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Suggest we make haste to the Yawning Portal, and use the magic paper to let Volo know that we're on our way with his friend.


#439

grub

grub

I agree.


#440

phil

phil

Ran outfits Floon with whatever he may need for the journey back. (probably a leather armor and rapier/dagger combo?)


#441

MindDetective

MindDetective

Floon is severely injured and shakes his head at the weapons and armor. He staggers back to the Yawning Portal with Renaer helping prop him up.

"Don't worry, we'll get you straightened out," Renaer says.

Volo is drinking alone in the Yawning Portal while anxiously awaiting news of Floon’s fate. He springs up and runs to embrace the returning heroes and his friends as soon as he sees them.

The writer looks sheepish as he offers his thanks. "I confess that I have but few coins to spare. But never let it be said that Volo reneges on a promise. Allow me to present something much more valuable.” He holds out a scroll tube. “The deed to a remarkable property here in Waterdeep! We’ll need a magistrate to witness the transfer of ownership. I’ll arrange a meeting with one after you’ve inspected the estate and deemed it satisfactory.”

"Volo," Renaer says with a tone of chastisement.

"I promise," Volo says. "I spent far more on this property than the proffered reward."

The tube contains a deed to one Trollskull Manor, a historic building in the North Ward. The deed has been notarized and appears legitimate.


#442

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

The slender wizard smiles and slumps into a chair, his thuggish disguise long vanished. "Volo, what we need now are drinks and rest. Renaer, we also need to inform some one of what we found down there. Some one a fair bit above the City Watch." And as the wizard fills his belly with food and drink, he starts thinking about tomorrow nights activities.

A house makes sense, gives us a place for NPC's to interact with us and unifies us into a singular location.

And seriously; a beholder and a mind flayer are involved in the Xanathar business. And Floon was taken because of some money. Some body needs to learn about all this.

Tomorrow night, once my spells are restored I will return to the warehouse in disguise and retrieve the items we left behind. Let me know what rolls are required


#443

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Marten shrugs at the lack of monetary reward. The money would have helped him in his mission to serve the underprivileged children in the town, but a place to sleep would serve as well, freeing up his daily earnings as a street preacher for that mission. In the long term, the house is a better deal.

And while he's a bit slow to make friends, his new companions have shown them very capable people. The bonds of combat and all that.

"I cannot speak for the others, but this manor will suit me just fine. I imagine it's best to alert the law of the warrens in the sewers, and let them deal with it. I could use a bath, some food, and some sleep."

(let me know how much I need to spend to accomplish those things, pls. I've been keeping tight track of my share of the loot)


#444

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

"Um..." Charity pipes up in a moment of quiet, looking somewhat baffled at the reward of a...manor, "not that I want to seem ungrateful, mister Geddarm, but - well, I'm just a simple farmgirl, really. I was more than happy to help out finding your friend, but I don't think it would be appropriate for me to move in with five men I barely know. You may cross my name off the contract." She goes a little red in the cheeks, but holds fast when pressed on the issue.


#445

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Erythro holds his tongue on an impromptu lecture on tenancy and ownership, but errs on the side of mischief, one less share. His mind moves towards other notions, such that Volo was deceitful about the reward, perhaps he's deceiving us now. Perhaps the true nature of this Trollskull Manor, is far more dire than Volo lets on. He just went from promising us hundreds to giving us thousands. Perhaps it's haunted, or worse has creditors.


just spitballing. It's haunted and if we want it we need to get rid of the ghosts and skeletons and vampires, making this another dungeon crawl

Regardless it feels like a level 2 problem :)

I use my passve insight 14 to determine what Volo is up too.


#446

phil

phil

A single tear runs down Ran's cheek.

"Base of operations..." He whispers to himself.

Ran places some of the loot on a table to see if anyone in the party can use it.

• one Javelin
• one light crossbow
• one scale mail
• one warpick

After his companions pick what they want Ran pays a quick visit to his underworld fence to sell off the remaining loot and distribute the shares evenly.

[4 leather armors, 4 rapiers and any of the above that doesn't get claimed. Ran keeps the daggers since people seem so keen on throwing theirs]

In the morning he catches up with Ethyrio and goes with him to collect the rest of the loot.

"We'll need a cart, I can go rent one"


#447

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

OOC: you don't know about that loot...never got to RP it. We went straight into Renaer then the city watch. Didn't make sense to talk about it then "Sorry do mind if we pause this rescue to loot the place." I thought my corpse collection angle moght have goven us the chance, but oh well.


#448

phil

phil

HCGLNS said:
OOC: you don't know about that loot...never got to RP it. We went straight into Renaer then the city watch. Didn't make sense to talk about it then "Sorry do mind if we pause this rescue to loot the place." I thought my corpse collection angle moght have goven us the chance, but oh well.
Click to expand...
[I was thinking of going through the crates a bit more thorough but if we want to write that off as worthless that's fine too. ]


#449

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

(to Charity) "Girl, I don't think we would accept the manor if there weren't room for us all in some capacity. If there are rooms aplenty, it would be no worse than staying at an inn or other public accomodation. It would actually be safer, as you have shed blood with us, and we share that common bond. I would ensure your virtue would be safe, I swear by my vows to Lathander"

Someone needs to learn the value of "Yes, and...". :D


#450

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

"Ah, mister Marten," Charity fumbles for a moment, but grants the cleric a gentle smile "I would be happy to stay a night or two, to celebrate a job well done. Don't get me wrong, I trust you all, and believe you are good people; but owning a manor? That is a responsibility I am not ready for, I am sorry to say. And even if I were, my place to settle is not in the heart of the city."

Not leaving the party! Just don't need to officially own a house in Waterdeep.


#451

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Dearest Charity, your plight is quite understandable. If it is acceptable, I will take ownership of this Manor , and agree to cover it's costs, while entering into a charitable agreement with all of you such that you are treated as my family and can enjoy the spoils without risk of exposure."


#452

MindDetective

MindDetective

Volo chuckles at the exchange. "Oho, my dear girl. Don't let the name lead you astray. This manor was once a tavern of some renown. But it could be anything you want. A fest hall, a place of healing, a market to sell goods from your village. It is for you to shape. Please, go look at it and let your imagination decide what use it may be to you."


#453

MindDetective

MindDetective

(I will advance to the next day if the characters would like to stay the night at the Yawning Portal and check out the manor in the morning...)


#454

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

A good nights rest does Erythro wonders. A new vigor fills him, mystery is afoot in Waterdeep. What is Xanathar seems obvious, but what does he want? The lost dragons? Ir something less mundane. Those mysteries will have to wait, mundane matters will cloud the next few days. How to claim the silver and paintings, how to turn them into coin, and a heavy few days of working with the half orcs spellbook. Most of the treasure will have to go towards that. And I need to find something purple....but breakfast first!


#455

MindDetective

MindDetective

Four stories tall and boasting balconies, a turret, and five chimneys, the abandoned building is one of the grandest in Trollskull Alley. The first floor boasts a large taproom that, in this abandoned state, is filled with broken furniture, tarnished silverware, casks of wine that have turned to vinegar, and worthless detritus.

After the tour, Volo raises his eyebrows. "Well, shall we go make this official?"

Manor Map.jpg


Floors:

from top left in clockwise order: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, cellar, 1st.


#456

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

"Absolutely Volo, the quicker the better. This looks like a wonderful change of pace compared to our previous venture. Lead the way. Perhaps the rest of you can acquaint yourselves with our new neighbourhood. And on my way back I shall enquire about some builders. None of you are carpenters are you?" Then walks out the door side hugging Volo.

I assume there is a neighbourhood info dump if we are supposed to live here.

So this building sucks. 5 doors for the first floor, but we have to outside to go upstairs? Nope gonna renovate that! Hence the builders. And ther does not appear to be a toilet on the ground floor? Do pubs not have toilets in Waterdeep.

So I will go sign the paperwork and see if I can grab the loot on the way back.

Are we level 2 yet?


Have any of you read The Kingkiller Chronicles? I would like to turn this into our version of The Eolian.

kingkiller.fandom.com

The Eolian

"Isn't this the Eolian? I had heard that this is where pride pays silver and plays golden." ―Kvothe[1] The Eolian (PR: eɪ'olɪæn)[2] is a well known and extremely popular tavern in Imre. The Eolian is a popular musical venue and bar run by Deoch and Stanchion. It is best known for the esteemed...
kingkiller.fandom.com kingkiller.fandom.com

Complete with our own pipes. Since we are one third boards:)


#457

MindDetective

MindDetective

HCGLNS said:
I assume there is a neighbourhood info dump if we are supposed to live here.

So this building sucks. 5 doors for the first floor, but we have to outside to go upstairs? Nope gonna renovate that! Hence the builders. And ther does not appear to be a toilet on the ground floor? Do pubs not have toilets in Waterdeep.

So I will go sign the paperwork and see if I can grab the loot on the way back.

Are we level 2 yet?
Click to expand...
  1. Yes, coming shortly.
  2. Outhouse in the back alley.
  3. Need everyone to sign. Easy to do that in my next post. Just tell me if you do NOT sign the deed.
  4. Loot run will be a little mini mission at level 2.
  5. Once the paperwork is signed!


#458

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

OOC: I can sign for everyone. Just my name and 5 X's. But now I'm getting an infernal contract vibe.....either way as our most prominent writer I am gonna Hancock this thing.


#459

MindDetective

MindDetective

HCGLNS said:
OOC: I can sign for everyone. Just my name and 5 X's. But now I'm getting an infernal contract vibe.....either way as our most prominent writer I am gonna Hancock this thing.
Click to expand...
Mainly I detected some hesitance about it from Charity so I wanted to give her a chance to have a say about it.


#460

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Paladins detect evil
Paladin only person who chooses not to sign contract
QED contract is evil.


#461

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

I'll sign. Depending on what we do with the place, I could even set up a worship area for my flock :)


#462

grub

grub

Brad signs


#463

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

MindDetective said:
  1. Loot run will be a little mini mission at level 2.
Click to expand...


#464

DarkAudit

DarkAudit

HCGLNS said:
Click to expand...
If you're gonna do it, do it RIGHT.


#465

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Charity once again does not sign the deed but will be happy to let somebody sign for her part, if necessary. At the mention of carpenters, however, she gives a big smile. "Well, I'm not an expert, but I know my way about some carpentry, yes! But this is a real fixer-upper, aint it. Most of I've done is fix up carts and the like. Oh, and I made a shed, once, with the neighbors, 'coz theirs got blown down in a storm. I'd be happy to help out, though!"

Charity is proficient with Carpenter's tools!


#466

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Martin smiles at Charity. "I have a minor mending spell I can use as well. I'm sure much of the furniture can be put in working order and will just need a good cleaning"


#467

MindDetective

MindDetective

The party is, after a small 25 gp processing fee, paid for by Volo at Renaer's insistence, now the proud owner of Trollskull Manor. I will introduce you to the neighborhood shortly, but first, welcome to level 2!

Since Erythro is not added to the campaign on dndbeyond.com, I'll need an updated PDF of him. The rest can just updated their characters to level 2 on dndbeyond.com. You may roll for HP and either take that or the average (so, average or higher).


#468

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Done. Rolled 7 (greater than average of 5) for hp. I'll also spend a gp to get 20 more crossbow bolts.


#469

MindDetective

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
Done. Rolled 7 (greater than average of 5) for hp. I'll also spend a gp to get 20 more crossbow bolts.
Click to expand...
Shopping is coming up!


#470

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

I will update tonight! I am going Divination and taking the average 4 points for HP.

New feature Portent Rolls! Every long rest I roll 2d20 and can use the results for anything I want. So for this format of play by post if I choose to use a roll for some one else it may result in some do overs. IE I am asleep at home when Charity attacks and misses. I wake up and go, naw that miss was actually a hit and spend one of my dice.

Rolls for today: 13, 15


#471

MindDetective

MindDetective

HCGLNS said:
I will update tonight! I am going Divination and taking the average 4 points for HP.

New feature Portent Rolls! Every long rest I roll 2d20 and can use the results for anything I want. So for this format of play by post if I choose to use a roll for some one else it may result in some do overs. IE I am asleep at home when Charity attacks and misses. I wake up and go, naw that miss was actually a hit and spend one of my dice.

Rolls for today: 13, 15
Click to expand...
Not a problem.


#472

phil

phil

Tinwhistler said:
Done. Rolled 7 (greater than average of 5) for hp. I'll also spend a gp to get 20 more crossbow bolts.
Click to expand...
[Ran has 9! Take his!]


#473

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

phil said:
[Ran has 9! Take his!]
Click to expand...
done!
Only spent 4. 9 will fill me up plus some. :D


#474

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

I wonder how much it will cost to fix this place up.

I need about 300 gp just to level up.


#475

phil

phil

Is Ran able to sell off the extra loot, or should we RP that with the shopping tomorrow?


#476

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Dropped gear typically nets nothing. Maybe keep them around for decorations or underlings?


#477

MindDetective

MindDetective

phil said:
Is Ran able to sell off the extra loot, or should we RP that with the shopping tomorrow?
Click to expand...
We will do it today. Post to come.


#478

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Level 2! Sleep and Silent Image are my free spells, the rest are from the spellbook once I get the money.

Attachments



#479

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

20200326_175701.jpg

I am what I am.


#480

MindDetective

MindDetective

Chapter 2: Trollskull Alley

The new base for this odd collective of heroes, Trollskull Manor, is located in an alley called Trollskull Alley.


T1: Trollskull Manor is located at the North entrance to Trollskull Alley. The party will be able to fully explore it as they see fit in their next posts.

T2: The Bent Nail. A small wooden sign above this shop’s main door is bare except for a large, bent nail sticking out of it. The front room contains displays of ornate wooden furniture, as well as a selection of bows and crossbows. The wall behind the counter is lined with rows of finely carved wooden canes, quarterstaffs, and shields. A half-elf named Tally Fellbranch runs the shop.

T3: Steam and Steel. During daylight hours, smoke and steam billow from the many windows around this indoor forge where metal weapons, armor, and tools are made. The forge is owned and operated by a married couple: a fire genasi named Embric and a water genasi named Avi. Both are members of the Most Careful Order of Skilled Smiths and Metalforgers. As an armorer, Avi also belongs to the Splendid Order of Armorers, Locksmiths, and Finesmiths.

T4: Corellon's Crown. Fala Lefaliir, an herbalist and a member of the Guild of Apothecaries and Physicians, operates out of this stately, three-story town house, the third floor of which has been converted into a greenhouse. Its translucent glass walls allow anyone on the street to see the rainbow of flowers blossoming within.

T5: Tiger's eye. This private detective’s business is unremarkable on the outside, its only distinguishing mark an orange-and-black sign featuring a cat’s eyes. Inside is a regal apartment dimly lit by flickering oil lamps. The door is locked, and visitors must knock or ring the bell before being let in.

T6: Book Wyrm's Treasure. The front of this bookstore is adorned with a charming sign of a gold dragon curled around a treasure hoard of books and scrolls. Inside, the shop is decorated with beautiful hardwood, and the earthy scent of old books permeates the air. The library fills two floors of this three-story building, and it somehow seems to contain more shelves than the building should be able to hold. The shop is managed by a short dragonborn of gold dragon ancestry named Rishaal the Page-Turner.

T7: Sewer Access. At the east end of Trollskull Alley is a removable metal grate that covers an opening. Below the grate, a ladder descends 20 feet into the Waterdeep sewer system.

Homebrew shopping rules and tables!

Buying
The shops do not stock all things. Sometimes they can be made or ordered but will take time to be available. For levels 1-5, roll a d12 and consult the following table to see if the item you are interested in is available. For magical or items not listed in the basic rules (Links: armor, weapons, adventuring gear, tools and instruments, trade goods, mounts and vehicles) , make your roll and I will tell you the cost of the item you seek. Generally, common items will range from 50-100 gp and uncommon items from 101-500 gp, and rare items 501-5000 gp. The price is affected by the properties of the magical item, such as number of uses it has, if it requires attunement, if the magic is always on or use-activated, etc.

d12 resultCommonUncommonRare
1Will take 3 days + 100% costUnavailableUnavailable
2Will take 2 days + 75% costUnavailableUnavailable
3Will take 1 day + 50% costWill take 5 days + 125% costUnavailable
4Available +50% costWill take 3 days + 100% costUnavailable
5Available +25% costWill take 1 day + 75% costWill take 10 days + 150% cost
6AvailableAvailable +75% costWill take 5 days + 125% cost
7AvailableAvailable +50% costWill take 3 days + 100% cost
8AvailableAvailable +25% costWill take 1 day + 75% cost
9AvailableAvailableAvailable +75% cost
10AvailableAvailableAvailable +50% cost
11Available - 25% costAvailableAvailable +25% cost
12Available - 50% costAvailable - 25% costAvailable

Selling
The shops will buy items they think they can sell, usually at a discounted price. If you do not like the price, you can keep the item to try and sell it to someone else another time. For bartering, you can make a persuasion check DC 15 to add 1 to your d12 roll on the following chart. This check cannot be made with advantage or disadvantage at any time.

d12 resultOffer
1Not interested
2Offers 30% of value
3Offers 40% of value
4Offers 50% of value
5Offers 50% of value
6Offers 50% of value
7Offers 60% of value
8Offers 70% of value
9Offers 80% of value
10Offers 90% of value
11Offers 100% of value
12Offers 110% of value
13Offers 120% of value

Each *type* of item gets its own roll. So if you have 3 short swords to sell, roll one d12 for the lot.


#481

MindDetective

MindDetective

Also, here is a list of known magical items.


#482

phil

phil

[oh man this is cool. I'll write up Ran's next move in a bit but just wanted to say I'm loving this so far]


#483

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

I will investigate Trollskull Alley! Specifically want to learn more about Tigers Eye and Book Wyrm's treasure. My character is a very good investigator, so may be able to get a job with Tigers Eye, and maybe once I am finished with the spell book I could sell it at the bookstore. Also interested in what other taverns, bars or inns are nearby. Who would be our competition and what type they are should we rebuild as a tavern. I also very casually inquire about the availability of a ring of spell storing. Also interested in the gossip and history of Trollskull Manor.

edit: and it says something about orders for the blacksmiths, maybe there are other orders out there. Would growing up in Waterdeep let me know about the various orders of trades in the city? Can we even repair our manor ourselves or are the teamsters gonna visit us? Local 908 in the house!

Passive Investigation 20
Roll to see if the ring is for sale .... 1


#484

Wahad

Wahad

Charity

Charity, over the course of ??? (the next few days, I guess?), starts cleaning up the manor. Clearing out the detritus and the furniture that's totally ruined, repairing some furniture maybe. If possible, she will also look for somebody selling plants or flowers (maybe the Herbalist?) and bring some home to bring some color into the place, as a tribute to Chauntea.

Also, she will ask for help from any party member who's willing to write a letter back home, letting her parents know that she's safe and did some good things on her first days in Waterdeep and will be staying a little while longer to hopefully do more good.

She also levels up to Great Weapon Fighting Style, Divine Smite, and spells.


#485

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

I will help as well, manually and also if I can cast Unseen Servant as a ritual from the halforcs book. We will need to figure out what nees to be repaired as well.


#486

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

Anything in the manor that can be fixed, I'll use Mending on it. I can cast that cantrip at will. I can theoretically cast it about 4800 times in an 8 hour work shift ;)


#487

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Not sure how many Unseen Servants I could have up and running. Casting it as a ritual would make 6 an hour and they last for an hour. If we ran a bar I could leave a stack of US scrolls behind the bar to clean up messes.


#488

phil

phil

Ran returns to the ground floor after exploring the manor a bit. Everyone is hurrying about with their sleeves rolled up, working their hardest to clean and make what repairs they can. Ran watches as Charity whispers an apology to the flower she dropped, Marten jigsawing a broken stool back together with his magic and Brad holding a tattered tapestry and muttering about it "sparking joy" or not.

"I gotta get out of here before someone hands me a broom"

A master of stealth, Ran does little more than briskly jog out of the manor and into the market streets

[Stealth check 12 to leave without anyone noticing that I've yet to help]

With a selection of the gear in tow, Ran heads to some of the local shops to try and unload some of the loot.


#489

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Erythro watches Ran sneek out the door and makes a mental note to divy up the rooms before he gets back.

Passive Perception 14.


#490

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Are any of the upstairs rooms bathrooms or evil scientists lab or got any books? Or have hidden messages like the Blink episode from Doctor Who?


#491

phil

phil

The stout halfling waddles down the streets until he comes across some shops. He enters the Steam and Steel and greets the owners almost as warmly as the forge.

"Heya gents and genasi! The names Ran, Ran Riddleson of Ran's Rangers. We just moved into the neighborhood and I was hoping to build a relationship with somma tha locals. I got some goods of the finest quality to sell if you're interested. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself!"

Ran places 3 Rapiers and 3 leather armors out for inspection.

"Now, whattya fine folk say? I can let you have them for a uh..steel" Ran winks at Avi

[Persuade 12]

"We will pay what we deem them worth" Embric responds sternly.

After some time the two come back with a pouch of gold.

"You spoke true, little one. These are of good quality and will suite us nicely. We look forward to further dealings"

Ran peeks into the bag and his eyes go wide.

24815977._SY540_.jpg

[11/13 for the swords, so they sell for 100% value of 25 each, 75 total. 12/13 for the armors so they go for 110% value of 33 total. Together Ran made 108 gp if I did my calculations right. Feel free to edit as needed]

"Welp! Good doing bidness with ya! I best be off!"

With a nod and a smile Ran waddles off back to the others.

"Guess who's Gavin's steak tonight!"


#492

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Rans room

20200327_153900.jpg


#493

phil

phil

....Ran announces that he was mugged and all the gear was stolen. He is also eating a lambchop which he offers some to Ethyrio.

/S


#494

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Some guesses?
Manor Map 2.jpg


#495

phil

phil

I like it. We can do the 2nd floor as an inn for passive income, if we can make a small edit to make the flow a little better.

I think that whole area is supposed to be like when parents would live separate from their kids who were being raised by the help. But maybe I'm thinking of larger palaces or something.


#496

MindDetective

MindDetective

The morning of Day 1 in the manor:

Erythro explores the businesses of Trollskull Alley, noting they are respectable by their guild membership. The guilds are strong in Waterdeep, he knows, and that getting anything done professionally on the manor will be through the guilds.

He finds a pub in the alley that is reasonably new called Frewn's Brews. It is run by Emmek Frewn, a salty human from the north. His pub is filled with contradictions, decorated lavishly but skimpy with peanuts and using cheap wooden mugs for the ale.

At the Tiger's Eye, Erythro is greeted by Vincent Trench, a human detective and the owner of the business. He speaks concisely, dresses in a sharp suit, and smokes a slim pipe. He is not interested in hiring another investigator at the moment. "Business is not that strong," he says. Erythro is fairly certain that Vincent Trench is wearing a magical disguise...

While Ran is out selling his gear for an excellent price at the Steam and Steel, Charity, Marten, Ty, and Brad remain in the manor and begin clearing as much of the junk out of the place as they can.

On the second floor of the manor, the farm girl finds herself in a large common room. It has furniture beyond repair and trash, old clothing, and other detritus left by vagrants. Moving north into the den, she finds more furniture thoroughly ruined, much of it broken to use in the fireplace. On the mantle of the fireplace she finds an old music box that is broken but can be repaired easily with some tinker's tools. As she moves the trash around the room into a pile, the door to the balcony swings open. A cool spring breeze wafts through the den and Charity moves to examine if the door is in need of repair. Before she takes four steps towards the door, it slams shut.

Following Charity up the stairs, Brad passes through the thoroughly trashed common room and heads south into the manor's Hall. Stairs here lead up to the third floor and another door leads south. The hall is rather bare. A vagrant once made a nest of old blankets and clothes next to the stairs but there is little else here. Under the stairs are a pair of old leather slippers that must have once belonged to an adolescent or perhaps a large halfling. Walking south, Brad finds himself in a spare room of some kind. It must have been used as a small lounge at some point. A chair appropriate for a private library with torn and chewed upholstery is the only furniture in here. Water-damaged books with no covers are scattered around the room. In the fireplace, Brad finds a small brick of unused charcoal. While reaching down to acquire it, the bar spontaneously lights aflame.

To get to the third floor, Marten passes through the common room to the den on the second floor. He emerges on the third floor in an odd-shaped room with stairs continuing up to the attic. A privy on the north side of the room, not cleaned for what must be a decade, was clearly used by vagrants. Cleaning this will be quite the chore.
Abandoning this for later, he heads to the room east of the landing. This was once an office. The desk is split in half and there is no chair at all. Paintings once lined the walls but only shadows of their positions on the wall remain. The adjoining room is another privy, this one surprisingly untouched. It smells, but not with the wretched use of a decade of vagrants. Inside the privy is a large walnut-sized gold nugget (worth 2 gp). As he walks back through the office, Marten sees TROLLSKULL newly drawn on the walls with charcoal...

To get to the third floor, Ty passes through the common room to the den on the second floor. He emerges on the third floor in an odd-shaped room with stairs continuing up to the attic. He heads west and then north into a bedroom. The bed is long gone and only a broken nightstand remains. In the adjoining bath room, he finds the bath is completely filled with dirt, for no apparent reason. Mud and dirt also line the walls, flung there by someone once upon a time. Standing up in the dirt are a dozen sticks of unused incense. As he turns to leave, Ty sees fresh footprints in the dirt. He's relatively sure they weren't there before and it is definitely no place he walked...


#497

MindDetective

MindDetective

I'm partitioning things out a bit so to reveal some mundane treasure and also provide a bit of history/story/mystery to the manor. Much of this is DM-added...but not all of it. Everyone will be back in the manor for the afternoon. and I will reveal more. At the end of the day I will identify what could be saved, in terms of broken furniture.


#498

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

phil said:
I like it. We can do the 2nd floor as an inn for passive income, if we can make a small edit to make the flow a little better.
Click to expand...
floor 2 renovations.jpg


#499

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

[Assuming everyone returns to the 'tavern' area by afternoon.]

Marten rests against the bar, covered in dust, dirt, and grime.
"Me back isn't what it used to be," he complains. "If only this place really was a tavern and I could get a tall ale right about now."

He pauses and fishes around in his pouches. "Still, I found this," he says, tossing the gold nugget up on the bar. "I'll leave it for those of us who are better negotiators to fetch a price for it and split the proceeds. You don't want to know what I had to do to get it."

"Oh, and this place is assuredly haunted. Soon as my back was turned, some unseen force went to writin' on the walls. I reckon' who or whatever is resting uneasy here isn't malicious. I wasn't attacked in any way. Still, if we plan on having the public in, we needs must make peace with it somehow."

If we want to try to turn the 2nd floor into an inn for extra income, I'll take the room marked "S&M" (because, of course I would) as my room on the 3rd floor. My needs are modest. With HCGLNS' edits, we have 7 rooms on the 3rd and 4th floors that could be potentially be claimed as bedrooms and have 2 large and 2 average sized (10x15) rooms for rent on the 2nd floor. Though I disagree with removing the balcony door. We can charge a premium for that.


#500

phil

phil

Enter Ran at the mention of a haunting

"...aw hell. Always too good to be true"

Ran counts out the gold to everyone.

"I think once we get this settled in we should consider combining our monies. For now let's just each hang onto our own"

everyone add 18 gold


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