This thread will be the spot for ongoing conversations that take place in character.

Hamm sits by the coals of a small fire on a bit of crumbling stone, passing the flask back and forth to Rolf, discussing their goblin deal.

Hamm takes a pull from the flask and hands it Rolf saying "We saw what happened with that remaining member of the Fine Asshats of Daggerlump. After we saved his hide and told him to go top side, we had to knock him out and and pin a note to him to get things done right. I think as we delve deeper, we need a more substantial disincentive against fucking with us."
Rolf takes the flask and says" I don't disagree Watchman. Goblins aren't known to be the most trust worthy. Do you have something in mind?"

"Well....." Hamm said in a guilty sort of voice, "I got a bit drunk once during our training with Waterdeep Watch..." "Only once?" Snorted Rolf. "I mean REALLY drunk" laughed Hamm.

"We had a Sergeant who was beyond hardass. He took joy in fucking with us. One night during training me and a couple of guys got drunk off some hellish "wine" that one of the boys made in an old Guard helm. We decide to try and scare the bastard."

"We raided one of the old outdated supply chests and we drew straws to see who would have to do the deed. I lost"

"I put on all the old gear, a beat up old helm, some battered plate, and dipped a dusty old whip in oil. We lit that up and one of the rangers cast minor illusion on me to make it look some kind crazy demon"

"Oh shit" said Rolf

"Yeah" grimaced Hamm "I kicked down his door and started yelling like a fool, cracking the flaming whip all over" "What did he do?" Asked Rolf "Shit himself" said Hamm. Rolf laughed.

"What I didn't know was he was from Redrock". Rolf bared his teeth, "Wasn't that the town that that got taken over by a crazy necromancer and slowly killed everyone?" "The same." said Hamm "killed them burning them all to death on spits". "Well Fuck" said Rolf, "I'm surprised they didn't hang you. "It was only because we all made it back to the barracks before he recovered. They found the gear and drink the next day and made the whole squad accept the punishment. 15 lashes and a demotion"

Rolf laughed "That was a stupid idea Watchman but I see where you are going with this" " "Are you thinking that you may want to repeat the performance?"

"Maybe, my good Mercenary. We can talk to the other party members and see if they agree. If they do, I have some ideas on how to make it deadly enough to be terrifying to our evil little goblin horde."

"Such as?" Asked Rolf. With a flourish,  Hamm pulled a but of parchment from his pouch.

-Dread helm-glowing red eyes-Hamm
-Chain whips envisioned by Hamm executed by gnomes engineers via our Benefactor: fashioned from chains with handles and spikes at the end of the chains, they are place into a backpack that is lined with gelled oil, upon pulling the chains free, they light with incorporated flint strikes. When moving they cast off gellied oil and clank menacingly
-Hamm will take duel wielding feat
-Ali: minor illusion(flame armor/wings, gong, or DOOM), fog cloud, heidious laughter, sneak attacks
-Dan Golf:minor illusion(flame armor/wings, gong, DOOM), toll of the dead to increase bell sounds and terror, shield, enlarge because why not make the "demon" huge and get more damage, fear, lighting, magic missile
Finn: sacred radiance, bless for more damage, shield of faith, magic weapon to bless the whips, crusaders mantle
-Rolf, cross bow or pincher movements
-Zumfir:arrows like mad, pincher or with Rolf, maybe thorn growth

Rolf laughed until he was teary. "You mad fucking bastard. Flaming chains?!" "Think about it!" Hamm said, "we have an actor troupe and a benefactor with deep pockets. Why not make our enemies soil their armor well we get the upper hand on them?"

"I'll consider it" said Rolf, "Let's ask the rest of the A Team and see if they have any reservations to you trying to become a demon hell knight or whatever"

They drained the rest of the flask and continued to reminisce until the coals went cold.

Sorry about the formatting, on my phone.

Epic Battle #1:Plans

After winning in the Blood-Dome(TM) and surviving the magical fortune teller, the party retreated to recuperate and plan their next battle; the "liberation" of level 2 from Xanathar's grip to further sow chaos in black of Underdark with hopes of easing their path towards the Mad Mage.

Hamm pulled a piece of parchment from his satchel along with a quill. "We will need to plan for the upcoming battle. We run the risk of truly being fucked if we don't anticipate some of what might happen.". Rolf looked up from his seat by the hearth, "Aye, Plans are good Watchman, but no plan survives contact with the enemy". "True enough" said Hamm. "However, I think there are some basic ideas that we should keep in mind while we discuss possible tactics.

First, we are dealing with goblins, bugbears, hobgoblins, ettans, and whatever the fuck else is down here, we should not expect that they are, or will remain our ally in this endeavor. If they sense the battle turning they will either run or turn on us. We may be put into a position that they may have to fear us more than the Xanathar. Second, our luck has granted us all the gift of Foresight to be used at our discretion. I think that it may be a worth while to have one or two individuals utilize that ability to make sure we have the upper hand. Third, the party that works together has the best likelihood of not dying. We need to utilize our strengths well as well the surroundings to the utmost advantage. Perhaps, with those flying boots we have, the ranger or wizard should move around Rolf, Finn, and I's street fighting to rain death down on them from height or some advantageous spot. Fourth, we are not in a position to show mercy. This is not a time or place that we want to leave loose ends. If it posses a threat, we put it down hard.

"Would anyone else care to add to that before we get into tactics?" said Hamm to the group at large.

In reply to Ham Stonebraker (msg # 4):

I suggest we focus on the drow and hobgoblins.  We're looking at 12 drow (including at least one magic user) in the command post.

We need to decide if we want to try to wipe them all out or leave an exit for some to get away.  Drow are not mindless monsters.  If they sense the tide turning they will flee to fight another day.  We need to decide if we want messages to reach Xanathar quickly or more slowly.

If we want to eliminate the drow, I suggest we hit both doors of the command post.  Since there is a magic user, we should probably hit one door first, let them form some sort of line with the magic user in the back, then hit the other door and knock him out from behind.  Hitting both doors would also increase the chances that we can kill them all.

The hobgoblins are next.  We're looking at 36 at least.  I'm not sure if the two guards we saw in the "palace" earlier are included in that count.  I still like the plan to use the ettin to pull most of the patrols to the outskirts of the city.  To the best of our ability, we should communicate to the ettin that he is not supposed to fight the hobgoblins, just draw them away from the city a bit, long enough for us to take down the drow in the cp.

We could then use the CP as a chokepoint to deal with the returning hobgoblins.  We could prep the battlefield a bit more in the streets that lead to the CP to create additional obstacles, caltrops, maybe some traps.

The hobgoblins also will not fight to the death, so we need to decide if we want to try to kill them all or if we want to let some run.  I worry that if we let some run we will be facing a much larger or tougher group from the lower levels in a very short time.

I recommend that we play to the goblins' strength and encourage them not to get involved in the fight at all, except maybe to move some obstacles into place where we ask them.  We could also encourage them to bandwagon at the end if we convince the hobgoblins to flee.  I think the goblins would be more likely to help if they think we've already won.

In reply to Finn (msg # 5):

Concur, we’ll need to hit the drow fast and hard, otherwise we’ll still be in melee with them when 30-40 hobgoblins hit us from behind. If we can take down the drow fast, and I really like the idea of letting them form up by hitting one door and then taking them from the rear through the other entrance, that might give us enough time to redeploy to and appropriate position to take on the hobgoblins.

If we’re going to take them all on, we’ll need a fatal funnel location where we can bring spells, traps, and missile weapons to bear and then a restricted area for melee where they can get at best three or four abreast and we can just run them through a meat grinder. Maybe even a spot where we can mogidishu them with Ham, myself, and the revenant on the ground and everyone else in elevated positions (roof tops) just hammering the shit out of them. The problem will be watching our flanks as there will be so many. Maybe we can funnel them down an alley and have the goblins cut off their egress with burning carts or something to keep them moving forward. Just a thought.

Sorry Ham, missed your earlier post. Just realized we said similar things, great minds. Where’s my ale?