A place for the Dungeon Master to keep you updated on encounters, and for players to discuss and/or ask questions about combat actions.

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This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 22:24, Sun 01 July 2018.

I like Spartan's idea so much, I'm adapting it for Balefyre. In fact, I think that it's even more helpful for PbP battles using D&D 5e rules. I know that not all of you check the dice roller, or necessarily know what my shorthand means, or can determine results without the benefit of DM knowledge and/or metagaming. I know that sometimes, under the previous system, players targeted enemies that were already dead, not knowing that previous rolls for that turn had resulted in a kill. As a result, I've had to slow things down to PM the affected PC, or make judgment calls on alternative actions/targets. So, I'm going to use this thread to post RT updates so that you guys can plan your next turns for maximum effect with up-to-date info.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 23:01, Sun 01 July 2018.

So far, the roll results are as follows:

Ulfgar-Spider missed the DP with a glob of web.

Jenna crit'ed the DP w/ a lvl 2 Guiding Bolt for 37HP damage. DP grants advantage to next attack (Deepdelver).

Corros hit the DM with the Wand of Missiles for 13HP damage, taking the DM's cumulative sustained damage to 43. Based on the previous encounter, the DM shouldn't have much life left now.

Gronk used his Action Surge and killed both D5 and D6 with the Sun Blade.

Amaldaris killed D3 and stunned D4 until the end of the NPC's next turn.

Deepdelver missed the DP with 1 crossbow attack, hit for 7HP on the other (thanks to advantage from Jenna's Guiding Bolt spell). DP has lost a total of 44HP.

Bless has turned two misses into hits.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 21:26, Wed 04 July 2018.

DM is dead. That's pretty big.

Nic is nearest (of the PCs) to the DP. D1 & D2 are attacking Nic from the flanks. D8 & D9 are dashing towards Nic and will be able to attack him at the end of this turn (after his actions). He's not surrounded yet, but he will be soon.

Gronk killed D5 & D6 and is currently facing off against the DEW (formerly known as D12) and D11.

D10 has been grappled by the slaves.

The Drider is on the wall within melee range of Ulfgar-Spider.

Amaldaris killed D3 and stunned D4 (he'll very likely finish D4 off this turn).

Jenna and Corros are halfway down the path. They can reach the bottom and cast spell attacks this turn, or stay put and do so. To reach the nearest melee target this turn will require taking the Dash action (to up to move 60').

Please keep track of any special abilities and/or spell slots used. Thanks. Any questions, just ask. If you'd like to discuss tactics at all, this is the place to do so. Good luck.

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Nic hit the DP twice, including a crit for a total of 26HP. Sneak Attack didn't apply because Deepdelver's crossbow attack spent the advantage granted by Jenna's GB. The DP is severely wounded.

Corros killed both D8 & D9 with his Shatter spell, despite one of them making their DEX save.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 23:20, Fri 06 July 2018.

Jenna's Level 2 Guiding crit'd the DP, killing her. That's four rolled critical hits during this fight. The Drider (attacking Ulfgar-Spider) and the Drow Elite Warrior (fighting Gronk) are the most dangerous opponents remaining, but it remains to be seen what they will do without their leadership.

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Gronk hit DEW for 38 damage. Amaldaris killed D4. This leaves the elf without an opponent. He will move to assist Ulfgar.

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This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 19:25, Sun 08 July 2018.

This is going a lot better for you than I worried it might. You've pretty quickly killed all but four of the Drow, two of which are fleeing, posthaste, towards the floor-level exit (the other is being beaten to death by a few of the slaves). The Drider will not surrender. It's still got a lot of HP and three attacks per round.

Make sure that you are keeping track of spell slot (casters) and superiority die (Nic & Gronk) expenditures.

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By my count, it looks like D2 is fleeing Nic and D10 is grappled by slaves.  D7 is not accounted for in the combat tags but was last seen within 30' of Nic.  D11 is likewise not accounted for and was last seen guarding the slaves.  Has D12 been re-tagged as DEW?
This message was last edited by the player at 20:11, Sun 08 July 2018.

In reply to Nicolai Romanelli (msg # 9):

D11 was guarding the slaves, but moved to assist the DEW. D11 is now fleeing Gronk. D12 was re-tagged DEW as soon as Gronk confirmed that it was elite.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 20:12, Sun 08 July 2018.

Got it.  Is D7 engaged or moving to engage with Nic, or does Nic have a clear run to pursue D2?

In reply to Nicolai Romanelli (msg # 11):

My counting game is weak. I completely lost track of D7. Since this was my mistake, I'm declaring that he never existed. So yes, Nic is clear to pursue D2 (chase) or D11 (cut off escape).

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The Drider's Darkness spell is centered on Jenna. Corros can move out of it if he moves away from Jenna. Jenna can't move out of the spell.

https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Darkness#content

The Drider is the only living enemy in the cavern, unless one of the prisoners decides to attack the party. To reiterate, the Drider is highly unlikely to surrender or flee.

Only the nextattack v the Drider receives the benefit of advantage, so keep that in mind when deciding your next action. If you want to coordinate attacks, this is the place to plan them out.

https://roll20.net/compendium/...olt#h-Guiding%20Bolt

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Can Nic get into melee with the drider without sprinting?

In reply to Nicolai Romanelli (msg # 14):

Yes.

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What does being in darkness actually entail?

I read the description but it doesn’t tell me what I can / can’t do

While affected by the spell, Jenna is suffering the Blindness condition.

https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Conditions#content

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This message was last edited by the GM at 22:34, Sun 15 July 2018.

Can Lesser Restoration undo this?
This message was last edited by the player at 11:58, Mon 16 July 2018.

I think that's going to be a job for Dispel Magic (or just killing the drider).

Unless Rae runs it differently, since it's a concentration spell, breaking concentration on the Drider should drop it.

I'd say Nic should get first stab on the Drider since the advantage will give him sneak attack die.  I'll have Ulfgar try to wack it after that.  That might be enough, though a few shots of magic missile could provide a nice backup (each missile requires a separate concentration check).  So even if Lesser Resto can take care of it, I'm not sure I'd use the slot.

That works. Nic can then use his bonus action for a Help to give Ulfgar advantage too. I'll do an IC turn post when I get home tonight.

I can cast Dispel Magic, but I’d rather hold the slot if I can.  I’ll hold off until after the others have gone and cast Dispel if effects are still up.

OK, I'll hang back for now and see how things work out. I'm fine with Corros keeping the spell slot in reserve in case we need it to deal with a bigger problem.

I posted a half turn because Nic's successful attacks ended the Darkness spell. After Jenna and Corros post actions, I'll resolve them and roll for the Drider. Y'all did a lot of damage, so the Drider might not survive the turn.

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When we can all make the posting tempo (he said guiltily), this OOC tactical thread works really well.

Should we try to get a long rest after we check out this cavern?

If it's safe once we secure the prisoners, yeah.  As far as we know, none of the Drow got away to summon reinforcements.

My sequencing is to have Nic get advantage off Jenna's Guiding Bolt for his first attack, then use Feinting Attack, then get advantage from that for his second attack.  Between those two effects, he really should get one clean hit with sneak attack bonus damage.

I'm afraid there's a problem with that course of action, Teg. I'm sorry if my tactical description was inadequate. The Mindflayer is on the elevated landing, the party is on the cavern floor. So, the tactical situation is essentially the reverse of how the Drow brawl started. To get to the Mindflayer, you have to run up a 60; switchback path. Please amend your IC post. Again, my apologies for not being clearer.

Corros and Jenna's turns are fine (both ranged spells); Ulfgar has yet to take action. Gronk will play it by ear. The a heads-up: the Mindflayer is likely to have minions (besides the Minotaur and mind-wiped Kerek).

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give me a second on this, I'm working up a post that might help.

Crap, forgot about Kerrek.  Is he dead dead or Spare the Dying dead?  Corros can fly up and check.

Pretty sure that wasn’t Kerek any more.

Fair point

We’ve still got a minotaur problem. Any subtlety or shall Nic and Gronk just shred it?

I'd say go ahead and shred so we can get back to sleep. As far as I can tell we're nowhere near hitting the triggers that reset the long rest back to the start.

Normally, I'd say perhaps we could negotiate with it to guard some twisty passageway of OURs, but since it's been in contact with that thing, it must die.  Squidly taints everything it touches!

I'm not an expert on mindflayer lore, but I was operating under the assumption that their thralls were mindwiped. The MM doesn't specify, so I'll check Volo's and get back to you. If thralls aren't mindwiped, it might be worth revivifying Kerek. If they are, it was pretty much a mercy killing.

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As noted in combat tags, Nic is waiting until Gronk is engaged with the minotaur before he takes his own attacks, so as to ensure he gets sneak attack damage from flanking.

The minotaur is D-E-A-D, DEAD. (ending at -15HP)

Well, you guys made short work of another encounter intended to be quite challenging- this time, without taking any damage yourselves. That's two "big" challenges you pretty much breezed right through. And to think that I was worried about a TPK. Silly me.

I'd say y'all have earned another level, but you guys are too powerful as it is. ;)

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I am always worried about a TPK.  Bear in mind that this edition of D&D is heavy on resource management challenges and we were all burning through a lot of expendable powers to pull off these fights.  This isn't something we can do consistently.

The mandatory eight hour rest to 'recharge batteries' has also struck me as a bug rather than a feature.

Vancian magic has always been a bug, rather than a feature, of D&D.

It probably doesn’t help that we’re camped out on a magic magnet for evil.  I don’t want to give this spot up, but I kinda doubt our ability to fight off a mindflayer again.

Warlock pro: recharge on short rest
Warlock con: 2 spell slots

Rae:

Is the passage way we came into this chamber small/tight enough that I could use Stone Shape to seal us into this area - i.e. put 5 foot of stone between the fleeing party and our chamber?

https://roll20.net/compendium/...tone%20Shape#content

You touch a stone object of Medium size or smaller or a section of stone no more than 5 feet in any dimension and form it into any shape that suits your purpose. So, for example, you could shape a large rock into a weapon, idol, or coffer, or make a small passage through a wall, as long as the wall is less than 5 feet thick. You could also shape a stone door or its frame to seal the door shut. The object you create can have up to two hinges and a latch, but finer mechanical detail isn’t possible.

Of course I'd need a long rest to get back a 4th level slot to unseal us later, but sealing us in might make that rest possible.  #risk/reward ratio

In reply to Ulfgar Frostbeard (msg # 44):

One of the things that I'm really enjoying about D&D is creative spell use. That's a good idea and yes, it is possible. The only issue I see is that there are two openings into the great chamber.

You still haven't learned what it is (no one took me up on my offer to make checks/rolls) but the strange rib-like structure is half of the mystery of the underground complex of the Forgotten Ones. As such, it is definitely a destination for all sorts of underdwellers and interlopers. It is unlikely that a long rest conducted in the great chamber will remain uninterrupted, unless you can somehow seal yourselves inside.

Remember that you do have a safe place to take a long rest (the Deep Gnome ville), but going there means leaving the Great Chamber unattended, which might lead to occupation by other unsavory tenants.

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Hmmm...we could seal one door to give us a better chance to make a deep investigation roll and then retreat and/or nuke the site from orbit.

It's the only way to be sure.

I didn't get past that last sentence before I immediately thought:

We came in through the butthole.

With combat over, Corros is going to get busy with the investigation while the others make with the security work.

By posting the results of that last round of PC attacks on the Minotaur here in the tactical OOC, I tricked myself into thinking that I'd posted about it IC. I did not. My bad. Spartan, I merged a short Ulfgar post so that I could use that slot to post a quick resolution of the battle. Thanks for understanding.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 02:26, Sat 04 Aug 2018.

I am in high threat training this weeek, so posts will be when time allows and when west Virginia Internet will cooperate.

Just wanted to make sure I’m not holding up the proceedings.  Corros wants to get a look at the columns then read the scroll.

Nic is guarding the entrance that's not stoned.

Do we want to open with Corros' Shatter before the melee specialists move in?

Makes sense to me, as long as we can get 3-4 inside the blast radius.

Might have to do a little “Spare the Dying” casting on the human and orc, depending on how this arrangement looks.

Yeah, can’t tell if accomplices or slaves.

Two questions:

1) Rae, was Corros' Shatter spell considered an ambush so he gets another action or are we still in the initial ambush phase?

2) Should we advance quickly and secure the orc and human bodies so as to learn more about them before they fail their death saves and move forever into the great beyond?

In reply to Corros Graelor (msg # 58):

1.) Yes. Y'all achieved surprise this round so Corros can act again before the enemy does.

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This message was deleted by the player at 21:04, Mon 17 Sept 2018.