Sure.

You find:


Coins:
2000cp
1200sp
40gp

Gemstones:
1x Carnelian (opaque red-brown).
 Value 50 GP.
1x Chalcedony (opaque white).
 Value 50 GP.
3x Citrine (transparent pale yellow-brown).
 Value 50 GP.
1x Star rose quartz (translucent rosy stone with white star-shaped center).
 Value 50 GP.
1x Zircon (transparent pale blue-green).
 Value 50 GP.

Items:
1x Potion of greater healing
(Table A)
1x Potion of healing
(Table A)

Point of fact, you also notice that the bandits hand is healed.

Saran attempts to KO the bandit with two handed finesse staff attacks.

4 attacks with advantage: 13, 20 , 17, 10
damage: 6, 4, 10, 7

I really enjoyed what just happened:

Saran: Tell you what...
Bandit: How about this...
Saran: Sounds fair...

WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

So, point of fact, you can't use a staff as a finesse weapon. You even have it correctly noted on your character sheet that you attack modifier for your staff is -1 and your damage is 1d6/1d8 (-1).

I am putting his AC at 13, and advantage giving you about +5, this mean you hit him about 60% of the time. Your average damage is 3.5 per hit. His hitpoints are 22. So, you need to attack him about 6 or 7 times, which means you have to attack him about 10 times. (Feel free to make more rolls to give actuals)

This means that you spend a minute trying to knock him out.

Here's how it goes down. You surprise him with a good whack to the head.
OW! What the fu...
Then you whack at him again, but he dodges and your staff hits the floor.
He tries to wriggle away.
You whack him again, this time in the face, blood splatters on the floor.
He kicks you hard in the shin (1 damage).
You hit him again.
He wriggles under the table, screaming for you to stop.
You jab at him under the table, miss.
He tries to protect his head "NOOO!"
You jab at him again, getting his ear.
He writhes, kicking the table over with a crash.
You whack him again.
He starts to sob.
You whack him again.
He tries one more time to trip you, but fails.
You knock him out.

Saran is a bit winded from the exertion and the prolonged violence. The sweat on his back is causing his shirt to stick. The forest around the cottage is quiet. There is sunlight streaming in from the window on the scene of struggle and blood.

Saran feels badly and mutters to himself between breaths, "Well that didn't go well" and hopes that Spot didn't see what happened.

He looks around in the cupboards for anything else interesting. He takes 40 gp, 200 sp, then looks at the bandit and puts 50 sp back.  He takes the rose quartz gem stone, and the zircon one.  He takes one of the healing potions, then looks at the bandit and puts it back.  He also takes a blanket and the rope.

Assuming nothing interesting in the cupboards he moves on his way and resists the urge to light up the cottage with firebolt. Then he runs back and takes the lesser healing potion.

Ok, I am going to do a couple things. I just noticed you don't have detect magic, so:

1) you have detect magic, which is a ritual spell.
2) suggest that you use it
3) let you know that in this world, there are a lot more common and uncommon magical items

If you cast it you find that the mess kit is magical.

Ok, ritual cast detect magic.

A magical ward triggered, but the ritual casting of detect magic goes off and blows up the cottage.

Ok.

The mess kit and those potions glow. So does... an earing worn by the bandit.

I meant jk, not ok.

OK, I use an action to see what school of magic the mess kit and earring are.

All three pieces of the mess kit and the earing have transmutation, cup and dish have slight conjuration.

Saran pushes down several pangs of conscience, and rationalizes that he will put these things to better use than the bandit will, and he's still leaving the bandit more than his agreed upon share of the footlocker.  He puts 50 more silver pieces back, and takes the mess kit and earring (avoiding looking at the bandit as much as possible).

Things he takes:
Mess Kit
Earring
40 gp
100 sp
1 healing potion
rose quartz gemstone
zircon gemstone
blanket
rope

He starts on the road wishing to put as much distance between himself and this mess as possible. (unless you have any more helpful suggestions)

No. And sorry, I don't mean to railroad.

Do you take the greater healing or the normal healing?

You also gain:

50xp

OK, you head down the road and several hours later it begins to get dark. You will need to travel about another half of a day before going into the woods to find your destination.

OK, here is the plan.  Saran goes off the trail in a non obvious place by at least 120' and finds an untraveled area to bed down for the night.  He asks Spot to keep watch as much as possible, but I don't know if familiars need to sleep also.

He ties the two ends of the rope to two things that are at least somewhat sturdy about 5" off the ground where the rope is mostly hidden by underbrush.  He does this between where he beds down and the trail at about 40' from bed area. Idea is that it will be a trip wire for anyone coming from the trail towards him and hopefully wake him up if someone stumbles over it.

After getting settled Saran eats some rations and spends some time figuring out the mess kit and earring, and then goes to sleep, noting to himself to learn the Alarm spell at the next opportunity.

In reply to GM (msg # 74):

Oh, Saran takes the normal healing potion, thinking the bandit needs the other one more than he does.

And no worries about rail roading.

Ok, so I think I might enjoy giving out magical items as much as receiving them. We will see if this becomes problematic.

Mess Kit (Uncommon Wondrous Item)

Cup: Creates water within the cup at will. (Requires 1 action)
Dish: Creates gruel at will. (Requires 1 action)
Spoon: You can chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving material by stirring with the spoon at will. (Requires 1 action)

Once per day, the entire mess kit is used in conjunction, it creates the effect of the Goodberry and Protection from Poison spells. The dish provides 8 bites, each equivalent to a single berry and drinking the entire contents of the cup confers the protection from poison. Using the mess kit in this way (including the consumption of the meal) takes one minute.

(It has already been used in this manner today)


Earring (Common Wondrous Item, Requires attunement)

When attuned, this earring which appears as a simple one-stone gold setting holding a translucent red garnet grants the wearer +1 to persuasion checks when attuned and worn.

I hope you are writing all this down.

And add one more thing to the earring, it has the harmonious minor property which means it only requires 1 minute to attune.

You are startled awake in the night by a *thud* sound. Over toward where you made the trip wire you hear a kind of a personish growl and rustling in the grass. There is a moon in the sky, but you are still considered to be in darkness and cannot see anything.

Spot begins to squawk and hop around.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:07, Thu 28 Sept 2017.

Saran casts minor illusion sound of a bear growling between himself and the trip wire.

I suppose I still only have one spell slot remaining since I haven't finished my rest.

I guess that is true.

You hear more rustling, then slow, staggering footsteps moving in your direction.

Your minor illusions seems to be ineffective.

Saran casts firebolt in the general direction hoping to catch the grass or something on fire to shed some light on the situation.🔥

The area is instantly illuminated as you cast the spell and you see a zombie about 30' away from you rears its head back and instintually raises its hand up. But it recovers and makes to advance.

Your fire bolt hits the ground and catches a small patch of grass on fire.

You still have movement and bonus action.

Move away from the zombie and kind of circle around keeping distance, but not straying too far from the location. Why would I have a bonus action?  On next turn firebolt the zombie.
Attack: 9
Damage: 1