For out-of-character chatter...

Greetings!

"Honorific salutations all around.  Whose up for a game a Three Dragon's Ante?" exclaims the cheery Hafling with his trusty rapier, Flattery, at his side.

So, for character creation, is there anything we should know?  Starting at level 1 I presume?  Sticking strictly with the book rules? Any house rules we should know? Preferred method of stat generation?  Or are we winging this? Who needs character sheets!

I'm still finalizing the cast list. Expect some more additions soon.

For character creation, use the 27-point-buy method for generating your Ability Scores. Don't roll for starting gold but take the equipment provided by your class and background. And feel free to sell (at full price) anything you don't want. If you want to use anything from a source other than the PHB or Xanathar's Guide to Everything, check with me first.

Any character sheet that is complete and easy to read is fine with me.

And I'll be traveling most of the day tomorrow, so I doubt I'll have much time to post.

The burly hill dwarf twitched a little at the mention of cards. "I probably shouldn't..." he told Tibald.

Hi gang! I'm Bodwynn Rakankrak, one-time thug turned scholar and cleric of the Light. It's a recent conversion, though, still very much a work in progress.

Hey everyone, I'll be playing Chenna, your quiet, just-left-the-monastery monk. Nice to meet you all.

Hail and well met to you all!  My name is Lando, and I'm a bard and courtier.  I've worked for some the most influential people in Waterdeep, and I'm now seeking new opportunities.  I'm sure we'll have a long and profitable business relationship!

Good morrow everybody! I am Azzakh, a black-scaled Dragonborn. I may look scary but as a fledgling Paladin, I'll do what I can to protect you all! Let's go help some folk in need eh?

Thing his companions would know:

* Tibald can be the party's swashbuckling rogue, with the skills you would imagine. Also, can be the face of the party if need be.
* As a halfling rogue, stealth comes naturally, but he prefers to use flair and panache rather than lurk in the shadows. He's been known to simply dash out in front on the offensive.
* He is very persuasive!
* Will likely dip into a level of fighter, because he considers himself more swordsman than thief.
* He is fond of disguises and has at least one other identity that you're aware of: Cervantes Don'Tulio, Duke of Devonshire
* He's good at cards and not above cheating.  He's likely prearranged certain signs for some of you to signal when he needs a distraction.
* He has a strange almost cockney-like accent, but can fake others.
* His favorite dish is: Beans and Buttered Bread

Thanks, Tibald! We'll assume that everyone has been traveling together, at least for a short period of time, when we begin the story, so if everyone can post a brief message in this thread about what the others would know about his/her character, that would be great.

And please send me a private message when you have your character sheet completed.

I need to tweek my sheet a bit, then I'll post more about Lando.  I'm a bit distracted by holiday busyness, but I'll try to get it ready soon.

Things you guys would know:

Azzakh is a Black Dragonborn Paladin worshipping the Dragon God Bahamut. Whatever your initial thoughts were on his appearance and ancestry, you'd have quickly found him to be a kindhearted and loyal person. (I'm working with the assumption that we all trust each other despite only knowing each other for a short while, but if your characters would still have reservations about Azzakh due to his chromatic lineage, feel free!)

He stands tall and proud, with a deep powerful voice, and takes great care of his equipment but especially his shield. He really loves that thing.

From your interactions with him, you'd know that although Azzakh is sociable and even jovial (after lots of drinks), he is also very straight-laced, and a stickler for law and morals. While he wouldn't use force or violence, unless the crime is severe enough to warrant it, he would readily admonish anybody, yourselves included, if he catches them in any immoral actions. That being said, he doesn't distrust any of you, just would sometimes disapprove of certain actions you might take.

Azzakh is also prone to preach about honour and if it wasn't obvious from the numerous remarks over the time you've travelled together, Azzakh values honour very highly and wouldn't do anything that would tarnish it. This includes, but is not limited to, attacking defenseless or surrendered enemies, lying and breaking his word, etc.

Oh and he loves any dish with meat in it. Nothing beats a big juicy steak. :)

Bodwynn Rakankrak was an inveterate gambler constantly in debt to the local crime boss and so easily recruited by said boss as a small-time thug. He literally "saw the light" after kicking in the door of a scholar's home in an attempt to collect a debt. The scholar turned out to be a wizard who blinded him with a Light spell, shoved him down a flight of stairs, and ran.

Bodwynn was miraculously not killed by the fall, to which he attributes divine intervention. When his vision cleared, the first thing he saw was an open book, which happens to be the symbol of the dwarven deity Dugmaren Brightmantle. In an exuberant haze (he was a bit drunk at the time), he swore allegiance to Dugmaren and foreswore further association with the crime boss. Needless to say, that necessitated getting out of town, so he undertook a pilgrimage to the nearest temple he could find.

He's still getting used to the life of the cloth after a life of crime, so still quite rough around the edges. He's surprisingly learned, though, considering his thuggish exterior (and, if we're being honest, there's still some thug left on the inside as well).

Of his manner, Lando's associates would  know him as confident, and good natured in demeanor if a bit sarcastic.  He listens more than he speaks.  He's deferential to those in authority, and benevolent to those beneath him, but is intolerant of outlaws.  He was once accustomed to the finer things in life and relishes them when the opportunity avails itself.  He has boasted of serving the influential of Waterdeep, and hinted at an acquaintance with one of the secret lords of the city.

His character is loyal to his master and his companions.  He is a bard, but not an entertainer.  He believes in a well ordered society that serves all members from the highest to lowest, and each has a duty to fulfill their function.  He considers himself an aristocrat, and has a strong sense of noblesse oblige.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:02, Tue 24 Dec 2019.

Those who have travelled with Chenna will know the monk as a quiet, serious woman. She has shared that the majority of her life was spend in the monastery, and she has few clear memories of any time where she did not live there. As such, exploring the 'world outside' has been an uncomfortable experience for the petite woman.

She is extremely devout, doing everything in her power to observe her daily rituals. These seem to give her comfort, particularly when other things have rattled her. Chenna does not talk much, but when she does, she shows a strong force of will and fierce opinions. She simply keeps them locked inside more often than not.

Qamar is a young Tiefling who has only recently ventured out into the wider world, having been raised in isolation by her mother. Qamar doesn't talk about why she is no longer with her mother, even if asked directly. She is reserved and naturally distrustful of others due to her upbringing, but she understands the necessity of traveling and working with others in order to survive in the strange world she now finds herself in.

She wears simple, functional traveling clothes with a long, black robe over everything, hood up to conceal her demonic features.

Azzakh, Qamar, and Tibald have their character sheets completed and approved. We'll get started once the rest of you are ready.

And I think we'll be adding a seventh character, so don't be surprised if someone else shows up soon.

I double checked Lando's sheet, and I think it's ready for the DM.

I'm visiting relatives for the holiday, so I may not be able to post til the weekend.

Your sheet looks good.

We'll start whenever everyone is ready, which might be a little while, given the time of year. And we'll start slow when we do, for the same reason. So no worries.

I believe Chenna's sheet is complete.

Hope your everyone's went or are going or will go well! Believe my sheet is good to go. Looking forward to the game!

We're just waiting for our last character, Karva Cinderpetal, to finish her sheet and introduce herself before we begin. Thanks for your patience.

Well (s)he's got a great name!

You should gain access to the first game thread shortly. I left it open for you to get into your characters through some roleplaying right now, while we wait for Karva to finish character creation and join you. I only ask that you don't leave the tavern for now.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Karva has long braided red hair that comes down to just above her butt, interwoven in her braids are feathers, bones, teeth, and claws from animals. She has green eyes, tan skin tone. She is usually wearing comfortable traveling clothes with a belt and leather armor, comfortable but sturdy shoes, depending on the weather a hooded cloak, a backpack, a pouch, a sling and a quarterstaff. She travels with a mule that has saddlebags, and hauls an assortment of things for her including a barrel.

Things you would know about her: she is quick to aid people and defend those that are weaker than her, she is kind and honest, she has 3 younger siblings, she grew up in Waterdeep, for about the last 10 years or so she has spent a lot of the time traveling the regions around Waterdeep trading information, bringing supplies, and gathering herbs and doing what she can to help. She is always ready for a drink, the stronger the better.

If you have spent time in taverns in Waterdeep or in inns or taverns in the surrounding areas you would have heard her name mentioned in particular about her saving several children who wandered away from their caravan and became lost in the woods or helping prepare for a storm or bringing aid to small communities, there is even a song or two about the saving of the children that is sometimes sung.

If you want to do anything else before setting out from the tavern, please post that today. Otherwise, I'll plan on moving on to the next morning sometime tomorrow.

Hey, everyone! My computer crashed yesterday. :( I should have time to post something using my wife's computer tomorrow, but I won't be on as regularly until I get me computer replaced.

I got my new computer and have it set up now. I should be able to post later today. Thanks for your patience.

Sorry for the brief post. I didn't get around to posting until later than I had anticipated, and now I need to get to bed. I'll post more this weekend. In the meantime, feel free to continue having your characters chat/interact while they travel.

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 29):

Glad to have you back!

Chenna has left the game due to RL issues. And it looks like we might have lost Karva, too. Let me find a replacement character before you arrive in the village, as it will be harder to add a new character after that. Thanks for your patience.

Welcome Rhen to the story, everyone! I'll let him introduce himself here and then get a post up in the game thread before we move on. We'll assume he was with the party from the beginning of the story instead of Chenna.

Thanks for letting me join! I'm looking forward to it! ^_^

Rhen Valinor is a Human Wizard Sage, ever gregarious and interested in seeing the things that scholars so often write about in dusty old tomes.

In reply to Rhen Valinor (msg # 33):

Hi! Welcome to the party!

Welcome Rhen!

Welcome welcome!!

I'm waiting to see how Karva responds to Qamar's question before I post anything else.

@ DM: Do the rest of us see the corpse that Karva spotted? If so, then I'd probably try investigating it. If not, then it wouldn't occur to me to try.

If you followed Karva off the road, you would see the corpse.

At this point, I've half a mind to sit on the ground and cast a Minor Illusion of a 5'x5'x5' boulder on top of me and tell the rest of the group to get behind the rock...

Ooh we have 2 faerie fires going on

In reply to Azzakh (msg # 41):

If they aren't in tight formation, it could allow us to get them all.

Or if they dodge one, they might fail the next one.

We'll hold for Karva to act, as she might want to change her action, given what has happened thus far.

I did change my actions a little bit, I just updated my with the changes.

Am I right in assuming it's round 2 now? If so, I'd like to try and focus down one wolf at a time so was wondering if I'm in range to hit Dire Wolf 1 without moving.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:37, Tue 11 Feb 2020.

We are on round 2.
Since you and I didn't move we might be close enough to do that.

We are not on the second round until I have resolved Karva's actions for the first round.

Karva, you intend to cast cure wounds for 5 hit points on yourself, along with shillelagh, correct? You will need to stand up, too, unless you want to remain prone.

Yes, I also said I was standing up first. Remaining prone is this situation would not be smart.

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 48):

I think I jumped the gun.  Please delay my post until the appropriate time.

In the future, please wait until I indicate it is the next round before posting your actions.

Those who have not posted their actions for the second round can go ahead and do so now.

Azzakh, you are not close enough to attack Dire Wolf 1 without moving and provoking an opportunity attack.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:01, Thu 13 Feb 2020.

What about Dire Wolf 4? I assume we're kinda like huddled and the wolves are surrounding us right?

We can't be too huddled. Tibald was hiding behind a tree, so he had to be a bit away from the group. Bodwynn went to heal him,so he would be adjacent, and Lando's flanking the wolf on him.

Also, remember we have advantage on wolves 1, 2, and 4.

Tibald WAS behind a tree.  After shooting his arrow he ran up to protect  Karva.

In reply to Tibald Titswift (msg # 54):

Thanks for clarifying that.  I guess we're closer together than I thought.

Qamar is at 1 hit point. There might be others in the same boat, though. This has been a tough fight.

I knew several people got hit and at least one other got healing so I figured it would be easiest to say I'm looking for who is the most hurt.

Tibald was healed back to full so, Qamar is in the middle at need I believe

With just 1hp, I do believe Qamar is most likely the one needing healing the most. I'm just a bit healthier than her, but I'll be fine. Nice job guys, now we just need to actually make it to the town xDD

Sounds like Qamar gets the healing then.

Thanks, Karva! I'll gladly take those 6 hit points!

The wolves arrived as soon as you started to dig; the body is not buried.

Sorry for the silence; I had a much busier weekend than I had anticipated.

Are you intending to bury the body or do you want to continue down the road?

Karva wants to either take the body to bury later or leave it.

I'd say bury it. I'm sorry for being away, too. I had a super busy weekend for my teaching program, from grading for the classes I student teach to doing my homework for my own classes.

Tibald has no problem with simply leaving the body, figuring that somebody back in town would miss the poor soul and come to claim it upon hearing the bad news.

Azzakh would also like to bury it if possible. Gotta respect the dead.

Karva will offer the shovel and wait if someone insists but she would rather take the body back then wait for a hole to be dug. I have a mule that can carry the body.

I don't suppose we took anything like a short rest in the few hours it took for us to get here did we?

So, I know it's a trap. Unfortunately, I'm starting to suspect that the "it" is anything and everything. :-p

Sorry for the lack of posting. Things have been hectic here this week. I should have time to get caught up this weekend.

How is everyone? I hope you are all doing well.

Hey DM! I'm doing pretty good over here. Isolating now with the whole coronavirus thing but otherwise fine. Uni has closed but we've still got work to do and I got a deadline in a couple of days. How are you doing? I hope everybody is staying safe!

I'm okay, just working on a big project for my teaching certificate program. Schools have shut down, so I have time. However, it's hard to focus with everything that's going on. x_x

Stay healthy, everyone. ^_^

I'm a substitute teacher and I babysit a couple days a week for a single Mom. So school's in my state shut down last weekend but I'm still babysitting a little bit. I'm considering my options and using the internet to still hang out with friends.

Yep. This is where I'm at as well. Technically have more free time, but way less focus.

My work is actually five times busier because of covid-19.

Rhen, the fog is clearly magical, but you've never heard of anything like it before.

Karva, there are no logs, sticks, etc. in sight. Are you looking to start a fire inside the foyer? In the portico? Somewhere else?

Lando, you can't see the nearest house due to the fog, but you remember that the houses were close together.

So we're probably gonna be taking a short rest here right?

If that's the consensus...

A rest works for me.

Sure. I get the impression the parents aren't coming back, but Bodywnn would prefer to wait for them.

We can rest.

Azzakh, if you want to keep exploring while the others are still in the hunting room, let me know. Otherwise, I will assume you are waiting for everyone to finish there before you open the next door(s).

I'll just quickly check out the first room. I'm mostly just looking for a way down into the basement so really it's just like a quick poke through the door. Best I don't wander off on my own eh?

Aight I'll wait for the others to say what they're doing before I make another post.

Hey, everyone. I've had a very stressful week and just realized I hadn't check on here in a bit. I'll be back on later to actually catch up.

Regarding the skeleton hanging out of the chest, is the lower body or upper body in the chest?

The upper body is in the chest.

I'm terrible with directions, so can I get a quick rundown of where we are? x_x From what I remember, we're looking for the basement. However, we've been going upstairs because we can't find a way that leads down?

Sorry for the delayed response; the past few days have been weird.

You are in a library (and a secret room off of said library) on the second floor of the house.

Rhen, how many books are you intending to take? There are more books than you could carry.

The intentions were to find the basement, but I think looting a rich man's house may have been to tempting to ignore.  That or simple curiosity has gotten the best of many of us.

@ DM: Thanks for getting back to me. I was just thinking there were a few books. I'll probably take the books in the secret library most relevant to summoning demons. I'd like to know what to watch out for just in case we stumble across candles and pentagrams.

Hey, when you open a secret door and find a treasure chest with a skeleton in it, that's not the sort of thing you just ignore!

In the last couple rooms, there hasn't been much to do, so in the interest of not cluttering up the thread, I'm not going to post unless there's something significant to post.  If I appear silent, I'm still here checking regularly, and Lando is traveling with the group, probably looking bored.

@ Azzakh: I just realized you were taken out of the fight. x_x

Yep xD life of a tank at level 1 lul

I didn't realize you were down either.  I'll get you a healing word next round.

Thanks xD

Sorry for not posting a response right now, but I'm kind of at a loss of what I can do in character. I was tempted to toss a minor illusion in between Azzakh and the woman to see if that would make her break off her approach, but I don't want to block his Divine Sense use.

I don't think a minor illusion would block Divine Sense because I don't think it can be big enough to provide full cover. So feel free to minor illusion!
This message was last edited by the player at 10:23, Mon 25 May 2020.

Ahh I see, a wall. Good thing I'm 6'6" xD

Rhen, the body of the woman faded away when she died.

I see. Still, I would like to use the Arcana roll to identify what it could have been.

Just as a heads up, I am undergoing jaw surgery tomorrow. I didn't want to post anything about it for fear of jinxing it somehow. I will not be able to post until Thursday at the earliest, but Friday to Sunday are more realistic.

You have each earned enough experience points to reach 2nd level. Please send me a private message once you have leveled up. Once everyone is done, we will proceed.

What floor are we on? Are all the window on this floor bricked up or just the ones in the children’s room?

Do we roll for HP or do we take average? Or can we roll and then take average if the roll is below average?

You are in the attic (4th floor). Only the windows in the children's room are bricked up.

You can either roll for HP or take the average. If you decide to roll, you cannot change your mind after you see the result.

If we get a new spell slot from leveling, would we have access to that right away or would we get it when we get our spells back after a long rest?

I think it makes the most sense that you would have to rest before you receive any new spell slots or similar abilities. Also, it might be a good idea for you all to rest before you proceed to the basement anyway, as a few of you are still beat up, and Tibald is still has one level of Exhaustion.

That idea gets my vote

Yes please, long rest sounds swell

Yeah, I'd prefer to rest and recuperate as well.

Rest sounds good to me

Everyone is leveled up, but I didn't reply to your PMs regarding that unless there was an issue.

Whatever you want to do--rest or press on--you'll need to decide and post something in the game thread to indicate your decision.

I'm not sure what everyone is doing... Please let me know what each of you intends to do before I move things along.

Bodwynn is going with Tibald to sleep in the library.

Will spend half an hour poking potential valuables with the broom handle (his test for traps), before stuffing said small concealable valuable in his backpack.  Will attempt to do so without being noticed, by his companions or the restless spirits of the house.  Convinced he will never be able to sleep in a haunted house, he will eventually collapse upon one of the chairs in the library; the cursed mist having drained him of most of his energy.

Let this be a lesson kids. This is why we don't split the party. o_o

I'm waiting for Rhen and/or Bodwynn to respond to Tibald before we proceed...

Sorry, I'll try to get a post up soon. I had to go back for surgery this weekend, and I'm still recuperating.

Is everyone still here? I'm waiting to see if you want to explore the open crypts.

Fuuuuuuuu I thought I made a post but I guess rpol or my Internet or something decided to say no. I'll remake it in a sec

Edit: Aight, made it. Sorry about that!
This message was last edited by the player at 19:12, Wed 12 Aug 2020.

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to bow out of this game. Thank you for having me, and feel free to pass Rhen off to another player if they want a divination wizard.

In reply to Rhen Valinor (msg # 126):

Sorry you have to go.  It as good gaming with you.  Farewell

Howdy folks, I guess I'm new Rhen Valinor. I'm gonna take a day or two to try and get acquainted with current goings-on before I jump in headfirst.

Look forward to playing with y'all.

Welcome! Yes, take some time to get caught up and then start posting whenever you're ready.

Are you all intending to take the tunnel with the short set of stairs leading downward?

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 129):

Believe so. That's Bodwynn's preference, anyway.

In reply to Rhen Valinor (msg # 128):

Welcome to the game!

Yay rpol seems to be alive again. Welcome to the game \o

Thanks for welcoming me on in, everyone!

I apologize for the silence on my end. RL issues have my schedule all messed up. I'm hoping things will normalize next week. Sorry.

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 134):

It's cool.  Real life happens.

Azzakh, which exit are you intending to lead the party through? In addition to the opening through which you entered the room, there is an exit on the east wall and one on the west wall.

Ah woops that's right, there were 2. I'll go eastward first. ^^"

Lando, you will only be able to catch two of the ghouls in the area of effect for Faerie Fire, unless you are willing to risk affecting one or more members of the party, too. Do you want to take that risk? If not, do you still want to cast the spell and, if so, on which two ghouls: those in the south tunnel or those in the west tunnel?

Dunno whether I'd be the party member at risk, but if so, Lando, you're welcome to blast away :-)

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 138):

Ok thanks for the clarification.  I was hoping to catch most of the group, and it's not worth putting a teammate in danger, so I'll just attack normally.

I must be picturing this wrong.  I thought Azzahk stepped down the southern hallway to take on two; and at the very least Qamar, if not others, headed off the other two coming from the second hallway.

what I'm thinking is, I went to the south 2 ghouls and then the other 2 ghouls walked up and are behind me right now

Azzakh was in the intersection of the hallways when the ghouls emerged. The ghouls had the best initiative and acted first. They approached Azzakh from the south and west tunnels, preventing him from entering either of those tunnels. Azzakh is still in the intersection, with only the north tunnel open for him to move into.

Heyo DM! So Lando should be before me in initiative so if he's healing me, shall I edit my post and take my turn instead of the death save?

Yes, Lando will heal you before your turn in the initiative, Azzakh, so you can edit your post. Note, though, that you will not be able to reach the ghoul in melee, as Qamar will have stepped forward and engaged with it, thus blocking the south hallway.

Okie! That's fine, I'll just heal myself a bit more with Lay on Hands

This was a literal LOL for me!

Yes, that was a good line, Lando! :)

Thanks

I seem to recall someone mentioning something about ascending the dais but I can't find that now. Was someone going to inspect that? Otherwise, Tibald has the portcullis rigged as he intended, so I just need to know what you all decide to do so we can proceed.

I believe Tibald was going to check out the dais, but I think we're just gonna search around the place for more information

Lando got on the ledge.  No-one got on the dias.

No, Tibald said someone should check the Dias but he wasn’t going to do it. He’s to wary of the monster

Merry Christmas! and happy holidays!

In reply to Lando Cortigan (msg # 154):

To you as well!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! Let's hope next year will be better than this one!

I have a question about the scene.

Me too, have we seen any other living things down here: roaches, rats, etc.

You have seen some vermin in the dungeon, but not many, as there is no food and all of the bones you've come across have already been picked clean. There are no rats in the immediate area.

I'll be closing down this game sometime next week, so if you want to save your character sheets or anything else be sure to do that soon.

I wish you all the best in your future gaming and non-gaming endeavors.

I hope things are ok.  I'm so sorry this game is ending.  It's been one of the best games I've had the fortune to play in.  I love all the characters, and the role play we had with them.  Outside of game, I'm Lord Minion.  If any of you see me out there, please say hi.