There we go. Chatter away.

Bears,

Is another Survival Check needed for Rhydd (or Farwalker) to attempt to recognize the odd round tracks?

Thanks.

Hmm. I was a bit back and forth on this, and in an earlier iteration of the post I straight up gave it away (some of you might have read the post before I managed to update it, and would then know. If so, disregard that information). I'm going to go ahead and say no, Rhydd knows only what I've posted in the thread currently and is unable to fully identify the prints. I'll justify a 17 being insufficient by restating they've been mostly whisked away/filled back in. Whether or not Rhydd has any guesses is up to you.


Give me a History or Arcana check.

As for Skath's response to Mallory's Messaging, I completely forgot to address that when I resolved the rolls. It won't be too much, just a polite nod before retreating back into the barracks. I've updated my post so it's acknowledged in the IC thread. Dannika wouldn't have much to say. Her interaction with Skath has been near none, having only Hlin's negative comment from waaay earlier to base her opinion off of.

Honestly, unless Skath recognizes the spell and knows he can respond to it (or if the magic automatically grants him some comprehension of its function), then it's entirely reasonable he might not think to reply at all.  A nod alone would be perfectly suitable.

Given the situation, I'd preferably take the same roll, then lower the DC if I think the action is better suited to reveal the information you've previously attempted to access (which may be the case here).

Edit: Signing off for today. Good night!
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:06, Mon 04 Oct 2021.

Torgrim Squallborn rolled 7 using 1d20-1 ((8)).

Barring that, want to toss it Mallory's way?

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 8):

Definitely. I’ll wait and see where a 7 gets him, then he’ll consult the professionals.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:59, Tue 05 Oct 2021.

Well, Farwalker does know her gemstones.

Same applies, History or Arcana. My suggestion would be to have one assist the other for Advantage. That makes things a bit less awkward on my end when resolving the rolls :)

As for the tracks, Farwalker could give me a Survival, Nature, or History with Advantage due to her background.

So how about Farwalker handles the tracks, while Dannika assists Mallory with the gem?

Isn't one of the Jeweler's things being able to sort of casually know what gems are?

Given the request of a History or Arcana check, I figured it was something more to do with the relevancy of such a gemstone being present in this instance, not identifying the gemstone itself.

You are correct.


Unfortunately for Farwalker, Torgrim's information was misleading :)

Edit: History and Arcana still apply. Dannika is willing to help anyone attempting to identify it. She should have the expertise.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:17, Tue 05 Oct 2021.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 15):

So Farwalker can look at it, be all ‘that’s not a gem,’ and then carry about her day?

. . . yeah, pretty much. You could always roll to know more, but Mallory has that handled at this point. I'm in the process of writing the result of said roll, but I'm mulling a few details over. I might let it simmer and update sometime tomorrow instead.

We seem to have run into a slight stalling point.  Rhydd, anything to contribute to Farwalker's findings or how we should proceed from here?

Mallory would personally prefer to follow the alternate route the wagon train took so as to avoid a Yeti encounter, but she could be very readily be convinced to assisting with a confrontation, albeit from a safe distance.

To reiterate what I've said before; splitting the party is perfectly acceptable. If Farwalker wants to branch off for her own mini adventure that can definitely be arranged.

Now, whether or not that is a good idea in the context of the narrative is another matter.

NPC Moyrah is with us, right?

Despite her objections, Mallory isn't going to let Farwalker head into danger alone and is going to follow after her; she feels indebted to do so since Farwalker's had her back each time there's been danger as well.  If the whole party heads on into what might be a Yeti encounter, would it be reasonable to have Moyrah take Dannika and Wifni down the alternate route toward Bryn Shander?  Or at least have the three NPCs keep further back from the group protecting one another?

Yes, Moyrah is still with you. I can have her escort Dannika to Bryn Shander if that is what you wish. While it makes most sense for her character to join you in Yeti pursuit, she's not here to plead her case. She'll do what you instruct her to do.

The logic would be that Mallory wouldn't want to send Dannika off alone into the wilderness and would prefer she have someone to protect her, thus Moyrah.

I apologise for Farwalker's unfortunate need to assist people. Even when they don't know she's assisting them. She's all 'light in the darkness' and 'the beauty of travel'.

For information, I will be busy with a convention thing all of tomorrow.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 24):

Roger that. Thanks for the heads-up, and have fun! :)

I'm just going to assume Torgrim is tagging along as well. I can update the game sometime tomorrow, right now I'm too tired xd

15:43, Today: Farwalker rolled 27 using 1d4+24.  Survival, Advantage with Guidance.

15:43, Today: Farwalker rolled 19 using 2d20, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 3,19.  Survival, Advantage with Guidance.

One survival check for you!

Lookit those pretty numbers.

Alright, that's probably enough beating around the bush. Anybody getting impatient? I'm getting impatient. Assuming your characters follow the tracks for some time (we're talking upwards of an hour or so), I'll fast forward until something noteworthy happens. I can post tomorrow evening.

Fast forwarding seems fine by me, if there's no general chatter to add to the scene.

Nothing like some quiet trekking through the tundra.

Will get an IC post on the board shortly, in response to what has been posted in the last day or so, real-time.

Just a little light RP -- I'm fine with fast-forwarding. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 14:47, Thu 21 Oct 2021.

Alright, sorry for the delay. Time slipped away from me yesterday.

DM - is the figure that Astre has found on the shore nearest the party, or opposite across the ice floe?  Also, is he near enough for telepathy/sense sharing so that Mallory can relay his findings, or is the narrative of what he's seeing just for him alone?
This message was last edited by the player at 19:13, Fri 22 Oct 2021.

Nearest the party. I edited the existing map to indicate the path you've followed.


You're not pressed for time, so either is fine. Assuming he's directly overhead, 100' would amount to quite a bit of vision from where you are, seeing as the lake is completely flat. Or we could say he's farther up ahead and can loop back whenever he deems fit.

Let's go with him being within range.  Makes the narrative easier since communication can be instantaneous rather than having to futz around with us going back and forth.

Sure, makes it easier for me to be vague as well :^)

And to clear up any confusion I might have caused with the map; it's the path of the tracks, not the party's trajectory. I assume you're near the intersection of the trail and the road to Termalaine, per my narration.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:42, Fri 22 Oct 2021.

If Astre is creeping up for an up-close look, I assume he's going to be out of telepathy range, right? I sense we have a minor case of crossed wires here.

In my head-canon your group is at least a mile off from where the figure is bundled up, all parties safe from each other. Otherwise, you'd all be out on the ice already. Which I've nothing against, for the record. But you'd probably want to succeed some Stealth check for yourselves if that is the case.

Oh, wow, that's way further away than I thought we were from the water.  Yeah, wires all crossed up there.

What's everyone else's say on this?  Do we want to be nearer the water or further out at this point?

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 38):

How close do we need to be for Astre and Mallory to communicate telepathically?

100 feet.  If we're up on elevated ground or at least have a clear line of sight to the water, we'd absolutely be able to at least see the cloth bundle at the water's edge even a mile away since it's apparently a bright-and-clear evening.  But Astre is well outside of communication range at that point.

Mallory being able to recall Astre to his pocket dimension has no range limit though, presumably so long as they're on the same plane of existence.  So Mallory can still Hold her Action to recover him in the case of danger, but whether she could realize something was dangerous at that range is another matter entirely.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:08, Sun 24 Oct 2021.

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 40):

Hmmm . . . 100 feet is pretty close. How long would it take for Astre to fly back to within range and communicate with Mallory?

Ranged travel distance is a different and more malleable mechanic than Per-Round-Movement, which is designed for combat rather than travel.  But in the case of the latter and subtracting the 100' bare minimum range, it would take Astre approximately 65 rounds to cover 1 mile of flying distance (assuming he's Dashing every round).  So around 10 minutes per trip.

To potentially make this situation easier to manage, Mallory (who is fairly fed up with the idea of being out in the cold as much as Torgrim is) could just recall Astre regardless of his desire/safety and that way he can communicate what he found immediately, allowing the Party to decide what they want to do about the bundle of cloth from where they presently stand.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:29, Sun 24 Oct 2021.

Sounds like we're going with the "Party is a Mile Away" approach then?  Astre's on his own for the moment in that case, which works just fine by him.

Actually, I'm a bit confused on the current time of day.  We ended up leaving Targos later than intended and, given the mention of the stars and moon being visible currently, I was under the impression we were well into the evening at this point?  Or is there being no daylight a weird northern/Auril-induced weather thing, like the arctic areas only getting a brief period of daylight amid tons of nightfall?

My timeline could be off. I figured the troll butchering would have started early morning, as much as there is a morning in the perpetual night, and probably finished about midday. They’re not Huge, so it really shouldn’t take more than six hours to pull them to pieces, especially with more than two people working on it. Then they’ve just been walking for a few hours.

Unless my timeline is completely off.

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 44):

I wrote Rhydd's latest IC post (recommending seeking shelter) based on the same assumption -- that the in-game time was now into the evening, with the temperatures starting to plummet.

If that is not the case, I'll need to edit. :)

Rhydd is right that temperatures are starting to fall, but Farwalker's timeline is the most on point.

It would currently be mid-afternoon (somewhere between 3-4 pm), and the nightsky is very much a phenomenon of Auril's making, similar to polar twilight in the real world. I don't have the module in front of me to verify, but I believe there's a four hour period of civil twilight between 10 am and 2 pm. You left Targos at Thulsun (early afternoon) and it would now currently be Tharsun (late afternoon). For more information on the hours of the Forgotten Realms, see this article.

While we haven't done any diligent time-tracking, I've been trying to keep an internal clock ticking starting from the onset of the day. Here's how I envisioned things:

Dissection of Trolls: 8:00-12:00 or so.

Affair with the Stable Master and Frida: 12:00-13:00.

Trek to the halfway-point between Targos and Bryn Shander: 13:00-14:00 (you would still have some residual light at the end of this).

Off-road shenanigans: 14:00-15:30 <- you are here.

And you Americans will have to forgive me my use of military time. It's how we Norwegians do it. To us, this am/pm nonsense is every bit as fantastical as the above article :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:42, Mon 25 Oct 2021.

Thanks for the clarification.  Overall, we don't have to worry about retconning comments either since all of them remain reasonable even with the current hour:

• Farwalker noting it's still daytime and thus feeling it's okay to continue tracks, both factually and based on her attitude toward the trek.
  
• Rhydd planning ahead for the coming nightfall makes sense, especially given the unclear duration Farwalker intends to be roaming.
  
• Mallory and Torgrim both not wanting to be out in the wilderness any longer than necessary and treating the timing as if night has already fallen which, functionally, it has in terms of temperature and visibility.

Assuming we turn around right now and head straight for Bryn Shander, that would likely put our arrival around 17:00 - 18:00 and well within being actual night for where we are in Icewind Dale.  If we continue to explore any further into the mountains, Rhydd's precaution of camping would become an inevitability.

DM - to clarify; the creature Astre is seeing transform: is it turning into a different kind of Humanoid, like a Druid's Wild Shape?  Or is its body just warping and changing proportions without altering its species otherwise?

Also, is the drawstring pouch affixed to the heavier clothing, or is it loose on its own?  Astre might try and grab it (or some of its contents) if he hasn't been spotted yet, but otherwise he's going to rely on that 21 Stealth Check to not be noticed.

Er . . . yes to both? You know what, I'll just state it outright for you OOC; they're transitioning from a full-fledged polar bear to hybrid form.


Sure, though there's only one real place to hide out here on flat ice; behind the hide skirt. Can Astre dodge and weave out of sight long enough for Mallory to dismiss him? And have him grab the pouch if you wish :) it's not too large, so he should be able to make off with it.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 19:45, Tue 26 Oct 2021.

Got it, thanks.  There's a difference in how Mallory can interpret what Astre relays to her based on whether or not the creature is just altering its own shape, or if it's turning into a completely different being.  As for being dismissed, that's not necessarily an option right now.  Assuming all this is happening at the same time as the conversation, Mallory is distracted and not keeping an eye out on the lake, so she might not realize to do it right now.



Or the sky, if Astre just snatches the pouch and bolts the moment something breaks the surface.  Cats and birds are skittish like that.  ^^  I suppose it's a matter of whether the creature can beat 21 with a Perception check?

DM Bears rolled 14 using 2d20+8, dropping the lowest dice only.  Werebear Perception Check to Spot Astre (With Advantage due to Keen Smell).

Welp, seems like Astre is good :)

I'm just going to go ahead and roll to see if Astre beats out the reflexive instinct to immediately flee...

Instinct - 10 or lower Flees
Mallory Bonheur rolled 13 using 1d20

And with that in mind, let's use a little meta on that dice roll DM made to do a preemptive skill check to see what Mallory might know of Werebears, for the sake of efficiency.  ^^;  She won't know about it until 10 minutes or so when Astre gets back to her.

Arcana
Mallory Bonheur rolled 11 using 1d20+6

Actually, let me leave one more thing up to random chance; whether Mallory lets Astre return on his own or whether she manually dismisses him herself.

Dismissal - 10 or Lower Dismisses
Mallory Bonheur rolled 3 using 1d20

XD  Poor Astre's having his fun spoiled left and right.  Now the real question is whether or not that Keen Smell and any tracking abilities the Werebear might have could do anything with Astre's scent being on the bag now.  Though I'd imagine if we can see the lakeside from where we are, they can see us as well (especially since we're swinging around lanterns).
This message was last edited by the player at 22:11, Tue 26 Oct 2021.

While this hasn't been established properly on my end, it's been mentioned in some posts that you have view of the lakeside. So that's what we'll go with.

I'll mention this again; if you wish to remain hidden, you must succeed on a Group Stealth Check, meaning at least half of you must succeed. This will be contested by the Werebear's Passive Perception (18). If you choose not to, I'll consider you automatically discovered.

This does entail your characters spot the Werebear first. It's by far the easiest to resolve it this way. The alternative would be contesting Perception checks, which would open a whole can of worms (I can establish a DC to spot the Werebear, but then the same should be true in reverse, and I cannot arrive at the number the Werebear should contest without calling for Stealth).

Farwalker doesn’t really do stealth, I don’t think.

Just calmly marching forward.

Obstinately, Mallory might say.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯  I'll let the rest of you count as a Group, then. Not that it matters in any case; you'd still need two successes if Farwalker decides to purposefully fail hers.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:21, Wed 27 Oct 2021.

It seems that Astre has stumbled upon one of Bears' relatives. :)

In the culture/campaign setting of the North, are were-bears considered to be hostile, or is does it vary from individual to individual (some being more grouchy/hostile than others)?

Is a Survival or Nature Check needed for Rhydd to discern how much he would know about them?

Thanks.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:42, Wed 27 Oct 2021.

I think this is a good idea. It'd be novel information, even for huntsman familiar with the region.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 58):


Hunh. It seems that maaaybe he has heard that there are such things:

13:05, Today: Rhydd Maldhon rolled 6 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 2.  Survival Check re: Werebear.

I'll whip up a post shortly :)


Yeah, you're good. I don't think keeping this information from you is interesting in any way.

EDIT: Just to touch on this, I did a bit of digging, and it seems there is some ambiguity when it comes to items your familiars are carrying when dismissed. This is all the spell offers:


No mention of any items carried or worn either to or fro, so if we take it at face value it'd be only the familiar. Mike Mearls, when asked on twitter, says otherwise. I won't get into the 3d6 thing, as that seems to create more problems than it'd solve, but his answer does indicate that it's not as clear cut as we might otherwise have thought. He further proceeds to state it's up to the DM.

So for the sake of avoiding needless edits, we'll go with Mallory's version of it and say that Astre drops the pouch.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:30, Wed 27 Oct 2021.

Yeah, that's how I've always done it since it raises way too many questions and complications if one allows for a Familiar to pull things along with them.  Like, what qualifies as a "Small Object", exactly?  Does the Familiar only have to be touching it?  There's no conditions about held/carried/worn, so couldn't a Familiar steal someone's weapon/armor/clothing/backpack full of supplies right off their body by bamf'ing it away with them?  It's just too messy.

I've used alternatives in the past with the idea of a Familiar being able to swallow a tiny-enough item (usually something like a tightly-rolled note, a key, or a single lockpick) and carry it around inside their body, then being dismissed lets it fall free to the floor.  It's a good way to smuggle items in covert situations when the Familiar can't simply carry something outside themselves.

In another case, the Familiar could take items it was personally equipped and attuned with, or that had been enchanted with a simple spell to be able to go with them.  This is specifically for a Familiar equipped with magical items and armor, or a Bag of Holding.  Basically using the Familiar as an emergency storage or way to deploy healing while afield.

You did roll Farwalker’s initiative with advantage, correct?

Right, Vigilant Blessing. Good catch. I'll remember next time! Unless otherwise stated, I assume she always has it cast on herself?

21:47, Today: DM Bears rolled 6 using 1d20.  Farwalker Initiative Advantage.

Well, turns out to not matter, unfortunately :(


I thought of this, but arrived at the opposite conclusion. To some degree we have to accept that if a Familiar is able to swallow an item it should be able to bring it with it into its pocket dimension. Otherwise, Familiars would need to regurgitate their meals every time they were dismissed.

Back to the situation at hand; now that combat has broken loose we'll need to determine the actual distance between Farwalker and her wayside companions. Should have realized there was a need for this earlier and done it then, but oh well.

Here's what we have to work from; Mallory, Rhydd, and Torgrim are standing on shore, looking down on the lake. That's all clear. We also know you have line sight to the Werebear (and would therefor be aware of its charge) and vice versa. However, it feels strange to put you a mile away even if that's a number that's been brought up earlier. That would render you completely unable to participate basically no matter what, as even Rhydd would have to clear over four hundred feet just to shoot his longbow at Disadvantage, which is not feasible within any combat unless you do some hyper specific Monk builds.

How does 180 feet sound? That allows you some degree of flexibility, while still placing you a significant distance away.

We can chalk up any discrepancy in the narrative by saying you moved about a little as you did your scouting.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:50, Thu 28 Oct 2021.

That's assuming Familiars need to eat or drink.  They're Spirits, after all, which 5e describes as "bodiless life force".  They're just forged into the shape of a given creature by the "Find Familiar" spell, so it's not entirely certain if they actually have physical needs for sustenance and rest at all.  For instance, there's nothing at all in the rules or spell text that says their pocket dimension sustains them or keeps them in stasis without need for food/air/rest, yet they can be kept there indefinitely without any harm.


I think having us wandered closer would be a good way to approach it, yes.  If we were still up by the roadside this entire time and given that Farwalker specified she was walking steadily at her own pace, it'd probably take her half an hour or so to trundle on down there while the rest of us just stood around doing nothing?  If we all decided to head back to Bryn Shander as soon as Farwalker and Astre left, we'd be nearly there by now and far beyond being in this encounter at all.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:53, Thu 28 Oct 2021.

Yup! I'll occasionally drop it on someone else.

When I remember I have it before Initiative gets rolled.

DM - just to clarify; were the rest of us 180' away on that first around and assumed to be moving in at full speed (presumably 60' at a dash, barring anyone being able to Bonus Action Dash)?  So we're 120' or so in now at the start of this current round of Initiative?  Or are we at 180' starting now?

The intention was to start you 180' away. I realize I have robbed you of a round here, but you'll just have to suck it up :^)

Fair point. That does leave me to wonder about felines (not reserved to just Tressyms) grooming themselves. Would their dead hair be considered part of themselves? Granted they have a need to groom themselves at all. Probably not, for the same reason they don't eat or sleep, but take that away and would you have a cat at all? If the behavior persisted it would probably best to consider their furballs still part of them, so that they can cough them up at a later point.

So, to get this out of the way early, what would it take to toss the werebear out into the lake?

Werebear's been running at you for at least 60' from the waterline by this point, so a very extended grapple-and-carry?


The "Find Familiar" spell specifies that when a Familiar reaches 0 HP, it disappears and doesn't leave behind any physical form.  So my take would be either that any elements pulled from a Familiar's body (hair, feathers, a severed tail, whatever) instantly poof out of existence, or they linger only so long as the Familiar itself remains.  If the Familiar is dismissed back to its pocket dimension or killed, any remnants of its body lingering around would likewise vanish.

I personally lean more toward the latter interpretation, because that leaves more chance for a Familiar to be tracked if it's off doing recon work for its caster.  It'd be too much in the player's favor if their Familiar didn't leave any sort of scent or hair trail for enemies to be able to sniff out in counter.

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 70):

I was going more for Yeet the Werebear. Because Farwalker can easily toss herself at the moment.

Depends on whether or not the nearest waterline is 120' away where the Werebear emerged or not, I guess?  You might have better luck if there's nearer portions of exposed water at the shore, or if the ice is thin enough to break through.  Otherwise, maybe aim for a snowbank on the shoreline?
This message was last edited by the player at 18:54, Fri 29 Oct 2021.

I do not permit yeeting of important NPCs >:(

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 73):

Just a quick toss in the lake. They were just swimming there. It’s more annoying than anything.

I'm always of two minds.  My first thought is to go rules-lawyer mode and pull up resources to figure it out, then determine a reasonable course of action holding as close to both RAW and RAI as possible.

Then there's the other thought that's essentially my inner hooligan pounding on the table chanting "YEET THE BEAR YEET THE BEAR" because it would be fantastic to see.  :3

Going into rules lawyer mode, there's no specific rule for hoisting a creature around particularly, willing or unwilling that I know of.  I suppose the nearest approximation would be the "Shove" action to forcibly move a creature away that could be flavored as Farwalker giving someone the ol'heave-ho.



So a Werebear in its Hybrid or Transformed state is a Large creature, which is still within the size category limit for Farwalker.  Her spell boosts her chances of success at winning the contested skill check that the action would trigger, but she'd only be able to force the Werebear up to 5' away, which probably isn't going to be within reach of the water.  Another alternative would be for Farwalker to try and knock the Werebear prone with a Shove, then Grapple them once they're down, which would seriously hinder their ability to fight back.  Still dangerous though since they can still attack (albeit at Disadvantage) and Lycanthropes have a chance of spreading their curse through physical combat.

Either way, neither Shoving, Knocking Prone, nor Grappling deal damage, so they are options for conveying that Farwalker doesn't mean any harm despite defending herself.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:47, Fri 29 Oct 2021.

I’ll get a post up within the hour!

Edit: Welp, that's a miss, but maybe the flash Triglio mentioned could be useful.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:54, Sat 30 Oct 2021.

Unfortunate, Torgrim :(  Hopefully the second bolt will serve him better.

Throwing a Creature
As Mallory touches on, sprinkling some hoist onto the Shove option is the best option the book presents us. Shame it doesn't deal any damage, but we'll adhere to RAW (otherwise we might risk creating a maneuver that dips into too many upsides at once).

If she does wish to Grapple them, Farwalker essentially has three courses of action; she can Attack the creature (either Unnamed or Armed), Shove the creature, or move the creature (Move while Grappling). Her speed would then be halved, but she could Dash to bring that up to full. 120/30 = 4 rounds to get the Werebear to the water, during which the Werebear will have as many chances to escape the Grapple.


If she Grapples, then Shoves, it could be reflavored into something reminiscent of a piledrive in this specific instance, as the snow could serve to explain why it doesn't deal damage.

If she wishes to throw them around in her Grapple (though not actually throw them), we could utilize the rules for Improvised Weapons, depending on what surface (table, wall, etc.) she decides to slam them into. Which would put the damage at 1d4.

I may not be able to yeet the bear, but I will definitely piledrive the train bear.

Just try not to get bit!

Also, DM - about how big and heavy does the Werebear look?  More or less than 500 lbs?  According to Google, polar bears vary pretty widely in weight between 300 and 500+ lbs, so I'm not sure how that would carry over to a Werebear.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:05, Sun 31 Oct 2021.

This particular Werebear (in hybrid form) would be in the vicinity of 800 lbs.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:27, Sun 31 Oct 2021.

No magical bear-yeeting either, then.

Ah, I see. Levitate! Sorry to disappoint.

Though non-magical bear yeeting is still (somewhat, as outlined in our earlier posts) on the table. Farwalker has a push, drag, and lift capacity of a whopping 960 lbs. 16*30 = 480, which is then doubled due to Powerful Build (she gets to count as a Large creature).
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:17, Sun 31 Oct 2021.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 82):

And doubled again due to Enhanced Ability (Strength)!

Right now, Farwalker’s lift capacity is 960lbs.

She can, in fact, carry the werebear around like a sack of potatoes.

Oh, yeah, forgot about that. We're now well and truly into 'ridiculous' territory if you ask me . . .
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:26, Sun 31 Oct 2021.

So right now she can deadlift nearly 1,000 lbs and is just shy of being able to lift/drag an entire ton, and with Advantage on STR checks.  That's pretty wild. o_o

Hm... too bad the "Enlarge/Reduce" spell doesn't increase carrying capacity as well.  Though it might sort of work in that regard, at least as far as Reducing a target and making it lighter/smaller.  That could yield some fun combos in the future.


An angry, flailing, full-of-teeth and muscle sack of potatoes.  ^^;  Anyone who's tried to carry a cat or dog that doesn't want to be carried knows full well how wildly unmanageable they can be despite being significantly smaller and lighter than a Human.  It's best not to assume anything since the Werebear is just as big as Farwalker is and probably even stronger.  They might just yeet back!

A resisting grappled target is the same regardless of comparable STR scores, so Farwalker can still only move at half-speed while dragging/carrying the Werebear, and they can still attack her freely rather than try to break the grapple.  Just be careful about it.

Oh, I know. But Farwalker is probably the best suited for what's going down. She can heal herself if she needs to, she has a reaction to soak damage, she can also pop her Temp HP ability if she really needs to. Which she might.

We'll see how it goes. Hopefully she'll succeed at grapple and shove. Speaking of, I went ahead and rolled for grapple now, rather than later.

Today: Farwalker rolled 23 using 2d20+5, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 18,11.  Athletics Grapple.

It's also in the IC thread for convenience.

Got it. It might be overturned, depending on what the Werebear decides to do. Right now they're in a bit of an awkward position, as they'll have to Dash to close the remaining 60'. While they do have Multiattack, they won't have any Actions left over to perform them. Running up into the face of an opponent who can retaliate immediately doesn't make too much sense. Farwalker would have to meet them in charge to guarantee she's first to the Grapple.

Though, we're getting ahead of ourselves :S

Farwalker is also just standing there without a weapon or a shield out, of which she has both and has had plenty of time to grab. So there's that factor too!

In reply to Farwalker (msg # 87):

Being a pile of HP is great and all, but whether or not you have access to "Remove Curse" or "Greater Restoration" is the real kicker in this particular scenario, depending on how things go down.

Everything going alright, Mallory?

Oh hell's bells, I thought Rhydd was before me and was waiting on him.  >_<  Sorry.

Though, all in all, Mallory is just hoofing it her 60' Dash movement because she's waaaaaay out of reach of being able to do anything right now.

:)

Figured we had a case like that on our hands. No harm done!

And I was waiting on Mallory. And the green grass grows all around, all around.

No worries -- we've got it figured out now. :) I'll start working on an IC post as soon as the cat trying to sit on my keyboard moves on . . .

Gentle prod on Farwalker so that we avoid another traffic jam :)

Noooo… I don’ wanna go to school today…

I’ll have a post up in a bit today. Probably while I’m at the gym.

As a side note, Secret requires Brackets [].

Oh shit. I see I missed one at the end now. Oh well, there goes keeping that from you :/

Thanks for pointing it out.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:59, Sat 06 Nov 2021.

The Werebear is going to want to escape the Grapple. Which means I'll need another Athletics from you, Farwalker.

19:39, Today: DM Bears rolled 12 using 1d20+8.  Werebear Athletics to escape Grapple.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 99):

Nope!
Today: Farwalker rolled 21 using 2d20+5, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 4,16.  Grapple pt.2, the Escape.

Okay, so if Mallory gets to be the Witch of Neverwinter as an alias, what's Farwalker's pro-wrestling name?  :3

Also, DM, regarding the incoming Dragon: any details that can be gleaned at a glance?  General size, color, whether it looks like it's coming in aggressively or also here for a bit of play?  Is it coming from the west where it'd be near enough to reach us within moments, or is it coming from the north where it still has to fly across a few miles of lake first?

The Dragon is on the other side of the lake, which means more than a mile off. It currently doesn't have its own initiative (it would be lumped together with the Werebear anyway for ease of posting). If you want to glean more information, such as color, size, or intent, I suggest rolling. It's currently Dim Light, which means Disadvantage on Perception Checks relying on sight. I'll be enforcing this now :^)

EDIT: I would say Insight (to evaluate intent) would be contingent on a high result on the Perception Check. We might do some Advantage/Disadvantage depending on the roll, I haven't decided yet.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:24, Mon 08 Nov 2021.

How would Astre's Darkvision fall into things, given the distance at which the Dragon is currently at?

Darkvision turns Darkness into Dim Light. It does not affect Dim Light in any capacity.

Regardless, Astre's Darkvision only extends 60', so it would not be applicable here anyway.

Astre - Perception w/Disadvantage
Mallory Bonheur rolled 11 using 1d20+5

Bears,

Am I correct in thinking that having Dragons fly over the more settled areas of the Ten Towns is a rare occurrence?

Granted, the party is not inside a town at the moment, but the PCs are not very far from a well-traveled road, by my reckoning. Well . . . well-traveled for the area and time of year that it is. :)

Rare, but not unheard of. Want to roll a History?

I mean, if nothing else, we are several miles into the wilderness right beside the largest lake in the region, which is prime White Dragon hunting territory.  Everything northwest of the lake is just open wilderness and the ocean beyond that.  It might just be a case that we're at the very edge of its territory and it's coming for a look after spotting our activity on the shore.

Quick question on party traits: who is presently using a lantern/torch, and what's everyone's clothing look like in terms of being able to blend in with the snow/terrain?  To the best of my knowledge, it's only Mallory and Farwalker who would stand out?

Also, DM - May I roll Arcana or History check to see what Mallory knows of White Dragons?  I figure she already has a fairly considerable base level of general knowledge about Dragons as a species, being a scholar from Neverwinter where they've had to deal with such beings fairly often, but specifics about White Dragons would presumably be more obscure compared to other breeds she'd have more experience with.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:32, Mon 08 Nov 2021.

Sure; Rhydd handles the History, and you can take care of the Arcana :)

Arcana
Mallory Bonheur rolled 20 using 1d20+6

Mallory remains quite well-read, it seems.  :3

A Wizard at work :)  I’ll update the main thread tomorrow with the results. Hopefully I have Rhydd’s by then as well.

Everyone: Dragon!

Meanwhile, Farwalker wrestles a bear in the background.

Priorities.

Now I just get the amusing notion that if we run and hide, the Werebear might actually come with us because they're in just as much danger of a Dragon as we are.  ^^;  Makes for an awkward but understandable moment.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:58, Mon 08 Nov 2021.

22:13, Today: Rhydd Maldhon rolled 12 using 1d20.  History re: Dragon Fly-Bys.

Can I take that to mean Mallory knows specifics about those named Dragons beyond just their names?  Like general information that would've been publicly documented about their appearances, behavior, known feats, etc?  IE; can I read the wiki articles for those Dragons?  ^^;
This message was last edited by the player at 21:39, Tue 09 Nov 2021.

Yes; use your best judgement for what information is and isn't available to Mallory. Cryovain is featured in the second Essentials Kit, so we assume those events haven't taken place prior to this adventure. I'll leave the spoilers to the wiki threads :)

Doctor Farwalker, paging Doctor Farwalker.  Your attention is needed in the "Werebear Yeeting/Dragon Fleeing" department.

I'm sticking to my traffic analogy.

I appreciate Astre being included in the back seat.  :3

Darn, now I realized I could have done Mallory on a motorcycle and Astre in a sidecar. They could have matching goggles and everything!

You bet your butt you have another drawing coming up!

Thought I posted like two days ago. I rolled and everything. >.>

Stupid computer. This is why I should just post from my phone.

Bears, is a Survival check what you would need from Rhydd to see how successful hs is in picking out some cover?

And thanks to Astre for the Advantage -- I will definitely put that to good use. :)

P.S. I went ahead and rolled the Survival Check, Bears. My posting window will be closing soon, and I wanted to get something up on the board for Rhydd. If you need something other than a Survival roll, just lest me know.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:11, Thu 11 Nov 2021.

Hiding will be Stealth. Though I was about to impose Disadvantage on you since you're out in a wide open area, I'll let Rhydd's middling Survival Check cancel that out (in addition to possibly granting you Half or Three-Quarters Cover). And while granting Advantage on Stealth Checks is not a feature of Prestidigitation, I'm willing to grant it to Mallory regardless.

Furthermore, while Group Checks are not really appropriate for combat, Farwalker is really the only one engaged with the Werebear in any meaningful way. I'll let the rest of you make a Group Check (meaning half or more needs to succeed), but as long as Farwalker is fighting the Werebear she will not benefit from that and must succeed on her own. While I'm technically letting the rest of you "break combat", we'll still stick to the initiative order so that we don't end up with two asynchronous groups. Maybe I'll lump you together, at least for the time being, so that you're granted a bit more freedom in terms of when you get to post.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:31, Thu 11 Nov 2021.

Mallory turning her cloak white was more just for the sake of in-universe logic rather than trying for mechanics, but if you want to grant Advantage then I'm certainly not going to argue.  Especially knowing how good White Dragons are at hunting via Perception checks.  ^^;

The intent right now is just to get the party somewhere off shore where they can break line of sight before the Dragon arrives, as Mallory has a spell on hand to help everyone hide.  But it wouldn't do them any good if the Dragon sees her activate it.  To that same end, however, Mallory's also going to be using Prestidigitation Cleaning in the meantime to try and scatter the party's tracks and scent as they go, in hopes of raising the difficulty of any coming search skill checks.

I'll let you automatically succeed on this; there should be mounds on the shore large enough for you to escape view momentarily. Sliding and hunkering in the snow should do the trick. Cover would be applied in a more narrative sense, meaning you'd be granted the benefit of increased AC while engaged with the Dragon. In other words, the Dragon would engage with you so you'd be granted Three-Quarters Cover (to the extent it makes sense, and since this is all theater of the mind we have a lot of leeway).


She can create faux tracks, but keep in mind Prestidigitation only allows for three non-instantaneous effects to run at once. Mallory's camouflage would count as one. The tracks also have to be created one at a time, and can be no larger than the size of her hand. And as far as I know, Prestidigitation cannot be used to remove smells outside of cleaning objects. It can create new smells, though, so perhaps she can attempt to sow new ones to (hopefully) inspire confusion. To what extent should Mallory be able to accurately reproduce smells? And lastly, prestidigitation only has a range of 10 feet, though as we've discussed before, the effects of the spell will linger for the duration even if Mallory steps out of range. So she could not create tracks way over yonder, or throw a smell high up into the air.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:50, Thu 11 Nov 2021.

Farwalker, I need you to contest a Grapple, since I just realized there's nothing stopping a Grappled creature from Grappling their Grappler. Grapple, Grapple, Grapple . . .

22:34, Today: DM Bears rolled 23 using 1d20+8.  Werebear counter-Grapple.

The current enduring effects are Mallory's camouflage and the warming effect on Rhydd and Torgrim, just for the sake of keeping things informed.

Covering Tracks/Scents
The idea was less that Mallory is falsifying a trail (Illusion spells would be better suited for that kind of thing) and more just swinging a magical broom behind the party to make it harder to track them.  I interpreted removing scents/odors as part of the spell's instantaneous Cleaning function, but if you feel this particular application is too far beyond the cantrip's abilities then it's fine to pass on it.


As a general mechanics question, I always took Prestidigitation's ability to change something's flavor and scent to be directly reliant on the caster's own knowledge.  That is to say, Mallory can only render tastes and aromas that she's personally experienced or can at least puzzle out some approximation thereof based on what she knows of it.  Or just mixing and matching different elements of flavors/scents she knows of to produce something new.

Boo. Off by 1.

Today: Farwalker rolled 22 using 2d20+5, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 10,17.  Bad Grapple.

1. This is the domain of Pass without Trace, a 2nd level Spell.
2. Each individual cast of Prestidigitation costs Mallory an Action. Seeing as there will be way more than one track left each second, her backlog is going to fill up very quickly. It does specify the caster can clean an area of up to one cubic foot, which should amount to about one track per cast, given that they are evenly spaced.
3. Sweeping a broom behind oneself in the snow would hide your footprints, but would leave a different kind of track. Mallory would essentially have to reverse time to rearrange the displaced snow into its fresh, printless arrangement, which I think is a step beyond the spirit of Prestidigitation.

I would be willing to let the last one slide, and I'm not going to disallow it outright, but given all three points I would say this particular use of Prestidigitation would be rather ineffective.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:03, Thu 11 Nov 2021.

Hm... I wonder if something like "Mold Earth" would be better for getting rid of visible tracks?  Like, could the caster just sort of shuffle the dirt around in place and cause footprints to fill in?  It would surely leave the ground looking like it'd been freshly disturbed where exposed earth was involved, but it might work better with a layer of snow or sand atop the moving earth?

In any case, back to the action!  Torgrim's turn to act, I believe, and the rest of us are looking for cover in the meantime?  Are there trees off the shoreline or is it all just open tundra, hills, and rocks?

It's barren where you are currently. There's certainly the occasional tree to spot outside the larger forest areas, but there's also long stretches without any tall vegetation; as is often the case for areas north of the polar circle in the real world.

Just gave a little bump in the main thread to help keep things moving along.  Not sure exactly what sort of obscuring terrain we might find with Rhydd's rolls, but that's not really up for me to decide either.  ^^;

Right, I never really addressed that roll IC, did I? My mistake. No wonder you were hung up :S

Just to clarify since we're in quasi-Initiative order; does this mean we have one round of action to get to cover just as the Dragon arrives?  Or just that it'll take us a whole round to get to get to the hiding spot and the Dragon is still a turn or two away?
This message was last edited by the player at 09:55, Sat 13 Nov 2021.

We'll say you have to expend 60' to reach the shore, so a full round. The only one with a leftover Action will be Torgrim. The Dragon is several rounds away (more than one, but I won't give you the exact number), meaning you have additional time to cast your spells or roll for Stealth.

Farwalker is in a tougher conundrum, however, as she and the Werebear are 150' away from the shore.

Speaking of Farwalker, what is she up to now?  On the edge of my seat over here.

I’m going to move us along. Post incoming later tonight, in about twelve hours.

Just for the sake of keeping people informed, this is the spell Mallory just cast:



So basically she opened up a little invisible hidey-hole in reality.  Entering it means that the character is no longer on the Prime Material Plane (in case that matters to anybody's abilities or spells).  They're not just rendered invisible, but literally aren't on the same plane of existence anymore.  Stealth checks are still relevant though, as presumably sound can carry through the open entryway between Planes.


This message was last edited by the player at 22:02, Tue 16 Nov 2021.

Considering the height of your average snowdrift and the fact that it's been established you have to hunker down, 5' directly up from your position should logically be in view of the Dragon. Distance does work in your favor here, though; the Dragon might not be able to see exactly what is being attempted.

The exact height of the drift was never mentioned, as it was only referred to as "a snow dune" and potentially offering half-cover if combat broke out.  To which I assume it would at least three feet tall, given the average height of the trio hiding behind it right now.

I could set the height lower to the ground, as the intent behind the casting is that it's hidden out of sight behind the drift.  But Mallory would also be wanting to leave enough height for Farwalker to be able to squeeze her way up inside as well if she came their way, so let's say she casts it at 4' up as a happy medium; that would still leave some chance of being glimpsed, but the Dragon would likely only see a bit of uncertain movement at the top of the drift at most.

Should we do Stealth checks then?  Astre already rolled pretty low, so odds are the Dragon spotted him flying away or could pick up on his trail easily enough, depending on how scarce Farwalker and the Werebear make themselves.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:26, Wed 17 Nov 2021.

I'll stick to my ruling regarding the height of the snowdrift; 5 feet up is in view of the Dragon. If you wish to cast Rope Trick 4 feet up, then that's fine, and we can run with some ambiguity as to whether or not the Dragon can catch whiff of any movement. I won't bar Farwalker from accessing the space, as she does count as Medium when it comes to size. That should probably factor into such a decision.


Yes. As previously mentioned, we'll handle this as a Group Check. Those who have already rolled do not need to roll again. Torgrim counts for one success, and Astre counts for one fail (as long as they both gather into the Extradimensional Space and don't elect to branch off, that is. Then Mallory and Rhydd would roll and live by their own dice, as just two characters should probably not be eligible for a Group Check).

Astre is apart from the rest of the group at the moment; I mentioned in the narration that he was flying well away from the dune and diving into a snow drift of his own.  So presumably we're currently split into three groups; Farwalker/Werebear near the shore, Mallory/Rhydd/Torgrim further up in the dunes, and Astre off on his own.

As for Mallory's Stealth check:
Mallory Bonheur rolled 16 using 1d20+2

Not bad, actually.

Yes, while I was about to say he'll have to rely on his last rolled Stealth for a Group Check if he does wish to join back up (I assume Mallory can still dismiss and resummon him, though not communicate with him), the more I think on it, the more I realize Group Checks have no business existing in combat. Which leads me to reconsider the circumstances; if the Dragon is far off, are the two parties currently engaged in combat? No, not necessarily. You, one part of the conflict, are actively avoiding combat, while the other part's intentions are unclear. The only reason we currently even have a posting order is because of the combat with the Werebear, and it's now carried over to the Dragon.

I think it's best we break combat and transition over to free posting, at least for the time being.

The Werebear's and Farwalker's eventual rush for the water should be handled differently in that case. I'd call for a Skill Check, Athletics. And since I don't wish to reveal whether or not the Dragon contests, I'll instead set it against an unknown DC. Maybe I'll roll to determine it! Who knows? :^)
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:58, Wed 17 Nov 2021.

Boo, that sucks.  I was looking forward to seeing Rhydd's reaction since he always has such interesting responses to the weirdness that abounds.  I've noticed RPOL has an odd habit of eating posts, doesn't it?

In large part due to your kind words, I made a run at recreating Rhydd's lost IC post. It is now in the IC thread, and will hopefully give Mallory (IC) something to work with. :)

Aww, thanks!  And I'm glad you did.  ^^  Rhydd is a wonderful character and I really enjoy your posts, even without the fun contrast between his low-key manner and Mallory's supernatural ways.

Do any of the D&D scholars amongst us know the provenance of the Rope Trick spell? I find it interesting that one is required to climb up a rope to reach the haven of the extradimensional space.

Why not just put the space at ground level, so that all one has to do is step through a door or portal, or some such?

Why the "This is a very handy hidey-hole, but first you have to climb up a rope to get to it"?

Meh, just curious. :)
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 16:18, Sat 20 Nov 2021.

While I don't have any familiarity with earlier editions and could very likely be missing something, my immediate suspicion is that it's inspired by the Indian Rope Trick. The designers then needed to make the 'rising rope' trope into something actually useful, as simply being suspended in mid-air doesn't provide any noticeable advantage. You could perhaps argue for the usefulness of an impromptu ladder, but to my ears that sounds like a rather niche and far-from-game-breaking use of a spell.

Though this passage (and the one below) of the above article is interesting: "A more elaborate version has the magician (or his assistant) disappearing after reaching the top of the rope, then reappearing at ground level."
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:29, Sat 20 Nov 2021.

Yeah, it's based off the Indian Rope Trick.  The majority of D&D spells and their material components are referential to jokes, colloquialisms, and science/superstitions.  For instance, the spell "Detect Thoughts" requires a copper piece; literally "a penny for your thoughts".  ^^;  It also plays into the old tropes and themes of classic wizards and magic just being totally inscrutable to the common folk, where the things they do don't seem to have any sense yet still work for inexplicable reasons.


Honestly, there are a lot of good uses for the spell as a form of land traversal.  Got a wide crevasse with no way to cross?  Caster holds onto one end of the rope, places the Pocket Dimension hatch in the sky above the center of the gap, then Tarzan swings across.  Got a locked door that isn't totally air tight?  Cast the spell so the 3x5-foot entrance to the pocket space is directly above the doorway in the gap between the door and its setting, but spans both sides.  Caster climbs up one side, shuffles across within the pocket space, climbs down the other side and unlocks the door.  Need to build an impromptu rope-and-pulley system to haul things up and down a sheer rock face?  Rope Trick (and the block-and-tackle item from the PHB) has you covered without needing to bother with building scaffolding or supports around it.

That's why I love odd spells like Rope Trick far more than damage-dealing magic; there's just so much fascinating stuff you can puzzle out with them.

What's really fun to screw around with is the fact that Rope Trick doesn't require Concentration.  It's a 1-hour duration, so the caster (or other casters involved) could actually make a recursive effect by stacking Rope Tricks inside of Rope Tricks.  Who knows what would happen when they started collapsing and trying to spit out their contents at the end of the duration though.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:49, Sat 20 Nov 2021.

Now that I look at it, Rope Trick doesn't have clause that permits the caster to end the spell early; it'll always last for the full hour. Which means if you cast Rope Trick inside of the extradimensional space of the previous Rope Trick, the child Rope Trick will always expire after the parent Rope Trick, meaning the extradimenional space to which you would be ejected no longer exists. Now, is the extradimensional space conjured by the Rope Trick already in existence (and thus just invoked by the spell), or is it entirely of the spell's construction? Nowhere in the description does it actually specify it's in the Astral Sea, though I do agree that's a fitting plane for the extradimensional space to inhabit. To have the contents ejected into the Astral Sea where the extradimensional space existed prior seems like a harsh ruling, as opposed to the plane where the original Rope Trick was cast, though that wouldn't strictly make sense. And this is all when considering Euclidian space, as none of us can even begin to imagine what would occur if the Astral Sea happens to exist in some higher dimension, or if the extradimensional space is recursively defined (i.e. the Astral Sea is a concept, and the Astral Sea has its own Astral Sea, and so on infinitely. That's not how the Astral Sea works, I know, but we could extrapolate that to extradimensional spaces in general).

There's a similar conundrum when consider the Bag of Holding, of Heward's Handy Haversack, or other items that create extradimensional space, and, interestingly enough, the DMG has a ruling on it;


Welp, even if the spells end up collapsing, you would still be left with a portal to the Astral Plane . . . which is what we started with. One funny idea would be to juxtapose extradimensional space to dimensional (? . . Euclidean) space, and say that the portal would lead back to the Prime Material; the hole opened at the top of the chamber is the exact same as the one in the bottom. Though then you'd have to figure out what happens when two people stick their head into one hole each. They can't simultaneously occupy the same space in the Material Plane, even if the rules that govern extradimensional space might be non-euclidean.

Perhaps ruling everything goes kaboom would be best? Or that you simply cannot cast Rope Trick if you're casting it from within an extradimensional space. Or it just leads to the same space, so what you're essentially accomplishing is refreshing the duration. Though if the latter, you do encounter a paradox regarding where the window would then lead to; the Prime Material or the previous chamber?

Anyway, I'm going to post to advance the plot later tonight.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:13, Sun 21 Nov 2021.

My use of putting the Astral Sea on the "other side" of the Rope Trick chamber was entirely for the sake of flavor, as it made sense to me since other established extraplanar spaces (like from Bags of Holding) can breach through to there.  But extraplanar spaces don't necessarily neighbor the Astral Sea at all unless specified in their description.  The only confirmed direct connection Rope Trick has is to whatever plane the caster was on when they cast it (as that's where the hatch enters/exits to).  Mechanically speaking, the Rope Trick space is "nowhere"; it didn't exist prior to the spell and it stops existing when the spell ends.  It's just a little wedge pushed into the fabric of the Weave.

It seems like it would be very troublesome to give players the ability to potentially punch holes in the Planes multiple times a day with 2nd level spell slots.  ^^;  So I think the old Bag of Holding Singularity stunt would be an abnormality specific to Bags/Portable Holes/similar items interacting with one another rather than the standard interaction of collapsing planar states.  You can take a Bag of Holding into the extraplanar space created by "Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion" without trouble, after all.

"Rope Trick" specifies that anything inside the space drops out when the spell ends, thus returning to whatever Plane the spell was initially cast on.  I'd say that would include any secondary internal Rope Tricks by default; the first housing Rope Trick dismisses and the internal secondary Rope Trick's hatch appears on that originating Plane, and so forth.

Now, the trouble there (for the caster) is that they might risk a lot of falling damage as a result.  ^^;  The internal secondary Rope Trick hatch would be stationary in the air where it was cast within the first (anywhere from 5' to 15' higher than the initial housing Rope Trick, depending on exactly how large the internal space is supposed to be).  So if the first Rope Trick vanishes and the secondary Rope Trick will later empty out into the originating Plane, the caster might have put themselves further off the ground than their rope can reach.  ^^;


There's two usual schools of thought on this.  Either the spell runs its duration and the caster must use "Dispel Magic" to end it early, or that the caster can drop any duration that isn't Instantaneous or Permanent at-will, same as Concentration effects.  I'm of the latter myself, for the sake of convenience and narration.  Otherwise you run into issues of the party having to hang around and wait out the clock needlessly in some cases.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:55, Sun 21 Nov 2021.

Is that the theme music from "Jaws" that I hear playing in the background? Okay, admittedly it's a different kind of Great White, but still . . . :)

Yep... I was biting my tongue with the meta knowledge of that Arcana check behind me.  >_<  White Dragons are apex aquatic predators that actually enjoy being in arctic waters; trying to contend with one in the water is vastly more dangerous than on land.

Do you guys want to go back to full initiative now that Farwalker is in combat? Perhaps that is for the best, as I'd like to hold you to an action economy of some sort. We could do free initiative. Any preferences? If there's no voices against, I'll put you in free initiative, meaning you'll post as if in combat, but you won't be bound to any order.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:36, Mon 22 Nov 2021.

To poop your party; remember Disadvantage due to Dim Light! :^)
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:31, Mon 22 Nov 2021.

I haven't looked up Tressym(s?), but I'm pretty sure that dim light doesn't bother our house kitty. Just sayin'. :)

In reply to Rhydd Maldhon (msg # 158):

It does, as established earlier. While he has Darkvision, it is only within a 60' radius. In any case, Darkvision doesn't affect Dim Light; it turns Darkness into Dim Light (i.e. it turns a Heavily Obscured area into a Lightly Obscured area). And while he would have his Keen Smell to balance things out, he cannot rely on his smell for this Perception Check.

EDIT: He would not, in fact, be able to cancel anything out, as a Perception Check tapping into Keen Smell would not be affected by Obfuscation (Light or otherwise) at all.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:48, Mon 22 Nov 2021.

Whoops, no, DM's right.  We covered this earlier; Darkvision reduces darkness to dim light, but doesn't turn dim light to bright visuals.  So Astre being able to see in the gloom still applies Disadvantage.  Thanks for catching on it either way, you two.

I can't see any reasonable way Mallory could Help Astre in this case, so Disadvantage is.

Mallory Bonheur rolled 22 using 1d20+5

Even higher, so the 15 roll stands.

That being said, I do agree with Rhydd; it doesn’t make too much sense for Astre, a cat (with wings), to be hampered by Dim Light. I’m not a cat expert in any capacity, but I would think his real world equivalents would be able to see better than human(-oids) during night time. But them’s the rules, dang it! I will not have my table devolve into pure pandemonium >:(

Darkvision and Dim Light in 5e are sort of a holdover from earlier editions of the game.  Back in earlier versions "Darkvision" allowed characters to see a black-and-white rendering of their surroundings in the total absence of light (which included low/dim light situations), and something called "Low-Light Vision", which allowed characters to see in dim light as well as they did in daylight, in color and everything, so long as there was at least a single lit candle or starlight.  Dwarves and Half-Orcs naturally had Darkvision, while Elves, Half-Elves, and Gnomes had Low-Light Vision as racial traits.

5e did away with Low-Light Vision as an ability; rather than folding it into Darkvision, they just left Dim Light as an equal hindrance across the board to all creatures by assigning such conditions as "Lightly Obscured" visibility.  Which leads to the utter silliness of a Wood Elf being able to disappear in the middle of a crowded room so long as it's got mood lighting, because they have a natural racial ability to Hide when Lightly Obscured by natural phenomenon like shade, mist, falling leaves, and so forth.

As for Cats:  If you really want to get into oddities, it's the fact that Cats in D&D somehow do not have Darkvision at all.  Even though cats in real life are specifically renown for their ability to see in the dark, and Tabaxi's Darkvision racial trait is listed as:



Isn't that nuts?  o_o  Seems like a total oversight on the design team to me and I always ignore it when I run games, because it makes absolutely no sense at all.  Tressym, meanwhile, do naturally have Darkvision along with other special senses since they're magical creatures.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:30, Mon 22 Nov 2021.

That's a movie trailer moment right there. Scares me shitless just imagining it D:

To address underwater combat:


You move as if you're in Tough Terrain (i.e. at double cost). It's still Dim Light at your current depth. That should cover most of it? Let me know if there's anything else that's unclear. I can't say I have much experience handling underwater combat :S

Now we just gotta grapple the dragon.

Well, got no solution to this problem. Hm.

I mean... it's not impossible depending on how old/big the Dragon is?  Does Farwalker's "you count as a Large creature for carrying capacity" include grappling size as well?


Swim away from the Werebear and roll Stealth to see if you can evade notice?  Follow the Werebear in hopes that they lead to some hiding place accessed underwater?  Hope this is actually a very friendly Dragon who dove in because it actually wants to save you from the icy waters?  ^^;  I mean, it's an (at least Adult) Dragon.  There aren't really any good "solutions" in the first place since even the full party absolutely would have no chance of successfully fighting it.  We're in "just try and survive" mode here.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:50, Tue 23 Nov 2021.

No, unfortunately, that is not a stated feature of 'Powerful Build'. Regardless, the Dragon is Gargantuan . . . sorry :/

I do hope Farwalker doesn't die.

I think that's as much your decision as it is hers, to be perfectly honest.  ^^;

So what is the plan here at the moment anyway?  We've got the majority of the party sat in a box unable to do anything for the immediate future, so I fear for a stall out as it coincides with the coming holiday.

Is there any more information that could be offered about what Farwalker has going on underwater right now?  Like, is it just open waters and nothing else, are they obstructing elements coming up from the lake bed she might be able to use/hide among, are there underwater caves, etc?
This message was last edited by the player at 20:56, Wed 24 Nov 2021.

Considering you're tucked away in a safe space at the moment, there's not much I can do to generate new content without undermining the power of Rope Trick. I might have . . . something. Now, whether you want to take me up on that or not is another matter. I can post sometime later today, probably.

We'll run through a couple of rounds of Farwalker/Werebear/Dragon combat, and hopefully that can go somewhat smoothly. If Farwalker hasn't posted before the evening rolls around, I'll default her to Dodge and go to the Werebear and Dragon.

As to the environment, it's mostly open waters in all directions. There's the ice floes up top, I suppose?

Sorry, busy couple of days. I’ll have a post in today. In uhhh… two-ish hours?

_{Totally didn’t think I’d already posted. Nope.}

Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it, and a Happy Festivus ("For the Rest of Us", per Jerry Seinfeld) for those who do not! :)
This message was last edited by the player at 16:06, Thu 25 Nov 2021.

Ah, of course, that holiday! Do forgive me, it's not something I keep in mind as a Norwegian . . .

I said I was going to post today, but I won't because I am too tired. I'll post tomorrow instead.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 172):

I always forget it exists until people are all ‘Thanksgiving!’ And I’m over just going ‘Oh, yeah, that’s a holiday around here ^{for some reason.}‘

But it’s an excuse to party, so I’ll take it

Honestly, it hardly seems to exist as a holiday anymore where I am.  When I was very little I recall seeing decorations and some hubub about Thanksgiving during November.  But these days?  A week before Halloween and all my local shops are already putting up Christmas sales and blasting carols on the radio.  It's absolutely infuriating, really.  I fully expect Christmas to completely consume September within the next decade as well.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:53, Fri 26 Nov 2021.

Christmas creeping closer and closer to summer is probably what brings out the grumpy old man within me the most. Lot’s of "back in my day"-ing going on.

Used to be that Halloween stood as the last bastion, as a Night Watch against the White Walkers of Christmas, if you will. But like you say, most stores over here had at least some kind of Christmas product or decoration wheeled out before October was halfway over this year.

I figured the werebear and Farwalker would be right next to each other.

But then there was the whole bear thing. I need a nap. Also, not ending it’s turn in my sphere. Tsk.

At least I failed my saving throw. For now.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:07, Fri 26 Nov 2021.

Initially, yes, but I had the Werebear swim away. We can shorten the distance to 60' for the Werebear/45' for the Dragon if you so wish.

I of course won't enforce any posting rates during the holidays. So take your time :)

I also think I'll hold off on prompting the rest of you with any further content, at least until after the weekend. If there's still any need for it then, which there may or may not be depending on how Farwalker can resolve her current predicament, I'll see what I can cook up.

I’m mostly complaining that the bear swam out of my giant, beneficial AoE. I’m gunna take a nap now.

Ah, right. That procs at the end of its turn. Well . . . it is what it is, I suppose >_>

[biting fist because Mallory would recognize what that means]

As for the situation at hand, at least Farwalker has a better chance to escape now.  Being Frightened means she can't get any closer to the Dragon for now and perhaps the Dragon thought "Hm, that one's glowing.  Maybe shouldn't put that in my mouth just yet" and erred on the side of caution?

DM; how much of the details of the events/the Dragon and its rider can Astre witness, especially now that Farwalker is shedding light underwater?  I intend to have Mallory periodically poke her head out to monitor things, so I want to know what details she can reasonably glean from Astre's view.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 20:57, Fri 26 Nov 2021.

I’ll do a post thing tomorrow. I’m tired today. So much work.

Not a good overview, unsurprisingly. From my understanding, he is currently tucked away up on shore, so his angle would be bad no matter how we try to spin it. It might just be that the ice gets in the way, which would render it impossible for him to spot any figures below.

It is, however, not unreasonable that Mallory can piece together exactly which Dragon this happens to be, as Astre should have been able to spot its rider.

EDIT: I updated my last post with the results of Astre's Perception Check, I should mention xd
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:49, Sat 27 Nov 2021.

I did mention in message #204 that Astre had once more taken to flying for an aerial view, but he would reasonably still be near the shore anyway to still be within Telepathy range whenever Mallory pokes her head out.



That's really what I was hoping to find out about, yeah.  A full-grown white dragon in Icewind Dale with a rider on its back is pretty iconic.

So you did. I couldn't remember and tried searching for the mention of it, but I apparently didn't search hard enough xd

I'll amend my post in a bit.

Oh. I didn’t post. Like a dummy.

My bad, there

Want to hold back on Mallory for a moment to let Rhydd and Torgrim have a chance to respond to things.  Also, since the hatch in the floor is a 3x5 opening, they would also very easily be able to see the little fellow who just showed up below as well.

A Human riding a Dragon, bending it to his will? Woah -- it seems that we have a Dovah-kin (Dragonborn) amongst us! :)

Beware  the power of his thundering Voice! :)

Certainly fair, though for clarity's sake, here's the space we currently occupy.  I didn't actually realize how snug "Rope Trick" was until I tried to chart it out.  Same goes for spells like "Tiny Hut" which sound big but are mechanically quite small.



The spell description is kind of deceptive when you think about it.  "Eight Medium Creatures" sounds like a ton of space, but it's actually quite cozy in the end.  Still, at most I'd say Rhydd could get up to six or so feet away from the hatch if he really pushed himself flush with the wall.

I'll get to posting tomorrow, ran out of time today.

Torgrim, anything you want to toss in?

The werebear gets to decide on temp HP or making the fear go away.

I’ll have a post tomorrow. Probably. Phone Update is making the internet work weird right now.

I would advise running away!

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 192):

That would mean leaving the werebear to dying. Can’t do that >.>

That actually does raise a curious conundrum.  On one hand, Lycanthropes are, mechanically, immune to non-magical and/or non-silvered damage, so being mauled by a predator beast presumably wouldn't really be an issue.  But, on the other hand, Ancient Dragon.  If ever there's any creature that can have a valid reason for bypassing a damage resistance/immunity, this is it.

Point of the matter is that, as far as I can tell, there's basically nothing any of us can do in terms of class abilities or spells to stop the Dragon from doing whatever it pleases.  I mean, an Adult Dragon would be too much for the party to handle.  An Ancient is completely beyond our scope to contest, to the degree that it could casually TPK us in a single round even if we made our various saving throws.

Maybe go for the social angle and ask it nicely, I guess?  Combat simply isn't an option, so trying to pivot to a social encounter is the best I can think of.

I do believe it's the caster who decides, but if you want to leave it up to me I'll prefer it if the Frightened effect would end.


Good point. By RAW, Dragons (of any sort) aren't specified to have magical attacks. Even their breath weapons aren't considered magical, which I find a bit strange. But rules are rules.

Not only should the Werebear be capable of surviving a fight against the common Dragon, it should beat it if the fight draws out long enough. That is, however, not factoring in any spellcasting the Dragon may possess. If one wanted to be truly cruel DM, you could give them silvered dentures or claws . . . Arveiaturace is not the Dragon to graft that idea onto, though.

It sort of runs into the question of in-universe common sense vs. game mechanics.  For example, a Lycanthrope would be totally immune to the 1d6 Bludgeoning Damage dealt by being clobbered by a non-magic, non-silvered Mace.  But it would be harmed by 1d6 Bludgeoning Damage from falling 10 feet into a pit, because that's not a weapon attack and thus isn't covered by the Damage Immunity.  Which is just kind of... dumb, right?  Or how a Lycanthrope can die from suffocation, because "Drowning" rules for not having any ability to breathe don't inflict damage and are a binary "you are alive or dead" based entirely on a creature's CON score.

There is also the notion that Dragons are innately magical beings (they're described as such in the Monster Manual and can even alter their environment/lair simply by being there), therefore their natural weapons would be able to harm creatures that are resistant/immune to non-magical harm.  Like how a "Moon-touched Scimitar" counts as a magic weapon for overcoming damage resistance despite its enchantment having no damage effects at all.  If nothing else, an Ancient White Dragon's bite attack does also deal Cold damage, which would get through a Lycanthrope's damage immunity just fine.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:26, Sun 05 Dec 2021.

To give you a heads up; I'll be mostly busy with end-of-semester stuff until Wednesday evening and might not have time to get a post in before then. Not that it's my turn right now (ahem, Farwalker) :^)

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 197):

Yeah, sorry, we’re getting all of our ‘End of the Fiscal Year’ projects in right now because people don’t know how to spend their money until the last minute.

I’ll be home in a couple hours, and I’ll post if I don’t just pass out again.

No rush. As stated, I won’t be able to post before tomorrow evening anyway.

It is about that time of year things around RPOL always slow down.  Sort of to be expected; everyone's having holidays, traveling, getting overladen with work, or coming down with seasonal colds.  I've been playing here on RPOL for years now and it's like clockwork.

Yeah. I myself will be exceptionally busy around those times this year. We'll try to keep the game chugging as best we can, as I don't really feel like doing any official hiatus. We managed fine last year, though we were only just starting up (it's been a year already?).

Still waiting on Farwalker. I can post tomorrow morning, and as per protocol, I'll default her to the Dodge Action unless I'm given other input.

I was thinking of trying to politely ask the dragon to not eat the bear, but my brain is mush. I’m working 12+ hour days right now. It’s unpleasant.

Oof, that does sound exhausting . . .

That's not an interaction I would wish to play out on my own, but I also don't want the game to grind to a halt. I could posit some more interaction with the Chwinga to keep the rest of the crew busy, but as I've mentioned before, there's only so much I can do ramp the tension while they're sequestered away in what should be a safe space.

Do any of the rest of you have any solutions for how to handle this?

I feel like a bit of a broken record, but I'm still on the "run away" vote.  ^^;

For the sake of a middle-ground for what Farwalker wants?  I'd say it'd be easiest to auto-move her out of the water and onto stable ground, and roll a suitable skill check (Persuasion, I suppose?) to see if the Dragon is even concerned with listening to her at all in the first place.  That way Farwalker can decide how to carry on if it seems like the Dragon is going to pay attention to her or if it's just ignoring her entirely for the sake of chewing on the Werebear first.

That sounds like a nice way to do it, actually. It won't impede on any of Farwalker's roleplay. Thanks! I'll post in a bit.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:25, Thu 09 Dec 2021.

Alright, post is up. Sorry for the delay. I essentially did what Mallory suggested, which was roll for Farwalker. And it was a 20, which was pretty damn good!

I'll let Farwalker take it from here.

So, where we at here, folks?

Unsure. I might have the Dragon go with its original plan to expedite things, as I don't want to solve my own problem. Let's go with that, and I'll give Farwalker 24 hours to post. Once that holdup is resolved, we can get the rest of you back to the regular scheduled program.

Sound like a plan? If any of you want to take the reigns of Farwalker I have no reservations against that. Aside from the fact that it's not very standard practice on a play-by-post forum, that is.

I'm just worried about losing momentum.  The majority of the party is stuck sitting on our hands because doing anything other than hiding would either be presumably suicidal or just make matters untenable.  And it's been days since Farwalker even last logged in at this point; being overworked is perfectly understandable, but we do risk stalling out.

Yeah, momentum is definitely a concern. I was wondering whether to just say I'll post later today. But giving Farwalker appropriate warning is necessary if I'm to pull this stunt, as I don't know when she's up to log on, and this encounter will literally be wrapped up with no opportunity for recourse.

We'll wait the extra day. In the meantime, I can split up my planned post and post immediately for the Chwinga.

I mean, when the Dragon started snacking on the Werebear I assumed that was just the narrative's "THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T WALK AROUND AT NIGHT IN ICEWIND DALE" advisory warning in giant neon letters, as opposed to a situation we could even offer recourse to at all.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:04, Mon 13 Dec 2021.

Maybe that is the case, maybe not :)

I think I'll hold my tongue, so as to not poison the well.

Well, I'm back now. Finished all my stuff up. Sorry about that.

Guess I won't get to try and persuade the dragon. Ah well.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:08, Tue 14 Dec 2021.

Unfortunate, but I made the call to move on. That way we can get the others back into action :)

Currently on day three of fever and antibiotics, so I’m sad to say I don’t think I’ll be in any shape to author a full post for a few more days.

Oof, that sucks to hear. I wish you a speedy recovery!

I thought about it some, and I think we'll go with no, Mallory cannot end the spell early. If only because I like your interesting work-around, and to me, it feels more grounded when some things escape convenience :)

If Torgrim is still wiped out from illness right now, it might be prudent for us to just assume he's following close along with the group for the time being.

Farwalker, how you doing?  We're coming up on the weekend, so hopefully work hasn't been kicking you around again this week?

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 218):

Good point re: Torgrim. My thought was to give his player an option to chime in if he felt up to it, but you're right that it might be best to just move things along, in-game.

He can always go back and respond to Rhydd's request when he has the time, even if the timelines don't fully add up.

Should I post, or do you want to get one in first, Mallory?

I'll go ahead and get one more post in first, thanks.

Many apologies, but I won't have the time to post before tomorrow. Sorry for the holdup! I'll see if I can't have something ready earlier into the day.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 222):

What, you're tellin' us that you have a life outside our game?

No worries, amigo. :)

We're probably at that time where posting rates are going to plummet. I myself will be busy traveling Wednesday or Thursday, but I can probably manage to squeeze a post in if necessary. We'll play out our current scene, and then we can jump forward in time as the new year rolls around. Sound like a plan?

Sounds like a reasonable outline.  I'm also going to be getting a vaccination booster on Wednesday, so if the side-effects are anything like the initial shots were, I'll probably be wiped out for a day or two following.

I'm back! Still not done with the antibiotics, but I'm well enough to chime in. Thanks for your patience.

Good to hear!

As I doubt Moyrah is coming back at this point, I’ll also look to recruit before we start the next story beat. I’ll extend invitations (and potentially open up for new RTJs), so if you have anyone you know that might want to join, let me know and I’ll include them in the process.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:52, Tue 21 Dec 2021.

Welcome back! Glad to hear that you survived! :)

Welcome back to the land of the living, Torgrim!

The current scene with the Chwinga is making me long for tea.  -_-  My local tea house didn't survive the Covid shut downs and had to close their doors permanently, which breaks my heart.  They had the best assortment of tea and scones I've found around here.

Not much of a tea drinker myself, but I do drink copious amounts of coffee, as is my Scandinavian duty. The cafeteria on my campus serve some excellent scones though, (our cafeteria is actually fantastic, believe it or not) which have been my downfall many a lunch break . . .

Honestly, I prefer coffee over tea, yet find myself drinking tea more often because it's more easily accessible.  Plus I can get more variety out of the local tea shops than the coffee houses, which all seem to just have one common house blend and the same five drinks on every menu.

Also, I've been stabbed with science today, so now it's the waiting game to see if I get laid out flat with lethargy and muscle aches come tomorrow.

I have been kidnapped and brought to a Christmas party that seems like it will last four days. This is too much people time.

Hopefully I can abscond and post sometime tomorrow.

Thanks for the heads-up, but don't sweat it. The holidays always take a bite out of all my games' postings. :)

I, too, find myself with little opportunity to post, and I have no idea when I will be able to sneak off for some laptop time. The plan is for the current scene to resolve rather slowly, so that no one feels stressed :)

Happy holidays, folks.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all!

Just as an FYI, the holidays are putting a dent in my posting schedule. :)

Happy holidays! ^^

Hope everyone are enjoying their holidays!

Ugh. So much time spent driving when I could do other things. Back to work tomorrow. This time, I’ll actually be able to post. Please poke me if I don’t

Oy vey!! I knew that Rhydd's IC singing would come back to haunt him. :)

See, that's why Mallory did hers in the presence of NPCs.  ;)

Lovely interaction, Mallory and Rhydd! It does warm my heart to check in to some in-character fun happening entirely on its own. Thank you for keeping up the effort in my absence <3

I'll get a post up today. Probably. Sorry for the delay! Things have been quite hectic in my part of the world.

Happy New Years, everyone.  I've already kicked off my personal tradition of having a stiff drink as the first thing, so I hope you all are having a good time as well.  Or at least getting some rest.  ^^

Happy New Year from moi, as well. My celebrations are much more subdued than they used to be. Probably safer, too.

Whatever happened to Dick Clark, any way? :)

Happy new year everyone! Hope everybody's doing alright and staying safe :)

So, how's everyone doing?  Holiday recovery?

I don't mean to press since I know things are busy around this time of year, even after the New Year rolls in, but... well, we're sort of at an impasse waiting on Farwalker.  It's been two weeks since her last IC post despite checking in regularly, so if we're looking at a writer's block sort of thing here, would it be easier to just narratively scoot us along to Bryn Shander as a quick jump start to get things moving again?
This message was last edited by the player at 10:52, Tue 04 Jan 2022.

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 246):

Mallory's suggestion works for me, Bears. A DM's hand-wave move-along also avoids nasty in-transit issues like that big Dragon cruising by again. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 16:40, Tue 04 Jan 2022.

Yeah, it was my intention to start you on Bryn Shander for the next act. We don’t really need to wait on Farwalker; right now it’s assumed she and Torgrim are rejoining somewhere along the shore.

However, we’ll wait until the weekend. I contracted covid while away from Norway before the new year rolled over and I’m still not out of the woods. Wasn’t too bad, probably due to being twice vaccinated, but the stress of how and when I’m going to get home did get to me. I do feel like a leper xd. Wasn’t sure if I wanted to mention it, but why not. Better to let you know what’s going on.

My flight leaves on Thursday, and then, if everything goes according to plan, I’ll be in the clear. I’ll advertise the open spot then. Thank you for your patience!
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:57, Tue 04 Jan 2022.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 248):

Oh dear!! Very sorry to hear your news.

Hope that you feel lots better soon.

And don't worry about the game for a while. I'm sure that you have lots more important stuff on your mind. And as Mallory has observed, the game is in slow-going holiday mode right now any way.

Oh, I’m completely fine now. Had a mild fever for about a day, and then just some lasting nausea. But even though I’ve been isolating alone in my room, it’s been anything but relaxing. The logistics have been a real nightmare. Lots of phone calls, and no one knows a damn thing or is able to help me. Everything is chaos.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 250):

Try this . . .

"I'd damn well better get some answers *right now*, or I'm going to come right over and breathe on you!"

Goodness, that's terrible!  Still, since you're well vaxxed, it shouldn't hit you too terribly hard.  My younger sister and her husband just ended up both catching it together (they love to travel, despite all indicators they shouldn't right now) and they've thankfully been handling it well.  Just rest up as much as you can.

Glad to hear you're doing okay all things considered, Bears. Good thing you got those shots in time. So you're in quarantine/isolation far away in scary foreign lands?

OOC, I must admit it's been good to have an in-game excuse for Torgrim to be away for a bit. We just took over our first house in December, and the transition from basement dweller to home owner has been exciting and hectic. Things are beginning to calm down though, and I'm itching to get back into it.

Narratively, I suppose Torgrim have just been watching Farwalker while she's been rifling through the werebear's belongings, probably talking her ear off with little to no response. Starting up with a time skip to Bryn Shander seems like a good next step.

In reply to Torgrim Squallborn (msg # 253):

A first house! How exciting!! Congratulations! :)

Yeah, I keep meaning to post, then getting distracted by life. Sorry about that. I am ashamed.

First off, congratulations Torgrim! I hope everything went smoothly with your work and stuff like that :)

Second, I’m on my way home as we speak. I’ll be safe and sound home tomorrow. Which I better be, because I’ve followed the rules for mandatory isolation and then some. Hopefully they won’t throw me into another quarantine. That would suck pretty bad.

We’ll start the new chapter on Saturday. If you wish to post, Farwalker, you have until then. I’ll also initiate the process of inaugurating another player, but that’s probably gonna be another week or so.

In reply to Rhydd Maldhon (msg # 254):

Thank you! Living the literal white picket fence life, and I’m ecstatic and terrified.

In reply to Torgrim Squallborn (msg # 257):

You traded in your sports car for a mini-van yet? :)

In reply to Rhydd Maldhon (msg # 258):

My ol' reliable Ford is being traded in for an electric SUV as we speak. Apparently it's more "economic" and "family friendly" or something. No mention of golden retrievers or strollers as of yet.

General wellness check, both literal and figurative.  How's everyone feeling?

Feeling good! Back home and resuming routine :)

A bit sluggish on the draw, but the thread is up now. Sorry about that.

A question; do you want to level up over the next Long Rest?
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 17:36, Mon 10 Jan 2022.

Wonderful, glad to hear you're doing better.  Do keep a careful eye on yourself though in case there are any after effects that stick around and get them checked out if they linger.  I'm sure I don't need to caution you about your own health, but it's too easy to overlook little aches and pains.

As for leveling up, I would assume it would be after a Long Rest.  That's when we did it last time as well.  Are we going straight to bed as soon as we find where the others have settled down for the night?

Yes, it will be after a Long Rest. No, I am not forcing you to go to bed immediately. You can stay up another ten minutes. But then it's straight to bed!

In all seriousness, the reason I'm asking is just because I'm on the fence when it comes to the Level Up. On one hand it feels like a natural point for you to level, but on the other you've barely been Level 4 for a day. Since we're operating on milestones, I suppose the question becomes; do you feel like enough has transpired for your characters to have earned another level? There's no right answer to this, and usually I'm fine being the final arbiter. Which I will be in this case, but I figured I could consult with you as well. Some prefer to remain at the lower levels throughout year-long campaigns, while others are only content if they climb all the way to 20.

After a narrow brush with an Ancient White Dragon, let alone one who's a legendary figure in the setting's lore?  I feel like I've aged twenty years.

Had we just encountered the Werebear and Chwingas alone then, no, I don't think we would reasonably have leveled up from just that.  But the Dragon is definitely a life-changing encounter.  Given that the Dragon's appearance was the result of a random table encounter, I sort of feel like hitting it and surviving qualifies as a "bonus level", so to speak, and counts as a level-worthy moment given the enormity of the experience.

Plus I'm a Wizard and I'll get access to 3rd level spells if we level up now, so I'm all for it.  :3
This message was last edited by the player at 23:20, Mon 10 Jan 2022.

Yeah, I should probably have guessed the answer when I ask players “hey, do you want to level up?” xd

But that’s one for. I’d love to hear some other opinions before I decide, but, as it stands, I’m leaning towards the Level Up. This should maybe be moved to the thread dedicated to discussion of rules. Oh, well. We’ll do that if it gets out of hand.

I would *never* vote against Mallory. :)

Awww~!

I've gone ahead and posted on the Player's Wanted board. I set the deadline for submissions to January 14th, so I'll spend the weekend looking through them. Never mind the (DM slanted) summary I posted in the thread on Setting Information. I usually provide a summary to newer players, but figured I could get it up in advance :)

I'd ask you for your preferences regarding Race and Class, though I do heavily suspect any potential player will be reading this thread. So if you have any propositions, chances are I'll get quite a few submissions of those. I myself am quite indifferent to what the party requires, as it certainly feels like the four of you already neatly fill all the needs a D&D party has.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:59, Tue 11 Jan 2022.

I've personally no real preferences to speak of when it comes to a new addition to the roster.  We have the fundamentals of our party composition covered amid the four of us, so the new player really has the pick of the litter in reinforcing a given facet of the party.  Doubly so since there's so many variations and combinations of melee/magic in subclasses now that just about anything is a viable option.  These days, even Barbarians and Fighters have full spellcasting options and Wizards can roll up into melee.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:10, Wed 12 Jan 2022.

Once, for a convention, I rolled up a Half-Orc Sorcerer who was very melee focused, kitted out with utility spells. While the DM complimented me on my unusual Race/Class combination, they absolutely did not like the melee part, and at the end of the session they gave me a Wand of Magic Missile with ten charges. Granted, this was Pathfinder, and I was just familiarizing myself with tabletop RPGs as a whole, so he might have had a point . . .

Still, with Wizards having access to the War and Bladesinging subclasses, I can imagine it working out perfectly fine.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 268):

I tend to think that a martial-oriented sort would be the most helpful. Rhydd is a Fighter, true, but he is a an archer by preference and training. Likewise, both Farwalker and Torgrim can give a good account of themselves in melee, but that is not really their bread and butter. I think that Mallory may hide a butter knife in her bodice. :)

As for a racial preference, I tend to leave that sort of thing up to the player unless the campaign setting imposes parameters (some campaigns, by way of example, tend to be Human-centric, Elf-centric, Dwarf-centric, etc.).

It's a dagger at the small of her back, but close enough.  ;)

In an other game, our Sorcerer is a tank.  Not really by being the best at it, but simply because his character is of such a personality that he runs headlong into danger to try and protect others.  He's quite good at it though and his spells/magic items certainly lend themselves well to the task, so he ends up being very helpful wading into melee alongside the heavy-armor folk.

All the same, Rhydd does offer a solid point.  A more squarely martial-focused character, as opposed to a melee/caster hybrid or a caster who can scrap, is a rather good idea.

As Mallory's Insight Check was specifically stated to be on her mood, I'll leave the glance at Torgrim up to his own Insight Check. Want to roll me an Insight, Torgrim?

Mallory, roll Deception for me. While she's not outright lying, she's certainly speaking in half-truths. The guard will contest it with an Insight Check of her own. Actually, I'm going to have both guards contest.

13:00, Today: DM Bears rolled 21 using 2d20, unique dice with rolls of 8,13.  Guards' Insight Check on Mallory's information. Woman first.

That'd be an 11 plus 3 for a total of 14.

We have our new player! We are, however, in the process of figuring out which character they will be playing, as they've pitched me several concepts. As such, we're weighing in for your input. The commonality between them is that they're all frontline fodder to various extents. Well, maybe not fodder. That part will be determined through play :)

Perhaps I'll leave it to them to pitch their characters. Take it away, Frontline Fodder.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:53, Sat 15 Jan 2022.

Greetings everyone!

I am the new player recruited by the DM. I initially pitched six character ideas, that the DM and I whittled down to three. Bears then suggested we get your input for the final selection, as you will be the ones hiding behind me. ;)

So, the three characters to choose between are:

-A Female Katashakan Human Oath of Devotion Paladin, Squire of the Radiant Heart Auxiliary (Knight of the Order): A super sweetheart that is just one of those genuinely good people. Comes from SUPER wealth, but gave it up to serve the innocent and helpless. Sword-and-board type.

-A Male Vaasan Human Path of the Zealot Barbarian, Inquisitor of the Church of Lathander: An orphan due to grim circumstances that decided to join the Order of the Aster of the church that raised him. Very empathetic despite all the badness of his youth. SCREAMING HOLY FURY type.

-A Male Illuskan Human Gloom Stalker Conclave Ranger, Urban Bounty Hunter: A man who has created a persona of being a big, tough, ice-cold bounty hunter, but in reality he is a big softy momma's-boy. Sends most of his coin back home to take care of her. Despite that, REALLY good at his job. The ever fun Strength-Ranger type.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:35, Sat 15 Jan 2022.

Hello hello!  Welcome aboard and I hope we all have fun together.  ^^

Of your listed options, I'm personally of a lean to the Paladin myself simply because Paladins are amazing.  Given the personality stated, she would make a fun character to bounce against Mallory; they're both good people at heart who come from money and have lost it, but Mallory really wants to get hers back.  ^^;

Similarly, the Gloom Stalker lands very close to Rhydd in terms of both persona and role.  They make an interesting contrast in that Rhydd is more akin to the wilds whereas the Gloom Stalker is focused on civilization.  There's a lot of overlap between the two at a glance, though whether that's a good or bad thing is debatable.

Barbarian sounds intense.  Very intense.  Mallory would probably be frightened of him for some time, but that's not out of the ordinary for her.  In terms of face-tanking threats, you can't get any better than a Barbarian so there's certainly class value to be had there.

Hello there!

I like all of these options, so now I'm just sad that we won't get to meet all three. Something about the barbarian seems hilarious to me, but that just might be Mallory having to babysit a bigger and bigger herd of anti social misfits.

In terms of the RP, the Gloom Stalker seems perfect for a smooth entry into the narrative, since we are trying to track down Sephek Kaltro. Not that it should dictate the choice as I'm sure they all will fit just fine.

I am intrigued by the paladin in terms of character dynamic. I could see her being a good influence on Torgrim's outlook on life if given enough time, and there are always some good conversations/sermons in a rogue/paladin pairing.

Hello, FF, and welcome! I look forward to writing and gaming with you.

Regarding your potential PCs, I agree with Torgrim that all three sound great -- well thought-out and a good fit for the campaign. I would list them thusly in order of my personal preferences:

1. The paladin.
2. The barbarian.
3. The ranger.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:05, Sat 15 Jan 2022.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

So at the moment, it looks like people's votes have gone thusly:

DM Bears           - Paladin
Farwalker          - Not yet voted
Frontline Fodder   - Undecided (likes them all)
Mallory Bonheur    - Paladin
Rhydd Maldhon      - Paladin
Torgrim Squallborn - Undecided (likes them all)

It looks like the Paladin is going to win the day.

https://youtu.be/Ch5vWBPCrl0?t=152

I've gone through some changes.

Okay, so I have this kind of personal ritual where I translate my new D&D characters into Magic the Gathering cards, because I am a crazy person.

However, I...kind of went overboard on this one. Let me know if I got the general ballpark of your characters right! ^_^;;

In reply to Khulekani Kumalo (msg # 284):

Interesting, but I haven't the foggiest idea about your rendition of Rhydd (other than the Portrait being pretty much spot-on). I've never played MtG, and know nothing about it. :)

Lovely character write-up, Khulekani.  And a treat with the cards!  As someone who does play Magic, I certainly appreciate it.  :3

To help those who don't play understand a bit better: the basic concept of the game is that each of the players represent a "Planeswalker"; essentially a powerful mage who summons a small army of minions and magic to wage a skirmish against the other.  The various abilities listed on each card represent the different capabilities of a given summoned creature.  Thus the game has a complex strategy element in allowing the player to construct a deck of complimentary cards for involved combinations of effects.  The goal of the game is for one Planeswalker to deplete their opponent's Life Points by attacking them with their minions, spells, and effects.  Each turn, creatures are set to attack the opponent (tapping them) and the opponent moves their own creatures or effects to block the attack.  From there it's a matter of strategic assaults and counters until one player comes out victorious.

Rhydd's card: the Green deck is associated with forests, wilderness, beasts, and overwhelming physical power.  The ability "Reach" allows Rhydd to counter creatures with the "Flying" ability, which can normally only be blocked by other creatures who also have "Flying".  Basically he's a surface-to-air shooter and a better defender than other creatures; if a flying creature tries to fly overhead the skirmish and attack the Planeswalker opponent directly, Rhydd can intercept them and shoot them out of the sky.

The second trait, "Tap to deal 3 Damage to any target" means that by tapping the card (activating it and putting it into a temporarily disabled state representing the creature's spent effort), Rhydd can instantly deal a given amount of damage to any target on the field.  This includes the opponent Planeswalker, meaning Rhydd can snipe prime targets around the field and can directly attack the opponent player "at long range", so to speak.  Normally a creature has to directly engage another and risk death to attack, but this tap ability lets Rhydd strike at no risk to himself.  So long as Rhydd remained well-protected from efforts to remove his card from play, he could potentially win the game himself by plinking away Life Points each turn.  Overall, a very good card!

-edit-

Well, now you've got me doing it.


This message was last edited by the player at 22:27, Sun 16 Jan 2022.

What I know about MtG could be written on the back of a playing card, but this is awesome. Love the quotes.

In the case of Torgrim's card; Creature cards have Power and Toughness, which is represented by the two numbers at the bottom right.  The left value is a card's Power - how much damage it deals, and the right value is its Toughness - how much damage it can take.  If your card's Power is greater than the target's Toughness, it kills the target.  If your card's Power is lesser than, the target card survives the attack and blocks the damage from getting through.  "Deathtouch", however, means that Torgrim will always kill a target creature no matter how much or little damage he deals to it.  If he hits it, it will die at the end of the turn, no matter how powerful it might be otherwise.

The second ability involves Counters, which are a variety of tokens that players can put onto a given card to make it stronger.  They have different effects and traits depending on what kind of Counter they are, though the most common is a +1/+1 Counter, which increases a card's Power/Toughness by 1.  Torgrim's card here means that whenever an opponent tries to make their monsters stronger, he gets an equal power-up to match it.  Given that a lot of Counter-based strategies involve spreading Counters across multiple creatures, it means Torgrim could potentially get huge boosts in power all at once.  This card effectively remains a perpetual threat to any and all enemies on the field.

Haha, this is really cool! Your enthusiasm is certainly infectious :)

While I do like looking at the pretty illustrations, I have zero clue about any of the rules of MtG. Can I now go around and say that one of my pieces was used for a Magic card? :^)

I have a question; would these cards be considered balanced? How much does Magic care about balance? Or does it all depend on the rarity of the card like in Hearthstone?

---

As for the game, I'm not sure how long I'm going to give Farwalker before moving on. Another day? I don't want to stall the game too much. We'll also have to figure out an entrance for Khulekani, but I can handle that in PMs with the player.

Magic the Gathering isn't really balanced, no.  ^^;  An individual expansion may be balanced with itself or neighboring expansions, but the game has been running for so long and has so many unique rule iterations that it's pretty much impossible to balance it.  There's even entire generations of cards that are banned from use in tournament play, or specific older cards that are vague in their phrasing - having been written in a time before the keywords were well-codified - to the point of being easily abused.

As for these cards themselves, being individually balanced as reasonable by their cost vs. power?  More or less.  It actually wouldn't be amiss for there to be several versions of a single Adventurer, each progressively powerful and with different abilities to represent how the D&D versions level up over time.

---

As for Farwalker, maybe at least until the end of the day?  I was planning on having Mallory speak up to the guard on her behalf if we got to Monday with no post from her.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:43, Mon 17 Jan 2022.

Sure, sounds good to me. Should give her some time to check in and sneak in a post if she has the opportunity.

Thank you for the kind words on my little new-game ritual. I've been doing it for years, but this one kind of snowballed on my since I had access to so much of your previous adventures. I TRIED to make them balanced for their mana costs, but there are definitely two of them that I would give side-eye to at a table. Rhydd and Torgrim especially.

The Phantom Rogue ability was the most difficult to translate to the table. But I figured those counters would represent abilities from other lives. At least that is how I would justify it in-game.

@Mallory: Thanks for explaining everything to everyone while I was away! Your explanations were thorough, and you got what I was going for. And damn! Astre would be one frustrating kitty to deal with in a game!

To be perfectly fair, Astre is surely frustrating to deal with in this game too.  ^^;

I love Blue decks even though I rarely get a chance to play them (I usually favor White, or a Green/Black mix), and I love backfire mechanics that make them risky to use, so it seemed like a fun angle to work at.  Having the ability to preview a portion of anyone's library, your own included, and futz with things to your advantage is great.  But it gives the added dimension of having to actually remember what you did and plan several steps ahead during game play.  And with the card's ability to respawn if Mallory is on the field, regardless of who controls either card, means there's a chance an opponent could play Astre against someone using Mallory, or both players could get the cat out and spend their time counter-sabotaging each other.  Messy, chaotic fun.  ^^

Well, time for Mallory to go paint a target on her own back.  ^^;

DM - Do you have a quick headcount of how many urchins and shop stalls the group would have passed by on their way to Kelvin's Comfort?  Also, you mentioned some vendors are selling woolen goods; do they have listed prices as well, or is it just using the 5 SP "Blanket" from the PHB as standard?

I think I need to keep in mind that Bryn Shander is not a big town in the grand scale of things. I'm tempted to say one or two of each of the vendors, just to keep things grounded. Plus, it makes things simpler for me :^)

So;

x1 vendor selling beaded necklaces and other non-precious jewellery from a stall.
x1 vendor selling wooden figurine from a stall.
x1 vendor selling scrimshaw tools from a tent.
x2 vendors selling wool clothing from wagons.

8-10 homeless scattered about.

5 sp per item sounds reasonable to me. Maybe we'll adjust the value up or down depending on what piece of clothing she's buying. A winter coat, albeit of poorer make, should be more expensive than a pair of mittens. If she's specifically looking for a Blanket they're sure to have plenty of those. There would be listings for certain items, while there wouldn't be for others. In either case we're handling it ad-hoc, with me telling you the price of the wares you're interesting in as opposed to me listing the price for everything from the get go.

Certainly fair enough.  There's also surely the matter of most vendors not being in such straits as to require they try and sell even in such terrible weather/time of the evening.  I know it's not fully night time yet, but still.

So, with charity and reputation on Mallory's mind, she plans to buy blankets from vendors and food from Kelvin's Comfort to hand out.  At first brush, that looks to be around 8 GP as a subtotal.

10 Homeless + 5 Vendors
1 mince pie each: 3 GP
1 blanket per Homeless: 5 GP

I live! This last month has been fucking weird.

I’m gunna read through everything and then pass out.

I was starting to worry!  As a quick catch up: we have a new player!  As for events, we basically just went straight to Bryn Shander and have narrated that Farwalker's been pretty much silent the whole time after her brush with the Dragon, so make of that what you will.  Mallory and Rhydd made friends with some Chwinga, we've just arrived in town, and have found Dannika and Moyrah waiting for us.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:48, Thu 20 Jan 2022.

I imagine many of the homeless would have frozen to death as well, as gruesome as that sounds. What I suppose I want to illustrate is that there are those without much choice, as is often the case in certain places in the real world. I imagine the same could be said for most medieval-adjacent fictitious town. So much for the wholesome nature of The Forgotten Realms?

Mallory's plan is going to take some time to execute, as the food needs to be prepared and she'll need to spend some time away from the tavern when buying/handing out all the stuff. How do we want to handle that? Do we time skip so that everyone is gathered again and able to engage in conversation? Perhaps a brief few exchanges are warranted first, and then I can describe said time skip.

Alternatively, Mallory (and anyone who would wish to join her) could explore this little charity-adventure separately and get to talk with some of the less fortunate locals in the process. I'll leave that decision to you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:07, Thu 20 Jan 2022.

Figured as much, and that's also why I wanted to mention it here in the OOC first in case anyone else wanted to join in or had any suggestions to offer.

Mallory's first priority would be buying blankets and handing out some coin before they even got to Kelvin's Comfort (needs a little retconning because of the narrative relocation, but that's easily handwaved).  Once at Kelvin's Comfort, she'll put in the order for food (and preferably a crate to carry them in) and use the time it takes for everything to be prepared for a little rest and conversation before taking things back out to distribute.  No time skip forward necessary in that case. It's possible she might end up over-purchasing if some of the vagrants and/or merchants move on in that meantime, but better to buy more than needed than less.


True enough.  Odds are it's part of the guards' daily duties to make a patrol around town to recover bodies of urchins who died in alleys and such in the middle of the night.  Grim, but entirely plausible given the situation.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:33, Thu 20 Jan 2022.

It doesn't even have to necessarily be retconned; you can comment on it prior to being prompted by Dannika, and then I can respond. There's been no mention that you all headed straight to Kelvin's Comfort, just that at you at some point arrived. We've gamed strict chronological order before and we can do it again :)

Oh, and there's one more thing that I forgot to mention in my write-up. Torgrim talked about checking out the town board for wanted posters, and Bryn Shander has one by the Town Hall. It would also have listings for employment or 'help wanted' ads. I'll lay out a proper array if Torgrim (or anyone, really) decides to stop by.

Bears,

I'm (OOC) a little fuzzy about what time of day or night it presently is, in-game. Given the topsy-turvy weather, I'm not sure how much difference it makes, but I am nonetheless curious.

Can you enlighten me? Thanks!

Well, it was about 16:00 when you encountered the Werebear. If we add an hour for the whole Dragon and Chwinga thing, and another hour for you to hike back to Bryn Shander, it would put us at around 18:00. And then let's add half an hour since you took some time to interact with the guards and arrive at Kelvin's Comfort. That gets us to 18:30 (or 6:30 PM for you Americans :) ).

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 303):

Excellent! Thanks. :)

I'd also like to give Torgrim and Farwalker a chance to respond to things before Mallory posts IC again as well.

And speaking of Town Hall, what state is it in?  Narration mentioned it was vacant at the moment; does that mean it's locked up and closed down for the day because everyone who works there has gone home?  Or that it's been abandoned and is in disuse?

Lights out; vacant for the day. But otherwise it looks fine. It's not another Targos situation where it looked like the Town Hall had been left unused for quite some time.

Quick loot question: Astre retrieved the Werebear's satchel and its contents, but the loot table lists it as Farwalker having it.  Which is the case?  It's not as if Astre would (or even could) argue if she wanted to take the bag from him while they were hanging out together on the way back.  I just want to clarify for the sake of whether or not Mallory has it available to her for later magical examination.

You are correct; Astre beat Farwalker to the punch. I'll update it to say Mallory, as I doubt Astre wants to carry the pouch around in his mouth all day.

I don't particularly want to bog down the pace further by expanding on this interaction, so I think it's best if we treat this as a cut to another scene. But to summarize, Mallory won't have any trouble purchasing at the price listed in the PHB, and if she wishes to bargain I'll have you roll a Persuasion Check for her.

I'll start a new thread for Farwalker soon.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:02, Sat 22 Jan 2022.

No haggling checks on these purchases so long as she's not being overtly ripped off; if the merchants are out there selling in such awful weather, they need the money.

But, in that case, I'm just going to go ahead and edit my previous post to jump straight past the purchase and approaching the vagrants instead.

I can write up something minor to address it, but as I said, I don't want to get stuck in another back-and-forth that could take days of real time to complete. Not when we have a player waiting on the sideline for their opportunity to jump in.

And no, the merchants aren't going to rip Mallory off :)

No worries for that; just a quick interaction with the vagrants themselves would work.  Or it can just be addressed as a narrative moment rather than a full conversation to cover some broad topics.

Mallory would give each vagrant a blanket, 2 GP, and ask about the conditions of the town.  Matters such as why they don't have anywhere they can go (public housing, a church, if they simply can't afford a stay at the inn vs. being specifically unwelcome, that sort of thing).  Basically the state of Bryn Shander as of late and how it treats its citizens.  Also, whether or not they're from out of town or if they're locals who've fallen on hard times.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:02, Sat 22 Jan 2022.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 311):

I am headed towards the temple 'district.'

Where the only actual temple is set up for the three most boring gods. :p

I'll get out a post after work today or early monday. (GMT+1)

Will work in an IC post for Rhydd some time today (11/23/22).

A bit of foreshadowing here, methinks. :)

Mayhap... ;)

Hm... Mallory's going to have to follow up on that execution order, I think.  It's not that she's going to try and stop every execution she comes across (at least some of them have to be justified, right?), but rather that if the guy is actually a Wizard, he might have some stuff she can scavenge.  ^^;

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 318):

Are Red Wizards customarily sentenced to death for their activities? The Notice speaks in terms of a "just sentence".

Yeah, Red Wizards are pretty much persona non grata outside of their homeland of Thay.  Even in their own homeland, they're usually punished with death for crimes and failures as well.

As a faction, they're overtly reviled by the rest of Faerun since their entire nation is founded on slavery, demon summoning, making Undead, hoarding magical power for their own military use, aggressive attempts to expand and dominate their surrounding region, and generally just being enormous jerks.  They're Capital B, Capital G Bad Guys.  Even other evil factions don't like them.  Even common citizens who don't know jack about magic would reasonably recognize mention of Red Wizards as being members of an aggressive and outright malicious nation of mages on the eastern side of the continent.  It's an assumption on my part, but I can't imagine if a Red Wizard got arrested that they'd let him off with anything other than death, even if this guy might be an exiled Wizard and not necessarily as big a baddie as his people's reputation usually covers.

...come to think of it, I might need to reconsider Mallory's coat. >_>
This message was last edited by the player at 21:51, Sun 23 Jan 2022.

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 320):

Don’t worry, her fashion choices aren’t nearly as bad as Red Wizards. That level of bad takes effort.

True, but trigger happy locals in a frontier town may not bother asking questions.  ^^;

I found the Red Wizard to be less than hospitable.

Ha!! "He was not a proper host! Hang him!!!"

You paladins are tough! :)

He tried to zap me after I approached him openly under a banner of peace (or in this case, a pair of her braies tied to a stick).

Rude.

To be fair, any Wizard who'd try and 1v1 a Paladin wasn't long for this world anyway.

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 326):

Unless they’re a goblin wizard! They’re the best wizards.

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 320):

Thanks for that information, Mallory. I was heavily into the canon and lore of Faerun years ago (in RL time), but I have not really kept up with it (and hence have forgotten a great deal of it) as of late.

In reply to Farwalker (msg # 327):

Unless they're too busy screaming "Booyagh! Booyagh!" and setting themselves on fire, as seems to be the case with Goblins quite often.  Goblin spellcasters tend to be the sort who don't check the size of the room before they cast Fireball.  ^^

In reply to Rhydd Maldhon (msg # 328):

One of the first long-running games of D&D I ever played had the Red Wizards of Thay as the Big Baddies for the campaign, so they hold a special place in my heart and memory.  ^^
This message was last edited by the player at 03:01, Mon 24 Jan 2022.

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 329):

My goblin wizard would have never done that! This may be due to a lack of knowing fireball, however. Funnily enough, they were also a divination wizard.

Wizard Card revoked!  Even Mallory, the pacifist mage, knows Fireball.

In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 331):

But there’s so many other, better spells to learn!

Also, wait, we’re level 5?
This message was last edited by the player at 05:05, Mon 24 Jan 2022.

Pending our next Long Rest, I believe.

I intended to play it a little on the safe side with my spell selection for 3rd level.  "Fireball" and "Tiny Hut" seem a good pair, given our current setting.

Fireball seems so satisfying. Wizard is one of the few classes I've yet to play, but it seems like so much fun.

DM, I rolled two die for a perception roll if it's needed. 14 if normal and 4 if it's at disadvantage.

In 5e so far, I've played Rogues and Druids most frequently since they're overall perfectly reliable for any party.  Bard is a lot of fun, and Warlock is too if you can get a good rapport going with your DM where your Patron is involved.  I believe the only classes I haven't gotten to try out are Sorcerer and Barbarian.  I've never quite seen a point to playing a Sorcerer over a Wizard or Bard, and there's just so much to keep track of with a Barbarian's combat rolls that it's always been overwhelming to me.  ^^;

Wizards are a lot of fun though.  We get to do all the really weird and crazy stuff! :3  You should give it a try when you get the opportunity to; it has a very different feel to it compared to other classes.  Especially once you embrace the idea that you're made of tissue paper as being something that's fun to play around rather than being a weakness.  It's actually rather easy to get lost in all the options, so it's a good idea to pick a narrow focus to aim at.  Makes a lot of sense why Wizards were forced to be very niche and exclusionary with their arcane schools in previous editions.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:41, Mon 24 Jan 2022.

Yup. I was a bit on the fence regarding this, but Mallory convinced me that you've done your part to earn it :^)

A couple of years ago I vowed to play all the classes in alphabetical order barring any conflicts with party composition. I have plenty of concepts for most of them, so it was a rigorous way of relieving myself of having to choose (can you relate, Khulekani? ;) ). I'm currently only on Druid, which I find to be the class that meshes the least with me. Something about the fantasy of turning into animals was just never my jam. Warlocks, however, are all that and a bag of potato chips.

I have a great deal of admiration for those who are able to play Bards well. They're a difficult class to get right in roleplay, and often require a lot of effort on the part of the player. A friend of mine was playing one in a game I started as the pandemic broke loose and lasted for about a year, and he's knocking it out of the park. Born to be a Bard. He just has that Bard aura going for him, never afraid to drop bars on the spot.

I do look forward to eventually getting to play a Wizard again, but at the rate I'm going I'll be an old man before that ever happens. I suppose I'll round up all my buddies in the retirement home when we get to play day in, day out.


I'll treat it as a normal roll. While the figure is covered in shadow, there are plenty of street lanterns in the area, so the all-encompassing Dim Light rule I enforced out in the wilderness no longer applies. The figure is not making an active effort to remain hidden, either. Quite on the contrary; it appears they want to be seen.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:40, Mon 24 Jan 2022.