In response to the talk about Sier, the armoured woman responds: "I owe him a favor. He said he'd get back to me about it today." For some reason, she is frowning, and she shoots a sideways look at the one who presented herself as Delilah. She grunts and steps forward. "Call me Ri." She begins to answer Delilah's question but then freezes as the dark-haired girl begins to speak. As she takes a step back, her hand reaches for her glaive. At the same time, Tess begins to speak, though to nobody in particular, or perhaps to everyone at once. ”Something is very strange about this place - the girl, who looks like the one from the painting, is trying to close the door. What is going on?" As if in response to that, Randal takes half a step away from the door and glances at the painting where the family sat before. It seems that Tess' words are true, as the painting is different now. The same house, the same parents, but nobody is sitting on the mother's lap. Both parents have sad expressions on their faces. "Oh by the way, Nice to meet you Lyla, I am Tess. I don’t know anything more about this than anyone else... but maybe she can help…” Tess continues talking.
Then, three of those in the room begin to talk simultaneously. The armoured woman - Ri, it seems - stares down at the girl. "Not ready for this world? What do you mean by that?" Randal begins to bombard the young girl with questions. “What trickery is this? What do you mean we are not ready for this world? Where are we? What world is this and who are you? How did you come to be here?” Tess, likewise, wants to get answers right away. “What is this place? Where is Sier? Who are you and how do we get out of the tree? What do you know about these paintings? Please, just tell us what is going on.”
But, more than anything, the young girl looks overwhelmed and intimidated by all of these adults that now surround her. She closes her eyes and shakes her head, then shouts to overcome the others' voices. "Just stay here, please! Do not go out! It will be over soon!" She opens her eyes and musters courage, glaring at you all with wet eyes.
Delilah:
Delilah feels the girl once more tries to close the door. If she decides to keep holding on to the door, trying to keep it open, make a Strength check. Delilah also notices something strange. Though she can feel the door is being closed, the girl doesn't seem to be moving anything. Her hand was on the door, that is true, but the muscles in the hand don't even appear to be contracting at all.
This guy - Randal, yeah? - is asking a lot of questions. And then Tess just joins in, and, well, Ri can understand this young girl's overwhelmed state. So she clicks her jaw shut and tries to lessen her glare a bit.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she steps back again. Her eyes sweep across the other paintings, seeing if anything else has changed. It looks like the first two have after all - and if she's honest, she's not quite sure she wants to stick around and see if the other two will move, too. She takes a few steps more into the center of the room, keeping an equal distance away from all the paintings now.
"I say we give her a minute and wait," Ri says. She gives a little shrug if anyone looks at her. "She's obviously really panicked 'bout it."
Randal stares at the armored woman for a second. She is right of course, they are all doing a fair job of bombarding the young girl with questions. Understandable, he thinks, given the situation, but still not very helpful to getting answers.
He moves a step closer to the girl with one hand out in a gesture that seems to say wait. “I am sorry”he says in a quiet and hopefully calming tone “We don’t mean to frighten you, but this is a bit much for all of us. Can you tell us what will be over soon?”
Tess says “I am so sorry, we were just frightened . We can wait, Maybe I can help if you need me?”. She seems concerned, and also is looking at the pictures to see what else changed..
Delilah, same as the others, hesitate by the door. "Explain yourself. You have a minute to convince me, or I will leave." She replies sharply, though not unkindly, to the girl. Then, as she puts her tools back into her bag, she shoves her leg in the small gap of the open door, making sure it doesn't close. For those who looked at the other pictures, none of them seems to have changed. In addition, the picture in front of you is the only one that seems vivid. The others look like any other perfectly made painting.
The girl is still on edge, but after a moment, she's at least not overwhelmed by questions anymore. "I was told not to let anyone go out before they're ready. The others wouldn't come inside here, so you can't interrupt them. It doesn't mean you're stuck here, though. You just weren't supposed to come here. Not yet. Soon, it'll be over, and you'll probably forget all about this."
Tension leaving her shoulders a bit at no further changes to the paintings, Ri lets out a hum. Then she turns and focuses on the only one who seems to have actual answers: the girl in the painting. "Wait, hang on. We weren't supposed to come here? Like, to Rivulestice?" she asks, head tilting to the side as she frowns at the girl. "I mean, they didn't seem that upset by travelers yesterday."
She looks around at the others with a wave of her hand to gesture at them. "None of you got a hostile feeling from the townsfolk, did you? The one I spoke with just seemed a little confused as to why I was here."
Tess says” no, I only met two on my way into town- both were nice, one was very nice. They were curious why I would come here, but nice enough. They brought me here to meet Sier”. A look of concern passes over her face, then she shakes it off… “I’m quite certain they meant well when they brought me..”
Delilah turns to everyone but the girl. "If anyone here is a little stronger than me and wants to keep the option of freedom open, a little help holding the door would be great." Then, without actually waiting for an answer, hoping some else will just come and switch places with her, she turns back to the painted girl. "We're not stuck here? Right, we might just leave then. You're not doing a very good job convincing me, at least, so far." To that, the dark-haired girl responds: "No! Stop! What I meant is that you won't remain here forever. Just for a while more. Please, walk away from the door. If you try to pass through, I'll... I'll have to use force to stop you!" She calls at you. She seems scared, but also deadly serious, and even a little intimidating. Is this really a little girl? Sure, it is a painting of one, but the expression on her face does not seem like something you'd expect to see on a little girl. Though none of you is really sure what a painting of a little girl can possibly do to you, you can be sure she'll try.
Delilah:
The girl tries to close the door - once again, no visual signs of strength being applied. The door applies some pressure on Delilah's leg, but she keeps it in place and eventually the pressure is gone. The door didn't move at all, though. Maybe just because she stopped it.
Ri:
Rithi had seen this kind of look before. Something she might have seen when an enemy's commander was in sight, or perhaps when her own battle prowess took multiple lives. The look of a soldier who is determined to kill someone, even if that will cost them their life. When one knows the goal is more important than they are. This is the look she sees on the painted girl now.
Tess:
It takes a moment, but Tess recognizes the look the painted girl is giving everyone. It is one she saw a few times in the past, but she'll never forget them. It's the same stare some of the most fanatical members of the Sword would give their victims before executing their punishment. It's a look of determination to the cause. One that shows that a person cares about their task more about themselves. For these people, it doesn't matter how awful their deeds are, so long as these followers of Aleshi are expunged from the world. If the girl truly has some way to use force, she definitely will.
"Oh, it sounds like you got a warmer welcome than I did," Lyla mentions. "I didn't think the townsfolk were too happy to see me, although maybe that was because I was disturbing them quite late."
Lyla starts taking a step out, other foot still in the doorway. She tries to put more pressure on the girl - painting - whatever the entity is. "Why? Why do we have to wait? Is there something we are not supposed to see? Will it harm us? How do we know we can trust you?"
Well, Ri might be a little stronger, but she's in no clear hurry to get closer to that door. "Sweet goddess, alright, that kind of threat's unnecessary," Ri says to the girl. She holds her hands out to the girl in the painting, showing she at least means no harm. Her face is pretty expressionless, any confusion slipping away and getting locked up tight.
She waves a hand at Lyla, as if gesturing her away from the door without trying to seem urgent. "Hey, uh, maybe we oughta listen to her?" she says. "Not sure what kind of force a painting could have, but if she's fighting you this much with the door? Not sure I wanna find out. So we oughta just sit tight for a few minutes till she says we're good to go. Take a breather, get our heads together. Alright?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Randal walks back across the room, checking the door leading back to the hallway where he slept, just to see if it was still unlocked. He looks closely at the adult figures in the painting the child left behind to see if he sees any change in their features or expression.
Perception 4
He tries to change the subject with the girl “These people” he motions to the picture “Are they your parents? What happened to them?”
He turns back to the group, answering Ri and Tess “I ran into a few others on the way into town, but nothing interesting happened, certainly nothing that would suggest this..”he gestures to the tree.
Turning back to the girl, he asks the question that has been nagging in the back of his mind “Say we do what you ask, and wait. When we can leave, where would that door lead? Back to Rivulestice? Or somewhere else?”
"I'm not here to protect you from what's outside," the girl answers Lyla, "I'm here to protect the outside from you!" She cries out. Meanwhile, Randal looks at the painting with the two Humans. They remain still as a painting - at least how every normal painting is - and they still look sad. However, once Randal asks about them, the girl goes silent. She looks down, and her hair falls forward, covering her eyes. "They were my parents." Everyone - everyone but Randal - notices that her voice is different now. It sounds restrained but wrathful. As if she's truly about to burst at them. Randal, however, doesn't pick that up and asks a follow-up question. Fortunately, the girl doesn't do anything at the moment. "They died." That is all she answers. Now, looking back at the painting where the parents sat, Randal notices something new - and so will anybody else who looks that way. The two spots where the parents' figures sat are now charred. Two large spots, completely black, now replace them. No trace of the parents anywhere. It seems like someone burnt the painting, but none of you noticed any fire, nor even smell any smoke. As if the painting was burnt all along, despite everyone knowing that's not the case. Now, Randal notices the change in the girl as well, as everyone tries to change the subject, back to what they were speaking about before. The girl doesn't answer Randal's new questions though.
Delilah:
Lyla feels intense pain in her leg now, as the door nearly crushes her leg. The girl is clearly much more forceful than before. Lyla could keep her leg in the gap and try to keep the door open, or she could take her leg out in response to the pain. If she keeps her leg there, make another strength check.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Lyla does not like what is happening. Something about the situation scares her - maybe the sudden shift in tone from the painting. She is curious about what it all means, but more than that, she really doesn't want to be trapped in the room.
The girl not addressing Tess and Randal's concerns makes up her mind.
She grits her teeth and puts her full body weight into trying to keep the door open/push it open more.
Strength check: 16
"Will you let us go if we promise not to hurt the outside?"
For DM:
If Lyla cannot keep the door open and it is closing on her, she moves out if she can, rather than in.
Tess says, “I am sorry, I believe I understand your fear, but I won’t hurt anything out there. I do not want to be trapped in here either”. She helps hold the door open. (Giving advantage to someone’s rolls)
"No." The girl answers Lyla. "I was told not to let anyone through if they're not ready." One thing to note is that, throughout this entire exchange, except for the very first moment, the door didn't move even a bit. Nevertheless, Tess decides to approach the door. Because it didn't seem like anyone is trying to close the door, Tess doesn't expect what she feels once she puts her hand on the door. A tremendous force trying to push the door close, which Tess was not prepared to resist. That same force is now threatening to crush Delilah's leg. In the split of a second Lyla has to consider options, she decides having her leg crushed isn't a good idea. However, rather than pull it inside, Delilah tries to pass her entire body to the outside. "No!" The dark-haired girl desperately cries in response. Suddenly, all that force that was applied to the door disappears. The combined strength of Tess and Delilah trying to keep the door open suddenly flings the door open until it hits the wall. You can all see the outside now. Nothing seems extraordinary about it. The same street through which you all passed the other day, bathed in the desert's morning sun. Lyla almost falls forward, now that all the force that tried to close the door on her disappears, and she almost leaves the inn. Just before she does, though, the painted girl extends her hand forward, her pal facing the room. For a brief moment, the light that has been dancing on the forest's ground in the painting is reflected from her palm into the inn. The light now dances on the inn's walls, creating beautiful patterns like nothing most of you have ever seen. These are beautiful, charming patterns. Hypnotic, one would say.
Everyone - please make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. Those who pass can respond to the above. Those who fail are now charmed. While charmed they are incapacitated and have a speed of 0. Delilah can make this save with an advantage. Also, some of you have seen this before, but I'll copy and paste it for those who haven't: *A word on how I manage initiative: Every fight will have a different method used to match the needs of the encounter. For example, when fighting a single enemy, we'll be using the RAW initiative. When fighting multiple enemies, or groups of them, we might use group initiative. There are other options, but this should help clarify. If someone attacks/casts a spell/does anything to start combat before the initiative was rolled, they automatically act first during all rounds. I find that this makes more sense than having the person who should have started the fight be taken out before they can actually do what should have started it just because they rolled low on the initiative. If the enemies are quick enough to stop the character before they can do whatever they wanted to, that's what reactions are for. For this encounter, I decided not to roll initiative yet because I don't know if you will pass the save, and even if you do, I don't know whether or not this will turn into combat. If those who pass the save do something that should continue into combat, send me your actions via PM (or post them in a spoiler) along with an initiative roll. For this fight, none of your characters knows the others yet, and you wouldn't have had a chance to plan for combat scenarios. For that reason, if this turns into combat, it will be chaotic. Nobody can expect another's actions or when they will occur. You will describe your character's intentions and roll initiative anew every round. I will narrate the results of everyone's actions at the end of each round.
As the door is thrown open, Randal sees a glimpse of the town outside and begins to move forward. He slows as his attention is immediately drawn to the dancing lights reflecting on the walls of the room
Wisdom Save: 14
He shakes head, clearing the lights from his vision, and moves toward the door. “I am not sure I want to give whatever is out there time to get ready.” As he moves, he recites a short poem talking about the importance of a strong mind and a strong will, providing bardic inspiration to the armored one. (Ri)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Ri barely contains a flinch as the door swings open. Her knuckles are white from her grip around her glaive, but she's doing her best not to draw it yet. No use throwing a weapon into the situation yet, no matter how much she may feel better with it. A frown forms on her face, her expression growing dark. "What's going on-"
And then she sees the lights.
WIS Save: 11
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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In response to the talk about Sier, the armoured woman responds: "I owe him a favor. He said he'd get back to me about it today." For some reason, she is frowning, and she shoots a sideways look at the one who presented herself as Delilah. She grunts and steps forward. "Call me Ri." She begins to answer Delilah's question but then freezes as the dark-haired girl begins to speak. As she takes a step back, her hand reaches for her glaive.
At the same time, Tess begins to speak, though to nobody in particular, or perhaps to everyone at once. ”Something is very strange about this place - the girl, who looks like the one from the painting, is trying to close the door. What is going on?" As if in response to that, Randal takes half a step away from the door and glances at the painting where the family sat before. It seems that Tess' words are true, as the painting is different now. The same house, the same parents, but nobody is sitting on the mother's lap. Both parents have sad expressions on their faces.
"Oh by the way, Nice to meet you Lyla, I am Tess. I don’t know anything more about this than anyone else... but maybe she can help…” Tess continues talking.
Then, three of those in the room begin to talk simultaneously.
The armoured woman - Ri, it seems - stares down at the girl. "Not ready for this world? What do you mean by that?"
Randal begins to bombard the young girl with questions. “What trickery is this? What do you mean we are not ready for this world? Where are we? What world is this and who are you? How did you come to be here?”
Tess, likewise, wants to get answers right away. “What is this place? Where is Sier? Who are you and how do we get out of the tree? What do you know about these paintings? Please, just tell us what is going on.”
But, more than anything, the young girl looks overwhelmed and intimidated by all of these adults that now surround her. She closes her eyes and shakes her head, then shouts to overcome the others' voices. "Just stay here, please! Do not go out! It will be over soon!" She opens her eyes and musters courage, glaring at you all with wet eyes.
Delilah:
Delilah feels the girl once more tries to close the door. If she decides to keep holding on to the door, trying to keep it open, make a Strength check.
Delilah also notices something strange. Though she can feel the door is being closed, the girl doesn't seem to be moving anything. Her hand was on the door, that is true, but the muscles in the hand don't even appear to be contracting at all.
Varielky | Emma
This guy - Randal, yeah? - is asking a lot of questions. And then Tess just joins in, and, well, Ri can understand this young girl's overwhelmed state. So she clicks her jaw shut and tries to lessen her glare a bit.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she steps back again. Her eyes sweep across the other paintings, seeing if anything else has changed. It looks like the first two have after all - and if she's honest, she's not quite sure she wants to stick around and see if the other two will move, too. She takes a few steps more into the center of the room, keeping an equal distance away from all the paintings now.
"I say we give her a minute and wait," Ri says. She gives a little shrug if anyone looks at her. "She's obviously really panicked 'bout it."
Randal stares at the armored woman for a second. She is right of course, they are all doing a fair job of bombarding the young girl with questions. Understandable, he thinks, given the situation, but still not very helpful to getting answers.
He moves a step closer to the girl with one hand out in a gesture that seems to say wait. “I am sorry” he says in a quiet and hopefully calming tone “We don’t mean to frighten you, but this is a bit much for all of us. Can you tell us what will be over soon?”
Tess says “I am so sorry, we were just frightened . We can wait, Maybe I can help if you need me?”. She seems concerned, and also is looking at the pictures to see what else changed..
Delilah, same as the others, hesitate by the door. "Explain yourself. You have a minute to convince me, or I will leave." She replies sharply, though not unkindly, to the girl. Then, as she puts her tools back into her bag, she shoves her leg in the small gap of the open door, making sure it doesn't close.
For those who looked at the other pictures, none of them seems to have changed. In addition, the picture in front of you is the only one that seems vivid. The others look like any other perfectly made painting.
The girl is still on edge, but after a moment, she's at least not overwhelmed by questions anymore. "I was told not to let anyone go out before they're ready. The others wouldn't come inside here, so you can't interrupt them. It doesn't mean you're stuck here, though. You just weren't supposed to come here. Not yet. Soon, it'll be over, and you'll probably forget all about this."
Varielky | Emma
Tension leaving her shoulders a bit at no further changes to the paintings, Ri lets out a hum. Then she turns and focuses on the only one who seems to have actual answers: the girl in the painting. "Wait, hang on. We weren't supposed to come here? Like, to Rivulestice?" she asks, head tilting to the side as she frowns at the girl. "I mean, they didn't seem that upset by travelers yesterday."
She looks around at the others with a wave of her hand to gesture at them. "None of you got a hostile feeling from the townsfolk, did you? The one I spoke with just seemed a little confused as to why I was here."
Tess says” no, I only met two on my way into town- both were nice, one was very nice. They were curious why I would come here, but nice enough. They brought me here to meet Sier”. A look of concern passes over her face, then she shakes it off… “I’m quite certain they meant well when they brought me..”
Delilah turns to everyone but the girl. "If anyone here is a little stronger than me and wants to keep the option of freedom open, a little help holding the door would be great." Then, without actually waiting for an answer, hoping some else will just come and switch places with her, she turns back to the painted girl. "We're not stuck here? Right, we might just leave then. You're not doing a very good job convincing me, at least, so far."
To that, the dark-haired girl responds: "No! Stop! What I meant is that you won't remain here forever. Just for a while more. Please, walk away from the door. If you try to pass through, I'll... I'll have to use force to stop you!" She calls at you. She seems scared, but also deadly serious, and even a little intimidating. Is this really a little girl? Sure, it is a painting of one, but the expression on her face does not seem like something you'd expect to see on a little girl. Though none of you is really sure what a painting of a little girl can possibly do to you, you can be sure she'll try.
Delilah:
The girl tries to close the door - once again, no visual signs of strength being applied. The door applies some pressure on Delilah's leg, but she keeps it in place and eventually the pressure is gone. The door didn't move at all, though. Maybe just because she stopped it.
Ri:
Rithi had seen this kind of look before. Something she might have seen when an enemy's commander was in sight, or perhaps when her own battle prowess took multiple lives. The look of a soldier who is determined to kill someone, even if that will cost them their life. When one knows the goal is more important than they are. This is the look she sees on the painted girl now.
Tess:
It takes a moment, but Tess recognizes the look the painted girl is giving everyone. It is one she saw a few times in the past, but she'll never forget them. It's the same stare some of the most fanatical members of the Sword would give their victims before executing their punishment. It's a look of determination to the cause. One that shows that a person cares about their task more about themselves. For these people, it doesn't matter how awful their deeds are, so long as these followers of Aleshi are expunged from the world.
If the girl truly has some way to use force, she definitely will.
Varielky | Emma
"Oh, it sounds like you got a warmer welcome than I did," Lyla mentions. "I didn't think the townsfolk were too happy to see me, although maybe that was because I was disturbing them quite late."
Lyla starts taking a step out, other foot still in the doorway. She tries to put more pressure on the girl - painting - whatever the entity is. "Why? Why do we have to wait? Is there something we are not supposed to see? Will it harm us? How do we know we can trust you?"
A completed pbp forum game:
Harley Atheonaikie in Frozen Sick
-
Current pbp forum games:
Delilah Rose in Rivulestice
Tragedy Whispers (Previously: A Deep & Creeping Darkness & Waterdeep: Dragon Heist)
Well, Ri might be a little stronger, but she's in no clear hurry to get closer to that door. "Sweet goddess, alright, that kind of threat's unnecessary," Ri says to the girl. She holds her hands out to the girl in the painting, showing she at least means no harm. Her face is pretty expressionless, any confusion slipping away and getting locked up tight.
She waves a hand at Lyla, as if gesturing her away from the door without trying to seem urgent. "Hey, uh, maybe we oughta listen to her?" she says. "Not sure what kind of force a painting could have, but if she's fighting you this much with the door? Not sure I wanna find out. So we oughta just sit tight for a few minutes till she says we're good to go. Take a breather, get our heads together. Alright?"
Randal walks back across the room, checking the door leading back to the hallway where he slept, just to see if it was still unlocked. He looks closely at the adult figures in the painting the child left behind to see if he sees any change in their features or expression.
Perception 4
He tries to change the subject with the girl “These people” he motions to the picture “Are they your parents? What happened to them?”
He turns back to the group, answering Ri and Tess “I ran into a few others on the way into town, but nothing interesting happened, certainly nothing that would suggest this..” he gestures to the tree.
Turning back to the girl, he asks the question that has been nagging in the back of his mind “Say we do what you ask, and wait. When we can leave, where would that door lead? Back to Rivulestice? Or somewhere else?”
Tess says “we can wait, but the door stays unlocked…”
"I'm not here to protect you from what's outside," the girl answers Lyla, "I'm here to protect the outside from you!" She cries out.
Meanwhile, Randal looks at the painting with the two Humans. They remain still as a painting - at least how every normal painting is - and they still look sad. However, once Randal asks about them, the girl goes silent. She looks down, and her hair falls forward, covering her eyes. "They were my parents." Everyone - everyone but Randal - notices that her voice is different now. It sounds restrained but wrathful. As if she's truly about to burst at them. Randal, however, doesn't pick that up and asks a follow-up question. Fortunately, the girl doesn't do anything at the moment. "They died." That is all she answers. Now, looking back at the painting where the parents sat, Randal notices something new - and so will anybody else who looks that way. The two spots where the parents' figures sat are now charred. Two large spots, completely black, now replace them. No trace of the parents anywhere. It seems like someone burnt the painting, but none of you noticed any fire, nor even smell any smoke. As if the painting was burnt all along, despite everyone knowing that's not the case.
Now, Randal notices the change in the girl as well, as everyone tries to change the subject, back to what they were speaking about before. The girl doesn't answer Randal's new questions though.
Delilah:
Lyla feels intense pain in her leg now, as the door nearly crushes her leg. The girl is clearly much more forceful than before. Lyla could keep her leg in the gap and try to keep the door open, or she could take her leg out in response to the pain. If she keeps her leg there, make another strength check.
Varielky | Emma
Lyla does not like what is happening. Something about the situation scares her - maybe the sudden shift in tone from the painting. She is curious about what it all means, but more than that, she really doesn't want to be trapped in the room.
The girl not addressing Tess and Randal's concerns makes up her mind.
She grits her teeth and puts her full body weight into trying to keep the door open/push it open more.
Strength check: 16
"Will you let us go if we promise not to hurt the outside?"
For DM:
If Lyla cannot keep the door open and it is closing on her, she moves out if she can, rather than in.
A completed pbp forum game:
Harley Atheonaikie in Frozen Sick
-
Current pbp forum games:
Delilah Rose in Rivulestice
Tragedy Whispers (Previously: A Deep & Creeping Darkness & Waterdeep: Dragon Heist)
Tess says, “I am sorry, I believe I understand your fear, but I won’t hurt anything out there. I do not want to be trapped in here either”. She helps hold the door open. (Giving advantage to someone’s rolls)
"No." The girl answers Lyla. "I was told not to let anyone through if they're not ready." One thing to note is that, throughout this entire exchange, except for the very first moment, the door didn't move even a bit. Nevertheless, Tess decides to approach the door. Because it didn't seem like anyone is trying to close the door, Tess doesn't expect what she feels once she puts her hand on the door. A tremendous force trying to push the door close, which Tess was not prepared to resist. That same force is now threatening to crush Delilah's leg. In the split of a second Lyla has to consider options, she decides having her leg crushed isn't a good idea. However, rather than pull it inside, Delilah tries to pass her entire body to the outside.
"No!" The dark-haired girl desperately cries in response. Suddenly, all that force that was applied to the door disappears. The combined strength of Tess and Delilah trying to keep the door open suddenly flings the door open until it hits the wall. You can all see the outside now. Nothing seems extraordinary about it. The same street through which you all passed the other day, bathed in the desert's morning sun.
Lyla almost falls forward, now that all the force that tried to close the door on her disappears, and she almost leaves the inn. Just before she does, though, the painted girl extends her hand forward, her pal facing the room. For a brief moment, the light that has been dancing on the forest's ground in the painting is reflected from her palm into the inn. The light now dances on the inn's walls, creating beautiful patterns like nothing most of you have ever seen. These are beautiful, charming patterns. Hypnotic, one would say.
Everyone - please make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. Those who pass can respond to the above. Those who fail are now charmed. While charmed they are incapacitated and have a speed of 0. Delilah can make this save with an advantage.
Also, some of you have seen this before, but I'll copy and paste it for those who haven't:
*A word on how I manage initiative: Every fight will have a different method used to match the needs of the encounter. For example, when fighting a single enemy, we'll be using the RAW initiative. When fighting multiple enemies, or groups of them, we might use group initiative. There are other options, but this should help clarify. If someone attacks/casts a spell/does anything to start combat before the initiative was rolled, they automatically act first during all rounds. I find that this makes more sense than having the person who should have started the fight be taken out before they can actually do what should have started it just because they rolled low on the initiative. If the enemies are quick enough to stop the character before they can do whatever they wanted to, that's what reactions are for.
For this encounter, I decided not to roll initiative yet because I don't know if you will pass the save, and even if you do, I don't know whether or not this will turn into combat. If those who pass the save do something that should continue into combat, send me your actions via PM (or post them in a spoiler) along with an initiative roll. For this fight, none of your characters knows the others yet, and you wouldn't have had a chance to plan for combat scenarios. For that reason, if this turns into combat, it will be chaotic. Nobody can expect another's actions or when they will occur. You will describe your character's intentions and roll initiative anew every round. I will narrate the results of everyone's actions at the end of each round.
Varielky | Emma
Tess looks at the light in amazement and wonder.. never has she seen such beauty…
21 wisdom save..
she stops, staring at the lights, mouth agape…
and then… she says “no” and miraculously she shakes it off… 3 (favored by the gods gives her a 15 save)
As the door is thrown open, Randal sees a glimpse of the town outside and begins to move forward. He slows as his attention is immediately drawn to the dancing lights reflecting on the walls of the room
Wisdom Save: 14
He shakes head, clearing the lights from his vision, and moves toward the door. “I am not sure I want to give whatever is out there time to get ready.” As he moves, he recites a short poem talking about the importance of a strong mind and a strong will, providing bardic inspiration to the armored one. (Ri)
Wisdom save: 15
Lyla stumbles as she regains her footing, then briefly looks back and sees the hypnotic pattern of the lights. It doesn't faze her.
"Charming little trick you have there," she comments to the girl. "Did Sier teach you that?"
"Now, I don't know why you would think we were not ready to go out."
She tries to just walk confidently out of the inn.
A completed pbp forum game:
Harley Atheonaikie in Frozen Sick
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Current pbp forum games:
Delilah Rose in Rivulestice
Tragedy Whispers (Previously: A Deep & Creeping Darkness & Waterdeep: Dragon Heist)
Ri barely contains a flinch as the door swings open. Her knuckles are white from her grip around her glaive, but she's doing her best not to draw it yet. No use throwing a weapon into the situation yet, no matter how much she may feel better with it. A frown forms on her face, her expression growing dark. "What's going on-"
And then she sees the lights.
WIS Save: 11