Evergreen Hollow, 5R DMless

Dak buys the Boots of elvenkind 600gp and pays for 20 silvered bolts.  200gp

In the morning, Cor’s head hurts and he does not rise from the chair in which he trances until long after the sun rises. The memories of his former life have left him in childhood, but sometimes the feelings stay and when hungover he lingers in the emotions of his former self. 

Eventually though, he rises for lunch and with his fast broken he feels much more elven. 

Below, in Evelyn’s shop, he talks to her for a while about her new stock. 

“I don’t suppose you have any rods or wands that could do the same for me, do you?” he asks, handling a magic axe that claims to make you more likely to hit and to harm.

”I’ll see what I can do. What will you do until then?”

”There are cultists and demons and undead. The latter two I can pursue for answers of what links them, the former I can. Liam has told me of a caravan due in the next few days. I’ll walk to meet it, and if I find any talk of cultists I’ll pursue them.”

”Be safe,” says Evelyn. 

“See you soon.”

——

Encounter table 301: 91

Encounter table 304: 67

Cor has not made it more than three or four hours from Evergreen Hollow when he hears the snapping and hooting-roar of an Owlbear.

He turns to his right and suddenly what had been green foliage shows itself to be a great pair of amber eyes, and a large body becomes clearer — no longer blending into the dark boughs and dappled light of the Darkwood foliage. 

He has been caught short, too lost in his own thoughts. 

Initiatives:

Cor: 19
Sphinx: 16
Owlbear: 2

The Sphinx rushes ahead to the Owlbear.

Cor aims his new dragon-touched ring towards the Owlbear. With a crackle and then the boom of thunder, it hits the bear. (HP 37/59). He quickly backpeddles, opening up 30 feet, which is quickly lost. The Owlbear dashes forward and its claws leave long gouges in the ground. 

Ten feet from Cor he uses his snakeskin spell Black Ribbons. On such a mobile foe, the swap from his witch bolt is unavoidable.  

Alas, it doesn’t work, and Cor’s eyes widen as the Owl bear pushes through the ribbons and mauls Cor. Its claws rend his armor. Its beak gouges his shoulder and in a moment he goes from hale to on his last legs as he is thrown away from it. (HP 3/31)

Cor casts invisibility and hides behind a tree, moving further and further away before climbing it slowly. Below the Owlbear circles and stomps through the wood sniffing at the blood on the ground, confused. Then sitting to wait. 

Dak and Bargus head out for the day to do some hunting nearby.  Looking for some different game the head to Darkwood forest opt to find an owlbear test their skills. 

The following morning the duo perform their rituals.  Bargus casting Mage armor for 8 hrs and then doing an arcane recovery to gain back the spell. Both eat and drink some water to prepare for the day. 

Encounter hunt time 1

Bargus Perception:  9

Dak Perception:  14

Hawk Perception:  11

Bargus Stealth:  14
Dak Stealth:  20

OB1 Perception:  5

Bargus Initiative: 4  AC 15 passive 12 - HP 37/37

SK1 AC 13 passive 12 HP 13/13

SK2  AC 13 passive 12 HP 13/13

SK3  AC 13 passive 12 HP 13/13

SK4  AC 13 passive 12 HP 13/13

Hawk initiative: 20 AC 13 passive 16 – HP 1/1

Dak Initiative: 20  AC 18 passive 13 HP 49/49

OB1:  20 AC 13 passive 13 HP 59/59

After three hours of hunting the spot a Owlbear by a tree just waiting it seems it looks wounded a bit.  Dak has surprise and it sees Bargus.

Distance 60ft

Rnd 1 Dak has surprise

Dak Initiative: 17  AC 18 passive 13 HP 49/49

Bargus Initiative: 16  AC 15 passive 12 - HP 37/37

SK1 AC 13 passive 12 HP 13/13

SK2  AC 13 passive 12 HP 13/13

SK3  AC 13 passive 12 HP 13/13

SK4  AC 13 passive 12 HP 13/13

Hawk initiative: 6 AC 13 passive 16 – HP 1/1

OB1:  2 AC 13 passive 13 HP 59/59

BONUS: Use Adrenaline Rush gaining 2 THP to dash 30ft to melee OB1 or Second wind 8 if needed as it applies

ACTION: Attack with the Great sword+1 on OBR1(Graze on Miss 5 dmg): Attack: 27 Damage: 22 (Slashing Damage) or half (9)

Savage attacker Damage: 13 (Slashing Damage) or half (Unable to parse dice roll.)

Action surge

ACTION: Attack with the Great sword+1 on OB1(Graze on Miss 5 dmg): Attack: 26 Damage: 18 (Slashing Damage) or half (9)

Savage attacker Damage: 11 (Slashing Damage) or half (5)

Dak connects with both hits doing 33 dmg to the beast already damaged and at 37hp.  

Melee range for Dak and 60ft for Bargus and Skeletons and Hawkeye

Rnd 2

Dak Initiative: 17  AC 18 passive 13 HP 49/49

Bargus Initiative: 16  AC 15 passive 12 - HP 37/37

SK1 AC 13 passive 12 HP 13/13

SK2  AC 13 passive 12 HP 13/13

SK3  AC 13 passive 12 HP 13/13

SK4  AC 13 passive 12 HP 13/13

Hawk initiative: 6 AC 13 passive 16 – HP 1/1

OB1:  2 AC 13 passive 13 HP 4/59

BONUS: 

ACTION: Attack with the Great sword+1 on OBR1(Graze on Miss 5 dmg): Attack: 14 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll. (Slashing Damage) or half (0)

Savage attacker Damage: 15 (Slashing Damage) or half (Unable to parse dice roll.)

MOVE: Bargus move to be 30ft from OB1; (spending 30 feet of movement; first diagonal costs 5 ft. of movement, second costs 10 ft., third costs 5 ft., etc.)
BONUS:

ACTION: Cast Toll the dead,  Damage: 13 (Necrotic Damage DC 16 Wis)  OB1 Wis Save 4 vs DC16

End of turn!

Hawk helps Dak 

Beak Attack: 11 Damage: 8 (piercing Damage)

Claw Attack: 26 Damage: 15 (Slashing Damage)

Dak finishes the Owlbear off before the others go.  It's odd that it was hurt and just hanging around this tree.

There is some blood here but I'm not sure if it's the Owlbear's or not.  

Hello. Dak tells Bargus, "Could just be a coincidence it was hanging out here.  Maybe it finished a meal of something it got into a fight with and well that's the extra blood on the tree perhaps."

Bargus says, "Let me have a look."  

Bargus Investigation:  12

Bargus comments, "I'm not getting much information here to be honest.  It's tough to tell.  It looks like something else was here from the tracks, but I can't put my finger on it.

We can gut this owlbear and set up camp for the night.  Carve up some good meat and get a campfire going.  I'll put the skeletons on sentry duty on 4 cardinal points around camp 10ft out.

Dak and Bargus split shifts for watches and resting. If needed Bargus casts his animate dead spell everyone 12 hrs.

Quote from NathanAscher >>

 
Location: Gray Mountain (Valley)

Encounter Table 801
(Level 5 recommended)
1-20: 1x Hill Giant (1800XP,  720gp)
21-40: 1x Earth Elemental (1800 XP, 720 gp)
41-60: 1x Bulette (1800 XP, 720 gp)
61-80: 1x Werebear (1800 XP, 720 gp)
81-100: 1x Troll (1800 XP, 720 gp)    

Hey folks. As work picks up for me, I've been posting less this weekend. Ideally, I'll keep the NPC and storyline going. We have hooks in the Demon Cave and in the Bandit hideout, leading to next chapter for two story arcs. People have already asked about chapter 2 for Silverwood and that's soon to come as well. For now, as two of you reach level 5, I've expanded the new location of the Grey Mountain Valley to have even more giants and elementals, with this new encounter table of terrifying challenge 5 monsters. I know you are up for the challenge and the extra 1800 XP is nice as well. Keep the feedback coming and can't wait to have more free time to do more story writing and to play with one of my own characters, now that I have three 2nd, 3rd, 4th level characters. 

The DMless campaign is always recruiting, and we are happy to host more new players and show them the ropes. To really push the PbP format and what it can do.

Quote from Cwreando >>

Bargus comments, "I'm not getting much information here to be honest.  It's tough to tell.  It looks like something else was here from the tracks, but I can't put my finger on it.

We can gut this owlbear and set up camp for the night.  Carve up some good meat and get a campfire going.  I'll put the skeletons on sentry duty on 4 cardinal points around camp 10ft out.

Dak and Bargus split shifts for watches and resting. If needed Bargus casts his animate dead spell everyone 12 hrs.

 

 As Bargus and Dak slay the Owlbear, Cor’s invisibility continues intact. Unable to make out their features from height, the elven warlock drinks a potion of healing and rests in case a second fight should find him on attempting to leave the canopy. 

It is on the lighting of their campfire that Cor is able to recognise them. 

“Hail!” He calls, dropping his invisibility. “It’s I, Cor Lethynnil. You’ve rather gotten me out of hot water. I travel to the canyon to escort a caravan when I was surprised by this owl bear. Quite nastily too. Thank you for your aid!”

Evelyn refuses to buy the clearly ill-gotten Plate Mail from Yuno. So now she's left with a piece of plate mail with the crest of knight of the empire and that she can't get rid of. The last few days have not gone well for Yuno. From falling into spike traps repeatedly to nearly dying twice. She decides to cheer herself up with ice cream and sugary drinks.

Anyone going around town can find Yuno around town in somewhat of a bad mood.

Bargus and Dak a bit surprised but kind of had an idea something was around, "Hail, friend Cor, come enjoy some owlbear meat.  Probably some of your handywork in the wounds we saw on the beast as we found it.  We've heard of some of your exploits via the bards in town. We can't be losing such a fine adventurer as yourself.  Take a rest.  Dak and I can cover the watch for the night. I've got some skeletons on watch for us if you're ok with that."

Zim the jovial dwarf fighter finds his way to The Grove and pulls a quest bounty, Encounter Table 102 39, selecting 91-95: 1x Dire Wolf (200 XP, 40 gp), choosing a default approach of 30 feet, Zim init 17, Dire Wolf DW1 init 19,

Round 1
Dire Wolf DW1 bite Attack: 22 Damage: 5, prone on hit
Zim bonus action second wind if he takes any damage, 9
Zim morning star Attack: 16 Damage: 7, sap on hit, disadv on next attack

Quote from NathanAscher>>

Dire Wolf DW1 bite Attack: 22 Damage: 5, prone on hit

Zim takes 5 damage. Zim (23/28)

Zim bonus action second wind if he takes any damage, 9

Zim heals to full. Zim (28/28)

Zim morning star Attack: 16 Damage: 7, sap on hit, disadv on next attack

DW1 takes 7 damage and has disadvantage on it's next attack.

Round 2
Dire Wolf DW1 sap disadv, bite Attack: 21 Damage: 7, prone on hit
Zim bonus action second wind if he takes any damage, 9
Zim morning star Attack: 7 Damage: 11, sap on hit, disadv on next attack

Quote from NathanAscher>>

Zim morning star Attack: 16 Damage: 7, sap on hit, disadv on next attack

DW1 takes 7 damage and has disadvantage on it's next attack.

DW1 (15/22)

Dire Wolf DW1 sap disadv, bite Attack: 19 Damage: 10, prone on hit

Zim takes 10 damage. Zim (18/28)

Zim bonus action second wind if he takes any damage, 9
Zim morning star Attack: 15 Damage: 7, sap on hit, disadv on next attack

Zim heals 9. Zim (27/28)
DW1 takes 7 damage. DW1 (8/22)

Round 3
Dire Wolf DW1 sap disadv, bite Attack: 16 Damage: 8, prone on hit
Zim morningstar Attack: 19 Damage: 9, sap on hit, disadv on next attack
Zim Action Surge, morningstar Attack: 7 Damage: 10, sap on hit, disadv on next attack

Quote from NathanAscher>>

Dire Wolf DW1 sap disadv, bite Attack: 19 Damage: 5, prone on hit

Zim takes 5 damage. Zim (22/28)

Round 4
Dire Wolf DW1 bite Attack: 22 Damage: 6, prone on hit
Zim morningstar Attack: 6 Damage: 6, sap on hit, disadv on next attack

Quote from NathanAscher>>

Dire Wolf DW1 bite Attack: 22 Damage: 6, prone on hit

Zim takes 6 damage. Zim (16/28)

Round 5
Dire Wolf DW1 bite Attack: 20 Damage: 8, prone on hit
Zim morningstar Attack: 16 Damage: 9, sap on hit, disadv on next attack

Quote from NathanAscher >>

Zim morningstar Attack: 19 Damage: 8, sap on hit, disadv on next attack

DW1 takes 8 damage and dies.

Dire Wolf Rewards
bounty 40 gp
200 XP (Zim total 550 XP)

Dak and Bargus split the owlbear loot and xp 3 ways with Cor.  They finish the night rested and head to town with the Owlbear parts for the bounty with Cor or leave it for Cor to take in and they go in and get their share.  The rest the night at the inn.. 23 nights now.  The next morning, they head out to find some adventure.

 They each buy a clockwork amulet before heading out.  100 gp each