Rahne and Eclipse decide to take a day to go shopping.
Eclipse, despite complaining about needing a ranged weapon when they were on the road, decides that none of the options she can operate are better than Sacred Flame. So she restocks on common items (rations and healers kit=6.5gp) and decides to splurge on a Cloak of Protection (800gp) and 4 Potion of Healing (200gp). She needs to have the cloak altered to fit her lack of size / attuned but is quiet happy with it once it is ready. To complete the day, she trades in her chain shirt (+25gp) for scale mail (50gp), deciding that safety was more important than stealth.
Rahne restocks on javelins (5gp) and rations (2gp) and buys a greatsword (50gp), saying, this will look so cool, as he swings it casually around the store. He trades in his chain mail (+37.5) and shield (+5) for splint armor (200gp) saying real men don't use shields. He also is excited to purchase a Cloak of Protection (800gp) and 4 Potion of Healing (200gp).
For sticking through this "Economy Upgrade", I want to gift every character that was made before this campaign's DMG 2024 rules changes a ring of spell storing which comes with 3 spell levels worth of spells that you can choose or you can cast your own. New characters must be made with the new bounty and treasure rewards plus the shop prices are all different now. Enjoy.
I've decided to keep this thread open, with the new DMG 2024 rules in play. It should be a lot of fun going forward. I can't wait to pick up with my level six characters to return to the Necromancer's forest.
(Thanks. I'm just waiting for a good chunk of time to have Cor and his new monk sidekick actually tackle the necromancer arc. With the new DMless thread, is this one staying open? Is it ok to integrate what I'm reading in the DMGuide in this one, or is that for the new DMless thread only?)
(Thanks. I'm just waiting for a good chunk of time to have Cor and his new monk sidekick actually tackle the necromancer arc. With the new DMless thread, is this one staying open? Is it ok to integrate what I'm reading in the DMGuide in this one, or is that for the new DMless thread only?)
Yes, this one will stay open. I've may even cloning it in the future, but for now I want to explore the new DMG 2024 Example Adventures.
I'd love to convert this thread to core PHB 2024 and DMG 2024 with the exception that players can explore legacy classes and spells that were not carried over into the new rules.
Eclipse and Rahne spend the next two days eating and drinking at the bar (3gp, paid, as always, by Rahne). Their main topic of conversation was what spells to put on their rings. They each have 3 spell levels to use. After much discussion, they settle on their choices. Rahne, who has been jealous of Tiny (Eclipse's mastiff) decides that Find Familiar would be his first choice. Rahne laughs at Eclipse who chooses Shield as her first choice. She retorts that Rahne's ugly face would not always be there to help her, to which Rahne merely returns a lopsided grin. They both agree Absorb Damage would be useful before once again making different choices. Rahne decides Catapult would be super fun while Eclipse choses Unseen Servant. They go to Varnak to actually cast the spells and pay him 300gp (the equivalent of 6 Lv1 spell scrolls) for his time and service, though, this time, the two friends split the cost evenly. Realizing they are running low on funds, they decide they better prepare for another adventure.
They decide to return to Darkwood Forest, believing there is more cleanup work to be done there. They are quickly proven correct when they come across two goblins and an orc.
Rahne 19, Orc 13, Eclipse 11, G1 & G2 10
60' distance
Rahne, his giant heritage kicking in, immediately throws a javelin at the orc (attack 14, damage 9) and moves half the distance.
The orc responds by closing the distance and successfully slashing with its greataxe (attack 18, damage 9)
Eclipse stays back with Tiny, the Mastiff, and the cart and sends a Sacred Flame against the orc (failed dex save 12, damage 7) which burns up the orc.
The two goblins howl in anger when they see the orc turn into a torch and attack Rahne (attack 5, 15) but neither does any damage to the brute.
Rahne pulls out his new greatsword and quickly kills one goblin (attack 17, damage 12).
Eclipse sends another Sacred Flame, this time against the remaining goblin (failed dex save 10, damage 6).
Very bloodied and weak, the last goblin continues to fight bravely but misses Rahne (attack 10)
Rahne pulls out first his handaxe then his javelin but misses with both (attack 10, 10)
Eclipse's Sacred Flame finishes off the goblin (failed dex save 8, damage 3)
Once the bodies are no longer smouldering, Rahne and Eclipse load the bodies and gear (greataxe, javelin, 2 scimitars, 2 short bow). While they wait, they ask each other, if goblins and elves live in harmony in the Forest, why is there only a bounty for goblins?
After the short rest, which brings Rahne back to full HP, the odd couple resumes heading down the path. This time, two orcs and one goblin appear.
Goblin 15, Eclipse 11, Rahne 8, Orc 1& 2 5
The goblin uses his shortbow against Rahne (attack 22, damage 5)
Proving the theory that small will always target large, Eclipse quickly retaliates with Guiding Bolt against one of the orcs (attack 23, damage 12) before ducking behind the cart
Rahne yells in surprise and annoyance at the arrow now sticking out of him but kills with his javelin the orc that Eclipse already lit up (attack 26, damage 8). He then moves half way to the remaining orc and goblin
The orc meets Rahne and swings his great axe at him but misses (attack 10)
The goblin shots his shortbow at Rahne again but misses this time (attack 9)
Eclipse targets the goblin with Sacred Fire but the goblin skips out of the way (dex save 19)
Rahne swings his own greataxe, which sinks in with a satisfying slurp (attack 19, damage 13)
The orc tries but fails to return the favor with his greataxe (attack 7)
The goblin targets Rahne and gets a solid hit (attack nat 20, crit damage 10)
Eclipse laughs at Rahne with two arrows now sticking out of him. "Come on you lazy porcupine, get chopping!" For her part, she sends her Sacred Flame to the orc who dies in flames (dex save 5, damage 8)
Rahne quickly makes his way to the goblin that gifted him two arrow shafts but misses with a wild swing of his great axe (attack 8)
Forced to use its scimitar, the goblin misses the goliath (attack 7)
Eclipse uses Sacred Flame again and again the goblin skips out of its way (dex save 15) and taunts Eclipse in his own language, which neither companion understand but expect includes a number of vulgarities.
Rahne ends the goblin's blather and life with a mighty swing of his great axe (attack 18, damage 14)
Rahne and Eclipse load the bodies and gear (2 greataxe2, 2javelin, 1 scimitar, 1 short bow). They do not ask each other why there is a bounty on the orcs.
Rahne quickly throws two javelins (second is Action Surge) (attack 8, 21) (damage 7) and moves halfway to the brute
Even with the javelin in it, the orog effortlessly covers the remaining distance and swings his great axe twice (attack 22, 7) (damage 10)
Eclipse overcomes her surprise and blasts a Guiding Bolt wide (attack 14)
R2
Rahne uses his great sword (attack 19, damage 11) then uses his Evasive Action to dance around the orog (AC +2)
Filled with rage, the orog swings its great axe twice more (attack 9, 23) (damage 10) and once again succeeds half the time
Eclipse sees that Rahne's fancy footwork isn't working and that he is losing the exchange of hits so casts Shield of Faith on him (AC +2)
R3
Rahne tries again with his great sword (attack 24, damage 16) and, despite feeling safer with Eclipse's blue forcefield shield protecting him, drinks one of his potions of healing (HP +9) (Orog current HP: 8)
Orog continues hacking away (attack 16, 17) but misses both this time
Eclipse doesn't miss this time with Guiding Bolt (attack 19, damage 10) which lights up the orog and puts it down to death.
The two set up camp to spend the night. They settle for rations rather than search for food, given how tired they are. They load up the cart with the body and a great axe. Rahne takes the javelins to replenish his supply. With Tiny, the Mastiff helping to guard the camp, they sleep well and without incident.
The rest was necessary since as they are returning to town they soon encounter a search party of 2 goblins and 2 orcs looking for their now-dead leader.
Eclipse targets the goblins with Scorching Rays (attack 7, 10, 15) but only hits with one (damage 10) which does kill it.
The orcs throw a javelin at each target and hit both (Rahne attack nat 20+5, crit damage 12) (Eclipse attack 21, damage 6) then move halfway to the party
Rahne closes the distance then jabs with his javelin (attack 8) then swings his handaxe (attack 20, damage 9)
Enraged by seeing its companion go up in flames, the remaining goblin successfully targets Eclipse (attack nat 20+4, damage 12)
R2
With newfound appreciation for the beating that Rahne normally takes to protect her, Eclipse casts Cure Wounds on herself (hp +17) then ducks behind the cart
The Orcs resume their assault on Rahne this time with their greataxes but miss (attack 7, 14)
Rahne continues with his javelin (attack 18, damage 9) which kills the first orc before he swings his handaxe at the second (attack 19, damage 10)
The goblin targets Eclipse again (attack 12) but misses
R3
Eclipse sends a Sacred Flame against the orc (fails dex save 11, damage 1) but only slightly sears it
The orc targets Rahne but misses (attack 10)
Rahne finishes him off with a javelin to the gut (attack 25, damage 9) then charges to the goblin
The goblin targets the immediate looming problem of Rahne with its scimitar and hits (attack 21, damage 5)
R4
Eclipse sends a Sacred Flame against the goblin (fails dex save 10, damage 1) but only slightly sears it
Rahne kills it with another javelin to the stomach (attack 15, damage 9)
They load up more bodies and loot (2 leather armor, 2 shield, 2 scimitars, 2 short bows, 2 greataxe)
They return without further adventure to Evergreen Hollow where they collect their rewards and return the cart and horse. After Rahne restoking his javelin collection and adding a scimitar to his collection of weapons, they then go Evelyn's shop where they sell the gear they collected: 6 great axe (90gp), 4 scimitars (2gp), 5 short bows (62gp 10sp), 2 leather armor (10gp), and 2 shields (10gp) = 174gp, 10sp which they split evenly (87/5). Eclipse gifts Rahne one of her daggers.
They then go to the tavern where they have a modest meal (with extra meat on the side for Rahne) and copious amounts of ale (2 gallons for Rahne, 1 gallon for Eclipse), and a tip for the bard singing in the corner before staggering up to their shared modest room (25sp) - for the first time, Eclipse pays for most of the evening.
Eclipse wakes up the next morning feeling wiser and more hearty, although still rather acerbic. (OOC: Advances to Lv4) She goes to the temple and realizes that some of the text in the books previously incomprehensible to her are now understandable. She looses herself in her studies and prayers and before she realizes it, she has spent the entire day at the temple. At dusk, she scuttles back to Liam's tavern to find Rahne sitting at the bar talking with some locals. She grabs his ear and pulls him to a different table to the laughs of the locals to update him on her activities. He is pleased and pats her twice on the head. He says he has been spending time with the smith and has helped make a mundane object. She is pleased and pats him twice on the knee. They both laugh then each has a modest meal and a reasonable amount of drink before agreeing to set out tomorrow (10sp, 4cp) They return to their shared modest room (for those wondering, Rahne sleeps in the bed with his feet hanging well off the edge while Eclipse makes a nest out of their various bags and blankets on the floor; Eclipse snores louder.) after Rahne, as usual, pays the tab.
It was an intense and extremely enjoyable adventure. Much like Evergreen Hollow, the adventure gives you the option to take a long rest between each combat (except for the last one) which is fun and refreshing to let loose of resource management and go all out.
My new party called, "The Orcs" was a typical Orc Barbarian Berserker who meets up with a very a-typical Orc Wizard Evoker. Not only was this a 5th level party but I chose to keep the party small and with the enormous XP in each encounter, they were able to hit level 6 before the end. Did I mention there are so many combats in this adventure? By far my favorite example adventure and I'll be keeping this on in my back pocket for running in the gamestore.
I can't wait to see what others do and which characters others will bring.
Maybe this weekend I'll finish my side quest and post the last and final example adventure, after converting it to PbP and updating the encounters with box text and NPCs and all the work that is needed to prepare these adventures for the forums (not really that much but someone's got to do it)
Almost forgot, we need to update Evergreen Hollow with Bastion Rules!
It had been a while and Yuno decided that she wanted to revisit some of the old dungeons. She felt that most of the dungeons either ended in her having to run away, nearly dying or unable to progress further. She is determined to clear a dungeon or die trying.
Feeling confident in her new Half-plate armor, Yuno heads back to the strange crypt full of spike pits where she nearly got taken out by a Helmed Horror. She was curious as to what that place was as it seemed more like some strange, nonsensical trap fun-house than a place with a discernible function. There were a lot of places here that Yuno never looked at but she decided to head down to those doors that were guarded by the Helmed Horror. Surely something interesting was going to be there.
In this place there was one door that was made of iron and seemed to be a sliding door. The other door was a shabby wooden one. Both doors seemed to have been old and stuck. So that just left the one door that wasn't stuck. As Yuno opened it, she heard a click and the ground behind her dropped, leading to a 60ft fall into spikes. However, due to sheer luck, Yuno was standing close enough to the wooden door and did not get caught on the trap.
Beyond the Door, Yuno finds a long hallway that seem to go northeast before making a U-curve and going back southwest. The hallway was made of stone but otherwise was featureless. At the other end, she found a formidable looking Iron Door. "Rats! Just my luck! I get back here to explore and I get blocked by a stupid locked door!"
Lockpick: 7 Break: 9 (Adv: 27) + Second Wind: 6
Yuno tries to unlock the door but the door is way to complex. In pure frustration, she kicks the iron door and it flies off its hinges and crashes into the next room. Yuno pants. As impressive as that was, it did seriously tire her out.
As the door falls, she sees the reason for all the traps and locks. It wasn't to keep her out, it was to keep this thing in. In front of her was a large snake creature, made of bone and living on with nothing but magic. It was a Bone Naga, a powerful undead creature with a command of magic. It slithered around Yuno and spoke. "Thank you for freeing me girl. Assss payment, I shall solve all your problems. Now stand still and let me end your pain... the pain of being alive."
Yuno seeing the danger acts first. Undead snake or not, Mages are dangerous but can also be quite squishy. She needs to take the Naga down before it can unleash its powerful spells to take her down. With a surge of power, Yuno makes three powerful swings, her sword cleaving through the dry bones that comprise the Naga. Dry, broken bones clatter across the marbled floor of the Naga's cell. The Naga hisses, "Fussy girl! Drop your weapons and let death take you!" It tries to paralyze Yuno with its magic but Yuno simply laughs. "It's gonna take a lot more than that to take me down."
Bone Naga casts Hold Person. Yuno DC12 WIS save: 11
Yuno swings again but the Naga dodges the first swing only to get slashed across the face by her second Bastard sword. The Naga's jaw breaks and it falls off. However, being magical, it doesn't need the jaw to speak. Suddenly, Yuno's eyes glaze over and her face turns calm with a blank expression. She lowers her swords, not defending herself at all or making any attempt to fight back anymore. Yuno has fallen victim to the Naga's paralyzing spell.
Round 3 Yuno (43/43) [Paralyzed] Bone Naga (13/58)
Yuno loses her turn. WIS save: 10
Bone Naga Bite: 8 (Adv: 16)
The Bone Naga begins to toy with its prey, swirling around Yuno as its spell prevents her from resisting at all. It runs its teeth along Yuno's skin and taunts, "Now... isn't that better? It is a lot less painful when you just relax and let it happen."
Round 3 Yuno (43/43) [Paralyzed] Bone Naga (13/58)
Yuno loses her turn. WIS save: 14
Bone Naga Hold Person on Yuno. WIS save: 12
Round 4 Yuno (43/43) [Paralyzed] Bone Naga (13/58)
Yuno Bastard sword: 10 BA Bastard Sword: 12
Bone Naga. Casts Hold Person (Level 3). WIS 12 Save: 9
Round 5 Yuno (43/43) [Paralyzed] Bone Naga (13/58)
Yuno loses her turn. WIS save: 14 Bone Naga Hold Person (out of spell slots now). WIS 12 Save: 16
The Bone Naga notices something wrong. Yuno is breaking free of its control. "What!?" It says, not understanding what's going on. It has to concentrate with all its magical might just to hold Yuno in place but then... Yuno blinks and the cloudiness fades from Yuno's eyes. The Serial Killer breaks free. Yuno laughs, "AHAHAHAHA. Nice trick. What's the matter? You look scared."
Round 6 Yuno (12/43) Bone Naga (13/58)
Bastard Sword: 13 BA Bastard Sword: 13
Bone Naga BA: Shield of Faith on self. +2 AC Bone Naga bites Yuno: NAT20 Dmg: 12 Piercing + 19 Poison
Yuno lunges at the Naga but it quickly raises its defenses, magically deflecting Yuno's swords. Then it lunges... It's teeth sink into Yuno's neck. Yuno groans in pain as the fangs cut of her airway and drenches her body in blood. The poison courses through her veins. Yuno feels her chest burning. The Bone Naga doesn't taunt. It is taking Yuno seriously now. It is cornered and at its most desperate and dangerous now.
Round 7 Yuno (12/43) Bone Naga (Dead/58)
Yuno Bastard Sword: 21 Dmg: 13
Yuno glares at the Naga and then, with a swift swing, splits its skull into two. The bony snake collapses on to the ground.
Rewards: XP: 1,100 (LEVEL UP) GP: 220
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Backing up posts before making DMG 2024 edits
Shops
Including Silvered Weapons (100 gp)
(All Cantrips available on request)
Charm Person (50 gp)
Cor Lethynnil accepts no liability in usage
Ceremony (50 gp)
Comprehend Languages (50 gp)
Command (50 gp)
Detect Magic (50 gp)
Detect Poison and Disease (50 gp)
Find Familiar (50 gp)
Illusory Script (50 gp)
Purify Food and Drink (50 gp)
Speak With Animals (50 gp)
Tenser's Floating Disk (50 gp)
Unseen Servant (50 gp)
Witch Bolt (50 gp)
L1 scroll of Chromatic Orb (50 gp)
L1 scroll of Magic Missile (50 gp)
L2 scroll of Burning Hands (150 gp)
L2 scroll of Scorching Ray (150 gp)
L2 scroll of Shatter (150 gp)
L3 scroll of Animate Dead (TBD gp)
L3 scroll of Fireball (TBD gp)
L3 scroll of Protection from Energy (TBD gp)
L3 scroll of Sending (TBD gp)
L4 scroll of Blight (TBD gp)
L4 scroll of Evard's Black Tentacles (TBD gp)
L4 scroll of Sickening Radiance (TBD gp)
spell scroll of cure wounds (50 gp)
spell scroll of invisibility (150 gp)
spell scroll of longstrider (50 gp)
spell scroll of shield (50 gp)
shield, +1 (300 gp)
Armor, +1 (1,000 gp)
Wand of the War Mage, +1 (1,000 gp)
weapon, +2 (12,500 gp)
shield, +2 (3,000 gp)
Armor, +2 (6000 gp)
Wand of the War Mage, +2 (4,000 gp)
driftglobe (700 gp)
eyes of charming (3000 gp)
potion of healing (50 gp)
potion of healing (greater) (200 gp)
javelin of lightning (1000 gp)
Potion of Fire Resistance
(on sale 150 gp, normal price 300 gp)
potion of heroism (200 gp)
(continued)
(added to existing armor, 100 gp)
mithral armor
(added to existing armor, 800 gp)
adamantine armor
(added to existing armor, 900 gp)
bag of holding (500 gp)
gloves of thievery (500 gp)
broom of flying (600 gp)
quiver of ehlonna (1000 gp)
boots of elvenkind (600 gp)
Helm of Comprehending Languages (600 gp)
Pearl of Power (600 gp)
Stone of Good Luck (Luckstone) (600 gp)
eyes of minute seeing (2000 gp)
goggles of night (2000 gp)
spellwrought tattoo
(any cantrip level spell, 50 gp)
spellwrought tattoo
(any 1st level spell, 300 gp)
Rahne and Eclipse decide to take a day to go shopping.
Eclipse, despite complaining about needing a ranged weapon when they were on the road, decides that none of the options she can operate are better than Sacred Flame. So she restocks on common items (rations and healers kit=6.5gp) and decides to splurge on a Cloak of Protection (800gp) and 4 Potion of Healing (200gp). She needs to have the cloak altered to fit her lack of size / attuned but is quiet happy with it once it is ready. To complete the day, she trades in her chain shirt (+25gp) for scale mail (50gp), deciding that safety was more important than stealth.
Rahne restocks on javelins (5gp) and rations (2gp) and buys a greatsword (50gp), saying, this will look so cool, as he swings it casually around the store. He trades in his chain mail (+37.5) and shield (+5) for splint armor (200gp) saying real men don't use shields. He also is excited to purchase a Cloak of Protection (800gp) and 4 Potion of Healing (200gp).
For sticking through this "Economy Upgrade", I want to gift every character that was made before this campaign's DMG 2024 rules changes a ring of spell storing which comes with 3 spell levels worth of spells that you can choose or you can cast your own. New characters must be made with the new bounty and treasure rewards plus the shop prices are all different now. Enjoy.
Thanks for the time and effort you put into this...Much appreciated..Looking forward to the changes. Thanks for the ring too.
Signature
Gildor Surion - Balder's Gate-Decent; Jayson Dreamweaver The Shattering of Phandelver; Ral Grixora Battle for the Forest DM/Admin; Capt.Sask and Boxter Snappus; LFG; Sir Aarlin - LFG; Sorwan Degor - LFG; Warwin Paws- LFG; Alsariph Safxipha - LFG.
I've decided to keep this thread open, with the new DMG 2024 rules in play. It should be a lot of fun going forward. I can't wait to pick up with my level six characters to return to the Necromancer's forest.
Come check out my new DMless thread:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/209907-the-fouled-stream-5r-dmless-pbp
(Thanks. I'm just waiting for a good chunk of time to have Cor and his new monk sidekick actually tackle the necromancer arc. With the new DMless thread, is this one staying open? Is it ok to integrate what I'm reading in the DMGuide in this one, or is that for the new DMless thread only?)
Yes, this one will stay open. I've may even cloning it in the future, but for now I want to explore the new DMG 2024 Example Adventures.
I'd love to convert this thread to core PHB 2024 and DMG 2024 with the exception that players can explore legacy classes and spells that were not carried over into the new rules.
I wrote it up and posted the next adventure. It's a long one. Miner Difficulties here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/209996-miner-difficulties-5r-dmless-pbp
The Winged God is an example adventure from DMG 2024. It's pretty good. https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/210283-the-winged-god-5r-dmless-pbp
Eclipse and Rahne spend the next two days eating and drinking at the bar (3gp, paid, as always, by Rahne). Their main topic of conversation was what spells to put on their rings. They each have 3 spell levels to use. After much discussion, they settle on their choices. Rahne, who has been jealous of Tiny (Eclipse's mastiff) decides that Find Familiar would be his first choice. Rahne laughs at Eclipse who chooses Shield as her first choice. She retorts that Rahne's ugly face would not always be there to help her, to which Rahne merely returns a lopsided grin. They both agree Absorb Damage would be useful before once again making different choices. Rahne decides Catapult would be super fun while Eclipse choses Unseen Servant. They go to Varnak to actually cast the spells and pay him 300gp (the equivalent of 6 Lv1 spell scrolls) for his time and service, though, this time, the two friends split the cost evenly. Realizing they are running low on funds, they decide they better prepare for another adventure.
They decide to return to Darkwood Forest, believing there is more cleanup work to be done there. They are quickly proven correct when they come across two goblins and an orc.
Rahne 19, Orc 13, Eclipse 11, G1 & G2 10
60' distance
Rahne, his giant heritage kicking in, immediately throws a javelin at the orc (attack 14, damage 9) and moves half the distance.
The orc responds by closing the distance and successfully slashing with its greataxe (attack 18, damage 9)
Eclipse stays back with Tiny, the Mastiff, and the cart and sends a Sacred Flame against the orc (failed dex save 12, damage 7) which burns up the orc.
The two goblins howl in anger when they see the orc turn into a torch and attack Rahne (attack 5, 15) but neither does any damage to the brute.
Rahne pulls out his new greatsword and quickly kills one goblin (attack 17, damage 12).
Eclipse sends another Sacred Flame, this time against the remaining goblin (failed dex save 10, damage 6).
Very bloodied and weak, the last goblin continues to fight bravely but misses Rahne (attack 10)
Rahne pulls out first his handaxe then his javelin but misses with both (attack 10, 10)
Eclipse's Sacred Flame finishes off the goblin (failed dex save 8, damage 3)
Once the bodies are no longer smouldering, Rahne and Eclipse load the bodies and gear (greataxe, javelin, 2 scimitars, 2 short bow). While they wait, they ask each other, if goblins and elves live in harmony in the Forest, why is there only a bounty for goblins?
200XP, 80gp when they return to town
After the short rest, which brings Rahne back to full HP, the odd couple resumes heading down the path. This time, two orcs and one goblin appear.
Goblin 15, Eclipse 11, Rahne 8, Orc 1& 2 5
The goblin uses his shortbow against Rahne (attack 22, damage 5)
Proving the theory that small will always target large, Eclipse quickly retaliates with Guiding Bolt against one of the orcs (attack 23, damage 12) before ducking behind the cart
Rahne yells in surprise and annoyance at the arrow now sticking out of him but kills with his javelin the orc that Eclipse already lit up (attack 26, damage 8). He then moves half way to the remaining orc and goblin
The orc meets Rahne and swings his great axe at him but misses (attack 10)
The goblin shots his shortbow at Rahne again but misses this time (attack 9)
Eclipse targets the goblin with Sacred Fire but the goblin skips out of the way (dex save 19)
Rahne swings his own greataxe, which sinks in with a satisfying slurp (attack 19, damage 13)
The orc tries but fails to return the favor with his greataxe (attack 7)
The goblin targets Rahne and gets a solid hit (attack nat 20, crit damage 10)
Eclipse laughs at Rahne with two arrows now sticking out of him. "Come on you lazy porcupine, get chopping!" For her part, she sends her Sacred Flame to the orc who dies in flames (dex save 5, damage 8)
Rahne quickly makes his way to the goblin that gifted him two arrow shafts but misses with a wild swing of his great axe (attack 8)
Forced to use its scimitar, the goblin misses the goliath (attack 7)
Eclipse uses Sacred Flame again and again the goblin skips out of its way (dex save 15) and taunts Eclipse in his own language, which neither companion understand but expect includes a number of vulgarities.
Rahne ends the goblin's blather and life with a mighty swing of his great axe (attack 18, damage 14)
Rahne and Eclipse load the bodies and gear (2 greataxe2, 2javelin, 1 scimitar, 1 short bow). They do not ask each other why there is a bounty on the orcs.
250xp, 100gp when they return to town
"The leader must be nearby," says Rahne. "Be careful and stay back." Eclipse just looks quizzically at the goliath, who is very soon proven correct.
Initiative: Rahne 17, Orog 15, Eclipse 10, 60' distance
R1
Rahne quickly throws two javelins (second is Action Surge) (attack 8, 21) (damage 7) and moves halfway to the brute
Even with the javelin in it, the orog effortlessly covers the remaining distance and swings his great axe twice (attack 22, 7) (damage 10)
Eclipse overcomes her surprise and blasts a Guiding Bolt wide (attack 14)
R2
Rahne uses his great sword (attack 19, damage 11) then uses his Evasive Action to dance around the orog (AC +2)
Filled with rage, the orog swings its great axe twice more (attack 9, 23) (damage 10) and once again succeeds half the time
Eclipse sees that Rahne's fancy footwork isn't working and that he is losing the exchange of hits so casts Shield of Faith on him (AC +2)
R3
Rahne tries again with his great sword (attack 24, damage 16) and, despite feeling safer with Eclipse's blue forcefield shield protecting him, drinks one of his potions of healing (HP +9) (Orog current HP: 8)
Orog continues hacking away (attack 16, 17) but misses both this time
Eclipse doesn't miss this time with Guiding Bolt (attack 19, damage 10) which lights up the orog and puts it down to death.
The two set up camp to spend the night. They settle for rations rather than search for food, given how tired they are. They load up the cart with the body and a great axe. Rahne takes the javelins to replenish his supply. With Tiny, the Mastiff helping to guard the camp, they sleep well and without incident.
450xp, 180gp when they return to town.
The rest was necessary since as they are returning to town they soon encounter a search party of 2 goblins and 2 orcs looking for their now-dead leader.
Initiative Eclipse 19, Orcs 15, Rahne 14, goblins 9
R1
Eclipse targets the goblins with Scorching Rays (attack 7, 10, 15) but only hits with one (damage 10) which does kill it.
The orcs throw a javelin at each target and hit both (Rahne attack nat 20+5, crit damage 12) (Eclipse attack 21, damage 6) then move halfway to the party
Rahne closes the distance then jabs with his javelin (attack 8) then swings his handaxe (attack 20, damage 9)
Enraged by seeing its companion go up in flames, the remaining goblin successfully targets Eclipse (attack nat 20+4, damage 12)
R2
With newfound appreciation for the beating that Rahne normally takes to protect her, Eclipse casts Cure Wounds on herself (hp +17) then ducks behind the cart
The Orcs resume their assault on Rahne this time with their greataxes but miss (attack 7, 14)
Rahne continues with his javelin (attack 18, damage 9) which kills the first orc before he swings his handaxe at the second (attack 19, damage 10)
The goblin targets Eclipse again (attack 12) but misses
R3
Eclipse sends a Sacred Flame against the orc (fails dex save 11, damage 1) but only slightly sears it
The orc targets Rahne but misses (attack 10)
Rahne finishes him off with a javelin to the gut (attack 25, damage 9) then charges to the goblin
The goblin targets the immediate looming problem of Rahne with its scimitar and hits (attack 21, damage 5)
R4
Eclipse sends a Sacred Flame against the goblin (fails dex save 10, damage 1) but only slightly sears it
Rahne kills it with another javelin to the stomach (attack 15, damage 9)
They load up more bodies and loot (2 leather armor, 2 shield, 2 scimitars, 2 short bows, 2 greataxe)
300xp, 120gp when they return to town
They return without further adventure to Evergreen Hollow where they collect their rewards and return the cart and horse. After Rahne restoking his javelin collection and adding a scimitar to his collection of weapons, they then go Evelyn's shop where they sell the gear they collected: 6 great axe (90gp), 4 scimitars (2gp), 5 short bows (62gp 10sp), 2 leather armor (10gp), and 2 shields (10gp) = 174gp, 10sp which they split evenly (87/5). Eclipse gifts Rahne one of her daggers.
They then go to the tavern where they have a modest meal (with extra meat on the side for Rahne) and copious amounts of ale (2 gallons for Rahne, 1 gallon for Eclipse), and a tip for the bard singing in the corner before staggering up to their shared modest room (25sp) - for the first time, Eclipse pays for most of the evening.
Eclipse wakes up the next morning feeling wiser and more hearty, although still rather acerbic. (OOC: Advances to Lv4) She goes to the temple and realizes that some of the text in the books previously incomprehensible to her are now understandable. She looses herself in her studies and prayers and before she realizes it, she has spent the entire day at the temple. At dusk, she scuttles back to Liam's tavern to find Rahne sitting at the bar talking with some locals. She grabs his ear and pulls him to a different table to the laughs of the locals to update him on her activities. He is pleased and pats her twice on the head. He says he has been spending time with the smith and has helped make a mundane object. She is pleased and pats him twice on the knee. They both laugh then each has a modest meal and a reasonable amount of drink before agreeing to set out tomorrow (10sp, 4cp) They return to their shared modest room (for those wondering, Rahne sleeps in the bed with his feet hanging well off the edge while Eclipse makes a nest out of their various bags and blankets on the floor; Eclipse snores louder.) after Rahne, as usual, pays the tab.
Hey folks!
I just finished playtesting "Horns of the Beast" https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/210603-horns-of-the-beast-5r-dmless-pbp
It was an intense and extremely enjoyable adventure. Much like Evergreen Hollow, the adventure gives you the option to take a long rest between each combat (except for the last one) which is fun and refreshing to let loose of resource management and go all out.
My new party called, "The Orcs" was a typical Orc Barbarian Berserker who meets up with a very a-typical Orc Wizard Evoker. Not only was this a 5th level party but I chose to keep the party small and with the enormous XP in each encounter, they were able to hit level 6 before the end. Did I mention there are so many combats in this adventure? By far my favorite example adventure and I'll be keeping this on in my back pocket for running in the gamestore.
I can't wait to see what others do and which characters others will bring.
Maybe this weekend I'll finish my side quest and post the last and final example adventure, after converting it to PbP and updating the encounters with box text and NPCs and all the work that is needed to prepare these adventures for the forums (not really that much but someone's got to do it)
Almost forgot, we need to update Evergreen Hollow with Bastion Rules!
It had been a while and Yuno decided that she wanted to revisit some of the old dungeons. She felt that most of the dungeons either ended in her having to run away, nearly dying or unable to progress further. She is determined to clear a dungeon or die trying.
Feeling confident in her new Half-plate armor, Yuno heads back to the strange crypt full of spike pits where she nearly got taken out by a Helmed Horror. She was curious as to what that place was as it seemed more like some strange, nonsensical trap fun-house than a place with a discernible function. There were a lot of places here that Yuno never looked at but she decided to head down to those doors that were guarded by the Helmed Horror. Surely something interesting was going to be there.
Perception: 16 +7 (Second Wind)
In this place there was one door that was made of iron and seemed to be a sliding door. The other door was a shabby wooden one. Both doors seemed to have been old and stuck. So that just left the one door that wasn't stuck. As Yuno opened it, she heard a click and the ground behind her dropped, leading to a 60ft fall into spikes. However, due to sheer luck, Yuno
was standing close enough to the wooden door and did not get caught on the trap.
Beyond the Door, Yuno finds a long hallway that seem to go northeast before making a U-curve and going back southwest. The hallway was made of stone but otherwise was featureless. At the other end, she found a formidable looking Iron Door. "Rats! Just my luck! I get back here to explore and I get blocked by a stupid locked door!"
Lockpick: 7
Break: 9 (Adv: 27) + Second Wind: 6
Yuno tries to unlock the door but the door is way to complex. In pure frustration, she kicks the iron door and it flies off its hinges and crashes into the next room. Yuno pants. As impressive as that was, it did seriously tire her out.
As the door falls, she sees the reason for all the traps and locks. It wasn't to keep her out, it was to keep this thing in. In front of her was a large snake creature, made of bone and living on with nothing but magic. It was a Bone Naga, a powerful undead creature with a command of magic. It slithered around Yuno and spoke. "Thank you for freeing me girl. Assss payment, I shall solve all your problems. Now stand still and let me end your pain... the pain of being alive."
Initiative:
Bone Naga: 8
Yuno: 14 (Adv: 7)
Round 1:
Yuno (43/43)
Bone Naga (25/58)
Bastard Sword: 25 Dmg: 7
BA Bastard Sword: 8 (Vex: 24) Dmg: 11 + Sneak: 2
Action Surge
Bastard Sword: 15 (Vex: 25) Dmg: 13
Bone Naga casts Hold Person. Yuno WIS 12 save: 19
Yuno seeing the danger acts first. Undead snake or not, Mages are dangerous but can also be quite squishy. She needs to take the Naga down before it can unleash its powerful spells to take her down. With a surge of power, Yuno makes three powerful swings, her sword cleaving through the dry bones that comprise the Naga. Dry, broken bones clatter across the marbled floor of the Naga's cell. The Naga hisses, "Fussy girl! Drop your weapons and let death take you!" It tries to paralyze Yuno with its magic but Yuno simply laughs. "It's gonna take a lot more than that to take me down."
Round 2:
Yuno (43/43)
Bone Naga (13/58)
Bastard Sword: NAT1 (Vex: 13) Inspiration: 10
BA Bastard Sword: 21 Dmg: 12
Bone Naga casts Hold Person. Yuno DC12 WIS save: 11
Yuno swings again but the Naga dodges the first swing only to get slashed across the face by her second Bastard sword. The Naga's jaw breaks and it falls off. However, being magical, it doesn't need the jaw to speak. Suddenly, Yuno's eyes glaze over and her face turns calm with a blank expression. She lowers her swords, not defending herself at all or making any attempt to fight back anymore. Yuno has fallen victim to the Naga's paralyzing spell.
Round 3
Yuno (43/43) [Paralyzed]
Bone Naga (13/58)
Yuno loses her turn. WIS save: 10
Bone Naga Bite: 8 (Adv: 16)
The Bone Naga begins to toy with its prey, swirling around Yuno as its spell prevents her from resisting at all. It runs its teeth along Yuno's skin and taunts, "Now... isn't that better? It is a lot less painful when you just relax and let it happen."
Round 3
Yuno (43/43) [Paralyzed]
Bone Naga (13/58)
Yuno loses her turn. WIS save: 14
Bone Naga Hold Person on Yuno. WIS save: 12
Round 4
Yuno (43/43) [Paralyzed]
Bone Naga (13/58)
Yuno Bastard sword: 10
BA Bastard Sword: 12
Bone Naga. Casts Hold Person (Level 3). WIS 12 Save: 9
Round 5
Yuno (43/43) [Paralyzed]
Bone Naga (13/58)
Yuno loses her turn. WIS save: 14
Bone Naga Hold Person (out of spell slots now). WIS 12 Save: 16
The Bone Naga notices something wrong. Yuno is breaking free of its control. "What!?" It says, not understanding what's going on. It has to concentrate with all its magical might just to hold Yuno in place but then... Yuno blinks and the cloudiness fades from Yuno's eyes. The Serial Killer breaks free. Yuno laughs, "AHAHAHAHA. Nice trick. What's the matter? You look scared."
Round 6
Yuno (12/43)
Bone Naga (13/58)
Bastard Sword: 13
BA Bastard Sword: 13
Bone Naga BA: Shield of Faith on self. +2 AC
Bone Naga bites Yuno: NAT20 Dmg: 12 Piercing + 19 Poison
Yuno lunges at the Naga but it quickly raises its defenses, magically deflecting Yuno's swords. Then it lunges... It's teeth sink into Yuno's neck. Yuno groans in pain as the fangs cut of her airway and drenches her body in blood. The poison courses through her veins. Yuno feels her chest burning. The Bone Naga doesn't taunt. It is taking Yuno seriously now. It is cornered and at its most desperate and dangerous now.
Round 7
Yuno (12/43)
Bone Naga (Dead/58)
Yuno Bastard Sword: 21 Dmg: 13
Yuno glares at the Naga and then, with a swift swing, splits its skull into two. The bony snake collapses on to the ground.
Rewards:
XP: 1,100 (LEVEL UP)
GP: 220