Skoth takes a short rest and recovers 12 hit points using 1 hit dice.
Skoth examines the scimitar, boots, and blue cloak with some interest.
Skoth recognizes the rune upon this blade as a combination of two enchantments. Upon speaking a command word (the druidic word meaning "shine"), the first enchantment allows the blade to glow with a dim magical light (akin to moonlight) in darkness. The second enchantment utilizes arcane energies to sharpen the blade beyond the skill of any mundane smith. Additionally, the magical edge will never dull. [The item is +1 Moon-Touched Scimitar - it is both a moon-touched sword and a +1 sword]
Unfortunately, the druid can offer no new insights regarding the cloak and boots
As he continues his examination, the runes upon the ammunition catch Skoth's eye: they are identical to one of the runes upon the scimitar! All of the ammunition (arrows, bolts, and bullets) are enchanted to be sharper, tougher, and more accurate than mundane versions. [All ammo is of the +1 variety]
"Commander Narin, if I may speak plainly, your assignment has taken you onto lands that my family and their neighbors own, and have immediate interest in keeping safe. If it does not fall within the purview of your debt, why are your men in Pyrringham? Who sent you, and by what authority do they send mercenaries on our lands?"
The commander blinks, a faint grimace crossing his features as his question is ignored. However, the look is quickly replaced by surprise and recognition. The man gives a sweeping bow before speaking. "Ah, you must be the good sir, Wendell Rolfe, son of Berta Rolfe, née Fairmont, and her husband, Deiter Rolfe - am I correct?"
At Wendell's assent, Narin continues, "I suppose that, in order to answer your question, I should explain the nature of the High Hills Vanguard. While we might - technically - be accurately defined as a mercenary organization, we are actually an extended detachment of the High Hills Defense Force - the military of High Hills. When the interests of High Hills require non-hostile military operations beyond our borders, a small contingent of specialists is sent out wherever we are needed. After assessing whatever situation called for our services, we determine whether or not a more potent contingent is required and, if it is, recruit local forces to help us act in accordance with whatever orders - referred to as a contract - were authorized by a suitably ordained member of the High Hills government. In many such cases, the interests may actually originate from an allied nation or organization which requests aid from the High Hills government."
Narin pauses to ensure his audience is following. He then continues, "Ordinarily, our contracts are kept strictly private but, as you yourself are a member of the family, so to speak, and in the company of a duly appointed representative of the University," Narin gives a brief nod to Elaric, "I see no breach here: our contract was made at the request of the Arcane University of Adaern and consent was given by order of the Senior Exchequer of High Hills and Head of the High Hills Merchant's Guild; the Viscount, Lord Creston Fairmont. Your uncle, Wendell. By special request and specific instruction, we were tasked with the excavation, exploration, preservation, and possible defense of a ruin beneath the village of Pyrringham. We were given a timetable, detailed tasks to complete, and told to expect the oversight and assistance of an expert from the University." Turning to Elaric, the commander gives a slight bow. "I presume you, then, are the appointed expert, Master Carsalon?"
The shock on Elaric's face is nearly comical, but the Elf composes himself quickly. He opens his mouth, closes it, and then opens it again to speak, "I am afraid, commander Narin, that I know nothing of this matter. While I do claim associate status with the Arcane University, and am an expert on certain ancient societies, I am neither a master nor, as far as I am aware, involved with this project. What makes you believe I am the University's representative in this matter?"
With a sudden look of suspicion, he adds, "And I do not believe we have ever met. How do you come to know my name and face? "
Narin looks puzzled for moment before replying, "I was told to expect you and given a detailed description. Your role was specifically stipulated in the contract, in point of fact. I was told that you would follow on to formally oversee the preservation and cataloguing of the site after the first representative made his preliminary inspection and removed several artifacts for initial study."
With a raised brow, Elaric inquires in an apprehensive tone, "And just who was this first representative?"
Looking more surprised by each turn in the conversation, Narin replies, "Why, it was the man who brought us the contract proposal in the first place. The archeologist who told the Viscount of the ruins; your mentor, Master Alzared Kalmar."
b) holy crapballs I have a LOT of reading and writing for school
c) I feel guilty it took me so long to close this all out
d) I want to leave room for Andy and George to set the next part of the adventure when/as they will (whether that is two seconds after this scene, two years down the road, or any other time they please)
So, to close this out correctly, a few things:
1. All players gain 2,270 XP.
2. The yellow gems used in the ritual are identified as the Earth Gems Elaric found mentioned in the journal. By taking them to the portal Mady found and placing them in two empty sockets in the room, the portal to Chauntea's plane in restored and Pyrringham is saved. YAY! The party is awarded 2,000 GP by the town of Pyrringham for identifying and stopping the source of the ankheg threat, the entire town throws a HUGE party to honor this deed, and the reputation of our heroes grows across the land.
3. Between individual checks and Wendell's Identify ritual, the following loot was obtained (please note, this list includes things already examined so don't add them twice!):
Scroll container with 21 individual scroll tubes (7 of jade [wizard], 7 of leather [druid], and 7 of wood[cleric/paladin]) - 8 of the tubes contain scrolls; 4 in jade tubes, 2 in leather tubes, and 2 in wooden tubes
Spell Scroll (Expeditious Retreat)
Spell Scroll (Nystul’s Magic Aura)
Spell Scroll (Protection from Evil and Good)
Spell Scroll (Charm Person)
Spell Scroll (Druidcraft)
Spell Scroll (Hail of Thorns)
Spell Scroll (Healing Word)
Spell Scroll (Sanctuary)
Chest of Potions – 8 out of the 10 vials contain potions
Potion of Healing X 4
Potion of Greater Healing X 2
Potion of Water Breathing
Potion of Fire Breath
Some of the following items were added with specific characters in mind (noted in BOLD after the item). Please feel free to ignore these - I wanted to make sure everyone was decked out with similarly decent gear before hitting level 5 and Tier II
Armor of Gleaming (padded) – Skoth
Blue cloak - Cloak of Protection - Balasar
Shield of Expression
+1 Moon-Touched Sword (Scimitar) - Skoth
Leather boots - Boots of Striding and Springing - Gong
Adamantine Armor (breastplate) – Guan Hao
Quiver of Ehlonna with the following contents:
+1 Weapon (longbow) - Elaric
+1 Weapon (light crossbow) - Skoth
+1 Weapon (sling) – Wendell
+1 Weapon (Spear)
+1 Ammunition (sling bullets) X 20
+1 Ammunition (arrows) X 20
+ 1 Ammunition (bolts) X 20
Treasure Chest:
500 cp,
3000 sp,
2100 gp,
100 pp
Carved Ivory Drinking Horn inlaid with Brass (250 gp)
Tooled Leather Shoes inlaid with Silver (250 gp)
Bronze Cloth Cloak (250 gp)
+1 Wand of the War Mage - Wendell
Small ruby etched with eldritch runes – Ruby of the War Mage - Elaric
Spell Book – This flawless book is written in luminous script upon pale parchment and bound in what appears to be tangible shadow. Several of its pages appear to be missing.
Level 1: Absorb Elements, Burning Hands, Cause Fear, Grease, Identify, Jump, Protection from Evil and Good, Tenser's Floating Disk
Level 2: Continual Flame, Gust of Wind, Knock, Levitate, Magic Mouth, Mind Spike, Nystul's Magic Aura, See Invisibility, Shadow Blade, Web
Additionally, there are notes sufficient to create glamoured clothing (common magical item worth 50 gp):
you can use a bonus action to speak the clothing's command word and cause it to assume the appearance of any set of clothing or kind of armor. You decide what it looks like, including color, style, and accessories, but your clothing retains its normal bulk and weight. The illusory appearance lasts until you use this property again or remove the clothing.
In addition to weaver’s tools and proficiency with them (or a competent weaver), the process requires:
Clothing to be enchanted (may be purchased or created in this process)
Ettercap silk for stitching the necessary runes (silk from at least 2 ettercaps per set of clothing to be created)
25 gp for materials consumed in the process
3 days of work.
Other treasures discovered throughout the ruins which the party arranges to remove:
14 sets of full plate with metal parts in great condition (worth 150 gp each)
10 flawless green crystals – Elementally infused crystals ideal for creating Elemental Gems. This type of crystal sprouts out of naturally occurring elements which have been exposed to the energies of an elemental plane. Most commonly, the elemental plane intensifies a natural element most closely attuned to the plane in question (e.g. small air pockets with the plane of air, droplets of water with the plane of water, etc.), altering and solidifying the plane-touched substance into a strong new crystalline structure.
The crystals discovered deep within the ruins of Pyrringham, though green in appearance, can be cut, polished, and magically refined into a fine yellow diamond-like gem. The yellow coloration is indicative of minerals infused with energies from the plane of earth and, with the proper spells, may be transformed into an Earth Gem.
[I've added the XP and Adamantine Breastplate to Guan Hao. Balasar can have the cloak. Once everybody else has claimed what they want, we can get a GP value on the rest, and tot up the total. I'd recommend we just pool our resources and start keeping a sum of total party funds. I also think we should pool all our current health potions and see how many we have of each type, make sure everybody's carrying a more or less equal number before we go into the next adventure.]
[Balasar claims the cloak, and will attune to it at the next opportunity. Regarding the division of gold, what do we envision using party funds for? That may help inform the decision of whether to throw everything into a common pool or give each character an equal share along with the party.]
[EDIT: I've added the cloak and XP to Balasar's character sheet and leveled Balasar up.]
[Party funds would probably mostly be used as a potion or vehicle fund, anything from renting passage on a ship to buying one outright. They could also be used for things like setting up a stronghold. That said, if the party funds are not divided and we sell all the nonmagical loot, Wendell's looking at enough to buy a farm, which could serve as a more permanent home base and a source of consistent income.]
[Once we have consensus on how the loot is to be divided, including if/how a party fund is established, we will conclude the current story and enter a period of downtime. During this time, if any characters have specific actions they want to accomplish, pm me and we'll figure something out. This can be purchases, minor quests, or starting to learn a new proficiency or language (will take 250 days total and 1gp spent per day once a suitable teacher is found.). Down time will last approximately 30 in game days before the start of the next adventure.]
Elaric will claim the bow and arrows, the gem (unless Wendell wants it) with an eye toward researching how to create such an item, and a portion of the gold [based on how we decide to split the pile]. He shares his intentions (privately with the party and pending approval from Wendell, Mady, and Bruna) to remain at the ruins and take up his assigned role in order to better study the ruins, the runes, and learn how his supposedly dead mentor came to arrange this dig.
Additionally, if anyone is willing to help, he expresses an interest in obtaining ettercap silk with the goal of creating a set (or multiple sets) of glamored clothing for any party members who want them.
[XP added, bow and arrows added, and I will post a breakdown of treasure (coins only) per pc. I propose splitting the coins as evenly as we can and then putting the remainder and the proceeds of saleable items in a party purse that may be drawn upon for communal needs (health potions for all, scrolls of protection spells for prebattle prep, transportation, inn/housing, item creation, etc.)]
[Assuming the idea above (see post #752) meets with group approval, and ignoring the art objects yet to be sold, everyone receives:
16 platinum
683 gold
500 silver
83 copper
With the community fund getting 4pp, 2 gp, and 2 cp.
In order to better fund the community pot, we might also consider rounding our amounts down to the nearest 5 pp and 50 everything else. If we did, each pc gets 15 pp, 650 gp, 450 sp, and 50 cp. This leaves the community purse at 10 pp, 200 gp, 300 sp, and 200 cp (I think, but someone check my math!). Thoughts from the group?]
PLEASE DON'T ADD COINS UNTIL WE AGREE HOW TO SPLIT THEM!
Another option might be to fund the community pot from the proceeds of selling items, while directing loose coins to the characters. It really depends on how well funded we want the community pot to be.
EDIT: At this point, it probably boils down to the question of badly/quickly do we want to establish a central stronghold for ourselves?
We might also want to give some thought to how we'll go about funding/equipping a new PC if one of our current PCs dies and is replaced by another character (especially if this happens at a higher tier).
Other treasures discovered throughout the ruins which the party arranges to remove:
14 sets of full plate with metal parts in great condition (worth 150 gp each)
10 flawless green crystals – Elementally infused crystals ideal for creating Elemental Gems. This type of crystal sprouts out of naturally occurring elements which have been exposed to the energies of an elemental plane. Most commonly, the elemental plane intensifies a natural element most closely attuned to the plane in question (e.g. small air pockets with the plane of air, droplets of water with the plane of water, etc.), altering and solidifying the plane-touched substance into a strong new crystalline structure.
The crystals discovered deep within the ruins of Pyrringham, though green in appearance, can be cut, polished, and magically refined into a fine yellow diamond-like gem. The yellow coloration is indicative of minerals infused with energies from the plane of earth and, with the proper spells, may be transformed into an Earth Gem.
Does this include the two crystals Balasar picked up?
Does this include the two crystals Balasar picked up?
Thank you for reminding me: no, this does not include those two. Those are still in Balasar's inventory. The 10 listed above were recovered on the way out.
Gong will accept the boots and XP, and I agree with the division of coin in posts 752-755. I've added the boots to Gong's character sheet; just let me know how many coins he gets once we've all agreed on the distribution.
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Skoth takes a short rest and recovers 11 hit points using 1 hit dice.
Skoth examines the scimitar, boots, and blue cloak with some interest.
Arcana checks-
Scimitar: 9
Blue Cloak: 8
Boots: 9
Skoth also examines the rune on the crossbow bolts.
Perception: 14
Skoth recognizes the rune upon this blade as a combination of two enchantments. Upon speaking a command word (the druidic word meaning "shine"), the first enchantment allows the blade to glow with a dim magical light (akin to moonlight) in darkness. The second enchantment utilizes arcane energies to sharpen the blade beyond the skill of any mundane smith. Additionally, the magical edge will never dull. [The item is +1 Moon-Touched Scimitar - it is both a moon-touched sword and a +1 sword]
Unfortunately, the druid can offer no new insights regarding the cloak and boots
As he continues his examination, the runes upon the ammunition catch Skoth's eye: they are identical to one of the runes upon the scimitar! All of the ammunition (arrows, bolts, and bullets) are enchanted to be sharper, tougher, and more accurate than mundane versions. [All ammo is of the +1 variety]
The commander blinks, a faint grimace crossing his features as his question is ignored. However, the look is quickly replaced by surprise and recognition. The man gives a sweeping bow before speaking. "Ah, you must be the good sir, Wendell Rolfe, son of Berta Rolfe, née Fairmont, and her husband, Deiter Rolfe - am I correct?"
At Wendell's assent, Narin continues, "I suppose that, in order to answer your question, I should explain the nature of the High Hills Vanguard. While we might - technically - be accurately defined as a mercenary organization, we are actually an extended detachment of the High Hills Defense Force - the military of High Hills. When the interests of High Hills require non-hostile military operations beyond our borders, a small contingent of specialists is sent out wherever we are needed. After assessing whatever situation called for our services, we determine whether or not a more potent contingent is required and, if it is, recruit local forces to help us act in accordance with whatever orders - referred to as a contract - were authorized by a suitably ordained member of the High Hills government. In many such cases, the interests may actually originate from an allied nation or organization which requests aid from the High Hills government."
Narin pauses to ensure his audience is following. He then continues, "Ordinarily, our contracts are kept strictly private but, as you yourself are a member of the family, so to speak, and in the company of a duly appointed representative of the University," Narin gives a brief nod to Elaric, "I see no breach here: our contract was made at the request of the Arcane University of Adaern and consent was given by order of the Senior Exchequer of High Hills and Head of the High Hills Merchant's Guild; the Viscount, Lord Creston Fairmont. Your uncle, Wendell. By special request and specific instruction, we were tasked with the excavation, exploration, preservation, and possible defense of a ruin beneath the village of Pyrringham. We were given a timetable, detailed tasks to complete, and told to expect the oversight and assistance of an expert from the University." Turning to Elaric, the commander gives a slight bow. "I presume you, then, are the appointed expert, Master Carsalon?"
The shock on Elaric's face is nearly comical, but the Elf composes himself quickly. He opens his mouth, closes it, and then opens it again to speak, "I am afraid, commander Narin, that I know nothing of this matter. While I do claim associate status with the Arcane University, and am an expert on certain ancient societies, I am neither a master nor, as far as I am aware, involved with this project. What makes you believe I am the University's representative in this matter?"
With a sudden look of suspicion, he adds, "And I do not believe we have ever met. How do you come to know my name and face? "
Narin looks puzzled for moment before replying, "I was told to expect you and given a detailed description. Your role was specifically stipulated in the contract, in point of fact. I was told that you would follow on to formally oversee the preservation and cataloguing of the site after the first representative made his preliminary inspection and removed several artifacts for initial study."
With a raised brow, Elaric inquires in an apprehensive tone, "And just who was this first representative?"
Looking more surprised by each turn in the conversation, Narin replies, "Why, it was the man who brought us the contract proposal in the first place. The archeologist who told the Viscount of the ruins; your mentor, Master Alzared Kalmar."
[OOG: I am ending the adventure here because:
a) it seems a good cliff hanger on two fronts
b) holy crapballs I have a LOT of reading and writing for school
c) I feel guilty it took me so long to close this all out
d) I want to leave room for Andy and George to set the next part of the adventure when/as they will (whether that is two seconds after this scene, two years down the road, or any other time they please)
So, to close this out correctly, a few things:
1. All players gain 2,270 XP.
2. The yellow gems used in the ritual are identified as the Earth Gems Elaric found mentioned in the journal. By taking them to the portal Mady found and placing them in two empty sockets in the room, the portal to Chauntea's plane in restored and Pyrringham is saved. YAY! The party is awarded 2,000 GP by the town of Pyrringham for identifying and stopping the source of the ankheg threat, the entire town throws a HUGE party to honor this deed, and the reputation of our heroes grows across the land.
3. Between individual checks and Wendell's Identify ritual, the following loot was obtained (please note, this list includes things already examined so don't add them twice!):
Some of the following items were added with specific characters in mind (noted in BOLD after the item). Please feel free to ignore these - I wanted to make sure everyone was decked out with similarly decent gear before hitting level 5 and Tier II
Other treasures discovered throughout the ruins which the party arranges to remove:
[I've added the XP and Adamantine Breastplate to Guan Hao. Balasar can have the cloak. Once everybody else has claimed what they want, we can get a GP value on the rest, and tot up the total. I'd recommend we just pool our resources and start keeping a sum of total party funds. I also think we should pool all our current health potions and see how many we have of each type, make sure everybody's carrying a more or less equal number before we go into the next adventure.]
[another option is to have the party act as another character that gets an equal share of any profits, kind of a "ship's cut"]
[Balasar claims the cloak, and will attune to it at the next opportunity. Regarding the division of gold, what do we envision using party funds for? That may help inform the decision of whether to throw everything into a common pool or give each character an equal share along with the party.]
[EDIT: I've added the cloak and XP to Balasar's character sheet and leveled Balasar up.]
[Wendell has added the Wand, Sling, and XP.]
[Party funds would probably mostly be used as a potion or vehicle fund, anything from renting passage on a ship to buying one outright. They could also be used for things like setting up a stronghold. That said, if the party funds are not divided and we sell all the nonmagical loot, Wendell's looking at enough to buy a farm, which could serve as a more permanent home base and a source of consistent income.]
[Once we have consensus on how the loot is to be divided, including if/how a party fund is established, we will conclude the current story and enter a period of downtime. During this time, if any characters have specific actions they want to accomplish, pm me and we'll figure something out. This can be purchases, minor quests, or starting to learn a new proficiency or language (will take 250 days total and 1gp spent per day once a suitable teacher is found.). Down time will last approximately 30 in game days before the start of the next adventure.]
Elaric will claim the bow and arrows, the gem (unless Wendell wants it) with an eye toward researching how to create such an item, and a portion of the gold [based on how we decide to split the pile]. He shares his intentions (privately with the party and pending approval from Wendell, Mady, and Bruna) to remain at the ruins and take up his assigned role in order to better study the ruins, the runes, and learn how his supposedly dead mentor came to arrange this dig.
Additionally, if anyone is willing to help, he expresses an interest in obtaining ettercap silk with the goal of creating a set (or multiple sets) of glamored clothing for any party members who want them.
[XP added, bow and arrows added, and I will post a breakdown of treasure (coins only) per pc. I propose splitting the coins as evenly as we can and then putting the remainder and the proceeds of saleable items in a party purse that may be drawn upon for communal needs (health potions for all, scrolls of protection spells for prebattle prep, transportation, inn/housing, item creation, etc.)]
[Assuming the idea above (see post #752) meets with group approval, and ignoring the art objects yet to be sold, everyone receives:
16 platinum
683 gold
500 silver
83 copper
With the community fund getting 4pp, 2 gp, and 2 cp.
In order to better fund the community pot, we might also consider rounding our amounts down to the nearest 5 pp and 50 everything else. If we did, each pc gets 15 pp, 650 gp, 450 sp, and 50 cp. This leaves the community purse at 10 pp, 200 gp, 300 sp, and 200 cp (I think, but someone check my math!). Thoughts from the group?]
PLEASE DON'T ADD COINS UNTIL WE AGREE HOW TO SPLIT THEM!
[Approve of rounding to nearest 5]
[893.83 GP from loose coins seems reasonable and has Wendell's vote]
Another option might be to fund the community pot from the proceeds of selling items, while directing loose coins to the characters. It really depends on how well funded we want the community pot to be.
EDIT: At this point, it probably boils down to the question of badly/quickly do we want to establish a central stronghold for ourselves?
We might also want to give some thought to how we'll go about funding/equipping a new PC if one of our current PCs dies and is replaced by another character (especially if this happens at a higher tier).
All that being said, this is my vote as well.
I am fine with having a communiry pot from sold items.
Skoth will take the scimitar, crossbow and bolts as well as the padded leather tunic(there was one available right?)
Does this include the two crystals Balasar picked up?
Thank you for reminding me: no, this does not include those two. Those are still in Balasar's inventory. The 10 listed above were recovered on the way out.
Gong will accept the boots and XP, and I agree with the division of coin in posts 752-755. I've added the boots to Gong's character sheet; just let me know how many coins he gets once we've all agreed on the distribution.