This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Jorin, still with his back to the party while kicking around old, musty boxes, here's the scream and immediately drops the torch and draws his second battleaxe. He wheels around and calls out, "Drusk! Are you ok?"
He takes a step towards his friend, ready to attack anything.
Move: Moves to the square behind Drusk
Action: Ready an attack for when a creature enters his reach Attack: 17 Damage: 5
Edited to add the attack rolls, should it get triggered.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Drusk INT save: 8 (The rest of this post assumes that Drusk passes the save, or that failure doesn't incapacitate him.)
Init roll: 16
"Something is attacking my brain. Where is it?"
Looks around to see if there is anything obvious that might be causing the pain. Perception: 12 If nothing is noticed, Drusk will move south out of the room, and slightly west, so that the last room is no longer in direct eyesight.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As Vanja pockets the second scroll and turns to walk back out of the room, the shout from Drusk gets her attention. At the mention of something attacking his brain her faces blanches, and she quickly wracks her own brain to see if she recalls anything from her training about creatures that attack the mind.
Initiative:18
Action/Bonus Action: I'd like to have Vanja make some kind of check to see what she might know, but I'm not certain what kind of check. I'd imagine either Arcana or Nature, or even just a straight Intelligence check to see if she just remembers something that was said in passing during her training. Just tell me what you'd prefer and what the action cost would be (so I know for next time). D20 roll: 17 For Arcana, Nature, or INT, just add...Lol, ironically Vanja gets +0 to all three of those, so it's just the straight roll.
Movement: None, though she does turn in place so she can see what is happening with Drusk.
Round 1 - Party vs. the headache monster(s) RESOLUTION phase
Starting Map:
Resolution:
Drusk lets out a roar of pain (save failed, 11 dmg!), and falls to one knee, head in his hands, mace clattering to the ground. Jorin whips around, dropping the torch and swiftly pulling out his second axe, stepping to his side. “Drusk! Are you okay?”
The half-orc looks even more gray than usual, but manages to grab Joybringer off the floor, clamber to his feet, and stumble out into the hallway. "Something is attacking my brain! Where is it?" Jorin follows closely, head on a swivel, intent on protecting his friend.
Vanja turns at the shout, ball of flame in hand and ready, first surprised, then with furrowed brow as she scans the room from outside in the hall. Hildigrim stands stock still, in the room, his brain working furiously.
Notes: Drusk used the half-orc feature Relentless Endurance to remain at 1 hp despite the crippling blow. He had a full move available because he never landed at zero hp, so did not have to stand up from being prone, but he only moved a little so as to be out of line of sight from the room.
Next: Declaration phase post coming up… hold on…
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Round 2 - Party vs. the headache monster(s) DECLARATION phase
Map:
Sitrep: Injured in his mind by an unseen foe, Drusk has stumbled out of the room, followed by Jorin, past where Vanja is standing. Hildigrim, confused by what he might have missed, remains in the room, thinking hard.
Drusk - AC 18 - 1/10 hp Hildigrim - AC 14 - 9 hp Jorin - AC 17 - 12 hp Vanja - AC 12 - 10 hp Headache monster(s) - ?
Monsters declare! The monster(s) have decided what it/they are doing, but you don’t know what that is as you still don’t know where this attack is coming from.
Next: Everyone please declare.
Declare a Delay or as many of Action, Move, Bonus Action and/or Reaction as you want
Roll initiative, then also roll for your declared actions (to hit, damage, etc.)
Hildigrim, mostly oblivious to the movements of the others, finally begins speaking in rapid fire: "Maybe ... I mean .... there are, of course, stories about high beings with incredible mental powers, the illithids, beholders, extra-planar persons, races only told of in stories. But ... I recall also reading a treatise once about the effects of lingering magic on living organisms with low sentience — that they might become imbued with a semblance of intelligence." He scratches the side of his head as he begins looking around the room again. He then walks to the torch and picks it up and begins walking around the room. "It's possible the green molds ... " he trails off as he continues to look about the room. "The green molds," he repeats. "It's a far-fetched hypothesis, but ..."
Bonus: pick up torch
Action: lots of talking and looking for more mold (do I need to roll again?)
Movement: the perimeter of the room, looking for any traces of mold
"Sometimes slimes and oozes get mind-blasting abilities. The problem is, the entire room is wet and slimey... I am at a loss. We can fight now, or retreat and make plans. Whatever you (the group) want to try, I will do my best."
Drusk delays! (Wants to see if Hildigrim will need healing aid, or what the others decide.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
OOC > I had a whole bit about how this might be an interesting time to Delay, and how that would be handled differently by cyclical initiative, but I opted not to post it. But now... In regular initiative, with a hidden assailant, the option would be to Ready an action, but because you have to decide what you are Readying, that's more of a setting-up-an-ambush action than an I-don't-know-what-is-going-on action. Then again, it does mean the headache monster(s) would get the drop on anyone who is Delaying...
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
OOC > I had a whole bit about how this might be an interesting time to Delay, and how that would be handled differently by cyclical initiative, but I opted not to post it. But now... In regular initiative, with a hidden assailant, the option would be to Ready an action, but because you have to decide what you are Readying, that's more of a setting-up-an-ambush action than an I-don't-know-what-is-going-on action. Then again, it does mean the headache monster(s) would get the drop on anyone who is Delaying...
Drusk is not going to attack. He was planning on casting Cure Wounds on himself, but he sees Hildigrim starting to clutch his head. If Hildi goes down, then he plans on casting Healing Word, and using his action to drag Hildi out of the room.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Jorin sees they have left Hildigrim behind and says to Vanja and Drusk, "Stay here." as he runs back to Hildigrim. When he gets to Hildigrim, he says, "Hildi, we need to get away from this mold." and will (attempt to) quickly grab him and carry him out of the room.
OoC - Jorin has 30 feet of movement and will use it all to get Hildigrim out of the mold room if possible.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
INT save: 20
OOC: I have NEVER rolled this well before. This is incredible. Jorin just got a crit as well. Maybe DDB is giving us all a Christmas gift by influencing the rolls to be more randomly high this time of year?
Maybe DDB is giving us all a Christmas gift by influencing the rolls to be more randomly high this time of year?
(Nope. In another campaign, another player rolled a 2. I had DM inspiration, so I used that for another roll... and got a 1.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Round 2 - Party vs. the headache monster(s) RESOLUTION phase part 1 Starting map:
Resolution:Hildigrim steps further into the room, picking up the torch Jorin dropped, and looking around. Drusk, breathing hard, turns to see Hildigrim is still in the room, but he hesitates as he hears the halfling cry out and put a hand to his head (save made! 3 dmg). Jorin says, “Stay here,” and races past Vanja back into the room, picking Hildi up (still carrying the torch!) and hauling him back into the hallway. Vanja stands still, taking stock of the situation, but still sees no assailant.
Notes: Jorin’s full move got him just back out of the room, but not out of line of sight into the room. He had to go through or around Vanja, and Hildi had moved further away (to pick up the torch). The grapple Athletics check was really high, so I ruled Hildi had no option but to be grabbed and taken (fuddled as he was with thinking… normally an opposed Acrobatics or Athletics check would have let him fight the grapple).
Next: Declaration phase for Drusk and/or Vanja! See below...
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Round 2 - Party vs. the headache monster(s) DECLARATION phase part 2 Map:
Sitrep: Hildi got hit by the same brain attack as Drusk, Jorin got him out of there (but not very far). Drusk and Vanja hesitated and they can now declare and act. Drusk - AC 18 - 1/10 hp Hildigrim - AC 14 - 6/9 hp Jorin - AC 17 - 12 hp Vanja - AC 12 - 10 hp Headache monster(s) - ?
Next: Drusk and Vanja please declare your Delayed action(s) or Delay again to end the round:
Declare Delay or as many of Action, Move, Bonus Action and/or Reaction as you want
Roll initiative, then also roll for your declared actions (to hit, damage, etc.)
Jorin, still with his back to the party while kicking around old, musty boxes, here's the scream and immediately drops the torch and draws his second battleaxe. He wheels around and calls out, "Drusk! Are you ok?"
He takes a step towards his friend, ready to attack anything.
Edited to add the attack rolls, should it get triggered.
Sekrit DM rollz:
11
5
13
5
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Drusk INT save: 8 (The rest of this post assumes that Drusk passes the save, or that failure doesn't incapacitate him.)
Init roll: 16
"Something is attacking my brain. Where is it?"
Looks around to see if there is anything obvious that might be causing the pain. Perception: 12 If nothing is noticed, Drusk will move south out of the room, and slightly west, so that the last room is no longer in direct eyesight.
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
OOC: Where did Hildigrim not look during his investigation?
OOC > I’ll let you know when you figure out what this is. Which is to say, Hildigrim looked in all the places, ceiling, floor, walls, boxes, corners.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
As Vanja pockets the second scroll and turns to walk back out of the room, the shout from Drusk gets her attention. At the mention of something attacking his brain her faces blanches, and she quickly wracks her own brain to see if she recalls anything from her training about creatures that attack the mind.
Hildigrim is just as perplexed as Vanja. He also tries to recall if he's read anything that might give him a clue as to how to help his friend.
Intelligence: 19 (arcana & history +2, medicine -1, nature & religion +0)
No movement
Round 1 - Party vs. the headache monster(s)
RESOLUTION phase
Starting Map:
Resolution:
Drusk lets out a roar of pain (save failed, 11 dmg!), and falls to one knee, head in his hands, mace clattering to the ground. Jorin whips around, dropping the torch and swiftly pulling out his second axe, stepping to his side. “Drusk! Are you okay?”
The half-orc looks even more gray than usual, but manages to grab Joybringer off the floor, clamber to his feet, and stumble out into the hallway. "Something is attacking my brain! Where is it?" Jorin follows closely, head on a swivel, intent on protecting his friend.
Vanja turns at the shout, ball of flame in hand and ready, first surprised, then with furrowed brow as she scans the room from outside in the hall. Hildigrim stands stock still, in the room, his brain working furiously.
Notes: Drusk used the half-orc feature Relentless Endurance to remain at 1 hp despite the crippling blow. He had a full move available because he never landed at zero hp, so did not have to stand up from being prone, but he only moved a little so as to be out of line of sight from the room.
Next: Declaration phase post coming up… hold on…
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Round 2 - Party vs. the headache monster(s)
DECLARATION phase
Map:
Sitrep: Injured in his mind by an unseen foe, Drusk has stumbled out of the room, followed by Jorin, past where Vanja is standing. Hildigrim, confused by what he might have missed, remains in the room, thinking hard.
Drusk - AC 18 - 1/10 hp
Hildigrim - AC 14 - 9 hp
Jorin - AC 17 - 12 hp
Vanja - AC 12 - 10 hp
Headache monster(s) - ?
Monsters declare! The monster(s) have decided what it/they are doing, but you don’t know what that is as you still don’t know where this attack is coming from.
Next: Everyone please declare.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Hildigrim, mostly oblivious to the movements of the others, finally begins speaking in rapid fire: "Maybe ... I mean .... there are, of course, stories about high beings with incredible mental powers, the illithids, beholders, extra-planar persons, races only told of in stories. But ... I recall also reading a treatise once about the effects of lingering magic on living organisms with low sentience — that they might become imbued with a semblance of intelligence." He scratches the side of his head as he begins looking around the room again. He then walks to the torch and picks it up and begins walking around the room. "It's possible the green molds ... " he trails off as he continues to look about the room. "The green molds," he repeats. "It's a far-fetched hypothesis, but ..."
Bonus: pick up torch
Action: lots of talking and looking for more mold (do I need to roll again?)
Movement: the perimeter of the room, looking for any traces of mold
Hildigrim, please make an intelligence saving throw.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
"Sometimes slimes and oozes get mind-blasting abilities. The problem is, the entire room is wet and slimey... I am at a loss. We can fight now, or retreat and make plans. Whatever you (the group) want to try, I will do my best."
Drusk delays! (Wants to see if Hildigrim will need healing aid, or what the others decide.)
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
OOC > I had a whole bit about how this might be an interesting time to Delay, and how that would be handled differently by cyclical initiative, but I opted not to post it. But now... In regular initiative, with a hidden assailant, the option would be to Ready an action, but because you have to decide what you are Readying, that's more of a setting-up-an-ambush action than an I-don't-know-what-is-going-on action. Then again, it does mean the headache monster(s) would get the drop on anyone who is Delaying...
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Drusk is not going to attack. He was planning on casting Cure Wounds on himself, but he sees Hildigrim starting to clutch his head. If Hildi goes down, then he plans on casting Healing Word, and using his action to drag Hildi out of the room.
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Jorin sees they have left Hildigrim behind and says to Vanja and Drusk, "Stay here." as he runs back to Hildigrim. When he gets to Hildigrim, he says, "Hildi, we need to get away from this mold." and will (attempt to) quickly grab him and carry him out of the room.
OoC - Jorin has 30 feet of movement and will use it all to get Hildigrim out of the mold room if possible.
INT save: 20
OOC: I have NEVER rolled this well before. This is incredible. Jorin just got a crit as well. Maybe DDB is giving us all a Christmas gift by influencing the rolls to be more randomly high this time of year?
(Nope. In another campaign, another player rolled a 2. I had DM inspiration, so I used that for another roll... and got a 1.)
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Sekrit DM rolls...
8
17
3
OOC > Well, that sucks for y'all...
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Round 2 - Party vs. the headache monster(s)
RESOLUTION phase part 1
Starting map:
Resolution: Hildigrim steps further into the room, picking up the torch Jorin dropped, and looking around. Drusk, breathing hard, turns to see Hildigrim is still in the room, but he hesitates as he hears the halfling cry out and put a hand to his head (save made! 3 dmg). Jorin says, “Stay here,” and races past Vanja back into the room, picking Hildi up (still carrying the torch!) and hauling him back into the hallway. Vanja stands still, taking stock of the situation, but still sees no assailant.
Notes: Jorin’s full move got him just back out of the room, but not out of line of sight into the room. He had to go through or around Vanja, and Hildi had moved further away (to pick up the torch). The grapple Athletics check was really high, so I ruled Hildi had no option but to be grabbed and taken (fuddled as he was with thinking… normally an opposed Acrobatics or Athletics check would have let him fight the grapple).
Next: Declaration phase for Drusk and/or Vanja! See below...
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Round 2 - Party vs. the headache monster(s)
DECLARATION phase part 2
Map:
Sitrep: Hildi got hit by the same brain attack as Drusk, Jorin got him out of there (but not very far). Drusk and Vanja hesitated and they can now declare and act.
Drusk - AC 18 - 1/10 hp
Hildigrim - AC 14 - 6/9 hp
Jorin - AC 17 - 12 hp
Vanja - AC 12 - 10 hp
Headache monster(s) - ?
Next: Drusk and Vanja please declare your Delayed action(s) or Delay again to end the round:
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.