This thread is the continuation of a game started here. Unfortunately circumstances have forced us to move. The campaign is based upon WoTC's Tyranny of Dragons adventure. While some details remain the same, the bulk of it has been changed through multiple rewrites.
A quiet hangs over the battlefield before the wizards' tower as the Paladin of Tiamat, Commander Cyanwrath, finally succumbs to the combined efforts of the Silver Blaze.
The bodies are searched soon enough. Soon, you have a large stack of items worth going through. Nearly all of the combatants on the field had some sort of magical item, although most of it appears to be relatively weak effects.
Of the greatest interest would be Cyanwrath's blade and armor, A staff taken from the archmage, a strange looking puzzle box, and a scrollcase on the body of the last cleric who had managed to cheat death much longer than most of his compatriots.
Some time later, the doors to the tower open again, and a very tired looking gnomish woman appears, with Winter and Summer following close behind. She walks over to you all and bows, "I wish to extend my gratitude for defending my home. And apologize that my fool of a husband has gotten back to work instead of doing the same."
Poljen looks very confused at the gnomish woman. "I thought you two were joined at the hip, or something like that."
The Prolific Performer says...
After being pulled aside by Velon along with Mari, Perry says, "I'm sorry, Mari. I chose you because I believed in you. Because you're my dear apprentice and, more importantly, someone who I really trust to have my back." He smiles softly and continues, "Still, I should have asked you. But you really were cool as a T-rex you know. You had a blonde stripe down your back."
Once all the looting and whatnot is over, Perry approaches the female gnome alongside Poljen and Velon. He interrupts whatever conversation is taking place and says, "Hey, sorry for the interrupt here, but I think I have an idea. We still have a big army out there to deal with. Poljen, Velon, what do you say we flop Cyanwrath's body down in front of them? I might be able to convince them to surrender or at the very least demoralize the majority of them enough to make them flee. Whadaya think?"
The wizard Bonwhill nods to Poljen, "We were. It was an experiment. My mother commented a while back that we might as well be the same person. So we decided to try it out for a while. It was interesting to say the least."
"But our last backups were created from before then, so after that overgrown lizard lopped our head off, we went back to being in separate bodies. In any case, Winter? Summer? I would appreciate it if you two saw to our guests' needs." The two constructs bow in unison.
"As for me, I apologize, but in essence this body was just born, and I am tired. My husband might be content to take a strong stimulant and keep going, but I prefer real rest. If you will excuse me."
After the Lady Gnome comes back out, Lawrance joins the group in greeting her. "A most useful ability, to survive beyond body death. What magics are you using? Can I see the technique? Is it costly? Do you even USE magic to accomplish this spirit-transfer?" Alive in the after-glow of surviving the mighty battle, his face is flushed and pitch high as he speaks.
OOC - Too bad we can't just combine a bunch of +1 gear to make +4 gear. :D
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Velon thanks the wizard and turns to Perry. "Not a bad idea, Perry. We do need to go see who is left out there to deal with. I hope the Captain, Poppo and the rest have been having fun."
After a pause, Velon adds "So, ah, how do we get him out of here? I know we just have to say something to exit the maze, but I'm not sure what we can bring with us." The paladin turns and poses the question to Winter.
Lia looks with curiosity at the gnome. Her eyes widen in surprise. " We are glad you survived this ordeal. Great preparation it sounds like. I should have known an intelligent wizard like yourself would have every contingency planned for. " She will watch to see the gnome restored.
Mari watches their surroundings carefully worried about the army still out there. " You are right about being transformed. It helped greatly. I need to grow accustomed to it I suppose."
Bonwhill nods in appreciation to Lia. To Lawrance she briefly explains, "An inert copy of one's body is grown and preserved in a special chamber. At the moment of death, instead of going to an outer plane, the soul is drawn to the waiting body. The process is not pleasant, but I can say that it is considerably easier then the one time I had to be brought back to life the... traditional way. Now if you will please excuse me, while this has happened before, one never quite gets used to it."
The gnomish wizard departs, waving off any further questions.
Winter answers Velon, "The mistress already told me that anything the Invaders brought with them should be considered yours should you want it. I suppose that includes the bodies if you are so inclined. There are some movers that remain undamaged by the Invaders. If such is your desire, I can arrange to have them transport anything you like to your Castle."
Perry seems a bit troubled as he ponders something, eventually he pipes up and asks to the group, "What's stopping the forces of Tiamat from coming back here later and attacking the gnomes again after we leave? This place is really far away from where we will be going next probably. And I don't think we can spare the resources to guard them for any length of time. Besides, we never really figured out exactly what they wanted in the first place. Perhaps they just wanted everything in the tower, including the gnomes."
Winter speaks up again, "I have reason to believe that they were after a very particular device dubbed the Goose Buster. I am reasonably certain you can divine what it was intended for. However, its design went a little farther than was strictly necessary."
"If as you say, these cultists are gearing up for a war against the forces of Bahamut, the device could be repurposed for such a conflict. I am willing to speculate that it could be used to Force entire flights of dragons to the ground at once. If one then has ground forces waiting to deal with the temporarily helpless dragons, it could prove incredibly effective in a large-scale combat.
"Give me a few minutes to recover and let's see what we can do to disperse the rabble that were foolish enough to follow them. I don't have the proper spell prepared to show the body as a large image or somehow make it more visible to the army, but we can come up with something, I'm sure. Winter, would any of your devices be able to project an image or something suitably impressive that they all could see?"
I'm voting for a short rest, first. Just in case some of the enemy prove...reluctant. Not sure what time we would be using up for a short rest as well as identify for what seems to be significant magic items. 2 hours?
"We should also take the few extra minutes to figure out all the stuff these foes gave us. It may be useful immediately." With that, Lawrance finds a comfortable corner to rest, and starts paging through his spellbook to cast the required spells to figure out the most important of the items they've acquired.
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
During the rest, Perry performs a tragic but moving song about a little tiefling girl trapped in a cage. He also sits with the strange puzzle box to try and learn it's properties. Finally, the bard practices his speech that he plans to give to the army outside, "Behold! Your mighty leader Lieutenant...Landragosa? Limborosa?...What the heck was his first name?" He rubs his nonexistent beard.
He doesn't seem to be making good progress.
Everyone can roll a free 1d8 for healing from song of rest.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Enjoying the subtle tune as he rests and read, Lawrance ponders the spells he has been developing.
OOC - Using that Bardic d8 and 4 HD 16 + 6
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Morgaine is surprised to see the gnome come out of the tower. She stays quite as she speaks to the group. After she leaves, Morgaine will offer to help in anyway she can as to carrying items or helping moving bodies and such.
Velon would press Winter on the possible purchase of a Goose Buster, if not as a reward for their help. To Perry's point, he would also encourage Winter and these wizards to repair their defenses in case the cult sends another dragon for their unique inventions.
Otherwise Velon would check out the loot and visit each member of the Blaze in turn, making sure they are ok. He listens to everyone's individual needs for rest, but is not overly concerned with the army outside. He does look to the sky to see if he can spot the castle, however, and make sure they are ok.
The party is able to rest ably enough, With Winter seeing to any need for refreshments and the like. A report from the castle, delivered via Tazskan's familiar, indicates that the army is laying low in the hills and trees, but appears to have regathered most of its strength. They appear to be waiting for some opening or signal.
When Lawrence takes hold of the staff taken from the archmage, he hears a soft voice in his mind, "My mistress is dead, will you please bear me in her place?"
Loot list. 12 sets of +1 breastplate armor, two sets of +2 Full Plate armor, An assortment of +1 weapons, ranging from longswords to light crossbows. The puzzle box proves difficult to divine. It is definitely magic, but it defies the usual methods of identifying the purpose of enchantments. The scrollcase enchantment proves to be a space saving effect. Over two dozen spellscrolls are found within, and it is found that simply thinking of a particular scroll brings it to the fore.
Cyanwrath's armor is +3 fullplate. Once a day, an attuned bearer can use it to cast a Freedom of Movement spell on himself as a Bonus Action (CW didn't even have to pass a save vs the Hold Person spells thanks to this)
His greatsword requires attunement, and has a +2 enchantment, in addition, when striking a metallic dragon, the target takes an additional 2d10 necrotic damage.
The staff will take some RP to unlock its secrets.
Scroll list: 7x cure light wounds, 5x purify food and drink, 5x speak with animals, 4x augury, 3x dispel magic, 3x protection from evil and good, 1x Arcanist's magic aura, 1x Teleport Circle (has glyphs for three circles noted upon it, but there's no indication where those circles are actually located)
Frustrated with the enigma that is the magic puzzle box, Perry hands the thing over to the smartest person he knows. "Here Lawrance, take this stupid thing. If you can't figure it out then I don't know who can. It hurts my brain to even look at it."
--
A bit later, Perry says to the whole group, "All right, I'm ready to go whenever you all are. Is everyone okay with me trying to convince the army to stand down using Cyanwrath's dead body?"
Hand grasping the staff tighter, Lawrance's mouth drops open and he whispers "It's alive!" Replying to the mental voice, He answers in awe *What's your name? Whom do you serve? You are an amazing find, here among the charnel and the lesser magic.*
Dai, do I need to do this in PM?
Also, L will be very uninterested in anything else until this event is settled, dismissing attempts to get his attention. :)
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Poljen says to Perry, "If you wish to scare them off, be my guest. But be ready to fight." As the greatsword that belonged to Cyanwrath is explained, the barbarian says, "Do you think our metal dragon friends might be able to change this sword to work better for me? Um, I mean us, of course."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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This thread is the continuation of a game started here. Unfortunately circumstances have forced us to move. The campaign is based upon WoTC's Tyranny of Dragons adventure. While some details remain the same, the bulk of it has been changed through multiple rewrites.
A quiet hangs over the battlefield before the wizards' tower as the Paladin of Tiamat, Commander Cyanwrath, finally succumbs to the combined efforts of the Silver Blaze.
The bodies are searched soon enough. Soon, you have a large stack of items worth going through. Nearly all of the combatants on the field had some sort of magical item, although most of it appears to be relatively weak effects.
Of the greatest interest would be Cyanwrath's blade and armor, A staff taken from the archmage, a strange looking puzzle box, and a scrollcase on the body of the last cleric who had managed to cheat death much longer than most of his compatriots.
Some time later, the doors to the tower open again, and a very tired looking gnomish woman appears, with Winter and Summer following close behind. She walks over to you all and bows, "I wish to extend my gratitude for defending my home. And apologize that my fool of a husband has gotten back to work instead of doing the same."
The Cold Fury says...
Poljen looks very confused at the gnomish woman. "I thought you two were joined at the hip, or something like that."
The Prolific Performer says...
After being pulled aside by Velon along with Mari, Perry says, "I'm sorry, Mari. I chose you because I believed in you. Because you're my dear apprentice and, more importantly, someone who I really trust to have my back." He smiles softly and continues, "Still, I should have asked you. But you really were cool as a T-rex you know. You had a blonde stripe down your back."
Once all the looting and whatnot is over, Perry approaches the female gnome alongside Poljen and Velon. He interrupts whatever conversation is taking place and says, "Hey, sorry for the interrupt here, but I think I have an idea. We still have a big army out there to deal with. Poljen, Velon, what do you say we flop Cyanwrath's body down in front of them? I might be able to convince them to surrender or at the very least demoralize the majority of them enough to make them flee. Whadaya think?"
The wizard Bonwhill nods to Poljen, "We were. It was an experiment. My mother commented a while back that we might as well be the same person. So we decided to try it out for a while. It was interesting to say the least."
"But our last backups were created from before then, so after that overgrown lizard lopped our head off, we went back to being in separate bodies. In any case, Winter? Summer? I would appreciate it if you two saw to our guests' needs." The two constructs bow in unison.
"As for me, I apologize, but in essence this body was just born, and I am tired. My husband might be content to take a strong stimulant and keep going, but I prefer real rest. If you will excuse me."
Poljen simply bows and says, "I am sorry we were unable to prevent the dee-cap-ee-tay-shun of your old body. We did our best."
After the Lady Gnome comes back out, Lawrance joins the group in greeting her. "A most useful ability, to survive beyond body death. What magics are you using? Can I see the technique? Is it costly? Do you even USE magic to accomplish this spirit-transfer?" Alive in the after-glow of surviving the mighty battle, his face is flushed and pitch high as he speaks.
OOC - Too bad we can't just combine a bunch of +1 gear to make +4 gear. :D
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Velon thanks the wizard and turns to Perry. "Not a bad idea, Perry. We do need to go see who is left out there to deal with. I hope the Captain, Poppo and the rest have been having fun."
After a pause, Velon adds "So, ah, how do we get him out of here? I know we just have to say something to exit the maze, but I'm not sure what we can bring with us." The paladin turns and poses the question to Winter.
Lia looks with curiosity at the gnome. Her eyes widen in surprise. " We are glad you survived this ordeal. Great preparation it sounds like. I should have known an intelligent wizard like yourself would have every contingency planned for. " She will watch to see the gnome restored.
Mari watches their surroundings carefully worried about the army still out there. " You are right about being transformed. It helped greatly. I need to grow accustomed to it I suppose."
Bonwhill nods in appreciation to Lia. To Lawrance she briefly explains, "An inert copy of one's body is grown and preserved in a special chamber. At the moment of death, instead of going to an outer plane, the soul is drawn to the waiting body. The process is not pleasant, but I can say that it is considerably easier then the one time I had to be brought back to life the... traditional way. Now if you will please excuse me, while this has happened before, one never quite gets used to it."
The gnomish wizard departs, waving off any further questions.
Winter answers Velon, "The mistress already told me that anything the Invaders brought with them should be considered yours should you want it. I suppose that includes the bodies if you are so inclined. There are some movers that remain undamaged by the Invaders. If such is your desire, I can arrange to have them transport anything you like to your Castle."
Perry seems a bit troubled as he ponders something, eventually he pipes up and asks to the group, "What's stopping the forces of Tiamat from coming back here later and attacking the gnomes again after we leave? This place is really far away from where we will be going next probably. And I don't think we can spare the resources to guard them for any length of time. Besides, we never really figured out exactly what they wanted in the first place. Perhaps they just wanted everything in the tower, including the gnomes."
Winter speaks up again, "I have reason to believe that they were after a very particular device dubbed the Goose Buster. I am reasonably certain you can divine what it was intended for. However, its design went a little farther than was strictly necessary."
"If as you say, these cultists are gearing up for a war against the forces of Bahamut, the device could be repurposed for such a conflict. I am willing to speculate that it could be used to Force entire flights of dragons to the ground at once. If one then has ground forces waiting to deal with the temporarily helpless dragons, it could prove incredibly effective in a large-scale combat.
"Give me a few minutes to recover and let's see what we can do to disperse the rabble that were foolish enough to follow them. I don't have the proper spell prepared to show the body as a large image or somehow make it more visible to the army, but we can come up with something, I'm sure. Winter, would any of your devices be able to project an image or something suitably impressive that they all could see?"
I'm voting for a short rest, first. Just in case some of the enemy prove...reluctant. Not sure what time we would be using up for a short rest as well as identify for what seems to be significant magic items. 2 hours?
"We should also take the few extra minutes to figure out all the stuff these foes gave us. It may be useful immediately." With that, Lawrance finds a comfortable corner to rest, and starts paging through his spellbook to cast the required spells to figure out the most important of the items they've acquired.
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
During the rest, Perry performs a tragic but moving song about a little tiefling girl trapped in a cage. He also sits with the strange puzzle box to try and learn it's properties. Finally, the bard practices his speech that he plans to give to the army outside, "Behold! Your mighty leader Lieutenant...Landragosa? Limborosa?...What the heck was his first name?" He rubs his nonexistent beard.
He doesn't seem to be making good progress.
Everyone can roll a free 1d8 for healing from song of rest.
Enjoying the subtle tune as he rests and read, Lawrance ponders the spells he has been developing.
OOC - Using that Bardic d8 and 4 HD 16 + 6
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Morgaine is surprised to see the gnome come out of the tower. She stays quite as she speaks to the group. After she leaves, Morgaine will offer to help in anyway she can as to carrying items or helping moving bodies and such.
Velon would press Winter on the possible purchase of a Goose Buster, if not as a reward for their help. To Perry's point, he would also encourage Winter and these wizards to repair their defenses in case the cult sends another dragon for their unique inventions.
Otherwise Velon would check out the loot and visit each member of the Blaze in turn, making sure they are ok. He listens to everyone's individual needs for rest, but is not overly concerned with the army outside. He does look to the sky to see if he can spot the castle, however, and make sure they are ok.
Lia will check on the members of the party. She will make sure that everyone is okay and isn't in need of any magical healing.
Mari sits with the others and closes her eyes. She relaxes as she tries to forgot the past combat and restore her focus.
Mari uses 1 fighter and 3 rogue hd to heal in addition to the free D8 from Perry .
Mari recovers 24 hp which puts her to full.
The party is able to rest ably enough, With Winter seeing to any need for refreshments and the like. A report from the castle, delivered via Tazskan's familiar, indicates that the army is laying low in the hills and trees, but appears to have regathered most of its strength. They appear to be waiting for some opening or signal.
When Lawrence takes hold of the staff taken from the archmage, he hears a soft voice in his mind, "My mistress is dead, will you please bear me in her place?"
Loot list. 12 sets of +1 breastplate armor, two sets of +2 Full Plate armor, An assortment of +1 weapons, ranging from longswords to light crossbows. The puzzle box proves difficult to divine. It is definitely magic, but it defies the usual methods of identifying the purpose of enchantments. The scrollcase enchantment proves to be a space saving effect. Over two dozen spellscrolls are found within, and it is found that simply thinking of a particular scroll brings it to the fore.
Cyanwrath's armor is +3 fullplate. Once a day, an attuned bearer can use it to cast a Freedom of Movement spell on himself as a Bonus Action (CW didn't even have to pass a save vs the Hold Person spells thanks to this)
His greatsword requires attunement, and has a +2 enchantment, in addition, when striking a metallic dragon, the target takes an additional 2d10 necrotic damage.
The staff will take some RP to unlock its secrets.
Scroll list: 7x cure light wounds, 5x purify food and drink, 5x speak with animals, 4x augury, 3x dispel magic, 3x protection from evil and good, 1x Arcanist's magic aura, 1x Teleport Circle (has glyphs for three circles noted upon it, but there's no indication where those circles are actually located)
Frustrated with the enigma that is the magic puzzle box, Perry hands the thing over to the smartest person he knows. "Here Lawrance, take this stupid thing. If you can't figure it out then I don't know who can. It hurts my brain to even look at it."
--
A bit later, Perry says to the whole group, "All right, I'm ready to go whenever you all are. Is everyone okay with me trying to convince the army to stand down using Cyanwrath's dead body?"
Hand grasping the staff tighter, Lawrance's mouth drops open and he whispers "It's alive!" Replying to the mental voice, He answers in awe *What's your name? Whom do you serve? You are an amazing find, here among the charnel and the lesser magic.*
Dai, do I need to do this in PM?
Also, L will be very uninterested in anything else until this event is settled, dismissing attempts to get his attention. :)
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Poljen says to Perry, "If you wish to scare them off, be my guest. But be ready to fight." As the greatsword that belonged to Cyanwrath is explained, the barbarian says, "Do you think our metal dragon friends might be able to change this sword to work better for me? Um, I mean us, of course."