This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Deception: 4
[[ And as I said above, he'd head back in once the boat was on its way...he's removed their ride, so if any escape, he is obliged to help. Also, there's still the trapper.
It's such a complex and information-poor landscape: in honesty, I think he'd try to help the guards killing Rawl (and maybe his men, though that's less likely). They are all somewhat incriminating for Koric. I imagine the story would be "We suspected Rawl was corrupt and in league with <whoever> and needed to give him the opportunity to show his hand; which he did". So the plan might be: go back, if he can help the trapper escape, do so. If it's not all over, and Rawl is alive, kill him and gain some favour with the team-seeker. Use that to keep trapper alive (and others) by calling them to put their arms down and surrender. Trapper would presumably get vouched for, and Brand (or preferably his father) would argue for team-Rawl in that they were duped by a corrupt Donnae temple guard into believing they were doing 'good'. This would make them grateful, maybe, and useful, maybe. Or, if team-seeker is almost dead, then wait for team-rawl to finish the job, then leave. If no sign of trapper, he would, sadly, venture into the tunnel again...though my reading of death in DnD5e is that it's min 3 rounds and max 5 rounds before you stabilize or die. So, if he was not in Cistern, he's 40.68% already dead. Brand would still look.
Either way, it's a LOT more cliff-hanger nights, which means I'm out, with regret.
Edit: in retrospect, he doesn't even need to kill Rawl, since the 'story' covers anything incriminating he might say. ]]
[[Fazal changes his last sentence, so as to not be as revealing, but it's clear to Brand that Fazal, at least, knows who he is.]]
Excellent, Brand would thank him another time if he had the opportunity.
[[Would you like me to tell you the results of the night's activities, after I play them through to find out what happens?]]
[[ That would be great, but no pressure. It would be fun to play through in PnP sense, but for pBEM, I'm happy to be told what Brand saw, and if he needed to intervene in any way. As far as I can tell, he actually has no need to intervene except for the trapper.
FWIW, he would also thank Sameena and Assam, if he had the opportunity.]]
[[ One question occurred to me. Halam fell/jumped into the water... Did anything untoward seem to happen to him?]]
[[Hi Phil. Sorry for the delay, but I've had a very long and busy day.]]
[[For the short time that Brand was there, he saw nothing unusual happen to Handleader Halam, but the female guard was having to help him out of the cistern, which is an indication that the cistern is actually a deep pool. i.e., he couldn't just stand up and step up out of the pool.]]
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[Hi Phil. Sorry for the delay, but I've had a very long and busy day.]]
[[ No problem, and no urgency. Thanks for the reply. I just remembered it last night, and got curious. One of my (many) plans involved Brand falling into the water to escape, but was concerned about the precise meaning/effect of the ice (which I'd assumed might have related to the fire), so I wondered if the water responded to people being in it. ]]
[[Hi Phil. Sorry for the delay, but I've had a very long and busy day.]]
[[ No problem, and no urgency. Thanks for the reply. I just remembered it last night, and got curious. One of my (many) plans involved Brand falling into the water to escape, but was concerned about the precise meaning/effect of the ice (which I'd assumed might have related to the fire), so I wondered if the water responded to people being in it. ]]
[[The cistern pool is just that, a pool of water about 8 feet deep; harmless unless you can't swim or fall into it in heavy armour. If you're interested, I can tell you how the ice got there? But tomorrow. I'm going to bed now.]]
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ I am curious about any and all events, but bear in mind the potential for future play of some kind! That said, take your time, and I am still interested in what transpires when Brand returns to the cistern, and then home...though I understand if you don't want to play that out; it seems like a lot of work. ]]
[[ I am curious about any and all events, but bear in mind the potential for future play of some kind! That said, take your time, and I am still interested in what transpires when Brand returns to the cistern, and then home...though I understand if you don't want to play that out; it seems like a lot of work. ]]
[[Happy to talk about bits and pieces of it and things mechanical, but I'll steer clear of long-term plot details.]]
[[The 'trap finder' created the ice using the same cantrip he used to climb the slope of the outflow channel: Shape Water. He created the ice so that the much larger Rawl and his men could simply walk from the outflow shaft with the grille around to the entrance of the tunnel. It's a cantrip I am becoming more and more appreciative of.]]
[[Update: When Brand returns to the cistern, he finds that smoke is no longer coming out of the tunnel, but that the Seeker and the hand of Donai temple guards are still there. The Seeker is looking a little less like he's going to die with his next breath, but they have all moved to the bottom of the stairs to talk and one of the guards is missing.]]
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ Huh. Doesn't look good for the trapper then. Missing one is probably sent to get help, or search tunnel. Either way it would seems there's not much Brand can do. ]]
[[Update: I've been thinking through what happens in the cistern and I need to know if Brand stays after what I have previously described. And, if he does stay, where he is because it may affect what happens. If it helps you to decide, both the Seeker and the female guard have magical auras. Also, he would have seen that one of other guards has a missile weapon: a light crossbow.]]
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[Update: I've been thinking through what happens in the cistern and I need to know if Brand stays after what I have previously described. And, if he does stay, where he is because it may affect what happens. If it helps you to decide, both the Seeker and the female guard have magical auras. Also, he would have seen that one of other guards has a missile weapon: a light crossbow.]]
[[ Once he sees an almost complete hand of undamaged guards + somewhat healed seeker + 2 auras + crossbow, all waiting for, he assumes, their friend to return from getting help (or searching the rat tunnel), he'd just bug out. The 'help' their friend may be getting may also come into the tunnel Brand is using, so he does not want to be cut off.
I would be curious to know if they look like they are waiting for something, vs debating what to do, and, if they are glancing anywhere, where they glance <- This would be intel for his father.
In terms of location, Brand would have his head poked out of the grating area. From what you have described, when he go to the grating there would have been no sounds of battle raging, so he would have taken a moment to check above the grate before rising.
Most importantly, however: In the interests of NOT getting into melee again, I think Brand would heed Gandalf's advice and "Fly you fools!"
The only reason he went back was to see if the Seeker was being pursued by Rawl and his men, and a general melee had ensued. In the case of a stand-off, team-Rawl are likely to be losers.
With the admonishment from his father not to engage in 'heroics' he would leave.]]
[[Thanks. That's what I needed to know. I'll get back to you later with more information.]]
[[With regard to what the guards were doing. They were talking and looking at the inflow tunnel warily (he hears the name 'Rawl' several times, but without getting closer can't make out what they are talking about). The Seeker is on his feet but is leaning heavily on Will's shoulder. At this point, Brand leaves to report to his father. I will give more information later.]]
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[Thanks. That's what I needed to know. I'll get back to you later with more information.]]
[[ No problem. Sadly if this were PnP, I'd probably loiter, or even approach the Seeker again, saying "We are on the same side. Do you yet believe me?"
[[ Reporting to his father would include the suggestion that if he wants the trapper to survive, he probably should contact the caretakers of the cistern...if he hasn't already. Also, he might not wash much before he gets back, since time is of the essence. He would probably put his stinky gloves and cloak to the spare sack from his backpack after using them to wipe off the worst gobbets...thinkng here is that it results reduced risk of attracting attention. If he's just grotesque all over, then don't bother.
Of course he also mentions that Rawl is probably still alive, or at least some of his men.]]
[[Fairly busy at the moment, but happy to continue.]]
Using the flight power of his Stone of Uplifting, Brand reaches home quickly landing invisibly inside the grounds of the compound. His flight through the rain has cleaned most of the muck off his boots and lower legs. Under cover from the rain, he takes off his gloves and becomes visible [[What does he do with the stones?]] so that he can place gloves and cloak into this backpack. He then enters the house through the back door and enters the kitchen.
"Master Alaric," says one of the servants taken by surprise. "What have you been doing outside in such weather?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[Quick question: I recently moved the 'Stink of Life' article from the 'Magical things' category to the 'Miscellaenous things' category and changed who can see it. Can you see it? Andrew can't, but I have a test character that can, so I'm trying to work out what's wrong.]]
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ He then enters the house through the back door and enters the kitchen.]]
[[ Minor point, he'd probably return the way he came to preserve the illusion of sleeping ; leave the too-wet stuff in his room, and then go to his fathers office; on the way out he was invisible from his room ]]
[[What does he do with the stones?]]
[[ Back in the bandolier ]]
[Quick question:
[[ Yep, I can see it. If he cant, then maybe he's not logged in (it logs me out periodically) ? ]]
[[ He then enters the house through the back door and enters the kitchen.]]
[[ Minor point, he'd probably return the way he came to preserve the illusion of sleeping ; leave the too-wet stuff in his room, and then go to his fathers office; on the way out he was invisible from his room ]]
[[No worries. I forgot that he changed his mind and said he was going to have an early night.]]
[[What does he do with the stones?]]
[[ Back in the bandolier ]]
[Quick question:
[[ Yep, I can see it. If he cant, then maybe he's not logged in (it logs me out periodically) ? ]]
Brand reaches his father's office to find Madame Damass still pouring over her crystal orb. With her are her two protectors, Brand's father and an older man who Brand hasn't met yet.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
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Deception: 4
[[ And as I said above, he'd head back in once the boat was on its way...he's removed their ride, so if any escape, he is obliged to help. Also, there's still the trapper.
It's such a complex and information-poor landscape: in honesty, I think he'd try to help the guards killing Rawl (and maybe his men, though that's less likely). They are all somewhat incriminating for Koric. I imagine the story would be "We suspected Rawl was corrupt and in league with <whoever> and needed to give him the opportunity to show his hand; which he did". So the plan might be: go back, if he can help the trapper escape, do so. If it's not all over, and Rawl is alive, kill him and gain some favour with the team-seeker. Use that to keep trapper alive (and others) by calling them to put their arms down and surrender. Trapper would presumably get vouched for, and Brand (or preferably his father) would argue for team-Rawl in that they were duped by a corrupt Donnae temple guard into believing they were doing 'good'. This would make them grateful, maybe, and useful, maybe. Or, if team-seeker is almost dead, then wait for team-rawl to finish the job, then leave. If no sign of trapper, he would, sadly, venture into the tunnel again...though my reading of death in DnD5e is that it's min 3 rounds and max 5 rounds before you stabilize or die. So, if he was not in Cistern, he's 40.68% already dead. Brand would still look.
Either way, it's a LOT more cliff-hanger nights, which means I'm out, with regret.
Edit: in retrospect, he doesn't even need to kill Rawl, since the 'story' covers anything incriminating he might say. ]]
[[Fazal changes his last sentence, so as to not be as revealing, but it's clear to Brand that Fazal, at least, knows who he is.]]
[[Would you like me to tell you the results of the night's activities, after I play them through to find out what happens?]]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Excellent, Brand would thank him another time if he had the opportunity.
[[ That would be great, but no pressure. It would be fun to play through in PnP sense, but for pBEM, I'm happy to be told what Brand saw, and if he needed to intervene in any way. As far as I can tell, he actually has no need to intervene except for the trapper.
FWIW, he would also thank Sameena and Assam, if he had the opportunity.]]
[[ One question occurred to me. Halam fell/jumped into the water... Did anything untoward seem to happen to him?]]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ No problem, and no urgency. Thanks for the reply. I just remembered it last night, and got curious. One of my (many) plans involved Brand falling into the water to escape, but was concerned about the precise meaning/effect of the ice (which I'd assumed might have related to the fire), so I wondered if the water responded to people being in it. ]]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ I am curious about any and all events, but bear in mind the potential for future play of some kind! That said, take your time, and I am still interested in what transpires when Brand returns to the cistern, and then home...though I understand if you don't want to play that out; it seems like a lot of work. ]]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ Huh. Doesn't look good for the trapper then. Missing one is probably sent to get help, or search tunnel. Either way it would seems there's not much Brand can do. ]]
[[Update: I've been thinking through what happens in the cistern and I need to know if Brand stays after what I have previously described. And, if he does stay, where he is because it may affect what happens. If it helps you to decide, both the Seeker and the female guard have magical auras. Also, he would have seen that one of other guards has a missile weapon: a light crossbow.]]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ Once he sees an almost complete hand of undamaged guards + somewhat healed seeker + 2 auras + crossbow, all waiting for, he assumes, their friend to return from getting help (or searching the rat tunnel), he'd just bug out. The 'help' their friend may be getting may also come into the tunnel Brand is using, so he does not want to be cut off.
I would be curious to know if they look like they are waiting for something, vs debating what to do, and, if they are glancing anywhere, where they glance <- This would be intel for his father.
In terms of location, Brand would have his head poked out of the grating area. From what you have described, when he go to the grating there would have been no sounds of battle raging, so he would have taken a moment to check above the grate before rising.
Most importantly, however: In the interests of NOT getting into melee again, I think Brand would heed Gandalf's advice and "Fly you fools!"
The only reason he went back was to see if the Seeker was being pursued by Rawl and his men, and a general melee had ensued. In the case of a stand-off, team-Rawl are likely to be losers.
With the admonishment from his father not to engage in 'heroics' he would leave.]]
[[Thanks. That's what I needed to know. I'll get back to you later with more information.]]
[[With regard to what the guards were doing. They were talking and looking at the inflow tunnel warily (he hears the name 'Rawl' several times, but without getting closer can't make out what they are talking about). The Seeker is on his feet but is leaning heavily on Will's shoulder. At this point, Brand leaves to report to his father. I will give more information later.]]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ No problem. Sadly if this were PnP, I'd probably loiter, or even approach the Seeker again, saying "We are on the same side. Do you yet believe me?"
But in this format, yeah...nah. ]]
[[ Reporting to his father would include the suggestion that if he wants the trapper to survive, he probably should contact the caretakers of the cistern...if he hasn't already. Also, he might not wash much before he gets back, since time is of the essence. He would probably put his stinky gloves and cloak to the spare sack from his backpack after using them to wipe off the worst gobbets...thinkng here is that it results reduced risk of attracting attention. If he's just grotesque all over, then don't bother.
Of course he also mentions that Rawl is probably still alive, or at least some of his men.]]
[[ If it makes the post-action debrief easier, I'm happy to play it out...no pressure, I know u r busy ]]
[[Fairly busy at the moment, but happy to continue.]]
Using the flight power of his Stone of Uplifting, Brand reaches home quickly landing invisibly inside the grounds of the compound. His flight through the rain has cleaned most of the muck off his boots and lower legs. Under cover from the rain, he takes off his gloves and becomes visible [[What does he do with the stones?]] so that he can place gloves and cloak into this backpack. He then enters the house through the back door and enters the kitchen.
"Master Alaric," says one of the servants taken by surprise. "What have you been doing outside in such weather?"
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[Quick question: I recently moved the 'Stink of Life' article from the 'Magical things' category to the 'Miscellaenous things' category and changed who can see it. Can you see it? Andrew can't, but I have a test character that can, so I'm trying to work out what's wrong.]]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ Minor point, he'd probably return the way he came to preserve the illusion of sleeping ; leave the too-wet stuff in his room, and then go to his fathers office; on the way out he was invisible from his room ]]
[[ Back in the bandolier ]]
[[ Yep, I can see it. If he cant, then maybe he's not logged in (it logs me out periodically) ? ]]
Brand reaches his father's office to find Madame Damass still pouring over her crystal orb. With her are her two protectors, Brand's father and an older man who Brand hasn't met yet.
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.