- He's at floor level of a room with full cistern near;
[[Yes. The cistern is overflowing into the hole he is in. The lip of the cistern is lower where the hole is, so the excess water flows out at that point to fall down in the outflow channel which becomes part of the general drainage system.]]
- the water is flowing from the cistern down the hole from which he is rising. This is in the pocess of freezing
[[No. The water around the part of the rim previously described has been frozen, it is not in the process of being frozen.]]
- The cistern has a building above it, with the 'floor' into which the water drains (and from which he is rising)
[[The cistern is an oval-shaped pool (of a currently unknown depth) that takes up most of the floor of the chamber Brand is looking into. The chamber has a roughly circular wall and an arched roof, but the cistern is not central within the chamber. It is on the side of the room opposite the stairs so that there is plenty of room for people to come and fill their containers. Also, the cistern must be below ground because the public access stairs that Brand can see go upwards. Finally, any excess water entering the cistern flows out through the outflow channel Brand is at the top of.]]
- he is at floor level and rising (like an over-full swimming pool).
[[The above doesn't make a lot of sense, but yes, he is at floor level. The cistern is also overflowing with the water flowing down the overflow drain Brand is looking out of.
- The building 'floor' extends beyond the cistern, and there are stairs heading up.
[[Yes. As I have tried to describe above.]]
- There are (evenly spaced?) ever-burining lanterns in the room he is in, and on the stairs leading up(?), and in the other tunnel(?).
[[There are two ever-burning torches, one on either side of the stairs.]]
- The stairs go up one wall(?)
[[No. The stairs are straight and presumably come down from outside as I have tried to describe above. These stairs are probably wet, and may even be running with water because of the rain outside.]]
- Water is flowing from ANOTHER chamber into the cistern. This chamber is NOT up the stairs.
[[The water is flowing into the pool of the cistern through the small tunnel I mentioned earlier. Although the stairs he can see maybe wet, they are not what is used to keep the cistern full.]]
- He's coming out of a tunnel ("The brickwork of the tunnels changes to tiling at the top of the hole") underground,
[[He is coming up a short shaft from the drainage system below.]]
- there is another tunnel ("near a small tunnel on the left of") ....next to the CHAMBER on cistern-level
[[Brand's left. If you were to follow the left-hand wall—from Brand's point of view—the tunnel is about a third of the distance round to where the stairs enter the chamber.]]
- smoke is coming from this other tunnel.
[[Yes. The same tunnel the water is coming out of.]]
Circular items don't have a "left", so this phrase confused me: "...cistern to near a small tunnel on the left of the circular chamber..." unless it's another chamber (as above).
[[Brand's left. I was describing what he was seeing.]]
Where is the sound coming from?
[[The sound of voices Brand heard was coming from the stairs.]]
And is the sphere in sight?]]
[[The sphere is hovering above the rim of ice about ten feet away. It is between Brand and the small tunnel.]]
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.
[[ A hah! Much better than my map. I can delete shareable file if you prefer. ]]
[[ I've been trying to practice my textual powers of description, but clearly I still have a lot to do to develop them properly. ]]
You are doing yourself a disservice! There is considerable difference between writing for a reader to comprehend action vs. writing for me to (in a deeply paranoid sense) make sure that I fully understand exactly where every rock, tree and kitchen sink is. I am worried I will step through an ice surface, fall into a pit, or try to crawl down a tunnel that is clearly dangerous and the wrong way to go. This level of paranoia is not normal for a reader. I am doubly cautious because I tend to read your stuff *like* it's a novel, and have to stop my self because every scene may contain critical detail that is life-or-death.
Good example: the conversation about the valve and something-else-I-don't-remember, were good literary scene-setting. But because this is D&D, it's info that MUST be critical! Why else would you say it? In a literary sense, it's great not to waste words (so the valve might still be important), but I think this indicates the difference in your readership. Readers, broadly, know the main character won't die in the next scene because they are less than half way through the book. I don't.
I would probably hate reading a novel that described every detail of the room; it would be like reading a Peter Bloody F Hamilton novel: pages of mind-numbing description that you knew were irrelevant to every arc in the story...but I digress.
Because this is D&D, I ask for an annoying level of detail. It's all your fault; if I wasn't interested and didn't care about the various characters, and didn't expect situational awareness to count in your game, then I wouldn't bother asking.
Brand rises from the hole and moves cautiously toward the tunnel, avoiding the ice. He is now resigned to following wherever the sphere leads, whether it be up the stairs or down the smoky tunnel. Before entering the smoke however, he tightens his bandana on his face. Conscious that he must be close to his destination, he is listening very carefully, alert for sounds that might indicate the return of the trapper, or Rawl and his party. He also glances in the water and under the ice, looking for bodies, blood, or other signs of misadventure.
[[ He is aware that people may come barralling out of the smoky corridor, so is ready to push himself across the water, or rise up, if necesarry. ]]
[[ How high s roof (more stuff almost totally useless in a literary context -- "tall arched ceilings" vs what I want "10' or more" ) ? ]]
[[ How wide is room, and can he see to top of stairs ?]]
[[ If the sphere does not move, he starts searching more substantially where it is stopped. ]]
[[ Another factor in PMeM vs literary context: in a book, ones mind fills in non-critical blanks (eg. like I assumed end room was another round one). Telling what is non-critical in a game is impossible -- for me a 10' tall room has space to rise up and avoid people if they started coming though.
One could argue that I could ask *when* it becomes critical, but I don't want to get to the point where I'm saying "if I knew that, I wouldn't have done X". In a book, you trust the hero makes a sensible choice (within the scope of their reason)]]
[[ A hah! Much better than my map. I can delete shareable file if you prefer. ]]
[[ I've been trying to practice my textual powers of description, but clearly I still have a lot to do to develop them properly. ]]
You are doing yourself a disservice! There is considerable difference between writing for a reader to comprehend action vs. writing for me to (in a deeply paranoid sense) make sure that I fully understand exactly where every rock, tree and kitchen sink is. I am worried I will step through an ice surface, fall into a pit, or try to crawl down a tunnel that is clearly dangerous and the wrong way to go. This level of paranoia is not normal for a reader. I am doubly cautious because I tend to read your stuff *like* it's a novel, and have to stop my self because every scene may contain critical detail that is life-or-death.
Good example: the conversation about the valve and something-else-I-don't-remember, were good literary scene-setting. But because this is D&D, it's info that MUST be critical! Why else would you say it? In a literary sense, it's great not to waste words (so the valve might still be important), but I think this indicates the difference in your readership. Readers, broadly, know the main character won't die in the next scene because they are less than half way through the book. I don't.
I would probably hate reading a novel that described every detail of the room; it would be like reading a Peter Bloody F Hamilton novel: pages of mind-numbing description that you knew were irrelevant to every arc in the story...but I digress.
Because this is D&D, I ask for an annoying level of detail. It's all your fault; if I wasn't interested and didn't care about the various characters, and didn't expect situational awareness to count in your game, then I wouldn't bother asking.
[[Still good practice though. If I can get across to a reader—in words—something close to what I have in my head, then I know they'll have the best chance of understanding what is going on.]]
[[I presume you are linking to his through your own web server, is that right?]]
Brand rises from the hole and moves cautiously toward the tunnel, avoiding the ice. He is now resigned to following wherever the sphere leads, whether it be up the stairs or down the smoky tunnel. Before entering the smoke however, he tightens his bandana on his face. Conscious that he must be close to his destination, he is listening very carefully, alert for sounds that might indicate the return of the trapper, or Rawl and his party. He also glances in the water and under the ice, looking for bodies, blood, or other signs of misadventure.
[[Make a Perception check for the above, but I'm going to have to pull the plug on this for this evening as I still have some stuff I have to do. Sorry.]]
[[ He is aware that people may come barralling out of the smoky corridor, so is ready to push himself across the water, or rise up, if necesarry. ]]
[[ How high s roof (more stuff almost totally useless in a literary context -- "tall arched ceilings" vs what I want "10' or more" ) ? ]]
[[The ceiling rises to about 20' in the middle of the arch.]]
[[ How wide is room, and can he see to top of stairs ?]]
[[Some things on the map are not to scale. The room is about 30' across. With regard to the top of the stairs, he can't see if from where he is.]]
[[ If the sphere does not move, he starts searching more substantially where it is stopped. ]]
[[As Brand starts to float over the ice, the sphere stays ahead of him by about 10' in the direction of the tunnel.]]
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.
[[I presume you are linking to his through your own web server, is that right?]]
[[ Yes, though I may move it to Google Drive. I can delete it if you would prefer that it not be public. ]]
[[Make a Perception check for the above, but I'm going to have to pull the plug on this for this evening as I still have some stuff I have to do. Sorry.]]
Perception: 6 (Edit: had to happen. Just hoping I don't roll 1's in combat!)
[[As Brand starts to float over the ice, the sphere stays ahead of him by about 10' in the direction of the tunnel.]]
[[Other than when he investigated the water and ice, he's probably floating over the path to avoid what is presumably a magical effect.
[[I presume you are linking to his through your own web server, is that right?]]
[[ Yes, though I may move it to Google Drive. I can delete it if you would prefer that it not be public. ]]
[[No. It's fine. I was just wondering how you done it.]]
[[Make a Perception check for the above, but I'm going to have to pull the plug on this for this evening as I still have some stuff I have to do. Sorry.]]
Perception: 6 (Edit: had to happen. Just hoping I don't roll 1's in combat!)
[[As Brand starts to float over the ice, the sphere stays ahead of him by about 10' in the direction of the tunnel.]]
[[Other than when he investigated the water and ice, he's probably floating over the path to avoid what is presumably a magical effect.
Oh...can he see any arcane artefacts?]]
Following the floating sphere along the ice path Brand sees that the water coming out of the small tunnel isn't clean and has things floating in it. As the sphere seems to be leading him to that same tunnel, he tries hard to identify the detritus to see what he might be up against. The water is discoloured with what looks like oil, or perhaps blood, and the floating things seem to be the corpses of rats.
Then he becomes aware that he is no longer alone in the chamber. While he has been looking at the water, two men have quietly descended the stairs from the outside.
One is dressed in the black armour of a guard from the temple of Donai and is holding a drawn scimitar, the other is dressed in the grey of a Seeker.
"There's something there," says the man in grey pointing at Brand.
"Where?" says the man in black, looking around nervously.
[[Roll Initiative, but this is a work day and I have to get ready to go to Canberra.]]
[[Quick Edit: If Brand doesn't want to touch the ice, how is he moving horizontally. Is he using the wall, or is he high enough to reach the ceiling?]]
[[ Checking: Pointing at Brand, or the Sphere? Can he tell?
Is the sphere making a move?
Can he hear anything else?
From his recollection of the maps and the two lines, does he think that ahead may be the alternate route? I'm thinking perhaps running forward is an option.
Is it possible for Brand to get caltrops out of his backpack while moving. . That is assuming he was actually carrying them... Which I think he isn't. Brand curses his forgetfullness, and resolves to triple check next time. Ball bearings it's caltrops, always.
Now is the time for many background questions.
How is killing or attacking a seeker going to go down?
How does Brand think his father would react?
Does Brand have an innate sense that it's time to run, time to bluff or time to attack? Gut feel it whatever.
If bluffing, he could appear and say "This way quickly, I think Guardsman Rawl may be hurt... He enlisted some aid and was following some dark magic into this tunnel and then.... There's rats... And oh gods... Is that human flesh?" [[None of this is untrue]]
Where do seekers fit in the power levels of the world?
- Where on the scale of elite special forces troops vs. pompous uniformed officials do they fit? - Do people tend to say respectful things about their effectiveness in hushed tones, or make jokes about them? - how are they perceived in the seedier quarters, XXX for example?
Why would a seeker be in the cistern area, especially with another Donnae follower?
Do they usually travel with one guard or, say, 6?]]
[[No. It's fine. I was just wondering how you done it.]]
I'm using my own private cloud which supports public links; but can also be done with Google Drive after a file shared publicly, you can use the ID from the URL.
[[ Checking: Pointing at Brand, or the Sphere? Can he tell?
[[Brand]]
Is the sphere making a move?
[[Added to the Initiative list.]]
Can he hear anything else?
[[No. At least, not yet.]]
From his recollection of the maps and the two lines, does he think that ahead may be the alternate route? I'm thinking perhaps running forward is an option.
[[I don't know what you mean by the above.]]
Is it possible for Brand to get caltrops out of his backpack while moving. . That is assuming he was actually carrying them... Which I think he isn't. Brand curses his forgetfullness, and resolves to triple check next time. Ball bearings it's caltrops, always.
Now is the time for many background questions.
How is killing or attacking a seeker going to go down?
[[See the reference for 'Seekers' on the world site, which I have added to. You'll find it in the 'The Mithran Faith > Mithran Traditions' section.]]
How does Brand think his father would react?
[[Make an Insight check. Speaking of which make another Perception check for experience purposes.]]
Does Brand have an innate sense that it's time to run, time to bluff or time to attack? Gut feel it whatever.
[[That is up to you.]]
If bluffing, he could appear and say "This way quickly, I think Guardsman Rawl may be hurt... He enlisted some aid and was following some dark magic into this tunnel and then.... There's rats... And oh gods... Is that human flesh?" [[None of this is untrue]]
Where do seekers fit in the power levels of the world?
[[Most are Sorian. Most are Magi. See the reference I gave above regarding their political power.]]
- Where on the scale of elite special forces troops vs. pompous uniformed officials do they fit?
[[They are the Mithran faith's front line against active restless dead and sorcerers considered 'evil' by the temple and society.]]
- Do people tend to say respectful things about their effectiveness in hushed tones, or make jokes about them?
[[People do not make jokes about Seekers. However, like all organisations, some Seekers are better than others and there are bad apples in every barrel.]]
- how are they perceived in the seedier quarters, XXX for example?
[[Same as for the general public. Mainly because Seekers do not interest themselves with normal criminal activity.]]
Why would a seeker be in the cistern area, especially with another Donnae follower?
[[Brand doesn't know.]]
Do they usually travel with one guard or, say, 6?]]
[[Brand has seen Seekers cooperating with hands of temple guards (i.e., 5) before.]]
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.
[[No. It's fine. I was just wondering how you done it.]]
[[I can't believe I said 'you done it'.]]
I'm using my own private cloud which supports public links; but can also be done with Google Drive after a file shared publicly, you can use the ID from the URL.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
From his recollection of the maps and the two lines, does he think that ahead may be the alternate route? I'm thinking perhaps running forward is an option.
[[I don't know what you mean by the above.]]
From the maps in the study, there were two lines that led to the same place (I believe, correct me if I am wrong). One had 'Rats' written on it. I am thinking that the rats may be depleted at least, and Brand may be able to run forwards and go back via the other route, but am unsure if that is consistent with what he saw.
How does Brand think his father would react?
[[Make an Insight check. Speaking of which make another Perception check for experience purposes.]]
Insight: 9
Perception XP: 13
Edit: and now the chickens come home to roost...
[[ And some more questions:
- Where is Brand in relation to the smoking tunnel and to the hole through which he came through (distances)?
- If he wanted to head down either, could it be achieved before the seeker got to act?
- How much smoke is coming from tunnel?
- How far away is sphere? And where in relation to Brand?
- Where (distance, direction) on map is Guard and Seeker?
- How would it work if Brand wanted to remove the oil flask from his pack, and spread it near fire, if there was some?
- Brand is literally soaked, so I assume he has a bit of resitance to flames, if he passed through them. is that correct?
- How big is a first aid kit? Can Brand move it to a pocket at the same time he gets out oil, if that's what he does?
From his recollection of the maps and the two lines, does he think that ahead may be the alternate route? I'm thinking perhaps running forward is an option.
[[I don't know what you mean by the above.]]
From the maps in the study, there were two lines that led to the same place (I believe, correct me if I am wrong). One had 'Rats' written on it. I am thinking that the rats may be depleted at least, and Brand may be able to run forwards and go back via the other route, but am unsure if that is consistent with what he saw.
[[The two lines converged on the cistern, which is where Brand is now. The line he has already come up connects to the river. The other line connects to the Shrine of Oannes passing by the side of the Bank of Sorenden. It is this second line that had 'rats' written next to it. However, I still don't understand what you mean by Brand going back via the other route as they go to two different locations.]]
How does Brand think his father would react?
[[Make an Insight check. Speaking of which make another Perception check for experience purposes.]]
Insight: 5
Perception XP: 10
[[Brand gains experience points for the failed Perception check i.e., he failed to detect the Seeker and the guard the first time, but succeeded the second.]]
[[With regard to the Insight check, Brand doesn't know how his father would react, but there is no chance for experience for this.]]
Edit: and now the chickens come home to roost...
[[ And some more questions:
- Where is Brand in relation to the smoking tunnel and to the hole through which he came through (distances)?
[[Brand is just outside the entrance to the tunnel that the smoke is coming out of. He is about twenty feet from the shaft he came out of. However, you never answered my question about how he was moving horizontally. Is he using the wall, or the ceiling?]]
- If he wanted to head down either, could it be achieved before the seeker got to act?
[[According to the combat rules, Brand can move 30' in his turn, but that is based on normal movement. Brand is currently moving horizontally by pulling his levitating body along either the wall or the ceiling, neither of which have suitable projections to make this easy. I am therefore going to rule that he can only move 15' in the six seconds of a combat round, which means the tunnel is the only option within range. And yes, he could reach the tunnel before the Seeker got to act.]]
- How much smoke is coming from tunnel?
[[Not a lot, but it smells terrible. It smells of burning hair and flesh.]]
- How far away is sphere? And where in relation to Brand?
[[The sphere is in the entrance to the tunnel.]]
- Where (distance, direction) on map is Guard and Seeker?
[[The Seeker and the Guard are at the bottom of the stairs. They are about 30' away.]]
- How would it work if Brand wanted to remove the oil flask from his pack, and spread it near fire, if there was some?
[[Brand can see no fire, only smoke. See below regarding accessing his backpack.]]
- Brand is literally soaked, so I assume he has a bit of resitance to flames, if he passed through them. is that correct?
[[It would lessen the effect, but not give him resistance to fire.]]
- How big is a first aid kit? Can Brand move it to a pocket at the same time he gets out oil, if that's what he does?
[[The Healer's Kit would not fit in a pocket.]]
[[The idea of Brand taking off his backpack and successfully getting something out of it while having stones in his gloves and hovering in mid air strikes me as very unlikely. It would certainly use his entire action and I would be getting you make Dexterity checks. However, if he were move and then land, he could then use his action to take his backpack off and retrieve one thing out of the backpack without the need for a check.]]
[[And for the record, Brand is effectively using 3 concentrations spells simultaneously at this time (i.e., See the Arcane, Invisibility, and Levitation), something spell casters can't do (they are limited to maintaining 1 concentration spell at a time). The See the Arcane is an additional effect of the Invisibility spell, so I won't worry about that, but if Brand is injured, he will need to make Constitution Saving Throws to avoid losing his Concentration on the Invisibility and the Levitation effect. If he fails one of these saves, the spell will fail with associated consequences. Because the powers of the stones are 'at will', he will be able to re-establish any failed effect by using an action in his next round. However, until then, he won't have these effects in operation.]]
]]
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.
However, I still don't understand what you mean by Brand going back via the other route as they go to two different locations
Ah, I should have more properly said 'escape'. Is that plausible from what he has seen and recalls? -- probably too late to ask given what I wrote below...if not, he may need to rethink everything below...
[[Brand is just outside the entrance to the tunnel that the smoke is coming out of. He is about twenty feet from the shaft he came out of. However, you never answered my question about how he was moving horizontally. Is he using the wall, or the ceiling?]]
Sorry, didn't see it; probably wall/floor. He was curious to glance in water and look at ice, so would have been nearer the floor to do that; also, lower down would likely give him a better view of the top of the stairs, which was something else I specifically asked about; he hoped to see what was on top of stairs.
he could reach the tunnel before the Seeker got to act
That pretty much decides it.
[[The sphere is in the entrance to the tunnel.]]
Excellent, since Brand is close, he moves in very close and says quietly "I hope you know the other route!"
[[Not a lot, but it smells terrible. It smells of burning hair and flesh.]]
For reference his mind set is:
- he has a job (trapper) - society reveres seekers, and he has seen the result of death of a 'bad' seeker, so he would prefer not to go there with another who may not be 'bad' - he hopes to find a way out - he hopes to be able to distract the oncoming seeker (who may also be 'bad'), but still might react to a lot of bodies - he also hopes a scene of carnage will give them both (guard and seeker) pause.
[[The idea of Brand taking off his backpack and successfully getting something out of it while having stones in his gloves and hovering in mid air strikes me as very unlikely.It would certainly use his entire action and I would be getting you make Dexterity checks.
Agree.
However, if he were move and then land, he could then use his action to take his backpack off and retrieve one thing out of the backpack without the need for a check.]]
[[ Can he land, move down tunnel, and assess situation before deciding what to do? If so, that's what he does (unless he has assessed that there is no way out in that direction). He has a bonus 'Dash' action. he might also use that. ]]
[[And for the record, Brand is effectively using 3 concentrations spells simultaneously at this time]]
Just checking, but "See the Arcane" is side-effect of all invisibility generally, or just his invisibility? WRT to stones, I had assumed invisibility stone was like the ring of invisibility, ie. an SLA requiring no concentration, merely contact, albeit much less convenient than a ring. I had also assumed that with levitation the only concentration required was when he wanted to move up or down, otherwise he just floated....let me know if and how this is wrong.
so I won't worry about that, but if Brand is injured, he will need to make Constitution Saving Throws to avoid losing his Concentration on the Invisibility and the Levitation effect
I think at this point he is on the ground; probably bent over; even I can't imagine he would want to be levitated into smoke while dealing with a backpack. I also can't imagine its faster to push along the wall than run along the floor. He was probably close to ground (but away from ice) before. My thinking is also that, depending on what he sees down the tunnel, he's going to need art least one hand free. So, on foot asap, for smoke reduction, visibility improvement, and speed.
[[ How high is the tunnel? ]]
[[ Just checking: the fact he didnt see the guard or seeker on the stairs presumably means that they don't have their own light source at the current time, is that right?]]
However, I still don't understand what you mean by Brand going back via the other route as they go to two different locations
Ah, I should have more properly said 'escape'. Is that plausible from what he has seen and recalls? -- probably too late to ask given what I wrote below...if not, he may need to rethink everything below...
[[The following quote is from Comment #804]]
There is another line drawn on the map that leads from the cistern to the shrine of Oannes, which lies on the banks of the river upriver from the cistern; perhaps strangely, the arrows on this line also point in the direction of the cistern. This line passes close by one side of the Bank of Sorenden and there has been a big question mark drawn on the map at that point along with the word 'rats'.
[[I point this out just to be clear: the line terminated at the shrine; it didn't reach the river.]]
[[Brand is just outside the entrance to the tunnel that the smoke is coming out of. He is about twenty feet from the shaft he came out of. However, you never answered my question about how he was moving horizontally. Is he using the wall, or the ceiling?]]
Sorry, didn't see it; probably wall/floor. He was curious to glance in water and look at ice, so would have been nearer the floor to do that; also, lower down would likely give him a better view of the top of the stairs, which was something else I specifically asked about; he hoped to see what was on top of stairs.
[[Cool. He's close to the floor. That's good to know.]]
he could reach the tunnel before the Seeker got to act
That pretty much decides it.
[[The sphere is in the entrance to the tunnel.]]
Excellent, since Brand is close, he moves in very close and says quietly "I hope you know the other route!"
[[Not a lot, but it smells terrible. It smells of burning hair and flesh.]]
For reference his mind set is:
- he has a job (trapper) - society reveres seekers, and he has seen the result of death of a 'bad' seeker, so he would prefer not to go there with another who may not be 'bad' - he hopes to find a way out - he hopes to be able to distract the oncoming seeker (who may also be 'bad'), but still might react to a lot of bodies - he also hopes a scene of carnage will give them both (guard and seeker) pause.
[[The idea of Brand taking off his backpack and successfully getting something out of it while having stones in his gloves and hovering in mid air strikes me as very unlikely.It would certainly use his entire action and I would be getting you make Dexterity checks.
Agree.
However, if he were move and then land, he could then use his action to take his backpack off and retrieve one thing out of the backpack without the need for a check.]]
[[ Can he land, move down tunnel, and assess situation before deciding what to do? If so, that's what he does (unless he has assessed that there is no way out in that direction). He has a bonus 'Dash' action. he might also use that. ]]
[[He could do that, but see the comment I made above about the line for this tunnel terminating at the shrine and not the river.]]
[[And for the record, Brand is effectively using 3 concentrations spells simultaneously at this time]]
Just checking, but "See the Arcane" is side-effect of all invisibility generally, or just his invisibility? WRT to stones, I had assumed invisibility stone was like the ring of invisibility, ie. an SLA requiring no concentration, merely contact, albeit much less convenient than a ring. I had also assumed that with levitation the only concentration required was when he wanted to move up or down, otherwise he just floated....let me know if and how this is wrong.
[[Make an Arcana check for the first question about the See the Arcane side-effect. I won't go into details about equivalent magic items, except to say that the Stone of Unseeing isn't a re-skinned ring of invisibility. Also, levitating without requiring concentration of some form is something I would never allow, as that would remove one of the standard disadvantages of the effect, i.e., falling from a height if the levitating person is slept or rendered unconscious by some means; it is not the equivalent of a personal immovable rod.]]
so I won't worry about that, but if Brand is injured, he will need to make Constitution Saving Throws to avoid losing his Concentration on the Invisibility and the Levitation effect
I think at this point he is on the ground; probably bent over; even I can't imagine he would want to be levitated into smoke while dealing with a backpack. I also can't imagine its faster to push along the wall than run along the floor. He was probably close to ground (but away from ice) before. My thinking is also that, depending on what he sees down the tunnel, he's going to need art least one hand free. So, on foot asap, for smoke reduction, visibility improvement, and speed.
[[ How high is the tunnel? ]]
[[The tunnel is about a metre high and about the same width.]]
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.
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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.
Brand follows the sphere tentatively toward the tunnel. [[If the sphere leads him upstairs, he goes there instead]].
[[ Are there footsteps and/or mud? ]]
[[ What is the extent of the ice? If he is not walking on ice, or walking to ice, then he would stop levitating and free his hand. ]]
Here is my take, based on description:
Mud Map (only a bit muddy)
I've been trying to practice my textual powers of description, but clearly I still have a lot to do to develop them properly.
I have emailed you a drawing of what the cistern looks like. The 'B' is where Brand is.
[[I have something to do, so I won't be able to do anything for about an hour.]]
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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.
[[ A hah! Much better than my map. I can delete shareable file if you prefer. ]]
You are doing yourself a disservice! There is considerable difference between writing for a reader to comprehend action vs. writing for me to (in a deeply paranoid sense) make sure that I fully understand exactly where every rock, tree and kitchen sink is. I am worried I will step through an ice surface, fall into a pit, or try to crawl down a tunnel that is clearly dangerous and the wrong way to go. This level of paranoia is not normal for a reader. I am doubly cautious because I tend to read your stuff *like* it's a novel, and have to stop my self because every scene may contain critical detail that is life-or-death.
Good example: the conversation about the valve and something-else-I-don't-remember, were good literary scene-setting. But because this is D&D, it's info that MUST be critical! Why else would you say it? In a literary sense, it's great not to waste words (so the valve might still be important), but I think this indicates the difference in your readership. Readers, broadly, know the main character won't die in the next scene because they are less than half way through the book. I don't.
I would probably hate reading a novel that described every detail of the room; it would be like reading a Peter Bloody F Hamilton novel: pages of mind-numbing description that you knew were irrelevant to every arc in the story...but I digress.
Because this is D&D, I ask for an annoying level of detail. It's all your fault; if I wasn't interested and didn't care about the various characters, and didn't expect situational awareness to count in your game, then I wouldn't bother asking.
Brand rises from the hole and moves cautiously toward the tunnel, avoiding the ice. He is now resigned to following wherever the sphere leads, whether it be up the stairs or down the smoky tunnel. Before entering the smoke however, he tightens his bandana on his face. Conscious that he must be close to his destination, he is listening very carefully, alert for sounds that might indicate the return of the trapper, or Rawl and his party. He also glances in the water and under the ice, looking for bodies, blood, or other signs of misadventure.
[[ He is aware that people may come barralling out of the smoky corridor, so is ready to push himself across the water, or rise up, if necesarry. ]]
[[ How high s roof (more stuff almost totally useless in a literary context -- "tall arched ceilings" vs what I want "10' or more" ) ? ]]
[[ How wide is room, and can he see to top of stairs ?]]
[[ If the sphere does not move, he starts searching more substantially where it is stopped. ]]
[[ Another factor in PMeM vs literary context: in a book, ones mind fills in non-critical blanks (eg. like I assumed end room was another round one). Telling what is non-critical in a game is impossible -- for me a 10' tall room has space to rise up and avoid people if they started coming though.
One could argue that I could ask *when* it becomes critical, but I don't want to get to the point where I'm saying "if I knew that, I wouldn't have done X". In a book, you trust the hero makes a sensible choice (within the scope of their reason)]]
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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.
[[ Yes, though I may move it to Google Drive. I can delete it if you would prefer that it not be public. ]]
Perception: 6 (Edit: had to happen. Just hoping I don't roll 1's in combat!)
[[Other than when he investigated the water and ice, he's probably floating over the path to avoid what is presumably a magical effect.
Oh...can he see any arcane artefacts?]]
Following the floating sphere along the ice path Brand sees that the water coming out of the small tunnel isn't clean and has things floating in it. As the sphere seems to be leading him to that same tunnel, he tries hard to identify the detritus to see what he might be up against. The water is discoloured with what looks like oil, or perhaps blood, and the floating things seem to be the corpses of rats.
Then he becomes aware that he is no longer alone in the chamber. While he has been looking at the water, two men have quietly descended the stairs from the outside.
One is dressed in the black armour of a guard from the temple of Donai and is holding a drawn scimitar, the other is dressed in the grey of a Seeker.
"There's something there," says the man in grey pointing at Brand.
"Where?" says the man in black, looking around nervously.
[[Roll Initiative, but this is a work day and I have to get ready to go to Canberra.]]
[[Quick Edit: If Brand doesn't want to touch the ice, how is he moving horizontally. Is he using the wall, or is he high enough to reach the ceiling?]]
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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.
Initiative: 18
[[ Checking: Pointing at Brand, or the Sphere? Can he tell?
Is the sphere making a move?
Can he hear anything else?
From his recollection of the maps and the two lines, does he think that ahead may be the alternate route? I'm thinking perhaps running forward is an option.
Is it possible for Brand to get caltrops out of his backpack while moving. . That is assuming he was actually carrying them... Which I think he isn't. Brand curses his forgetfullness, and resolves to triple check next time. Ball bearings it's caltrops, always.
Now is the time for many background questions.
How is killing or attacking a seeker going to go down?
How does Brand think his father would react?
Does Brand have an innate sense that it's time to run, time to bluff or time to attack? Gut feel it whatever.
If bluffing, he could appear and say "This way quickly, I think Guardsman Rawl may be hurt... He enlisted some aid and was following some dark magic into this tunnel and then.... There's rats... And oh gods... Is that human flesh?" [[None of this is untrue]]
Where do seekers fit in the power levels of the world?
- Where on the scale of elite special forces troops vs. pompous uniformed officials do they fit?
- Do people tend to say respectful things about their effectiveness in hushed tones, or make jokes about them?
- how are they perceived in the seedier quarters, XXX for example?
Why would a seeker be in the cistern area, especially with another Donnae follower?
Do they usually travel with one guard or, say, 6?]]
I'm using my own private cloud which supports public links; but can also be done with Google Drive after a file shared publicly, you can use the ID from the URL.
eg. This file's Google share link is:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-AP1i1j5JC8r_18et7OMUY5hNFtzHEnO
You then take the ID part (bold), and put it into a different URL:
http://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1-AP1i1j5JC8r_18et7OMUY5hNFtzHEnO
(Those URLs have weird URL escape codes in them; need to clean up to use -- right-click to copy the actual URL)
And use the picture tool from the Beyond DND editor toolbar (4th from right), resulting in:
This document also describes the process.
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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.
[[ Well boo on
the sphereTinkerbell ]][[ And I need to read up on what I can do with initiative ]]
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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.
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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.
From the maps in the study, there were two lines that led to the same place (I believe, correct me if I am wrong). One had 'Rats' written on it. I am thinking that the rats may be depleted at least, and Brand may be able to run forwards and go back via the other route, but am unsure if that is consistent with what he saw.
Insight: 9
Perception XP: 13
Edit: and now the chickens come home to roost...
[[ And some more questions:
- Where is Brand in relation to the smoking tunnel and to the hole through which he came through (distances)?
- If he wanted to head down either, could it be achieved before the seeker got to act?
- How much smoke is coming from tunnel?
- How far away is sphere? And where in relation to Brand?
- Where (distance, direction) on map is Guard and Seeker?
- How would it work if Brand wanted to remove the oil flask from his pack, and spread it near fire, if there was some?
- Brand is literally soaked, so I assume he has a bit of resitance to flames, if he passed through them. is that correct?
- How big is a first aid kit? Can Brand move it to a pocket at the same time he gets out oil, if that's what he does?
]]
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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.
Ah, I should have more properly said 'escape'. Is that plausible from what he has seen and recalls? -- probably too late to ask given what I wrote below...if not, he may need to rethink everything below...
Sorry, didn't see it; probably wall/floor. He was curious to glance in water and look at ice, so would have been nearer the floor to do that; also, lower down would likely give him a better view of the top of the stairs, which was something else I specifically asked about; he hoped to see what was on top of stairs.
That pretty much decides it.
Excellent, since Brand is close, he moves in very close and says quietly "I hope you know the other route!"
For reference his mind set is:
- he has a job (trapper)
- society reveres seekers, and he has seen the result of death of a 'bad' seeker, so he would prefer not to go there with another who may not be 'bad'
- he hopes to find a way out
- he hopes to be able to distract the oncoming seeker (who may also be 'bad'), but still might react to a lot of bodies
- he also hopes a scene of carnage will give them both (guard and seeker) pause.
Agree.
[[ Can he land, move down tunnel, and assess situation before deciding what to do? If so, that's what he does (unless he has assessed that there is no way out in that direction). He has a bonus 'Dash' action. he might also use that. ]]
Just checking, but "See the Arcane" is side-effect of all invisibility generally, or just his invisibility? WRT to stones, I had assumed invisibility stone was like the ring of invisibility, ie. an SLA requiring no concentration, merely contact, albeit much less convenient than a ring. I had also assumed that with levitation the only concentration required was when he wanted to move up or down, otherwise he just floated....let me know if and how this is wrong.
I think at this point he is on the ground; probably bent over; even I can't imagine he would want to be levitated into smoke while dealing with a backpack. I also can't imagine its faster to push along the wall than run along the floor. He was probably close to ground (but away from ice) before. My thinking is also that, depending on what he sees down the tunnel, he's going to need art least one hand free. So, on foot asap, for smoke reduction, visibility improvement, and speed.
[[ How high is the tunnel? ]]
[[ Just checking: the fact he didnt see the guard or seeker on the stairs presumably means that they don't have their own light source at the current time, is that right?]]
How about Sleight of Hand at advantage to get two items, if he wants to? (tho I can't *currently* see him actually wanting to do this).
[[ lol...thought you were just being in character; could have bin worserer. ]]
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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.