Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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“Well.. I guess she’s not the type for a sentimental goodbye. Chadderly, this is your home turf, sort of. I’ve not been here before, that I remember. Where should we go? I guess she picked this ruined tower as an inconspicuous place to land, but it seems… rather inconvenient. I wonder if there’s stairs inside? “. Tetrevess watches Morwena, far below for a moment, then turns to peek into one of the openings into the spire.
There are stairs spiraling down the inner walls of the spire, but they are in poor condition. Careful traversal is slow, but likely safer than hurrying down. The place is utterly abandoned, likely for a century ir more. Meanwhile, you can just make out the movement of small boats in the distance on tbe water. Chadderlay, aware if Surthay's unfavorable position, knows that desolate place us heavily patrolled by Thayan Knights and the Water Fist (Thay's Navy).
<I'm leaving g it for you to explore. No on-the-rails ghosttrain ride this time. Just tell me a plan and I'll help you get there. Chad would know a ton about this place un general, but specific local knowledge would be sparse. So you could go the actual city of Surthay through the gorde, or stick to the hinterlands and try to avoid being identified by the wrong person. Disguise, subterfuge and stealth are all on the table. The keep in the gorge is well defended, but the knoghrs rarlwg travek far feom the keep. The danger and shrink of the Surmarsh make it a surprisingly popular destination for nobility on safari, though the odds of running across one at any given time are vanishing small.
Basically you can take River Thay, River Gauros, or go straight through the farms of Delhumide. Or, you coukd go the long way around the plateau following the northern ridge and arriving from the west. Of course, you could always try the city of Surthsy, itself if you're looking to blend in, it might be a means of doing so, as well as possibly mounted travel along the Sur Road or via the River Thay.
Thoughts?
“Too right, well what can we use to are advantage here” Sam looks to his companions “can we possibly create new allies hear?”
<Yeah, if you pick a direction and start walking. Please, don't make me roll dice for this. This is actually tactical, decision-driven game play. Take advantage of it.>
“Well- wherever we go.. it starts with going down. Be careful. As we go, Chadderly, let me know your thoughts on where we go next. I suppose Eltabbar? We need an alliance. And a plan. And some more knowledge and skills. To start. “. Tetrevess sighs. “ And I’m going to need a disguise for my Magen…. And a haircut for myself. Red wizards like to be bald right?.”
Tetrevess leads the way carefully down the spiral stairs, his curious blue skinned Magen floating nearby, helping to watch for danger.
as he walks down the stairs, Tetrevess talks quietly to Chadderly:
“I think staying to the hinterlands but working our way south seems wise. And perhaps we can get passage on a boat across the lake. I’d like to stay inconspicuous, if possible. Tell me Chadderly- are you wanted by the authorities here? Does any of us have any magic to help with subterfuge or disguises? I can attempt to charm a guard or noble to serve us, but I lack other magic for this sort of thing”. .
Sam gingerly moves down the stairs him self “slowly very slowly”
4
"Only the Zulkirs and the higher ups need worry about such matters, and it's usually from another Zulkir. They don't worry about anyone they don't consider a direct threat. The report about what happened before is probably listed as a Red Wizard instead of using my actual name."
Chadderlay begins managing himself down the spiral staircase after Tetrevess.
"I can check into it discreetly just to make sure."
"Yes, and Eltabbar sounds like a destination to be working towards."
“Ok. Sounds good. It will be an adventure. I hope this place isn’t occupied. Maybe we wizards should let Sam go first. Glad you are smaller Sam, these old stairs wouldn’t hold the old you, I’m afraid.” Tetrevess says
Tetrevess holds back and allows Sam past. The Magen floats in the center of the chamber, conspicuously garbed in ancient netheril style clothing. “I need to put my old traveling cloak on that guy when we get down. He sticks out like a … well an ancient blue skinned arcane construct..”
Heading west toward the Surmarsh, tracing a path through the sand strewn scrubgrass, cattails and reeds that populate the coastal lowlands, the group keep a watchful eye for Thayan patrols and common thieves, alike. You see the city of Surthay to the north, but decide not to make your presence known, instead continuing south along the river Thay.
The grass rustles ahead. Skulking toward the commotion, you overhear the sounds of a struggle. As you peer through the tall grass, you see a small anthropomorphic rabbit with dark gray fur, that looks soft and fluffy.
"So, this is all of you? Only five?" you hear someone talking loudly from the center of the ring as you try to make your way closer.
"Do you not know 'ow to count? There are four of us ya maggot." a man yells and you see him holding up the rabbit restrained in his arms. The rabbit is no longer wearing his leather shirt and you see another man holding up a pricy looking blueish rapier, which the rest of his attire and general appearance suggest is substantially beyond his means. You make out two other ruffians in the circle holding some items in their hands trying to push them into sacks quickly but they seem a bit flustered.
"If you don't want to die, I suggest you give that back." You hear the rabbit say. He seems to be preparing for something but your not sure what. However, he looks like he's quite familiar with this situation and how this is going to go. And from the almost bored look on his face you can tell it is all going according to his plan, not theirs.
"Like 'ell I will! 'Ow 'bout you die by yer own sword." the man who just took the sword yells while unsheathing it.
"It's too small for you, and I a sea hag's son such as yourself doesn't know how to handle it." the rabbit mocks.
"That's it, I've 'ad enough o yer mouth. DIE!" the man charges with the rapier pointed like a spear at the restrained rabbit, but as he about to stab the rabbit, the harengon's back glows blue and he becomes somewhat transparent. The charging ruffian plunges the rapier into the rabbit, but both he and the rapier move through the rabbit and the rapier is thrust into the man that was previously restraining their mark. Both men tumble to the ground as the rabbit lands on his feet nearby. The rabbit takes one step away, still semi-transparent and says, "Now look what you did, you got my beautiful sword filthy!" as blueish daggers suddenly appear in his hands.
The ruffian that was stabbed just lies there as the other one pulls the rapier out confused at what just happened. The other two men rush forward to attack, one with fists and the other a dagger. As the men are running towards the rabbit, he casually throws a dagger into the thick grass opposite you. You then notice a bigger man that seems to have dodged the dagger smirking at the harengone, but before a word can come out of his mouth, the rabbit is behind him and has slashed him with the other blueish dagger. The big man falls to the ground, eyes rolled back into his head.
Hey @everyone, this is the new PC. Oli is played by @Badfishingdad75. Say hi, or act really callous in character if you want, he is the first of a few additions. Just to let everyone in on my vision for this section a bit more, its a pretty freeform section and I don't plan to ramp up challenges to match your current level, but this place is just packed with hordes of adverarial creatures. You're high-level characters and you should feel powerful, but far from invincible. You are very much behind enemy lines and while most people don't care about you one way or the other, you are considered enemies of the state, at this point. Also, disguising oneself as a Red Wizard is sort of the equivalent of disguising yourself as a congressman or MP. Most people wouldn't think to doubt you, there are far too many to know, but if you make that claim to a government official, they may well know that person directly, or at least by appearance. So, it can work, but you should know what you're getting into.
(Ok I looked back at some early posts: Chadderly is actually a red wizard. Tetrevess was forced to become a member of the cloaks of mulmaster- not a red wizard. He actually has some stuff in his room at the tower of the cloaks. I think this was before he was lost in the astral for a while, and when he came back didn’t really remember a lot. )
(welcome to the new player!)
Tetrevess steps from the woods and says “Hello there! Having some trouble with bandits? It seems you’ve got it under control, but let us know if we can help. “
He is a young man, brown unkempt hair, Full brown beard, and robed in an ancient style of grey scholar’s robes, with a intricately carved black wooden staff and a brown leather backpack. His sharp-featured face has a look of intense curiosity. By his side walks a man fully covered by simple brown monk’s robes, his face hidden by a deep hood.
Tetrevess will help with defeating the last bandits if needed, and then says “I’m impressed by your skills. Absolutely fascinating… I’ve not met a Harengon yet, I don’t think. But I’ve read some… oh I forget my manners. You can call me Tetrevess, or just T, as Sam says. Tell us what brings you to this err.. land?” (He pauses a bit, apparently thinking of saying something else about Thay before just saying land).
The rabbit replies, "Help is always welcome. Take any of these ruffians down as you like. Though if they run, I'd appreciate it if you make sure they don't get away with my stuff. Lets talk more after we take care of these untrained thieves." As he looks at your group, you notice he has a black eye patch lined with silver thread over his left eye. It was hard to see at first because it blends in with his dark gray fur.
To the rest of the ruffians he says, "That takes care of your boss, so who's next? You need to rethink how you choose your marks. Only untrained dogs would attack someone obviously trying to look so weak." he says calmly with a grin.
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ooc: I'm assuming I am talking at the end of my turn this round as I just took down the small time thug boss. I haven't yet read a full combat scene in your campaign yet so not sure how you play it yet, but want to get something out there quick. I'll go back and try and find a combat scene later.
><dialogue is always 'free' (except as a verbal component of spells) and this is all narrative, no timekeeping (i.e. turns, rounds) is being observed until we roll initiatives at some point. More on that when it comes up.><
(Welcome)
Sam looks to find the rabbit man and thinks if he would taste nice as he has hunted rabbit in Chult before “hello their mr rabbit they bothering you”
Tetrevess says, “happy to help! Drop your goods and flee, or stay and die, ruffians! Probably shouldn’t let them get away though..”.
he raises a hand and two bolts of fire launch- one into each of the two furthest away thugs.
(30 and 19 to hit, 20 damage to first, 9 damage to second). Used a sorcerery point to twin the spell)
(This is just an RP type combat thing- we get more formal when the odds are against us!)
Chadderlay will step forward and cast Ray of Frost at one of the other ruffians.
Attack: 13 Damage: 11 cold damage, and its speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.
"I bring the cold now! It's a new thing I'm trying out!" Chadderlay taunts the ruffians.