Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in- Marketplace
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in
One more round of strength
(Oh, you gonna play it that way) Sparhawk, relying on his incredible leadership abilities, tries to inspire the group: "Common crew, one more heave!", he says to all present
(Persuade: 24
He gives it another try: (Strength) 18
( All the Guidance!)
( 3 )
(Perfect)
with one more great pull, Sparhawk demonstrates his leadership and power and the giant skull pulls free of the crate. It’s is now, in the full light you can see it’s true size and magnificence.
” Aha, I knew we could do it together!” Dietrich exclaims. “ would you look at that, have you ever seen anything as massive and glorious? Hard to believe such creatures walk the jungles of this realm”
all the workers cheer the success. The bet makers pay up or collect depending on which way they bet and Dietrich calls for refreshments to be brought out in celebration.
” Now to answer your questions and offer a proposal while we have something to eat and drink”
some well dressed women and men bring out some large pillows and a short table or everyone to sit at and some pitchers and glasses of some kind of fruit juice along with bread and cheese
Frangipani pounces onto a pillow and is about to begin shovelling in bread and cheese but stops to check the others facial expressions first...
Sparhawk congratulates all present, including the on lookers. He makes a special point to give Reginald and Lir big pats on the back. and smiles.
“ the monstrous skull was commissioned by a strange and eccentric fellow who goes by the name of Donkey Hoetay. A gnome of great renown down by Waterdeep. One of the only known adventurers to have mapped out the entire dungeon of the “ Mad Mage”. It’s an interesting tale to say the least. Apparently, this dungeon is a famous pastime, gambling set up popular with adventures in Waterdeep. There is a bar built around a strange portal that takes people to a dungeon created long ago by a crazy wizard. Most people who try do not make it out and bets are taken at the bar as to how long a group will last. A company of investors hired Mr Hoetay and a group to map the thing and he succeeded. They attempted to stiff him and so he kept the map to himself and gave them a fake one…lol”
He takes a drink and bite of bread before continuing. “ while in the dungeon, he ran into a couple of goblins that were collecting skulls for some reason. He convinced his party not to kill them and hired them on instead. Realizing goblins were just regular folks trying to make a living like everyone else, he offered to hire every goblin they encountered. The smart ones accepted and the dumb ones died. That is when he came up with the idea of building what he calls the “ Skullatarium”. The worlds largest collection of skulls. He wants to have a representative of every creature to be found across all the continents, and thus he hired my shipping company to acquire this one for him…for quite the sum”
Frangipani nodded along with understanding, her mother had had quite the collection of partial remains of ex-lovers on display in her chambers.
"Ah, Master Thornson, It is so nice to see you again and be of help with this crazy skull. Wow!" May I present my trusted friends, Frangipani and Bjorn, and my first mate, Vars, all of whom you met on the road a few days back. They have asked me to come see you when we arrived back in Luskan.
We have added some new recruits to our ranks. This is Reginald, a wizard from the tower, and Lir, our new spiritual advisor. Once again, I am Sir Sparhawk. Well met.
“ it is good to see you again and at just the right time. You and your crew have proven yourselves to be strong and capable, so I would like to extend an offer for another expedition to Chult. We won’t be ready to depart for a few weeks, but Mr Hoetay has another acquisition he requires. This one will literally be the largest skull ever acquired. He wants it to become the actual Skullatarium building’s main structure. He wants the skull of the first Storm Giant from the beginning of Faerun!” He pauses to let the information sink in a bit.
” We in fact actually have a good idea as to where it might be located, on an island off of Chult. It will be a huge undertaking, requiring a lot of logistics and planning. This expedition will be fully funded and will come with a daily stipend as well as a profit share in the venture. There are Kingdoms that have less money than what this skull is worth, not to mention the names of all involved will be legendary.”
Frangipani listened carefully though she had little idea what a Chult was or what different kinds of giants there were....
"Sounds interesting. How would you get the skull across the sea, may I ask?" Sparhawk looks at his friends to see if anyone has questions.
“ heh, heh that is part of the challenge that will need to be figured out on location as we have no idea how big it really is or how heavy. Once you reach Chult you will meet up with my local contact and hire local crew, guides and equipment. The first stage will be locating the skull and coming up with a plan. 2nd stage will be the extraction, preferably without unnecessarily disturbing the living storm giants if possible. Just wait until you see how amazing the landscape and people of Chult are.”
his excitement for this project is evident, you can tell if it were possible, he would leave at this very moment to begin.
"And would these Storm Giants be upset if we took one of their ancestors without their permission?" Sparhawk raises an eyebrow
(Lol, is this Donkey a PC from an earlier campaign perhaps?)
Bjorn grins at Frangipani and begins eating, possibly too early to be polite. "I think I can see the shape of this. There's more parties after this skull than just yer Donkey Hoetay, yes? Perhaps some of those kingdoms ye mentioned. If only just to sell it back to him. So ye need a crew who can take it out from under their noses. Is that it?"
( yep. Best way to develop NPCs is to start them as PC, lol)
Sparhawk looks at Bjorn, "Ah, that would make sense. That's why we bring this one along," he says, looking at Dietrich, "He's the brains of the operation."
“ Storm Giants tend to always be upset…probably how they became storm giants to begin with, eh? “
” there might be others interested in this commission, I would certainly count on it. I have competition like any business, but Mr Hoetay puts all his contracts out to the general public, and pays for skulls of all types. The difference for us, is we have a friend that knows the area better than anyone, even better than most locals”
“ indeed, I will journey with you to Chult, but will remain on the ship or in port to conduct other business and pay the expenses. My wife would have my head if I were to head into the jungle one more time.” He lifts his shirt and you can see a nasty scar the full length of his torso. All teeth marks.
” one of the local fauna thought I would make a good snack. My good friend Volothamp Geddarm will be there to advise me and provide key knowledge to ensure our success “
At the mention of Chult, Lir surreptitiously attempts to sign to the party "Chult - dangerous for spellcasters".
(Lir is going to attempt a dexterity roll to do this out of sight and hopefully it's understandable [Performance for communication])
18 sleight of hand
15 performance
(oh wait, it rolled wrong)