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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Satisfied that there is not another pack of fiends waiting to attack their rear flank, Vrox stows his longbow in his Quiver of Ehlonna and bounds across the hall toward the kind and the rest of the party (minus Tyek). As he crosses the hall, Vrox casts Enhance Ability (CHA) on himself.
Vrox interjects, "Now that is wisdom!" And when Khessa puts the crown on their guide, he actually claps and cheers.
Vrox is beaming. He bows and says, "Prince Vûkha, I sought a guide among the Golgari. I only hoped to find someone who could lead us through Uhubreen so that we could root out the evil influence of the dark gods that had captured the minds of your people. But I see know that it was not simply Chance that led me to choose you." (He's referring, of course, to when he initially charmed Prince Vûkha!)
Vrox moves to stand between the former king and Prince Vûkha. He addresses the red-faced (former) king first, respectfully but sternly, "Understand: you have been defeated. Do not fight or resist: a deposed king need not die. You could still live out a life of purpose and distinction, but you will never again be the king of the Golgari. Your base of power and control has collapsed. We have -- today -- slain all of the fiends here in Uhubreen, and we will continue to beat them back across Eosia! We have killed or driven out the cultists that filled these halls and bent the Golgari to their will. I do not know whether you were deceived or knowingly chose to submit to these dark gods, but your cousin spoke the truth. You were leading your people to ruin and death."
Persuasion 24 (with advantage from Enhance Ability), trying to persuade the king to abdicate / not fight
If the king does not interrupt or attack, Vrox turns to Prince Vûkha and says apologetically, "If I may?", and reaches up to remove the crown from the prince's head. As he does so, Vrox says, "You have shown wisdom and a great concern for your people, but there is a protocol to such things. I would not have you called a usurper. We came to Uhubreen as liberators, not conquerors. We do not seek to subjugate the Golgari. Now that Uhubreen has been freed from the influence of the Nefarious Duo, it is time for the leaders of your clans to choose their future leader. We will leave this crown under guard until your people can be assembled. I hope that you are elevated to the throne according to the Golgari traditions and that you may rule long, in times of peace, and guide the Golgari back to the ways of Korv!"
Persuasion 17 (with advantage from Enhance Ability), trying to convince Prince Vûkha to follow his proposed plan
Vrox isn't sure how the Golgari kings are selected, but maybe he has learned enough about the dwarves from Yôht to at least know how the Golgari call their clean heads (thane, lord, chief, etc.). Vrox is proposing that the crown be left here, assuming that we're currently in the Golgari throne room. The party can guard the room with the assistance and supervision of trusted Golgari guards. (He doesn't assume that the Golgari trust us, liberators or not, and the Golgari guards could ensure that we don't steal the crown or anything like that). While we rest and guard the crown, Prince Vûkha could convene the leaders of his people and attempt to claim the crown or convince them to elevate him to the throne. Once the coronation is complete, we can feel confident that Uhubreen won't immediately fall back in with the Nefarious Duo, and the party could proceed to the next hotspot of the war or the next allies we hope to rally.
Khessa, more hasty and direct, had preferred to proceed with an immediate coronation, certain of the wisdom of her choice... but she has no difficulty in also recognizing the points in favor of Vrox's more formal and diplomatic plan and smiles, happy with the victory, simply holding herself ready to intervene in the unlikely event that the ex-king decides to start trouble or that unexpected and hidden reinforcements arrive.
[[ OOC: To be clear, Vrox is not 100% certain whether we're done in Uhubreen. He's just hoping that the party can take a Short Rest here while Prince Vûkha decides what to do next. Vrox is uninjured since our last rest, but I think thatTyek and Sir Sparhawk could use some time to heal, and maybe our wizards would like to use Arcane Recovery. While the party rests, we we can certainly guard the crown and detain the deposed king.
If the situation in Uhubreen is still uncertain, Vûkha may want to gather his allies quietly so that he has a sort of personal guard while he tries to consolidate power. Since Vrox doesn't really have any features that reset on a Short Rest, the tireless ranger could help to run messages to Prince Vûkha's allies throughout Uhubreen. (He could sneak past any potential enemies, and he's especially perusasive while using Eagle's Splendor.)
If we have already finished clearing out Uhubreen, and we think that Prince Vûkha can handle the rest, I'm also fine with skipping ahead to Vûkha's coronation and a Long Rest before we decide where to go next. We left Gurn Borim 2 or 3 days ago. IIRC, our mission was just to scout Uhubreen while King Uthar mustered an army to march from Gurn Borim. We can use the Sending Stone to send King Uthar an update, and Yôht can help broker a truce or formal alliance between the Voltans and the Golgari. They probably don't need our help at this point. That is, we don't necessarily need to role-play the slow process of dwarven diplomacy.
I'm not sure what's next for the party. We haven't seen Khaine since that god left Gurn Borim. Unless he's hiding here in Uhubreen somewhere, he may be with the Drukhari elves. Before we visited the Asuryani Elves in Eldamar, we had also talked about meeting with the Council of Wizards or seeking out powerful undead, like the Devkarin elves who have ascended to lichdom. Counselor Nyathuren had also suggested that we visit the Tain Shari (or True Bloods) in the northlands. Uhubreen is at the north end of Eosia:
Are the Tain Shari between Gurn Borim and Uhubreen, either in the Great Grasslands or in Shienar? Or do they reside north of Uhubreen, on the other side of the mountains?
Of course, after we finish dealing with previous threats from the Nefarious Duo, Flute usually appeared to help direct us to the next most important front of this divine conflict. ]]
You start to get an uneasy feeling, like time and space is starting to be warped. The room, the surrounding walls, all appear to become translucent, and begin to bend and reshape the room so that it is bigger. As the room expands, reality warps even more as two great slits of light appear at the end of the room where the alter was, one of purple, and one of red. You get that some oppressive feeling in the presence of the two chaos gods.
When the world changes around her, Clarac relies on her divine sense to detect if the power that is affecting the room has a particular source beyond the two shafts of oppressive light. It remains unclear to her if this force is changing the shape of the room or if she and her companions are being brought to another place. Either way, Clarac can see that there is more work to be done.
OOC:
Action: use Divine Sense (charge 6 of 7)
Khessa was prepared for any surprises... and, apparently, they didn't take long to arrive. She advances cautiously and calmly, followed by her faithful Alfred, moving to the front, curious about the Nefarious Duo's intentions... Are the two deities considering a direct confrontation between their avatars and the party?
If so, the blonde arcane warrior is keen to be at the forefront, given the protection the sacred icon grants her... She flashes a challenging smile: "Oh, so this is what you look like when you intervene in person? You don't impress me much..."
Yes, you sense a stronger, darker divine power coming from the light columns
As the room begins to shift, Tyekanik plants the head of Annam's Greataxe on the floor and then pulls himself to his feet by its handle. He begins crossing the room to the others, drinking a healing potion as he goes.
Potion of Healing (Greater): +15 (healing)
Vrox steps back, away from the king and the altar, encouraging Prince Vûkha to move back with him. He's regretting ending Swift Quiver early, but he equips his shield. He's glad that Khessa sounds confident, but he's wondering whether the demons are coming to talk or whether they're arriving at the head of an army. Before anything appears from the "slits of light," he calls out a question toward them: "You have taken oaths not to interfere directly in this realm. What brings you to here mpe?" He looks around to check whether there are any "exits" from transformed room.
Perception 23, advantage from Sentinel Shield
Thinking that the transformation of the room some sort of illusion or Hallucinatory Terrain, Vrox studies his transformed surroundings, looking for signs that they're really still in the Golgari king's chamber.
Finally, if there's any way to get out of direct sight from the slits, Vrox will try to Hide before any more demons arrive.
Movement: Move 40-ft west, away from the altar
Action: Investigation 17, trying to determine whether the change in the room is just an illusion
Bonus Action: Hide - Stealth: 35 (using Vanish feature, advantage from Shadowfell Brand Tattoo)
Free Action: Item interaction - equip his shield. Talking.
Concentration: Enhance Ability (Eagle's Splendor)
Lord Akkron sighs... the last thing he wants to do right now is fight two or more gods.
"And still no rest for these tired bones," he mutters.
But there is no time for that right now. Taking a page from Vrox's book, Akkron attempts to hide in the rubble.
Stealth: 18
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Sensing that evil divine power exists behind the light columns, Clarac addresses the beings she suspects are listening from beyond with aggressive optimism, "No matter how many servants you send, the forces of good will stop them. Your corruption will never last; the people will recover. Your task is hopeless."
She does not hide from the lights.
The two column of lights open like a slice in between the mortal and the immaterial realms. Through the purple gate way, you see this:
Through the red gate way, you see this:
You sense the power of these two beings are more than mere avatars. Ut seems the room expands and contracts around them, allowing their forms to fit where normally they would not.
"Playtime is over I think," the purplish figure states, almost purring, "its time to finish this once and for all."
The other figure in red hefts his great axe, and growls "I agree, its time to harvest more skulls and blood for me!"
Khessa smiles confidently—not so much because she doesn't realize how lethal two Chaos Gods can be, but rather because she trusts that Flute and the young gods can maybe 'bend the rules a little', if necessary... and because she knew that sooner or later the moment of direct confrontation would come.
The Nefarious Duo would never surrender, never abandon their plans for destruction and domination once and for all. The blonde arcane warrior isn't a woman who loves violence. Deep down, she's still the cabbage farmer she would have remained for the rest of her life, had a drow raid not shattered her existence so long ago. But her long experience battling against enemies of all kinds has taught her that there are times when fighting is unavoidable. This is one of those times.
It is for this reason that, smiling at the hell that is about to pour down upon the party, the tall adventuress, firmly grasping Wave of Sorrow in both hands, renews her Spirit Shroud and declares: "Skulls and blood, you say? Come, then... and we will see who will provide them."