The tall adventuress waits a moment to give everyone a chance to agree or disagree - or propose something else... Then, if no one disapproves or counter-proposes, she dashes off towards the east.
Vrox doesn't even wait. He simply nods and immediately slips into the shadows of the dark room, moving slowly and quietly across the catacombs and watching for hidden dangers. He still carries his shield, and If nothing interrupts him, he goes just far enough to see through the doorway to the east so that he can tell the others what to expect.
Watching for danger and then trying to see / hear what's going on through in the east room before he's close enough to be spotted. Perception25, advantage from Sentinel Shield
The flickering fires coming from within the chamber helps to cover you in the shadows as you approach the opening to the east. Wide steps descend to a landing flanked by two alcoves. Within each alcove, taking up the full thirty-foot height of the ceiling, is a bronze statue of a warrior holding a spear. There had once been two curtains here, but they had been torn down and lay crumpled on the floor. There are more descending stairs that lead into the chamber where chanting is being done.
As you peer inside, it had been a grand burial chamber at one time, but the two ornate coffins had been smashed, and appeared to be used for the firewood that is feeding a central bonfire. There was a stained-glass window in the ceiling, but it had been smashed and now the smoke spirals out of it. Inside the chamber, is a large pile of dead civilians, their heads removed and placed in a large summoning circle. Their blood has been used to draw the arcane symbols. Around the circle are what appear to be four chanting summoners, all wearing blood red clothes, and the 8-pointed star of chaos.
Watching the ceremony, is a large blood demon, 4 blood converts, 6 converted men-at-arms in the duke's livery, and a finely dressed man standing next to the demon. As you look at his eyes, they are glowing red, and you can tell he is fully lost to the insanity. Sparhawk whispers, "That's the blood Duke himself! He is one of them!"
There is an energy building, and swirling red colors are in the center of the circle, the blood converts are also chanting-"Blood for the blood god, skulls for his throne."
Then, with the Death Lance held firmly in both hands, the blonde arcane warrior charges forward, with her trusty Alfred covering her back.
[[ OOC: Khessa up-casts Spirit Shroud using a 5th level slot, while Alfred casts Haste on her. She then charges forward. Do we need to roll for initiative? Or can we just roll for the attacks? ]]
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
[[@Aaggie - How far down is it into the chamber? How large is the ritual chamber itself? I'm trying to figure out whether we can make effective use of an AoE spells before the party attacks. Will we have a battle map for this fight?]]
Vrox signals the party over to the stairs so that they can coordinate their attack. What he does in preparation for the fight depends a little bit on how far away the opponents are and whether we can see the whole ritual chamber from where we are at the east side of the catacombs, at the top of the stairs.
Clarac comes when Vrox signals. "We cannot allow them to complete that terrible ritual, whatever its purpose," she says. She summons an invisible force and instructs it to follow her and retrieve the severed heads from the ritual circle.
Though totally outpaced by Khessa, Clarac runs down the stairs to the ritual chamber. She would run straight through the ritual circle and its glowing red colors if that is the most direct route to the demon.
OOC:
Initiative (if needed): 8 Action: Cast Unseen Servant Movement: 30 ft. closer to the demon; Unseen Servant moves 15 ft. down the stairs
"Time to finally end this,"Akkron agrees with the general consensus of his companions. "It is a shame that a fireball won't do anything to these infernal beasts..."
Initiative: 11
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
[[@Aaggie - How far down is it into the chamber? How large is the ritual chamber itself? I'm trying to figure out whether we can make effective use of an AoE spells before the party attacks. Will we have a battle map for this fight?]]
Vrox signals the party over to the stairs so that they can coordinate their attack. What he does in preparation for the fight depends a little bit on how far away the opponents are and whether we can see the whole ritual chamber from where we are at the east side of the catacombs, at the top of the stairs.
For clarity as I barrowed icons-The Ashen Riders are Blood Converts who are chanting; The Warlocks are Warlocks; The death knights are Duke's Men at Arms, Strahd is the Duke, and Bel is the Large Blood Demon.
Hmmm... it doesn't look like anything is there which would be immune to fire except for the Blood Demon... this actually looks like the perfect time for Lord Akkron to use 5 charges from the Staff of Power to dump a giant fireball in the middle of that crowd and try to do as much damage as possible (especially to the Baron and the Blood Converts as they are probably integral to the ritual...)
Fireball: 39 fire damage (DC 24 Dex save for half-damage)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Vrox stows his shield and equips his Dragon's Wrath Longbow, but he does not fit an arrow to it. As soon as the others gather, he hops quietly down the steps to crouch down at the bottom of the first flight of stairs. While he's on in the middle of landing just before reaching the two statues, his tattoo still seems to wrap him in the darkness of the shadows cast by the torches.
Vrox gestures for the fighters to hold hang back a moment, and he holds his bow sideways, horizontal to the ground. Perhaps even before Lord Akkron's fireball explodes in the chamber (depending on action order), Vrox speaks a words of command in the unfamiliar draconic language. A wave of radiant light erupts from the longbow in an arc, flooding the entire chamber below.
Move: Move 10' down the stairs to the landing. Take his action. Then move ~20' south to hide in the alcove by the statue. Action: Vrox invokes the ascendant power of his Dragon's Wrath Longbow: "As an action, you can unleash a 60-foot cone of destructive energy from the weapon. Once this action is used, it can’t be used again until the next dawn." Each creature in that area must make a DC 18 DEX saving throw or take damage: 31 (radiant) On a successful save, take half as much damage: 15.5 (radiant). Bonus Action: Hide - Stealth28 (using Vanish feature, advantage from Shadowfell Brand Tattoo)
Action: Vrox invokes the ascendant power of his Dragon's Wrath Longbow: "As an action, you can unleash a 60-foot cone of destructive energy from the weapon. Once this action is used, it can’t be used again until the next dawn." Each creature in that area must make a DC 18 DEX saving throw or take damage: 39 (radiant) On a successful save, take half as much damage: 19.5 (radiant). Bonus Action: Hide - Stealth37 (using Vanish feature, advantage from Shadowfell Brand Tattoo
[[OOC: I can post a map if needed, but it looked like Vrox could cover every enemy in the chamber with a 60' cone if he invokes it from the back of the landing. Assuming that the stairs don't block his view, the bottom of the stairs are 20' away, so the cone would be 20' wide there. The back wall is 40' wide and at least 40' away, so the cone definitely covers every enemy in that area. It should even hit part of the two coffins on the north and south sides of the room.
It's always nice when a once/day power rolls a little higher than average on the damage dice. And after the blinding flash of radiance, Vrox really did "vanish" into the shadows of the alcove!
Oh, and I didn't mention it above, but I'm assuming that with the fights and all the searching, it's been > 1 hour since we got into the castle. Therefore, Vrox's Hunter's Mark has expired, and he's not currently concentrating on anything.]]
Hmmm... it doesn't look like anything is there which would be immune to fire except for the Blood Demon... this actually looks like the perfect time for Lord Akkron to use 5 charges from the Staff of Power to dump a giant fireball in the middle of that crowd and try to do as much damage as possible (especially to the Baron and the Blood Converts as they are probably integral to the ritual...)
Fireball: 39 fire damage (DC 24 Dex save for half-damage)
Hmmm... it doesn't look like anything is there which would be immune to fire except for the Blood Demon... this actually looks like the perfect time for Lord Akkron to use 5 charges from the Staff of Power to dump a giant fireball in the middle of that crowd and try to do as much damage as possible (especially to the Baron and the Blood Converts as they are probably integral to the ritual...)
Fireball: 39 fire damage (DC 24 Dex save for half-damage)
4
With a loud crack and boom, the fire ball detonates and the flames strike everyone. The 45 warlocks in the middle are knocked to their knees, and their chanting is disrupted
Vrox stows his shield and equips his Dragon's Wrath Longbow, but he does not fit an arrow to it. As soon as the others gather, he hops quietly down the steps to crouch down at the bottom of the first flight of stairs. While he's on in the middle of landing just before reaching the two statues, his tattoo still seems to wrap him in the darkness of the shadows cast by the torches.
Vrox gestures for the fighters to hold hang back a moment, and he holds his bow sideways, horizontal to the ground. Perhaps even before Lord Akkron's fireball explodes in the chamber (depending on action order), Vrox speaks a words of command in the unfamiliar draconic language. A wave of radiant light erupts from the longbow in an arc, flooding the entire chamber below.
Move: Move 10' down the stairs to the landing. Take his action. Then move ~20' south to hide in the alcove by the statue. Action: Vrox invokes the ascendant power of his Dragon's Wrath Longbow: "As an action, you can unleash a 60-foot cone of destructive energy from the weapon. Once this action is used, it can’t be used again until the next dawn." Each creature in that area must make a DC 18 DEX saving throw or take damage: 39 (radiant) On a successful save, take half as much damage: 19.5 (radiant). Bonus Action: Hide - Stealth37 (using Vanish feature, advantage from Shadowfell Brand Tattoo)
Vrox stows his shield and equips his Dragon's Wrath Longbow, but he does not fit an arrow to it. As soon as the others gather, he hops quietly down the steps to crouch down at the bottom of the first flight of stairs. While he's on in the middle of landing just before reaching the two statues, his tattoo still seems to wrap him in the darkness of the shadows cast by the torches.
Vrox gestures for the fighters to hold hang back a moment, and he holds his bow sideways, horizontal to the ground. Perhaps even before Lord Akkron's fireball explodes in the chamber (depending on action order), Vrox speaks a words of command in the unfamiliar draconic language. A wave of radiant light erupts from the longbow in an arc, flooding the entire chamber below.
Move: Move 10' down the stairs to the landing. Take his action. Then move ~20' south to hide in the alcove by the statue. Action: Vrox invokes the ascendant power of his Dragon's Wrath Longbow: "As an action, you can unleash a 60-foot cone of destructive energy from the weapon. Once this action is used, it can’t be used again until the next dawn." Each creature in that area must make a DC 18 DEX saving throw or take damage: 39 (radiant) On a successful save, take half as much damage: 19.5 (radiant). Bonus Action: Hide - Stealth37 (using Vanish feature, advantage from Shadowfell Brand Tattoo)
group save 16
The radiant damage causes extreme pain to the large red demon, to the duke who screams out, and the 4 warlocks fall dead. As the die and the chanting ends, the spell they were working collapses and you here a great yell, as if from a great distance. The red colors that were swirling now fade away.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Tyekanik: Round 1
If needed... Initiative: 14 (advantage from Feral Instinct)
Tyekanik agrees with Lord Akkron: "Yes, it is end time for the demon!" He enters a rage, growing to huge size. As soon Lord Akkron's Fireball and Vrox's radiant blast are done, the hulking barbarian charges down the stairs diagonally, heading almost directly for the demon in the northeast corner. (He ends his turn occupying a 15'x15' space just south of the coffin on the north side of the room, probably trampling two of the warlocks on his way there. Tyek takes one swing of his axe at the first blood convert (at the north side of the bottom of the stairs) as he moves. If he hits the blood convert, Tyek also spends a charge of his Blood Fury Tattoo to do additional necrotic damage and heal himself with the energy. Finally, ignoring the blood converts at the northeast, he uses his 15' reach to attack the demon over the convert's head.
Bonus Action: rage, imbuing Annam's Greataxe as his Elemental Cleaver with thunder damage Movement: Move ~30' down the second flight of steps and end Action: Two Reckless Attacks with Annam's Greataxe as his Elemental Cleaver (thunder) Attack 1, blood convert in the NW corner: 29, Damage: 22 (magical thunder) + 22 (force) + 17 (necrotic from tattoo)= 61 (total) Attack 2, blood demon: 25, Damage: 31 (magical thunder) + 9 (force) = 40 (total)
Reaction: If anything hits him, he'll use Stone's Endurance to reduce the damage by 14
Vrox doesn't even wait. He simply nods and immediately slips into the shadows of the dark room, moving slowly and quietly across the catacombs and watching for hidden dangers. He still carries his shield, and If nothing interrupts him, he goes just far enough to see through the doorway to the east so that he can tell the others what to expect.
Moving quietly and hiding in the shadows.
Stealth 36, advantage from Shadowfell Brand Tattoo
Watching for danger and then trying to see / hear what's going on through in the east room before he's close enough to be spotted.
Perception 25, advantage from Sentinel Shield
The flickering fires coming from within the chamber helps to cover you in the shadows as you approach the opening to the east. Wide steps descend to a landing flanked by two alcoves. Within each alcove, taking up the full thirty-foot height of the ceiling, is a bronze statue of a warrior holding a spear. There had once been two curtains here, but they had been torn down and lay crumpled on the floor. There are more descending stairs that lead into the chamber where chanting is being done.
As you peer inside, it had been a grand burial chamber at one time, but the two ornate coffins had been smashed, and appeared to be used for the firewood that is feeding a central bonfire. There was a stained-glass window in the ceiling, but it had been smashed and now the smoke spirals out of it. Inside the chamber, is a large pile of dead civilians, their heads removed and placed in a large summoning circle. Their blood has been used to draw the arcane symbols. Around the circle are what appear to be four chanting summoners, all wearing blood red clothes, and the 8-pointed star of chaos.
Watching the ceremony, is a large blood demon, 4 blood converts, 6 converted men-at-arms in the duke's livery, and a finely dressed man standing next to the demon. As you look at his eyes, they are glowing red, and you can tell he is fully lost to the insanity. Sparhawk whispers, "That's the blood Duke himself! He is one of them!"
There is an energy building, and swirling red colors are in the center of the circle, the blood converts are also chanting-"Blood for the blood god, skulls for his throne."
"Time to finish cleaning" Khessa declares, calling forth spirits of the dead, which begin to flit around her, empowering her with necrotic energy. At the same time, Alfred empowers her with the haste spell she had charged into him earlier.
Then, with the Death Lance held firmly in both hands, the blonde arcane warrior charges forward, with her trusty Alfred covering her back.
[[ OOC: Khessa up-casts Spirit Shroud using a 5th level slot, while Alfred casts Haste on her. She then charges forward. Do we need to roll for initiative? Or can we just roll for the attacks? ]]
[[@Aaggie - How far down is it into the chamber? How large is the ritual chamber itself? I'm trying to figure out whether we can make effective use of an AoE spells before the party attacks. Will we have a battle map for this fight?]]
Vrox signals the party over to the stairs so that they can coordinate their attack. What he does in preparation for the fight depends a little bit on how far away the opponents are and whether we can see the whole ritual chamber from where we are at the east side of the catacombs, at the top of the stairs.
If needed, Initiative: 23, advantage from Sentinel Shield
Clarac comes when Vrox signals. "We cannot allow them to complete that terrible ritual, whatever its purpose," she says. She summons an invisible force and instructs it to follow her and retrieve the severed heads from the ritual circle.
Though totally outpaced by Khessa, Clarac runs down the stairs to the ritual chamber. She would run straight through the ritual circle and its glowing red colors if that is the most direct route to the demon.
OOC:
Initiative (if needed): 8
Action: Cast Unseen Servant
Movement: 30 ft. closer to the demon; Unseen Servant moves 15 ft. down the stairs
Aya Init: 19
D&D since 1984
"Time to finally end this," Akkron agrees with the general consensus of his companions. "It is a shame that a fireball won't do anything to these infernal beasts..."
Initiative: 11
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Provide feedback!
Khessa's Initiative, if needed: 6
For clarity as I barrowed icons-The Ashen Riders are Blood Converts who are chanting; The Warlocks are Warlocks; The death knights are Duke's Men at Arms, Strahd is the Duke, and Bel is the Large Blood Demon.
If you want to prep the objective by AoE spells prior to charging in, I'll allow it before I get into the general melee.
Hmmm... it doesn't look like anything is there which would be immune to fire except for the Blood Demon... this actually looks like the perfect time for Lord Akkron to use 5 charges from the Staff of Power to dump a giant fireball in the middle of that crowd and try to do as much damage as possible (especially to the Baron and the Blood Converts as they are probably integral to the ritual...)
Fireball: 39 fire damage (DC 24 Dex save for half-damage)
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Provide feedback!
Vrox stows his shield and equips his Dragon's Wrath Longbow, but he does not fit an arrow to it. As soon as the others gather, he hops quietly down the steps to crouch down at the bottom of the first flight of stairs. While he's on in the middle of landing just before reaching the two statues, his tattoo still seems to wrap him in the darkness of the shadows cast by the torches.
Vrox gestures for the fighters to hold hang back a moment, and he holds his bow sideways, horizontal to the ground. Perhaps even before Lord Akkron's fireball explodes in the chamber (depending on action order), Vrox speaks a words of command in the unfamiliar draconic language. A wave of radiant light erupts from the longbow in an arc, flooding the entire chamber below.
Move: Move 10' down the stairs to the landing. Take his action. Then move ~20' south to hide in the alcove by the statue.
Action: Vrox invokes the ascendant power of his Dragon's Wrath Longbow: "As an action, you can unleash a 60-foot cone of destructive energy from the weapon. Once this action is used, it can’t be used again until the next dawn."
Each creature in that area must make a DC 18 DEX saving throw or take damage: 31 (radiant)
On a successful save, take half as much damage: 15.5 (radiant).
Bonus Action: Hide - Stealth 28 (using Vanish feature, advantage from Shadowfell Brand Tattoo)
[[OOC: I can post a map if needed, but it looked like Vrox could cover every enemy in the chamber with a 60' cone if he invokes it from the back of the landing. Assuming that the stairs don't block his view, the bottom of the stairs are 20' away, so the cone would be 20' wide there. The back wall is 40' wide and at least 40' away, so the cone definitely covers every enemy in that area. It should even hit part of the two coffins on the north and south sides of the room.
It's always nice when a once/day power rolls a little higher than average on the damage dice. And after the blinding flash of radiance, Vrox really did "vanish" into the shadows of the alcove!
Oh, and I didn't mention it above, but I'm assuming that with the fights and all the searching, it's been > 1 hour since we got into the castle. Therefore, Vrox's Hunter's Mark has expired, and he's not currently concentrating on anything.]]
13
With a loud crack and boom, the fire ball detonates and the flames strike everyone. The 45 warlocks in the middle are knocked to their knees, and their chanting is disrupted
group save 13
The radiant damage causes extreme pain to the large red demon, to the duke who screams out, and the 4 warlocks fall dead. As the die and the chanting ends, the spell they were working collapses and you here a great yell, as if from a great distance. The red colors that were swirling now fade away.
Tyekanik: Round 1
If needed... Initiative: 14 (advantage from Feral Instinct)
Tyekanik agrees with Lord Akkron: "Yes, it is end time for the demon!" He enters a rage, growing to huge size. As soon Lord Akkron's Fireball and Vrox's radiant blast are done, the hulking barbarian charges down the stairs diagonally, heading almost directly for the demon in the northeast corner. (He ends his turn occupying a 15'x15' space just south of the coffin on the north side of the room, probably trampling two of the warlocks on his way there. Tyek takes one swing of his axe at the first blood convert (at the north side of the bottom of the stairs) as he moves. If he hits the blood convert, Tyek also spends a charge of his Blood Fury Tattoo to do additional necrotic damage and heal himself with the energy. Finally, ignoring the blood converts at the northeast, he uses his 15' reach to attack the demon over the convert's head.
Bonus Action: rage, imbuing Annam's Greataxe as his Elemental Cleaver with thunder damage
Movement: Move ~30' down the second flight of steps and end
Action: Two Reckless Attacks with Annam's Greataxe as his Elemental Cleaver (thunder)
Attack 1, blood convert in the NW corner: 29, Damage: 22 (magical thunder) + 22 (force) + 17 (necrotic from tattoo)= 61 (total)
Attack 2, blood demon: 25, Damage: 31 (magical thunder) + 9 (force) = 40 (total)
Reaction: If anything hits him, he'll use Stone's Endurance to reduce the damage by 14
Since Tyekanik goes for the demon, Khessa comfronts the Duke, running at him at impossible speed to impale him in the nectotic tip of her Death Lance, while the spirits of various victims of the Nefarious Duo float around her, as if to witness the avenging of their deaths...