Upon realizing what the hat is and what it can do, Zeds ponders its usage and reluctantly considers how best to take advantage of it. He first discusses it with Ixsas quietly, away from the new additions, to get his thoughts. Ixsas himself is a new addition but not the newest kid on the block...
"If we use the hat to disguise one of us as Dralmorrer we wouldn't need to rely on his cooperation at all," Zeds points out to Ixsas. "If they thought one of us were him we may be able to walk around this place like we own it. The big problem I see is the voice. Maybe not all of them but a lot of them know his voice. I can do some voices... Pull off a fake accent, adopt a younger or older sounding tone... But I'm not so great at the totally copying someone's actual voice. But what I saw her do down at the door? It was magic... Literally. She just copied his voice no problem with whatever spell she did. If she could do that while also looking like him? I'm a bit hesitant to give up such an item to someone we just met but..."
Assuming Ixsas agrees with his thought process, Zeds would then bring up the idea to Seraphina herself. He would share much the same thought process but also add "Assuming you think you could pull them both off in unison, I guess. I don't know your limits or anything but if you could in effect "become" him that may save us a whole lot of trouble in this castle... and out."
The young blonde selûnite listens attentively with an amused smile to the rogue's suggestion. She was following the tenets of her mistress to the best of her ability but she was certainly not above the use of trickery to accomplish the objectives of her mission. "I would need to use magic to project Dralmorrer's voice, it won't stand to any closer scrutiny I'm afraid, but I like how you think Zeds. If you really do think I should try to make use of your magical hat then I will certainly do so. I can assure you that you will have it back once we have finished what we came for." Seraphina says with a bright smile.
(If she is given the het she would attune to it during the short rest. She would still follow the others to examine the rest of the tower before deciding on what to do next.)
Thrax hisses at the raven, his forked tongue undulating in a serpentine fashion between his formidably sharp teeth.
"The tiliskub. What else do you use the tiliskub for?" Thrax asks the captive commander, tilting his scaly head in the direction of one of the floorboards as his big toe knocks against it.
"Hrmgh. What do you keep down here?" A monstrous smile widens across his face with a taunting, smug satisfaction as he kneels down. The dragonborn peels back the rug, his reptilian third-eyelids blinking slowly as he studies the interlocking patten of the planks. A moment later, he attempts to pry the hollow-sounding floorboard free. "Secrets. Are these the secrets of Dralmorrer?"
Strength: 16 ((If another roll on top of the perception check earlier is required to check for traps, please let me know! :) ))
Upon realizing what the hat is and what it can do, Zeds ponders its usage and reluctantly considers how best to take advantage of it. He first discusses it with Ixsas quietly, away from the new additions, to get his thoughts. Ixsas himself is a new addition but not the newest kid on the block...
((OOC: TLDR; Ixsas approves of this plan. The rest is mostly role play for the sake of helping the new players get to know Ixsas better.))
As Zeds explains the hat and his idea, a smile spreads across Ixsas's dark, scaled face. His teeth look very white (and pointy!) compared to the dusky-black scales. Ixsas agrees enthusiastically with Zeds's plan! He had been worried about having to fight their way to the caverns under the castle. He especially likes that Zeds's plan means that they wouldn't need to rely on Dralmorrer's good faith, which was one of Ixsas's primary concerns. Ixsas trusts Seraphina when she says that Dralmorrer has not lied to them, but he expects that Dralmorrer is just biding his time and waiting for a moment when he can betray the party with minimal risk to himself. "The sooner we're rid of him, the better," Ixsas says to Zeds, away from Dralmorrer's hearing.
Ixsas is not good at deception or even persuasion himself. Otherwise, he would have suggested that he use the hat in combination with Dralmorrer's armor, which he now wears. Ever since Ixsas joined Faelsin's caravan two weeks ago, Zeds has impressed him with his ability to bluff or charm his way through the world.
(Background. Growing up isolated in an austere temple under the strict guidance of the Pillars of Flame, Flamebrothers, and other high-ranking members of his religion, Ixsas had mostly thought of all those outside his temple as vile heretics. Ixsas is not even great at having "regular" conversations: the other initiates of Kossuth at the temple avoided him, viewing him with suspicion because of his obvious Yuan-Ti heritage. Ixsas excelled by being zealous and clever, but he never learned a more subtle way of persuading people than standing on the temple steps and SHOUTING about the power of the Fire Lord and his preeminence among the gods. Thankfully, most people in this part of the Sword Coast see his foreign dress and hear his accent and just attribute any awkwardness to his foreign customs.)
Regarding the newcomers, Ixsas trusts his intuition and the Light of Kossuth to guide him on this mission. (After all, he has only known Zeds and Krackle for a couple of weeks at this point!) He shows no concern about trusting Seraphina and Thrax. Sensing some hesitation on Zeds's side, Ixsas reassures Zeds in the only way he knows how, "Have faith! I believe that the Fire Lord sent us these 'Friends of Fire' just when we needed them."
Ixsas explains what seems obvious to him: "Just as we lost Serge, Kossuth sent us a dragonborn warrior who walked right through Krackle's bonfire unharmed! And just when Dralmorrer and his bodyguards were about to capture or kill me, Kossuth sent us a healer who can also strike down our enemies with what she calls 'Moonfire'." By Ixsas's way of thinking, Kossuth's hand is clear in recent events! He wonders how else would Zeds explain it. He says with a confidence born of faith, "We can trust them. And with their help, we will finally put a stop to the Cult's plans."
Thrax reaches in to pull the chests out, but stops himself at the last second. "Hrmgh. Traps. Did you leave traps here, Dralmorrer?" He growls, studying the odd arrangement of chests, connected together. Golden eyes flit from side to side as he lowers his draconid head, trying to get a better view of the containers.
"Found something. Come and see, saviours." The dragonborn barks down to the others on the floor below, deciding he probably needs some help after all.
"No line of sight. What does that mean?" The gargantuan barbarian ponders aloud. "Magic tiliskub?"
Perhaps unwisely, Thrax reaches into the recessed space before his new companions arrive. Although he harboured no illusions about the malevolence of the cult nor the honesty of a commander of the Cult of the Dragon, the dragonborn wasn't the brightest coin in the hoard.
Thraxinthos dips his claw into the small cubby-hole that had been concealed beneath the floorboards and withdraws the linked chests, opening them one by one.
"Found something. Come and see, saviours." The dragonborn barks down to the others on the floor below, deciding he probably needs some help after all.
Zeds instinctively cringes a bit when he initially hears the Dragonborn shouting down from above worried about who else might hear... But quickly decides to head up and see just what they found. It didn't sound like a panicked call so he doesn't run up, but he doesn't dawdle either...
(For funsies I will do a die roll to see how many chests he may open before Zeds arrives? Assuming opening one doesn't delay him significantly from opening the next... Dice rolls not yet available for this section. )
((Got Dice Rolls Unavailable so rolled on character sheet... Apparently Zeds is way slow in responding 'cause I rolled a 6))
((OOC: No one had even entered the room yet. I think that we were just trying to make sure that all of the Short Rest activities were resolved first and, in particular, whether Zed had attuned to his magical hat yet.))
((OOC: OK. Finally catching up on the search of Dralmorrer's quarters. I assume that Ixsas was there with Thrax and Dralmorrer either when or shortly after they entered the room on the 2nd floor since Ixsas was the one pushing to search that room before they decide what to do next.))
After Thrax seems about to crush Dralmorrer's head under his clawed foot, Ixsas looks worried....
"I have been cooperating. Keep your rough hands at bay" says Dralmorrer angrily. "I belong to the Cult of the Dragon. Is it so strange to have dragons in our midst. The brothers lend their authority to what we do here to keep the denizens in this swamp in check."
For a brief moment there is a smile on his face before the frown returns once more.
Ixsas replies to Dralmorrer's angry words, saying plainly, "Yes, your life for your cooperation. But I'm afraid that if the dragonborn here feels like you are being insufficiently helpful, he might lose his patience and rip off your arms."
Ixsas did not like the look that he saw flash across Dralmorrer's face. It seemed like Dralmorrer thought of something related to the dragons or perhaps to the denizens of the swamp that he thought would help him. Maybe he's forming a plan to betray the party or escape from them? Unfortunately, Ixsas was pondering the meaning of that look just at the door to the rooms and wasn't paying attention to Thrax's rough search of the room.
Suddenly, the words break through reverie: secrets, found something, traps?! Ixsas suddenly realizes that Thrax is pulling a series of chained chests out of a hidden cubby under the floor....
Thraxinthos dips his claw into the small cubby-hole that had been concealed beneath the floorboards and withdraws the linked chests, opening them one by one.
Thraxinthos pries open the first chest with his claws, yet just before the lid fully opens, the dragonborn feels a tell-tale tingle down the nape of his scaled neck. Something about this feels off... At the last half-second, Thrax ducks his head, watching as a volley of darts spring out of the box and harmlessly sail past him, peppering the raven's cage with a series of clunks.
"Lies. Always with the lies. Slimy worm, never to be trusted." Thrax growls, smoke billowing from his nares. Inwardly, he weighs the cost of roasting Dralmorrer where he lies on the ground, turning the stupid elf's face into ash with a satisfying burst of flame. Instead he retrieves the gold from the first chest, and presses his foot on Dralmorrer's back a little more firmly. "Defeated again, Dralmorrer. Defeated again."
Dexterity Save: (20, 18). Advantage due to the Barbarian trait 'Danger Sense'.
"You know, you don't do yourself any favours by not sharing what you know in full. I'm not sure if you still have any hopes of surviving this, but if you do I advice you to reconsider your level of cooperation. That trap for example would have been a mere annoyance to our angry and impatient companion." The young blonde selûnite tells the prisoner. "If he does decide to rip your arms off I doubt anyone here would object to that. Now, take this chance and give us full information on the castle, the layout, details on what we will encounter, and if you try to trick us again I will personally ask Thrax to come up with the most gruesome ending for you."
Once Zeds lackadaisically wanders into the room he pauses and takes in the scene. There is the chests with one opened and a trap sprung, Ixsas and Serafina berating their prisoner, and Thrax counting his newfound gold. "Well, looks like everything is under control here..."
Zeds wanders closer to the discovered chests and looks at them from a few feet away, not wanting to barge past Thrax and right to his find. "You mind if maybe I take a bit of a closer look, big guy?" Zeds asks. "I maybe can see if there are more traps waiting for when you open them... No promises, mind you, but I'm better than nothing, eh?"
The idea did pass through his head that they could make Dralmorrer open the chests with the thought that he should know how to bypass any remaining traps and such. But that is quickly followed with the thought that there could be something within that would be worse for him to get ahold of than any trap. Or a trap he may trigger intentionally which is far worse than what they'd already seen...
So, assuming Thrax is not opposed, Zeds will inch closer to the chests and do the best inspection for traps that he can...
(Not sure if you want one check or 5? I'll roll 5 and you can decide after... Just rolling straight d20's. If Thieves' Tools help that'd be +3 for the roll from the proficiency bonus. If you want Investigation there is no modifier for Zeds on that skill, if it is Perception then it's be an additional +2)
2
14
18
9
2
(oof, I don't think I find anything on at least a couple...)
Thrax
with 18 perception you notice one of the floorboards under the rug sounds hollow.
Upon realizing what the hat is and what it can do, Zeds ponders its usage and reluctantly considers how best to take advantage of it. He first discusses it with Ixsas quietly, away from the new additions, to get his thoughts. Ixsas himself is a new addition but not the newest kid on the block...
"If we use the hat to disguise one of us as Dralmorrer we wouldn't need to rely on his cooperation at all," Zeds points out to Ixsas. "If they thought one of us were him we may be able to walk around this place like we own it. The big problem I see is the voice. Maybe not all of them but a lot of them know his voice. I can do some voices... Pull off a fake accent, adopt a younger or older sounding tone... But I'm not so great at the totally copying someone's actual voice. But what I saw her do down at the door? It was magic... Literally. She just copied his voice no problem with whatever spell she did. If she could do that while also looking like him? I'm a bit hesitant to give up such an item to someone we just met but..."
Assuming Ixsas agrees with his thought process, Zeds would then bring up the idea to Seraphina herself. He would share much the same thought process but also add "Assuming you think you could pull them both off in unison, I guess. I don't know your limits or anything but if you could in effect "become" him that may save us a whole lot of trouble in this castle... and out."
The young blonde selûnite listens attentively with an amused smile to the rogue's suggestion. She was following the tenets of her mistress to the best of her ability but she was certainly not above the use of trickery to accomplish the objectives of her mission. "I would need to use magic to project Dralmorrer's voice, it won't stand to any closer scrutiny I'm afraid, but I like how you think Zeds. If you really do think I should try to make use of your magical hat then I will certainly do so. I can assure you that you will have it back once we have finished what we came for." Seraphina says with a bright smile.
(If she is given the het she would attune to it during the short rest. She would still follow the others to examine the rest of the tower before deciding on what to do next.)
Thrax hisses at the raven, his forked tongue undulating in a serpentine fashion between his formidably sharp teeth.
"The tiliskub. What else do you use the tiliskub for?" Thrax asks the captive commander, tilting his scaly head in the direction of one of the floorboards as his big toe knocks against it.
"Hrmgh. What do you keep down here?" A monstrous smile widens across his face with a taunting, smug satisfaction as he kneels down. The dragonborn peels back the rug, his reptilian third-eyelids blinking slowly as he studies the interlocking patten of the planks. A moment later, he attempts to pry the hollow-sounding floorboard free. "Secrets. Are these the secrets of Dralmorrer?"
Strength: 16
((If another roll on top of the perception check earlier is required to check for traps, please let me know! :) ))
((OOC: From the Short Rest, before exploring the tower.))
((OOC: TLDR; Ixsas approves of this plan. The rest is mostly role play for the sake of helping the new players get to know Ixsas better.))
As Zeds explains the hat and his idea, a smile spreads across Ixsas's dark, scaled face. His teeth look very white (and pointy!) compared to the dusky-black scales. Ixsas agrees enthusiastically with Zeds's plan! He had been worried about having to fight their way to the caverns under the castle. He especially likes that Zeds's plan means that they wouldn't need to rely on Dralmorrer's good faith, which was one of Ixsas's primary concerns. Ixsas trusts Seraphina when she says that Dralmorrer has not lied to them, but he expects that Dralmorrer is just biding his time and waiting for a moment when he can betray the party with minimal risk to himself. "The sooner we're rid of him, the better," Ixsas says to Zeds, away from Dralmorrer's hearing.
Ixsas is not good at deception or even persuasion himself. Otherwise, he would have suggested that he use the hat in combination with Dralmorrer's armor, which he now wears. Ever since Ixsas joined Faelsin's caravan two weeks ago, Zeds has impressed him with his ability to bluff or charm his way through the world.
(Background. Growing up isolated in an austere temple under the strict guidance of the Pillars of Flame, Flamebrothers, and other high-ranking members of his religion, Ixsas had mostly thought of all those outside his temple as vile heretics. Ixsas is not even great at having "regular" conversations: the other initiates of Kossuth at the temple avoided him, viewing him with suspicion because of his obvious Yuan-Ti heritage. Ixsas excelled by being zealous and clever, but he never learned a more subtle way of persuading people than standing on the temple steps and SHOUTING about the power of the Fire Lord and his preeminence among the gods. Thankfully, most people in this part of the Sword Coast see his foreign dress and hear his accent and just attribute any awkwardness to his foreign customs.)
Regarding the newcomers, Ixsas trusts his intuition and the Light of Kossuth to guide him on this mission. (After all, he has only known Zeds and Krackle for a couple of weeks at this point!) He shows no concern about trusting Seraphina and Thrax. Sensing some hesitation on Zeds's side, Ixsas reassures Zeds in the only way he knows how, "Have faith! I believe that the Fire Lord sent us these 'Friends of Fire' just when we needed them."
Ixsas explains what seems obvious to him: "Just as we lost Serge, Kossuth sent us a dragonborn warrior who walked right through Krackle's bonfire unharmed! And just when Dralmorrer and his bodyguards were about to capture or kill me, Kossuth sent us a healer who can also strike down our enemies with what she calls 'Moonfire'." By Ixsas's way of thinking, Kossuth's hand is clear in recent events! He wonders how else would Zeds explain it. He says with a confidence born of faith, "We can trust them. And with their help, we will finally put a stop to the Cult's plans."
Thrax easily peels off the floorboard revealing small chests linked together by chains like an unclasped pearl necklace.
In total there are 6 small chests.
What do you do?
Dralmorrer huffs and says, "The telescope is used to see anything within miles of the telescope. Line of sight is not necessarily needed"
Thrax reaches in to pull the chests out, but stops himself at the last second. "Hrmgh. Traps. Did you leave traps here, Dralmorrer?" He growls, studying the odd arrangement of chests, connected together. Golden eyes flit from side to side as he lowers his draconid head, trying to get a better view of the containers.
"Found something. Come and see, saviours." The dragonborn barks down to the others on the floor below, deciding he probably needs some help after all.
"No line of sight. What does that mean?" The gargantuan barbarian ponders aloud. "Magic tiliskub?"
Investigation: 16
"Yes, the telescope is magical. There are no traps on the chests." says Dralmorrer.
Perhaps unwisely, Thrax reaches into the recessed space before his new companions arrive. Although he harboured no illusions about the malevolence of the cult nor the honesty of a commander of the Cult of the Dragon, the dragonborn wasn't the brightest coin in the hoard.
Thraxinthos dips his claw into the small cubby-hole that had been concealed beneath the floorboards and withdraws the linked chests, opening them one by one.
Zeds instinctively cringes a bit when he initially hears the Dragonborn shouting down from above worried about who else might hear... But quickly decides to head up and see just what they found. It didn't sound like a panicked call so he doesn't run up, but he doesn't dawdle either...
(For funsies I will do a die roll to see how many chests he may open before Zeds arrives? Assuming opening one doesn't delay him significantly from opening the next...
Dice rolls not yet available for this section.)((Got Dice Rolls Unavailable so rolled on character sheet... Apparently Zeds is way slow in responding 'cause I rolled a 6))
When opened the 1st chest erupts into a spray of poisoned needles. Thrax please roll Dex Save DC 14
on fail
8 poison damage and you have the poisoned for 1 hour.
Thrax also hears a single soft metallic click from each of the remaining 5 chests.
The 1st chest is filled with gold coins - 300 gp.
((OOC: OK. Finally catching up on the search of Dralmorrer's quarters. I assume that Ixsas was there with Thrax and Dralmorrer either when or shortly after they entered the room on the 2nd floor since Ixsas was the one pushing to search that room before they decide what to do next.))
After Thrax seems about to crush Dralmorrer's head under his clawed foot, Ixsas looks worried....
Ixsas replies to Dralmorrer's angry words, saying plainly, "Yes, your life for your cooperation. But I'm afraid that if the dragonborn here feels like you are being insufficiently helpful, he might lose his patience and rip off your arms."
Ixsas did not like the look that he saw flash across Dralmorrer's face. It seemed like Dralmorrer thought of something related to the dragons or perhaps to the denizens of the swamp that he thought would help him. Maybe he's forming a plan to betray the party or escape from them? Unfortunately, Ixsas was pondering the meaning of that look just at the door to the rooms and wasn't paying attention to Thrax's rough search of the room.
Suddenly, the words break through reverie: secrets, found something, traps?! Ixsas suddenly realizes that Thrax is pulling a series of chained chests out of a hidden cubby under the floor....
"No, Thrax. Wait!", Ixsas says...
...too late.
Thraxinthos pries open the first chest with his claws, yet just before the lid fully opens, the dragonborn feels a tell-tale tingle down the nape of his scaled neck. Something about this feels off... At the last half-second, Thrax ducks his head, watching as a volley of darts spring out of the box and harmlessly sail past him, peppering the raven's cage with a series of clunks.
"Lies. Always with the lies. Slimy worm, never to be trusted." Thrax growls, smoke billowing from his nares. Inwardly, he weighs the cost of roasting Dralmorrer where he lies on the ground, turning the stupid elf's face into ash with a satisfying burst of flame. Instead he retrieves the gold from the first chest, and presses his foot on Dralmorrer's back a little more firmly. "Defeated again, Dralmorrer. Defeated again."
Dexterity Save: (20,
18). Advantage due to the Barbarian trait 'Danger Sense'."You know, you don't do yourself any favours by not sharing what you know in full. I'm not sure if you still have any hopes of surviving this, but if you do I advice you to reconsider your level of cooperation. That trap for example would have been a mere annoyance to our angry and impatient companion." The young blonde selûnite tells the prisoner. "If he does decide to rip your arms off I doubt anyone here would object to that. Now, take this chance and give us full information on the castle, the layout, details on what we will encounter, and if you try to trick us again I will personally ask Thrax to come up with the most gruesome ending for you."
"That may be my fate, but I am not sure all of you will survive the attempt to leave this castle." says Dralmorrer angrily.
Can everyone roll perception. DC 15
on pass
You hear soft thuds outside of the tower. Sounds like some creatures have landed outside.
Once Zeds lackadaisically wanders into the room he pauses and takes in the scene. There is the chests with one opened and a trap sprung, Ixsas and Serafina berating their prisoner, and Thrax counting his newfound gold. "Well, looks like everything is under control here..."
Zeds wanders closer to the discovered chests and looks at them from a few feet away, not wanting to barge past Thrax and right to his find. "You mind if maybe I take a bit of a closer look, big guy?" Zeds asks. "I maybe can see if there are more traps waiting for when you open them... No promises, mind you, but I'm better than nothing, eh?"
The idea did pass through his head that they could make Dralmorrer open the chests with the thought that he should know how to bypass any remaining traps and such. But that is quickly followed with the thought that there could be something within that would be worse for him to get ahold of than any trap. Or a trap he may trigger intentionally which is far worse than what they'd already seen...
So, assuming Thrax is not opposed, Zeds will inch closer to the chests and do the best inspection for traps that he can...
(Not sure if you want one check or 5? I'll roll 5 and you can decide after... Just rolling straight d20's. If Thieves' Tools help that'd be +3 for the roll from the proficiency bonus. If you want Investigation there is no modifier for Zeds on that skill, if it is Perception then it's be an additional +2)
(oof, I don't think I find anything on at least a couple...)
Investigation checks first.
From top down.
That means Zeds only sees that Chests 3 and 4 are locked and trapped.
Chests 2, 5, 6 are locked but he does not see how to disarm it.
Please roll 2 thieves tool check for chests 3 and 4 I will count it as disarming the trap and unlocking it.
Someone else can also investigate the chests if they want to.