(OOC: Updated snapshot of the map. Characters moved. Concentration markers and AoEs removed, as appropriate. I know that Tamphalic's lightning breath is instantaneous, but I thought it looked cool, so I left it in there for now.)
Relieved to see the shield around Zolgu dispelled, Hildegard rides Perdita down for another attack against the treacherous kobold with her sword. Then Perdita disengages and flies back up, higher this time, thirty feet high into the air (or as high as the cavern chamber).
To hit (with advantage from Mounted Combatant): 19 Damage (if it hits): 4 (IF the attack hits she will use her bonus action to cast Ensnaring Strike. If not she will save her last spell slot.)
The cultists seemingly haven't noticed that the dragon is free...
Death Cultist 2 sees Temphalic get back up, and decides to put him back down. She unleashes a beam of necrotic magic at the dragonborn wizard.
Necrotic Blast vs. Temphalic: Attack: 7 Damage: 7 necrotic
If that misses, she uses her movement to rush into melee range with him, and at the start of his turn he's going to need to make a DC 12 Wis save or take 8 necrotic damage from spirit guardians. If he goes down, she instead moves into melee with Korba... presumably, she doesn't realize just how bad an idea that really is.
Death Cultist 1, meanwhile, hops over the barricade, into melee with Hewelathan... he then casts cure wounds on Zolgu, healing 7 HP to the white kobold.
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(OOC: Updated map for the start of round 5. @Mister_Whisker - I think that you also flipped the two cultists in your description of their actions in round 4: death cultist #1 still had concentration on spirit guardians and is near Tamphalic, and death cultist #2 is the one near Hewelathan-bear. I went with that when I updated the map for round 5.
@Mister_Whisker - I also wasn't sure whether there was a spot where Gorash could get 3/4-cover. For example, if Hewelathan had half-cover earlier, perhaps Gorash could move to the same spot and drop prone? He wanted to be closer to the action around Zolgu without making a big target of himself after dispelling Zolgu's Fire Shield.)
As usual, Ben_Evolent knows what I'm doing better than I do lol. There wasn't really anywhere Gorash could go that would give him 3/4 cover. Half cover is pretty much the best you'll do.
Anyway, Temphalic is up.
Also, I might as well roll Cynurrarth's Initiative right now (reminder, at a -4 penalty due to two levels of exhaustion): 11
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Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
As Tamphalic most likely will go down again, with how he is feeling, he's not going for a concentration spell.Instead he casts Shatter on Zolgu and cultist 2; should be possible without hitting Hew-bear or Perdita and Hildegard as they are 30ft up I believe.
DC14 con saves or take 9 Thunder damage. (also damaging the bookshelves)
and Bonus action Telekinetic shove again to hopefully get away from Culist 1 again.
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"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war |Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
So... all the bad guys passed their saves. Zolgu is up now... and he's done messing around. He uses his movement to squeeze around his cultist ally and end up in the space up and left from Hew-bear. Then he unleashes the infamous cone of cold...
As it turns out, a 60-ft cone is an absolutely HUGE area:
The cone will catch Hewelathan, Korba, Nickeline, and poor Ruby (she can still use Absorb Elements to avoid getting instantly killed. Allied NPCs get death saves the same as PCs. Gorash could also potentially save her with his Arcane Ward).
Everyone mentioned, make a DC 14 Con save against 43 cold damage (half-damage on success).
After that, Zolgu is going to also make a dagger attack at Hew-bear, with advantage from Pack Tactics (or from the Druid being prone after getting knocked out by the spell... he is pulling no punches and will try to finish off a downed enemy if he can).
As it turns out, a 60-ft cone is an absolutely HUGE area: The cone will catch Hewelathan, Korba, Nickeline, and poor Ruby
(OOC: I don't see how that's possible. I just placed a 60-foot cone on in the Owlbear Rodeo scene. You can move it and rotate it, but I don't think that it's possible to hit Hewelathan and the others. Be careful with the "measure" tools. They generally count diagonal moves as 5 ft., but that would turn your 60-ft cone into an 85-ft cone.)
As it turns out, a 60-ft cone is an absolutely HUGE area: The cone will catch Hewelathan, Korba, Nickeline, and poor Ruby
(OOC: I don't see how that's possible. I just placed a 60-foot cone on in the Owlbear Rodeo scene. You can move it and rotate it, but I don't think that it's possible to hit Hewelathan and the others. Be careful with the "measure" tools. They generally count diagonal moves as 5 ft., but that would turn your 60-ft cone into an 85-ft cone.)
I'm still trying to figure out how Owlbear works... if you're sure that's right, then he'll just do what we can see on the map and zap Hew, Korba, and Gorash while Nickeline and Ruby are safely in the backline.
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Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
I'm still trying to figure out how Owlbear works... if you're sure that's right, then he'll just do what we can see on the map and zap Hew, Korba, and Gorash while Nickeline and Ruby are safely in the backline.
Gorash - CON saving throw: 13 Korba - CON saving throw: 20 Hewelathan - CON saving throw: 12, and if it fails by 6 or less, he'll use the Bardic Inspiration to try to pass +1 to give a final 13
If Korba survives the spell, he needs to make a DC 10 CON saving throw to maintain concentration on Faerie Fire: Korba - CON saving throw for concentration: 9
Hewelathan - CON saving throw: 12, and if it fails by 6 or less, he'll use the Bardic Inspiration to try to pass +1 to give a final 13
If Korba survives the spell, he needs to make a DC 10 CON saving throw to maintain concentration on Faerie Fire: Korba - CON saving throw for concentration: 9
Ouch... well, looks like the Faerie Fire is gone, and Hew is down, with a failed death save from Zolgu stabbing him as he fell... Gorash also failed the Con save, but he would be at 1 HP from Relentless Endurance (that and his Arcane Ward is available, if I'm not mistaken)
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Gorash fails his saving throw but uses his reaction to try to survive the cold.
Arcane Ward: invoke Arcane Ward to deflect some of the Cone of Cold. The barrier reduces the damage by 8 and then vanishes.
Gorash takes damage: 35 (cold) (He was at 37 HP before this turn.)
Korba - CON saving throw: 20
If Korba survives the spell, he needs to make a DC 10 CON saving throw to maintain concentration on Faerie Fire: Korba - CON saving throw for concentration: 9
Korba is a nimble and tough warlock. He's at the very edge of the Cone of Cold and resists the full force of the spell. He takes 21 (cold) damage, but he unfortunately loses concentration (just barely) on his spell.
Korba is now at 20 HP.
Hewelathan - CON saving throw: 12, and if it fails by 6 or less, he'll use the Bardic Inspiration to try to pass +1 to give a final 13
(OOC: Seriously?! For a lucky character, Hewelathan seems to have a large number of these "nat-1 when all he needed was a 2" rolls. Hewelathan fails the saving throw. I tried spending a Luck Point to see whether he could pass this saving throw so that Zolgu's knife attack doesn't result in an immediate failed death save, but the trend of useless rerolls continues!)
CON save: 7 = 5 (in game log) + 1 (brown bear has a higher CON) + 1 (bardic inspiration)
The bear takes the full blast of the Cone of Cold, it's thick brown fur caked with frost as Hewelathan-bear roars in pain. The bear seems to shrink, and the half-elf's body falls as Zolgu's knife attack hits him.
Gorash also failed the Con save, but he would be at 1 HP from Relentless Endurance (that and his Arcane Ward is available, if I'm not mistaken)
(OOC: Gorash is now at 9 HP because of Arcane Ward. Gorash had a fantastic round 4. He saved Hewelathan on Zolgu's turn. Then on his own turn, he dispelled Zolgu's Fire Shield, and his Arcane Ward immediately recharged. He used it here to avoid dying from the Cone of Cold.)
(OOC: Updated snapshot of the map. Characters moved. Concentration markers and AoEs removed, as appropriate. I know that Tamphalic's lightning breath is instantaneous, but I thought it looked cool, so I left it in there for now.)
Relieved to see the shield around Zolgu dispelled, Hildegard rides Perdita down for another attack against the treacherous kobold with her sword. Then Perdita disengages and flies back up, higher this time, thirty feet high into the air (or as high as the cavern chamber).
To hit (with advantage from Mounted Combatant): 19
Damage (if it hits): 4
(IF the attack hits she will use her bonus action to cast Ensnaring Strike. If not she will save her last spell slot.)
Ruby hurls two arcane bursts at Zolgu, seeing a chance to right the wrongs done today.
Burst 1: 12 Damage: 9
Burst 2: 22 Damage: 3
Fargen Hill Dwarf Cleric/Barbarian - Hoard of the Dragon Queen, Jodie Olwen Half-Elf Bard- Chronicles of the Accursed
Jodie sprinkles the dust of corrosion on the chains binding Cynurrath and watches them dissolve.
Jodie, seeing Cynurrath in a bad state, sings a soothing melody, healing him for 12 hps.
"Care to rip these cultists to shreds?" Jodie poses to Cynurrath.
Fargen Hill Dwarf Cleric/Barbarian - Hoard of the Dragon Queen, Jodie Olwen Half-Elf Bard- Chronicles of the Accursed
Zolgu is forced to use a shield as the Paladin swings her blade at him. The sword crashes against the magical barrier, and Zolgu curses in Draconic.
Both beams of Ruby's magic strike against the overturned bookshelf.
Meanwhile, the cultists are up...
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The cultists seemingly haven't noticed that the dragon is free...
Death Cultist 2 sees Temphalic get back up, and decides to put him back down. She unleashes a beam of necrotic magic at the dragonborn wizard.
Necrotic Blast vs. Temphalic:
Attack: 7 Damage: 7 necrotic
If that misses, she uses her movement to rush into melee range with him, and at the start of his turn he's going to need to make a DC 12 Wis save or take 8 necrotic damage from spirit guardians. If he goes down, she instead moves into melee with Korba... presumably, she doesn't realize just how bad an idea that really is.
Death Cultist 1, meanwhile, hops over the barricade, into melee with Hewelathan... he then casts cure wounds on Zolgu, healing 7 HP to the white kobold.
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Combat tracker
Temphalic - 23
--
Zolgu - 22; 27 damage
--
Nickeline - 21
--
Gorash - 18
Korba - 16
---
Hewelathan - 15
---
Ruby - 13
---
Jodie - 11
Hildegarde - 9
---
Death Cultist 1 - 4 - 15 damage
Death Cultist 2 - 4; 19 damage
Top of Round 5! Temphalic is up... and needs to make that DC 12 Wis save at the start of his turn...
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(OOC: @Mister_Whisker - Shouldn't death cultist 1 have 15 damage from Korba's attack last round?)
(OOC: Updated map for the start of round 5. @Mister_Whisker - I think that you also flipped the two cultists in your description of their actions in round 4: death cultist #1 still had concentration on spirit guardians and is near Tamphalic, and death cultist #2 is the one near Hewelathan-bear. I went with that when I updated the map for round 5.
@Mister_Whisker - I also wasn't sure whether there was a spot where Gorash could get 3/4-cover. For example, if Hewelathan had half-cover earlier, perhaps Gorash could move to the same spot and drop prone? He wanted to be closer to the action around Zolgu without making a big target of himself after dispelling Zolgu's Fire Shield.)
As usual, Ben_Evolent knows what I'm doing better than I do lol. There wasn't really anywhere Gorash could go that would give him 3/4 cover. Half cover is pretty much the best you'll do.
Anyway, Temphalic is up.
Also, I might as well roll Cynurrarth's Initiative right now (reminder, at a -4 penalty due to two levels of exhaustion): 11
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Wis save: 18, taking 4dmg
As Tamphalic most likely will go down again, with how he is feeling, he's not going for a concentration spell.Instead he casts Shatter on Zolgu and cultist 2; should be possible without hitting Hew-bear or Perdita and Hildegard as they are 30ft up I believe.
DC14 con saves or take 9 Thunder damage. (also damaging the bookshelves)
and Bonus action Telekinetic shove again to hopefully get away from Culist 1 again.
"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war | Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
Cultist 1 Strength save: 19
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Cultist 2 Con save: 14
Zolgu Con save: 19
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So... all the bad guys passed their saves. Zolgu is up now... and he's done messing around. He uses his movement to squeeze around his cultist ally and end up in the space up and left from Hew-bear. Then he unleashes the infamous cone of cold...

As it turns out, a 60-ft cone is an absolutely HUGE area:
The cone will catch Hewelathan, Korba, Nickeline, and poor Ruby (she can still use Absorb Elements to avoid getting instantly killed. Allied NPCs get death saves the same as PCs. Gorash could also potentially save her with his Arcane Ward).
Everyone mentioned, make a DC 14 Con save against 43 cold damage (half-damage on success).
After that, Zolgu is going to also make a dagger attack at Hew-bear, with advantage from Pack Tactics (or from the Druid being prone after getting knocked out by the spell... he is pulling no punches and will try to finish off a downed enemy if he can).
Dagger vs. Hew-bear:
Attack: 21 Damage: 7 (piercing) + 4 (cold) = 11
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(OOC: I don't see how that's possible. I just placed a 60-foot cone on in the Owlbear Rodeo scene. You can move it and rotate it, but I don't think that it's possible to hit Hewelathan and the others. Be careful with the "measure" tools. They generally count diagonal moves as 5 ft., but that would turn your 60-ft cone into an 85-ft cone.)
I'm still trying to figure out how Owlbear works... if you're sure that's right, then he'll just do what we can see on the map and zap Hew, Korba, and Gorash while Nickeline and Ruby are safely in the backline.
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DC 14 saving throws for Cone of Cold:
Gorash - CON saving throw: 13
Korba - CON saving throw: 20
Hewelathan - CON saving throw: 12, and if it fails by 6 or less, he'll use the Bardic Inspiration to try to pass +1 to give a final 13
If Korba survives the spell, he needs to make a DC 10 CON saving throw to maintain concentration on Faerie Fire:
Korba - CON saving throw for concentration: 9
Ouch... well, looks like the Faerie Fire is gone, and Hew is down, with a failed death save from Zolgu stabbing him as he fell... Gorash also failed the Con save, but he would be at 1 HP from Relentless Endurance (that and his Arcane Ward is available, if I'm not mistaken)
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Gorash fails his saving throw but uses his reaction to try to survive the cold.
Arcane Ward: invoke Arcane Ward to deflect some of the Cone of Cold.
The barrier reduces the damage by 8 and then vanishes.
Gorash takes damage: 35 (cold) (He was at 37 HP before this turn.)
Korba is a nimble and tough warlock. He's at the very edge of the Cone of Cold and resists the full force of the spell. He takes 21 (cold) damage, but he unfortunately loses concentration (just barely) on his spell.
Korba is now at 20 HP.
(OOC: Seriously?! For a lucky character, Hewelathan seems to have a large number of these "nat-1 when all he needed was a 2" rolls. Hewelathan fails the saving throw. I tried spending a Luck Point to see whether he could pass this saving throw so that Zolgu's knife attack doesn't result in an immediate failed death save, but the trend of useless rerolls continues!)
CON save: 7 = 5 (in game log) + 1 (brown bear has a higher CON) + 1 (bardic inspiration)
The bear takes the full blast of the Cone of Cold, it's thick brown fur caked with frost as Hewelathan-bear roars in pain. The bear seems to shrink, and the half-elf's body falls as Zolgu's knife attack hits him.
Hewelathan - Death Saves: 0 successes, 1 failure
(OOC: Gorash is now at 9 HP because of Arcane Ward. Gorash had a fantastic round 4. He saved Hewelathan on Zolgu's turn. Then on his own turn, he dispelled Zolgu's Fire Shield, and his Arcane Ward immediately recharged. He used it here to avoid dying from the Cone of Cold.)