[[ OOC: Ok, let's forgo, +1]]

[[Looking back, It seems Avery is abstaining, Theldrin is mildly pro- rest and Xanrym is anti-rest.
Pro-rest: 1
Anti-rest: 3
Abstain: 1
No position: (Syllen) 1 

Looks like Mild support for skipping the rest, if I didn’t catch your opinion right, I apologize.

If anyone has a potion they could give Coriana, let me know, and how much to roll for healing, she has no potions. ]]

Coriana leaves the room for a minute, going to the rail,  and seeming like she’s having an argument with herself in a foreign tongue. [[Magical Cunning to regain a slot, assuming no rest.]]

Quote from Charwoman_Gene >>

 

...

If anyone has a potion they could give Coriana, let me know, and how much to roll for healing, she has no potions. ]]

 

Khessa gives Coriana her Potion of Healing (already deleted from her inventory): "Thanks, you seem like a decent person too, Coriana. Drink this, it will do you good."

The tall adventuress, after the other has recovered a bit, asks curiously: "In what sense your trauma is trauma is self-inflicted? Have you committed some act whose consequences are now haunting you? Maybe we can find a solution... if you want to talk about it."

Theldrin listens with interest to Khessa's story of her past, knitting his brow into a scowl as he shakes his head, eventually giving her a sympathetic nod.  He then hands her a Potion of Healing from his backpack to replace the one she gives to Coriana, saying with a slight smile, "I stocked up on these in Greyhawk, so please take one to have it on hand in the upcoming battle."

Quote from Painted_Beyond >>

[[ OOC: Ok, let's forgo, +1]]

(OOC: Sounds like a plan!)

Quote from Charwoman_Gene >>

Coriana leaves the room for a minute, going to the rail,  and seeming like she’s having an argument with herself in a foreign tongue. [[Magical Cunning to regain a slot, assuming no rest.]]

(OOC: The fight with the Choldrith and 4 swarms of spiders took just 30 seconds (5 rounds), and I think that Syllen started his Starry Form at the start of the fight.  While Coriana is out at the ship's rail, the rest of the party can search this cabin, check the star charts, and make a plan for the next steps.  Even if we take a few minutes to do all of that, Syllen should still have at least 5 mins left on his current use of Starry Form.) 

Despite his embarrassing mistake, Xanrym waves off the need for a rest.  His voice is a bit shaky, but he says, "No, it's OK.  I'll be fine. These spiders just put me on edge: I find the way they move particularly disturbing.  And those shiny, unblinking eyes."  He shivers, "Just give me a moment to shake off that horrifying sight of the spiders swarming all over Khessa's armor, and I'll be ready to move on."  After a moment, Xanrym will go look at the nautical charts that Syllen found, and then he'll be ready to head down to the lower decks.  (OOC: This experience is giving Xanrym a touch of arachnophobia.)

Quote from drumdigby >>

Aprt from the webs that fill the room, the weathered furniture here is worthless, but the table is still covered with charts and maps that are intact.

Xanrym learned about sailing and nautical charts from Coriana during their voyage on the Soul of Winter.  He will check the charts and maps to see whether they show anything interesting about the Emperor of the Waves's journey or at least seem like they would be valuable to sell later.

Xanrym - Investigation: 18 (see spoiler for rule.)

Xanrym says, "We now have three ways down to the next deck of the ship.  The grate that Khessa removed out on the main deck, the stairs here, and the stairs in the captain's cabin.  I agree with Theldrin: it sounds like we may still find Krell below, based on what that monstrous creature was hissing before it died.  If these spiders serve Krell, I'd prefer to kill off as many of them as possible before we face the cleric.  It stands to reason that he was using the altar to L-o-lth," making sure he gets it right.  "So, if we want to avoid him, let's avoid the stairs in the captains cabin for now."

"It seems like anything below would expect us to use the stairs," Xanrym reasons.  "So it may be better to use the grate.  Then again, it might be harder for everyone to get below through the grate if the first one down runs into trouble!"

(OOC: Next party vote.  We have 3 ways to descend.  How should we do it?

1. Stairs in the captain's cabin
2. Stairs in the cabin with the charts
3. Grate on the main deck

Or maybe use two at the same time, briefly splitting the party?)

"Hey, thanks Theldrin!" Khessa pats him on the shoulder, smiling brightly as she puts the potion in her backpack.

When it comes to discussing the way down, the blonde arcane warrior advises: "Let's use the stairs! If we're in trouble, retreating to a more defensible position should be easier."

[[ OOC: Khessa votes 2. ]]

Coriana responds to Khessa, “I don’t know about decent to describe me,  and trauma is from basically leaving a loving family of hard-working people to wind up running for the rest of my life from spiritual and financial debts I may never be able to repay.”

”Anything else we need to finish up before heading below?”

“Why don’t the rest of you go down the stairs in the chart room, I can use my mystical leaping ability to jump down the open grate, and jump out if it leads to trouble, or doesn’t connect with the rest of you.” 

She is voting 2, but likes the idea of jumping down the grate.

“I would prefer a way that we could easily retreat if we needed to.” 

(OOC: vote 2)

Quote from Charwoman_Gene >>

“Why don’t the rest of you go down the stairs in the chart room, I can use my mystical leaping ability to jump down the open grate, and jump out if it leads to trouble, or doesn’t connect with the rest of you.” 
She is voting 2, but likes the idea of jumping down the grate.

"Sounds good," Xanrym says, "but perhaps you should 'look before you leap'?  That is, I'm glad that you can jump back out of the hole, if needed, but the first time you go down, it would probably be better to climb down a rope!"

(OOC: How far down is the jump down?  AFAIK, even if a character can jump 10 feet, it does not prevent them from taking falling damage if they jump down 10 feet. We still have spare ropes from Aubrek: Coriana could tie off a rope to the main rail or maybe the remains of the mast and then climb down the rope while the others take the stairs.)

Since the stairs are fairly narrow, it looks like it'll be single-file.  Probably:

• Avery or Khessa
• Khessa / Avery
• Theldrin (so that he can send a torch ahead with mage hand)
• Syllen

Xanrym offers to stay on the main deck (right at the bow-side of the grate opening) with Coriana -- at least initially.  "That way," he explains, "Coriana has some back-up in case something pounces on her as soon as she gets down there.  After all, you won't be able to jump out if you get caught like a fly in a web!"  He lets her handle the rope (if she wants to use it), but he'll squat at the edge of the grate hole with a torch nearby and his crossbow loaded and ready. 

Once it's clear that there's no immediate danger (or if he cannot be effective from the main deck), Xanrym would just have to Dash over to the stairs and down after the others.

(OOC: @all - Feel free to propose a change to this plan or to say anything that you'd like to do before we head belowdecks.  Otherwise, just say that you're "ready to go."  @Painted_Beyond, @Aaggie - 5-ft wide hallway, so you'll need to decide whether Avery or Khessa will be in the lead this time.  We've cleared the main deck, so I don't think that we need to worry too much about rear guard at the moment.)

(OOC: Ready)

10

Coriana will use her own rope to lower herself down, carrying a lit torch with mage hand and already having cast jump on herself.

Xanrym and Coriana can tell the charts and maps are an invaluable wealth of knowledge not just of the Nyr Dyv but of many lands beyond. A skilled navigator could use these maps to help traverse the seas all around The Flanaess. These documents also back up the captain's logbook with the ship being on course until a week ago, and then somehow ending up here well off course.

(I'll assume Xanrym's post above is your current plan, with Xanrym helping Coriana jump into the grate and the rest descending the stairs in the suggested order.)

Avery and Khessa lead the way down the stairs of the navigator's room to the lower deck of the Emperor. They enter a very small room free of webbing. But notice that if they move further south the webs become more pronounced. At the same time, Xanrym and Coriana tie a rope to a beam on the upper deck of the ship and Coriana lowers herself down into the room with all the spider webs. She sees that the north-south part of this room is thick with sheets of webbing, and just before she lowers herself onto the floor, she notices that below her is another grate. This one is wooden, and just before she sets her foot down she sees that the grate is badly rotted and covered with webs. As she hangs there just above the rotten grate she sees two more Ettercaps hanging from the webs just to the north and south of her, as well as four more big spiders in various parts of the room. The spider monsters all attack, Initiative: 

Group 1: Avery, Khessa, Syllen, and Theldrin

Group 2: Ettercaps and Spiders

Group 3: Coriana and Xanrym

Group 1 is up. Spiders and Ettercaps surround Coriana as the rest of you are just outside the room.

Syllen will cast Entangle in order to only hit the three creatures at the bottom. After that he will attack one of the creatures that failed the saving throw with Luminous Arrow. I want to attack the Ettercap if it fails or if all of them succeed. 

(Before Combat: Syllen would have suggested that Khessa use the false life spell scroll and offers to make her a new one when he has time and supplies. If she uses it it will give her 2d4+4 temp HP.)

Entangle: DC Str 14 save

Luminous Arrow Attack: 8(with adv 15) Damage 10 Radiant.

Round 1

"Coriana, you're too exposed! Get out of the way!" Khessa advises her friend, while a mote of fire is already launched from her outstretched hand, aimed at the same target chosen by Syllen.

"There are so many..." the blonde arcane warrior muses aloud "We need to exploit the bottleneck we're in now and concentrate our attacks on the same targets, to reduce their number..."

Khessa's Fire Bolt Attack: 13 Damage: 8 (fire)

If she has Advantage, then we use the better of the previous and this one as the Attack Roll: 9

Avery will engage the Ettercap, "Finally something I can sink my teeth in!" Attack 18, damage 12