Coriana looks at her coin pouch with concern, then says, "I'll probably try the Black Dragon, I like comforts but places too high on the comfort scale start looking askance at my escapades."
She will generally spend her time on a few things, - Researching if she can find a fair merchant to upgrade her chain shirt to a breastplate, although she needs a little bit more cash to come in to finish the transaction. - Exploratory carousing, although she's looking to stay in the "happy, not sloppy" side of things. - Researching costs for reacquiring a boat of her own.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards. DM - The Old Keep
Theldrin will take up residence at the Black Dragon again, choosing the same room he had before if it's available. He spends his time studying with Khessa and Syllen, visiting Morley at the Unearthed Arcana regularly and procuring more supplies for copying spells, and a Potion of Healing. During the arcane study group he copies:
Comprehend Languages Protection from Evil and Good
into his spellbook.
He will also take a day or two to go to the Great Library with Xanrym and continue his ongoing research.
One subject that Theldrin will spend time researching at the library, if he can find any info, is Krakens and recorded history of sailing vessel attacks by them.
Theldrin will also take the time to camp out in his room for a day at a time and work on scribing scrolls. Assuming he has the time, he will create scrolls for:
Expeditious Retreat Feather Fall Witch Bolt Protection from Evil and Good
I’ll spend some time reading through these downtime activities and work out how to summarise it all. My only question would be, does anyone have any ambitions they want to do over the next little downtime section of the campaign? Like a side quest or personal quest they want to go on?
does anyone have any ambitions they want to do over the next little downtime section of the campaign? Like a side quest or personal quest they want to go on?
(OOC: @drumdigby - I think you asked about that during our last break right after we finally had Toska raised from the dead. Maybe I misunderstood at the time. Would you just resolve these minor "quests" narratively? That is, it's not like you'll be running separate one-shots for each PC for the next few weeks, right? We would just decide what's reasonable and what the outcome is. For example, "Xanrym left the city for N days to fetch or deliver some MacGuffin for Citadel of Eight or maybe for Fharlanghn's Church of the Far Horizon. Along the way, he had to fight off some villain single-handedly.")
(OOC: given that we are summarizing downtime and assuming we get all of the gold I figured I would be more detailed.)
Syllen would buy:
*100 gold worth of supplies to make 4 Healing Potions.(Needs 32 hours of work to make.)
*100 gold worth of supplies to make 4 level 1 spell Scrolls.(Needs 32 hours of work to make.)
*100 gold worth of supplies to make 1 level 2 spell Scroll.(Needs 24 hours of work to make.)
The group will find that Syllen’s days are impressively structured. He will keep his spells for food and water prepared(Create Water, good berry and locate animals or plants) so that he does not waste time eating and can easily find supplies in his spare time. Syllen's days consist of 8 hours of crafting, 4 hours of meditation when others go to sleep, 4 more hours of crafting as people finish their sleep and 8 hours of traveling with the group or exploring the local area.
When Syllen explores the area he will call upon his familiar to help him scout. More of a personal quest Syllen would want to help irrigate areas to help the local flora and farm land flourish. Given his spell slots he can generate 90 gallons of water a day in rain. During that time he would also cast locate plants as a ritual to attempt to find the material needed to create any of the potions Syllen can make using his Herbalism Kit.
For crafting Syllen would focus on making healing potions first and give them to the members of the group that can't heal others(Coriana, Avrey, Khessa and Theldrin). Next he would create 2 level 1 spell scrolls of Cure Wounds. Lastly if he has time to create the level 2 spell scroll Syllen would talk to Theldrin about what spell he prefers: being able to heat metal, hold a person in place, create a large floating ball of fire that can be controlled for a minute, give a creature the ability to see in the dark for 8 hours, or the ability to locate an object within 1000 feet of yourself. After finishing the spell scroll Syllen will give it to Theldrin so he can attempt to add that spell to his spelbook when the opportunity presents itself.
Khessa's ambition would be to free her family, but, well... the most appropriate step at this time would be to search for useful information for the Great Library.
She does not expect to be able to organize her expedition at this time. She will, if possible, but I do not believe it is feasible yet.
How long it would take to complete each persons downtime depends on what they want to do. If it’s something we can do narratively with a couple of dice rolls, then I would do that and move on with the next adventure. However, if someone had any kind of ambitions that involved something particularly lengthy, like a proper quest they wanted to go on, then we could do that as well. The beauty of the PbP format is that we can split the party and it’s not too much of a hassle for me to run.
Well, does Khessa finds enough information about the Underdark to start planning an expedition towards the most likely location of her enslaved family?
If yes, she will at least assess what forces she might need... else, she will be ready for the next adventure.
Coriana doesn't have a great need for any sidequests as of yet. She's kind of still in freefall after the botched escapades that left her boatless, in debt for the boat (about $10,000 gp), and without a pirate crew. She needs to kind of take stock and reconsider.
One thing she will do, after talking with the original members, is find out the person who has been providing them with magic items. She is looking to eventually acquire a breastplate enchanted to allow unimpeded swimming. Mariner's armor would work I suppose.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards. DM - The Old Keep
Now that they're back in the Free City, clarifying Xanrym's activities.
General stuff:
Xanrym will be based at the High Tower Inn for the first 10 days. If Aubrek does not have their reward by then, and he is still in the city, then he'll switch to cheaper accommodations at the Black Dragon Inn and just check in at the High Tower Inn for messages every day. Xanrym boards Heckle and packs away his heavier gear and some of his treasures in his room, mostly kept in the locked and trapped chest.
While in the city, Xanrym switches back to his fine clothes, and he generally does not wear his armor. He still wears his Ring of Protection, and he always has a couple of daggers, his mace, and a hand-axe. He still wears his pouches, and, of course, he never goes anywhere without at least one book! He empties the heavier gear out of his backpack and wraps his harp in his Cloak of Elvenkind so that he can carry both of them with him around the city. He also brings his mask with him and often wears it while performing.
Xanrym's days are less structured than Syllen's. He clearly follows whatever piques his interest each day, but most days involve some of the following:
Xanrym spends time in the afternoons or early evenings visiting a variety of taverns and pubs where he can get paid to tell stories. (Just trying to defray his own living expenses.) He mixes some old classics with tales of The Company of the Grey Chain, seeking to boost their group's reputation. (He leaves off identifying details, like Aubrek's name or what cargo they salvaged from the cursed ship.) In his latest tale, he builds up to a finale where, after he narrates the daring escape and the kraken's destruction of the ship, he creates a visual illusion that shows the kraken tearing apart the ship and then rising from the waters briefly, lightning flashing from dark clouds overheat, before sinking back beneath the waves. His goal is that The Company becomes so well known that they no longer have to look for work: eventually, he hopes employers will seek them out whenever they're in the city. Maybe rumors and other information will also come to them as "experts" on cults and various sea beasts.
In the mornings, Xanrym visits Heckle and gives him some exercise. Some days, he walks through the Garden Quarter and visits the Temple of the Far Horizon, sharing news with the clerics of Fharlanghn and giving praise and thanks to the Dweller on the Far Horizon. Other days, he walks down to the River Quarter to see the ships coming and going to stop in and see Aubrek.
After Xanrym returns Heckle to the stables, he generally stops by the Black Dragon Inn before lunch and then heads to the Great Library for a few hours before he goes to tell stories at a couple of taverns or inns.
Tasks/goals for the first 2 weeks or so in The City of Greyhawk:
The primary task that Xanrym is trying to finish before Aubrek delivers their reward is to find somewhere that the Company of the Grey Chain can use as a base here in the city. That'll be more comfortable than living out of an inn when they're in the city, and they can lock up gear at their base that they don't want to bring with them on every adventure. In particular, Xanrym doesn't want to have to haul a chest with his growing library of books on every adventure. He'll start making inquiries around the city. Since he has no experience in purchasing property, he'll ask for advice from Aubrek (if the man will meet with him) and from others agents of the Citadel of Eight.
Xanrym tries to research the topics from their most recent adventure. For Xanrym, that's equal parts curiosity, checking whether he has any novel information or discoveries to contribute to the library, and to follow up on things that may matter later. Topics / areas of research:
(Great Library, Citadel of Eight) Xanrym will help Theldrin research krakens. An encounter with a kraken seems significant enough that he tries to get a meeting with Jallarzi or even Otiluke of the Citadel of Eight to tell them his first-hand account of it.
(Great Library, social interactions) Xanrym tries to find out more about Sahuagin. If The Company is going to be sailing on Nyr Dyv, he wants to know how much of a threat they pose. He tries to learn what he can about their origins, their goals, the structure of their society, any special abilities (e.g., resistances, vulnerabilities). He especially tries to get a sense of the history of attacks by Sahuagin in Nyr Dyv. In addition to research the library, he tries to find out whether Sahuagin attacks are a new or increasing threat this year. He talks to merchants, captains, and first mates in the River Quarter. He asks the clerics of Fharlanghn to pay attention to anything they're hearing about such attacks. And he asks the agents of the Citadel of Eight whether the Sahuagin are a new or rising threat in Nyr Dyv.
(Great Library, Citadel of Eight) After hearing about Lolth from Khessa, Xanrym works with Khessa to investigate more about the Demon Queen of Spiders and the mysterious dark-skinned elves who captured Khessa's family. In particular, it sounds like the evil elves live deep underground, and he tries to discover any known entrances that might lead to their subterranean cities.
(Great Library) Xanrym also checks whether the various spider monsters (and the demons) that they encountered are already well-known and whether he can contribute any novel discoveries about them.
(Social interactions, Citadel of Eight) Xanrym is still keeping an ear out for any news of the armies of Iuz. If he didn't already do it, he sends word to the Citadel of Eight that he encountered Nithrissa, a knight of Iuz's Order of Desolation, south of the Dim Forest, deep in the Gran March. It might be nothing, or it may be a sign of larger activity or plans of Iuz in the region.
That's plenty of activity to occupy his time for at least a couple of weeks. I'll wait to see whether Aubrek delivers the payment for delivering his chest by then and whether his research yields any results before Xanrym attempts any personal quests.
I will say that Coriana is not wearing her armor around the city. She will be wearing the cloak of protection, however.
I've thought about this, and I'm realizing that after a few days, she gets bored, and she shifts to using her carousing to try finding profitable work for the Company that might be available from less savory folks.
Theldrin doesn't have any other personal goals for the current stay in Greyhawk... if he has additional time he will gladly help some of the other party members with their objectives. In particular he'd be interested in helping Khessa research the Underdark, helping Syllen make potions, and helping Xanrym with any of his research at the Great Library.
In response to Syllen's offer to create a scroll for him he is very enthusiastically grateful, and after some thought chooses Flaming Sphere.
Now that they're back in the Free City, clarifying Xanrym's activities.
Some speculative skill checks in the spoiler in case that's needed to resolve some of Xanrym's activities:
Not sure what to roll for trying to find a reasonable place for The Company's headquarters.
Performance: 17 - Entertaining at taverns and inns, basically to see whether he earns any gold from those endeavors.
Xanrym is merely helping Theldrin with research at the Great Library about kraken.
Persuasion: 16 (w/ Silver Tongue feature) - trying to convince a Citadel of Eight member to tell him what they know about kraken, if anything. If someone talks to him, he'll share what the party saw when fleeing The Emperor of the Waves
Investigation: 7 - Researching Sahuagin (the creature themselves)
Persuasion: 17 (w/ Silver Tongue feature) - trying to get captains and merchants to tell him what they know about Sahuagin attacks in Nyr Dyv
Investigation: 20 - Researching the Drow and how to find a way down to their subterranean cities, with advantage from Khessa's help
I don't really need any info about Iuz or Nithrissa, but Xanrym wanted to put feelers out there about it so that we're not surprised when Iuz's armies suddenly arrive at the gates of the Free City!
*100 gold worth of supplies to make 4 level 1 spell Scrolls.(Needs 32 hours of work to make.)
Xanrym was planning to pay 100 gp to Morley at Unearthed Arcana to get a spell scroll of Charm Person. If Syllen can craft that scroll, Xanrym would be happy to pay Syllen instead for the materials and some extra gp for his time. Xanrym is pretty persuasive, but Charm Person would be a better option when dealing with someone who would naturally be hostile to the party, like a guard or an enemy goblinoid.
In fact, now that Xanrym sees how disciplined Syllen is at crafting scrolls, Xanrym starts making a list of spell scrolls that might be useful in the future if they have time and funds for it:
Faerie Fire, a fantastic debuff for a support caster like Xanrym. He may even swap out Heroism to get this spell.
Thunderwave, Xanrym probably won't ever learn this spell since Theldrin and Syllen can get it, but a scroll would give him a way to do some AoE damage for a change.
Enhance Ability, Xanrym will probably eventually learn this spell. Outside of combat, this spell may be the best use of his concentration.
The spell scrolls don't even have to be for Xanrym. If Syllen has scrolls for spells that Xanrym can cast, he could use them in a pinch. For example, if Syllen is blinded, Xanrym could use Syllen's scroll of Lesser Restoration to cure him. Other spells in this category include Enlarge/Reduce, Hold Person, and Heat Metal.
(OOC: Since bards are a "known spells" class, Xanrym has a limited variety of spells, but he can cast spells from scrolls if the spell is on the Bard spell list. Having a few spell scrolls will increase his flexibility.)
(OOC: it seems like we have some time on our hands so thinking Theldrin will also take a day to scribe a scroll for Mage Armor. Also @drumdigby let me know your thoughts as to if it works to scribe a scroll for Feather Fall.)
Coriana looks at her coin pouch with concern, then says, "I'll probably try the Black Dragon, I like comforts but places too high on the comfort scale start looking askance at my escapades."
She will generally spend her time on a few things,
- Researching if she can find a fair merchant to upgrade her chain shirt to a breastplate, although she needs a little bit more cash to come in to finish the transaction.
- Exploratory carousing, although she's looking to stay in the "happy, not sloppy" side of things.
- Researching costs for reacquiring a boat of her own.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Theldrin will take up residence at the Black Dragon again, choosing the same room he had before if it's available. He spends his time studying with Khessa and Syllen, visiting Morley at the Unearthed Arcana regularly and procuring more supplies for copying spells, and a Potion of Healing. During the arcane study group he copies:
Comprehend Languages
Protection from Evil and Good
into his spellbook.
He will also take a day or two to go to the Great Library with Xanrym and continue his ongoing research.
One subject that Theldrin will spend time researching at the library, if he can find any info, is Krakens and recorded history of sailing vessel attacks by them.
Theldrin will also take the time to camp out in his room for a day at a time and work on scribing scrolls. Assuming he has the time, he will create scrolls for:
Expeditious Retreat
Feather Fall
Witch Bolt
Protection from Evil and Good
I’ll spend some time reading through these downtime activities and work out how to summarise it all. My only question would be, does anyone have any ambitions they want to do over the next little downtime section of the campaign? Like a side quest or personal quest they want to go on?
(OOC: @drumdigby - I think you asked about that during our last break right after we finally had Toska raised from the dead. Maybe I misunderstood at the time. Would you just resolve these minor "quests" narratively? That is, it's not like you'll be running separate one-shots for each PC for the next few weeks, right? We would just decide what's reasonable and what the outcome is. For example, "Xanrym left the city for N days to fetch or deliver some MacGuffin for Citadel of Eight or maybe for Fharlanghn's Church of the Far Horizon. Along the way, he had to fight off some villain single-handedly.")
(OOC: given that we are summarizing downtime and assuming we get all of the gold I figured I would be more detailed.)
Syllen would buy:
*100 gold worth of supplies to make 4 Healing Potions.(Needs 32 hours of work to make.)
*100 gold worth of supplies to make 4 level 1 spell Scrolls.(Needs 32 hours of work to make.)
*100 gold worth of supplies to make 1 level 2 spell Scroll.(Needs 24 hours of work to make.)
The group will find that Syllen’s days are impressively structured. He will keep his spells for food and water prepared(Create Water, good berry and locate animals or plants) so that he does not waste time eating and can easily find supplies in his spare time. Syllen's days consist of 8 hours of crafting, 4 hours of meditation when others go to sleep, 4 more hours of crafting as people finish their sleep and 8 hours of traveling with the group or exploring the local area.
When Syllen explores the area he will call upon his familiar to help him scout. More of a personal quest Syllen would want to help irrigate areas to help the local flora and farm land flourish. Given his spell slots he can generate 90 gallons of water a day in rain. During that time he would also cast locate plants as a ritual to attempt to find the material needed to create any of the potions Syllen can make using his Herbalism Kit.
For crafting Syllen would focus on making healing potions first and give them to the members of the group that can't heal others(Coriana, Avrey, Khessa and Theldrin). Next he would create 2 level 1 spell scrolls of Cure Wounds. Lastly if he has time to create the level 2 spell scroll Syllen would talk to Theldrin about what spell he prefers: being able to heat metal, hold a person in place, create a large floating ball of fire that can be controlled for a minute, give a creature the ability to see in the dark for 8 hours, or the ability to locate an object within 1000 feet of yourself. After finishing the spell scroll Syllen will give it to Theldrin so he can attempt to add that spell to his spelbook when the opportunity presents itself.
Khessa's ambition would be to free her family, but, well... the most appropriate step at this time would be to search for useful information for the Great Library.
She does not expect to be able to organize her expedition at this time. She will, if possible, but I do not believe it is feasible yet.
How long it would take to complete each persons downtime depends on what they want to do. If it’s something we can do narratively with a couple of dice rolls, then I would do that and move on with the next adventure. However, if someone had any kind of ambitions that involved something particularly lengthy, like a proper quest they wanted to go on, then we could do that as well. The beauty of the PbP format is that we can split the party and it’s not too much of a hassle for me to run.
And then it’s easy enough to get the party back together once your ready
Well, does Khessa finds enough information about the Underdark to start planning an expedition towards the most likely location of her enslaved family?
If yes, she will at least assess what forces she might need... else, she will be ready for the next adventure.
Coriana doesn't have a great need for any sidequests as of yet. She's kind of still in freefall after the botched escapades that left her boatless, in debt for the boat (about $10,000 gp), and without a pirate crew. She needs to kind of take stock and reconsider.
One thing she will do, after talking with the original members, is find out the person who has been providing them with magic items. She is looking to eventually acquire a breastplate enchanted to allow unimpeded swimming. Mariner's armor would work I suppose.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Now that they're back in the Free City, clarifying Xanrym's activities.
General stuff:
Tasks/goals for the first 2 weeks or so in The City of Greyhawk:
That's plenty of activity to occupy his time for at least a couple of weeks. I'll wait to see whether Aubrek delivers the payment for delivering his chest by then and whether his research yields any results before Xanrym attempts any personal quests.
I will say that Coriana is not wearing her armor around the city. She will be wearing the cloak of protection, however.
I've thought about this, and I'm realizing that after a few days, she gets bored, and she shifts to using her carousing to try finding profitable work for the Company that might be available from less savory folks.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Theldrin doesn't have any other personal goals for the current stay in Greyhawk... if he has additional time he will gladly help some of the other party members with their objectives. In particular he'd be interested in helping Khessa research the Underdark, helping Syllen make potions, and helping Xanrym with any of his research at the Great Library.
In response to Syllen's offer to create a scroll for him he is very enthusiastically grateful, and after some thought chooses Flaming Sphere.
Some speculative skill checks in the spoiler in case that's needed to resolve some of Xanrym's activities:
Xanrym was planning to pay 100 gp to Morley at Unearthed Arcana to get a spell scroll of Charm Person. If Syllen can craft that scroll, Xanrym would be happy to pay Syllen instead for the materials and some extra gp for his time. Xanrym is pretty persuasive, but Charm Person would be a better option when dealing with someone who would naturally be hostile to the party, like a guard or an enemy goblinoid.
In fact, now that Xanrym sees how disciplined Syllen is at crafting scrolls, Xanrym starts making a list of spell scrolls that might be useful in the future if they have time and funds for it:
The spell scrolls don't even have to be for Xanrym. If Syllen has scrolls for spells that Xanrym can cast, he could use them in a pinch. For example, if Syllen is blinded, Xanrym could use Syllen's scroll of Lesser Restoration to cure him. Other spells in this category include Enlarge/Reduce, Hold Person, and Heat Metal.
(OOC: Since bards are a "known spells" class, Xanrym has a limited variety of spells, but he can cast spells from scrolls if the spell is on the Bard spell list. Having a few spell scrolls will increase his flexibility.)
Syllen is happy to craft scrolls in his free time for anyone that wants him to.
(OOC: it seems like we have some time on our hands so thinking Theldrin will also take a day to scribe a scroll for Mage Armor. Also @drumdigby let me know your thoughts as to if it works to scribe a scroll for Feather Fall.)
I reckon you can just make the scroll, not a big issue.