This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Theldrin watches nervously as Xanrym's mist-like form starts towards the first door. He also finds himself wondering what happens if Xanrym is struck by the medusa gaze while in a gaseous state. Probably it would have no effect, he tells himself, but then pictures a cloud of gas being turned into a rain of stone pebbles, all falling to the floor with a clatter.
He takes a deep breath and clears his mind. expecting this to be the final calm before the storm, then steps up and listens intently at the door.
East Room: Dust coats a jumble of equipment and furnishings apparently tossed into this chamber carelessly, Desks, chairs, rusted chains, cauldrons, cracked and shattered glass retorts of enormous size, empty vials of every color, rusted weapons and armor, moldering carpets, and more are visible here.
North Room: A narrow shaft pierces the floor. It's just wide enough to sit atop without falling in, and the whole room reeks of the foulness issuing from it.
West Room: This wide chamber contains several statues of drow warriors in battle poses. Directly across the room, a wide alcove holds two thick iron rods that have a bolt of emerald electricity dancing between them. Due to the statues, it's hard to see the rest of the space dearly, but it seems like a couple of walls are lined with stone counters on which are scattered various objects, parchments, and other oddments. A slightly open curtain covers what must be an alcove in the southern corner. Muscular humanoids with gray, scaly skin and eyeless sockets in their faces stand around brandishing greataxes in the north end of the room: Grimlocks. And next to the lightning bolt stands a swollen horror that might have once been human. Distended veins sprawl across its livid skin. Scraps of rotting cloth are all that cover it, blood-bloated body. It stands unmoving; unfeeling.
Khessa, confident in the bard's abilities, patiently awaits his return—and report.
If Xanrym recounts the full story, the blonde arcane warrior sighs: "So, you were right, my friend. I would have simply led you to the latrine".
"And our quarry is guarded by Grimlock guards"the tall adventuress muses. "Perhaps we could form a 'mirror wall' on the threshold and strike the Grimlocks with spells, or at least from a distance. That way, Fadheela, when she comes to the Grimlocks' aid, won't be able to try to petrify us—not without risking a similar fate herself."
Xanrym-mist seeps under the door. If you look carefully, you can see him emerge from one door and then move (slowly, just 10-ft / round) to another door. After about 1 minute, Xanrym has finished his reconnaissance and, emerging from under the door to the west, the cloud of mist drifts across the room and into the center of the company. Once everyone steps back to make room, Xanrym dismisses the gaseous form. The mist quickly becomes more opaque as it pulls into a more defined shape. One moment it's just a hazy mist, the next moment it's a light-gray cloud that has a definite humanoid shape, and then features suddenly emerge as the gray cloud becomes more solid and quickly regains color.
It takes just a few seconds, and Xanrym is standing among you again. He blinks and says, "Wow! That was..." He realizes that the cannot explain the experience briefly, and they have no time for a longer explanation. So he just settles on, "...strange!" Then Xanrym quickly relates what he found. He points to the doors, one at a time:
North: "Privy"
East: "Storeroom"
West: "The enemy"
Xanrym admits that he didn't actually see Fadheela, but he thinks that she's there or maybe in a further room beyond. But they won't get through the next room without a fight! He explains the strange rods with the green energy dancing between them, "Crackling, like a Witch Bolt."
He tries to describe the blood-bloated creature...probably some sort of undead or a magically-created horror. Xanrym guesses that it is leftover from Maroe's guardians, and Fadheela has somehow gained control over it. He has no idea what its powers are, but it looked big and strong. Xanrym worries that it may shatter their mirrors before they get a chance to use them.
He closes his eyes, visualizing what else he saw. "To the right, at the north of the room, there were 4 of those pale humanoids we've seen around Pedestal. Grimlocks?" He warns the others: "I don't think that I can hypnotizethem because they have no eyes to see the effect that my spell creates."
If Fadheela was in the room, she may have been hidden to the left (south) behind a curtain. If not, he suspects that there must be a secret door that leads to her final lair.
Xanrym urges haste so that the party can surprise their foes before they realize that we're here. The key question is just how to start their attack.
Race to the curtain, assuming that Fadheela (or an exit) is there?
Or focus their initial attacks on the blood-bloated (Large) creature to try to eliminate it first?
Or should someone try to take out the Grimlocks so that The Company won't be facing so many foes at once?
If Fadheela shows herself before everyone can act, Theldrin was going to try to blind her, right?
Bardic Inspiration: Khessa(since post #6333) Corina(since post #6333)
Once within the next 1 hour, when the you fail a D20 Test, you can use the bardic inspiration to roll 1d8 and add the number rolled to the d20, possibly turning failure into a success. If you use the bardic inspiration, but the D20 Test still fails, you keep the inspiration die because of Xanrym's Unfailing Inspiration.
Khessa, Xanrym is happy to support any plan that the rest of The Company can agree upon. He knows that he won't be bearing the brunt of the enemies attacks, so he leaves it to the fighters to decide how they should prioritize their opponents.
"That might be a good way to start, targeting the Grimlocks from a distance, setting up our wall of mirrors..." Theldrin muses quietly as he rubs his beard. "Then we see what happens from there." He leaves his staff near the doorway, so he can have one hand free for spellcasting, while the other can hold the mirror.
OOC: Coordinating with Xanrym to try to blind Fadheela seems worth a shot.
Syllen is relieved at Xanrym’s return. Holding onto the Cloak that he attuned to last night.
“If we are going to strike quickly I can use the power provided by this cloak to hopefully trap the Grimlocks and make it harder to reach us. I do agree that we should keep our distance until Fadheela joins the fight.”
Theldrin nods, "I could also cast web on them if you wanted to be freed up to do something else when we launch the attack."
"Also..." he continues as he pulls a scroll from the leather loop on the side of his pack, "This might be helpful." He then uses the scroll to cast Protection from Evil and Good on Avery.
Xanrym tells Syllen that he knows a spell that can Aid multiple members of The Company at once. Since the Gimlocks cannot see his Hypnotic Pattern, and he suspects that the spell may not even affect the blood-bloated hulk, it makes sense for Xanrym to focus more of his magic on healing. He suggests to Syllen, "Maybe that'll free you up to focus on doing damage?"
(OOC: The first time someone goes down -- as long as it isn't Xanrym! -- he could use a 3rd-level slot with Aid to get that person back up and give +10 HP to 2 other party members. Definitely not as much healing as Aura of Vitality or even a few rounds of Healing Word plus Chalice Form, but healing 3 party members at once is still pretty good for the action economy. If that frees up Syllen to use Archer Form or to shift his focus to Conjure Animals early, then maybe they won't need that much healing.)
Avery (with Protection from Evil and Good) and Khessa (with Mirror Image?) lead The Company into the room.
Do Avery and Khessa plan to engage immediately with the big hulk, or are they going to hang back and just ready an attack if the hulk comes within their reach? Moving forward to attack the hulk may make it more difficult to establish a melee "wall" to protect the spellcasters.
Coriana is a bit of a wildcard here since she has a lot of good options. It might be fun to see what happens if she can knock the hulk back into the green lightning with repelling blast. If Avery and Khessa push into the room, then we may need her to start at the south side of the room to prevent Fadheela from coming around that side to attack the back rank of the party.
Xanrym proposes a second option for the spellcasters:
Option 1 - contain the grimlocks and see whether Fadheela reveals herself
Syllen starts with Web on the Grimlocks. He could probably also catch the Hulk in the AoE if he wants, though Xanrym suspects that it will quickly pull itself free, and permitting the webbing to occupy the whole 20-ft cube at the NE of the room would make it more for Avery and Khessa to engage with the hulk.
Theldrin wanted to hit Fadheela with Blindness/Deafness, but since Xanrym didn't see her in the room, the only way to start with that is to Ready that spell and hope that she shows herself right away. (If she doesn't appear, then wouldn't that be a wasted spell slot?)
If Theldrin is starting with a Blindness, then it'll be harder for Xanrym to debuff Fadheela. He could ReadyBane to trigger if he sees Fadheela before his next turn.
Option 2 - try to surprise the opponents and kill as many of them as possible before Fadheela joins the fight.
Theldrin starts with Fireball, catching all of the Grimlocks and and the hulk and protecting any party members already in the room.
Syllen starts with Conjure Animals to finish off the Grimlocks and damage the hulk.
Not sure what Xanrym would do in this case. Possibly Create Bonfire to make it difficult for the hulk to get into melee without standing in the fire. (Once we see Fadheehla, he would switch to Bane and Unsettling Words to make her easier for Theldrin to blind.)
(OOC: @drumdigby - Yes, basically. Just trying to coordinate our initial move / objective before Fadheela tries to petrify everyone! Might take one more day to give everyone a chance to vote/decide.)
Khessa, as she'd previously suggested, believes it's best for her and Avery to act as a "barrier" initially—there'll likely be plenty of enemies coming in melee. Yes, she'll cast Mirror Image on herself before starting the battle.
Perhaps, if the initiative is kind, she'll use the Wand of Wonder before the enemies get close.
Avery (with Protection from Evil and Good) and Khessa (with Mirror Image?) lead The Company into the room.
Do Avery and Khessa plan to engage immediately with the big hulk, or are they going to hang back and just ready an attack if the hulk comes within their reach? Moving forward to attack the hulk may make it more difficult to establish a melee "wall" to protect the spellcasters.
Coriana is a bit of a wildcard here since she has a lot of good options. It might be fun to see what happens if she can knock the hulk back into the green lightning with repelling blast. If Avery and Khessa push into the room, then we may need her to start at the south side of the room to prevent Fadheela from coming around that side to attack the back rank of the party.
Xanrym proposes a second option for the spellcasters:
Option 1 - contain the grimlocks and see whether Fadheela reveals herself
Syllen starts with Web on the Grimlocks. He could probably also catch the Hulk in the AoE if he wants, though Xanrym suspects that it will quickly pull itself free, and permitting the webbing to occupy the whole 20-ft cube at the NE of the room would make it more for Avery and Khessa to engage with the hulk.
Theldrin wanted to hit Fadheela with Blindness/Deafness, but since Xanrym didn't see her in the room, the only way to start with that is to Ready that spell and hope that she shows herself right away. (If she doesn't appear, then wouldn't that be a wasted spell slot?)
If Theldrin is starting with a Blindness, then it'll be harder for Xanrym to debuff Fadheela. He could ReadyBane to trigger if he sees Fadheela before his next turn.
Option 2 - try to surprise the opponents and kill as many of them as possible before Fadheela joins the fight.
Theldrin starts with Fireball, catching all of the Grimlocks and and the hulk and protecting any party members already in the room.
Syllen starts with Conjure Animals to finish off the Grimlocks and damage the hulk.
Not sure what Xanrym would do in this case. Possibly Create Bonfire to make it difficult for the hulk to get into melee without standing in the fire. (Once we see Fadheehla, he would switch to Bane and Unsettling Words to make her easier for Theldrin to blind.)
Avery will hold and wait for them to come forward, keeping their melee wall
Coriana will take the inspiration and plans to eldritch blast the hulk, trying to knock it into the green lightning, she will hold off on using her slots to lightning bolt or hex fadheela.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards. DM - The Old Keep
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Avery is also concerned about the living statues, wondering what made them this way as he remains vigilant and on guard
Theldrin watches nervously as Xanrym's mist-like form starts towards the first door. He also finds himself wondering what happens if Xanrym is struck by the medusa gaze while in a gaseous state. Probably it would have no effect, he tells himself, but then pictures a cloud of gas being turned into a rain of stone pebbles, all falling to the floor with a clatter.
He takes a deep breath and clears his mind. expecting this to be the final calm before the storm, then steps up and listens intently at the door.
Perception: 18
Xanrym turns to gas and looks behind each door:
East Room: Dust coats a jumble of equipment and furnishings apparently tossed into this chamber carelessly, Desks, chairs, rusted chains, cauldrons, cracked and shattered glass retorts of enormous size, empty vials of every color, rusted weapons and armor, moldering carpets, and more are visible here.
North Room: A narrow shaft pierces the floor. It's just wide enough to sit atop without falling in, and the whole room reeks of the foulness issuing from it.
West Room: This wide chamber contains several statues of drow warriors in battle poses. Directly across the room, a wide alcove holds two thick iron rods that have a bolt of emerald electricity dancing between them. Due to the statues, it's hard to see the rest of the space dearly, but it seems like a couple of walls are lined with stone counters on which are scattered various objects, parchments, and other oddments. A slightly open curtain covers what must be an alcove in the southern corner. Muscular humanoids with gray, scaly skin and eyeless sockets in their faces stand around brandishing greataxes in the north end of the room: Grimlocks. And next to the lightning bolt stands a swollen horror that might have once been human. Distended veins sprawl across its livid skin. Scraps of rotting cloth are all that cover it, blood-bloated body. It stands unmoving; unfeeling.
Khessa, confident in the bard's abilities, patiently awaits his return—and report.
If Xanrym recounts the full story, the blonde arcane warrior sighs: "So, you were right, my friend. I would have simply led you to the latrine".
"And our quarry is guarded by Grimlock guards" the tall adventuress muses. "Perhaps we could form a 'mirror wall' on the threshold and strike the Grimlocks with spells, or at least from a distance. That way, Fadheela, when she comes to the Grimlocks' aid, won't be able to try to petrify us—not without risking a similar fate herself."
Xanrym-mist seeps under the door. If you look carefully, you can see him emerge from one door and then move (slowly, just 10-ft / round) to another door. After about 1 minute, Xanrym has finished his reconnaissance and, emerging from under the door to the west, the cloud of mist drifts across the room and into the center of the company. Once everyone steps back to make room, Xanrym dismisses the gaseous form. The mist quickly becomes more opaque as it pulls into a more defined shape. One moment it's just a hazy mist, the next moment it's a light-gray cloud that has a definite humanoid shape, and then features suddenly emerge as the gray cloud becomes more solid and quickly regains color.
It takes just a few seconds, and Xanrym is standing among you again. He blinks and says, "Wow! That was..." He realizes that the cannot explain the experience briefly, and they have no time for a longer explanation. So he just settles on, "...strange!" Then Xanrym quickly relates what he found. He points to the doors, one at a time:
Xanrym admits that he didn't actually see Fadheela, but he thinks that she's there or maybe in a further room beyond. But they won't get through the next room without a fight! He explains the strange rods with the green energy dancing between them, "Crackling, like a Witch Bolt."
He tries to describe the blood-bloated creature...probably some sort of undead or a magically-created horror. Xanrym guesses that it is leftover from Maroe's guardians, and Fadheela has somehow gained control over it. He has no idea what its powers are, but it looked big and strong. Xanrym worries that it may shatter their mirrors before they get a chance to use them.
He closes his eyes, visualizing what else he saw. "To the right, at the north of the room, there were 4 of those pale humanoids we've seen around Pedestal. Grimlocks?" He warns the others: "I don't think that I can hypnotize them because they have no eyes to see the effect that my spell creates."
If Fadheela was in the room, she may have been hidden to the left (south) behind a curtain. If not, he suspects that there must be a secret door that leads to her final lair.
Xanrym urges haste so that the party can surprise their foes before they realize that we're here. The key question is just how to start their attack.
Bardic Inspiration:
Khessa (since post #6333)
Corina (since post #6333)
Once within the next 1 hour, when the you fail a D20 Test, you can use the bardic inspiration to roll 1d8 and add the number rolled to the d20, possibly turning failure into a success.
If you use the bardic inspiration, but the D20 Test still fails, you keep the inspiration die because of Xanrym's Unfailing Inspiration.
Khessa, Xanrym is happy to support any plan that the rest of The Company can agree upon. He knows that he won't be bearing the brunt of the enemies attacks, so he leaves it to the fighters to decide how they should prioritize their opponents.
"That might be a good way to start, targeting the Grimlocks from a distance, setting up our wall of mirrors..." Theldrin muses quietly as he rubs his beard. "Then we see what happens from there." He leaves his staff near the doorway, so he can have one hand free for spellcasting, while the other can hold the mirror.
OOC: Coordinating with Xanrym to try to blind Fadheela seems worth a shot.
Syllen is relieved at Xanrym’s return. Holding onto the Cloak that he attuned to last night.
“If we are going to strike quickly I can use the power provided by this cloak to hopefully trap the Grimlocks and make it harder to reach us. I do agree that we should keep our distance until Fadheela joins the fight.”
Theldrin nods, "I could also cast web on them if you wanted to be freed up to do something else when we launch the attack."
"Also..." he continues as he pulls a scroll from the leather loop on the side of his pack, "This might be helpful." He then uses the scroll to cast Protection from Evil and Good on Avery.
(OOC: Actually I guess both those spell would require concentration so will let Syllen cast web)
Alright so what’s the go here? You kicking down the door and rolling initiative?
Xanrym tells Syllen that he knows a spell that can Aid multiple members of The Company at once. Since the Gimlocks cannot see his Hypnotic Pattern, and he suspects that the spell may not even affect the blood-bloated hulk, it makes sense for Xanrym to focus more of his magic on healing. He suggests to Syllen, "Maybe that'll free you up to focus on doing damage?"
(OOC: The first time someone goes down -- as long as it isn't Xanrym! -- he could use a 3rd-level slot with Aid to get that person back up and give +10 HP to 2 other party members. Definitely not as much healing as Aura of Vitality or even a few rounds of Healing Word plus Chalice Form, but healing 3 party members at once is still pretty good for the action economy. If that frees up Syllen to use Archer Form or to shift his focus to Conjure Animals early, then maybe they won't need that much healing.)
Avery (with Protection from Evil and Good) and Khessa (with Mirror Image?) lead The Company into the room.
Moving forward to attack the hulk may make it more difficult to establish a melee "wall" to protect the spellcasters.
Xanrym proposes a second option for the spellcasters:
(OOC: @drumdigby - Yes, basically. Just trying to coordinate our initial move / objective before Fadheela tries to petrify everyone! Might take one more day to give everyone a chance to vote/decide.)
Khessa, as she'd previously suggested, believes it's best for her and Avery to act as a "barrier" initially—there'll likely be plenty of enemies coming in melee. Yes, she'll cast Mirror Image on herself before starting the battle.
Perhaps, if the initiative is kind, she'll use the Wand of Wonder before the enemies get close.
Barrier - So, planning to stop side-by-side between the first two statues?
Uh oh! 😬
Kidding. 😉 There aren't that many Very Bad™ options for the wand, and it wold be very funny if she turned the big hulk to stone.
(OOC: Syllen's Web is double the area so it might be able to cover the full room?)
Between the first two statues or even just at the threshold. I think as far as the barrier goes, the less movement the better.
Avery will hold and wait for them to come forward, keeping their melee wall
Coriana will take the inspiration and plans to eldritch blast the hulk, trying to knock it into the green lightning, she will hold off on using her slots to lightning bolt or hex fadheela.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep