If the turtle is still alive, Xanrym tries to put it out of it's misery.
Xanrym stoops to pick up his shortswords, having dropped them earlier to take out his crossbow. He springs forward before the giant beast can get up and rushes around Avery to find a spot where he can stab the turtle, ideally not near its mouth.
Movement: Up to 30' to move around / past Avery and to the turtle to stab it. Action: Attack, Shortsword: 23, Damage: 4 (piercing) Bonus Action: Attack (off-hand), Shortsword: 22, Damage: 2 (piercing) Free Action: Item interaction - pick up shortswords.
(OOC: @Aaggie already posted Avery's turn before I posted for Xanrym. Note that I amended Avery's attack, as you suggested, by rolling the unused bardic inspiration for him.)
Awesome, thank's for that. A great approach for the moment I think.
Well with Avery having hit the turtle previously, it is actually Toska's Sacred Flame that finishes the beast. Her hands outstretched and breathing hard, Toska looks bewildered as the flames engulf the turtle and it let's out a final gasp before collapsing in it's upside down state. The turtle immediately starts to sink into the mud, it will only be a an hourt or so before the Rushmoor's claims the beast and it sinks below the surface forever.
Toska turns to you all, "I've never done that before. I feel like I should feel more guilty, but I just feel the rush of battle. Do you think i'll feel bad eventually?"
Toska turns to you all, "I've never done that before. I feel like I should feel more guilty, but I just feel the rush of battle. Do you think i'll feel bad eventually?"
Xanrym says bracingly, "You did well, Toska! And you were just defending your life and ours. I think that St. Cuthbert 'of the Cudgel' will be proud of you. Take a moment and walk around. It'll help get the shakiness out of your legs." He keeps talking to her until she settles down some, "Unfortunately, beasts such as this don't understand surrender, and the largest monsters often won't back down once they attack. They're just too used to being able to kill anything they catch. I'm afraid that you'll see more death if you come with us into the naga's lair. The cultists who defend the lair are likely to be fanatics who will fight to the death. But we'll try to keep you out of danger as much as possible. Just do what you can."
Before the turtle sinks into the swamp, Xanrym recovers his crossbow bolt.
Xanrym uses metamagic to cast a twinned Healing Word, targeting Avery and himself. He's hoping the party can avoid stopping for a full Short Rest now and continue to press on through the swamp. He suggests that the naga's lair must either be within 1 day's march of the Dim Forest, or alternatively, they'll probably find a hill or other defensible area where the cultists camp while marching through the swamp.
Healing Avery: 7 HP (in game log) Healing Xanrym (twinned spell): 6 HP (in game log)
Awesome, thank's for that. A great approach for the moment I think.
Well with Avery having hit the turtle previously, it is actually Toska's Sacred Flame that finishes the beast. Her hands outstretched and breathing hard, Toska looks bewildered as the flames engulf the turtle and it let's out a final gasp before collapsing in it's upside down state. The turtle immediately starts to sink into the mud, it will only be a an hourt or so before the Rushmoor's claims the beast and it sinks below the surface forever.
Toska turns to you all, "I've never done that before. I feel like I should feel more guilty, but I just feel the rush of battle. Do you think i'll feel bad eventually?"
Avery, cleaning his sword, states "Overtime, you won't even think about it. Don't dwell on it, you're alive and that's what counts."
Theldrin shows the sword to the others. "I wonder what else the old beast swallowed," he wonders out loud at he studies the sinking corpse of the turtle. He's tempted to cast Detect Magic or Identify as a ritual but isn't sure the party wants to take that much more time here. If everyone is eager to move on he will secure the sword to Heckle for later study unless Avery or Xanrym is interested in it.
Perhaps Avery and Liarin would want a Short Rest (wild shape, second wind / spending HD), but it wouldn't really help Xanrym. Even if we're not taking a 1 hour rest now, Xanrym is fine with waiting 10 minutes for Theldrin to identify the sword. (He can't think of a good reason to Detect Magic first: "There's nothing else to examine here on a muddy patch of ground in the middle of a swamp.")
While Theldrin does that, the rest of the party can catch their breath after the fight and have a little snack. He says, "Avery is probably the only one who can wield that sword effectively, and since it isn't a greatsword, that would probably only make sense if it has some specific magical properties that would help us fight snakes and other reptiles."
(OOC: Theldrin could also benefit from the Short Rest, for Arcane Recovery, so will only cast a spell if there's time for both. He's wondering if there might be magic items inside the turtle but decides it might take too much time to extract them, so would probably opt for identifying the sword. Also, bards have proficiency with longswords in 5E.)
(OOC: Ah good point! Well Theldrin seems intrigued by the sword for whatever reason, maybe just the odd occurrence of seeing it fall out of a giant turtle's mouth. But will go along with whatever seems best for the group)
Perhaps Avery and Liarin would want a Short Rest (wild shape, second wind / spending HD), but it wouldn't really help Xanrym. Even if we're not taking a 1 hour rest now, Xanrym is fine with waiting 10 minutes for Theldrin to identify the sword. (He can't think of a good reason to Detect Magic first: "There's nothing else to examine here on a muddy patch of ground in the middle of a swamp.")
While Theldrin does that, the rest of the party can catch their breath after the fight and have a little snack. He says, "Avery is probably the only one who can wield that sword effectively, and since it isn't a greatsword, that would probably only make sense if it has some specific magical properties that would help us fight snakes and other reptiles."
Avery nods, "I will only accept if no one else in the group can wield it. I could examine it, see if I could determine if there is anything unique or special about it."
Look i'm going to say you have time for both a rest and a ritual casting of Identify . Go ahead and mark off a Short Rest.
The Longsword is certainly a +1 magic sword, it's name is Whisper. This sword is from the Fey realm, created by a master smith in the Seelie Court On a closer look it is exquisitely crafted from the finest materials and glows with a pale radiance in moonlight, shedding dim light in a 5-foot radius. The metal doesn't seem to be steel, but more of a silver, and it never get's dirty. As it's name suggests, the weapon talks to it's bearer, granting a +2 bonus to initiative if they aren't incapacitated.
I'm going to create a custom magic item and put it in Theldrin's inventory.
Hmm, I think there's actually an issue with dndbeyond at the moment cause it's not working as usual. I've created the magic item but it's not showing up as an option when i go to add it to Theldrin's inventory. If you can see the sword Whisper then go ahead and add it to Theldrin's items. Otherwise we might need to wait until some update is done or something.
Round 5: Xanrym
If the turtle is still alive, Xanrym tries to put it out of it's misery.
Xanrym stoops to pick up his shortswords, having dropped them earlier to take out his crossbow. He springs forward before the giant beast can get up and rushes around Avery to find a spot where he can stab the turtle, ideally not near its mouth.
Movement: Up to 30' to move around / past Avery and to the turtle to stab it.
Action: Attack, Shortsword: 23, Damage: 4 (piercing)
Bonus Action: Attack (off-hand), Shortsword: 22, Damage: 2 (piercing)
Free Action: Item interaction - pick up shortswords.
Both attacks hit. The turtle is looking really bad now, only 1 or two more hits before it's done.
Toska lets loose another Sacred Flame: DC 12 DEX Save or 6 Radiant Damage. Turtle DEX SAVE: 9
Avery is up. The turtle is still trying to get onto it's front but it has slowed quite significantly. 1 more hit will likely kill it.
(OOC: @Aaggie already posted Avery's turn before I posted for Xanrym. Note that I amended Avery's attack, as you suggested, by rolling the unused bardic inspiration for him.)
Awesome, thank's for that. A great approach for the moment I think.
Well with Avery having hit the turtle previously, it is actually Toska's Sacred Flame that finishes the beast. Her hands outstretched and breathing hard, Toska looks bewildered as the flames engulf the turtle and it let's out a final gasp before collapsing in it's upside down state. The turtle immediately starts to sink into the mud, it will only be a an hourt or so before the Rushmoor's claims the beast and it sinks below the surface forever.
Toska turns to you all, "I've never done that before. I feel like I should feel more guilty, but I just feel the rush of battle. Do you think i'll feel bad eventually?"
Xanrym says bracingly, "You did well, Toska! And you were just defending your life and ours. I think that St. Cuthbert 'of the Cudgel' will be proud of you. Take a moment and walk around. It'll help get the shakiness out of your legs." He keeps talking to her until she settles down some, "Unfortunately, beasts such as this don't understand surrender, and the largest monsters often won't back down once they attack. They're just too used to being able to kill anything they catch. I'm afraid that you'll see more death if you come with us into the naga's lair. The cultists who defend the lair are likely to be fanatics who will fight to the death. But we'll try to keep you out of danger as much as possible. Just do what you can."
Before the turtle sinks into the swamp, Xanrym recovers his crossbow bolt.
Xanrym uses metamagic to cast a twinned Healing Word, targeting Avery and himself. He's hoping the party can avoid stopping for a full Short Rest now and continue to press on through the swamp. He suggests that the naga's lair must either be within 1 day's march of the Dim Forest, or alternatively, they'll probably find a hill or other defensible area where the cultists camp while marching through the swamp.
Healing Avery: 7 HP (in game log)
Healing Xanrym (twinned spell): 6 HP (in game log)
Theldrin looks for the sword that fell from the turtle's mouth, hoping to fish it out of the muck of the swamp and takes a closer look at it.
Perception: 7
Investigation: 12
You easily fish the sword out of the swamp. A fine longsword of clearly old workmanship.
Avery, cleaning his sword, states "Overtime, you won't even think about it. Don't dwell on it, you're alive and that's what counts."
Theldrin shows the sword to the others. "I wonder what else the old beast swallowed," he wonders out loud at he studies the sinking corpse of the turtle. He's tempted to cast Detect Magic or Identify as a ritual but isn't sure the party wants to take that much more time here. If everyone is eager to move on he will secure the sword to Heckle for later study unless Avery or Xanrym is interested in it.
Perhaps Avery and Liarin would want a Short Rest (wild shape, second wind / spending HD), but it wouldn't really help Xanrym. Even if we're not taking a 1 hour rest now, Xanrym is fine with waiting 10 minutes for Theldrin to identify the sword. (He can't think of a good reason to Detect Magic first: "There's nothing else to examine here on a muddy patch of ground in the middle of a swamp.")
While Theldrin does that, the rest of the party can catch their breath after the fight and have a little snack. He says, "Avery is probably the only one who can wield that sword effectively, and since it isn't a greatsword, that would probably only make sense if it has some specific magical properties that would help us fight snakes and other reptiles."
(OOC: Theldrin could also benefit from the Short Rest, for Arcane Recovery, so will only cast a spell if there's time for both. He's wondering if there might be magic items inside the turtle but decides it might take too much time to extract them, so would probably opt for identifying the sword. Also, bards have proficiency with longswords in 5E.)
Liarin shifts back into human form and says, "No need to rest on my account."
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
(OOC: I know, but Xanrym is more like a rogue: 9 STR, 16 DEX. He would be at -4 to hit compared to using his crossbow or shortswords.)
(OOC: Ah good point! Well Theldrin seems intrigued by the sword for whatever reason, maybe just the odd occurrence of seeing it fall out of a giant turtle's mouth. But will go along with whatever seems best for the group)
Avery nods, "I will only accept if no one else in the group can wield it. I could examine it, see if I could determine if there is anything unique or special about it."
Look i'm going to say you have time for both a rest and a ritual casting of Identify . Go ahead and mark off a Short Rest.
The Longsword is certainly a +1 magic sword, it's name is Whisper. This sword is from the Fey realm, created by a master smith in the Seelie Court On a closer look it is exquisitely crafted from the finest materials and glows with a pale radiance in moonlight, shedding dim light in a 5-foot radius. The metal doesn't seem to be steel, but more of a silver, and it never get's dirty. As it's name suggests, the weapon talks to it's bearer, granting a +2 bonus to initiative if they aren't incapacitated.
I'm going to create a custom magic item and put it in Theldrin's inventory.
Hmm, I think there's actually an issue with dndbeyond at the moment cause it's not working as usual. I've created the magic item but it's not showing up as an option when i go to add it to Theldrin's inventory. If you can see the sword Whisper then go ahead and add it to Theldrin's items. Otherwise we might need to wait until some update is done or something.
The sword looks a little like this:
There's a big issue with DDB they posted a message on the main page. I suspect it's related to whatever backend work they need to do for the 2024 PH.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep