(Is the room dark or dim? In the way of a modern day casino security room in films. Blue light from the ‘monitors’ of the mirrors but otherwise relatively dimly lit. Or brightly lit as elsewhere?)
(Is the room dark or dim? In the way of a modern day casino security room in films. Blue light from the ‘monitors’ of the mirrors but otherwise relatively dimly lit. Or brightly lit as elsewhere?)
Arcane orange blobs of light ebb and swell across the ceiling offering permanent Hellscape Lighting (TM) throughout the room.
(If we get both Meredith and Erudisia into the corridor then we can limit their access to us in melee. Further, Erudisia has a free cast of Gust of Wind and can cast Shadow Blade on a bonus action for 2d8 psychic damage for a minute so it’s pretty good damage. Both are concentration so she would lose suggestion, as she might if she’s hit at all now. If we get through this door with Nephthus, now, we need to turn him loose, I think and have him not at our backs.
I don’t think Meredith should stay behind to fight three guards.)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Erudisia’s thundering blast slams into red-haired guard #3, the one who shouted the alarm, with a shuddering crack. His crispy snacks explode into the air and he is slammed back against a table under the line of mirrors, covering his ears with his hands and dropping his billy club which rolls under the table.
Meredith’s blustering holds guard #1 in place… a small-headed tiefling goon with a dyed blonde ponytail. He seemed reluctant to enter the fray to begin with, since guard #3 talks about arcane charms relentlessly, a daily dose of boredom that has aroused more doubt than wariness (and he rolled Nat 1 CHA check).
Guard #2, the oldest of the three, with short graying braids, shouts in surprise, but recovers himself. “It’ll be a cold cell for you, lass!” He opens the door at the south end of the room with his security pass. Beyond, a holding cell, glowing faintly. Then he turns and advances with billy club in hand to his original spot.
Guard #3 quickly recovers himself, fishes under the table for his billy club, and, showing his teeth, strikes at Erudisia. “You’re gonna regret that, witch!!” Meredith’s Cutting Words now prick his ego.
Guard #3 vs. Erudisia 14
2 (distraction by insulting mage hand gestures)
Meredith's wiles compound to offset the guard's prowess. His billy club deflects off of Erudisia's mage armor. (heads up: he spent one of his attacks retrieving his weapon. Next round he'll get 2 attacks.)
Nephthus opens the iron-bound door, but when the melee begins, confusion seems to immobilize him. Erudisia and Meredith are free to enter. (Remind me: which one of you is carrying the filched passkey?)
(Rereading the last couple of pages quickly … I think Marliza has the keycard but I’ve no idea what happened to her. She had it in her clutch and said “Ladies Room?” Before we all separated?)
Erudisia runs from the guard, past Nephthus into the narrow passageway. She drops her concentration on her enchantment and weaves together air and smoke and shadow into a dull lustrous blaze, casting Shadow Bladeas she runs. As she reaches 20 feet or the door, whichever is first, she throws her long dagger of forged air at guard 3.
Meredith panicked but seeing Erudisias power on full display.......whilst hoping that whatever she was doing was only stunning and not permanently harming anyone......gave her hope they could win through.
" You do what you need to! I leave these lot they'll get their co-conspirators!", she had no idea if the first guard was still charmed or not.....but keeping up some kind of confusing ruse seemed like a decent option regardless.
" I don't think this young one here is one of the traitors......maybe he doesn't need to see the Senior Partner?"
She snatched up the dropped club and aimed it at the older mans temple....
Attack: 3 Damage: 1
Deception ( trying to keep the younger guard off balance)- 11
( I'm worried if Meredith leaves this room a general alarm will be sounded and there will be 20+ staff in here shortly)
(Meredith is on the higher Initiative so I think Erudisia’s turn should be fine but, just to clarify, she would drop suggestion and cast Shadow Blade when Meredith and she were running past, and not while Meredith was at risk of Nephthus regaining his senses as she ran by).
(( Does Bell 'think' his name is as 'off the cuff' as her Wyverncrest was? I mean... Jersey… Grantersonchick? ))
Bell stares into the young gentleman's eyes and smiles demurely. "I think I need to calm my friend down before he does someone real damage." She will rise; give a quick hug to Jersey - a damp hug and a breathless 'Thank you' before rushing off to the tournament area to see how Little One is faring.
(( and she saw security coming toward the fireplace? ))
(Meredith is on the higher Initiative so I think Erudisia’s turn should be fine but, just to clarify, she would drop suggestion and cast Shadow Blade when Meredith and she were running past, and not while Meredith was at risk of Nephthus regaining his senses as she ran by).
(We’re using a “soft” initiative system. Rounds are generally divided in half: heroes then villains. Or vice-versa. So the order of turns within the heroes’ half-round will be the order in which they are posted.)
Erudisia and Meredith
The Rule of Cool adds another die of damage to Erudisia’s crit attack against guard #3. The dusky blade strikes him full in the solar plexus. Shadows erupt from his eyes and mouth in a noiseless scream as his back arches in pain. He’s thrown back into his chair which is propelled, poltergeist-like, backwards, slamming into the room’s rear wall, knocking him out.
Meredith and Erudisia both scramble through the door Nephthus had opened. The hallway within angles to the right almost immediately, into a very dimly lit passage 80’ long and completely exposed to the view of a security mirror set high on the near wall. The far end is punctuated firmly by an ornate pair of steel doors. A devil’s head, glaring and frozen in open-mouthed song is sculpted into the frame above, you can see from the near end of the corridor in the twilit darkness.
“Close the door!,” the veteran shouts. Nephthus, behind you, follows the command, and the door to the security office slams shut. A thin green light creeps around its edges. Recriminations, cussing and scuffling come muffled through the heavy door behind you. Ahead of you, the long, empty hallway watched by a security mirror at this end, and the steel-sculpted devil's face at the other.
The young wizard definitely thinks ‘Grantersonchick’ was spun up at the spur of the moment. ‘Jersey’?… hard to say. He seems surprised by the hug, stands there with far less aplomb than he had earlier demonstrated, but you both hear yells coming from the docks. About 20 people are piled into a boat that can accommodate only half as many, and demanding the poor boatman to row them upstream. “Has everyone gone crazy?,” Jersey wonders aloud, and starts moving toward the boat as it tips precariously. Bell might catch his sea-blue eyes glancing a final time over his shoulder at her before he lopes past the slot machines.
(Security guards had exited their offices and ran past the hearth to the tournament room a moment before Meredith and Erudisia disappeared into the same door they’d just exited. Bell would have counted seven or eight guards — all the ones previously on the casino floor and more — who entered the tournament room.)
As she nears it, Bell hears a series of noises from the tournament room: a shout, another expectant gasp from the crowd, and then a huge shattering crash, followed by a — surely arcane — zapping noise, itself followed by a moment of surprised silence, then screeches and shouts from the crowd and a rushing stampede out of the tournament room. Past them, Bell doesn't see Little One or Marliza, but the room entrance will surely be vacant within moments...
The half elf warlock approaches to twenty feet from the mirror, and with her bonus action, twirls her fingers as if pulling her sword from an invisible scabbard set before her, and, just so, it obliges and appears in her hand.
She spins, lickety split, and hurls the sword, which drinks in the dimly lit environs and swims now like a barracuda through the shadow.
Attack roll (with advantage): 20 (16+4)
Damage: 9 psychic, 2 thunder.
If the mirror cracks, the keycardless half elf will approach the devilish doors.
The half elf warlock approaches to twenty feet from the mirror, and with her bonus action, twirls her fingers as if pulling her sword from an invisible scabbard set before her, and, just so, it obliges and appears in her hand.
She spins, lickety split, and hurls the sword, which drinks in the dimly lit environs and swims now like a barracuda through the shadow.
Attack roll (with advantage): 20 (16+4)
Damage: 9 psychic, 2 thunder.
If the mirror cracks, the keycardless half elf will approach the devilish doors.
Erudisia’s shadow blade strikes the mirror but results only in some chipping around the edges. Her arcane intuition tells her it must be immune to psychic damage, as most mundane objects are. But with a little additional eldritch effort, she succeeds in smashing the mirror’s surface.
Meredith walked with Erudisia towards the door, " We messed up.....we're trapped in here now."
" And we didn't grab any of the guards tokens......because I'm an idiot."
She scanned the door as they approached for any danger.
Investigation- 23
Meredith, from 10’ away from the far end of the corridor, notices that the devil’s face, which seems to occupy her attention, isn’t exactly singing after all. The attitude seems to be more like that of a dragon about to spew flames… this gives her a moment to think before it suddenly opens yet wider showing its teeth, and red-hot flame shoots down the corridor.
Both Erudisia and Meredith, please make DEX saves. Meredith can either save with advantage, or shove Erudisia out of harm’s way, giving Erudisia advantage instead. Erudisia, please wait to roll until after Meredith decides.
(Is the room dark or dim? In the way of a modern day casino security room in films. Blue light from the ‘monitors’ of the mirrors but otherwise relatively dimly lit. Or brightly lit as elsewhere?)
Arcane orange blobs of light ebb and swell across the ceiling offering permanent Hellscape Lighting (TM) throughout the room.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
[Excellent. Excellent. If Erudisia can’t act jointly with the other 17 initiative/I need to change her actions, let me know :) ]
(All good, your DEX is higher, so your spell will go first.)
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Meredith Initiative-
20
Meredith grins, " You two head in and do what needs to be done. I'll handle this lot.".........she said with a lot more confidence than she felt.
" Look, non of you three are my type and I'm kind of on the clock here.......can we reschedule this bout?"
She felt around in her clutch for the vial of perfume.....that would have to do.
" Are we going one on one or are all three of you diving in.....cos that's not really my scene."
She summoned a spectral hand before the lead guard which began making some weird ' arcane' gestures.
Action- Mage Hand
Intimidation- ( Trying to appear way more confident and powerful than she is.)- 6
Reaction- Cutting Words on the highest attack roll.
(If we get both Meredith and Erudisia into the corridor then we can limit their access to us in melee. Further, Erudisia has a free cast of Gust of Wind and can cast Shadow Blade on a bonus action for 2d8 psychic damage for a minute so it’s pretty good damage. Both are concentration so she would lose suggestion, as she might if she’s hit at all now. If we get through this door with Nephthus, now, we need to turn him loose, I think and have him not at our backs.
I don’t think Meredith should stay behind to fight three guards.)
Erudisia’s thundering blast slams into red-haired guard #3, the one who shouted the alarm, with a shuddering crack. His crispy snacks explode into the air and he is slammed back against a table under the line of mirrors, covering his ears with his hands and dropping his billy club which rolls under the table.
Meredith’s blustering holds guard #1 in place… a small-headed tiefling goon with a dyed blonde ponytail. He seemed reluctant to enter the fray to begin with, since guard #3 talks about arcane charms relentlessly, a daily dose of boredom that has aroused more doubt than wariness (and he rolled Nat 1 CHA check).
Guard #2, the oldest of the three, with short graying braids, shouts in surprise, but recovers himself. “It’ll be a cold cell for you, lass!” He opens the door at the south end of the room with his security pass. Beyond, a holding cell, glowing faintly. Then he turns and advances with billy club in hand to his original spot.
Guard #3 quickly recovers himself, fishes under the table for his billy club, and, showing his teeth, strikes at Erudisia. “You’re gonna regret that, witch!!” Meredith’s Cutting Words now prick his ego.
Guard #3 vs. Erudisia 14
2 (distraction by insulting mage hand gestures)
Meredith's wiles compound to offset the guard's prowess. His billy club deflects off of Erudisia's mage armor. (heads up: he spent one of his attacks retrieving his weapon. Next round he'll get 2 attacks.)
Nephthus opens the iron-bound door, but when the melee begins, confusion seems to immobilize him. Erudisia and Meredith are free to enter. (Remind me: which one of you is carrying the filched passkey?)
Please post actions for Round 2.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
(Rereading the last couple of pages quickly … I think Marliza has the keycard but I’ve no idea what happened to her. She had it in her clutch and said “Ladies Room?” Before we all separated?)
Erudisia runs from the guard, past Nephthus into the narrow passageway. She drops her concentration on her enchantment and weaves together air and smoke and shadow into a dull lustrous blaze, casting Shadow Bladeas she runs. As she reaches 20 feet or the door, whichever is first, she throws her long dagger of forged air at guard 3.
Attack: Nat 20 (+4 for 24)
Damage: 18 psychic
Meredith panicked but seeing Erudisias power on full display.......whilst hoping that whatever she was doing was only stunning and not permanently harming anyone......gave her hope they could win through.
" You do what you need to! I leave these lot they'll get their co-conspirators!", she had no idea if the first guard was still charmed or not.....but keeping up some kind of confusing ruse seemed like a decent option regardless.
" I don't think this young one here is one of the traitors......maybe he doesn't need to see the Senior Partner?"
She snatched up the dropped club and aimed it at the older mans temple....
Attack: 3 Damage: 1
Deception ( trying to keep the younger guard off balance)- 11
( I'm worried if Meredith leaves this room a general alarm will be sounded and there will be 20+ staff in here shortly)
( Ok....with those rolls she'll move to Erudisia with her full movement and risk the AoOs)
(Meredith is on the higher Initiative so I think Erudisia’s turn should be fine but, just to clarify, she would drop suggestion and cast Shadow Blade when Meredith and she were running past, and not while Meredith was at risk of Nephthus regaining his senses as she ran by).
Insight Check: 16
(( Does Bell 'think' his name is as 'off the cuff' as her Wyverncrest was? I mean... Jersey… Grantersonchick? ))
Bell stares into the young gentleman's eyes and smiles demurely. "I think I need to calm my friend down before he does someone real damage." She will rise; give a quick hug to Jersey - a damp hug and a breathless 'Thank you' before rushing off to the tournament area to see how Little One is faring.
(( and she saw security coming toward the fireplace? ))
(We’re using a “soft” initiative system. Rounds are generally divided in half: heroes then villains. Or vice-versa. So the order of turns within the heroes’ half-round will be the order in which they are posted.)
Erudisia and Meredith
The Rule of Cool adds another die of damage to Erudisia’s crit attack against guard #3. The dusky blade strikes him full in the solar plexus. Shadows erupt from his eyes and mouth in a noiseless scream as his back arches in pain. He’s thrown back into his chair which is propelled, poltergeist-like, backwards, slamming into the room’s rear wall, knocking him out.
Meredith and Erudisia both scramble through the door Nephthus had opened. The hallway within angles to the right almost immediately, into a very dimly lit passage 80’ long and completely exposed to the view of a security mirror set high on the near wall. The far end is punctuated firmly by an ornate pair of steel doors. A devil’s head, glaring and frozen in open-mouthed song is sculpted into the frame above, you can see from the near end of the corridor in the twilit darkness.
“Close the door!,” the veteran shouts. Nephthus, behind you, follows the command, and the door to the security office slams shut. A thin green light creeps around its edges. Recriminations, cussing and scuffling come muffled through the heavy door behind you. Ahead of you, the long, empty hallway watched by a security mirror at this end, and the steel-sculpted devil's face at the other.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Bell
The young wizard definitely thinks ‘Grantersonchick’ was spun up at the spur of the moment. ‘Jersey’?… hard to say. He seems surprised by the hug, stands there with far less aplomb than he had earlier demonstrated, but you both hear yells coming from the docks. About 20 people are piled into a boat that can accommodate only half as many, and demanding the poor boatman to row them upstream. “Has everyone gone crazy?,” Jersey wonders aloud, and starts moving toward the boat as it tips precariously. Bell might catch his sea-blue eyes glancing a final time over his shoulder at her before he lopes past the slot machines.
(Security guards had exited their offices and ran past the hearth to the tournament room a moment before Meredith and Erudisia disappeared into the same door they’d just exited. Bell would have counted seven or eight guards — all the ones previously on the casino floor and more — who entered the tournament room.)
As she nears it, Bell hears a series of noises from the tournament room: a shout, another expectant gasp from the crowd, and then a huge shattering crash, followed by a — surely arcane — zapping noise, itself followed by a moment of surprised silence, then screeches and shouts from the crowd and a rushing stampede out of the tournament room. Past them, Bell doesn't see Little One or Marliza, but the room entrance will surely be vacant within moments...
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
The half elf warlock approaches to twenty feet from the mirror, and with her bonus action, twirls her fingers as if pulling her sword from an invisible scabbard set before her, and, just so, it obliges and appears in her hand.
She spins, lickety split, and hurls the sword, which drinks in the dimly lit environs and swims now like a barracuda through the shadow.
Attack roll (with advantage): 20 (16+4)
Damage: 9 psychic, 2 thunder.
If the mirror cracks, the keycardless half elf will approach the devilish doors.
Meredith walked with Erudisia towards the door, " We messed up.....we're trapped in here now."
" And we didn't grab any of the guards tokens......because I'm an idiot."
She scanned the door as they approached for any danger.
Investigation- 21
Erudisia’s shadow blade strikes the mirror but results only in some chipping around the edges. Her arcane intuition tells her it must be immune to psychic damage, as most mundane objects are. But with a little additional eldritch effort, she succeeds in smashing the mirror’s surface.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Meredith, from 10’ away from the far end of the corridor, notices that the devil’s face, which seems to occupy her attention, isn’t exactly singing after all. The attitude seems to be more like that of a dragon about to spew flames… this gives her a moment to think before it suddenly opens yet wider showing its teeth, and red-hot flame shoots down the corridor.
Both Erudisia and Meredith, please make DEX saves. Meredith can either save with advantage, or shove Erudisia out of harm’s way, giving Erudisia advantage instead. Erudisia, please wait to roll until after Meredith decides.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer