Definitely sharing out the cultist robes and symbols, and making it known we are moving at best speed.
I too would be fine with becoming robin hood-esque outlaws, working for the good of the community despite them rejecting us. Wouldn't make Merkas seek revenge, his revenge is to do good even when he's treated poorly, he's found it aggravates people a whole lot more
Quick question: Are we getting to know Nare while exploring the sewers, or is the plan to just have a friendly chat right there in the hallway?
Your choices are yours, but the clock is ticking before Cult Fanatic Blue gets away, and the townsfolk find the pile of bodies in the mauseleum. All it takes is for Blue to catch up to his brethren, warn them of your attack, and then have the right people sound the alarn that you have attacked citizens and murdered some of them. If they succeed in properly re-framing your actions before you can explain yourselves, you might be arrested and exiled by the time you make it out of these tunnels... or worse.
Also, cheapjoke123, Sharn mentioned curiosity about the wheel cranks. Feel free to roll a check about it, or give them a turn, if you're feeling frisky.
Ahhh hey y'all sorry for being a bit slow in posting. I tend to take a while writing but if anything, Nare will just follow along with whatever happens and I'll add in missed dialogue later today I'm sorry
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Quick question: Are we getting to know Nare while exploring the sewers, or is the plan to just have a friendly chat right there in the hallway?
Your choices are yours, but the clock is ticking before Cult Fanatic Blue gets away, and the townsfolk find the pile of bodies in the mauseleum. All it takes is for Blue to catch up to his brethren, warn them of your attack, and then have the right people sound the alarn that you have attacked citizens and murdered some of them. If they succeed in properly re-framing your actions before you can explain yourselves, you might be arrested and exiled by the time you make it out of these tunnels... or worse.
Also, cheapjoke123, Sharn mentioned curiosity about the wheel cranks. Feel free to roll a check about it, or give them a turn, if you're feeling frisky.
Ahhh hey y'all sorry for being a bit slow in posting. I tend to take a while writing but if anything, Nare will just follow along with whatever happens and I'll add in missed dialogue later today I'm sorry
Posting frequency is a minor concern in this campaign. When I can post, I check in multiple times a day. But something a few days may go by where I don't have time or internet access to update. So we've relaxed the posting frequency rules due to my unstable housing situation.
Which is sometimes why I seek OOC clarification of IC intentions. That way I can speed up, or relax, the pace when I have availability.
Glad to hear that the party is willing to take a hit for verisimilitude. I won't intentionally nerf characters or stage a TPK (unless it's specifically requested by the party, or it's literally the game concept, which I will warn of that in my game ad) but I don't protect players from carelessness either.
If you see a creature your character doesn't automatically recognize, and you roll an INT check and still don't know the stat block, that's a good way to guess the difficulty level of the encounter. The DC of the Stat Block check is based on the HD of the monster. If your result is 10 or higher, and your character is still drawing a blank, then maybe tactfully retreat and live to fight another day. 😅 The encounter may require more levelling, outside help, or staging an orderly evacuation of an ally town. You'll experience this more frequently as you venture out beyond the relatively safe borders of Santekh.
So there is a real possibility of character death... especially if you take on a threat your party isn't ready to handle. But, death is not the end. If the whole party dies, I have a whole subplot ready for you to fight your way out of the afterlife, or build a new reputation as post-mortem merenary demon slayers... freeing the metallic dragons from beyond the veil. Lots of ways to go with that. Or, you can just roll up new characters and arrive in the town or city of your choice in Krynn.
Sorry Hastos and I rolled 11 on investigations in tour two most recent posts, about traps and the arcana type traps that may be in the sewers like in the graveyard.
Wait I forgot but Nare has a Rogue’s Watch which basically casts the user Major Image. It only lasts for 60 seconds but we can also cover more ground that way! We could check multiple exits.
Nare wouldn’t mind letting someone else use it (it doesn’t need to be attuned)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Sorry Hastos and I rolled 11 on investigations in tour two most recent posts, about traps and the arcana type traps that may be in the sewers like in the graveyard.
Ah. There are no traps in the visible area, or in the visible areas you've been in. But the whole party has a good idea that traps will become more prevalent as you get closer to where the cultist went.
As for which way the cultist went, there aren't many ways to get a clue. Stone walls, stone floors, dry waterways, wandering monsters, sewer smells that would even inhibit your ability to track by scent if you had that ability. Tracking him by Investigation with your current abilities would require a result of 25 or higher. A person with magical tracking abilities, or perhaps a higher level Rogue could do it, but Merkas's dip in Rogue only gives him the ability to understand how sewers work. Which is to say, with a sewer system small enough to handle Santekh, speed is your ally, because it's likely not a very big system. Now that you are safe from most of the undead, and have a huge party, you could try splitting the party and covering more ground. You already have a way to communicate magically, so you can share coordinates and findings that way, then adjust your search strategy based on the information you share.
Squeezing 6 people through a narrow corridor forces you to walk in a straight line, which makes many of your skills redundant. Splitting that up into two cells of 3 or three cells of 2 (a bold, but manageable move) means that if you pair your abilities well, each party member would be able to serve a roll in advancing the search more efficiently.
If you decide to do that, I'll tell you a bit about what your party knows about Ororana:
As an NPC, she's not here to guide or lead the party. This is your mystery to solve. She's an extra hand in combat, which is basically the only thing she excels at (outside of the bedroom anyway).
She has three more potions in her bag. But she can be a bit stingy. She burned through two of them in combat and Sera smashed one of them. In her mind, this is an unpaid gig, so she's wasting money with each potion. So the last three uses will be based on need. She'll use them in emergencies, and has a good enough heart to use them on allies. But most of her consumables are designed to aid or protect in combat only, since that's the work she tends to do.
She's tough for an NPC, but more of a glass cannon compared to Sharn, Hastos, and Sera. I'll tell you she currently has over 20 HP, and appears uninjured, except for the scorch markes on her leather from the trap door. Her axe is magical, and apparently gives her some unknown power when she kills enemies... but not undead enemies. So making her a tank in a party fighting the undead is a gamble if you wish to keep her alive. She'll be an asset to you against cult members though.
She has some experience with tracking, but that's over desert and mountain trails, where Dragon Army soldiers can be found.
As an ally, she has very good rapport with the council of Santekh, though Verhannas finds her annoying... Verhannas finds most people annoying. But Ororana's constant flirting doesn't help. She's established in the community as a good warrior and a decent person. She could serve as a witness to the events that occured tonight and could help sway public opinion in your favor if Tekel demands justice for his fallen soldier.
Also,sorry about the investigation check, I did it in line with my post. My apologies if I’m supposed to be DMing them to you. I can start doing that.
That's helpful, but not necessary. I must've missed it. My life is chaos right now. I'm couch surfing in a house with 5 other people in it, and the interruptions are constant. 😅 So, sometimes a single post can take hours, because I have to stop reading to answer questions, do a chore, receive advice about my situation, answer phone calls for legal stuff, go on errands with/for people. I'm way too autistic for chaos, so this has been an adjustment for me. I'll try to do better.
Investigation checks in this part of the dungeon will reveal very little, and the DC is high (25) until further clues present themselves. Your best clue was the sweaty door handle, which gives Hastos the impression that the party is heading in the correct direction. While the cultist likely didn't escape stealthily, there's no place to leave muddy footprints, no brambles to snag cloth in, no twigs or leaves to snap, and no bloody wounds to leave a trail. He ran through a maze made of stone walls and floors that he knows well, and could probably navigate with very little light. And based on context (symbols of Sargonnas protect your from the undead), the presence of monsters does not indicate whether the path you are taking is correct, since the cultist would've been able to move safely amongst them. Context would also indicate to Hastos that these monsters aren't random wondering monsters. They are strategically placed deterrants to eliminate non-cultists who enter the sewer. Which is probably why you haven't seen any rats. Zombies go nom-nom on them and keep the sewers tidy in their own weird way.
Wait I forgot but Nare has a Rogue’s Watch which basically casts the user Major Image. It only lasts for 60 seconds but we can also cover more ground that way! We could check multiple exits.
Nare wouldn’t mind letting someone else use it (it doesn’t need to be attuned)
Ororana's Attitude is Helpful, and will go along with pretty much anything the party agrees to that isn't certain death. And while Sera and Ororana have different philosophies, she still likes and trusts Sera. The only two she's not as eager to take orders from are Merkas (she kind of thinks of him as a child in need of protecting) and Ne-haredowell (whom she doesn't know, but kind of thinks has lost their mind in these tunnels). So, if split into a cell with Hastos and Merkas, she's likely to defer to Hastos for leadership, and do her best to keep Merkas safe.
Definitely sharing out the cultist robes and symbols, and making it known we are moving at best speed.
I too would be fine with becoming robin hood-esque outlaws, working for the good of the community despite them rejecting us. Wouldn't make Merkas seek revenge, his revenge is to do good even when he's treated poorly, he's found it aggravates people a whole lot more
Loyalty Begets Honour
Ahhh hey y'all sorry for being a bit slow in posting. I tend to take a while writing but if anything, Nare will just follow along with whatever happens and I'll add in missed dialogue later today I'm sorry
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Dragonlance
Posting frequency is a minor concern in this campaign. When I can post, I check in multiple times a day. But something a few days may go by where I don't have time or internet access to update. So we've relaxed the posting frequency rules due to my unstable housing situation.
Which is sometimes why I seek OOC clarification of IC intentions. That way I can speed up, or relax, the pace when I have availability.
Glad to hear that the party is willing to take a hit for verisimilitude. I won't intentionally nerf characters or stage a TPK (unless it's specifically requested by the party, or it's literally the game concept, which I will warn of that in my game ad) but I don't protect players from carelessness either.
If you see a creature your character doesn't automatically recognize, and you roll an INT check and still don't know the stat block, that's a good way to guess the difficulty level of the encounter. The DC of the Stat Block check is based on the HD of the monster. If your result is 10 or higher, and your character is still drawing a blank, then maybe tactfully retreat and live to fight another day. 😅 The encounter may require more levelling, outside help, or staging an orderly evacuation of an ally town. You'll experience this more frequently as you venture out beyond the relatively safe borders of Santekh.
So there is a real possibility of character death... especially if you take on a threat your party isn't ready to handle. But, death is not the end. If the whole party dies, I have a whole subplot ready for you to fight your way out of the afterlife, or build a new reputation as post-mortem merenary demon slayers... freeing the metallic dragons from beyond the veil. Lots of ways to go with that. Or, you can just roll up new characters and arrive in the town or city of your choice in Krynn.
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
Are we going NE (towards the next sewer grate), East (through the metal door), West (towards the crank wheel), or South (through the dried waterway)?
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
Nah, that's fine. Gadget wise people can toy with the gadgets.
Did either Hastos or Merkas investigation help determine which way our fleeing cultist went?
Loyalty Begets Honour
Merkas will go spin the wheel if noone else has a better idea
Loyalty Begets Honour
I vote for the door. Door in the sewer is made for some reason. Maybe it leads up?
I can see the logic in that
I thought I sent you a PM about that... it's showing "sent" on July 2nd.
That's 2 votes for metal door, and 1 vote for spin-the-wheel.
That's not quite enough votes for me to narrate on, so I will wait for more votes, or more actions IC, before I reply.
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
Sorry Hastos and I rolled 11 on investigations in tour two most recent posts, about traps and the arcana type traps that may be in the sewers like in the graveyard.
Loyalty Begets Honour
voted for the door!!! and aw thanks for waiting. sorry I didn't realize I would get busy.
also I love the fact that Merkas does not like ants
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Dragonlance
Door.
Also,sorry about the investigation check, I did it in line with my post. My apologies if I’m supposed to be DMing them to you. I can start doing that.
Character: Hastos, Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread
Well add 1d4 to your test? Guidance is just too good not to use
Will gladly take it! I want to wait for the others to have a chance to chime in if they want to before we find out what’s behind door number two..
Character: Hastos, Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread
Wait I forgot but Nare has a Rogue’s Watch which basically casts the user Major Image. It only lasts for 60 seconds but we can also cover more ground that way! We could check multiple exits.
Nare wouldn’t mind letting someone else use it (it doesn’t need to be attuned)
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Dragonlance
Ah. There are no traps in the visible area, or in the visible areas you've been in. But the whole party has a good idea that traps will become more prevalent as you get closer to where the cultist went.
As for which way the cultist went, there aren't many ways to get a clue. Stone walls, stone floors, dry waterways, wandering monsters, sewer smells that would even inhibit your ability to track by scent if you had that ability. Tracking him by Investigation with your current abilities would require a result of 25 or higher. A person with magical tracking abilities, or perhaps a higher level Rogue could do it, but Merkas's dip in Rogue only gives him the ability to understand how sewers work. Which is to say, with a sewer system small enough to handle Santekh, speed is your ally, because it's likely not a very big system. Now that you are safe from most of the undead, and have a huge party, you could try splitting the party and covering more ground. You already have a way to communicate magically, so you can share coordinates and findings that way, then adjust your search strategy based on the information you share.
Squeezing 6 people through a narrow corridor forces you to walk in a straight line, which makes many of your skills redundant. Splitting that up into two cells of 3 or three cells of 2 (a bold, but manageable move) means that if you pair your abilities well, each party member would be able to serve a roll in advancing the search more efficiently.
If you decide to do that, I'll tell you a bit about what your party knows about Ororana:
Okay here are the tallies:
Door: Sera, Sharn, Nare
Wheel Crank: Merkas
Undecided: Hastos, Ororana
We have a majority for the door. I'll narrate accordingly.
That's helpful, but not necessary. I must've missed it. My life is chaos right now. I'm couch surfing in a house with 5 other people in it, and the interruptions are constant. 😅 So, sometimes a single post can take hours, because I have to stop reading to answer questions, do a chore, receive advice about my situation, answer phone calls for legal stuff, go on errands with/for people. I'm way too autistic for chaos, so this has been an adjustment for me. I'll try to do better.
Investigation checks in this part of the dungeon will reveal very little, and the DC is high (25) until further clues present themselves. Your best clue was the sweaty door handle, which gives Hastos the impression that the party is heading in the correct direction. While the cultist likely didn't escape stealthily, there's no place to leave muddy footprints, no brambles to snag cloth in, no twigs or leaves to snap, and no bloody wounds to leave a trail. He ran through a maze made of stone walls and floors that he knows well, and could probably navigate with very little light. And based on context (symbols of Sargonnas protect your from the undead), the presence of monsters does not indicate whether the path you are taking is correct, since the cultist would've been able to move safely amongst them. Context would also indicate to Hastos that these monsters aren't random wondering monsters. They are strategically placed deterrants to eliminate non-cultists who enter the sewer. Which is probably why you haven't seen any rats. Zombies go nom-nom on them and keep the sewers tidy in their own weird way.
That would be an excellent use of the item.
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
I suggest we split in 2 parties to cover more ground and not stand on top of each other and block.
Hastos, Merkas and Ororana is team 1 (the pointy ears gang)
Sera, Sharn and Nare is team 2. ( The rhyme name gang)
I’m good with that
Loyalty Begets Honour
Feel free to make it so IC.
Ororana's Attitude is Helpful, and will go along with pretty much anything the party agrees to that isn't certain death. And while Sera and Ororana have different philosophies, she still likes and trusts Sera. The only two she's not as eager to take orders from are Merkas (she kind of thinks of him as a child in need of protecting) and Ne-haredowell (whom she doesn't know, but kind of thinks has lost their mind in these tunnels). So, if split into a cell with Hastos and Merkas, she's likely to defer to Hastos for leadership, and do her best to keep Merkas safe.
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin