Quote from Inexorabletruth >>

Ok, so Cheapjoke has to go Inactive for an unknown period of time. For now, just pretend he didn't go with the party into the sewers, and I'll script something that makes sense later. Maybe he got drunk at the party and slept it off.

Sundial should be re-joining us soon. I told them they could pop in wherever. We'll adjust encounters as needed.

Hi!!! Yeah I’ll join in later today! Sorry about that! Nare is probably just back in that room cleaning. Got too much into his head trying to figure out how to sneak out that he didn’t lmao. 

Glad that Sera was able to survive!!! Albeit smelly XD

Pro-tip: You may want to join the farty party going on.

I'm going to read the IC now and update.

Okay... I do the boss fight. Team pointy ears split the loot...lol. 

I remeber meeting Hastos first time ( in first game) he was in a cage ready to be sacreficed. How fate might flip things. At least I know they want me alive for sacrefice. I suspect lots of hold persons...

The way I imagined it, this battle was going to happen much, much later. It's not the BBEG, but it was supposed to be a fairly high-level encounter, and originally presumed you were all going to be weilding at least Rare quality weapons (plus the scythe). But, always count on players to do the unexpected. 😅

Had it been later, they'd be going for lethal intent. But one level 5 PC doesn't count as a viable threat to the leader in the sewers.

Initiative: 14

Dex: 8 (accidental roll, but I’ll take it when my turn comes around)

Quote from Inexorabletruth >>

Ororana: Hastos, what do your elf ears hear?

Hastos: *ears ringing from the blast* WHAT? 😆

this is super late but this scene reminds of this one from regular show (at around 27 seconds in the video)

also your bard character sounds awesome. would love to see her!

Quote from SunDial365 >>

Quote from Inexorabletruth >>

Ororana: Hastos, what do your elf ears hear?

Hastos: *ears ringing from the blast* WHAT? 😆

 

this is super late but this scene reminds of this one from regular show (at around 27 seconds in the video)

 

 Lol! Perfect.

Also, when you generate your double, it has autonomy, yes. But it exists with your ambitions and goals... at least for the next 30 seconds. Its primary function is to gather intel... but its secondary function is whatever you wish for it to attempt to acheive. If you intend for it to serve as a distraction to give the cultists the impression that there's another adventurer to attack, it will do its absolute best to execute on that. Now that it is summoned, I'll control the duplicate. So you did perfectly. You handle the introduction, I'll handle follow up operations.

Is your intention to use it as a distraction, or did you have a different goal in mind? When the 30 seconds run out, or it gets dismissed by being attacked, be prepared for a deluge of information in your PM though.

Ohhhh! Yep it's a distraction! >:3 thank you!!

Oh boy Nare's gonna get an earful from their double.

Well I almost got out without triggering the guardian, But YAY! we get to fight this before we fight with Sera

So is the dementor just focused on Merkas, or does he seem like generally pissed at the lot of us?

Ok, this is a bit of a spoiler, but it's ok, because I like its lore. So it's essentially an undead guardian that prevents things from leaving this chamber. It follows explicit instructions to not allow anyone to leave with stuff it can see them taking unless its patron (not just anyone disguised as an acolyte) instructs it to back down. So, anything you Sleight-of-Hand into your nasty...little... pocketisies *Gollum impersonation* has a chance of not being noticed, and therefore can walk out unharmed. Unfortunately, Merkas didn't hide all of his cash-grabs.

You're welcome to interact with, or even use, any of the treasure in the room (magical items abound that can boost your capabilities in this fight), because that wasn't covered in the patron's instructions. You're just not allowed to make for the door once you do, without provocing the creature. Although its undead, it's not bound by the same rules as the zombies. It doesn't have to ignore anyone wearing a symbol. It just has to protect the stuff, which is why this room wasn't looted. The patron wasn't around (hint) to put the dog on its leash, so the cult just had to leave the fancy shinies behind with the guardian and hope it can do its job effectively. You can attempt to leave without fighting it. It won't stop coming for Ororana and Merkas, but if you stick around and slay the creature, the magical loot and mundane treasure is free for the taking. In the meantime, everyone in that room is a target for the creature, because as far as it understands, you're all complicit in the theft. But its primary target is Merkas. Its secondary target is Ororana. And Hastos is just extra cream on top for it, so it won't prioritize you as long as you don't attack it before it kills (or attempts to kill, but is destroyed in the process) the other two.

WAIT IS SERA WANTING TO KEEP THE CULTIST TEAL ALIVE?!! sorry i just realized that. I wrote down for Nare to attack Teal too with a Twinned Spell of Chill Touch, but if your goal was to keep them alive I can definitely change it and only go for Green. please let me know and I can change it if you had a plan.

Well...most cultists show a mean attitude and Sera will bring down them by all means. If possible to take alive it is ok. But she not loose her good sleep if some gets killed in battle. 

The god Paladine is a god of good, war and redemption.. But play out Nares conviction as you like...we can play out different point of views in character. 

He try impress Sera? Act how you are and do it like a pro ;)

Oh! Okay! thank you!! Sounds good. I'll leave it the way it is. hehe yeah he's trying to impress her since he felt bad about basically abandoning her back there. Nare's not usually the type to want to kill his way outta things but here there doesn't seem like any good option other than it so that's what he's doing currently. i think main objective is trying to get to the cult leader. if they can get to her then maybe they can convince the others.

Hey! It’s kind of close on whether or not Hastos can get close enough to attack the CryptKeeper, if I’m too far away let me know and I’ll retcon the post!

Quote from MrUncleTio >>

Hey! It’s kind of close on whether or not Hastos can get close enough to attack the CryptKeeper, if I’m too far away let me know and I’ll retcon the post!

Strictly speaking, the stairs, the ledge to hop up to the upper levels, and the spell area all count as difficult terrain. So, with a normal move, you cannot close the distance. However, you still can make the move by Dashing. The language on it has always confused me, because it counts as an Action, but you can still make an action with a Dash. So, basically, it completely undermines dificult terrain, but I digress. I'll assume you were hustling, and therefore chose to Dash.

The only instances I'm aware of where you can't attack after a Dash is if you're still out of attack range after the Dash, or if you Dash a second time, using your Action to Dash instead of Attack. If you have a Bonus action, however, you can still attack after double Dashing. But that's not going to come up in this chamber unless you decide to zip around the room like you're beeing chased by wasps.

You know what, SunDial365, you melted your DMs heart by at least attempting to use the Feats Houserule. Enjoy some Heroic Inspiration.

Also, everyone, I'd like to get your feedback on something:

When I name the creature's stat block (like when I say Cultist instead of Cult Member), it should be presumed that your characters know the stat block of the creature already. If the character is vaguely named (like Masked Cult Member, or Cult Leader) it should be assumed that your party does not know their stat block. Knowing their stat block doesn't mean that you know their exact HP or if they are carrying magical embellishments that augment their stats. Ororana uses a Cultist stat block, but has a special weapon (and now an amulet) that augments her stats. And I tend to roll for HP for all my monsters. But you can assume that the average Cultist has somewhere between 2 and 16 max HP. Rolling a successful Medicine check will give you a more accurate assessment of their current HP, especially if you already know their stat block (the DC will be lowered).

But, if you'd like, I can start building a Monster Dossier that details what information your whole party knows about creatures you've encountered. I won't list things that individual party members know, but haven't shared information about. But I will assume that during a short rest or longer, you compare notes, and will add the links to the stat blocks in the Campaign Notes. Being able to size up your opponent is starting to get important, as you may have noticed. I'm going to start presenting more interesting monsters. And knowing their strengths and vulnerabilities will be key to winning battles (or deciding that you should cut and run) in the future.

*Also... I really miss my spelling and grammar checker. For some reason, it no longer works on the Beyond. I can't see very well, so please excuse typos. I'm trying really hard to get the spelling and grammar right... or at least correct enough. I know not everyone here speaks English as a first language, and it must be dificult to translate messy writing.

Been trying to dump monster info with my IC posts. Thanks for reminding us of this. The spelling has been great, I know what it's like to over analyze what I am typing, not wanting to confuse anyone or look dumb due to some simple error. 

SunnyD Thanks for the reminder of the campaign notes sheet, got focussed on the other things and simply forgot to reference it.

DM a question: Does using the Notes count as an action or is the attempt always a free action?

Using the Campaign Notes? No that's always a free action. That's stuff you already know.

As for the house rules, most are free actions or bonus actions, since its assumed you will use them in conjunction with a move or action. Using feats this way is a free action, but you only get one attempt per turn.

Anything based on what your character knows or remembers is considered a free action. Thought moves quickly.

Certain things can take hours, days, or even weeks, though, like learning a skill. But those things don't really come up in battle unless you've already mastered them.

Thanks for the clarification, that makes a lot of sense.

Ok So I hope I invoked the god of fancy moves well enough in my post for you to understand my attempt. If I overdid it just let me know and we can retcon to something that fits