OOC: no need on my part. Bombur always wanted to discuss this.
Seeing Lester dead, Bombur looks at Ylis and Sacha with profound disappointment. He shakes his head and carries Lester off to dig a grave and give him last rites. No sentient being deserves to be murdered. Lester may have lived a violent life. He may have even been owed some justice or retribution. But the rashness of the action certainly leaves a sour taste in his mouth.
Ylis follows Bombur and helps dig the grave using Mold Earth. The guy is dead, doesn't mean she has to disrespect his body.
In her heart she also felt keeping the guy around while suffering in his brain and screaming would have been a freakish kind of punishment. She also feels safer with no ties to Bert and Ernie following them around. There is no doubt they will turn up again but right now she and her friends are not ready.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Morgan smiles as they reach their companions, relief brightening his face — but it fades quickly as he gets there was a difficult battle. At least everyone is still standing.
"We can't leave you five minutes and..."
[Ylis's scolding]
Ylis's voice hits him like a thunderclap. Morgan flinches — one eye squeezed shut, a half-step backward. He fights the instinct to stare at his boots and instead forces himself to meet her glare. They haven't traveled together long, but after all the misadventures so far... he's never seen her this angry.
"I... I don't... I didn't... I won't..."
Then he catches sight of Entropy's face. Half-face. The missing eye. His mouth falls open. His eyes sting. Morgan turns away from Ylis, shoulders tight, but he stops himself — jaw working, trying to find words that won't fix anything but still need saying.
"Greed? Loot? I don't care," he mumbles. "Not really. Not justice, not vengeance either." He exhales, frustrated at himself. "Robbing the robbers just sounded... fun."
He drops the 400 GP onto the cart. Then pauses, scoops 10 GP back into his hand, and steps away toward the treeline.
He shakes his head as he watches helplessly as Lester is executed. "Murdering the murderers... that's not fun. We're supposed to be better than them."
(OOC: whenever the group moves on, Morgan will return — sulking and not talking to anyone for a long bit.)
Jacaranda eventually clambers back to her feet, dishevelled and embarrassed but still full of self-loathing, never-the-less she heads across to Ayo's crew and embraces each one in turn. Holding Ayo for slightly too long she gets flustered and pushes the teenager away slightly before catching her eyes and catching her breath raggedly.
She places an arm around the shoulder of Frekor in gratitude that they were there when she was not.
Then moves across to Sascha and takes a seed from her, planting it in the earth over Lesters resting form, she calls on the earth to help the seed grow ( Druidcraft), hoping some life would at least emerge from all of todays death.
Finding Ylis again she kisses her forehead and then heads across to Rumble and lets the routine of tending to the horse calm her nerves before turning to the others.
When Brother Bombur is finished giving Lester his last rites, he stands and cleans his glasses. He is unusually quiet as he checks his gear, nervously tinkering with The Hymnal.
When he speaks, his voice does not have its normal bombastic nature. “Let us get our billet back into the forge and continue with our mission. Before we depart, does anyone need the healing hands of the Allhammer to stave off physical wounds? I know there are psychological ones that I hope, in time, can be healed in other ways.”
It's already the afternoon (I thought 6-7 hours...6-7 ugh...hours since we had our morning fight which puts us at about 4-5 in the afternoon) but we can put on a few miles before sundown. We are not traveling at night.
Normal speed for a couple hours then set up camp. *pop*
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Frekor is not at all persuasive to Ayo and her crew.
Irvan notes that Morgan is rattled after his scolding and, being a private person himself, says absolutely nothing. However, he does approach Morgan while he is off on his own and offers Morgan a drink. Whether he takes it or not is entirely up to Morgan. If he partakes, Irvan will share the drink for a few minutes and leave Morgan to his thoughts. If Morgan declines, Irvan will take a swig next to Morgan, pat him reassuringly on the shoulder, and walk away to drink in solitude.
When Jacaranda embraces Ayo, Ayo hugs back. Ayo is not normally prone to public displays, but this is certainly an exception and Randa has, whether intentional or not, adopted a mentor role for Ayo. It was Randa who seized the moment and grabbed the Jewel of Three Prayers. This taught Ayo that even when your heart is gripped by uncertainty and fear, that action is the only way to see your destiny realized; nothing happens for passive people and they certainly do not change the world. Randa also gifted Ayo Deliverance, a short sword that belonged to Randa’s own grandmother. This is a deeply meaningful and intimate gift and that fact has not been lost on Ayo. She treasures it and practices with it every day. They have a bond, Ayo and Jacaranda, and it grows stronger by the day. So when Randa hugs Ayo, Ayo hugs back hard until Randa pushes her away.
To Randa’s surprise, her planted seed sprouts. Given the inhospitably of the Xhorhasian Wastes, this should not be possible. Nevertheless, in this moment, Randa witnesses life in defiance of all that says it should not exist, thanks to Randa’s magical encouragement, but perhaps also Brother Bombur and Ylis’ own care given to the dead. As one life ends, one begins and Randa can sense that it is a strong life.
Ayo and her crew are able to mend the damaged flooring of their wagon and climb in. They are exhausted, but looking forward to putting distance between them and this spot in the middle of nowhere. The heroes, Brother Bombur, Morgan, Randa, Sacha, and Ylis welcome their new companion, Frekor. He travels with them for the few hours of remaining daylight before they must camp for the night.
DM: We will assume the heroes reveal all about the Vestige of Divergence in an off-panel scene during the travel unless someone wants to RP it. There are no more encounters for the day.
Camp is made among the jagged stone and glass spires of the Barbed Fields—the very best evidence of the final deadly blows during Calamity, the war of gods and mortals where the Betrayer Gods were brought low. This is where the last of the embodiments of true evil fell and were killed or contained. The earth is warm to the touch, but not from the heat of a glaring sun. No, magic and other godly energies charge the very matter of this place and make the earth warm to the touch. This reinforces earlier discoveries on why life is difficult here in the Wastes and only the hardy can survive it long term.
When Irvan approaches, Morgan is still lost in thought. Morgan sits with his tarot deck spread out, drifting through the drawings and their strange little myths. He wonders which way the Hanged Man is actually happier hanging, whether the Wheel of Fortune is truly turning, and how the hell his mother ever managed to get anything meaningful out of this chaos.
Seeing Irvan, he hesitates but accepts the drink. He raises the glass in a short, dry toast. "To the people who had a clear path drawn for them... but chose otherwise."
He barely takes a sip before his tongue goes numb. Morgan waits for Irvan to leave before quietly watering the ground. "Not even the Barbed Fields deserve this... May the second Calamity begin."
Just before settling down for the night, he remembers the two unholy-looking potions he stole* from the cavern and spends a little time examining them.
Then he takes ten minutes** to shift his familiar's form. A small bat flutters up and tucks itself under Morgan's hat. "I need to give you a name... Hey, don't pull my hair or I'll send you to a pocket dimension!"
DM: I definitely remember you grabbing two potion bottles resting in a tub of blood. :O
For components, I always assume you have any non-cost components for at least a single casting (for those that are consumed) and any components that cost money are things you do need to buy. However, I am okay with hand-waving this first one to change the form, but you will need to buy the components at merchants in town for the future when there is a cost associated. My recommendation is to buy enough for multiple castings in town, in case of needing to change forms and the inevitable death of your 1 -4 HP familiar.
Morgan scrutinizes the bottles. One is a long, flute-like bottle that appears to have nothing in it, but it has the heft of being filled. Morgan pops the stopper off and tastes the contents—common practice for identifying a potion. This is a Potion of Invisibility. The other is a squat, round bottle vaguely in the shape of a human brain. The pink liquid inside sloshes about and a quick taste reveals it as a Potion of Mind Reading.
Ylis takes time to give extra care to Rumble and continues her story while brushing him down.
Gray Streets
It would take only a moment of consideration to discover that there was a ball this night and which great house was hosting it. One merely had to follow one of the many carriages, mounts or walking entourages and see which way they were headed. Rhamos trotted along on one of his family’s black feathered yackles, it had a well groomed shine with polished leather and brass harness. Being invited to such a high ranked house was a new event for him and while he was secretly thrilled, he was trying to hide how excited he was.
Rhamos made it a point to greet many of the others that were on their way to the ball, and make small talk with knights, lords, and ladies. He had never before been given an opportunity to rub shoulders with the upper crust of Cliffside. His path meandered toward the Ironhammer Estate making him a little late for the event. He finally made his way up the front steps where he witnessed a verbal commotion.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
After taking her watch and bedding down Ylis sits in meditation and prays to the Moonweaver. The exercise calms her mind as she gives thanks for the blessings she has received.This helps guide her thoughts on which gifts she would request. "Yeah, maybe I didn't have to kill that dude the way we did but I was really angry with those bandits and I wanted vengeance. I was also creeped with the yellow and orange dudes. They are super creepy....and in the end I think it would have been necessary to put the guy down. He was screaming insane, and we're days away and a gold crown short of getting him help.... but I will be better Lady I promise. Life before Death, no unnecessary killing."
---------------
The next morning, the bunny girl yawns and stretches and makes her way to stand on the seat of the wagon, "Come on guys, time to rise and shine! Get your booty in motion!" she twirls and wiggles her bottom, "Shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake that booty!"
OOC: no need on my part. Bombur always wanted to discuss this.
Seeing Lester dead, Bombur looks at Ylis and Sacha with profound disappointment. He shakes his head and carries Lester off to dig a grave and give him last rites. No sentient being deserves to be murdered. Lester may have lived a violent life. He may have even been owed some justice or retribution. But the rashness of the action certainly leaves a sour taste in his mouth.
Middle Grade Author
(OOC: persuasion check: 3......... it was really bad, but it makes sense since CHA isn't my best stat)
Goliath monk Khaddim, High elf ranger Frekor, Dragonborn sorcerer Godfrey, Goliath blood hunter Albus, High elf druid Charis, Human rogue Garrett
Ylis follows Bombur and helps dig the grave using Mold Earth. The guy is dead, doesn't mean she has to disrespect his body.
In her heart she also felt keeping the guy around while suffering in his brain and screaming would have been a freakish kind of punishment. She also feels safer with no ties to Bert and Ernie following them around. There is no doubt they will turn up again but right now she and her friends are not ready.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
(OOC: sorry, a short jump back in time)
Morgan smiles as they reach their companions, relief brightening his face — but it fades quickly as he gets there was a difficult battle. At least everyone is still standing.
"We can't leave you five minutes and..."
[Ylis's scolding]
Ylis's voice hits him like a thunderclap. Morgan flinches — one eye squeezed shut, a half-step backward. He fights the instinct to stare at his boots and instead forces himself to meet her glare.
They haven't traveled together long, but after all the misadventures so far... he's never seen her this angry.
"I... I don't... I didn't... I won't..."
Then he catches sight of Entropy's face. Half-face. The missing eye.
His mouth falls open. His eyes sting. Morgan turns away from Ylis, shoulders tight, but he stops himself — jaw working, trying to find words that won't fix anything but still need saying.
"Greed? Loot? I don't care," he mumbles. "Not really. Not justice, not vengeance either."
He exhales, frustrated at himself.
"Robbing the robbers just sounded... fun."
He drops the 400 GP onto the cart.
Then pauses, scoops 10 GP back into his hand, and steps away toward the treeline.
He shakes his head as he watches helplessly as Lester is executed.
"Murdering the murderers... that's not fun. We're supposed to be better than them."
(OOC: whenever the group moves on, Morgan will return — sulking and not talking to anyone for a long bit.)
“We still are,” Sacha says simply.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Jacaranda eventually clambers back to her feet, dishevelled and embarrassed but still full of self-loathing, never-the-less she heads across to Ayo's crew and embraces each one in turn. Holding Ayo for slightly too long she gets flustered and pushes the teenager away slightly before catching her eyes and catching her breath raggedly.
She places an arm around the shoulder of Frekor in gratitude that they were there when she was not.
Then moves across to Sascha and takes a seed from her, planting it in the earth over Lesters resting form, she calls on the earth to help the seed grow ( Druidcraft), hoping some life would at least emerge from all of todays death.
Finding Ylis again she kisses her forehead and then heads across to Rumble and lets the routine of tending to the horse calm her nerves before turning to the others.
" Are we ready to depart?"
”Let’s hope he doesn’t come back as some strange marigold-covered revenant,” Sacha says, handing Randa a seed.
“I’m ready to leave.”
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
When Brother Bombur is finished giving Lester his last rites, he stands and cleans his glasses. He is unusually quiet as he checks his gear, nervously tinkering with The Hymnal.
When he speaks, his voice does not have its normal bombastic nature. “Let us get our billet back into the forge and continue with our mission. Before we depart, does anyone need the healing hands of the Allhammer to stave off physical wounds? I know there are psychological ones that I hope, in time, can be healed in other ways.”
Middle Grade Author
It's already the afternoon (I thought 6-7 hours...6-7 ugh...hours since we had our morning fight which puts us at about 4-5 in the afternoon) but we can put on a few miles before sundown. We are not traveling at night.
Normal speed for a couple hours then set up camp. *pop*
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Frekor is not at all persuasive to Ayo and her crew.
Irvan notes that Morgan is rattled after his scolding and, being a private person himself, says absolutely nothing. However, he does approach Morgan while he is off on his own and offers Morgan a drink. Whether he takes it or not is entirely up to Morgan. If he partakes, Irvan will share the drink for a few minutes and leave Morgan to his thoughts. If Morgan declines, Irvan will take a swig next to Morgan, pat him reassuringly on the shoulder, and walk away to drink in solitude.
When Jacaranda embraces Ayo, Ayo hugs back. Ayo is not normally prone to public displays, but this is certainly an exception and Randa has, whether intentional or not, adopted a mentor role for Ayo. It was Randa who seized the moment and grabbed the Jewel of Three Prayers. This taught Ayo that even when your heart is gripped by uncertainty and fear, that action is the only way to see your destiny realized; nothing happens for passive people and they certainly do not change the world. Randa also gifted Ayo Deliverance, a short sword that belonged to Randa’s own grandmother. This is a deeply meaningful and intimate gift and that fact has not been lost on Ayo. She treasures it and practices with it every day. They have a bond, Ayo and Jacaranda, and it grows stronger by the day. So when Randa hugs Ayo, Ayo hugs back hard until Randa pushes her away.
To Randa’s surprise, her planted seed sprouts. Given the inhospitably of the Xhorhasian Wastes, this should not be possible. Nevertheless, in this moment, Randa witnesses life in defiance of all that says it should not exist, thanks to Randa’s magical encouragement, but perhaps also Brother Bombur and Ylis’ own care given to the dead. As one life ends, one begins and Randa can sense that it is a strong life.
Ayo and her crew are able to mend the damaged flooring of their wagon and climb in. They are exhausted, but looking forward to putting distance between them and this spot in the middle of nowhere. The heroes, Brother Bombur, Morgan, Randa, Sacha, and Ylis welcome their new companion, Frekor. He travels with them for the few hours of remaining daylight before they must camp for the night.
DM: We will assume the heroes reveal all about the Vestige of Divergence in an off-panel scene during the travel unless someone wants to RP it. There are no more encounters for the day.
Camp is made among the jagged stone and glass spires of the Barbed Fields—the very best evidence of the final deadly blows during Calamity, the war of gods and mortals where the Betrayer Gods were brought low. This is where the last of the embodiments of true evil fell and were killed or contained. The earth is warm to the touch, but not from the heat of a glaring sun. No, magic and other godly energies charge the very matter of this place and make the earth warm to the touch. This reinforces earlier discoveries on why life is difficult here in the Wastes and only the hardy can survive it long term.
DM: Long Rest achieved for everyone!
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
EXTENDED SIGNATURE!
Doctor/Published Scholar/Science and Healthcare Advocate/Critter/Trekkie/Gandalf with a Glock
Try DDB free: Free Rules (2024), premade PCs, adventures, one shots, encounters, SC, homebrew, more
Answers: physical books, purchases, and subbing.
Check out my life-changing
When Irvan approaches, Morgan is still lost in thought. Morgan sits with his tarot deck spread out, drifting through the drawings and their strange little myths. He wonders which way the Hanged Man is actually happier hanging, whether the Wheel of Fortune is truly turning, and how the hell his mother ever managed to get anything meaningful out of this chaos.
Seeing Irvan, he hesitates but accepts the drink. He raises the glass in a short, dry toast.
"To the people who had a clear path drawn for them... but chose otherwise."
He barely takes a sip before his tongue goes numb. Morgan waits for Irvan to leave before quietly watering the ground.
"Not even the Barbed Fields deserve this... May the second Calamity begin."
Just before settling down for the night, he remembers the two unholy-looking potions he stole* from the cavern and spends a little time examining them.
Then he takes ten minutes** to shift his familiar's form. A small bat flutters up and tucks itself under Morgan's hat.
"I need to give you a name... Hey, don't pull my hair or I'll send you to a pocket dimension!"
(@DM:
*for reference if you missed it: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/play-by-post/223544-erik-soongs-call-of-the-netherdeep?comment=1139
** : How do you want to handle costly components? Is removing 10 GP enough, or does Morgan need to shop for incense, etc. specifically? )
[ooc I can help you identify the potions…]
Middle Grade Author
OOC: Forge Clerics are the best!
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
DM: I definitely remember you grabbing two potion bottles resting in a tub of blood. :O
For components, I always assume you have any non-cost components for at least a single casting (for those that are consumed) and any components that cost money are things you do need to buy. However, I am okay with hand-waving this first one to change the form, but you will need to buy the components at merchants in town for the future when there is a cost associated. My recommendation is to buy enough for multiple castings in town, in case of needing to change forms and the inevitable death of your 1 -4 HP familiar.
Morgan scrutinizes the bottles. One is a long, flute-like bottle that appears to have nothing in it, but it has the heft of being filled. Morgan pops the stopper off and tastes the contents—common practice for identifying a potion. This is a Potion of Invisibility. The other is a squat, round bottle vaguely in the shape of a human brain. The pink liquid inside sloshes about and a quick taste reveals it as a Potion of Mind Reading.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
EXTENDED SIGNATURE!
Doctor/Published Scholar/Science and Healthcare Advocate/Critter/Trekkie/Gandalf with a Glock
Try DDB free: Free Rules (2024), premade PCs, adventures, one shots, encounters, SC, homebrew, more
Answers: physical books, purchases, and subbing.
Check out my life-changing
Ylis takes time to give extra care to Rumble and continues her story while brushing him down.
Gray Streets
It would take only a moment of consideration to discover that there was a ball this night and which great house was hosting it. One merely had to follow one of the many carriages, mounts or walking entourages and see which way they were headed. Rhamos trotted along on one of his family’s black feathered yackles, it had a well groomed shine with polished leather and brass harness. Being invited to such a high ranked house was a new event for him and while he was secretly thrilled, he was trying to hide how excited he was.
Rhamos made it a point to greet many of the others that were on their way to the ball, and make small talk with knights, lords, and ladies. He had never before been given an opportunity to rub shoulders with the upper crust of Cliffside. His path meandered toward the Ironhammer Estate making him a little late for the event. He finally made his way up the front steps where he witnessed a verbal commotion.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
After taking her watch and bedding down Ylis sits in meditation and prays to the Moonweaver. The exercise calms her mind as she gives thanks for the blessings she has received.This helps guide her thoughts on which gifts she would request. "Yeah, maybe I didn't have to kill that dude the way we did but I was really angry with those bandits and I wanted vengeance. I was also creeped with the yellow and orange dudes. They are super creepy....and in the end I think it would have been necessary to put the guy down. He was screaming insane, and we're days away and a gold crown short of getting him help.... but I will be better Lady I promise. Life before Death, no unnecessary killing."
---------------
The next morning, the bunny girl yawns and stretches and makes her way to stand on the seat of the wagon, "Come on guys, time to rise and shine! Get your booty in motion!" she twirls and wiggles her bottom, "Shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake that booty!"
Everybody in the Fellowship gets +8 THP
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale