This adventure is a two hour one-shot for live play, which I believe translates to about a week of PBP play depending on your posting cadence. This is an adventure that is non-canon to the story you have applied for (unless you like it and want it part of your backstory), but is really to see what your posting behaviors are like before I choose someone to join me for the actual game. A test run, which is more informative than a single character submission on a recruitment thread. It also has a story I always wanted to run, as I am a serious coffee aficionado and someone who had always wanted to run adventures in Strixhaven.
You are a first-year student, beginning your first day of work at the Firejolt Cafe, an on-campus cafe where students regularly mingle and do cram sessions while sucking down sugar-infused espresso. This is a job you managed to get shortly after moving into the dorms and had gotten settled. Rather impressive, considering how competitive the application process was - poor Sherdy’s eyebrows will take a full semester to grow back!
The Cafe is a consistent hot spot on Strixhaven campus, particularly for first-years students. If you are not studying in the Biblioplex next door, you’re likely here poring over the tomes at its student tables of dozing off in the lounge. Well-lit, clean, and ith no bounds on the selection of coffee and tea beverages offered, the cafe draws in customers at all hours of the day.
For your first day of work, you manager, a female elf named Ellina Tanglewood, has asked you to come before opening to the Firejolt Cafe. The sun is just rising over Strixhaven University when she unlocks the front doors for you. She is a sprightly elven woman in a bright uniform adorned with colorful pins, already bouncing with energy from what was surely an exceptional cup of coffee. Inside the new hires can see that this entire establishment enjoys entertaining little enchantments. Animated artwork decorates the walls, the most notable of which is a joyful frog in a wizard’s hat stirring a cauldron and a dancing group of three cheery-faced lighting bolts. Throughout the cafe, the tables all have animated depictions of the school mascots in combat.
Ellina let you know beforehand that she plans to train all of you starting today, as her regular staff had been forced to take the week off of work for a surprise expedition held by Lorehold College. She stands before you and smiles as you line up.
“Good morning, my fiery recruits! It’s been a couple days and you had a lot to deal with, what with unpacking in your dorms and getting to know the campus and whatnot. So to reintroduce myself, hehe, my name is Ellina, I oversee the Firejolt Cafe! This prestidigous establishment is hands-down the most important building on campus, and it is paramount it runs well as an infernal warmachine tearing its way through the Nine Hells! We’ve got a lot to cover this morning, so I hope you got a good night’s rest! Now before we jump in, I’ve got to gather materials for the morning rush! In the meantime, introduce yourselves – we are a family, after all! Hehe. Away!”
With that, she spins on her heels and rushes to the break/supply room behind the Barista Station (F3). She sneezes as she reaches the back and mutters under her breath at how poorly the place had been cleaned by the now vacationing staff.
DM: Please describe your characters and introduce yourselves to each other (in character) while you wait for Ellina. This test run will measure Four Measures: How well you work with others, your reading comprehension, your posting cadence, and your comfort in RPing and the depth at which you will RP.
A tall, robed, middle-aged elf moves gracefully behind the counter. A silver amulet rests plainly on his chest, though many mistake it for a fashionable pendant. His dark eyes are thoughtful, his expression calm, the kind of face that makes people want to talk longer than they intended.
“I’m Sylorin Drae, happy to meet all of you. I find myself a student again, despite my years, and there’s no job around that peaks my interest quite like the Firejolt.”
He moves to straighten a stack of mugs that weren’t really out of place, as though keeping his hands busy helps him focus.
Lying her back against the warm coffee machine, Steven basks in its warmth like an artificial sun (unlike Sherdy who couldn't take the heat). Burning off your eyebrows right before the beginning of the semester? Not the type of situation she'd ever want to be caught dead in. 'Heh,' she smirks from the thought of her own pun. Then blinks (nictitating membrane going sideways). 'Good thing I don't have any.'
"Oh right!"she mumbles to herself, jumping up from her position.
Finally, after smoothening out the apron that she just put on, Steven weaves through the tables (the long way) to listen to Ellina. 'My new boss,' Steven thinks, adjusting the snags on her apron against the spines on her neck and back. The dark green attire matches against the deep red of her scales.
"Sssarenrae blessess you,"Steven calls out to Ellina when the elf passes by, saying the customary Luxon procedures to ward off sickness when someone sneezes. Her forked tongue drags out the words in a drawl in an accent that seems both bizarre and genuine.
With that "Away," she mosses on over to the bags of coffee beans, which she picks up and flicks her tongue at it (careful to keep it away from causing spittle). She smiles over at Sylorin who introduced himself first. She eyes the silver amulet on his chest before thinking of what she has to say.
"Name'sss Steven," the satarre sticks out a clawed hand towards him. "No-Last-Name. Meansss 'Blood Drinker.' In my language," she adds.
"You'd say I wasss a child if I'd say my age." She tries to hide the lisp with a stronger pronunciated words and a laugh. "Ten in meteorological years."
"I don't know much 'bout coffee, but it is nice meeting all of you."
DM: We are down one player already. See why test runs are beneficial? LOL.
With you is a young female shifter. She is covered head to toe in a short, black, shinning fur, and she wears her hair cut short against her head. This gives her a sleek, panther-like look to her. She prowls the around, her bright yellow eyes looking hungry. “Mocha. You may call me that. It is what I live for. It is what I would die for.”
A rather flamboyantly dressed changeling bows to the group. “Hello everyone. My name is Sasha. I just know we will be best of friends!” he says, mirroring the bubbly demeanor of Ellina. In fact, his mannerisms seem to be an exact replication of Ellina’s. His pale eyes and featureless face initially seem off-putting, but his beaming smile overshadows these traits and he glides over the floor almost as if in dance.
Ellina returns from the break room to see two of her proudest hires already tidying up the place. She smiles approvingly. “Well, that is a sight…” she says, almost breathless by the ‘can do’ attitude and remarkable work ethic. “We just don’t see that among many college students these days.”
Over the following 10 minutes, Ellina enthusiasitcally walks everyone through the basics of making coffee and tea, assuring you all that most customers’ orders are simple. She hands each of you the Firejolt Cafe Employees’ Handbook and walks each of you through the basic safety instructions. As she does, you notice her movements growing sluggish and she coughs and sneezes more and more often.
The Firejolt Cafe Employees’ Handbook is a trove of knowledge for you. It contains coffee and tea recipes, safety protocols, and general instructions for running the cafe.
Ellina stumbles as she shows you around the cafe and has difficulty maintaining her balance. Eventually, she stumbles over some of the mess left out by last night’s crew. The cleaning towel used to wipe off the tables is thrown 20ft into the air, where it is caught on one of the hanging lights from the ceiling.
Sylorin greets the others, taking Steven’s hand with a reassuring strength. “Nothing loosens the heart like a warm beverage and a kind word. We can be a blessing here.”
He follows Ellina around when she returns, paying careful attention to her directions, but growing more concerned by the moment as her behavior grew more erratic. He was leafing through the handbook, studying the various tea brewing time recommendations, when suddenly Ellina tripped. He immediately goes to her side. “Are you alright?” He asked, very concerned with her rapid deterioration in motor skills. He looks over the elven woman, examining her to see if he can see anything obviously wrong.
Medicine Check if helpful (anticipatory, happy to reroll at your direction, DM, rolled in campaign log): 8
DM: Sylorin gains a 1d4 bonus to Ability Checks made to complete work tasks for spending time going over the Handbook.
Sylorin places their hand against Ellina's forehead. Her head is hot with a low-grade fever. Checking her lymph nodes at her throat and an examination of her throat tells you that she is suffering a rather nasty cold. She is relatively safe from serious illness, but this has to be one of the more severe cases of the cold that Sylorin has seen in some time. It is likely that she had been fighting it for several days now and the exertion of work had finally brought her low. The good news is that she has likely already seen the worst of it, so long as she doesn't exert herself. Rest and plenty of non-sugar-saturated fluids is the best medicine.
A tall, thin boy rushes into the café, clutching a top hat bristling with feathers, a pair of goggles, and tufts of red hair sticking out everywhere. Tarot cards are pinned haphazardly to a jacket overflowing with odds and ends.
"Sorry! I didn't hear the... um... alarm clock. Guyb... my familiar... sleeps even more soundly than I do. "
He smiles warmly, lifting a hand in greeting. "Hi! I'm Morgan! Where do I start?" he asks, still catching his breath.
Morgan gasps at the sight of the elf lying on the ground.
"Is... Is she alright? Do you need a fire?"
He glances around, clearly weighing the idea of starting a bonfire inside the café.
Steven smiles warmly at Sylorin's handshake, nodding at what he had to say. "Ah, cheers!"
The satarre tilts its head over to the shifter and the changeling. It laughs at Mocha's conviction towards, well, mocha. "Fitting name!" it points out cheerfully. It takes a seconds for it to realize that the changeling was emulating Ellina. His upbeat liveliness surprises Steven, who was not generally used to that. After figuring it out, it finds it a bit a bit more endearing.
Taking note of all the instructions that Ellina points out in its head, it comes to realize that coffee and tea is much more than mere cups of water and other ingredients. Just two things are actually whole slew of recipes it did not account for. Steven stares in awe at the handbook in front of it.
By the fourth or fifth time Ellina sneezes, Steven's various calls for blessings dwindle down into more of a worried frown. Upon seeing Sylorin have a better chance of diagnosing her than it does, Steven instead takes for trying to get the towel off the ceiling. It helps that the satarre is about 7 feet tall, near closing half the distance on its own.
Excusing itself out the way of Sasha and Mocha, Steven goes and climbs on a table, "I'll clean that after," and uses a broom it picked up to shimmy the cleaning towel loose.
((Acrobatics 19 + 4 = 23))
In the middle of all this, a newcomer comes in. Steven just manages to get the cleaning towel to hook around the broom it is holding. "Oh hello!"It cheerfully calls out at Morgan, swapping the hand with the broom it was holding to wave at him.
It hops off the table with the same flourish it had to climb up. "A fire?"it looks doubtfully at Morgan. Despite the lack of eyebrows, it looks clearly dumbfounded at the matter. It blinks before chalking up what he meant as a light or a heating pad.
"Oh yeah, sure." It looks down at the thing it is holding and then around to see if it should be even giving out the authority. "Here,"it tosses Morgan a towel. "Let's go heat these up to give it to her, hmm?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
<---- Skippy Doo from A Pup Named Scooby Doo
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Morgan grabs the towels. "Of course, the towels. Of course."
He glances around and spots the coffee machines. If there’s one thing he knows, it’s that you need hot water to make coffee. He dashes over, heats the towels, and zips back like a flash.
"What's wrong with her? I'm not much of a doctor...."
He looks around. "Maybe we should call the manager. Or see if there’s a cleric or healer around."
He hesitates, thinking it over.
"Wait... But... if she has a fever, wouldn’t cold towels be better?"
Sylorin looks up at the others. “She *is* the manager, but she seems to be stable. I can perhaps help her recover faster, but I think she mostly needs rest for now.”
He turns to Ellina, “This should help, but why don’t you rest in the back and guide us? We should be able to manage things here for a while.” He casts Cure Wounds on her, healing her for 13 HP. He helps her to get settled and then turns his attention to what he needs to do to prepare the shop for customers.
Ellina props herself up on her elbows and with a spinning head, smiles at Morgan. “Morgan! We are so glad you found your way here. You are most welcome.”
Steven is easily able to retrieve the table rag, deftly using a broom to unhook it from the hanging lights without damaging them or itself in its efforts.
Ellina waves her hands, banishing the notion of rest. The magical healing peps her up a bit for just a moment, but quickly returns to sniffing, sneezing, and coughing. Her fever remains, as it is necessary to burn out the infection. She stands, straightening her beloved fire-themed apron and prepares to return to work, but she almost topples over again. Instead, she grabs a table for balance and leans into it to get her bearings. This then leads to her arguing firmly against rest while she slowly lowers herself onto a couch near the table (F5).
Before nodding off, Ellina has one last burst of energy. "My fiery recruits, I'm going down, and I'm going down fast. I NEED you to drive this ship. It's going to be choppy waters, but you must see that the coffee machine is cleaned and ready, and that the students and faculty are content! Without the Firejolt Cafe, there is no Strixhaven. WE MUST FIGHT TO PRESERVE IT."
With a cough and a sneeze, Ellina drops her head and dozes off.
The animated scenes of dragons and anthropomorphic animals stop to watch Ellina, the greatest manager to ever operate the Firejolt Cafe and certainly the most passionate, collapse into sleep.
DM: Although the various areas of the cafe are dirty due to the night shift shirking their duties before a long trip, the coffee machine is the only real priority. If left dirty, it will produce awful coffee. Referring to the map, descriptions will be provided where PCs visit:
F1 – Study Tables F2 – Seating Area F3 – Barista Station F4 – Newsstand F5 – Fireside Lounge F6 – Quiet Room
Morgan smiles at his new colleagues. "I did my share of espressos for my people at the circus. You can count on..." He freezes a moment, then grins. "You can count on... us."
He heads for the seating area (F5).
Gently, he sets his large top hat on the first table. Glancing around, he tries to guess how long before the students arrive. With a shrug, he focuses and casts Unseen Servant.
Pointing at the hat, he calls out, "Wake up, Guyb! Wake up, sleepyhead!"
After a moment, the hat jerks. Tentacles sprout, and in seconds an octopus inflates, stretching its arms across the table.
(OOC: It should be smaller... the Octopus is a small creature)
"Perfect! You two take care of the tables. Clean this place."
Morgan nods with satisfaction, then bolts toward the Barista Station (F3), scanning the area to get a sense of it.
Perception: 11 (or Investigation, 8)
OOC: @DM For transparency, I don’t currently have Find Familiar on my spell list. Being level 4, I assumed I had picked it up at lower levels through the Magic Initiate origin feat, then later swapped it for something else. From what I’ve gathered, as long as the familiar doesn’t die, it should be fine... Let me know if this doesn't fly at your table.
DM: Teeth, that would not be permissible at my table. While you are correct that nothing in the spell description specifically prohibits use of the spell in this particular way, exploitation of such an absence of rules does seem to be contrary to the spirit of the game. If you do not know the spell, a familiar is not bound to you.
Morgan can see that it will not be long before the doors are magically unsealed to customers and students will begin filing in to occupy most of the seats, as per usual on campus coffee shops. 10 minutes until open time. There is certainly time to get started with cleanup, but given how much of a disaster the evening shift left the place, it would be impossible to have everything straightened up for the morning rush. This may be a bit of a hazing, as it seems almost intentionally messy. I mean, the evening crew literally left the mop bucket and mop out in the Seating Area!
Morgan can also see that this area of the Firejolt Café is populated by large tables and chairs and is commonly used by folks looking to socialize. The surface of each table is enchanted with illusion magic to display animated battles between the colleges' mascots. Although this area is tidier than the study tables, cleaning supplies has been left out from the previous shift.
"Thanks!"Steven acknowledges Morgan's help with the towels when together they bring them over to the coffee machines to get them warm. The satarre lingers just a second longer to warm his hands over the warm water.
"Wait... But... if she has a fever, wouldn’t cold towels be better?"
"Cold?" He questions. 'Ah right, warm blooded creatures,' he thinks to himself. He turns around slightly, about to swap out this towel for one much colder when Sylorin attempts to heal the elf woman of her cold. Steven smiles at the sight of her restored vigor until it unfortunately yet still crashes. He gives a sad glance and small smile over at Sylorin, shrugging his shoulders as in 'at least you tried.'
When their new manager almost falls, Steven leans out a bit to try and catch her, though she manages just fine on her own.
Fighting the urge to say something stupid along the lines of 'Aye, aye, captain' when Ellina gives out her orders, instead he focuses on fidgeting with his apron, unsure of how to help on his first day without much training."Feel better,"he shouts to Ellina instead with a quick thumbs up. Then to everybody. "We got this!"
At Morgan's enthusiasm, mistaking the 'us' as in 'all us of at the cafe', Steven points out: "Exactly!"
The satarre, puts his hands on his hips and scans around the restaurant, oblivious to Morgan's Unseen Servant.
((Perception: 6))
Other than the general mess of the place, Steven doesn't know where to start. Guessing the coffee machine would be the best place to be based on Ellina's warning and instructions, he heads over to where Morgan is standing in the Barista Station (F3) and try to figure the thing out.
"What's wrong with it?"
((Investigation: 15 for how to fix the coffee machine))
((Sleight of Hand: 2 + 3 = 5 on actually cleaning it))
Grimacing, Steven looks from the coffee machine over at Morgan and says, "I think I know what's wrong with it but I don't know how to do it."He stares at his claws, which tend to be a bit too long to be handle anything delicate (and easily scratch-able like the machine). "Maybe I should really trim 'em."
"Uhhh, clean up, clean up... everybody everywhere,"suddenly Steven inexplicably starts singing. He stares over at everybody, trying to do what he does best and that is: giving them some guidance. "Clean up, everybody do your share."
He was a little out of tune without his instruments (not like you can keep a harp in your back pocket), but it reminded him of when he had to herd young little satarres in his parent's temple to clean up after themselves when classes were over. Still though, it felt a bit weird to be singing a children's song on your first day of work.
"Mocha, if you can get going with the Seating Area, please."Steven delegates out after finishing singing, trying hard not to sound to strict. "And Sasha with the Study Tables, yeah? If that's okay with you." He clasps his hands together. "Please? The both of you? Thank you, alright."
Steven casts Guidance on Morgan and Slyorin (if that's okay to do both). I guess the Skill would be whatever helps with cleaning.
Persuasion Check: 11 to persuade Mocha and Sasha to help with cleaning
((Let me know if this is too much to do in one post, I'll definitely trim it down)).
Try as he might, Steven is unable to see the Unseen Servant, nor can he track it very well as a shapeless piece of magic. However, he can see the effect; slowly but surely the Seating Area is starting to get tidied up.
Steven approaches the Barista Station along with Morgan. The barista station is your battlefield. The front counter has a magical tip jar that tracks the amount of money in it. Here, the cashier will take drink orders from customers. The back counter is stacked with magical equipment that helps baristas prepare drinks. Saloon doors on either side of the back counter lead to a small break room for employees and has shelves with café and cleaning supplies. But before anyone can make a drink, it must be cleaned.
Morgan was unable to really find out how to get the thing opened to do a proper cleaning, but Steven was able to lend a hand and identify the tab that locked the espresso bin shut. Morgan pops it open and as Mocha and Sasha are prepared to carry out the request, four coiling cords of gas swirl out from the bin and take shape before the clearly surprised baristas.
Four mephits float before Morgan and Steven, two lighter and two darker. They hiss and cackle at the two as they scarf down on espresso pod waste, then immediately attack!
Try as he might, Steven is unable to see the Unseen Servant, nor can he track it very well as a shapeless piece of magic. However, he can see the effect; slowly but surely the Seating Area is starting to get tidied up.
Steven can't help but be wide eyed at the sight of things cleaning up by themselves. None of their own ghosts were here with them at the moment so it must've been someone else's... or magic, they supposed. It was hard to tell now, now being with the more magically inclined types. It was a university, after all, of course it practiced magic, Steven realized, and with so many different types of species. 'So far away from the temple,' they think to themselves. Either way it was cool to see when the most of what you needed to do at moment was, well, clean the counter and fix the machine.
Morgan pops a high-five to Steve. "Thank you, mate!"
"Nice work, yeah!" Steven returns the high five with enough vigor to push themselves a little bit backwards. "We make a good team now."
They put their hands on their hip and tilt their head, smiling when Morgan's able to pop the tab out. They flick their tongue out at the scent of coffee.
"I’ve traveled with a lot of weird and interesting people, but this is the first time I’ve talked with a satarre. What brought you in—"
"Oh? Now really?" They look up at the ceiling in contemplation, tail thumping against the floor tiles. "Probably band."They say with a deadpanned face before suddenly striking a guitar pose complete with air strumming.
"Nah, nah. I'm taking Statistics," the satarre takes a long drag on all the 's's for the first time in a while. "Just kidding. I'm taking History alongside some Economics. I like to know how things work."The slight hiss in their voice subsides for now.
Steven taps their claw on their chin. "Hmm, never seen much humans... or elves much either. Shifters, yes. Changelings, no. ... All in all, though much more than I can count on all my hands, but not all that much after.... so like twenty? Maybe... yes..."
Suddenly, chaos erupts. Morgan stares at the four mephits with a disconsolate expression. "What did I do wrong this time? Was the machine haunted?"
Steven hisses at the sight of the sudden mephits, their back arching and spines straightened, threateningly upward. "Guess so,"they snarl, though their voices loose some of its malice towards the end. "Not at what you did but the, uh, machine."
"Get ready,"they whisper over at Morgan. Then holler at Sylorin, "Keep Ellina safe!"
"What are you doing?!" Steven shouts in Infernal, tongue crackling like fire, hoping that the mephits might understand that. "Stop that!"
Sylorin is shocked by the sudden appearance of the mephits and it takes him several seconds to collect himself (missed initiative).
Smoke A opens it mouth impossibly wide and vomits up smoke at both Morgan and Steven.
“Protect the espresso machine!!!” Mocha calls out to the assaulted fellow students.
DM: Dexterity Saving Throw, DC 14 for Morgan and Steven or suffer the Blinded Condition until the end of the mephit’s NEXT turn.
Steam A flies in to slash at Steven (Attack: 7 if not Blinded, Attack 15 if Blinded. 4 Slashing Damage, 8 Fire Damage).
Smoke B cackles and puffs itself up as much as it can, growing until it becomes a distorted blob, then it pops! Two more smoke mephits fling from the main and are born for combat.
Steam B flies in and slashes at Morgan (Attack 15 if not Blinded, Attack 19 if Blinded. 6 Slashing Damage, 7 Fire Damage).
"I'll protect the espresso machine! But who'll protect me?"
He snaps his fingers and a shimmering barrier surrounds him (Shield as a reaction, new AC → 17).
On his turn, Morgan vanishes in a swirl of purple mist (BA Misty Step, no spell slot expended via the Fey Touched feat), reappearing 30 feet to the south. In his hands gleams a shiny diamond.
"Let's try this..."he grins.
A crackling Chromatic Orb hurtles toward Smoke Mephit A (at 2nd level, +1 luck point for advantage).
Attack roll: 11 (😭), if by some miracle it hits, dmg 13 thunder (but it does not leap).
Movement: if possible, he tries to get some cover behind a table or something...
----
DM:
I checked for a Wild Magic Surge -> 14 (nope).
I rolled on the Wild Magic Surge table to regain Tides of Chaos -> 78: "A random creature within 60 feet of you is Poisoned for 1d4 hours." 😬
Let me know if it is ok, to put all together like this, or if you prefer another way to format the information
No Tears Over Spilled Coffee!
This adventure is a two hour one-shot for live play, which I believe translates to about a week of PBP play depending on your posting cadence. This is an adventure that is non-canon to the story you have applied for (unless you like it and want it part of your backstory), but is really to see what your posting behaviors are like before I choose someone to join me for the actual game. A test run, which is more informative than a single character submission on a recruitment thread. It also has a story I always wanted to run, as I am a serious coffee aficionado and someone who had always wanted to run adventures in Strixhaven.
You are a first-year student, beginning your first day of work at the Firejolt Cafe, an on-campus cafe where students regularly mingle and do cram sessions while sucking down sugar-infused espresso. This is a job you managed to get shortly after moving into the dorms and had gotten settled. Rather impressive, considering how competitive the application process was - poor Sherdy’s eyebrows will take a full semester to grow back!
The Cafe is a consistent hot spot on Strixhaven campus, particularly for first-years students. If you are not studying in the Biblioplex next door, you’re likely here poring over the tomes at its student tables of dozing off in the lounge. Well-lit, clean, and ith no bounds on the selection of coffee and tea beverages offered, the cafe draws in customers at all hours of the day.
For your first day of work, you manager, a female elf named Ellina Tanglewood, has asked you to come before opening to the Firejolt Cafe. The sun is just rising over Strixhaven University when she unlocks the front doors for you. She is a sprightly elven woman in a bright uniform adorned with colorful pins, already bouncing with energy from what was surely an exceptional cup of coffee. Inside the new hires can see that this entire establishment enjoys entertaining little enchantments. Animated artwork decorates the walls, the most notable of which is a joyful frog in a wizard’s hat stirring a cauldron and a dancing group of three cheery-faced lighting bolts. Throughout the cafe, the tables all have animated depictions of the school mascots in combat.
Ellina let you know beforehand that she plans to train all of you starting today, as her regular staff had been forced to take the week off of work for a surprise expedition held by Lorehold College. She stands before you and smiles as you line up.
“Good morning, my fiery recruits! It’s been a couple days and you had a lot to deal with, what with unpacking in your dorms and getting to know the campus and whatnot. So to reintroduce myself, hehe, my name is Ellina, I oversee the Firejolt Cafe! This prestidigous establishment is hands-down the most important building on campus, and it is paramount it runs well as an infernal warmachine tearing its way through the Nine Hells! We’ve got a lot to cover this morning, so I hope you got a good night’s rest! Now before we jump in, I’ve got to gather materials for the morning rush! In the meantime, introduce yourselves – we are a family, after all! Hehe. Away!”
With that, she spins on her heels and rushes to the break/supply room behind the Barista Station (F3). She sneezes as she reaches the back and mutters under her breath at how poorly the place had been cleaned by the now vacationing staff.
DM: Please describe your characters and introduce yourselves to each other (in character) while you wait for Ellina. This test run will measure Four Measures: How well you work with others, your reading comprehension, your posting cadence, and your comfort in RPing and the depth at which you will RP.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
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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
A tall, robed, middle-aged elf moves gracefully behind the counter. A silver amulet rests plainly on his chest, though many mistake it for a fashionable pendant. His dark eyes are thoughtful, his expression calm, the kind of face that makes people want to talk longer than they intended.
“I’m Sylorin Drae, happy to meet all of you. I find myself a student again, despite my years, and there’s no job around that peaks my interest quite like the Firejolt.”
He moves to straighten a stack of mugs that weren’t really out of place, as though keeping his hands busy helps him focus.
Lying her back against the warm coffee machine, Steven basks in its warmth like an artificial sun (unlike Sherdy who couldn't take the heat). Burning off your eyebrows right before the beginning of the semester? Not the type of situation she'd ever want to be caught dead in. 'Heh,' she smirks from the thought of her own pun. Then blinks (nictitating membrane going sideways). 'Good thing I don't have any.'
"Oh right!" she mumbles to herself, jumping up from her position.
Finally, after smoothening out the apron that she just put on, Steven weaves through the tables (the long way) to listen to Ellina. 'My new boss,' Steven thinks, adjusting the snags on her apron against the spines on her neck and back. The dark green attire matches against the deep red of her scales.
"Sssarenrae blessess you," Steven calls out to Ellina when the elf passes by, saying the customary Luxon procedures to ward off sickness when someone sneezes. Her forked tongue drags out the words in a drawl in an accent that seems both bizarre and genuine.
With that "Away," she mosses on over to the bags of coffee beans, which she picks up and flicks her tongue at it (careful to keep it away from causing spittle). She smiles over at Sylorin who introduced himself first. She eyes the silver amulet on his chest before thinking of what she has to say.
"Name'sss Steven," the satarre sticks out a clawed hand towards him. "No-Last-Name. Meansss 'Blood Drinker.' In my language," she adds.
"You'd say I wasss a child if I'd say my age." She tries to hide the lisp with a stronger pronunciated words and a laugh. "Ten in meteorological years."
"I don't know much 'bout coffee, but it is nice meeting all of you."
<---- Skippy Doo from A Pup Named Scooby Doo
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Ibahalii Vriwhulth; Test Run
DM: We are down one player already. See why test runs are beneficial? LOL.
With you is a young female shifter. She is covered head to toe in a short, black, shinning fur, and she wears her hair cut short against her head. This gives her a sleek, panther-like look to her. She prowls the around, her bright yellow eyes looking hungry. “Mocha. You may call me that. It is what I live for. It is what I would die for.”
A rather flamboyantly dressed changeling bows to the group. “Hello everyone. My name is Sasha. I just know we will be best of friends!” he says, mirroring the bubbly demeanor of Ellina. In fact, his mannerisms seem to be an exact replication of Ellina’s. His pale eyes and featureless face initially seem off-putting, but his beaming smile overshadows these traits and he glides over the floor almost as if in dance.
Ellina returns from the break room to see two of her proudest hires already tidying up the place. She smiles approvingly. “Well, that is a sight…” she says, almost breathless by the ‘can do’ attitude and remarkable work ethic. “We just don’t see that among many college students these days.”
Over the following 10 minutes, Ellina enthusiasitcally walks everyone through the basics of making coffee and tea, assuring you all that most customers’ orders are simple. She hands each of you the Firejolt Cafe Employees’ Handbook and walks each of you through the basic safety instructions. As she does, you notice her movements growing sluggish and she coughs and sneezes more and more often.
The Firejolt Cafe Employees’ Handbook is a trove of knowledge for you. It contains coffee and tea recipes, safety protocols, and general instructions for running the cafe.
Ellina stumbles as she shows you around the cafe and has difficulty maintaining her balance. Eventually, she stumbles over some of the mess left out by last night’s crew. The cleaning towel used to wipe off the tables is thrown 20ft into the air, where it is caught on one of the hanging lights from the ceiling.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
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Sylorin greets the others, taking Steven’s hand with a reassuring strength. “Nothing loosens the heart like a warm beverage and a kind word. We can be a blessing here.”
He follows Ellina around when she returns, paying careful attention to her directions, but growing more concerned by the moment as her behavior grew more erratic. He was leafing through the handbook, studying the various tea brewing time recommendations, when suddenly Ellina tripped. He immediately goes to her side. “Are you alright?” He asked, very concerned with her rapid deterioration in motor skills. He looks over the elven woman, examining her to see if he can see anything obviously wrong.
Medicine Check if helpful (anticipatory, happy to reroll at your direction, DM, rolled in campaign log): 8
DM: Sylorin gains a 1d4 bonus to Ability Checks made to complete work tasks for spending time going over the Handbook.
Sylorin places their hand against Ellina's forehead. Her head is hot with a low-grade fever. Checking her lymph nodes at her throat and an examination of her throat tells you that she is suffering a rather nasty cold. She is relatively safe from serious illness, but this has to be one of the more severe cases of the cold that Sylorin has seen in some time. It is likely that she had been fighting it for several days now and the exertion of work had finally brought her low. The good news is that she has likely already seen the worst of it, so long as she doesn't exert herself. Rest and plenty of non-sugar-saturated fluids is the best medicine.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
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A tall, thin boy rushes into the café, clutching a top hat bristling with feathers, a pair of goggles, and tufts of red hair sticking out everywhere. Tarot cards are pinned haphazardly to a jacket overflowing with odds and ends.
"Sorry! I didn't hear the... um... alarm clock. Guyb... my familiar... sleeps even more soundly than I do. "
He smiles warmly, lifting a hand in greeting.
"Hi! I'm Morgan! Where do I start?" he asks, still catching his breath.
Morgan gasps at the sight of the elf lying on the ground.
"Is... Is she alright? Do you need a fire?"
He glances around, clearly weighing the idea of starting a bonfire inside the café.
Steven smiles warmly at Sylorin's handshake, nodding at what he had to say. "Ah, cheers!"
The satarre tilts its head over to the shifter and the changeling. It laughs at Mocha's conviction towards, well, mocha. "Fitting name!" it points out cheerfully. It takes a seconds for it to realize that the changeling was emulating Ellina. His upbeat liveliness surprises Steven, who was not generally used to that. After figuring it out, it finds it a bit a bit more endearing.
Taking note of all the instructions that Ellina points out in its head, it comes to realize that coffee and tea is much more than mere cups of water and other ingredients. Just two things are actually whole slew of recipes it did not account for. Steven stares in awe at the handbook in front of it.
By the fourth or fifth time Ellina sneezes, Steven's various calls for blessings dwindle down into more of a worried frown. Upon seeing Sylorin have a better chance of diagnosing her than it does, Steven instead takes for trying to get the towel off the ceiling. It helps that the satarre is about 7 feet tall, near closing half the distance on its own.
Excusing itself out the way of Sasha and Mocha, Steven goes and climbs on a table, "I'll clean that after," and uses a broom it picked up to shimmy the cleaning towel loose.
In the middle of all this, a newcomer comes in. Steven just manages to get the cleaning towel to hook around the broom it is holding. "Oh hello!" It cheerfully calls out at Morgan, swapping the hand with the broom it was holding to wave at him.
It hops off the table with the same flourish it had to climb up. "A fire?" it looks doubtfully at Morgan. Despite the lack of eyebrows, it looks clearly dumbfounded at the matter. It blinks before chalking up what he meant as a light or a heating pad.
"Oh yeah, sure." It looks down at the thing it is holding and then around to see if it should be even giving out the authority. "Here," it tosses Morgan a towel. "Let's go heat these up to give it to her, hmm?"
<---- Skippy Doo from A Pup Named Scooby Doo
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Ibahalii Vriwhulth; Test Run
Morgan grabs the towels.
"Of course, the towels. Of course."
He glances around and spots the coffee machines. If there’s one thing he knows, it’s that you need hot water to make coffee. He dashes over, heats the towels, and zips back like a flash.
"What's wrong with her? I'm not much of a doctor...."
He looks around. "Maybe we should call the manager. Or see if there’s a cleric or healer around."
He hesitates, thinking it over.
"Wait... But... if she has a fever, wouldn’t cold towels be better?"
Sylorin looks up at the others. “She *is* the manager, but she seems to be stable. I can perhaps help her recover faster, but I think she mostly needs rest for now.”
He turns to Ellina, “This should help, but why don’t you rest in the back and guide us? We should be able to manage things here for a while.” He casts Cure Wounds on her, healing her for 13 HP. He helps her to get settled and then turns his attention to what he needs to do to prepare the shop for customers.
Ellina props herself up on her elbows and with a spinning head, smiles at Morgan. “Morgan! We are so glad you found your way here. You are most welcome.”
Steven is easily able to retrieve the table rag, deftly using a broom to unhook it from the hanging lights without damaging them or itself in its efforts.
Ellina waves her hands, banishing the notion of rest. The magical healing peps her up a bit for just a moment, but quickly returns to sniffing, sneezing, and coughing. Her fever remains, as it is necessary to burn out the infection. She stands, straightening her beloved fire-themed apron and prepares to return to work, but she almost topples over again. Instead, she grabs a table for balance and leans into it to get her bearings. This then leads to her arguing firmly against rest while she slowly lowers herself onto a couch near the table (F5).
Before nodding off, Ellina has one last burst of energy. "My fiery recruits, I'm going down, and I'm going down fast. I NEED you to drive this ship. It's going to be choppy waters, but you must see that the coffee machine is cleaned and ready, and that the students and faculty are content! Without the Firejolt Cafe, there is no Strixhaven. WE MUST FIGHT TO PRESERVE IT."
With a cough and a sneeze, Ellina drops her head and dozes off.
The animated scenes of dragons and anthropomorphic animals stop to watch Ellina, the greatest manager to ever operate the Firejolt Cafe and certainly the most passionate, collapse into sleep.
DM: Although the various areas of the cafe are dirty due to the night shift shirking their duties before a long trip, the coffee machine is the only real priority. If left dirty, it will produce awful coffee. Referring to the map, descriptions will be provided where PCs visit:
F1 – Study Tables
F2 – Seating Area
F3 – Barista Station
F4 – Newsstand
F5 – Fireside Lounge
F6 – Quiet Room
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
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Morgan smiles at his new colleagues.
"I did my share of espressos for my people at the circus. You can count on..." He freezes a moment, then grins. "You can count on... us."
He heads for the seating area (F5).
Gently, he sets his large top hat on the first table. Glancing around, he tries to guess how long before the students arrive. With a shrug, he focuses and casts Unseen Servant.
Pointing at the hat, he calls out,
"Wake up, Guyb! Wake up, sleepyhead!"
After a moment, the hat jerks. Tentacles sprout, and in seconds an octopus inflates, stretching its arms across the table.
"Perfect! You two take care of the tables. Clean this place."
Morgan nods with satisfaction, then bolts toward the Barista Station (F3), scanning the area to get a sense of it.
Perception: 11 (or Investigation, 8)
OOC: @DM For transparency, I don’t currently have Find Familiar on my spell list. Being level 4, I assumed I had picked it up at lower levels through the Magic Initiate origin feat, then later swapped it for something else. From what I’ve gathered, as long as the familiar doesn’t die, it should be fine... Let me know if this doesn't fly at your table.
DM: Teeth, that would not be permissible at my table. While you are correct that nothing in the spell description specifically prohibits use of the spell in this particular way, exploitation of such an absence of rules does seem to be contrary to the spirit of the game. If you do not know the spell, a familiar is not bound to you.
Morgan can see that it will not be long before the doors are magically unsealed to customers and students will begin filing in to occupy most of the seats, as per usual on campus coffee shops. 10 minutes until open time. There is certainly time to get started with cleanup, but given how much of a disaster the evening shift left the place, it would be impossible to have everything straightened up for the morning rush. This may be a bit of a hazing, as it seems almost intentionally messy. I mean, the evening crew literally left the mop bucket and mop out in the Seating Area!
Morgan can also see that this area of the Firejolt Café is populated by large tables and chairs and is commonly used by folks looking to socialize. The surface of each table is enchanted with illusion magic to display animated battles between the colleges' mascots. Although this area is tidier than the study tables, cleaning supplies has been left out from the previous shift.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
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"Cold?" He questions. 'Ah right, warm blooded creatures,' he thinks to himself. He turns around slightly, about to swap out this towel for one much colder when Sylorin attempts to heal the elf woman of her cold. Steven smiles at the sight of her restored vigor until it unfortunately yet still crashes. He gives a sad glance and small smile over at Sylorin, shrugging his shoulders as in 'at least you tried.'
When their new manager almost falls, Steven leans out a bit to try and catch her, though she manages just fine on her own.
Fighting the urge to say something stupid along the lines of 'Aye, aye, captain' when Ellina gives out her orders, instead he focuses on fidgeting with his apron, unsure of how to help on his first day without much training. "Feel better," he shouts to Ellina instead with a quick thumbs up. Then to everybody. "We got this!"
At Morgan's enthusiasm, mistaking the 'us' as in 'all us of at the cafe', Steven points out: "Exactly!"
The satarre, puts his hands on his hips and scans around the restaurant, oblivious to Morgan's Unseen Servant.
Other than the general mess of the place, Steven doesn't know where to start. Guessing the coffee machine would be the best place to be based on Ellina's warning and instructions, he heads over to where Morgan is standing in the Barista Station (F3) and try to figure the thing out.
"What's wrong with it?"
Grimacing, Steven looks from the coffee machine over at Morgan and says, "I think I know what's wrong with it but I don't know how to do it." He stares at his claws, which tend to be a bit too long to be handle anything delicate (and easily scratch-able like the machine). "Maybe I should really trim 'em."
"Uhhh, clean up, clean up... everybody everywhere," suddenly Steven inexplicably starts singing. He stares over at everybody, trying to do what he does best and that is: giving them some guidance. "Clean up, everybody do your share."
He was a little out of tune without his instruments (not like you can keep a harp in your back pocket), but it reminded him of when he had to herd young little satarres in his parent's temple to clean up after themselves when classes were over. Still though, it felt a bit weird to be singing a children's song on your first day of work.
"Mocha, if you can get going with the Seating Area, please." Steven delegates out after finishing singing, trying hard not to sound to strict. "And Sasha with the Study Tables, yeah? If that's okay with you." He clasps his hands together. "Please? The both of you? Thank you, alright."
<---- Skippy Doo from A Pup Named Scooby Doo
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Ibahalii Vriwhulth; Test Run
Try as he might, Steven is unable to see the Unseen Servant, nor can he track it very well as a shapeless piece of magic. However, he can see the effect; slowly but surely the Seating Area is starting to get tidied up.
Steven approaches the Barista Station along with Morgan. The barista station is your battlefield. The front counter has a magical tip jar that tracks the amount of money in it. Here, the cashier will take drink orders from customers. The back counter is stacked with magical equipment that helps baristas prepare drinks. Saloon doors on either side of the back counter lead to a small break room for employees and has shelves with café and cleaning supplies. But before anyone can make a drink, it must be cleaned.
Morgan was unable to really find out how to get the thing opened to do a proper cleaning, but Steven was able to lend a hand and identify the tab that locked the espresso bin shut. Morgan pops it open and as Mocha and Sasha are prepared to carry out the request, four coiling cords of gas swirl out from the bin and take shape before the clearly surprised baristas.
Four mephits float before Morgan and Steven, two lighter and two darker. They hiss and cackle at the two as they scarf down on espresso pod waste, then immediately attack!
DM: Roll Initiative.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
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Morgan pops a high-five to Steve.
"Thank you, mate!"
He pauses.
"I’ve traveled with a lot of weird and interesting people, but this is the first time I’ve talked with a satarre. What brought you in—"
Suddenly, chaos erupts. Morgan stares at the four mephits with a disconsolate expression.
"What did I do wrong this time? Was the machine haunted?"
Initiative (with advantage using Tides of Chaos): 21
Steven can't help but be wide eyed at the sight of things cleaning up by themselves. None of their own ghosts were here with them at the moment so it must've been someone else's... or magic, they supposed. It was hard to tell now, now being with the more magically inclined types. It was a university, after all, of course it practiced magic, Steven realized, and with so many different types of species. 'So far away from the temple,' they think to themselves. Either way it was cool to see when the most of what you needed to do at moment was, well, clean the counter and fix the machine.
"Nice work, yeah!" Steven returns the high five with enough vigor to push themselves a little bit backwards. "We make a good team now."
They put their hands on their hip and tilt their head, smiling when Morgan's able to pop the tab out. They flick their tongue out at the scent of coffee.
"Oh? Now really?" They look up at the ceiling in contemplation, tail thumping against the floor tiles. "Probably band." They say with a deadpanned face before suddenly striking a guitar pose complete with air strumming.
"Nah, nah. I'm taking Statistics," the satarre takes a long drag on all the 's's for the first time in a while. "Just kidding. I'm taking History alongside some Economics. I like to know how things work." The slight hiss in their voice subsides for now.
Steven taps their claw on their chin. "Hmm, never seen much humans... or elves much either. Shifters, yes. Changelings, no. ... All in all, though much more than I can count on all my hands, but not all that much after.... so like twenty? Maybe... yes..."
Steven hisses at the sight of the sudden mephits, their back arching and spines straightened, threateningly upward. "Guess so," they snarl, though their voices loose some of its malice towards the end. "Not at what you did but the, uh, machine."
"Get ready," they whisper over at Morgan. Then holler at Sylorin, "Keep Ellina safe!"
"What are you doing?!" Steven shouts in Infernal, tongue crackling like fire, hoping that the mephits might understand that. "Stop that!"
<---- Skippy Doo from A Pup Named Scooby Doo
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Ibahalii Vriwhulth; Test Run
Initiative Order:
Sylorin is shocked by the sudden appearance of the mephits and it takes him several seconds to collect himself (missed initiative).
Smoke A opens it mouth impossibly wide and vomits up smoke at both Morgan and Steven.
“Protect the espresso machine!!!” Mocha calls out to the assaulted fellow students.
DM: Dexterity Saving Throw, DC 14 for Morgan and Steven or suffer the Blinded Condition until the end of the mephit’s NEXT turn.
Steam A flies in to slash at Steven (Attack: 7 if not Blinded, Attack 15 if Blinded. 4 Slashing Damage, 8 Fire Damage).
Smoke B cackles and puffs itself up as much as it can, growing until it becomes a distorted blob, then it pops! Two more smoke mephits fling from the main and are born for combat.
Steam B flies in and slashes at Morgan (Attack 15 if not Blinded, Attack 19 if Blinded. 6 Slashing Damage, 7 Fire Damage).
DM: Heroes, go!
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
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OOC: @DM, should I post this round then or no?
Morgan's DEX save: 14 (phew...)
"I'll protect the espresso machine! But who'll protect me?"
He snaps his fingers and a shimmering barrier surrounds him (Shield as a reaction, new AC → 17).
On his turn, Morgan vanishes in a swirl of purple mist (BA Misty Step, no spell slot expended via the Fey Touched feat), reappearing 30 feet to the south. In his hands gleams a shiny diamond.
"Let's try this..." he grins.
A crackling Chromatic Orb hurtles toward Smoke Mephit A (at 2nd level, +1 luck point for advantage).
Attack roll: 11 (😭), if by some miracle it hits, dmg 13 thunder (but it does not leap).
Movement: if possible, he tries to get some cover behind a table or something...
----
DM: