Cordelia shakes her head as the fuzzy lines at the edge of her brain smooth out. She's not a mouse. Not really. How curious, and ridiculous, that she nearly forgot herself. She squeaks softly to herself as she examines Dusty and confers with the professor that things seem to be stagnant. "Keeping watch seems to be a good idea. I'm a bit exhausted, more than usual, but I can keep first watch if need be."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
Given the scare you suffered in Rowan's brush with death, you all go to your rooms. Cordelia, though, positions herself on the roof of the inn, keeping a weather eye on the town for any signs of trouble. The shrews may not be warriors, but they are no fools: they've posted guards in watchtowers at either end of the village (which is not large), and the town watch is on alert. The night passes slowly for you, Luna. It's hard, now that you've reclaimed your mind from the mouse, to focus on the task at hand instead of pouring over your device. Your powers have been growing over the past few leaps. The inability to access your magic now is a bit like having a tooth pulled; you feel the edges of where it used to be, but it's only emptiness now. You remember the moments leading up to the development of your skill: the flight from the Pretender, the formation of the gate, the unbelievable power of the barrier that formed from your very first spell. Gordra examined you thoroughly (Perspicacious helped, as well), but there seemed to be nothing to explain the sudden appearance of your spark.
The moon edges a quarter of the way up the horizon, and Cordelia wakes Gordra from his sleep. Nothing to report, the old Dragonborn pulls his aging mouse bones up the ladder from the top floor hallway onto the roof. Figures he'd be stuck with another old body in this prolonged leap. At least the old mouse's eyes are good. Gordra scans the village, but there's nothing to see. The river murmurs behind you, the last dying cicadas of the fall ring out their buzzing swan songs, and the night passes slowly. The moon moves directly overhead, and it's time to wake Amaruve for his shift.
Amaruve, you have some trouble sleeping. Jean/Garo's room is beside yours, and she's been grumbling and protesting noisily in her sleep all night. It's almost a relief when Gordra comes to recruit you. From the rooftop, you at least have some quiet. Baobur's eyes are not the sharpest, but you can still make out the torches at the east and west gates. After a while, you hear the soft padding of mouse feet on the adobe roof behind you. Perspicacious takes up a position to your left. She shared a room with Garo, and she looks tired. Neither of you speak, but soon the snores of Joja the mouse, slumped against the parapet, add to the nighttime melody of the woods. Amaruve, the night is at its absolute darkest. The moon has moved behind a thick sheet of clouds, and you can barely see a thing. In fact, the torch at the east gate seems to have gone out...
(Sorry; delayed by home life- Now resolving that "Haunted by the Past" roll)
Jean, you lay yourself upon the straw pallet of your second story room without consulting the others about a watch shift. Your eyes close immediately and within seconds you are asleep. You fall down deep into a smothering darkness. It's almost like the darkness between leaps: that formless, bodiless nothing that you half remember at the start of each cycle. You are still yourself, still the powerful guard of waterdeep, the trusted warden of the Tower. However, more mouselike memories continue to intrude.
You see battle. So, so much battle. Here you are with your Patrol brothers and sisters fighting the rat scourge of the brittle winter. Here you are riding astride an otter's back, fighting alone against the cottenmouth beast before destroying its vile eggs. You see your death...
Death is all around you. You walk through the graveyard at the abbey at Viper Lake. You see flowers lain for your brothers and sisters. For a moment, you think you see someone at the edge of your vision. Spinning, you hope to catch them, but there is nothing and no one. You stand at the lakeshore looking out across the water. The abbey tower is at your back, and you can just barely see a small cave in the rock wall lining the far edge of the lake.
Again, you sense someone's presence and you turn. There are scores of dead mice standing there, floating above their weed-choked graves. They are spectral, and translucent, and the marks of war, death, and decay have been left behind in the dirt beneath their feet. You try to ask a question, but you have no voice. They stare at you, mute and shifting like dead leaves on the grass. A single spirit flickers like a windswept candle and moves in your direction. It's eyes are tired, and sad, and distant. It seems to struggle to bring you into focus, but when it speaks...
"You are not Garoooooooooo," It whispers with the voice of the wind. It pulls a ghostly sword from its scabbard and raises it to your throat. "Gooooo, body stealer. Go, world dancer. We offer no aid to you who would rob the living of life..."
The earth is crumbling and rupturing at your feet. You dance backwards, arms windmilling as something bursts out of the ground. Long, black pincers emerge from a sightless purple head. Virulent pink legs scrabble at the air, and a mocking voice laughs with a chittering jaw...
Amaruve, you hear shouting and a muffled scream from the town square below. You bolt upright to peer into the impossible gloom.
Perspicacious, you are startled awake by Baobur's sudden movement. You are on the roof just next to him.
Cordelia and Gordra, you awaken slowly and groggily, but are unaware that anything is wrong.
Jean/Garo, you are plagued by visions of spectral mice and a chitinous maw bursting up from below. You hear the screaming outside, but you take -1 forward in your next action (remember to take that exp point from earlier, though!)
AmaruBur scoots a bit closer to Prespicacious happy to have some aid fighting off the chill of the early morning... She smells nice too. "Darkest before dawn" he notes, peering out toward the torches at the edge of town. Where they had been. He wants to ignore it. Shut his eyes. Relax a little. Inch closer. Enjoy the quiet moment, but... He stands and steps to the edge of the roof, straining his eyes against the dark night. He points into the cool mist drawing Prespicacious eye to... to... to what he doesn't see... (Help: 7)
(I'm going to call that roll "Scurry"- no one has taken that yet, but it's a powerful move. In essence, it's how you respond to a suddenly dangerous situation. You get an 8 as you add +2 to Scurry from Body thanks to "Barrel Through".)
(This is how Scurry works. First, tell me what you want to do, BD. Then, with a 7-9, I'll give you options for the price you have to pay to get it done. To help you make your decision:)
There is a loud crash and a squeal from the courtyard below. It sounds as though something has entered Riverside!
Perfect. Here's your choice. You succeed in raising the alarm and alerting the Mouse Guard (including the three inside the inn). You can either: 1) Twist your ankle in the fall (suffering 1 harm and taking -1 ongoing for combat and pursuit), but succeed in reaching the innocent, OR 2) Land safely, but realize too late that you left your axe behind
Joja wakes. No, that's not her name. She's a Tiefling, not a mouse. Not a mouse. Not a... Perspicacious startles awake to the sound of Amaruve dropping off the roof and yelling for her to wake the others. Eyes widening as the adrenaline begins to flow, she rushes down to the bedrooms to rouse them. "Wake up! Wake up! Something's not right at the East Gate!"
Just as Joja/Perspicacious hurtles down the ladder, something crashes heavily into the side of the inn. There is an enormous whumph as everyone inside (shrew and mouse alike) is knocked to the ground. The western exterior wall now sags inward and is spiderwebbed with cracks. The air is choked with dust and debris is everywhere. As you rise shakily to your feet, you hearing a deep groaning noise above and around you. The roof is going to collapse!
Everyone but Amaruve (who is running, weaponless, eastward toward the town square) is inside. There are at least 10 shrews that you know of inside this structure. What additional information do you need, and what do you do?!
Gordra wakes up to the sudden crash and the shouts of Perspicacious, quickly trying to assess the situation (Perceive: 9)
(That's my mistake in the updated character sheet-you should actually add +Instinct for sense, not +Mind. Your total is therefore an 8, but that isn't any different from a 9 for the result)
(You can ask one of the following:
• What happened here?
• Is someone in danger?
• How can we help most?
• What are my enemies’ weaknesses?
• Where is our enemy now?
• What is being concealed here?
• What’s my best way in?
• What’s my best way out?
• Are there any dangers we haven’t noticed?
• What’s the biggest threat?
• What’s the best way to protect the victims?
If you act on the answers, you get +1 ongoing while the information is relevant.)
(oh, man. We'll explore what happens there after you all decide on a plan for the night. Mark an experience point, Garo!)
Imani Jones - Lv 11 Warlock of The Living City - Variant Human| Fate/False Revelation
Wick Stumbleduck - Lv 4 Lore Bard - Forest Gnome | Elustran Days
Khurah - Lv 3 Star Druid - Half-orc | Boats, Rocks, and Ruffians
Dale Swanson - User of the Sound of Silence Stand - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Sunset Investigations
Ayaci Vikerfjell - Lv 8 Rune Knight | Variant Human | Storm King's Thunder
Gordra is tired and will want to get some sleep. "Do you think we should take turns keeping watch? In case whatever attacked Rowan comes back?"
Baobur's head nods slowly in agreement. Squinting through weak eyes toward the entrance.
Extended Signature
Cordelia shakes her head as the fuzzy lines at the edge of her brain smooth out. She's not a mouse. Not really. How curious, and ridiculous, that she nearly forgot herself. She squeaks softly to herself as she examines Dusty and confers with the professor that things seem to be stagnant. "Keeping watch seems to be a good idea. I'm a bit exhausted, more than usual, but I can keep first watch if need be."
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
"Well Ms. Luna, wake me up when you get tired and I'll take the second shift. Good night all." and Gordra heads to bed.
"Third shift" Amaruve offers. He'd likely be up before dawn anyway.
Extended Signature
Given the scare you suffered in Rowan's brush with death, you all go to your rooms. Cordelia, though, positions herself on the roof of the inn, keeping a weather eye on the town for any signs of trouble. The shrews may not be warriors, but they are no fools: they've posted guards in watchtowers at either end of the village (which is not large), and the town watch is on alert. The night passes slowly for you, Luna. It's hard, now that you've reclaimed your mind from the mouse, to focus on the task at hand instead of pouring over your device. Your powers have been growing over the past few leaps. The inability to access your magic now is a bit like having a tooth pulled; you feel the edges of where it used to be, but it's only emptiness now. You remember the moments leading up to the development of your skill: the flight from the Pretender, the formation of the gate, the unbelievable power of the barrier that formed from your very first spell. Gordra examined you thoroughly (Perspicacious helped, as well), but there seemed to be nothing to explain the sudden appearance of your spark.
The moon edges a quarter of the way up the horizon, and Cordelia wakes Gordra from his sleep. Nothing to report, the old Dragonborn pulls his aging mouse bones up the ladder from the top floor hallway onto the roof. Figures he'd be stuck with another old body in this prolonged leap. At least the old mouse's eyes are good. Gordra scans the village, but there's nothing to see. The river murmurs behind you, the last dying cicadas of the fall ring out their buzzing swan songs, and the night passes slowly. The moon moves directly overhead, and it's time to wake Amaruve for his shift.
Amaruve, you have some trouble sleeping. Jean/Garo's room is beside yours, and she's been grumbling and protesting noisily in her sleep all night. It's almost a relief when Gordra comes to recruit you. From the rooftop, you at least have some quiet. Baobur's eyes are not the sharpest, but you can still make out the torches at the east and west gates. After a while, you hear the soft padding of mouse feet on the adobe roof behind you. Perspicacious takes up a position to your left. She shared a room with Garo, and she looks tired. Neither of you speak, but soon the snores of Joja the mouse, slumped against the parapet, add to the nighttime melody of the woods. Amaruve, the night is at its absolute darkest. The moon has moved behind a thick sheet of clouds, and you can barely see a thing. In fact, the torch at the east gate seems to have gone out...
Imani Jones - Lv 11 Warlock of The Living City - Variant Human| Fate/False Revelation
Wick Stumbleduck - Lv 4 Lore Bard - Forest Gnome | Elustran Days
Khurah - Lv 3 Star Druid - Half-orc | Boats, Rocks, and Ruffians
Dale Swanson - User of the Sound of Silence Stand - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Sunset Investigations
Ayaci Vikerfjell - Lv 8 Rune Knight | Variant Human | Storm King's Thunder
(Sorry; delayed by home life- Now resolving that "Haunted by the Past" roll)
Jean, you lay yourself upon the straw pallet of your second story room without consulting the others about a watch shift. Your eyes close immediately and within seconds you are asleep. You fall down deep into a smothering darkness. It's almost like the darkness between leaps: that formless, bodiless nothing that you half remember at the start of each cycle. You are still yourself, still the powerful guard of waterdeep, the trusted warden of the Tower. However, more mouselike memories continue to intrude.
You see battle. So, so much battle. Here you are with your Patrol brothers and sisters fighting the rat scourge of the brittle winter. Here you are riding astride an otter's back, fighting alone against the cottenmouth beast before destroying its vile eggs. You see your death...
Death is all around you. You walk through the graveyard at the abbey at Viper Lake. You see flowers lain for your brothers and sisters. For a moment, you think you see someone at the edge of your vision. Spinning, you hope to catch them, but there is nothing and no one. You stand at the lakeshore looking out across the water. The abbey tower is at your back, and you can just barely see a small cave in the rock wall lining the far edge of the lake.
Again, you sense someone's presence and you turn. There are scores of dead mice standing there, floating above their weed-choked graves. They are spectral, and translucent, and the marks of war, death, and decay have been left behind in the dirt beneath their feet. You try to ask a question, but you have no voice. They stare at you, mute and shifting like dead leaves on the grass. A single spirit flickers like a windswept candle and moves in your direction. It's eyes are tired, and sad, and distant. It seems to struggle to bring you into focus, but when it speaks...
"You are not Garoooooooooo," It whispers with the voice of the wind. It pulls a ghostly sword from its scabbard and raises it to your throat. "Gooooo, body stealer. Go, world dancer. We offer no aid to you who would rob the living of life..."
The earth is crumbling and rupturing at your feet. You dance backwards, arms windmilling as something bursts out of the ground. Long, black pincers emerge from a sightless purple head. Virulent pink legs scrabble at the air, and a mocking voice laughs with a chittering jaw...
...And you awake with a shout, drenched in sweat.
Imani Jones - Lv 11 Warlock of The Living City - Variant Human| Fate/False Revelation
Wick Stumbleduck - Lv 4 Lore Bard - Forest Gnome | Elustran Days
Khurah - Lv 3 Star Druid - Half-orc | Boats, Rocks, and Ruffians
Dale Swanson - User of the Sound of Silence Stand - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Sunset Investigations
Ayaci Vikerfjell - Lv 8 Rune Knight | Variant Human | Storm King's Thunder
Amaruve, you hear shouting and a muffled scream from the town square below. You bolt upright to peer into the impossible gloom.
Perspicacious, you are startled awake by Baobur's sudden movement. You are on the roof just next to him.
Cordelia and Gordra, you awaken slowly and groggily, but are unaware that anything is wrong.
Jean/Garo, you are plagued by visions of spectral mice and a chitinous maw bursting up from below. You hear the screaming outside, but you take -1 forward in your next action (remember to take that exp point from earlier, though!)
Imani Jones - Lv 11 Warlock of The Living City - Variant Human| Fate/False Revelation
Wick Stumbleduck - Lv 4 Lore Bard - Forest Gnome | Elustran Days
Khurah - Lv 3 Star Druid - Half-orc | Boats, Rocks, and Ruffians
Dale Swanson - User of the Sound of Silence Stand - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Sunset Investigations
Ayaci Vikerfjell - Lv 8 Rune Knight | Variant Human | Storm King's Thunder
AmaruBur scoots a bit closer to Prespicacious happy to have some aid fighting off the chill of the early morning... She smells nice too. "Darkest before dawn" he notes, peering out toward the torches at the edge of town. Where they had been. He wants to ignore it. Shut his eyes. Relax a little. Inch closer. Enjoy the quiet moment, but... He stands and steps to the edge of the roof, straining his eyes against the dark night. He points into the cool mist drawing Prespicacious eye to... to... to what he doesn't see... (Help: 7)
Extended Signature
(I'm going to call that roll "Scurry"- no one has taken that yet, but it's a powerful move. In essence, it's how you respond to a suddenly dangerous situation. You get an 8 as you add +2 to Scurry from Body thanks to "Barrel Through".)
(This is how Scurry works. First, tell me what you want to do, BD. Then, with a 7-9, I'll give you options for the price you have to pay to get it done. To help you make your decision:)
There is a loud crash and a squeal from the courtyard below. It sounds as though something has entered Riverside!
Imani Jones - Lv 11 Warlock of The Living City - Variant Human| Fate/False Revelation
Wick Stumbleduck - Lv 4 Lore Bard - Forest Gnome | Elustran Days
Khurah - Lv 3 Star Druid - Half-orc | Boats, Rocks, and Ruffians
Dale Swanson - User of the Sound of Silence Stand - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Sunset Investigations
Ayaci Vikerfjell - Lv 8 Rune Knight | Variant Human | Storm King's Thunder
"Wake the others!" AmaruBur calls as he scurries down the roof leaping off toward the danger ahead.
(I want to prevent the innocent and the Mouse Guard from being harmed by this possible intruder.)
Extended Signature
Perfect. Here's your choice. You succeed in raising the alarm and alerting the Mouse Guard (including the three inside the inn). You can either:
1) Twist your ankle in the fall (suffering 1 harm and taking -1 ongoing for combat and pursuit), but succeed in reaching the innocent, OR
2) Land safely, but realize too late that you left your axe behind
Imani Jones - Lv 11 Warlock of The Living City - Variant Human| Fate/False Revelation
Wick Stumbleduck - Lv 4 Lore Bard - Forest Gnome | Elustran Days
Khurah - Lv 3 Star Druid - Half-orc | Boats, Rocks, and Ruffians
Dale Swanson - User of the Sound of Silence Stand - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Sunset Investigations
Ayaci Vikerfjell - Lv 8 Rune Knight | Variant Human | Storm King's Thunder
Amaruve holds the form of a mouse scurrying swiftly ready to bite and claw his foes... Baobur is mortified. How could he have left his beloved axe?!
Extended Signature
(Got it. Your attacks deal 1 harm until you find another weapon. We'll let the others get a chance to act, then we'll see where the action is)
Imani Jones - Lv 11 Warlock of The Living City - Variant Human| Fate/False Revelation
Wick Stumbleduck - Lv 4 Lore Bard - Forest Gnome | Elustran Days
Khurah - Lv 3 Star Druid - Half-orc | Boats, Rocks, and Ruffians
Dale Swanson - User of the Sound of Silence Stand - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Sunset Investigations
Ayaci Vikerfjell - Lv 8 Rune Knight | Variant Human | Storm King's Thunder
Joja wakes. No, that's not her name. She's a Tiefling, not a mouse. Not a mouse. Not a... Perspicacious startles awake to the sound of Amaruve dropping off the roof and yelling for her to wake the others. Eyes widening as the adrenaline begins to flow, she rushes down to the bedrooms to rouse them. "Wake up! Wake up! Something's not right at the East Gate!"
Just as Joja/Perspicacious hurtles down the ladder, something crashes heavily into the side of the inn. There is an enormous whumph as everyone inside (shrew and mouse alike) is knocked to the ground. The western exterior wall now sags inward and is spiderwebbed with cracks. The air is choked with dust and debris is everywhere. As you rise shakily to your feet, you hearing a deep groaning noise above and around you. The roof is going to collapse!
Everyone but Amaruve (who is running, weaponless, eastward toward the town square) is inside. There are at least 10 shrews that you know of inside this structure. What additional information do you need, and what do you do?!
Imani Jones - Lv 11 Warlock of The Living City - Variant Human| Fate/False Revelation
Wick Stumbleduck - Lv 4 Lore Bard - Forest Gnome | Elustran Days
Khurah - Lv 3 Star Druid - Half-orc | Boats, Rocks, and Ruffians
Dale Swanson - User of the Sound of Silence Stand - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Sunset Investigations
Ayaci Vikerfjell - Lv 8 Rune Knight | Variant Human | Storm King's Thunder
Gordra wakes up to the sudden crash and the shouts of Perspicacious, quickly trying to assess the situation (Perceive: 11)
Ga-Jean hearing the roof creak cries out "Everyone get out!" and begins trying to herd everyone out of the building.
(That's my mistake in the updated character sheet-you should actually add +Instinct for sense, not +Mind. Your total is therefore an 8, but that isn't any different from a 9 for the result)
(You can ask one of the following:
• What happened here?
• Is someone in danger?
• How can we help most?
• What are my enemies’ weaknesses?
• Where is our enemy now?
• What is being concealed here?
• What’s my best way in?
• What’s my best way out?
• Are there any dangers we haven’t noticed?
• What’s the biggest threat?
• What’s the best way to protect the victims?
If you act on the answers, you get +1 ongoing while the information is relevant.)
Imani Jones - Lv 11 Warlock of The Living City - Variant Human| Fate/False Revelation
Wick Stumbleduck - Lv 4 Lore Bard - Forest Gnome | Elustran Days
Khurah - Lv 3 Star Druid - Half-orc | Boats, Rocks, and Ruffians
Dale Swanson - User of the Sound of Silence Stand - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Sunset Investigations
Ayaci Vikerfjell - Lv 8 Rune Knight | Variant Human | Storm King's Thunder