Enshrouded Korthos - DnD 5e, 2024 - with adjustments for incompetence on my part.

Quote from Character77006 >>

Now that said, shal I push you more forcefully where the plan is, or let you do what you want first ? I don't mind, I have the stuff fleshed out, but because it is fleshed out, you might get in trouble if you go places too early and if you do, please remember that you can always run away and come back.)

 

OOC how do we know we went the wrong way?  It is a bit difficult to know what is a challenge and what is forceful stop?  Being a warlock, if we are going the wrong way, my patron can speak to me and I can speak to Vespera and we can be changing direction to get on the correct path.

 Its not that its wrong. Just in my head you went grotto first, so got a lvl 1st. Then some more stuff happened. I did not realize that you dont have to go the grotto 1st. Its my fault not yours. What I am asking is, next time i do  that, shall i just say (ooc- ok guys lets do this 1st), or we keep it real and your character go where they want to 1st ? 

I will try to adjust my  encounters if you go places too early, because if you did, then i did not give you the right info in the right way, to make you go the other way first. But, if it does not feel wrong to you (it does to me), i can say, (ooc - go there 1st).

But again, in my head, your characters are already lvl 20+ and demigods etc, rofl. So what's in my head is not really helpful, I have to make it work somehow. 

(@kohlmetz_d, I clicked on the character sheet to experiment and it rolled dice. I did not mean to do it so ignore the rolls.)

What I am asking is, next time i do  that, shall i just say (ooc- ok guys lets do this 1st), or we keep it real and your character go where they want to 1st ? 

OOC My patron can whisper in my character's ear if there is a better choice.   My character can announce that better choice.

I am running a bit confused with this all, but thinking I semi understand, so if missing something, a helpful hint is always nice.

Where are we with injuries/death etc.?  Can Silverlining come back as a "new character"?

Silverlining was at most at -1 or -2. For ingame rules, none of you can actually bleed out because of the MEPs. MEP-RU can change his character every hour if he wants, because his MEP is controlling the character. He is not bond. 

I just made a long post about what was happening. You all had a good night sleep, it is morning. we consider that we have had a long rest. Everyone gets to lvl 2. Manny gets an additional +1 on medicine checks from now on.  

OOC sorry I missed the long post.

Manny decides to do the same. He sends his new friend the imp, invisible, to check on the downed people and guide him to the ones that can be saved, gaining time. ( imps name ?)  It is a familiar, so they come and go, name will be Raven.  The Imp can shape shift into a raven and therefore fly.  I will also move up a level as well.

Manny does assist the villagers and does what ever is necessary.  Whistling out of tune as he does what he can to help.  Manny occasionally checks on Silverlining as well.

When Manny is near Vespera he asks, "Once we are done and at a spot to leave, want to head over to see the Grotto?"

(Ohh, I forgot.)

At night, when you look at the sky, its different than back home, but weirdly, the moon looks exactly the same.

Quote from Mythwinx >>

(Ohh, I forgot.)

At night, when you look at the sky, its different than back home, but weirdly, the moon looks exactly the same.

 Is it different for the MEPs, the people from the air ship, or both?

Quote from Mythwinx >>

Quote from Character77006 >>

Now that said, shal I push you more forcefully where the plan is, or let you do what you want first ? I don't mind, I have the stuff fleshed out, but because it is fleshed out, you might get in trouble if you go places too early and if you do, please remember that you can always run away and come back.)

 

OOC how do we know we went the wrong way?  It is a bit difficult to know what is a challenge and what is forceful stop?  Being a warlock, if we are going the wrong way, my patron can speak to me and I can speak to Vespera and we can be changing direction to get on the correct path.

 Its not that its wrong. Just in my head you went grotto first, so got a lvl 1st. Then some more stuff happened. I did not realize that you dont have to go the grotto 1st. Its my fault not yours. What I am asking is, next time i do  that, shall i just say (ooc- ok guys lets do this 1st), or we keep it real and your character go where they want to 1st ? 

I will try to adjust my  encounters if you go places too early, because if you did, then i did not give you the right info in the right way, to make you go the other way first. But, if it does not feel wrong to you (it does to me), i can say, (ooc - go there 1st).

But again, in my head, your characters are already lvl 20+ and demigods etc, rofl. So what's in my head is not really helpful, I have to make it work somehow. 

 I had wanted to go to the grotto first, but no one else had posted their attacks on the undead yet, so I waited for the next day. When I got up the next morning, the decision had already been made without any input from me.  The problem is I seem to be very time shifted compared to everyone else, so I'm up while the DM is sleeping and visa versa. 

I think it might help to slow the pace of the game a bit, especially for important decisions. That might also give the Character77006 a chance to provide input on the decisions, since even occasional checking could keep up on decisions. 

Quote from Character77006 >>

OOC sorry I missed the long post.

Manny decides to do the same. He sends his new friend the imp, invisible, to check on the downed people and guide him to the ones that can be saved, gaining time. ( imps name ?)  It is a familiar, so they come and go, name will be Raven.  The Imp can shape shift into a raven and therefore fly.  I will also move up a level as well.

Manny does assist the villagers and does what ever is necessary.  Whistling out of tune as he does what he can to help.  Manny occasionally checks on Silverlining as well.

When Manny is near Vespera he asks, "Once we are done and at a spot to leave, want to head over to see the Grotto?"

 

 I think we already went to the grotto with the villagers to seal it off before getting a long rest and leveling up. But Vespera is fine going back fresh the next day to check out the situation there.

@;JSenecal, I take full blame for the fiasco with the grotto. I re-read the posts and you were going there. I have no clue why I messed it up. 

You are also right I am kind of rushing it, its not on purpose, I am just excited and its been about 20 years for me since I last did pen and paper so to speak.  

You are also correct about the times I am online. It is past 11 pm here atm and I have ot get up at 6 am every morning. So 11 pm or 12 am is the latest i can afford most days. 

About the sky, for the bodies, its normal every day night sky. For the MEPs, the sky is strange, new, never before seen. But the moon is exactly the same as back home in 2276. 

Quote from Mythwinx >>

When the Crystals burst into light, Manny manages to close his eyes and turn his head quickly. A second later, the shockwave passes through him and then there is a silence for a second before the *plop* and *splat* of the falling birds pervades the air.  

Manny opens his eyes and looks around. It is a horrible sight. Too many of the villagers lay on the ground unmoving. They are all covered with blood and guts. Some their own, most from the birds. 

There is also a nasty stench from the birds' corpses. And a dark goo mixed with the blood. 

Most of the villagers that are still upright are near the gate or walls nearby. They start to check on the people around them. 

Manny decides to do the same. He sends his new friend the imp, invisible, to check on the downed people and guide him to the ones that can be saved, gaining time. ( imps name ?)

The nearest person is a villager, but he is obviously dead, several birds protruding from his back. But under  the villager, Manny recognizes the dragonborn. The dragonborn has quite a few scratches, but two big nasty wounds can be seen as well. Manny is surprised the dragonborn is not bleeding out. He applies what he knows of medicine to stop the bleeding and bind the wounds, borrowing materials from the nearby villagers, who are doing the same for others. After he is sure that the dragon born will recover with rest and care, Manny straightens up and consults with his new invisible friend. The imp guides him to another person in need of help and then another.

Manny works tirelessly as if in a trance, helping person after person and the sudden quick flash of light, East to West. 

Manny looks in that direction. He realizes that he assumed the crystal exploded. But it is there, unharmed, glowing and spinning again. Manny looks West. Several villagers are relaxing from their defensive crouches. A pile of bones, newly arrived from the grotto it seems, is smouldering on the ground. It looks like the undead are still coming from the grotto, but the Crystal is active. 

Having a better vantage upright, Manny notices the form of the tiefling, together with several others , dragged to one side by the villagers. He asks and is told that those look to be stunned or just out of it, unconscious. Probably from the shock wave. Some of them woke up by themselves, some got woken by family or close friends, the others are left to rest for now. 

Manny gets a bit of water and a rag, goes to the Tiefling and puts the wet rag on her forehead. 

“Vespera is it ? Can you hear me ?” 

The tiefling stirs. She mumbles something then opens her eyes abruptly. One of her hands shoots to Manny’s arm reflexively, the other is already drawing a dagger. 

(Manny get a +1 to medicine for using it successfully during the afternoon)

The Crystal occasionally shoots another wandering undead coming from the West. 

The villagers ask Manny and Vespera if they are able, to help carry planks and metal rods to the grotto’’s entrance and block it before nightfall.  Manny thinks it's a good idea and helps. 

Planks and salvage from the fallen airship are also used for the grotto. While on the beach, you and the villagers help the survivors there as well.

Silverlining along with all the other wounded is given a sip of Goodberry wine, regains consciousness, is on 1 HP, in a lot of pain but operational. The villagers refuse to let him participate in blocking the grotto. 

(Experience comes from the GM, but the GM gets none if you don’t. Everyone advances to lvl 2 during the night.)

Its morning. The barricade on the grotto holds. The village gate holds. 

(if i am not wrong, by the DnD 5e rules, everyone is on max HP after a long rest ?)

The villagers pass more Goodberry wine with breakfast. 

People from the village talk with survivors from the airship. (any of you can talk and get info now)

(The ball is in your court)

{Yes, long rest recovers all HP}

Vespera is indifferent about the other airship survivors, but HARKNAIL is glad to see that they made it though the night. Even Vespera is bothered by how many villagers died to the birds after it looked like they had the situation under control. Especially after that weird vision she had yesterday...

Realizing that its voice might be disturbing, Harknail asks Vespera to ask it's questions for it. Vespera is not a people person, so the questions still come out a bit strange.

"What do you know about that crystal that was fighting the undead yesterday?"

"Has undead or bird attacks ever happened before?"

"Can we survivors of the airship crash stay in the village?"

"Is there anything we can do to help? Is there anyplace we should investigate?"

After getting answers to Vespera's questions, HARKNAIL will have Vespera gather with Manny and Silverlining so that it can talk with them directly..

"Merging with Vespera has cost me my ability to communicate directly with MEPs. Can either of you still communicate with MEPs? If so,  can you determine the status of the MEP in the crystal, and get it's point of view of what happened?"

"Also, yesterday while Vespera was incapacitated, we both saw a vision of a pulsating spiral of light. We could feel power emanating from it, it was awesome. Somehow we knew that the birds were it's doing. And we could hear a soft far away voice saying 'Come to me child of chaos'. I don't know what that was, but it seems to be the source of the problems here. Obviously I would not cooperate with something that would so casually kill not only people but the animals under it's control."

{Putting the questions in different paragraphs so that answers can be interspersed. Something that helps speed PBP conversations is to mix new content into old  so that it still reads consistently. Also using different colors for which is talking, Navy Blue for Vespara, grayish blue for HARKNAIL (a somewhat deeper, somewhat mechanical voice).   

@Vespera, 

You learn from the villagers that the crystal has always been there. Glowing slightly and warm to the touch. But no brilliant glow like now, no spinning. That started a couple of days ago. They tell you that there is even a backup crystal in Heyton’s Crypt (I on the map) in case this one got broken. But as far as they know, they are both very ancient. It is believed that back in the very distant past the climate was much much colder and the crystals were necessary for survival. The winters here are much easier because of the crystal. As far as they were aware, that was its only purpose. 

When asked about the undead and birds, the villagers tell you that nothing of the sort has happened before. They attribute all of it to the shroud and the dragons lair on misery peak (the mountain).

You are welcome to stay. Although they don’t see how you can leave. The airship that was coming to reprovision them can travel in the shroud because of its fire rings. They don't understand about magic. But with the airship down, everyone is stuck here until someone in the big city decides to mount a rescue operation. The only person who knew anything about magic in the village is Heyton, but he is missing. We went looking after the mayor’s daughter when she went missing a few days ago. Neither has been seen since, and they can’t go out in the shroud. And the undead are at the gates. 

They don’t see how you can help. Can you get to the big city and get help ? Can you find the mayor’s daughter Anna ? Can you find Heyton ? Can you kill the dragon and stop the shroud ?

<-- off to bed. Also, 1 vote missing on the poll. Its anonymous, I cant see who voted so vote :)

Can you get to the big city and get help ? Can you find the mayor’s daughter Anna ? Can you find Heyton ? Can you kill the dragon and stop the shroud ?

Manny states, "We can try, but there are no promises to be successful.

Vespera reluctantly agrees, "I've no way to leave the island, and killing a dragon is far beyond me, but I can look for Anna and Heyton. Can you describe them? Unfortunately, with all that's happened recently, we might find them dead, so we need a description to recognize them."

The mayor's wife is happy to describe her daughter. She also runs back home and comes back with alikeness of her, a pencil drawing. Anna is in her early twenties, she wore her everyday clothes and was just out for herbs and mushrooms when the mountain spewed the shroud. As soon as the eruption happened and Heyton learned she is out, he went looking for here.

You get Heytons likeness form his wife, same style of a pencil drawing. He is in his 40s and he knows magic. Everyone is worried that he did not come back.

Vespera asks, "How does Anna usually go to collect herbs and mushrooms? She might not still be there, but it's a good place to start looking."

The isle is not that big, everyone just makes the round, sometimes from the left side and the aqueduct first sometimes the cannith ruins first and then the aqueducts. They cant say which route she picked.

(I see the poll is complete and most people prefer not to get private PMs. From now on I will  post everything here.)

(I will also share some of the things each of you can do, that way the others might pitch in with ideas, knowing all the resources available. 

Vespera - plot power - can sometimes affect the world in incredible ways. Very limited. 

Manny - plot power - can heal infected shroud people, plants, animals etc. Will progress further. Has partial immunity to the shroud. Will eventually get complete immunity. Manny picked the Crystal as its patron.

Silverlining - plot power - has kept the MEP, can advance the MEPs mass and gain technology related perks or spells if his MEP learns to cast. MEP-RU's hack is intact. This is important.

@general plot - the fact that the moon is the same is worth investigating. 

Some of the loot you get might look like junk, but might not be. 

I will double check the forums today, but I am pretty sure the Crystal MEP mentioned MEP 6.  It confirms the current year. 

I am pretty sure I mentioned somewhere, bold text perhaps that the Crystal MEP had way more mass. 

The villagers mentioned that there is a spare crystal, this is also worth checking. 

MEP-RU saw sahuagin along the coast - might be something. 

Both Vespera and Silverlining had visions while unconscious. Both were in brief contact with powerful entities. The entities are not the same. (will post pics)

This entity made contact with Silverlining: