Jorin's focus breaks for a moment as he chuckles at Drusk's words. "Aye, Drusk. I imagine we all look a bit the same from the floor." He turns his focus back on the creature, "It does not appear to be friendly, nor fast, I recommend we use the same approach as the slime. Keep backing away as you speak, let us keep about 20 feet distance between us and it."
Jorin moves in time with the rest of the group, keeping himself between the creature and his friends.
OOC: Hardy har har. Point of fact, it's Hildi's narrator who got the names mixed up, not the halfling himself. He would never have a brain slip like that.
Hildigrim snaps his fingers and then quickly backpedals to catch up with his retreating jokester friends, though he doesn't show any signs that he's paid any attention to their teasing. "Jawny! This is like Jawny!" Not looking at his companions, but anticipating their looks of confusion, he continues, "OK, there're stories about magical and undead severed hands. That's not unusual. This aged adventurer one time spun me a tale about this necromancer who would cut off the hands of his victims, enchant them, and then they could crawl around on him like grotesque pet spiders." He plows on, watching the shambling individual, walking backward, and explaining in rapid fire. "Some nefarious wizards use necromancy to enslave or animate the severed hands of others to do their bidding. They're a kind of disembodied servant. One time, I was in the Forked Tongue, this shop in Waterdeep. The first time I'd gone there, Forte had dared me. We weren't supposed to be in that part of town — our parents forbid it. But I'd heard they had some hard-to-find books, and when I told Forte, he ... well, I went to prove to him I wasn't a small-toed soft heel," he says with a bit of defiance in his voice. "It's a great little shop. The proprietor is a little eccentric, but congenial enough. Well, once time, I picked up this book, Sorceress Sister Sabrina's Sinister Stories, and one of the chapters in it was 'The Ballad of Two Handed One-hand Jawny.' In the Ballad, one of these severed and enchanted hands was returned to its still-living previous owner: Jawny. It reattached itself, and Jawny and his hand went on a murderous spree." He finally takes a second to look at the others, a big grin on his face, his extended arm and splayed fingers indicating the approaching fiend. "Don't you see it?"
"A two-handed Jawny, eh? Can Jawny talk, or reason? Or is the sound of my axefall the only language he is..." Jorin pauses for a moment, as if looking for something unseen, "...fluent in?" He finishes, flashing a big smile, pleased with his choice in words.
Drusk: "I did not get all of that. So let me ask simply. This thing is not an innocent nature spirit, but a foul undead? Concentrated in that arm?"
He readies another Sacred Flame. At confirmation from anyone in the party that it is undead, he will cast it on the figure, at the grotesque hand if possible. (DEX save DC 12 or 1 radiant damage)
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
OOC > Here's a ruling on hitting a specific body part. I like it (appeals to the part of me that also likes coin encumbrance) and I'm going to basically use the Angry GM's rules, found here: https://theangrygm.com/dungeons-and-dragons-and-dismemberment/.
In a nutshell, you can target a body part if you take disadvantage on an attack roll. (So, area of effect attacks are not eligible, nor are things like, alas, Sacred Flame, which do not require an attack roll). Two reasons you might want to incur this disadvantage. 1) You want to make a cinematically awesome attack, but with no effect game wise (you still effect the same amount of damage as a regular attack). Or 2) you are attacking a multipart monster (a creature that can survive without one or more of its parts) and want to disable one of its attacks or abilities (a tentacle, wings, etc.). If it is relevant, I will secretly keep track of separate pools of hit points (e.g., 10 hp each for the limbs of a treant but 66 hp for the whole thing) and add them up to see if, eventually, the thing dies when enough limbs are cut off. In the meantime, each limb removed means one less to attack with.
In the case before us, the grotesque hand creature (at least according to Hildi's theory) you are welcome to try to attack just the hand, at disadvantage, and I will tell you what, if anything, happens.
OOC > Also, this game is a dialogue, and I am happy to entertain opinions on this. I like my ruling, but if you have questions, let's take it to the Private thread just so people reading along don't have to skip ahead to the action, or to an edited ruling.
Vanja backs up with the rest of the party. "I have not heard of this, but from Hildi's story, it would seem at least of the death arts, if not undead."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Vanja backs up with the rest of the party. "I have not heard of this, but from Hildi's story, it would seem at least of the death arts, if not undead."
Drusk reacts to the word "undead", and sends a pitiful Sacred Flame at the creature's body (being unable to focus the radiance on the hand).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Drusk steps forward and once again calls down the blinding, radiant light of Lliira, but the shambling figure makes a surprisingly nimble sidestep, falling back against the wall after the flash has passed. Leaning heavily on the stone, it pushes itself upright again, and with the creepy hand in the lead, begins to progress down the hallway once more.
Shuffle, scrape, thump. It is now 10' from the entry to the blood room.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Watching the others catch on enough to gratify him, Hildigrim beams at each. As the sacred flames begin to burn, the halfling draws his shortbow. "I wish I knew more about the arcane arts. Alas, there's no time for that now." He fires an arrow at the creature.
Hildigrim's arrow flies wide, skittering down the hallway into darkness.
OOC > Let's have a pseudo battle round where the three (4) of you declare what you're doing. So far, you've basically been taking turns Delaying to let one of you act (Sacred Flame, arrow). I'm off to meetings all day, so this will give time for everyone to check in.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
(If Drusk has already acted this round, then apply this to the next.)
Drusk will get into melee range with this creature, and try to pin its evil-er arm against the wall with his shield. "Jorin, attack the hand!" This is a help action for Jorin, which should offset the disadvantage of targeting a specific body part (or give advantage for a normal strike).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Jorin follows after Drusk with his two battleaxes held at the ready. He tightens his grip and brings down each axe aiming for Jawny's wrist.
Move: 20' into melee range with the Jawny
Action: Mainhand battleaxe, aimed at the wrist - Attack: 21 Damage: 7
Bonus Action: Offhand battleaxe, aimed at the wrist - Attack: 7 Damage: 10
OoC - Edit - Added a second attack roll to the bonus action for disadvantage, this triggered the red banner of cheating since it re-rolled the damage roll...another edit - now everything is going crazy, i've replaced the whole set of rolls in the bonus action with the embedded disadvantage roll.
(Jorin's second attack on the hand would be at disadvantage. Only the first attack gets help.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
OOC: Yeah, you can't edit rolls, and you can't add rolls BEFORE existing rolls. Next time, just add another roll after and explain what it is.
"'Attack the hand'," Hildigrim says blankly. He shakes his head. "Why didn't I think of that?" He drops his shortbow and moves forward to engage in melee with rapier and dagger.
Rapier attack at disadvantage vs. the hand: 9; damage: 8 piercing damage
Bonus dagger attack at disadvantage vs. the hand: 9; damage: 1 piercing damage
Can't get sneak attack damage because the attack is at disadvantage. :(
(OoC - DDP, I believe you do get sneak attack damage since there is an enemy of your enemy within 5 feet of him. Disadvantage doesn't cancel out sneak attack as far as I know)
(OoC - DDP, I believe you do get sneak attack damage since there is an enemy of your enemy within 5 feet of him. Disadvantage doesn't cancel out sneak attack as far as I know)
(It does cancel out. I found the reference in the PHB p. 96: "You don't need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn't incapacitated, and you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll."
Having said that, those are some monster To-Hit rolls by Hildigrim.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
OOC > Well done! Slipping in here between meetings. Nobody else rolled initiative, but Hildi rolled a 20...
Drusk advances on the creature, "Jorin, attack the hand!" Jorin hefts his axes and approaches the shambling figure. But Hildigrim, realization dawning on his face, rushes between them (Halfling Nimbleness ftw!) and stabs the hand with his rapier, once, twice! Drusk arrives, pinning the body with his shield, and Jorin lops the hand of with one stroke.
Hildigrim pulls the rapier out, and the hand falls to the floor, lifeless.
As Drusk releases the pressure of his shield, the body slumps to the floor.
Vanja rushes up, kneeling over the body. (Medicine: 19)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Jorin's focus breaks for a moment as he chuckles at Drusk's words. "Aye, Drusk. I imagine we all look a bit the same from the floor." He turns his focus back on the creature, "It does not appear to be friendly, nor fast, I recommend we use the same approach as the slime. Keep backing away as you speak, let us keep about 20 feet distance between us and it."
Jorin moves in time with the rest of the group, keeping himself between the creature and his friends.
OOC: Hardy har har. Point of fact, it's Hildi's narrator who got the names mixed up, not the halfling himself. He would never have a brain slip like that.
Hildigrim snaps his fingers and then quickly backpedals to catch up with his retreating jokester friends, though he doesn't show any signs that he's paid any attention to their teasing. "Jawny! This is like Jawny!" Not looking at his companions, but anticipating their looks of confusion, he continues, "OK, there're stories about magical and undead severed hands. That's not unusual. This aged adventurer one time spun me a tale about this necromancer who would cut off the hands of his victims, enchant them, and then they could crawl around on him like grotesque pet spiders." He plows on, watching the shambling individual, walking backward, and explaining in rapid fire. "Some nefarious wizards use necromancy to enslave or animate the severed hands of others to do their bidding. They're a kind of disembodied servant. One time, I was in the Forked Tongue, this shop in Waterdeep. The first time I'd gone there, Forte had dared me. We weren't supposed to be in that part of town — our parents forbid it. But I'd heard they had some hard-to-find books, and when I told Forte, he ... well, I went to prove to him I wasn't a small-toed soft heel," he says with a bit of defiance in his voice. "It's a great little shop. The proprietor is a little eccentric, but congenial enough. Well, once time, I picked up this book, Sorceress Sister Sabrina's Sinister Stories, and one of the chapters in it was 'The Ballad of Two Handed One-hand Jawny.' In the Ballad, one of these severed and enchanted hands was returned to its still-living previous owner: Jawny. It reattached itself, and Jawny and his hand went on a murderous spree." He finally takes a second to look at the others, a big grin on his face, his extended arm and splayed fingers indicating the approaching fiend. "Don't you see it?"
"A two-handed Jawny, eh? Can Jawny talk, or reason? Or is the sound of my axefall the only language he is..." Jorin pauses for a moment, as if looking for something unseen, "...fluent in?" He finishes, flashing a big smile, pleased with his choice in words.
Drusk: "I did not get all of that. So let me ask simply. This thing is not an innocent nature spirit, but a foul undead? Concentrated in that arm?"
He readies another Sacred Flame. At confirmation from anyone in the party that it is undead, he will cast it on the figure, at the grotesque hand if possible. (DEX save DC 12 or 1 radiant damage)
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
OOC > Here's a ruling on hitting a specific body part. I like it (appeals to the part of me that also likes coin encumbrance) and I'm going to basically use the Angry GM's rules, found here: https://theangrygm.com/dungeons-and-dragons-and-dismemberment/.
In a nutshell, you can target a body part if you take disadvantage on an attack roll. (So, area of effect attacks are not eligible, nor are things like, alas, Sacred Flame, which do not require an attack roll). Two reasons you might want to incur this disadvantage. 1) You want to make a cinematically awesome attack, but with no effect game wise (you still effect the same amount of damage as a regular attack). Or 2) you are attacking a multipart monster (a creature that can survive without one or more of its parts) and want to disable one of its attacks or abilities (a tentacle, wings, etc.). If it is relevant, I will secretly keep track of separate pools of hit points (e.g., 10 hp each for the limbs of a treant but 66 hp for the whole thing) and add them up to see if, eventually, the thing dies when enough limbs are cut off. In the meantime, each limb removed means one less to attack with.
In the case before us, the grotesque hand creature (at least according to Hildi's theory) you are welcome to try to attack just the hand, at disadvantage, and I will tell you what, if anything, happens.
Tally ho!
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
OOC > Also, this game is a dialogue, and I am happy to entertain opinions on this. I like my ruling, but if you have questions, let's take it to the Private thread just so people reading along don't have to skip ahead to the action, or to an edited ruling.
Vanja backs up with the rest of the party. "I have not heard of this, but from Hildi's story, it would seem at least of the death arts, if not undead."
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Drusk reacts to the word "undead", and sends a pitiful Sacred Flame at the creature's body (being unable to focus the radiance on the hand).
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
DM does a rolling thing...
14
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Drusk steps forward and once again calls down the blinding, radiant light of Lliira, but the shambling figure makes a surprisingly nimble sidestep, falling back against the wall after the flash has passed. Leaning heavily on the stone, it pushes itself upright again, and with the creepy hand in the lead, begins to progress down the hallway once more.
Shuffle, scrape, thump. It is now 10' from the entry to the blood room.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Watching the others catch on enough to gratify him, Hildigrim beams at each. As the sacred flames begin to burn, the halfling draws his shortbow. "I wish I knew more about the arcane arts. Alas, there's no time for that now." He fires an arrow at the creature.
Shortbow attack: 8; damage: 5 piercing damage
Hildigrim's arrow flies wide, skittering down the hallway into darkness.
OOC > Let's have a pseudo battle round where the three (4) of you declare what you're doing. So far, you've basically been taking turns Delaying to let one of you act (Sacred Flame, arrow). I'm off to meetings all day, so this will give time for everyone to check in.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
(If Drusk has already acted this round, then apply this to the next.)
Drusk will get into melee range with this creature, and try to pin its evil-er arm against the wall with his shield. "Jorin, attack the hand!" This is a help action for Jorin, which should offset the disadvantage of targeting a specific body part (or give advantage for a normal strike).
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Jorin follows after Drusk with his two battleaxes held at the ready. He tightens his grip and brings down each axe aiming for Jawny's wrist.
OoC - Edit - Added a second attack roll to the bonus action for disadvantage, this triggered the red banner of cheating since it re-rolled the damage roll...another edit - now everything is going crazy, i've replaced the whole set of rolls in the bonus action with the embedded disadvantage roll.
(Jorin's second attack on the hand would be at disadvantage. Only the first attack gets help.)
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
OOC: Yeah, you can't edit rolls, and you can't add rolls BEFORE existing rolls. Next time, just add another roll after and explain what it is.
"'Attack the hand'," Hildigrim says blankly. He shakes his head. "Why didn't I think of that?" He drops his shortbow and moves forward to engage in melee with rapier and dagger.
Rapier attack at disadvantage vs. the hand: 9; damage: 8 piercing damage
Bonus dagger attack at disadvantage vs. the hand: 9; damage: 1 piercing damage
Can't get sneak attack damage because the attack is at disadvantage. :(
Initiative: 11
(OoC - DDP, I believe you do get sneak attack damage since there is an enemy of your enemy within 5 feet of him. Disadvantage doesn't cancel out sneak attack as far as I know)
(It does cancel out. I found the reference in the PHB p. 96: "You don't need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn't incapacitated, and you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll."
Having said that, those are some monster To-Hit rolls by Hildigrim.)
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
DM rollzing
2
Close, but no cigar.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
OOC > Well done! Slipping in here between meetings. Nobody else rolled initiative, but Hildi rolled a 20...
Drusk advances on the creature, "Jorin, attack the hand!" Jorin hefts his axes and approaches the shambling figure. But Hildigrim, realization dawning on his face, rushes between them (Halfling Nimbleness ftw!) and stabs the hand with his rapier, once, twice! Drusk arrives, pinning the body with his shield, and Jorin lops the hand of with one stroke.
Hildigrim pulls the rapier out, and the hand falls to the floor, lifeless.
As Drusk releases the pressure of his shield, the body slumps to the floor.
Vanja rushes up, kneeling over the body. (Medicine: 19)
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
"I think it's... alive," Vanja says with a wondering tone. She bandages the bleeding stump roughly.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.