Party vs. the headache monster(s) Round 4 Resolution phase
Map:
Resolution: Hildigrim tugs on Jorin's pants, urging him to retreat more. "We can't fight what we can't see," he says. Jorin nods and begins to fall back, as Drusk steps up into the vacated space, going on about some convoluted plan he has dreamt up. Vanja is also backing away, towards the blood room, when Drusk spots something unnatural flowing slowly across the ceiling of the storage room, moving into view, out towards the hallway. It is oily and wet, and dark like the stone, but definitely some thing, oozing across the wet stone.
He calls on Lliira and a column of flame coalesces around the unnatural puddle, causing it to pause and bubble, but it continues advancing (save failed, 8 radiant dmg!). Vanja steps forward (but not too far) and throws the ball of flame she's been holding (21!), and it splashes fire against the thing (3 fire dmg!), but its wetness seems to shrug some of the fire off.
Then the gray, oozing creature falls off the ceiling with a slurping sound and a wet splat, but is very much still moving. Jorin feels a stab in his brain again (save made, only 2 dmg!).
Next: Round 5! Declaration phase post coming up!
Notes: The creature is "indistinguishable from... wet rock" until it moves. Once you all were out of sight, it moved, and your hyper awareness of anything weird, plus your experience with the ceiling slimes, made this pretty obvious once it started moving. I rolled for Drusk's damage (since he didn't) rather than hold up the post. Y'all let me know if you'd rather I asked and waited for that sort of thing.
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.
Party vs. the oozing puddle headache monster Round 5 Declaration phase
Map:
Sitrep: An oozing pile of goo has crawled across the ceiling at the very edge of your light, then dropped to the floor when hit by radiant and fire strikes. Drusk is in the front line and closest (and can see it clearly with his dark vision), with the other three of you in various stages of retreat (and Jorin and Hildigrim took the light sources with them).
Drusk - AC 18 - 10/10 hp Hildigrim - AC 14 - 6/9 hp Jorin - AC 17 - 3/12 hp - healed 2 hp, then took 2 hp psychic dmg Vanja - AC 12 - 10 hp Oozing puddle headache monster - smoking but still moving with purpose.
Monsters declare! The ooze is reaching up with tendrils of gray goo and flowing across the floor towards Drusk.
Next: Everyone please declare.
Declare Delay or as many of Action, Move, Bonus Action and/or Reaction as you want
Roll initiative, then also roll for your declared actions (to hit, damage, etc.)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Drusk yells back, "Oily goo crawling after us. Attack from range, if you can. When it gets further into the corridor, I will back up a lot more."
Casts another Sacred Flame. DEX save DC 12 or it takes 4 Radiant damage.
Moves 15' in a diagonal (two squares down, and two squares left), but keeps it in line of sight. (Would prefer to be 50' away from the goo, but that would lose line-of-sight.)
(Edit: Oops. Initiative: 19 ...sigh... If needed, INT save: 17 )
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.
"Ahhh, there you are are!" Jorin roars out through the pain in his besieged mind. He takes 2 steps back towards the room they came out of before hearing Drusk urge attacking from range. He stows one of the battle axes and draws a small hand axe, ready to throw it.
Move: Two squares east
Action: Ready's the a throw attack with the handaxe triggered on the ooze moving within 20'
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"How do you attack mold?" Hildigrim asks himself aloud. He draws a dagger and looks at it, then at the torch in his other hand. He then hurries back into the hallway toward Vanja and Drusk.
Movement: To the square to the right of Vanja (squeezing between her legs because he's nimble)
Action: Throws the torch at the ooze (20 feet): 14
Party vs. the oozing puddle headache monster Round 5 Resolution phase
Starting Map:
Resolution: Drusk yells back over his shoulder, "Oily goo crawling after us!" but slips a little on the slick floor, and scrambles backwards as the ooze flows up to where he just was, putting out tendrils like oily fingers (9 to hit is a miss). Vanja snaps her fingers to make more flame, and throws it, landing squarely (12) but again, the fire sort of fizzles out (3 dmg). As Drusk continues backpedaling, Jorin steps up and with a smooth throw buries a hand axe into the goo (8) from 20 feet out (5 dmg). Hildigrim races forward, slipping past Vanja as she steps back, and throws the torch wildly at the thing, missing wide and sending sparks showering against the back wall. As the torch flies through the air, shadows careening, Drusk calls down the joy of Lliira, and a blinding column of radiant flame engulfs the black puddle (save failed). When the light clears, the oily mass is burned away (4 dmg), leaving Jorin's thrown axe on the ground.
Next: Combat is over (for now...). Back to narrative RP.
Notes: Drusk would have really lost that initiative contest, but it didn't matter in the end, since the gray ooze (psychic variant) missed him badly. This thing made its Psychic Crush recharge rolls three times in a row! As a result it didn't feel the need to move (and thus reveal itself) until you all got out of line of sight, so that was a good plan.
Final Map:
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.
As you regroup, Vanja snaps her head up (high passive perception), "I hear something coming from the north passage," she says quietly.
As you all pause to listen, you hear a faint scratching, shuffling sound coming from the darkened hall. You all *have* been noisy, and more importantly, you've been lighting the place up with radiant fire bursts.
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.
Drusk takes one step back, then stares at the remnants of the ooze. "It might still be alive. I should check for a pulse." Another Sacred Flame. "No pulse."
Yes, that is a "Pacific Rim" reference.
Drusk then goes up to Jorin, and casts Cure Wounds, healing him for 13 HP.
"That is it for my healing spells for today. I'm fine with exploring more, but mind your wounds."
(Edit and OOC: I posted around the same time as Mingofaust, so I didn't see post #349 when I wrote this... I guess Drusk is a little slow in noticing the threat from the north.)
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 closes his eyes and breathes deeply as Lliira's healing energy surges through him. "Thank you, my friend" he says to Drusk as he dashes off to collect his handaxe. As he picks it up from the dried slime, his brow furrows at the sight of the pitted blade, "Not much of an edge left on this. It is good that we did not let this thing touch us." He puts it back into the sheath on his belt.
When the sound of the shuffling and scrapping comes to his attention, he notices that everyone else hears it also and goes back into the blood room. "We should let this thing come to us, perhaps cast the torch down the hall so we can see it round the corner." He puts himself one square back from the hall threshold, both battleaxes at the ready.
OOC: Assuming from your "regroup" comment and the fact that Hildi's holding the torch again that he retrieved it.
The halfling nods at Jorin with a slight grin. "Worked so well before ... why not try again?" Trying to act a little more rationally and less frantic, Hildigrim tosses the torch north.
Jorin lines up next to the hall opening, axes ready, as Hildi comes up and launches the torch... just five feet down the hallway.
It doesn't matter though, because just being that close, you (and Drusk with his dark vision) can all see what is coming.
A humanoid figure is shambling down the hallway in the sputtering torchlight, but it is leaning up against the eastern wall, with one arm extended towards you against the stone. It has long, dirty hair that has fallen in its face. The hand, which is all you can see clearly, is grotesque, with sharp claws and stark tendons. As you watch, the creature takes another shambling, uneven step towards you, almost as if the hand is pulling it along.
The creature is about 20 feet away. It is moving very slowly. You have all the time you want or need.
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.
The creature is about 20 feet away. It is moving very slowly. You have all the time you want or need.
Drusk motions to the others to maybe take a few steps south. Drusk side steps south, keeping the distance from this odd creature a constant 20', being mindful of the trap areas the group passed on the way into this chamber.
"Hail! Can you communicate in the Common language?"
If this gets no response, he will repeat the message in Elvish, Gnomish, and Orcish. (Except for the "Common" part, which is replaced by whatever language he is using at that time.)
He also tries to think if anything like this was ever mentioned in the abbey, or in any of the acolyte books he read.
History or Religion: 9 (Arcana would be 2 less) (Edit: apparently not)
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)
"Fascinating," Hildigrim says, not moving. As he realizes what Jorin is doing, he continues the query in halfling and dwarvish.
Drusk: "Hey! I realize that all tall folk might look the same to halflings, but I'm Drusk, and Jorin is over there... You should be able to tell us apart. Jorin is the one wearing chain mail, over 5' in height, with smith's tools. I'm the one wearing chain mail, over 5' in height, with a grappling hook."
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)
Party vs. the headache monster(s)
Round 4
Resolution phase
Map:
Resolution: Hildigrim tugs on Jorin's pants, urging him to retreat more. "We can't fight what we can't see," he says. Jorin nods and begins to fall back, as Drusk steps up into the vacated space, going on about some convoluted plan he has dreamt up. Vanja is also backing away, towards the blood room, when Drusk spots something unnatural flowing slowly across the ceiling of the storage room, moving into view, out towards the hallway. It is oily and wet, and dark like the stone, but definitely some thing, oozing across the wet stone.
He calls on Lliira and a column of flame coalesces around the unnatural puddle, causing it to pause and bubble, but it continues advancing (save failed, 8 radiant dmg!). Vanja steps forward (but not too far) and throws the ball of flame she's been holding (21!), and it splashes fire against the thing (3 fire dmg!), but its wetness seems to shrug some of the fire off.
Then the gray, oozing creature falls off the ceiling with a slurping sound and a wet splat, but is very much still moving. Jorin feels a stab in his brain again (save made, only 2 dmg!).
Next: Round 5! Declaration phase post coming up!
Notes: The creature is "indistinguishable from... wet rock" until it moves. Once you all were out of sight, it moved, and your hyper awareness of anything weird, plus your experience with the ceiling slimes, made this pretty obvious once it started moving. I rolled for Drusk's damage (since he didn't) rather than hold up the post. Y'all let me know if you'd rather I asked and waited for that sort of thing.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Party vs. the oozing puddle headache monster
Round 5
Declaration phase
Map:
Sitrep: An oozing pile of goo has crawled across the ceiling at the very edge of your light, then dropped to the floor when hit by radiant and fire strikes. Drusk is in the front line and closest (and can see it clearly with his dark vision), with the other three of you in various stages of retreat (and Jorin and Hildigrim took the light sources with them).
Drusk - AC 18 - 10/10 hp
Hildigrim - AC 14 - 6/9 hp
Jorin - AC 17 - 3/12 hp - healed 2 hp, then took 2 hp psychic dmg
Vanja - AC 12 - 10 hp
Oozing puddle headache monster - smoking but still moving with purpose.
Monsters declare! The ooze is reaching up with tendrils of gray goo and flowing across the floor towards Drusk.
Next: Everyone please declare.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Drusk yells back, "Oily goo crawling after us. Attack from range, if you can. When it gets further into the corridor, I will back up a lot more."
Casts another Sacred Flame. DEX save DC 12 or it takes 4 Radiant damage.
Moves 15' in a diagonal (two squares down, and two squares left), but keeps it in line of sight. (Would prefer to be 50' away from the goo, but that would lose line-of-sight.)
(Edit: Oops. Initiative: 19 ...sigh... If needed, INT save: 17 )
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)
"Ahhh, there you are are!" Jorin roars out through the pain in his besieged mind. He takes 2 steps back towards the room they came out of before hearing Drusk urge attacking from range. He stows one of the battle axes and draws a small hand axe, ready to throw it.
"How do you attack mold?" Hildigrim asks himself aloud. He draws a dagger and looks at it, then at the torch in his other hand. He then hurries back into the hallway toward Vanja and Drusk.
Movement: To the square to the right of Vanja (squeezing between her legs because he's nimble)
Action: Throws the torch at the ooze (20 feet): 14
Initiative: 12
Okay DM rolling...
For Round 5:
1: 10
2: 1
3: 9
4: 11
5: 3
6: 10
7: 9
Vanja will move and throw another ball of flame (range 30'): 6 to hit for 2 fire damage.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Party vs. the oozing puddle headache monster
Round 5
Resolution phase
Starting Map:
Resolution: Drusk yells back over his shoulder, "Oily goo crawling after us!" but slips a little on the slick floor, and scrambles backwards as the ooze flows up to where he just was, putting out tendrils like oily fingers (9 to hit is a miss). Vanja snaps her fingers to make more flame, and throws it, landing squarely (12) but again, the fire sort of fizzles out (3 dmg). As Drusk continues backpedaling, Jorin steps up and with a smooth throw buries a hand axe into the goo (8) from 20 feet out (5 dmg). Hildigrim races forward, slipping past Vanja as she steps back, and throws the torch wildly at the thing, missing wide and sending sparks showering against the back wall. As the torch flies through the air, shadows careening, Drusk calls down the joy of Lliira, and a blinding column of radiant flame engulfs the black puddle (save failed). When the light clears, the oily mass is burned away (4 dmg), leaving Jorin's thrown axe on the ground.
Next: Combat is over (for now...). Back to narrative RP.
Notes: Drusk would have really lost that initiative contest, but it didn't matter in the end, since the gray ooze (psychic variant) missed him badly. This thing made its Psychic Crush recharge rolls three times in a row! As a result it didn't feel the need to move (and thus reveal itself) until you all got out of line of sight, so that was a good plan.
Final Map:
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
And just for kicks, here's the full map after you regroup in the blood room:
Lighting's a little off for Drusk's dark vision, but you get the idea.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
OOC > No rest for the weary!
As you regroup, Vanja snaps her head up (high passive perception), "I hear something coming from the north passage," she says quietly.
As you all pause to listen, you hear a faint scratching, shuffling sound coming from the darkened hall. You all *have* been noisy, and more importantly, you've been lighting the place up with radiant fire bursts.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Drusk takes one step back, then stares at the remnants of the ooze. "It might still be alive. I should check for a pulse." Another Sacred Flame. "No pulse."
Yes, that is a "Pacific Rim" reference.
Drusk then goes up to Jorin, and casts Cure Wounds, healing him for 13 HP.
"That is it for my healing spells for today. I'm fine with exploring more, but mind your wounds."
(Edit and OOC: I posted around the same time as Mingofaust, so I didn't see post #349 when I wrote this... I guess Drusk is a little slow in noticing the threat from the north.)
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 closes his eyes and breathes deeply as Lliira's healing energy surges through him. "Thank you, my friend" he says to Drusk as he dashes off to collect his handaxe. As he picks it up from the dried slime, his brow furrows at the sight of the pitted blade, "Not much of an edge left on this. It is good that we did not let this thing touch us." He puts it back into the sheath on his belt.
When the sound of the shuffling and scrapping comes to his attention, he notices that everyone else hears it also and goes back into the blood room. "We should let this thing come to us, perhaps cast the torch down the hall so we can see it round the corner." He puts himself one square back from the hall threshold, both battleaxes at the ready.
OOC: Assuming from your "regroup" comment and the fact that Hildi's holding the torch again that he retrieved it.
The halfling nods at Jorin with a slight grin. "Worked so well before ... why not try again?" Trying to act a little more rationally and less frantic, Hildigrim tosses the torch north.
Throw: 2 +1 STR or +3 DEX
Torches are not my friend!
Jorin lines up next to the hall opening, axes ready, as Hildi comes up and launches the torch... just five feet down the hallway.
It doesn't matter though, because just being that close, you (and Drusk with his dark vision) can all see what is coming.
A humanoid figure is shambling down the hallway in the sputtering torchlight, but it is leaning up against the eastern wall, with one arm extended towards you against the stone. It has long, dirty hair that has fallen in its face. The hand, which is all you can see clearly, is grotesque, with sharp claws and stark tendons. As you watch, the creature takes another shambling, uneven step towards you, almost as if the hand is pulling it along.
The creature is about 20 feet away. It is moving very slowly. You have all the time you want or need.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
OOC > I want to give some credit to the artist for the adventure, Jack Badashski. Here is the image that pertains to this encounter.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Drusk motions to the others to maybe take a few steps south. Drusk side steps south, keeping the distance from this odd creature a constant 20', being mindful of the trap areas the group passed on the way into this chamber.
"Hail! Can you communicate in the Common language?"
If this gets no response, he will repeat the message in Elvish, Gnomish, and Orcish. (Except for the "Common" part, which is replaced by whatever language he is using at that time.)
He also tries to think if anything like this was ever mentioned in the abbey, or in any of the acolyte books he read.
History or Religion: 9 (Arcana would be 2 less) (Edit: apparently not)
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 calls out to it, but there is no response. It takes another step towards you, hugging the wall. Shuffle scratch thump.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
"Fascinating," Hildigrim says, not moving. As he realizes what Jorin is doing, he continues the query in halfling and dwarvish.
Any chance Hildi's read about this creature? Intelligence (religion's the same): 10 (arcana and history +2)
OOC > Why yes, I believe with a 19 there's a chance Hildi's read about this... private message incoming.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Drusk: "Hey! I realize that all tall folk might look the same to halflings, but I'm Drusk, and Jorin is over there... You should be able to tell us apart. Jorin is the one wearing chain mail, over 5' in height, with smith's tools. I'm the one wearing chain mail, over 5' in height, with a grappling hook."
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)
The advancing figure does not respond to any of the languages you polyglots have thrown at it.
It is now 15 feet from the entrance to the blood room (Drusk is backing up to maintain a 20' distance).
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.