The Long Road - Game Thread

Pascal raises a claw, “Eh, but what if the wand is only good for one use. Then we’re fresh outta luck. Let me try...”

Pascal will take a seat next to Noke, “Now, listen friend, ain’t nothin’ bad gonna come to you here. We ain’t gonna try anything against you. But here’s the thing, one way or another, we’re gonna fix Shinebright. He’ll testify that you turned him into a sheep, and suddenly all that hard work that you’ve put in over the years goes up in smoke. But! If you show us how to fix this, then we can help you not get in trouble! Cause frankly, you did summon a dragon against us. And broke our tavern. And my tables.” Pascal goes on with his list. “So let’s work together on this, no?”

Quillary steps back to watch the scary, flesh-eating lizard say soothing things.

DM, I posted a roll and then finished my post at the same time you were posting a response to my roll. Did you see all of my post?

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

DM, I posted a roll and then finished my post at the same time you were posting a response to my roll. Did you see all of my post?

(I did miss the Investigation, thanks for pointing it out.)

Hldigrim finishes talking to the sheep, and puts his hand on the shelf of scrolls to indicate where the sheep should look.

The scroll his hand rests on looks familiar... It is a scroll of Speak With Animals. But it is not the modified version (read by anyone, affects a crowd), but the standard spell (Druid/Ranger/Bard only, affects self).

Quillary will hold the scroll in reserve to see if her threat or Pascal’s entreaty will sway Noke in to helping.

With Jorin's and Quillary's threats, Noke does not believe when Pascal says nothing bad will come to him. (He is sulking, and no roll will get him to cooperate anymore.)

Pascal crosses his arms and huffs,  before getting up, mumbling, “Break my tables then don’ even help, grumble grumble...”

Quillary will read the scroll.

Shinebright's words are translated by Quillary to the rest of the group, so she will summarize (and leave out the 50% where he is boasting about being a great wizard).

You may have wondered why so many of the guards are still animals? After Noke got the wand, he overused it, damaged it, patched it up as best he could... and then continued over-using it. It is now at the point where the polymorph spell is unreliable, and sometimes goes wrong.

(In the module, after the bed dragon is defeated, Noke tries to polymorph himself into something strong, and ends up as a Gibbering Mouther. Pascal and his pesky Hold Person derailed that plot line.)

The wand can still function, but requires someone with skill in Arcana. At this point Shinebright-sheep looks over your group, and gives his assessment:

• Jorin and his suggestion to break the wand - REJECTED
• Drusk using the wand of smiles on the sheep - REJECTED
• Pascal getting a zero on his Arcana check - REJECTED

Quillary seems to be more level-headed than the other three, but doesn't seem to have a firm grasp on the arcane. That leaves Hildigrim and his one level of Wizard. (The sheep shudders.) But Shinebright insists that the wand should be used on him, regardless of the risk. He only wants to continue as an elf wizard, and not as a beast under the spell of a mere apprentice.

(Noke hears Quillary's translation, and starts arguing with the Shinebright about who is a better wizard, even though he doesn't understand the angry sheep bleating. Your group can ignore both of them while discussing what to do next.)

If Hidigrim decides to use the wand on the sheep, roll Arcana with advantage, and with a d4 from Guidance. (I assume that Quillary is Help-ing, by translating instructions from Shinebright as the wand is being used.)

Quillary is indeed Helping whomever will attempt the wand work.

Hildigrim's game to try.

Arcana with help and guidance (and luck): 19 + 3

That's pretty good. :crosses fingers:

(It was DC 17.) Hildigrim feels the wand starting to spark and smolder (that initial roll of "1"), but he has the luck of the halflings. He is able to complete the spell on the sheep, and then drops the wand before it burns his hands.

Shinebright is back to his normal middle-aged elf form. He keeps touching the hair on his head, like it is poof-ier than he remembers. And when he pauses talking, you would swear that you can hear him "baaahh" under his breath.

He gives a sad look at his wand, which is now inoperative. "If I put in a lot of work, maybe it can be fixed..." Then he notices his smashed bed, and the destroyed SW wall of the platform, and the trashed outhouse (still smoking from the additional Fireball). "Couldn't you have avoided all this damage? Well, I guess not everyone can be a powerful and respected wizard, like me.

"Your service was adequate. I have a lot of repairs to do, and animal guards to be penned, and Waterdeep officials to talk to. Please see yourselves out."

Hildigrim gives the wizard a bow. "You're welcome. Glad to be of service." He looks back and forth between Shinebright and Noke. "Now, we have a few things to clear up. First of all, our payment," he says to Shinebright. He steps up and takes the apple from Noke's mouth. "Secondly, I don't think it's a good idea for us to leave Noke in your care. It seems to me that two talented individuals have felt wronged, and I'd like to hear from you both. What, exactly, is going on here?"

Insight: 17

Quillary is also curious, and insightful, but not too clueful about all of this, so she will instead Help Hildigrim with his interrogation.

(OOC: I'll give the info for free, despite that Insight roll.

It is basically what you've already learned. Shinebright took on Noke as an apprentice, and after a year of slave labor, told him that the apprenticeship would last a century, like it does for all elves. Noke, being human, decided he can't wait that long.

Their egos have them thinking it was their own talent, and not the wand of true polymorph, that had them doing incredible feats. Their toxic relationship is beyond fixing.

Waterdeep has laws about casting spells on others unwillingly. Noke will spend some time in jail, but his apprentice contract will be voided. The animal guards can be locked up by Waterdeep authorities, until Shinebright or other wizards can restore them to humanoid.

If that satisfies curiosity, then more will be posted later about payment.)

Quillary is satisfied.

Jorin hadn't even thought to inquire or attempt to make amends between the two.  When Hildigrim speaks, he gives the Halfling an approving nod.

Wrapping up the adventure (modified from the Wild Sheep Chase):

(1) Everyone level up to 6th. Don't forget to hit the "Long Rest" button.

(2) "Payment? What payment?... Oh, yes, payment for services... right..." Finethir Shinebright walks over to a spot on the floor, and reaches down to open a chest, which is no longer there. Scratching his head in puzzlement, he spots another chest in the room and opens that. Instead of being greeted with valuable jewelry, it has several parchments, all with IOU debts that Shinebright has to pay.

Shinebright was spendthrift with his money, before he was a sheep. Then Noke took over, blew more money on parties with the guards, racked up a lot of debts, and paid fees on contracts where Noke wasn't able to deliver the right wizardry services... Basically, Shinebright is bankrupt. (This is even before the needed repairs to his bed, house, and outhouse.)

(3) The ape had a mace, +1. Drusk will claim this as an initial payment. (After cleaning it first, because the ape didn't wash his hands after using the outhouse.)

But Shinebright still owes your group more.

(4) Hildigrim, with growing up with his family business, knows how to write a contract. Shinebright hands over a stack of IOUs to Hildigrim, with a healthy interest rate.

(OOC: This is a resource for the group, and a possible plot hook for future stories. If this is used infrequently, you will have this resource for the entire duration of the campaign. If I decide you are using this too often, then Shinebright will pay off his entire debt sooner rather than later.)

(5) Pascal mentions the damages in the bistro. Shinebright intends to get another apprentice soon. (A proper elf apprentice, of course, who knows the traditional ways.) That person will be sent to the Road's End to use Mending for the broken chairs and tables.

(6) The prisoners in the Road's End cellar are taken away. Fala had a quiet evening, and waits patiently until Pascal prepares a meal to-go.

(7) In 2 days is Wintershield (new year's day), when Hildigrim has a trip planned to visit his family's fishing business.

But before then, another adventure begins tomorrow. (OOC: and tomorrow IRL, unless that interrupts whatever discussion people want to do in the meanwhile.)

Pascal returns home having learned a valuable lesson...

To this end, he has mastered a new skill!

Pascal can now consume magic!

Hildigrim was already planning to mend the broken furniture himself.

Hildigrim can now dodge uncannily.

How soon before our bartender and ghost maid (who Hildigrim couldn't have been following around yet — whoops!) arrive?