The Long Road - Game Thread

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

OOC: Drusk, you and I posted at the same time, so check out my post #3223, please. I'll assume all the shopping happens after "tomorrow".

 

(OOC: Yeah, I did miss post #3223. Let's take care of the shopping now, otherwise it may be some time before you get the chance...

I forgot to mention that Vajra covers the familiar-summoning costs and materials, so you don't have to worry about that. You can get Volo back this evening.

Copying the Sleep spell... If everyone is willing, you could take 50 GP out of the remaining "party funds" (about half). If no one objects, assume you got the components you need to transcribe the spell into your book.

And while it wasn't a deliberate slap in the DM's face with a dueling glove, there is no way I am role-playing every member of Hildigrim's family... As long as they aren't completely outrageous, you'll have to post that yourself! )

Does Hildi want to transcribe this Invisibility scroll that I have?

Jorin is very interested in this traditional, vision inspiring, drink of  Hildigrim's clan 

So is Quillary, in a non-committal way. 

Hildi has 60+ gold, so he'll pay the 50 to transcribe the sleep spell.

As for invisibility, Hildi can't use it until taking a 3rd level in wizard. I haven't even thought that far as to whether he'll do that. It's up to Pascal on whether we hold onto it or use it.

As for Hildi's family, have you seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding? To paraphrase one of my favorite scenes, "Halflings marry halflings to breed more halflings, to be loud breeding halfling eaters."

DM:

Oh, and Jorin, I threw in the brew specifically for you. If you try it (Quillary, too), I'll leave it up to the DM as to what results.

Awww ya, mystery brew!

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

 

DM: I considered offering to DM the trip to the Goodbody household, but then decided it probably didn't need to be such a big deal.

(OOC: Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to have you do that. (I'm a bit busier over the next week, so this will help.) I wasn't planning on any serious events during Wintershield, so you taking over the halfling partying works for me.

A few boundary conditions:

• DirtyDogP takes over as DM, from the moment the party wakes up the morning of Wintershield, until they go to sleep that night. (Let me know when you are handing back the baton.)
• Party (as in the celebration) should happen at or very near the Waterdeep docks. I'm not familiar with the Waterdeep map, so I don't know if the trip there is an hour's walk, or half a day by wagon/ferry.
• Party (as in the characters) were planning on returning to the Road's End the day after. So while they enjoy the hospitality of the Goodbody family during the day of Wintershield, no one will be surprised when they are gone the next morning (to do more adventure-ey stuff).
• No real-life time limit. As long as people are having fun with this celebration, we should keep doing it. (The next module is ready "whenever", no rush.)

My last act as DM for the near future, unless DirtyDogP wants more time...  Pascal should add that magic brazier to his inventory, Hildigrim gets the greater healing potion, and Quillary a regular healing potion. Everyone should hit the Long Rest button to reset their hit points and spell slots.)

Everyone gets a sample of Hildy's special concoction. (Our friendly ghost helps serve the glasses.) But the most eager drinkers are Quillary and Jorin.

You've had traditional digestif cocktails before: fruit enhanced drinks that burn like lighter fluid when you breathe out. This one is earthier, more like an espresso than a dessert. It is smooth enough that you have to focus to notice the alcohol. (But with a halfling's constitution, make no mistake, it is alcoholic.)

Pascal and Drusk enjoy their drink, thank Hildigrim, then retire for the night. Quillary, in her wisdom, sips and slowly savors her cup.

Jorin, on the other hand, pounds the first cup, and then a few more in quick succession before he can be stopped. "Are you sure you made this right, Hildigrim? It is tasty, but has no kick." He seems normal for 3 minutes, then slumps face-first onto the table, snoring as the drink finally "kicked" in.

Jorin is too heavy to drag up to his room without more help. Hildigrim and Quillary drape a blanket over Jorin as he sleeps at the dining table.

OOC > Quillary: Potion of Healing added, Long Rest taken.

Quillary intended to do plenty of drinking that night, but unsure of Hildi's concoction, she held off just long enough to see Jorin meet the table. After that, there is little reason to drink alone, so she covers him with a blanket and goes up to her attic room, where she throws all the windows open and stares out into the cold evening until she falls asleep.

As Pascal and Drusk are saying good-night, Hildigrim tells everyone they should leave by 8:00 a.m. "I estimate it will take about an hour to walk the distance to Cod Street, and I'd like to arrive by second breakfast." When he gets a couple curious looks, he misunderstands and explains, "It's only polite."

[Insert whatever you'd like about the night before and the morning.]

The next morning, Hildi is practically bouncing off the walls with nervous excitement. He is talking nonstop, but no one pays any attention to his blathering as they prepare for the day, and he doesn't appear to expect any interaction. One benefit to Jorin waking up with a headache is Hildi uses his funeral voice, so it's even easier to ignore him. When it's finally time to go, the halfling appears with a very full pack. When asked why he's bringing so many things, he starts pulling items out to show and explain until someone else reminds him that he wanted to leave by 8:00, so he quickly repacks his pack, and they set off. At the bottom of the stairs, Hildigrim stops, turns, and slaps his hand to his forehead. "Hainard's hairy toes, I forgot!" He looks at the others. "Does anyone have a map? We should carry a map today. It's good luck!"

This time of the year, dawn comes after 8:30, so the streets are lit by lanterns as the party begins their journey. There is no snow on the ground, but the air is very cold, so everyone is bundled up. Luckily, there is barely any wind. The walk takes them south mainly along the well-maintained High Road. The streets of Waterdeep are not as busy this day as they usually are in the morning. And the traffic they encounter consists mainly of couples and families either briskly walking or riding in wagons. Most seem in high spirits as the prospects of the new year tend to bring on an air of jollity. There is much hat tipping and greeting of strangers, and laughter and boisterous talk from open windows, despite the freezing air. Thick black smoke rises from the chimneys of every abode, but the windows of shops and taverns are dark. Wintershield is a holiday, and only a few enterprising — or fool-hearty — entrepreneurs open on the 1st of Hammer.

DM rollz: 79

As luck would have it (and halflings are very familiar with that), one such entrepreneur is set up on the side of the road selling ... maps! from a small cart. Hildigrim bounds over and inquires after the man's wares. After some bantering back and forth (the man is more than likely a peddler, but Hildigrim is fairly desperate to pick up a map), Hildigrim pays 10 gp for a map that looks like something he could have drawn himself. But the halfling is happy, showing the others his new map before folding it up and putting it into his pack. It happens to be a map of The Whalebones.

Armed with his new map, Hildigrim continues leading the party "home". They leave the High Road and enter Snail Street, following the boundary between the Castle Ward and the Trades Ward, then entering the Dock Ward. South, south they continue as the sun begins to peek up over the horizon. They see many children — almost all humans — in this part of the city. They look like escapees — wild-eyed and almost frantic. Hildigrim comments that the streets aren't always safe in this part of the Dock Ward, but that holidays like Wintershield tend to be quieter, so parents are more likely to let their children roam a little farther from home. They take a couple side lanes before ending up on Cod Street. This area is a strange mixture of dwellings ranging from small shacks centered on small plots of weedy ground to largish homes not quite as big as the Road's End with no yard at all. The Goodbody home is one of the latter, though it doesn't look like anything special from the street. (And, as far as everyone can tell, all the homes are scaled for medium-sized people like the Road's End is.)

As the party approaches, and Hildigrim is still talking a mile a minute, the front door to the home opens, and a brown-haired halfling taller and stockier than Hildigrim leans against the doorjamb with his arms crossed, watching their approach. When Hildigrim finally pays attention enough to see the other halfling, he hollers out, "Well, there he is!" Immediately, two young halflings — a boy and a girl — run out of the house, almost banging into the halfling in the doorway, and splitting to run on either side of the party. "Hi, Hildi!" they call out one after the other, not stopping.

Hildigrim points vaguely at the runners. "That was Elsi and Tamil." Then, staring at the halfling in the doorway, Hildi says proudly, "And this is Forte. My other half."

Forte doesn't smile, but doesn't look unhappy, either. He stops leaning against the doorjamb and puts his hands in his pockets.

Hildigrim introduces his new friends one by one, and Forte nods at each mutely, not showing any emotion, positive or negative. Looking at Hildigrim, Forte says, "Second breakfast is almost ready," then turns and walks into the house, his eyes washing over the group one last time as he does so.

Hildigrim smiles brightly at the others. "Well, come in. Make yourselves at home."

OOC: Feel free to add whatever you like, but I've got to continue this tomorrow ... well, later today.

Jorin, on the other hand, pounds the first cup, and then a few more in quick succession before he can be stopped. "Are you sure you made this right, Hildigrim? It is tasty, but has no kick." He seems normal for 3 minutes, then slumps face-first onto the table, snoring as the drink finally "kicked" in.

Jorin is too heavy to drag up to his room without more help. Hildigrim and Quillary drape a blanket over Jorin as he sleeps at the dining table.

lol!!  Perfect, Jorin has spent more than one night sleeping on a table.

As Hildigrim introduces the group, Jorin stands proud and tall, hands resting on the pommels of his weapons much like the way Forte's hands rest in his pockets.  When he is introduced, he adds, "Of the Bodt" to his name and smiles broadly.  The smell of cooking food causes a wash of pleasure and excitement over his face and he is veritably lifted off the ground and carried into the home by the delicious aromas. 

(OOC: I'm assuming that Drusk and Jorin won't be wearing their heavy armor during Wintershield, and left them in their manor rooms. I will work around that on the next day. Don't scare the Goodbody family with your weapons, if you don't have to.)

Drusk is in his fine travel clothes, and still has Joybringer II (magic mace) with him. But rather than being positioned for easy use, it is displayed at his side like a ceremonial weapon.

During the walk, he keeps asking Hldigrim, "Are we there yet?" (Not trying to be annoying. He still isn't familiar with the Waterdeep streets, and his (CHA) social skills aren't the highest.)

“I coulda swore we was supposed to left turn back there.”

Pascal is equally confused about the layout of the city.

Quillary, unlike her more, uh, male companions, knows her way around. She's spent many nights walking the streets, before and after her shift at the City of the Dead. She doesn't have a map, but luck has never been part of her quiver, despite how she has seen Hildi's luck turn the tide more than once. Not everyone has to be everything.

She's dressed herself in her best, which is still pretty patchy, with her leather jerkin on top (it's among the nicest things she owns), as well as her cloak with the swirled pattern. She also wears her curly hat. She's taken some care to adorn her hair with fresh flowers (courtesy of Fala's greenhouse), and is keeping her spores on a tight leash today.

She seems pretty light hearted, for being sober, and is looking forward to this day. She talks, when Hildi stops to take a breath, about the beauty of a chill morning.

As Elsi and Tamil race by, she laughs and releases a bat from her hat to frolic with them. The poor thing is petrified, lost, and cold, and flies away quickly, to her disappointment. Turning back, she smiles at Forte, sketching a brief curtsy. "Just Quillary will do, I'm not from anywhere," she adds, as she is introduced after Jorin of the Bodt.

Oh good call on the armaments...Jorin would have left his breast plate at the inn.  He is dressed in the blue and white tunic in the style of his people.  He would have brought his axe though, as it is something he forged himself, and then reforged into the magical weapon it is now.  Though they are "battle" axes by D&D mechanics standards, they are not terribly huge, but rather more like expertly crafted, slightly over-sized handaxes along the lines of this piece of art.

https://clutchaxes.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/viking-warrior-e1524536040397.jpg?ezimgfmt=rs:357x505/rscb2/ng:webp/ngcb2

They hang from loops in his belt, axe-head up.  If Jorin notices the Goodbodys are looking put-off by his weapons, he will offer to stow them in the house (ie, off his person) wherever they would like.  He would also being extremely eager to tell them of their origin, and how deeply they have drunk, but he would wait until asked to do so.

Quillary did not bring her club, being reasonably sure she can find a piece of firewood or a chair to smash and then ensorcel with woodland might. (But she is, explicitly, wearing her leather armor.)

Ensorcel with woodland might, nice 

The party enters, Hildigrim ushering them excitedly from the rear. Forte stands just inside by the door as a kind of butler, and once all five are in, he closes the door against the cold. Contrary to the plainness of the outside, the inside of the Goodbody home is ... homey. It is not elegant, but there are some fine things. The furniture looks comfortable and well maintained. There are both "small" and "big" pieces to help everyone feel comfortable. The walls are adorned with paintings. "Gramgram did all the landscapes herself," Hildi explains later. Beautiful rugs cover the polished stone floors.

The front door allows entry to a receiving room with a cased opening on both the left and right. To the right is a large room full of several covered tables set up end to end with a plethora of chairs in various styles along both sides. The tables are adorned with dishes of every size and cups and glasses and gleaming tableware and unlit candles in ornate candelabras. Everything about it suggests festivities. To the left is another largish room which is crammed full of other furniture (perhaps some that is normally in the room on the right). Both the large rooms have fireplaces roaring with flames. While the room on the right is currently empty of folk, the room on the left is full of halflings.

As the four guests hesitate in the entry, Hildigrim squeezes through them and pops into the room on the left. "Happy Wintershield!" he calls out. Even though the room was already noisy with voices, the volume rises in a general cheer of welcome. There are even a couple pronouncements of "Hainard's hairy toes!" A middle-aged-looking halfling male struts over to Hildigrim and embraces him. "There's my boy," he says proudly. "We thought you'd never get here." He immediately smiles up at the faces peeking in from the smaller room. "Who have you brought with you?"

Hildigrim introduces everyone again, addressing the entire room instead of just his father.

"Welcome to our home, and happy Wintershield. I'm Hori," he says, shaking hands with the closest big. He turns and gestures toward the room. "Make yourselves comfortable."

"Wait!" calls a voice from the other end of the room. Everyone turns to see an aged halfling woman dressed in an apron holding her hands up and smiling. "Don't sit down. Second breakfast is ready." The room explodes with voices once again, and the guests can barely make out the rest of what she has to say over the din of halfling pandemonium. She cups her hands to the sides of her mouth and calls, "Make your way to the dining room," before pointing frantically toward the room with all the tables.

Hildigrim turns that way and encourages his friends into the next room to find a seat. All the chairs are sized for medium-sized creatures. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the seating arrangement, but after all the halflings have found where they are going to sit, there are five empty seats — four close to each other — from which to choose. Three of the seats are in a row on the same side of the table as Hildi, who sits in the first chair near the front of the house, but a female halfling about the same age as Hildigrim's dad is sitting in the seat beside Hildi. She is dressed a little fancier than you'd expect for a family gathering. Her hair is stylish, and she's sporting several items of jewelry. Her eyes seem to be enjoying the sight of Jorin. So, Hildi's in the first seat, the stylish female's in the second seat, there are three empty seats, and then the aged female who invited everyone to second breakfast in the next seat. After her is another female who looks well dressed, but not nearly as fancy as the one sitting beside Hildi, and she looks a little younger. The fifth empty chair is on the other side of her, at the end of the table. On the other side of the table, Hori is sitting in the first seat (across from Hildi), an aged halfling male who walks with a cane — apparently Popsy — is sitting next to him, and then there's the fourth empty seat, with Forte on the other side (followed by four more filled chairs).

OOC: Who sits where?

Quillary is pretty uncomfortable with all the expressive family loving, so she hesitates, and takes whatever seat is left at the end (but not the one on the end, as that seems like it should be reserved for someone important, she knows that much).

Drusk was headed straight for that prime chair at the end... until he saw Quillary's frown.

He gets a different chair, as close to Quillary as possible, so he can discreetly ask for her advice, to reduce the chance of committing any social faux pas. These halflings are certainly nicer than the elves from his village, but they are still an odd bunch.