Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in- Marketplace
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in
As Vassa starts dealing out the cards you all hear a familiar voice, "Hail all and well met!" You look up to see Volo striding toward your table with another man in tow. Seeing the cards, Volo says, "Forgive the intrusion but I had news to share with Mr. Lockbox here."
Upon hearing this, Lockbox leans his head slightly to the side, "For me?"
"Yes, you recall that I promised to look into your origin and the existence of others of your kind? Well, my good friend here thinks he may be able to help. Tell him, Elminster"
At the mention of the name, a glass is dropped on the table and spilled. The party turns to see Aenio starring in shock as he mutters "THE Elminster?"
The newcomer smiles and dips his head, "Yes, I'm afraid so." Looking back to Lockbox, "We would like you to come with us so that we can study you and in return we will try to find out everything we can about your history. I can not promise you anything, sir, except that I have powerful and knowledgeable friends that are interested in you. One of us can travel through planes of existence as easy as walking and she seems convinced that she's seen your kind before in her travels so our working theory is that you're a long ways from home. Once we've finished discoving all that can be, we will then take you to wherever it is you'd like to go."
Lockbox looks across the table at his new friends and is thankful that he face can't show the emotion that they show. But he feels it just the same. Before he responds, Asariel speaks up."Locky, you've got to do this. I know it's scary, but this is your chance to find answers." looking back to Volo and Elminster "I would like to go as well. I'm sure you and your friends are great, but I'd like to be there for Lockbox so that he doesn't have to go alone."
The two men look to one another; Volo shrugs; Elminster nods and says "I see no reason why you couldn't, though I must warn you, you'll likely be bored a lot of the time. Simbul isn't the greatest of hostesses."
Aenio chokes on his wine and starts coughing as he stands. Clearing his throat, Aenio says, "Mr Aumar, sir. I'm a wizard myself and would be honored if I could travel with you and learn from you and The Simbul."
Elminster looks a little flustered but concedes, "Fine, you can come too. But that's it. I'm not teleporting the whole tavern. And I'm not accepting apprentices!" Looking back to Lockbox, "You've never answered. Do you want to go."
Seeing that two of his new friends would be traveling with them made Lockbox quite happy, "Yes. I will go." Lockbox stands and lays out the silver bars that he was helping carry, looks to the rest of the group, "I will miss friends. I will come back once I find answers." And with that Lockbox turns to walk out. Elminster sticks his arm out to stop him, motioning for him to wait.
Aenio stands next and tells the table, "I'm about to get to study with two of the greatest wizards ever!!" then he waves goodbye and walks over next to Elminster.
Asariel hangs her head for a moment before standing and looking at the party, "I've enjoyed spending time with you all. Good luck getting this town back in order. But stay safe." She joins the rest of them.
Elminster waves and then starts chanting and with a flash they disappear. Except Volo who, upon realizing he was left, looks pissed. "He thinks he's so funny, flaming jerk." Volo touches a ring on his finger, there's another flash, and you find Volo has vanished as well.
Perception check: 10
Just before she vanishes, Asariel looks up and winks at Vassa.
Campaigns:
DM - Waterdeep Dragon Heist PbP
"Farewell, fellows."
Kestrell lifts a glass in their former direction.
"Now, where were we? Oh yes, playing a little cards, and then I'll head back to the mansion, now that Locky is gone. In the morning we line up some contractors and then we head down the Portal, just the four of us!"
"Is one of those for me?" says Stew as he walks up next to Vassa while pointing at the silver bars Locky left on the table.
Campaigns:
DM - Waterdeep Dragon Heist PbP
Phaedra watches Vassa play his game, watching with interest his hands flicking over his wine as he refills it. This draws a raised eyebrow from her and she waves away any further attempts to refill her own wine.
Perception 18
"So you would imagine you are going to go easy on me, seeing it is my first and possibly last time playing this game...so you put coin down?" she asks as she puts a silver shard down on the table. She give the game her best shot, keeping the cards close to her chest.
As Volo and Elminster enter and talk to the party, Phaedra is somewhat overcome by of the presence of one of her deities Chosen. She looks at him wide eyed, as if in shock. If someone was listening intently they could hear a breathy "Elminster..." escape her lips but other than that she says nothing more. As he says his goodbyes she looks clearly torn, as if summoning the courage to say something...and then they are all whisked away.
After they teleport from the inn, Phaedra will hand the cards in, "I think I am done" she adds, watching Stew walk up to the table and comment on the silver bar. She looks for the bar maid, "I will have another wine please"
OCC: No idea what to roll to play cards...perception? Perception 10 or Sleight of Hand Sleight of Hand 16
Yevna Galanodel - Wood Elf | Level 8 | Druid/Circle of Spores 6 - Ranger 2 - Ravnica
Nyx - Satyr | Level 9 | Rouge/Swashbuckler 5 - Bard/Collage of Lore 4 - Lost Mine of Phandelver/Storm King's Thunder
Nodding at first as Volo and this old, grey bearded man walk up to the table, Vassa is as stunned as Aenio to hear that no other than Elminster himself, Chosen of Mystra, archmage supreme and near-immortal protector of the Realms by all accounts that the half-drow has heard... is standing in the Portal right before them... talking TO them! At first the perplexed bard worries that he and his friends may have done something wrong to incur the attention of such a legendary personage... but then he listens carefully and realises the truth. Grimacing as the almost irresistable offer is made to Locky, the fun and mischevious card dealing antics of a moment ago fade from the sobering half-drow's mind as he hears first Asariel, and then Aenio, both admirably commit to accompanying Locky on his journey of self-discovery, if for somewhat different reasons.
Getting up from the table to clasp one of Locky's massive metal forearms and pat the huge construct's shoulder, then turn to give Aenio a quick friendly hug, the bard will quip light-heartedly but with a sad smile,'
"You'll be missed, Locky, and for more than your impressive backswing. May you find all you seek and more, my metal friend. And don't forget to stop on occassion to smell the roses.
And you Aenio - don't spend too much time with your head over dry and dusty pages. Books will come and go, but friends and the memories that you make with them... those will last a lifetime!"
Finally turning to Asa, Vassa leans forward to plant a brief kiss on the tiefling's forehead and give the sorceress a quick embrace, pausing only to whisper in her ear,'
"Just so we're clear - I'm taking that room back, princess. But remember that you'll always have a place to stay with friends in Waterdeep, you know, when you're not slumming it with the other nobles up in Castle Ward."
Tucking his hands back into his cloak as he sits back down, the slightly melancholy troubadour will simply watch with a friendly smile as their three former companions are whisked away with the world's preemminent spell-caster.
[OOC]
As Vassa gives Aenio a quick hug, the light fingered bard reaches into the satchel hanging over the mage's shoulder and tries to subltely re-appropriate the spellbook that the party took from Grum'shar.
As Vassa embraces Asa, he tries to slip one of the silver bars that they possess into the woman's pack without her noticing.
sleight of hand check: 5
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
"All good, Kes, though I admit that I don't like the idea of anyone staying alone in that place as it stands.
Anyway, those cards there are yours. And yeah, we can sell our hard earned silver bars in the morning, line up a plumber and carpenter at the very least, grab a few bits and pieces of gear, then head on down to collect all that gold that the lovely Bonnie was talking about. Easy!"
"Go easy on you? My dear Phaedra, Easy is practically my middle name!
And yes, you don't see that everyday, do you? At least I don't. Who would have believed it - the world's greatest mage, fascinated by our Locky?!? First Volo, now Elminster. I bloody well hope that Szass Tam doesn't show up tomorrow morning. THAT would be an awkward breakfast!"
"Oh, hey, Stewie. Glad to see that you got those two gold pieces that I sent you. Sorry that Airus dropped them in your drink by mistake. It's getting harder and harder to find good help these days, though I suppose that 'flick them in his glass' does sound a lot like 'stick them up his...'
What's that? These bars? No, can't say they are. For you that is. Why would you think such a silly thought?"
Vassa watches the halfling with a careful eye, trying to discern what the bold chap is up to, considering that he'd already recieved his promised compensation.
[OOC] insight check: 9
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
Kestrell looks at his hand. He sighs. Then asks Phaedra: "do you have any 9s?"
Stew grimaces when Vassa calls him Stewie but quickly regains his smirk. "Well, you're sitting here with cards in your hand and wealth on the table, and you're known to be bad at gambling, so I thought you were in the mood to lose more to me tonight." Stew points at the chair Aenio just vacated, "May I join you?"
Campaigns:
DM - Waterdeep Dragon Heist PbP
"Known to be bad at... Dear sir, you must have me mistaken for someone else. I am bad at nothing, I assure you. Though admittedly, there may be a few things that I am slightly less dazzling at than others. Please, by all means, take a seat.
Volo, what about you? Care to join us for a hand or two? Wait... where did he go? Oh well, looks like just us then. The opening ante to play is 2 shards for this hand, with one round of betting to follow your first cards, and a possible second round of betting to follow if you choose to play on past the first round. No player can raise more than the current pot amount on their turn and every player may only raise once per round of betting. Best hand at showdown wins... good luck all!"
[OOC] Vassa is still doing all the things that are mentioned in post #864 to skew things in his favour and gain advantage (if not applicable, ignore the second number rolled).
insight check (advantage cause he's buying everyone drinks and applying unashamed peer pressure - drink up!): 19
intimidation check (advantage cause he's using Airus to flick people's hair and kick their chairs throughout, lol): 14
*Below Deception and Playing Card Set proficiency checks taken from post 864:
Vassa's deception check with advantage to fool his marks: 17
Vassa's playing card set proficiency check (cha based rather than dex, otherwise -2) with advantage to cheat his marks: 23
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
Kestrell throws 2 silver in the pot for his initial ante. Then checks his hand again:
Insight: 5
Deception: 13
Intimidation: 12
Kestrell will call another 2SP bet, but fold to a higher bet, and "check" if the option gets to him.
"Do I have any 9's...well...am I meant to tell you if I do Kestrell?"
Phaedra looks around at the rest of the table, "Fine one round, it is all I am good for" she says as she drops two shards on the table. The idea of herself cheating never crosses her mind, but she does keep a keen eye on everyone else at the table.
Perception 21 - To try and spot cheaters
Insight 23
Deception 5
Intimidation 20
Yevna Galanodel - Wood Elf | Level 8 | Druid/Circle of Spores 6 - Ranger 2 - Ravnica
Nyx - Satyr | Level 9 | Rouge/Swashbuckler 5 - Bard/Collage of Lore 4 - Lost Mine of Phandelver/Storm King's Thunder
Looking down at his already pretty nice hand, Vassa quickly calculates the pot odds and his chances of hitting the cards he needs to make a VERY strong hand. Smiling his most affable smile at those around the table, Vassa will plonk 2 more shards into the pot and is prepared to call any raise to go get more cards and go into the second round of betting, saying,'
"So, who's game to come along on this ride?"
[OOC] @DM gambling spoiler:
Vassa will add his +2 playing card set proficiency to his insight roll (or do I substitute the roll like we did last time?), giving him a score of either: 13(+2)+23+17=55 with prof added
or 21+23+17=61 if substituted
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
Silver just smiles leaning over the table to toss in some silver "Fine, let's have a little fun." he just looks to his companions paying close attention to their movements and body language. This was still Waterdeep after all, he just stared at Vassa keeping his smile "Be a real shame to cheat in front of a holy woman, don't you think."
[OOC]
perception check to spot cheaters and any cards that may be showing: 17
insight check to get a read on who is most likely to be cheating: 6
For Poker Rolls:
deception check: 20
intimidation check: 13
insight check: 9
"I would agree Silver. Mystra does not tolerate those who cheat" she quibs.
Yevna Galanodel - Wood Elf | Level 8 | Druid/Circle of Spores 6 - Ranger 2 - Ravnica
Nyx - Satyr | Level 9 | Rouge/Swashbuckler 5 - Bard/Collage of Lore 4 - Lost Mine of Phandelver/Storm King's Thunder
Vassa literally laughs out loud, almost spitting wine out, when Silver speaks out against cheating, but when Phaedra takes the rogue's bait, the bard merely grins at the Mystran, saying,'
"Mystra dislikes cheating, eh? Well, that's interesting considering that some of the best scams in history were pulled off with the aid of magic. In fact, some would say that the use of magic itself IS a form of cheating. I mean, why go to all the effort of climbing a wall when you can just magically jump or fly to the top? Why wait a week and pay a fortune for labourers when you can just cast move earth and 'hey presto', right? If cheating is the breaking of rules for benefit... well, then magic is THE cheat of all cheats, the cheater's Pandora's Box, if you will."
Turning back to the game, Vassa says to Kes with a laugh,'
"Do you have nines...? Kes, that's Go Fish you're thinking of, mate. A different game entirely, though there may be some fishing going on here as well. Ha! So who's game to continue?"
Vassa pushes everyone's silver coins into the steadily growing pile in the middle of the table, as he deals more cards around to those still in.
[OOC] We're all still in for 4sp (2sp ante + 2sp min 1st round bet), so if Stewie stays in, we're up to 20sp in the middle.
With those perception rolls, Silver and Phaedra notice no cheating on the bard's behalf, but a whole lot of distracting activity that he is generating, e.g. pouring and passing drinks, singing songs, telling jokes, asking sometimes too-personal questions, having Airus interact occassionally with players in some minor and funny manner.
With Phaedra's insight check it would be obvious to the insightful cleric why Vassa is generating so much noise and activity.
@DM gamble spoiler with 2nd round rolls, etc. below:
insight check: 17
deception check: 23
intimidation check: 22
playing card set check: 9
Insight increased by +2 prof bonus or replaced with the playing card set roll, so 2nd round score either:
19(+2)+26+19=66 or 19+26+26=71
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
"Oh! My mistake! Let's carry on then. I'll see another card."
Phaedra nodes her head as she listens to Vassa's retort but her face slowly hardens into a scowl.
"I think you are missing the point and somewhat understating the power permitted by the divine will of the Lady of Mysteries."
Phaedra stands, throwing her hand down to the table. "Magic is divine, why some people may use its power to allow them to jump higher, to fly like a bird or to move the very fabric of the earth, these are just mere gimmicks compared to what true master of the art... let alone a Chosen such as Elminster, can perform by bending the Weave to perform there bidding. Nations can rise and fall, seas come and go, mountain collapse, the dead return to the living and beings be pulled for other planes of existence. Some make entire dungeons hidden under cities! It is a grave responsibility, the wielding of magic, not something to joke about."
As Phaedra chastises Vassa, her blue eyes glaze over golden, one hand on her hip and the other hand pointing at the bard.
"Magic is indeed a Pandoras Box, but it is one that is earned by its wielders. They study hard, research lore, pray for her divine guidance...all things that in fact balance out how easy it makes some tasks in the future, after that hard work. Did you just stumble on your magic talents, do you not have them written down and have to research and mesmerizes them each day? Or do you just reply on the abilities of you parentage?
Both hands are now on her hips as she waits for a response. "I fold."
Yevna Galanodel - Wood Elf | Level 8 | Druid/Circle of Spores 6 - Ranger 2 - Ravnica
Nyx - Satyr | Level 9 | Rouge/Swashbuckler 5 - Bard/Collage of Lore 4 - Lost Mine of Phandelver/Storm King's Thunder
Vassa's eyebrows rise as the formiddable and clearly devout cleric begins to heatedly lecture him, obviously taking umbrage at his irreverant and quasi-philosophical questioning of magic's place in the world. For a moment the surprised half-drow considers his default tactical retreat coated in charm and wit, aimed at disarming Phaedra's apparent ire... but then after a brief but seemingly reflective pause, the half-drow's demeanor appears to change, his face hardening at the tirade being levelled somewhat unjustly against him, at least to the bard's currently jarred way of thinking. In the blink of an eye, his usually laconic and smiling visage is replaced by an intense and hardening glare, as the handsome grey-skinned man with the now flashing violet eyes stands up slowly from the table.
Facing the equally intense and now golden-eyed glare of his new acquaintance, who suddenly seems somewhat more than human to the bard's eye, Vassa spits out with his melodic voice now lacking its usualy warmth and humour,'
"Divine you say? Ha! I wield magic, as did Aenio, as did... as do others! Does that then make us all unknowing extensions of this all-powerful world shaking weave that you speak of? Regardless of the fact that we don't worship at your alters or praise the mysterious mum of mysteries everytime we wipe our arses? Bahh! I'll be sure to remember the divinity of magic the next time I have Airus open a privy door or empty a chamber pot for me. While I don't doubt the power of Elminster's mighty arts, or your own 'divine gifts', any more than I doubt my own ability to cut or soothe with my voice, I am no divine vessel for your Mystra's will, though I WILL speak my mind on any and every matter that takes my fancy!"
Now standing with both hands on his own hips in a mirroring, though unintentional, parody of Phaedra's stance, the almost shaking bard continues with barely contained anger,'
"You speak of earning magic as though you Mystran's have a licence on its use. Well I call bull...SHIT on that! You think prayers, pretty robes and a fancy temple give your type complete authority over magic? Well if so, take it. Go on... take mine! Or ask your goddess to do so. No? Why not? Oh, I know - because magic isn't divine at all. It... just... IS! And like anything that just is, it'll be used for whatever damn purpose and in whatever damned way that any fool, including this one, chooses to!"
Noticing the silence that had settled over the table at their confrontation, Vassa closes his eyes for a long moment, takes several deep breaths... and then opens his eyes to look down at the table in something approaching shame. Without another word, the bard spins from the table and strides from the tavern out onto Waterdeep's night shrouded streets.
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
Stealth: 16
Seeing the argument playing out before him, Stew attempts to quietly leave the table. Unfortunately his foot catches on the leg of the table causing him to fall and the table to jerk to the side. Stew stands back up and while holding his hands out in front of himself in a placating fashion, "Yeah, I think it's time for me to be going, too." Stew turns and walks back to the group of friends he was sitting with earlier.
Campaigns:
DM - Waterdeep Dragon Heist PbP
Seeing Vassa otherwise engaged in a heated discussion about magic, Kestrell gets a sly grin on his face and tries to swap hands with Vassa.
Sleight of Hand: 9
OOC: If Kestrell pulls this off, then ends up winning, he plans to tell Vassa what he did and give him the pot. He's doing it mostly to be mischievous, not to make money.