Rhanloi's Romp Through the Sword Coast

Wakka continued his assault on Soldier #2, while also trying to make sure the lone guardswoman was not overwhelmed.  "I don't like the look of the storm..." he shouted to the woman in between strikes.

• Attack: Soldier #2 - Hit 18/ Damage 9 Slashing (if it hit)
• Extra Attack: Soldier #2 - Hit 15 (Miss) 
• Reaction: Protective Field.  (If the Leilon knight gets attacked again, Wakka would use another Psionic Energy Die to shield her and reduce the damage they receive by 4) 

• Genren rushes in, drawing his magic shortsword (assuming this!) and a regular one, hitting the enemy both times. But the non-magical weapon is not as effective...the sneak attack by that magical sword is pretty vicious, although no blood spills...
• The storm catches the melee fighters, who now stand just inside of the edge of rain and howling wind!
• Tallow fires a sickly green ray at the first enemy, causing the being inside to dissipate and the armor to fall to the ground with a loud clunk! (Enemy #1 down!)
• Manfred causes a series of maddening whispers to assault the senses of the #2 enemy (DC15 Wis Save: 18)
• Wakka hits the second creature once but misses with his second strike, still keeping an eye on the Leilon guard.
• The true nature of your adversaries is now obvious to all. These are not humans inside the plate mail armor - they are elementals!
  • Elemental #2 makes a series of strikes against Genren, and somehow the storm seems to aid its attacks! Attack 1: 27 Damage: 13 :: Attack 2: 25 Damage: 5 :: Attack 3: 14 Damage: 10
  • Elemental #3 continues its assault on Wakka, also aided by the storm's fury. Attack 1: 19 Damage: 5 :: Attack 2: 23 Damage: 8 :: Attack 3: 21 Damage: 6
• The guard presses on, striking at the second elemental with renewed vigor, but misses all of her attacks. 
  • Longsword Attack: 22 Damage: 11
  • Longsword Attack 2: 8 Damage: 5
  • Shortsword Attack: 14 Damage: 9

Round 4: Genren(-33) : Special : Tallow : Manfred : Wakka(-26) : Plate Mail (-84; -33; -23) : Leilon Guard (-6)
0' - Storm's edge: Guard; Wakka; Genren; Enemy #1, #2 and #3
35' - Manfred
45' - Tallow

(did my cloak of displacement not function? they should have disadvantage so just normal attack rolls if they have advantage? or does the storm give them double advantage?) Genren (uses uncanny dodge as a reaction to half the first strike's damage adding 6 back to hp) attempts to react, shifting his weight as he unbalances his opponent slightly "Aghh what the heck, you know I only ran up here thinking they were jerks in armor, but elementals? Serious buzz kill!" he shimmies and bobs and weaves as he attacks with his short swords in retaliation against (elemental #2) 

Attack 1 (dancing sword): Attack: 23 Damage: 8

Attack 2 (normal sword): Attack: 15 Damage: 6

Sneak attack damage: 14

(@Aelas - oops! Forgot about your cloak...the elementals have advantage in the storm, your cloak made the first strike miss, but the second one hit and stopped the effect until your next turn.  I'll apply Uncanny Dodge to the 3rd attack , saving you 18 damage!)

• Genren's magical cloak made the elemental miss its first attack, but the second and third hit. The rogue somehow dodged the worst of the last attack, though, and countered with a wicked strike of his own! (1 hit - 1 miss.) 
• The storm advances again, leaving the melee combatants 5' beyond the edge.

Round 4: Genren(-15) : Special : Tallow : Manfred : Wakka(-26) : Plate Mail (-84; -56; -23) : Leilon Guard (-6)
-5' - Guard; Wakka; Genren; Enemy #2 and #3
0' - Storm's edge
30' - Manfred
40' - Tallow

Tallow will twirl his wooded spoon in his hands and let out a high pitched staccato laugh.  "Let's see if you like getting flambéed!"  

He points his spoon at Elemental #2 and fires fire bolt Attack: 9 Damage: 11

‘We need to finish these guys quickly!’ shouts Manfred over the storm’s fury, quickly (too quickly?!) hurling a small coruscating sphere of acid at one of the assailants (Enemy #2).

 ‘You’re doing a great job!’ he shouts over to the guard... (Giving her a bardic inspiration…)

• Tallow hits the second elemental with a firebolt, causing it to dissipate into the storm!
• Manfred's attack misses both his intended target and the other elemental still fighting Wakka!

Round 4 (con't): Genren(-15) : Special : Tallow : Manfred : Wakka(-26) : Plate Mail (-84; -66; -23) : Leilon Guard {bardic insp} (-6)
-5' - Guard; Wakka; Genren; Enemy #2 and #3
0' - Storm's edge
30' - Manfred
40' - Tallow

(OOC: Is the storm hurting those inside it?  It'd probably affect how Wakka acts this round)

(@Wakka - no. You're still close to the edge of it - the really nasty stuff lies further in towards where the Inn should be =)

(Sorry for the delay!)

"We need to get out of here fast!" Yelled out to whoever could here him through the storm.

• Attack: Soldier #2 - Hit 27/ Damage 8 + 4 + 10 (22 total) Slashing, Cold & Force Damage (using (1) charge of Bite of Winter & (1) Psionic Energy die for extra damage!)
• Extra Attack: Soldier #2 - Hit 27/ Damage 8 + 3 (11 total) Slashing, Cold Damage

• Wakka's massive strikes nearly end the final elementals existence on this plane. But not quite...
• It makes on final strike at the psi fighter, electricity sparking from the head of its flail! Attack: 25 Damage: 23 (If hit, make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be stunned for one round and a mark resembling three parallel lightning bolts appears on your head...)
• The guard makes a last ditch strike, finally finishing the elemental off and ending their threat!

Three sets of plate mail armor lay scattered on the ground. The guard rushes out of the storm to where the other characters stand. Drawing deep breaths after the skirmish, she tells you that her name is Emmalou. She is a salty and experienced survivor of many battles, but this one taxed her more than any other! She relays the following additional information:

• The stormy area is slowly growing larger. Emmalou had to retreat several hundred yards to remain outside the zone. She has no idea what is causing it, but such blatant and powerful forces of magic are nothing she wants to be involved with.
• When she was in the stormy area, the lightning was everywhere, but it never struck the suits of armor even though they were made of metal.
• She was almost struck a few times, but she kept repeating prayers to Talos, and she thinks that is the only thing that saved her.

‘Help me pull the armour out of the storm!’ shouts Manfred, dragging some pieces of plate armour onto the wagon and then going back for more. 

‘I have two ideas!’ he adds

…

Once the armour has been recovered, and the group is at a safe distance from the storm, Manfred explains his plan(s)...

’I might be able to calm the storm with this…’ he says, patting his lute, ‘But you’ll need to keep the wagon moving so the storm doesn’t reach me. If that doesn’t work we might try making something to use the armour to shield us - it sounds like there is something special about it, from what you say Emmalou…’

Genren quickly sheeths his weapons before he rushes to grab a as much of the armor as possible before running towards the group. "Any ideas, who or what can be behind this storm? I'll set this armor here... I'm pretty good with vehicles so I'm happy to play some cat and mouse as the driver" he grins, excited by the prospect of what's to come. "Just watch my back and tell me where to go" 

Manfred jumps into the back of the wagon, waiting until the others are assembled before speaking. 'I can use the power of this elven lute to help control weather. I want to see if we can stop the storm, or at least weaken it enough to head in to deal with whoever has summoned it. There are, I hope, still people trapped inside the inn... You just need to keep the wagon steady and outside of the storm while I play.'

He then starts playing the lute, fingers sketching a gentle, increasingly complex melody that, over the course of 10 minutes, builds to a complex, discordant and angry storm of notes that matches the anger of the real storm. He then starts to try and slow the notes, now that he has the lute linked to aspects of the world around him, using the magic to contend his will with that of the summoner...

(This is a very clever way around the module's hazard - great thinking! Also, based on the spell description, "You can change precipitation, temperature, and wind." So, do you want to reduce the precipitation also? Both are at stage 5 - you can reduce it to stage 4 over the course of 13 minutes, when you can make reduce it another level. It will probably take you about 20-30 minutes to get to the Inn from your current position. So, how many stages do you want to reduce before moving in, knowing that you can continue to reduce the effects on the way in? Each reduction takes 1d4+10 minutes. And Manfred gets Inspiration if he doesn't already have it!)

(Thanks - felt like it was worth a try :-) It's 1d4 x 10 - so I guess 30mins for the first step (yes to both precipitation and wind!).. Manfred will reduce by one more step after that - 4 x 10 mins) and then I think he'll suggest the group advances...)

Genren loads the up some more of the armor onto the wagon, hopping gracefully into the drivers seat and patting the horses to calm them. "What a wonderfully useful instrument that is... where'd you get it? My people no doubt....So onward it is then yes? I'm happy to take the reigns for the time being." he gestures for the rest of the group to hop on before proceeding. Laying his wrapped blade next to him for easy access just in case. 

"Your plan sounds much better than anything I would've offered Manny.  Let's give it a shot!"  Wakka added before hopping into the back of the cart.  "You coming Emmalou?" added afterwards

Manfred's plan seems to be working - after 30 minutes the driving rain and winds have subsided a bit, and over the next 20 minutes the rain stops and the winds blow at a steady 20 knots. The group heads towards the Wayside Inn, with Wakka calling, "You coming Emmalou?" 

Emmalou shakes her head. "I'm not going back in that mess...I'll keep watch out here in the clear weather and wait for your return." She adds mostly under her breath, "Or return to Leilon and report your defeat..."

After almost 30 minutes of riding you near the Inn, and the storm increases as if fighting against Manfred's spell. A bolt of lightning crashes down at the party with a blinding flash and deafening blast. (All make a DC15 Constitution saving throw or take 8 lightning damage.) Lights coming from the inn reveal a strange scene - six humanoid creatures stand at the main doors, the same doors that the undead creatures were attacking the first time you encountered this place. The figures seem to be pounding on the doors, although they are hampered by the weather.

DC15 Perception roll (not Passive...)

Manfred yelps as he’s hit by the bolt of electricity, his hair standing on end as a result. Fortunately he’s able grit his teeth and, the consummate professional that he his, he doesn’t drop a note on the lute.

‘S-someone is fighting m-me for the weather. I need to keep fighting them…’ he manages to get out