The floor in this room appears much more sound than the previous two rooms that you have scanned. The sheer number of webs strewn about each of the walls, the ceiling, and the fireplace opening, makes it highly likely that this room is home to another swarm of spiders.
"Aye. Well, a few more creepy crawlies can't be too bad to deal with. Looks like something interesting in that fireplace." Gulin whispers an arcane word, holding a firebolt ready in his hand as he cautiously approaches the fireplace.
Firebolt the moment I see some form of spiders.
Also, unless its something requiring absolute quiet, assume I always pass along the results of my investigation/perception/whatever checks to the rest. Might not be to full detail (for example, if Steve gives me a flowery description of something dangerous but time/noise is critical, perhaps Gulin will just quickly gesture at the object of interest and draw your eyes to it so you don't bungle into danger he's seen.)
As Gulin steps towards the fireplace a swarm of spiders begins to crawl from behind the mantle. Seconds later it is joined by another one emitting from the mouth of the fireplace. Gulin let's loose his firebolt.
Gulin Firebolt Attack: 12 Damage: 9
The firebolt seers into the first swarm, greatly lessoning it's numbers. The spiders continue to skitter forward and engulf Gulin.
Swarm 1 Bite Attack: 18 Damage: 9
Swarm 2 Bite Attack: 16 Damage: 8
The tiny teeth sink into Gulin's flesh, his body burns as the spiders attack him. Darkness overcomes the dwarf's eyes as he falls to the ground, unconscious. Ned shouts, "Either we need to run or toss me a blade so that I can help!"
The hall echoes with footsteps as Zi and Angus, likely drawn to the sound, are attempting to return.
Angus darts into the room, swinging his sword and kicking at the spiders near Gulin's feet.
Angus Sword Attack: 19 Damage: 7
Angus Unarmed Strike Attack: 7 Damage: 7
Angus' sword skewers a group of spiders, whose swarm is now starting to appear quite diminished. They skitter out of range of his foot as it stomps down.
You hear a crash from the hallway and the floorboards bend down for a moment as Zi leaps over the hole in the balcony floor and arrives panting.
Post edited to reflect that Gulin is now unconscious per the discord conversation with Josh. Picture still incorrectly shows Gulin at 1 hp.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Gulin's hammer crushes down the smaller swarm of spiders. Where they stood only a few spiders remain. Insect guts coat the floor, and the air crackles with energy.
As the dwarf backs up, the spiders lunge towards Caspia, who is now closest to the fireplace. A loud boom sounds, and the swarm Gulin attacked is scattered across the room, dead. The remaining swarm continues towards the triton attempting to bite her.
Swarm of Spiders Bite Attack: 11 Damage: 12
Caspia easily brushes the swarm back with her blades and feet.
Angus lunges at the remaining spiders with his short sword and fist.
Angus Shortsword Attack: 6 Damage: 8
Angus Unarmed Strike Attack: 12 Damage: 4
The spiders dodge the shortsword, but a few of them are crushed under the blows of the monks fist. Zi steps into the doorframe and casts toll the dead at the remaining swarm.
Swarm of Spiders Wisdom Save (DC 13): 18
Toll the Dead Damage: 1
The sound of a dolorous bell fills the air around the spiders for a moment, then a few drop dead in their tracks. Ned shouts from the hallway, "How is it going in there?!? Lend me an arm and I can help!"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Caspia's shortsword carves into a spider, while the scimitar splinters against the rotten wood of the mansions floor. The spiders regain their footing and once again lunge towards the triton paladin.
Swarm of Spiders Bite Attack: 14 Damage: 6
At the last second, Caspia uses her shield to brush off the spiders.
Swarm of Spiders Saving Throw (DC 13): 5
Toll the Dead Damage: 6
Angus Shortsword Attack: 10 Damage: 7
Angus Unarmed Strike Attack: 23 Damage: 6
The sound of a bell fills the air again and the monk swings his foot and sword forward towards the remaining spiders. The assault leaves a single spider standing. Ned approaches and attempts to step on the last spider...
Ned Unarmed Strike Attack: 6 Damage: 1
But it dodges out of the way, the man turns to Caspia and Gulin, "Really, I could have helped if I had a weapon! Do either of you have one to spare?" You watch as the single spider readies to skitter away from its dead comrades.
Zi turns to the group ignoring the last spider, "Well I think we have pretty much finished up over here. I explored everything but one last room, but the truth was I couldn't find much of anything. Just this pile of clothes."
Ned's eyes lighten up, "My clothes! Thank the gods. I thought I would be wearing this ragged old cloak the entire way back!" Ned scopes the clothes up from Zi, and hands the cloak back to Gulin.
Gulin sticks his head in the fireplace. Now that he is closer he notices a small transparent crystal orb with a flat-bottom. The light from the rising sun must have caught this object when he was looking in the room earlier.
The crystal looks like a small bauble. While pleasant to look at and tactiley satisfying to hold, it doesn't appear to be magical. You are unsure of its exact purpose.
Zi respond to the dwarf, "Sounds great! I've had enough of bugs for the day!" Ned similarly exclaims, "The sooner we are out of this accursed mansion the better!"
Gulin leads the party back down the main stairs and towards the trapdoor in the western wing. The group then climbs down into the cellar, one by one. As you reach the cellar floor, a clothed Ned gasps. He turns to Caspia, "Wh-what happened down here?"
The dwarf leads the party through the catacombs, past the remaining corpses to the cave entrance. While the sun isn't visible yet from the cave, reflections of light coming off the Azure Sea are currently obscuring your vision. The water has begun to rise, beginning to loosen the rowboat. The rowboat is still loaded with all of the items you have found, and appears to be undisturbed.
"Aye, Angus. We'll get her loaded up, and make sure that everything is snug and secure for the trip back to Saltmarsh." Gulin spends a moment lighting up his long smoking pipe, clicking arcane fire from his fingertips into the long wooden receptacle, before hauling the remainder of the goods into the boat.
"I'll take the oars, fer now." He looks to Caspia and Angus, speaking while holding his pipe between gritted teeth. "I'm assuming between skills of you two, you can direct us out of the cave and into the open sea. And Ned, if ye have any nautical experience, let us know. You said you were going to Saltmarsh, yeah? What made you decide to take the journey there? "
Gulin takes a position at the oars, and begins rowing. As the boat leaves the cavern, he takes a look for the old Alchemist's house.
Steve, is any part of the house within 120 feet of us once it comes into view?
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As soon as you see the house it will be about 150-200ft away (sorry just was counting spaces on Roll20). But feel free to add to any of the below.
With the rising tides, the rowboat is easily moved from its resting spot into the water. Caspia's and Angus' nautical backgrounds make navigation of the cave entrance a relatively simple task. As you move away from the mouth of the cave you see the dilapatated mansion overlooking the step cliffs above the cave.
Ned turns to the dwarf, still visibly shaken at the sight of carnage underneath the mansion, "Just looking for work. Life as an adventurer in Seaton was fine until the new Duke assumed power. He prefers to rely on his own retainers. I figured Saltmarsh was as good as place as any to move. Plenty of small towns across this coast who could utilize a decent sword for hire. Not much of a sailor myself, but like anyone else who grew up on the coast I've loaded a boat or two. I recon we have about 10 leagues to get back to Saltmarsh. With this cargo we will be lucky to be there by nightfall. I asked Caspia, but she never responded, what happened underneath the mansion?"
Gulin Runehammer Athletics: 8
The dwarf rows throughout the morning. Accustomed to hard labor, Gulin manages to make good time through the first third of the voyage. However, the combination of a late night of adventure and the repeated rowing has left Gulin out of breath, exhausted. The sun is now high in the sky over the azure sea, but it is not quite yet midday. At one point the party passed a fishing boat with a brightly colored sail in the distance on the sea, but there has not been any other events of note.
Tiffany and Josh, feel free to choose who rows next out of the 5 characters on the boat. Athletics scores will determine the type of distance you make back to Saltmarsh. The longer it takes, the higher chance of a random encounter. Each attempt at rowing will give a character a level of exhaustion. Additionally, since none of these characters have had a long rest for quite awhile there is a chance that at some point fatigue will set in for the entire party resulting in every character gaining an additional level of exhaustion.
Gulin gives the floor another discerning eye, looking for a safe path to the fireplace, and anything else potentially amiss in the room.
Investigation 26
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Gulin Runehammer:
The floor in this room appears much more sound than the previous two rooms that you have scanned. The sheer number of webs strewn about each of the walls, the ceiling, and the fireplace opening, makes it highly likely that this room is home to another swarm of spiders.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
“Gulin, the floor looks more sound in this room, but you do you see anything we should be wary of?”
(I’m going to assume he shares his knowledge with me)
Caspia watches the spider webs warily, memory of the previous spider swarms still fresh.
“This is why I much prefer sea creatures.”
"Aye. Well, a few more creepy crawlies can't be too bad to deal with. Looks like something interesting in that fireplace." Gulin whispers an arcane word, holding a firebolt ready in his hand as he cautiously approaches the fireplace.
Firebolt the moment I see some form of spiders.
Also, unless its something requiring absolute quiet, assume I always pass along the results of my investigation/perception/whatever checks to the rest. Might not be to full detail (for example, if Steve gives me a flowery description of something dangerous but time/noise is critical, perhaps Gulin will just quickly gesture at the object of interest and draw your eyes to it so you don't bungle into danger he's seen.)
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
As Gulin steps towards the fireplace a swarm of spiders begins to crawl from behind the mantle. Seconds later it is joined by another one emitting from the mouth of the fireplace. Gulin let's loose his firebolt.
Gulin Firebolt Attack: 12 Damage: 9
The firebolt seers into the first swarm, greatly lessoning it's numbers. The spiders continue to skitter forward and engulf Gulin.
Swarm 1 Bite Attack: 18 Damage: 9
Swarm 2 Bite Attack: 16 Damage: 8
The tiny teeth sink into Gulin's flesh, his body burns as the spiders attack him. Darkness overcomes the dwarf's eyes as he falls to the ground, unconscious. Ned shouts, "Either we need to run or toss me a blade so that I can help!"
The hall echoes with footsteps as Zi and Angus, likely drawn to the sound, are attempting to return.
Angus darts into the room, swinging his sword and kicking at the spiders near Gulin's feet.
Angus Sword Attack: 19 Damage: 7
Angus Unarmed Strike Attack: 7 Damage: 7
Angus' sword skewers a group of spiders, whose swarm is now starting to appear quite diminished. They skitter out of range of his foot as it stomps down.
You hear a crash from the hallway and the floorboards bend down for a moment as Zi leaps over the hole in the balcony floor and arrives panting.
Post edited to reflect that Gulin is now unconscious per the discord conversation with Josh. Picture still incorrectly shows Gulin at 1 hp.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Wizards: leading from the front since 1986. All that, and the pair of throwaway spiders do me in.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Caspia performs Lay Hands On Pool to heal Gulin for 9 HP.
”Angus, try and keep them busy while I get Gulin ship-shape.”
The dwarf's eyes reopen and breathe returns to his chest. Gulin is lying on the ground surrounded by friends... and spiders.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Gulin uses his hammer to help stand back up, shaking off the lingering effects of the spider bites. "Many thanks, Caspia."
He then spins and slams down the hammer into the mass of spiders, the hammerhead crackling with arcane energy.
Booming Blade into the closest, "injured" spider swarm. Assuming they aren't in my space and can't Attack of Opportunity me, move 1 square NE.
Attack: 15 Damage: 8
Booming Blade: 4
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Gulin's hammer crushes down the smaller swarm of spiders. Where they stood only a few spiders remain. Insect guts coat the floor, and the air crackles with energy.
As the dwarf backs up, the spiders lunge towards Caspia, who is now closest to the fireplace. A loud boom sounds, and the swarm Gulin attacked is scattered across the room, dead. The remaining swarm continues towards the triton attempting to bite her.
Swarm of Spiders Bite Attack: 11 Damage: 12
Caspia easily brushes the swarm back with her blades and feet.
Angus lunges at the remaining spiders with his short sword and fist.
Angus Shortsword Attack: 6 Damage: 8
Angus Unarmed Strike Attack: 12 Damage: 4
The spiders dodge the shortsword, but a few of them are crushed under the blows of the monks fist. Zi steps into the doorframe and casts toll the dead at the remaining swarm.
Swarm of Spiders Wisdom Save (DC 13): 18
Toll the Dead Damage: 1
The sound of a dolorous bell fills the air around the spiders for a moment, then a few drop dead in their tracks. Ned shouts from the hallway, "How is it going in there?!? Lend me an arm and I can help!"
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Smack.
Attack: 20 Damage: 5
Booming Blade: 4
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Gulin's hammer once again crushes down on the remaining spiders. Once again the air is filled with crackling static electricity.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Short Sword: Attack: 9 Damage: 8
Scimitar: Attack: 12 Damage: 3
Caspia's shortsword carves into a spider, while the scimitar splinters against the rotten wood of the mansions floor. The spiders regain their footing and once again lunge towards the triton paladin.
Swarm of Spiders Bite Attack: 14 Damage: 6
At the last second, Caspia uses her shield to brush off the spiders.
Swarm of Spiders Saving Throw (DC 13): 5
Toll the Dead Damage: 6
Angus Shortsword Attack: 10 Damage: 7
Angus Unarmed Strike Attack: 23 Damage: 6
The sound of a bell fills the air again and the monk swings his foot and sword forward towards the remaining spiders. The assault leaves a single spider standing. Ned approaches and attempts to step on the last spider...
Ned Unarmed Strike Attack: 6 Damage: 1
But it dodges out of the way, the man turns to Caspia and Gulin, "Really, I could have helped if I had a weapon! Do either of you have one to spare?" You watch as the single spider readies to skitter away from its dead comrades.
Zi turns to the group ignoring the last spider, "Well I think we have pretty much finished up over here. I explored everything but one last room, but the truth was I couldn't find much of anything. Just this pile of clothes."
Ned's eyes lighten up, "My clothes! Thank the gods. I thought I would be wearing this ragged old cloak the entire way back!" Ned scopes the clothes up from Zi, and hands the cloak back to Gulin.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Gulin watches the lone spider flee back into the webs. "Aye, run, ye lil' bastard. Reckoning will be coming for you lot, soon enough..."
He then quickly goes over to the fireplace, looking for the item that caught their interest earlier. He beckons Angus over to help.
Investigation 24
Wow, 2x nat 2s.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Gulin sticks his head in the fireplace. Now that he is closer he notices a small transparent crystal orb with a flat-bottom. The light from the rising sun must have caught this object when he was looking in the room earlier.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Gulin retracts from the fireplace, brushing old soot and cobwebs from his beard. He holds up the crystal, examining it.
Arcana 12
"Well, shall we load up the boat and get out of here?"
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
The spider skitters away, unmolested.
Gulin Runehammer:
The crystal looks like a small bauble. While pleasant to look at and tactiley satisfying to hold, it doesn't appear to be magical. You are unsure of its exact purpose.
Zi respond to the dwarf, "Sounds great! I've had enough of bugs for the day!" Ned similarly exclaims, "The sooner we are out of this accursed mansion the better!"
Gulin leads the party back down the main stairs and towards the trapdoor in the western wing. The group then climbs down into the cellar, one by one. As you reach the cellar floor, a clothed Ned gasps. He turns to Caspia, "Wh-what happened down here?"
The dwarf leads the party through the catacombs, past the remaining corpses to the cave entrance. While the sun isn't visible yet from the cave, reflections of light coming off the Azure Sea are currently obscuring your vision. The water has begun to rise, beginning to loosen the rowboat. The rowboat is still loaded with all of the items you have found, and appears to be undisturbed.
Moonday Morning, Goodmonth 9th, 591 CY
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
"Aye, Angus. We'll get her loaded up, and make sure that everything is snug and secure for the trip back to Saltmarsh." Gulin spends a moment lighting up his long smoking pipe, clicking arcane fire from his fingertips into the long wooden receptacle, before hauling the remainder of the goods into the boat.
"I'll take the oars, fer now." He looks to Caspia and Angus, speaking while holding his pipe between gritted teeth. "I'm assuming between skills of you two, you can direct us out of the cave and into the open sea. And Ned, if ye have any nautical experience, let us know. You said you were going to Saltmarsh, yeah? What made you decide to take the journey there? "
Gulin takes a position at the oars, and begins rowing. As the boat leaves the cavern, he takes a look for the old Alchemist's house.
Steve, is any part of the house within 120 feet of us once it comes into view?
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
As soon as you see the house it will be about 150-200ft away (sorry just was counting spaces on Roll20). But feel free to add to any of the below.
With the rising tides, the rowboat is easily moved from its resting spot into the water. Caspia's and Angus' nautical backgrounds make navigation of the cave entrance a relatively simple task. As you move away from the mouth of the cave you see the dilapatated mansion overlooking the step cliffs above the cave.
Ned turns to the dwarf, still visibly shaken at the sight of carnage underneath the mansion, "Just looking for work. Life as an adventurer in Seaton was fine until the new Duke assumed power. He prefers to rely on his own retainers. I figured Saltmarsh was as good as place as any to move. Plenty of small towns across this coast who could utilize a decent sword for hire. Not much of a sailor myself, but like anyone else who grew up on the coast I've loaded a boat or two. I recon we have about 10 leagues to get back to Saltmarsh. With this cargo we will be lucky to be there by nightfall. I asked Caspia, but she never responded, what happened underneath the mansion?"
Gulin Runehammer Athletics: 8
The dwarf rows throughout the morning. Accustomed to hard labor, Gulin manages to make good time through the first third of the voyage. However, the combination of a late night of adventure and the repeated rowing has left Gulin out of breath, exhausted. The sun is now high in the sky over the azure sea, but it is not quite yet midday. At one point the party passed a fishing boat with a brightly colored sail in the distance on the sea, but there has not been any other events of note.
Tiffany and Josh, feel free to choose who rows next out of the 5 characters on the boat. Athletics scores will determine the type of distance you make back to Saltmarsh. The longer it takes, the higher chance of a random encounter. Each attempt at rowing will give a character a level of exhaustion. Additionally, since none of these characters have had a long rest for quite awhile there is a chance that at some point fatigue will set in for the entire party resulting in every character gaining an additional level of exhaustion.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent