Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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Neya will keep her ears open for any odd movement.
Perception: 3
Extended Signature
One of the guards collects all the coins from Utar in a manner that reveals he is not even slightly ashamed of the request. He signals to another guard, who then unlocks the gates and opens it just enough for a single person to slip through at a time. The gate is promptly closed after Moneus slips out.
On the way to the wooded area, the tiefling pipes up: "Utar, are you capable of breaking curses? Though not all of these shapechangers can do so, many can pass along their curse to anyone they bite. There is a chance this halfling friend of yours is one of them by now."
DM's Screen:
20, 16
Past the borders of the graveyard, there is little light. Moneus asks if anyone needs a light and pulls out a torch seemingly from nowhere (it didn't look like he was carrying any torches earlier). He assumes a positive answer and lights the torch up before handing it over to Graxx. The barbarian takes it and begins to walk the perimeter of trees. While he focuses his attention into the woods, Neya keeps an eye out.
@Graxx: It doesn't take too long before you find a patch of matted grass right at the edge of the wooded area. Looking more carefully, you can tell that some larger animals might have used the space between trees just ahead as a trail into the woods. There is no telling , however, if these are the animals you are looking for.
@Neya: Looking around, nothing seems out of the ordinary to you, though there are some really annoying bugs out here.
(OOC: Into the dark woods CRAP goes?)
(@Ori: Please roll another CON check.)
(@Lerus: What are you doing to me? T~T)
Con Save(DC ???): 6.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"So far, I've done it once. At a temple. With help."
As he walks along with Moneus, Utar lets a number of questions for the tiefling bounce around his head but tries to stay focused on the task at hand. Pointing the many daggers on Moneus' person he asks,
"Any of those likely to be effective against the shape changers?"
Graxx pulls out a handaxe to go with the torch... Looks at it and snarls...
"Lotta good this thing will do against shapeshifters... But if they have Doozey we have no choice."
Graxx will venture into the dark leading the party.
@Ori:
You jolt into consciousness and sit up. Wherever it is you are, darkness reigns supreme. For a minute, it doesn't even feel that different from the ethereal pool of nothingness from a moment ago. Your vision begins to adjust slowly and you are able to focus on three sources of light a good 25 or so feet from you. It is dim and small, and it flickers wildly. They are likely just a few candles. Your vision is pained but continues to adjust. The three small flames converge into one as you realize you were just seeing multiples of the same light source until now. Your head hurts, your torso hurts, your legs hurt... everything hurts.
The floor is cold and made of natural stone. Water drips from an unknown distance. Metal chains prevent your movement in all directions if you were to try standing up and walking about. Your hands and fingers, as well as your basic clothing, are soaked in blood. Your armor and gear are nowhere to be seen. You continue to look over yourself just to spot numerous circular wounds dug into your arms and shoulder. They are the size of small coins. A rip of your thin shirt reveals similar wounds on your chest. They look more recent than the wounds from the fight at Podol Plaza.
-> You are no longer unconscious nor incapacitated. You have 1 HP and remain prone. The only item you have on you at the moment is your set of clothes, though they are tattered (your boots, cloak, and belt are missing). This does not count as either a short or a long rest.
Moneus responds to Utar's experience removing curses: "Well, we may need you to perform curse cleanses on the spot... no temple, no help, and possibly multiple times. I'm sure Torm is with us." As for the cleric's question on how well equipped the tiefling is, he explains: "Not all of my daggers will work, but his one will." He pulls a blade from the right side of his belt. The dagger has a saw-toothed edge and a black pearl nested in its pommel. "I like to keep this on my person; it is special. For throwing, I have this armband right here." He folds his left sleeve a few times, revealing an intricate leather bracer that appears to have many thin daggers strapped to it. He quickly grabs one and lets it fly at a nearby tree as a demonstration. The thin blade travels quickly through the air, emanating a faint radiant light as it flies. A moment after it digs into the tree bark, it disappears. The armband does not look like it is missing any of the blades he originally showed. Moneus winks at Utar and concludes: "So, I don't have any silver on me but some of my tricks will still work. I hope that is true of your new friends as well." He points at Graxx, who is now holding his mundane handaxe, as to say the barbarian may need to be better armed for the imminent fight.
Speaking of Graxx, he leads the party into the woods, closely following the trail he identified. The woods only get thicker as the group goes deeper and deeper, and all the dry foliage on the ground makes it somewhat obvious that the group is approaching, as does the torch. The woods smell of wet earth and fur, not exactly a pleasant scent. There is an absence of animals around, which is somewhat at odds with the existence of the trail the group is following. The high contrast of the torch's flame and the surrounding darkness makes it so those without flameless means of seeing at night can only see as far as 15 or so feet in front of them. Thankfully that is enough to follow the trail. (OOC: Thanks to @Grx's two amazing consecutive survival checks.)
Eventually, the group arrives at a large rock formation. It rises from the ground to your left and keeps going north for as far as your eye can see (which, granted, is not too far). It forms a natural 30-foot-high wall of stone. It is jagged and rough, with many loose boulders littering its base. A plateau of sorts can be found above, which is just as heavily wooded as your surroundings at the base of the rock wall.
@Lerus:
Doozey kept from standing -- kept from moving overly much the moment he felt his hurts to the extremes that they were. Gone was the cockiness and anger that had drove him to provoke the werejaguar to so great an extreme, leaving him feeling hollow. As the word drifted into mind, so too did a sense of confusion. 'There should've-...' Without further thought, he squeezed his eyes shut, and began searching inward for the a warmth that came with bonding to biscuit.
Nothing...
He would try again, thinking perhaps he misunderstood the magic, and thus needing to focus on some other aspect of it...
Still Nothing...
There would... be no third attempt. Regardless of the truth of their magical bond, seeing and hearing nothing of Biscuit since awakening had been enough. The last straw was finally plucked, and noone was to blame save himself. Anger... Sadness... Tiredness... All of these things and a few more fought for dominance in the forefront of focus, causing the stoutling to curl up clutching at his head for a few tense moments. The memories... the voices... Biscuit... the questions... the demands....
He wanted nothing more than to bludgeon his skull into the stone at his feet until blissful unconsciousness stole him away from the nightmare that was life. But, somewhere deep inside told him otherwise. There would be escape...
As that thought settles into mind, everything -- all the feeling, memories of biscuit, memories of better times and worse -- every thought that wasn't focused upon the one just... drifted away, leaving Doozey feeling cold and hollow. Hollow of everything except the one focus. Dead-eyed, Doozey at least went through the motions of checking his wounds, noting the new ones, and considering their meaning. 'A replacement... the thought to make me.... They don't that I'm already....'He trailed off in thought while scooting over to examine the bars, searching for any signs of a weak point in them.
Investigation: 12.
Satisfied, if only in having moved around at least, Doozey sits down, crossing his legs and closing his eyes in by all appearance entering a meditative state. Though in truth, he sought to focus on the sounds, scents, and air pressure to begin the process of piecing together where he a ways... and where the weres, if any are nearby, might be...
Perception: 21. (I assume disadvantage since only relying on hearing for this one)
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"Don't worry about them, Graxx is every bit as fierce as he looks and Neya has more than a few tricks up her sleeve too. They handled those Gricks and we've come up against shapechangers before and made it through."
Stopping at the base of the rock formation, Utar looks for any shapes in the woods that might be trailing the group, mindful of the light coming from the torch, he checks for any glints of light that might come from any animal eyes watching in the dark.
Perception 9
Graxx looks up at the Plateua.
”This doesn’t smell right... I feel like we are going right into an ambush. The first one over the ledge could get clobbered right in the face.”
Graxx looks down at his torch and then looks around.
”I can’t climb this while holding a torch... I am not sure what to do. We can’t leave Doozey but I can’t think of way to continue this night...”
Graxx looks to Utar, Neya, and Moneus.
”I fear I am at a loss for what to do. I’m sure they are watching us now for we are in their lands... The animals are eerily silent... Should we try to bargain to get our friend back?”
“It is the dark of night... I could scale this in no time, tie a rope to a tee and throw it down.” Neya offers.
Extended Signature
@Doozey:
(OOC: Nice post! Also, please note I changed "metal bars" to "metal chains" in my previous post.)
After feeling a whirlwind of feelings, you go through the motions of examining your chains by touch. The cold metal feels heavy and unbending. It'll be hard to free yourself from them with your current resources.
Trying to get a better understanding of your surroundings, you sit and focus once more. You pickup the faint sound of steps. They are not close but, opening your eyes, you see a figure pass in front of the light source you identified earlier. You focus on that spot and, from the corner of your eyes, you think you identify a second light source beyond the first. A wall sconce, or more likely a torch perched on the stony wall. This one must be about 70 feet away. And then you hear something else. Something much closer. Only a yard or so away from you, really... on the ground, something squirms. You put your hand on it and grab a slimy creature the size of your palm. You bring it up so you can see it against the small amount of light you are getting and undoubtedly recognizes the round mouth of a simple swamp leech. It is gorged and full, to the point it is not even trying to bite your fingers for more.
DM's Screen:
17
Graxx exclaims his concerns about walking into an ambush, to which Utar responds by having a general look around. As best as he can tell, the area is nice and peaceful, and no glinting eyes are looking at the group from the dark. The only unsettling thing around is the unpleasant smell of wet dog in the air.
Graxx continues, recognizing that his need for a torch hinders his climbing abilities. Neya mentions that she should climb first, suggesting she has both the skill and gear to do so. In doing this, Neya checks her gear and notices that she is carrying one fewer torch than she expected. Moneus offers to help in the monk's climb, offering his own length of rope.
@Lerus:
(OOC: Okay, my bad about the swap. I assume they are wrapped about each limb then, or is he cuffed?)
Doozey examines the leech for a few moments more, then sighed softly while pocketing the leech. 'Foolish... Either the boy cannot tell his swamps from his forests, or I should've.... It matters not' He slightly frowned, realizing even his inner voice 'spoke' without emotion. The thought is then briskly pushed aside as another irrelevant thought. He instead thought back to the figure noticed before, trying to recall even the slightest details more than just their being there, if only for a brief few moments.
Their height, shape, gait -- anything and everything that could at least narrow down if they were at least humanoid, a beast, or perhaps something else altogether. And was it truly just the one there, or had there been another, their presence masked somewhat by the other.
General Intelligence: 7. (If survival or nature might be more appropriate, add +6 or +3 respectively).
After at least a couple minutes of pondering the matter, Doozey crossed his legs as much as the chains would allow him to, and laid his hands in his lap, seeming content to wait for answers. But every so often, he would try to subtly slip at least an arm free from the chain just enough keep up appearances. If that meant painful attempt at trying to dislocate a few bones in hand to do so... then so be it. Either which way, he would deny anyone lurking nearby the satisfication of seeing him panic or cry like some helpless sheep.
Not before he's exacting some vengeance...
Stealth: 8.
Sleight of Hand: 20. (if medicine would be more appropriate, then its a +3 instead)
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
“Thank you. I could teleport up there. But, what’s life without a challenge every now and again?” Neya says before climbing.
Athletics: 15
Extended Signature
A wry smile spreads over Utar's face and he decides to check over his own gear quickly before taking his turn to scramble up the rope to the top of the plateau.
Athletics 25
Graxx extinguishes his torch for the moment so that he can climb. He is anxious to get back to the top where he can relight his torch.
Athletics: 21
@Ori:
(OOC: Two separate chains, each ending on a metal cuff attached to your wrists. Your legs are free. There are a good 10-feet of slack on the chains.)
Survival: The shadow you saw before could very likely be two individuals. If so, they are both of smaller size, perhaps not too different from you, though they'd be scrawnier. They may be humanoid, they may not be.
Sleight of Hand: Using some of your own blood, you manage to free one hand from its metal cuff, though a few of your bones indeed dislocate to make this possible. It hurts quite a bit but you believe you managed to slip your hand free without it being obvious that it is now uncuffed. (You now have disadvantage on attack rolls until you heal at least +7 HP).
Stealth: The pain on your freed hand was a bit more than you expected. Though it will be hard for anyone else to notice that your hand is free, someone will definitely come and check on you, you gather. After all, a pained scream did escape from your throat during the process. The next few seconds are precious to you, in case you need to prepare for the imminent visit of your captors.
DM's Screen:
23
Neya accepts the challenge ahead of her and volunteers a handicap. The monk and Moneus begin their climb simultaneously, with one helping the other when needed. Before too long, they reach the top to find a thick patch of tall trees surrounding a cave's adit. Looking into the hole on the ground, Moneus describes a descent that is possible on foot in spite of the angle of the entrance. Neya takes note of the info and throws a rope to assist her friends' ascent to the plateau. (This lowers the DC for Graxx and Utar.)
Graxx goes first, after putting out the torch Moneus had handed to him. Despite having to rely mostly on his sense of touch, the barbarian's strong muscles are more than enough to complete the task at hand and the short climb is conquered easily enough.
While Graxx climbs, Utar checks his gear. It doesn't seem like anything is missing, but if he knows his old friend, he also knows that he'll likely have to check again before the night is over. Once it comes time to climb, the half-orc's darkvision comes in handy. (This further lowers the DC for Utar). The cleric makes sure to collect the rope slack as he climbs up, handing it back to Neya once he reaches the top.
Once all four are up and around the cave's adit, Graxx lights up the torch again so all can see in detail what Moneus had described to Neya earlier. Natural stone steps lead downward into the cave. The smell of wet fur is stronger here, and it is pretty dark beyond the first 20 or so feet of the cave.
Graxx hops up and down a little bit and looks down at this new armor.
"This stuffs gonna give me away..."
Graxx holds just the torch in one hand and nothing in the other.
"Alright... I'll lead the way. First sign of trouble I'm dropping this torch to the ground to light the area and grabbing my halberd... My handaxe won't do anything so I'll need two hands free."
Graxx starts to descend into the cave.
"Let's get our friend back."
Stealth: 11