[Roll is irrelevant because you actually nailed it quite precisely with your in-character assessment! For your astute deduction I'll award you with Inspiration! (So this way it won't have been wasted}.]
-----------------
As Morthos turned his back on the skeleton to peruse the workbench in much the same way Thad had attempted, similarly the half-bodied undead gave protest. Its hanging, legless torso rotated mid-air to face the half-elf as it chastised him.
"Sooo you will nooot abiiide by the customsss of thee ordeeer? So beee it. Knooow that in sooo doooing your staaatus as initiate shall beee reevoked."
The skeleton then swiveled back to face the others."Iiiinitiatesss, there isss an iiintruuder in our midssst. Slaaaay hiiiim. Do sooo and your fuuull membershiiip in the order shaaall be graaanted."
[Morthos, do you ignore the skeleton and investigate the table regardless?]
Morthos stops in his tracks. Was it perhaps true that the skeleton's threat was real? The damned souls of the failed initiates may still lurk in this forsaken catacomb- maybe he shouldn't be so rash.
He turns to Thaedren and says, "Aren't you capable of sensing undead? Last time you did, I don't think this skeleton popped up on your radar. Could you check again?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DMing:
Solo Hoard of the Dragon Queen
Playing:
Baral-Coliseum of Conquest, Lazarus Vernon- Tale of Mercenaries;Bernard Lionsbane- Solo Curse of Strahd
(OOC - no worries. Faint reading makes sense still, I think.)
"This creature sounds like Caelia, though gives off the aura of a celestial," Thad says to the group, then he points towards the door to the west, "There is some form of undead back there. We should proceed with caution." Thad then looks back at the creature, "You're not Caelia. What exactly are you?"
A skeleton with antique yellow-brown bones descended from the ceiling, hanging from a chain coiled around its neck like a noose. Its skull tilted lifelessly to one side to such a degree it nearly rested upon its own shoulder. The skeletal body tapered off after several vertebra lower than its desiccated ribcage and thus had no pelvis or legs, leaving it with only its torso and loosely dangling arms.
The skeleton was lowered until its head was level with the group. At the same time, a second identical skeleton that had been beyond the range of Thad’s senses glided forward from the far corner, hung from its own chain and drifting to a halt by the circle on the ground.
[Thad would remember the direction of the weak undead energy he sensed earlier did indeed point to this skeleton talking to you all. The second skeleton that moved forward (marked on the map), is still hanging in place by the magic circle, silently watching. Morthos would have no way of knowing what did or did not "appear on Thad's radar", aside from the fact that Thaddid announce he sensed something through the door.]
[MAP for further clarity:]
ORANGE is a very generous range for Thad's 60ft Divine Sense ifhe was standing right at the edge of the puzzle tiles. From here, he would not have sensed the skeleton that had been in the far corner. However, Thad was not standing by the puzzle tiles.
GOLD is the range of Thad's divine sense starting from where I estimate he actually was at the time. (He had placed a hand on Caelia after she jumped out from hiding in the bizarre machine in the southern alcove, and had not yet moved anywhere else before activating Divine Sense). From here, he definitely would not have sensed the second skeleton and only barely sensed the first.
At the thought, Thad uses his Divine sense once again. He knows the two skeletons hang in front of him, but was there anything else around them that he had yet to see?
Weak undead energy from the skeletons, including the new one in the side chamber you haven't noticed until now. Caelia should also show up with the same faint celestial aura as before, but I just forgot to mark her on the map.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Seeing the half-elf move to look around, Morgan shrugs. He had used up about all of his patients already, so strode over to take a look around the room himself. He left the desk to those who could actually make sense of anything there, and just checked out the other exits from this chamber.
"Nothin' new here, really," Thad says as he points to each of the skeletons he senses. "My thoughts, gentlemen, is p'haps we go back ta explore the room ta the north or east first. Footsteps led ta those, so might find more there before we potentially call everythin' that's down here upon us. That way, we might control what we're up against a little more?"
As Morgan tried to check out the room, the skeleton by the magic circle reacted by moving to physically block his path. The hanging torso was like a puppet as the long stone chain encircling its neck slipped through the knotted web of chains covering the ceiling. As various strands of that web tugged and pulled like contracting muscles in a jangling cacophony of stone links, the hanging chain was pulled along in the corresponding directions, and thus the skeleton dangling from it was jerked into position intercepting the nobleman before he could even get much farther than Thad and Morthos.
"Thiiis labooratory is resserved for membersss ooof the ooorder! Youuu are not recognizzzed!" it hissed at Morgan, repeating the same thing the first skeleton told Thad when he tried to poke around. These undead guardians may have mistaken the newcomers as initiates in Gernacht's cult at first, but quite clearly they had no intent to hang idly by and allow unauthorized personnel free reign.
By this point, a third hanged skeleton that had been up the stairs in the adjoining chamber was deployed. It lined up between the other two, and then as a single unit the three skeletons began to drift forward like a wall of bones in an attempt to herd the party back out the doors they entered from!
"Ifff you refuuuse to preeseent any ooofferings then be goone from heeere at once!" the first skeleton declared. "Fuurther insuubordination wiiill nooot be toooolerated!"
Back in the hallway, Lilandra would notice Caelia looking spooked by the angry tone of the deep raspy voices coming from the room. "L-Lilandra? What's going on in there? Are the others okay?"
"Morthos, I'm all fer cullin' whatever lies down here, but do ya think p'haps we should check around first? We don't know what else is down here an' these... skeletons may call more ta us an' possibly overwhelm us," Thad attempts to reason with his fellow rescuer, "We take a look around fer a bit, make sure we're alone down here an' come back ta finish them hangin' there. It's no' like they're goin' somewhere."
The half-elf bard sighs as he sheathes his rapier.
"Those notes can tell us what exactly what that deer is! I would even guess that some of them were penned by her "brother." Knowledge is power, dear dwarf, but if you believe it is prudent to withdraw, I will do so."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DMing:
Solo Hoard of the Dragon Queen
Playing:
Baral-Coliseum of Conquest, Lazarus Vernon- Tale of Mercenaries;Bernard Lionsbane- Solo Curse of Strahd
"Don't get me wrong, my friend," Thad nods, "I agree, those papers would be invaluable. But I don't like the idea o' havin' these unknown initiates tumblin' in on us."
"There haven't been initiates here in years! And you didn't say you sensed any undead other than these piles of bones. There's no way they can pose any real threat to us, right?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DMing:
Solo Hoard of the Dragon Queen
Playing:
Baral-Coliseum of Conquest, Lazarus Vernon- Tale of Mercenaries;Bernard Lionsbane- Solo Curse of Strahd
At this point in the exchange, the skeletons would have nearly closed the gap! A single moment more, and the hanging undead would be upon the trio of rescuers!
[THAD, MORTHOS, MORGAN - must make individual decisions to promptly LEAVE the room or STAY and face the skeletons. Note, anything other than clearly and immediately leaving the room will be interpreted as a choice to STAY, as any hesitation or delay for even a single second will allow the skeletons enough time to get you.]
MORTHOS ATTACK - MISS. The skeleton you failed to hit will retaliate with a grapple attempt!
CONTESTED GRAPPLE CHECK - MORTHOS (ATHLETICS OR ACROBATICS) VS SKELETON (ATHLETICS):3
[NOTE: To anyone else wishing to STAY please include a contested grapple check as well just to speed things along so I don't have to ask separately later. If you choose to attack, your attack happens before the grapple attempt. If your attack hits an AC 13, the skeleton is destroyed. If you fail to hit, the skeleton will attempt its grapple. You may, of course, still choose to LEAVE or try anything else you might want to do.]
GRAPPLE VS MORGAN (IF APPLICABLE):13
GRAPPLE VS THAD (IF APPLICABLE):15
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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[With that roll you would have come to a less detailed yet similar conclusion as Morthos.]
[Roll is irrelevant because you actually nailed it quite precisely with your in-character assessment! For your astute deduction I'll award you with Inspiration! (So this way it won't have been wasted}.]
-----------------
As Morthos turned his back on the skeleton to peruse the workbench in much the same way Thad had attempted, similarly the half-bodied undead gave protest. Its hanging, legless torso rotated mid-air to face the half-elf as it chastised him.
"Sooo you will nooot abiiide by the customsss of thee ordeeer? So beee it. Knooow that in sooo doooing your staaatus as initiate shall beee reevoked."
The skeleton then swiveled back to face the others. "Iiiinitiatesss, there isss an iiintruuder in our midssst. Slaaaay hiiiim. Do sooo and your fuuull membershiiip in the order shaaall be graaanted."
[Morthos, do you ignore the skeleton and investigate the table regardless?]
Morthos stops in his tracks. Was it perhaps true that the skeleton's threat was real? The damned souls of the failed initiates may still lurk in this forsaken catacomb- maybe he shouldn't be so rash.
He turns to Thaedren and says, "Aren't you capable of sensing undead? Last time you did, I don't think this skeleton popped up on your radar. Could you check again?"
DMing:
Solo Hoard of the Dragon Queen
Playing:
Baral- Coliseum of Conquest, Lazarus Vernon- Tale of Mercenaries; Bernard Lionsbane- Solo Curse of Strahd
[Thad would remember the direction of the weak undead energy he sensed earlier did indeed point to this skeleton talking to you all. The second skeleton that moved forward (marked on the map), is still hanging in place by the magic circle, silently watching. Morthos would have no way of knowing what did or did not "appear on Thad's radar", aside from the fact that Thad did announce he sensed something through the door.]
[MAP for further clarity:]
ORANGE is a very generous range for Thad's 60ft Divine Sense if he was standing right at the edge of the puzzle tiles. From here, he would not have sensed the skeleton that had been in the far corner. However, Thad was not standing by the puzzle tiles.
GOLD is the range of Thad's divine sense starting from where I estimate he actually was at the time. (He had placed a hand on Caelia after she jumped out from hiding in the bizarre machine in the southern alcove, and had not yet moved anywhere else before activating Divine Sense). From here, he definitely would not have sensed the second skeleton and only barely sensed the first.
At the thought, Thad uses his Divine sense once again. He knows the two skeletons hang in front of him, but was there anything else around them that he had yet to see?
[THAD ONLY:]
Weak undead energy from the skeletons, including the new one in the side chamber you haven't noticed until now. Caelia should also show up with the same faint celestial aura as before, but I just forgot to mark her on the map.
Seeing the half-elf move to look around, Morgan shrugs. He had used up about all of his patients already, so strode over to take a look around the room himself. He left the desk to those who could actually make sense of anything there, and just checked out the other exits from this chamber.
Perception: 12
"Nothin' new here, really," Thad says as he points to each of the skeletons he senses. "My thoughts, gentlemen, is p'haps we go back ta explore the room ta the north or east first. Footsteps led ta those, so might find more there before we potentially call everythin' that's down here upon us. That way, we might control what we're up against a little more?"
As Morgan tried to check out the room, the skeleton by the magic circle reacted by moving to physically block his path. The hanging torso was like a puppet as the long stone chain encircling its neck slipped through the knotted web of chains covering the ceiling. As various strands of that web tugged and pulled like contracting muscles in a jangling cacophony of stone links, the hanging chain was pulled along in the corresponding directions, and thus the skeleton dangling from it was jerked into position intercepting the nobleman before he could even get much farther than Thad and Morthos.
"Thiiis labooratory is resserved for membersss ooof the ooorder! Youuu are not recognizzzed!" it hissed at Morgan, repeating the same thing the first skeleton told Thad when he tried to poke around. These undead guardians may have mistaken the newcomers as initiates in Gernacht's cult at first, but quite clearly they had no intent to hang idly by and allow unauthorized personnel free reign.
By this point, a third hanged skeleton that had been up the stairs in the adjoining chamber was deployed. It lined up between the other two, and then as a single unit the three skeletons began to drift forward like a wall of bones in an attempt to herd the party back out the doors they entered from!
"Ifff you refuuuse to preeseent any ooofferings then be goone from heeere at once!" the first skeleton declared. "Fuurther insuubordination wiiill nooot be toooolerated!"
Back in the hallway, Lilandra would notice Caelia looking spooked by the angry tone of the deep raspy voices coming from the room. "L-Lilandra? What's going on in there? Are the others okay?"
As Caelia speaks Lilandra takes a few steps back to get closer to her to not have to raise her voice.
I think so Caelia, i just heard them speak. They are talking to someone or something. I dont think they are fighting.
She fiddles with her shirt a bit knowing she has to stay back to protect Caelia.
I havent heard any sounds of fighting at least. She says with a bit of doubt in her voice
Morthos draws his rapier.
"I don't think we're going anywhere."
He turns to Morgan and Thaedren while he calls out to Lilandra in the hallway.
"Let's purge these unholy creations. Lilandra, we may need your help here."
DMing:
Solo Hoard of the Dragon Queen
Playing:
Baral- Coliseum of Conquest, Lazarus Vernon- Tale of Mercenaries; Bernard Lionsbane- Solo Curse of Strahd
"Morthos, I'm all fer cullin' whatever lies down here, but do ya think p'haps we should check around first? We don't know what else is down here an' these... skeletons may call more ta us an' possibly overwhelm us," Thad attempts to reason with his fellow rescuer, "We take a look around fer a bit, make sure we're alone down here an' come back ta finish them hangin' there. It's no' like they're goin' somewhere."
The half-elf bard sighs as he sheathes his rapier.
"Those notes can tell us what exactly what that deer is! I would even guess that some of them were penned by her "brother." Knowledge is power, dear dwarf, but if you believe it is prudent to withdraw, I will do so."
DMing:
Solo Hoard of the Dragon Queen
Playing:
Baral- Coliseum of Conquest, Lazarus Vernon- Tale of Mercenaries; Bernard Lionsbane- Solo Curse of Strahd
"Don't get me wrong, my friend," Thad nods, "I agree, those papers would be invaluable. But I don't like the idea o' havin' these unknown initiates tumblin' in on us."
Morthos laughs.
"There haven't been initiates here in years! And you didn't say you sensed any undead other than these piles of bones. There's no way they can pose any real threat to us, right?"
DMing:
Solo Hoard of the Dragon Queen
Playing:
Baral- Coliseum of Conquest, Lazarus Vernon- Tale of Mercenaries; Bernard Lionsbane- Solo Curse of Strahd
Morgan glances between the two as they discuss. he has his hand on the hilt of his greatsword, ready to draw it in a moment. All he needs is the go...
At this point in the exchange, the skeletons would have nearly closed the gap! A single moment more, and the hanging undead would be upon the trio of rescuers!
[THAD, MORTHOS, MORGAN - must make individual decisions to promptly LEAVE the room or STAY and face the skeletons. Note, anything other than clearly and immediately leaving the room will be interpreted as a choice to STAY, as any hesitation or delay for even a single second will allow the skeletons enough time to get you.]
Seeing that Morgan was ready to go, Morthos draws his rapier and speaks.
"Thaedren, this is no time to be timid. We need to learn more about this place!"
He spins around and stabs one of the skeletons.
(Initiative with Inspiration: 9
DMing:
Solo Hoard of the Dragon Queen
Playing:
Baral- Coliseum of Conquest, Lazarus Vernon- Tale of Mercenaries; Bernard Lionsbane- Solo Curse of Strahd
[You may disregard initiative and just make your attack roll instead]
(Can I keep the Inspiration?)
Attack: 15 Damage: 7
DMing:
Solo Hoard of the Dragon Queen
Playing:
Baral- Coliseum of Conquest, Lazarus Vernon- Tale of Mercenaries; Bernard Lionsbane- Solo Curse of Strahd
[Yes, you may certainly keep the inspiration.]
MORTHOS ATTACK - MISS. The skeleton you failed to hit will retaliate with a grapple attempt!
CONTESTED GRAPPLE CHECK - MORTHOS (ATHLETICS OR ACROBATICS) VS SKELETON (ATHLETICS): 3
[NOTE: To anyone else wishing to STAY please include a contested grapple check as well just to speed things along so I don't have to ask separately later. If you choose to attack, your attack happens before the grapple attempt. If your attack hits an AC 13, the skeleton is destroyed. If you fail to hit, the skeleton will attempt its grapple. You may, of course, still choose to LEAVE or try anything else you might want to do.]
GRAPPLE VS MORGAN (IF APPLICABLE): 13
GRAPPLE VS THAD (IF APPLICABLE): 15