NEW CAMPAIGN - RAVENLOFT 1983

It's all good!

Ok, you find a shop where they sell those things. Now, back to the Coffin Makers house. (Insert record scratching sound effect here.) You three are all in front of the Coffin Maker's shop with Kia and Briella. Everyone else is at the Inn.

"Go away!" You hear him call from inside.

Grishkar folds his arms behind his back and into his voluminous sleeves, then raps the door a few times with his heel to jolt the inhabitant into action, "You must understand, Sir. I am on holy pilgrimage with my companions. We are a trio which venerates all aspects of life. My associates handle the first two phases of mortal journeys," Grishkar gives a wicked wink as if playing along was no longer an option, "And I have been blessed with the mantle of the final leg of life's journey: the Eternal Slumber. My Lord venerates the Dead and requires that I pay homeage at sites of burial wherever I go. I beseech you, allow me access to continue my divinely inspired works." Within his sleeves, Grishkar's hands eagerly grasp his wand and dagger in case other incentives are required.

The door opens, and Henrik van der Voort, a frail old man, looks you all over.

"Alrighty, then. Plenty of dead upstairs. What do you want. I've got work to do. Lots of coffins to make."

Kia steps in, “How have so many died?” she asks. 

Henrik looks you over, as if a talking cat weren't common around here. Which it wasn't. 

"Plenty." He turns to Grishkar. "What do you want to do with them?"

Giving a stiff, slight bow, "My good man, I only wish to say prayers over the bodies for the souls departed. In a land such as this, peace does not always come with death." 

(Deception check....No whammy! 7)

Grishkar leans in momentarily, "Have you heard of a Revenant? They say it is a corpse given life to serve an unfinished purpose. I have seen one in passing as it rose from a grave. It was as though my Lord's will spoke through it. Undeath cannot always be so terrible when it is divinely inspired, yes?" Seeing little traction to his argument, Grishkar laughs it off to dispel any tension.

"Finneeeee..." He says reluctantly. "But make it quick! Come, i'll lead you all upstairs.."

He leads you into his workshop and up a stairway to the second floor. Arranged haphazardly about the floor of this musty, L-shaped room are thirteen wooden coffins.

"The bodies are in the coffins. I was just about to bury them. Do what you gotta do, then leave. I'm going downstairs to work."

He starts heading downstairs.

Quote from JcAndD >>

OOC: Alright, not magically worrying, just morally worrying. Good to know.

As they enter, Martha leans over to Bors, “Ooo, picked a winner, good call Bors. You wanna talk to the scary man and his demon butler, or should I?”

(Kid in a candy shop!)

Grishkar turns to Kia and Briella, "You may want to step out. I'll only be a few minutes." Gridhkar opens several coffins, picking out only the most recently-deceased and begins imbuing them with new life and purpose. Once risen, he commands them to don traveling attire bought previously. Leaving the room, Grishkar orders his new minions to leave with Kia and Briella.

Grishkar stops for a moment to see the coffinmaker before leaving, "My good man, I thank you for all your hospitality and works. Yours is truly a thankless, but crucial role in society. You bring eternal peace to those whose loved ones have departed this world." Waving a gesture intended to appear holy, Grishkar departs with a final Elvish blessing, "May you always find rest at the end of your labors." Slumping over his work, the coffinmaker slips into a magically-induced coma.

(Burning 3, 3rd level slots for Animate Dead to gain 6 zombies due to my Undead Thralls trait. Using my Pearl of Power to regain a 3rd level slot, then casting Sleep on the coffinmaker to cover my exit.)

Kia is feeling her shades of gray here. Perhaps Briella wants to intervene?

"Grishkar, I am not certain this is the best course. It will draw a great deal of attention to us, and hinder our actions in this town. Will you not wait until a better time?"

Edit: But she will not stop him. She will step out while he casts his magic. She has felt no admonition from Arkiel in her dealings with Grishkar, so reluctantly accepts he may be a tool in the toolbox, as it were.

(Stalling the above zombie-fest pending discussion)

"I thought about it for a moment, then realized that I would really like my bodyguards back. I worked so hard for them, you see. If you have a better coirse of action with the same result, please elaborate."

OOC > Pending the outcome of this discussion, but Kia is not really into it, as stated above.

"We have not gone long without a fight that leaves bodies by the side. Can you not... do your act in the midst of conflict? These souls have died... hold on. How did they die?"

The coffin maker never did say. Kia opens the coffins to look. How does it seem these thirteen died?

OOC > Kia is interested in if they died violently, either executed, or as the victims of some horrible trauma. If so, their souls are without closure, may even be innocents done harm by someone in this town, and being animated is... well, palatable to her adjusting moral standards. Stupid country. Also, she will wonder aloud if Grishkar has figured out how to chat with the dead yet.

(9 Investigation. If it should be Medicine, please as +1 for the skill modifier difference)

(EDIT: Grish seems to have a very single-track mind)

Grishkar stares at Kia with apprehensive skepticism, "You're saying that you of all people would blatantly allow me to do my works?"

A medicine check is a good idea, here is Kia's (no proficiency, just good Wis): 13

Briella probably has us smoked in this arena.

Quote from Mingofaust >>

 

OOC > Kia is interested in if they died violently, either executed, or as the victims of some horrible trauma. If so, their souls are without closure, may even be innocents done harm by someone in this town, and being animated is... well, palatable to her adjusting moral standards. Stupid country. Also, she will wonder aloud if Grishkar has figured out how to chat with the dead yet.

Briella stays at the doorway to the room.

"In my opinion Kia, I don't really think we should let him. How useful have these bodies really been in protecting you Grishkar? I seem to remember you going down multiple times and when you go down your friends might get free reign of the battlefield.  Tell me Grishkar when does the cost begin to out weigh the benefits you get from having these creatures?" Briella will examine the bodies like Kia is doing. As she checks each one she offers a prayer for the deceased and asks forgiveness for what Grishkar might do.

Medicine:13

"But i am not the one in control of your life Grishkar. If you are dead set on raising these poor souls then go right ahead, I will not stop you, but you do it quietly, maybe have them leave a different way. We don't need the town against us when we have just arrived here. Kia and I could distract the shop keep if need be, but he will eventually discover the missing bodies and then who knows what will happen. Kia is right in the fact that you should wait til after combat to raise the dead, it would keep you from being noticed and you get better bodyguards then what you would find here." Briella shakes her head and grimaces. 'I can't believe I'm debating on how to get away with raising the dead.Oh, the clerics back home would be throwing fits right now.' She thinks.

As you put the Coffin Maker to sleep, his frail old body thumps to the floor by the doorway. As you begin to cast your animate spells, something awful, something terrible happens.

It doesn't work.

As you open some of the coffins and look at the bodies, you notice some of them are just plain empty. Then..where are the...?

6 coffin tops explode off in the mist of them, and 6 very beautiful male and female vampires leap out of them, looking at you all. They look like they were once adventurers. "My, my, what have we heerreeee...?" One of them says, silkily. "Is this some of the people that are giving our Lord trouble, perhaps..?" A female one say, "I want the one with the pretty hair, her head will be my trophy!" Another one licks her lips. A male vampire walks slowly towards you three. "Come, come, little *****cat! Meoowwww!"

"Kill them all. They have inconvenienced me long enough." The voice rumbles in the room, and the vampires focus, bare their teeth and claws.

All six of them are attempting to enclose you in a circle. The door is open, the coffin maker aslumber.

MINI BOSS FIGHT - SPAWN OF STRAHD

DEMOCRITUS, ZAEDRA, JHEZRYN, TAEVIA, REYVIN, NOVUS.

Roll for initiative, or make some other move. No dead bodies here, just a small troupe of undead.

Initiative:5

Briella sighs and puts up her finger to the vampires.

"Oh no, I am not putting up with anymore of you damnable hell spawn. Strahd was bad enough. Creatures, your master has forsaken you by placing you a path that lead you to a Cleric of Elhonna." She reaches into her pack and pulls out the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind.

"Time to see what this thing can do." Channel Divinity: Turn Undead expending 3 charges to give them all disadvantage on their saving throws.(Save: WIS 14)

OOC:Hope you two roll better Initiative then I did.

INITIATIVES:

Democritus: 20

Zaedra: 8

Jhezryn: 21

Taevia: 21

Reyvin: 20

Novus: 9

Wow, that's sweet! I can roll bad, too!