Ea and Darklis, you run into the previous room, ready to chase the shadow. It looks like it opened the trapdoor next to the statue, and has disappeared into the room below!
Everyone joining the chase, Roll Initiative!!!
Just in case y'all don't know the rules for a chase:
Chases require a quarry and at least one pursuer, and in some instances, the pursuer can become the quarry. (For instance, if you’re running after a thief in a market and guards suddenly arrive, assume you’re the thief, and run after YOU instead.)
The quarry should start the chase some distance ahead of the pursuer.
Once that distance is determined, have all parties roll for initiative, but keep in mind that players are only allowed one action and one move. Bonus actions and reactions are not permitted, likely to streamline the chase and keep classes with high movement capabilities from catching the quarry too soon.
Chase participants can freely use the Dash action 3 times plus their Constitution modifier. For every usage of Dash afterward, they must pass a DC 10 Constitution check or gain a level of exhaustion. Once they hit exhaustion level 5 and their speed drops to 0, they fall out of the chase.
Every chase participant rolls a d20 at the end of their turn to see if complications occur. Complications affect the NEXT creature in the initiative order, not the one who just made their roll!
Chases can end in a few ways: 1) When the quarry or pursuer drop from exhaustion, 2) When the pursuer catches up to the quarry, perhaps initiating normal combat rules, 3) When the quarry succeeds on a Dexterity (Stealth) check at the end of a round to hide (assuming they’ve escaped the pursuer’s sight).
That manipulated dice roll thing only is there because I made a mistake with the dice roller and didn’t add a 4
Yeah, we kinda just ignore that. Though i would say for future it may be better just to make another post. That dice roller is really sensitive and extremely broken.... lol
"Extremely broken" is a very good way of putting it.
Verdell will stay with Agnomally and anyone else who doesn't rush forward - if Agnomally continues attuning and doesn't follow, that is. (He feels he's more needed as a protector staying than going. Not that Agnomally is defenseless or anything, but attuning to stuff generally leaves one rather more vulnerable than they would be otherwise.) As the others leave, he calls, "If you are engaged in combat, bring the fight back this way!"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(DrakenBrine, for the sake of the chase I'm going to treat Bolt as a familiar; they'll share your same initiative count. Additionally, if you want them to do something outside of their movement, you have to expend Ea's action to tell them to do it, since there are no bonus actions. But to make up for it, I'll take Bolt's initiative roll instead. Does this sound fair?)
For those of you that have joined the chase:
Here's the initiative order so far:
Arthilas (24)
Strange Shadow (??)
Ea & Bolt (10) Darklis (7) Clementine (6)
For those that need a refresher on how I run Initiative order on PbPs:
Initiative is run in blocks, separated by the enemy's turn. All allies in a block can post their turns and actions in any order, it doesn't matter who posts first as long as it is in the same block.
So, here, Semako would post Arthilas' action, then I would post the Shadow's action. Then DrakenBrine, Rynn, and Plopped can all take their actions for round 1, and Semako can post their action for round 2. Even if the post order ends up being something like:
Semako posts for Round 1 I post for Round 1 Semako posts for Round 2 Plopped posts for Round 1 Rynn posts for Round 1 DrakenBrine posts for Round 1 I post for Round 2 ...etc etc
That would be okay, I'll organize everything chronologically when I post for the next round.
For those of you that either will not or have not yet joined the chase, here's what plays out.
The staff Agnomally's holding? The light emitting from the staff grows, pulsating and humming with energy. Agnomally stands up, and raises the staff high over her head as the humming reaches a frenzied fever pitch, and brings it crashing down to the ground headfirst! A sharp crack echoes down the hallway and back, the repetition making it sound like the breaking of bones.
Agnomally, you pull the staff back upright, and when you look at the staff fully the gemstone inside it is shattered to pieces, but it still somehow sticks on the staff. The humming stops, but the glowing does not, and the shards begin to rise up out of the cavity they reside in. Rosy shards of foggy glass move to surround your head, forming a halo that is similar to the one that crowns the statue outside the hallway. However, you don't feel so good... suddenly a sharp stab can be felt in the back of your neck, followed by warm, sticky blood. You move your hand to that spot to check out what it is, and there's a slightly inflamed bump right at the nape of your neck.
Take 1 Piercing damage, and 4 psychic damage!
Verdell:
You mostly just see the shadow slip back out the door, but upon hearing the crack reverberate down the hallway, you look back to Agnomally just in time to see a shard of gemstone fly towards the back of her neck!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Jack, a Changeling Artificer/Bard/Cleric/Fighter/Rogue---RynnElocin'sFrom Dusk to Dawn Amon, a Fairy Arcane Trickster---ShieldHero_'s Fractum
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"I'll get it!" Arthilas shouts and starts running. He pushes his body to its limits, activating his bladesong and casting haste on himself. With a flip he jumps down the trapdoor the shadow disappeared into (Acrobatics: 25 )
Will he catch up to the shadow with 100 ft. movement speed? If not, he will use his haste action to dash for 200 ft. speed, otherwise he will attempt to grapple the creature (Athletics: 17 ). In either case, he will try to block the shadow's path by getting in front of it, jumping over it if necessary (if it is corporal only of course).
See Invisibility is still active, just in case there is more than a shadow to see for him.
(DrakenBrine, for the sake of the chase I'm going to treat Bolt as a familiar; they'll share your same initiative count. Additionally, if you want them to do something outside of their movement, you have to expend Ea's action to tell them to do it, since there are no bonus actions. But to make up for it, I'll take Bolt's initiative roll instead. Does this sound fair?)
For those of you that have joined the chase:
Here's the initiative order so far:
Arthilas (24)
Strange Shadow (??)
Ea & Bolt (10) Darklis (7) Clementine (6)
For those that need a refresher on how I run Initiative order on PbPs:
Initiative is run in blocks, separated by the enemy's turn. All allies in a block can post their turns and actions in any order, it doesn't matter who posts first as long as it is in the same block.
So, here, Semako would post Arthilas' action, then I would post the Shadow's action. Then DrakenBrine, Rynn, and Plopped can all take their actions for round 1, and Semako can post their action for round 2. Even if the post order ends up being something like:
Semako posts for Round 1 I post for Round 1 Semako posts for Round 2 Plopped posts for Round 1 Rynn posts for Round 1 DrakenBrine posts for Round 1 I post for Round 2 ...etc etc
That would be okay, I'll organize everything chronologically when I post for the next round.
For those of you that either will not or have not yet joined the chase, here's what plays out.
The staff Agnomally's holding? The light emitting from the staff grows, pulsating and humming with energy. Agnomally stands up, and raises the staff high over her head as the humming reaches a frenzied fever pitch, and brings it crashing down to the ground headfirst! A sharp crack echoes down the hallway and back, the repetition making it sound like the breaking of bones.
Agnomally, you pull the staff back upright, and when you look at the staff fully the gemstone inside it is shattered to pieces, but it still somehow sticks on the staff. The humming stops, but the glowing does not, and the shards begin to rise up out of the cavity they reside in. Rosy shards of foggy glass move to surround your head, forming a halo that is similar to the one that crowns the statue outside the hallway. However, you don't feel so good... suddenly a sharp stab can be felt in the back of your neck, followed by warm, sticky blood. You move your hand to that spot to check out what it is, and there's a slightly inflamed bump right at the nape of your neck.
Take 1 Piercing damage, and 3 psychic damage!
Verdell:
You mostly just see the shadow slip back out the door, but upon hearing the crack reverberate down the hallway, you look back to Agnomally just in time to see a shard of gemstone fly towards the back of her neck!
Oof... Is there still time for me to use my Shield of Shielding to add 5 to Agnomally's AC to stop that? Is it just not an attack?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Paladin main who spends most of his D&D time worldbuilding or DMing, not Paladin-ing.
“No, it didn’t! That was part of the deal- I have to expand energy to make it do what I want. I guess energy means damage? Didn’t quite expect it to happen like that, though. The staff likes the name Rumpelstlitskin, by the way. What’s happening? Where’d everybody go?”
To the staff: “That’s what was supposed to happen, right? I can use the abilities now? And was that all of the price, or more later?”
Ea and Darklis, you run into the previous room, ready to chase the shadow. It looks like it opened the trapdoor next to the statue, and has disappeared into the room below!
Everyone joining the chase, Roll Initiative!!!
Just in case y'all don't know the rules for a chase:
This is all taken from the summary in this post: https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/943-how-to-create-gripping-chase-scenes-in-d-d#:~:text=Chases require a quarry and,distance ahead of the pursuer. , because I don't have enough money to afford the DMG. If there's anything else that's missing I'll add it, but this seems to cover the most important points.
Jack, a Changeling Artificer/Bard/Cleric/Fighter/Rogue---RynnElocin's From Dusk to Dawn
Amon, a Fairy Arcane Trickster---ShieldHero_'s Fractum
I'M BACK
PFP credit goes to Mo Willems
Initiative: 6
Damn, these time zones, I missed quite a lot...
Arthilas joins the chase of course. Initiative: 24
I want to join, but I want to ask questions about this first.
What level do people start at? And are joke characters okay?
We’re level 8 and I don’t know about joke characters. As long as they are helpful I don’t mind.
MY INFO
Initiative 6
MY INFO
Well that was low
MY INFO
I guess I should roll initiative for bolt too
Bolts initiative 10
MY INFO
Yeah level doesn’t matter much, but for the occasional combat I recommend level 8. Joke characters are completely fine, I encourage it honestly.
initiative: 6
”Wait your cousin’s here? Who are we talking about?”
(Joke characters are the best. Go for it! And the party's at level 8 right now.)
For DM use! No peeking.
17
Jack, a Changeling Artificer/Bard/Cleric/Fighter/Rogue---RynnElocin's From Dusk to Dawn
Amon, a Fairy Arcane Trickster---ShieldHero_'s Fractum
I'M BACK
PFP credit goes to Mo Willems
"Extremely broken" is a very good way of putting it.
Verdell will stay with Agnomally and anyone else who doesn't rush forward - if Agnomally continues attuning and doesn't follow, that is. (He feels he's more needed as a protector staying than going. Not that Agnomally is defenseless or anything, but attuning to stuff generally leaves one rather more vulnerable than they would be otherwise.) As the others leave, he calls, "If you are engaged in combat, bring the fight back this way!"
Perception anyway: 27
Paladin main who spends most of his D&D time worldbuilding or DMing, not Paladin-ing.
Oh... heh. I forgot to read this page before I posted.
"Chase 'em back this way!"
Paladin main who spends most of his D&D time worldbuilding or DMing, not Paladin-ing.
*vivid pyromaniac flashbacks*
Paladin main who spends most of his D&D time worldbuilding or DMing, not Paladin-ing.
(DrakenBrine, for the sake of the chase I'm going to treat Bolt as a familiar; they'll share your same initiative count. Additionally, if you want them to do something outside of their movement, you have to expend Ea's action to tell them to do it, since there are no bonus actions. But to make up for it, I'll take Bolt's initiative roll instead. Does this sound fair?)
For those of you that have joined the chase:
Here's the initiative order so far:
Arthilas (24)
Strange Shadow (??)
Ea & Bolt (10)
Darklis (7)
Clementine (6)
For those that need a refresher on how I run Initiative order on PbPs:
Initiative is run in blocks, separated by the enemy's turn. All allies in a block can post their turns and actions in any order, it doesn't matter who posts first as long as it is in the same block.
So, here, Semako would post Arthilas' action, then I would post the Shadow's action. Then DrakenBrine, Rynn, and Plopped can all take their actions for round 1, and Semako can post their action for round 2. Even if the post order ends up being something like:
Semako posts for Round 1
I post for Round 1
Semako posts for Round 2
Plopped posts for Round 1
Rynn posts for Round 1
DrakenBrine posts for Round 1
I post for Round 2
...etc etc
That would be okay, I'll organize everything chronologically when I post for the next round.
For those of you that either will not or have not yet joined the chase, here's what plays out.
The staff Agnomally's holding? The light emitting from the staff grows, pulsating and humming with energy. Agnomally stands up, and raises the staff high over her head as the humming reaches a frenzied fever pitch, and brings it crashing down to the ground headfirst! A sharp crack echoes down the hallway and back, the repetition making it sound like the breaking of bones.
Agnomally, you pull the staff back upright, and when you look at the staff fully the gemstone inside it is shattered to pieces, but it still somehow sticks on the staff. The humming stops, but the glowing does not, and the shards begin to rise up out of the cavity they reside in. Rosy shards of foggy glass move to surround your head, forming a halo that is similar to the one that crowns the statue outside the hallway. However, you don't feel so good... suddenly a sharp stab can be felt in the back of your neck, followed by warm, sticky blood. You move your hand to that spot to check out what it is, and there's a slightly inflamed bump right at the nape of your neck.
Take 1 Piercing damage, and 4 psychic damage!
Verdell:
You mostly just see the shadow slip back out the door, but upon hearing the crack reverberate down the hallway, you look back to Agnomally just in time to see a shard of gemstone fly towards the back of her neck!
Jack, a Changeling Artificer/Bard/Cleric/Fighter/Rogue---RynnElocin's From Dusk to Dawn
Amon, a Fairy Arcane Trickster---ShieldHero_'s Fractum
I'M BACK
PFP credit goes to Mo Willems
"I'll get it!" Arthilas shouts and starts running. He pushes his body to its limits, activating his bladesong and casting haste on himself. With a flip he jumps down the trapdoor the shadow disappeared into (Acrobatics: 25 )
Will he catch up to the shadow with 100 ft. movement speed? If not, he will use his haste action to dash for 200 ft. speed, otherwise he will attempt to grapple the creature (Athletics: 17 ). In either case, he will try to block the shadow's path by getting in front of it, jumping over it if necessary (if it is corporal only of course).
See Invisibility is still active, just in case there is more than a shadow to see for him.
Oof... Is there still time for me to use my Shield of Shielding to add 5 to Agnomally's AC to stop that? Is it just not an attack?
Paladin main who spends most of his D&D time worldbuilding or DMing, not Paladin-ing.
"Agnomally! What just happened? If that thing tried to possess you...."
Paladin main who spends most of his D&D time worldbuilding or DMing, not Paladin-ing.
Darklis rushes after Athilas sliding down the hole to continue the chase. (1 dash)
You can’t go yet. The shadow hasn’t made a move
MY INFO
“No, it didn’t! That was part of the deal- I have to expand energy to make it do what I want. I guess energy means damage? Didn’t quite expect it to happen like that, though. The staff likes the name Rumpelstlitskin, by the way. What’s happening? Where’d everybody go?”
To the staff: “That’s what was supposed to happen, right? I can use the abilities now? And was that all of the price, or more later?”
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep