[5e AL] Boltsmelter's Book [Completed!] (Inactive)

Game Master mishima

Wiping a bit of slimy, decayed porpoise fin from her face she waves to Abrel and the others that she's fine. Preparing to blast the knight again, she lets the power fade as he falls to Davin's arrow,.

Thanks the gods, now lets get off this tub. With or without that crazy dwarf." She says and starts to hurry toward the dock only to stop short when Abrel shouts from below. Muttering a long curse about about cultists, dwarves, and where they could reside for the next several lifetimes, she drops down the hatch.

The cramped, foul smelling area below decks was never her favorite place to be on a good day. Adding a giant octopus tearing the ship apart and a bunch of screaming cultists dropped it even lower on her places to be list.

Despite the dim light below decks, she easily spots the cluster of men around the captains cabin, including her fallen comrades. "Lady, let's see if we can't even the odds a little bit." She says and once again the symbol at her neck glows a soft purple, but this time a small group of fae pixies appear overhead and fill the air with a golden dust the quickly drifts down among the cultists at the door.

Sleep: 5d8 ⇒ (5, 8, 5, 1, 2) = 21

Casting Sleep DC 12 with the center of the 20' radius just beyond the yellow and gray cultists so that Abrel is outside of the area, but should get the cultists and the knight. Although the roll is a little low, so might only get one or two of them.

Quite a good casting of sleep there, got 2 cultists and the reaver at low hp.

The laughing of girlish fey echoes throughout the tiller deck, the cultists look this way and that trying to pin point the source but are too drowsy to search and fall...

Blackened tokens are the ones affected. Basically only the knight and one cultist are now left down there...however...

From above you hear the boarding of a new attack party, and feel the ship cracking and taking on water fast. If there was any doubt before, the Indigo Wings is definitely now sinking...

Round 4:
Bhoors, Davin <--UP
Enemies
Shal, Cole, El, Abrel

Abrel has a 15 Str and would drag them if he cannot carry them faster than 5 ft.

The young knight looks at the cultist that remains standing, I am taking them out of here. Strike me at your own peril.

Charisma (Intimidate): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16

Glancing back over towards his master, the cultist ignores Abrel and kicks at Boltsmelter's door repeatedly "Gah...! No! Save me!" he cries.

You are a selfish piece of trash. Cole and El may die because you are a coward. Give me ONE good reason to save your worthless hide!

*crash* From inside the little cabin you hear the muffled response "Look...ye...yer sore about the questionin'..." *crash* "I knew one of ye was false, now don't ye see?" *crash* "Where's yer duty...I hired ye! Er..." *crash* *crash* "Treasya! Books a treasure! Get me to me fence is all, we'll all be stinking rich!" *crash bang clang*

When Abrel sees the others, his shoulders slump. He nods toward their two fallen companions as he lays them down gently.

Taking a deep breath, he draws his sword, I am sorry friend. I applaud your honor in letting us pass, but I cannot let you kill the dwarf.

What no one seemed to realize is that Abrel left his blade where Cole had fallen, for he needed both hands to get them out of there. Suddenly, the blade is in the knight's hand and swinging at the cultist!

Longsword: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
Damage (2-handed): 1d10 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

Damn nice way to ruin a dramatic moment... Xp

EDIT: Could I get surprise Advantage? ;)

Bhoors sees the new wave of incoming fighters and rolls his head from side to side. As if it is more incredulous bad news. Thinking that was the worst of he chokes his next yelling to get retreating and hears that 2 are down below decks. He leaps down the hatch swinging on the edge to find a safe spot to land below deck touching down with style next to Davin. "Get the fracking dwarf out, carry him if you have to." He launches himself forward drawing his rapier and strikes out at the cultist.

Rapier Attack Pink: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Abrel I'll hold off on updating that until Bhoors takes his action, giving you the chance to change if wanted

Round 4:
Bhoors, Davin <--UP
Enemies
Shal, Cole, El, Abrel

edit: ...and Bhoors ninja'd of course

Abrel where are you standing and where did you pull Cole too? Have we traveled together long enough to know if El regains consciousness that he might be able to heal as well?

Bhoors, that 12 is a hit on the cultist, roll damage!

LOL what's really funny is I would have done something different if I was going first.

LOL happily . . . more Ninjaing.

Damage thank you for Low AC: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Bhoors steps up and punctures the aquatic man's throat, unleashing a long strand of fluid. The cultist grasps at his neck, as if to speak but only *gurgle gurgle gurgle* as he dies.

Hmm, I have a hunch I got mixed up in init somewhere, let me look back over things before I post enemy turn

Ah, I see. I think Ab meant that attack to be his round 3 action. So from the stairs on the main deck, he moved down, persuaded Boltsmelter, intimidated the Cultist, dragged the fallen, and attacked. Probably a bit much but it doesnt matter at this point. I'll position Abrel's token back from the point Cole and El fell 10 ft. Moving on. :D

@Bhoors, I am not sure how far I was able to drag them. I would guess not far from where they fell. Abrel would probably have asked each of you what you had to offer so that he could strategize. So he would probably know that El can heal, but he has no healing ability at all.

@DM, probably would do the same thing, or continue dragging them out if we have someone else that can heal (which I do not think we do aside from Bhoors.)

EDIT: Yup, I meant it for my round 3 action...

EDIT2: I did burn my Action Surge to get up to El and Cole on round 2. Wasn't sure if I'd able to begin dragging them with my remaining movement (from Action Surge Dash.)

The knight looks over his fallen men and shakes his head disapprovingly "This was your chance to prove yourselves...now you are nothing...no matter." he turns and walks back up top enigmatically. For a split second there is a sigh of relief until...

*KRKRAAASH*

The starboard (south) wall becomes the starboard window as an undulating mass of tentacles finally bursts through, sending splinters flying everywhere. The asleep cultists startle awake and run for their lives, one jumping clean out a porthole deftly while another trips on a hammock and faceplants onto the wooden floor, getting knocked out cold. Jinx, the ship's cat, sits and paws up at the air scratching in disbelief.

The walls and locked door to Boltsmelter's are completely obliterated, and you see him get ensnared and lifted aloft...he seems to be carrying a golden bound book. "Arrrrgh!" the tentacle and Boltsmelter are still within the remains of the ship, and might yet be saved...

Round 4:
Bhoors, Davin
Enemies
Shal, Cole, El, Abrel <--UP

About knowing what El can do, yes unless El was keeping his priesthood a secret you've had plenty of time getting to know each other. Last few days have been a boring hell, chit chat a plenty.

Reminder to my Port Nyanzaru players you guys have about 30 thousand healing potions ;P Administering a potion to an unconscious character is an action.

There were a lot of healing potions and I don't remember us using them. Bhoors however only ever got poison. Unless that was DM code for "free healing potions." In which case I have a beer bong of healing potions ready to go XD

Looking at Shal, gesturing to El and Cole, Can you do something about them?

Abrel looks up at Boltsmelter being lifted up by the tentacle, does some quick calculations and moves into what is left of the room.

He waves his hands in a wide arc, causing a cone of flame to burst out and envelop the tentacle about 5 feet away from Boltsmelter.

Burning hands, if it gets a save, Dex DC 12: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 3) = 12

Shaldinari ducks as the splintered debris of the hull flies through the tight confines below deck. Seeing Furgis in the grip of the tentacle, her eyes narrow and flick between the dwarf, the book, the hole in the ship and the tentacle. Taking a deep breath, she once again calls upon the power of the Lady of Summer and a bolt of energy hits squarely...on the book and Furgis.

Attack Repelling Eldritch Blast: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Damage: 1d10 ⇒ 10 +10 foot knockback

Okay...so I'm trying to knock Furgis and/or his gold book out of the grip of the tentacle. I figure from my location, the angle gives a reasonable chance that he could land on board and not go through the hole if it works. GM's call. Also assuming the book and Furgis are both capable of taking the damage, so this could really, really backfire. Then again, she doesn't like this guy at all. :)

If there's no chance of success, Shal would just blast the tentacle to try to get it to let go.

Bhoors, everyone from last game should have at least 1 healing potion for my DM Quest reward (being first timer). Was last little note in campaign info and mentioned briefly in game. Cant recall if you used it or what.

Octo Dex vs Abrel: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

The fire washes over the tentacle sizzling the slime and meat into a sickly smell, you hear a strangly birdlike screech from below and Furgis starts to slips.

Before Shal even fires Boltsmelter somehow seems to know what Shal is about to do and turns holding out a hand "Wait! No!... " at which point Shal's dark energies strike the book squarely, knocking it into Furgis' forehead and still having enough force to flip him over backwards and send him crashing into a painting of his dear red bearded mommy. The tentacle retracts, but you can hear the hustling of footsteps above...it seems this team is not giving up.

Perception DC 15: In his chaotic tumbling you catch the glint of a shimmering golden medallion hidden around Furgis' neck...

Picking the pieces of his mom out of his mouth "*ahem* Alright. Abandon ship!"

Abrel says to the others, If you have healing potions, now is the time to use them to get El and Cole on their feet. I'll cover the retreat... If I can.

NOW, he summons his blade to his hand.

We don't have much time.

Round 4:
Bhoors, Davin
Enemies
Shal, Cole, El, Abrel <--UP

2nd Death Saves from the fallen and round 5 toplisters can act also

death save 2: 1d20 ⇒ 7

1 success 1 fail

Wow...that was a ton of posting in a short time!! lol

Davin slips his bow over his shoulder and bounds into the ruined cabin. He attempts to grab the dwarf and haul him to safety.

If the dwarf does not need help, then Davin will give a potion to El and help the druid up and out of the ship

Death Save: 1d20 ⇒ 5

1 Success, 1 Fail

Furgis scrambles up and huddles under the protection of his hired guard, giving Davin the opportunity to hustle up and administer the 'blessing in a bottle' or so he was told...

Healing Potion: 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (4, 1) + 2 = 7

...Elandil feels the rush of consciousness hit his brain like a sponge absorbing water, and is promptly back in action amidst the crumbling and sinking ship. technically prone but Dav can pick you up and GTFO

Round 5:
Bhoors, Davin <--UP
Enemies
Shal, Cole, El, Abrel

Bhoors sings, "Good morning good morning its time to rise and shine." He reaches out a hand to El.

Cure Wounds: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

"on your feet. Cole needs your help."

Bhoors, you basically just did exactly what Davin just did. Would you like to make that healing/helping hand on Cole instead?

Let's just assume so and move on. If not, can retcon.

Wet, sloshy boots pitter patter up top from where the party is...it seems the reinforcements are making their way aft to bow.

Round 5:
Bhoors, Davin
Enemies
Shal, Cole, El, Abrel <--UP

Or if you guys are for sure running at this point, just say so and we'll move on to the next bit

Elandil gets up a bit woozy from his brush with death. He nods thanks to Davin and Bhoors. Seeing how the situation has changed he calls out, "We've got the dwarf and his precious book! Let's get out of here!"

El is for running

Cole stands after Bhoors voice calls him back to conciousness.

Thank you, Bhoors.

Cole nods and follows the others out.

Davin acts as rear guard as the others hassle the dwarf out of the ship and away from the threat of enemies.

Seeing Cole and El back on their feet Shaldinari strides over to the book and picks it up from where it landed after bouncing off of a thick dwarven forehead. Giving Furgis a shove toward the exit she says to the captain, "Common you...the rest of your crew abandoned this tub a long time ago. Now move your sorry self unless you want to be an octo hors d’oeuvre."

Hefting the book a couple of times she wraps it with her cloak and ties it securely around her waste. While scrambling through the wreckage she finds a flat piece of iron, wood, or clay, something big enough to make an impressive splash. Quickly passing her hands over the wreckage a few times, tendrils of soft purple and gold energy weave a tapestry of illusion over her find so that by the time she arrives on deck she is carrying a reasonable duplicate of the book.

With a loud whistle she gets the searching cultists attention and waves the illusionary book in the air. "This what you're looking for?!" She shouts. "Then you're welcome to it, you water breathing freaks!" Tossing the junk out into the filthy remains of the bay, she holds the illusion for a few seconds until it sinks below the surface and then continues running up the docks with the others.

Cast Minor Illusion on the junk item.

Investigation: 1d20 ⇒ 1

Shal's deception works for a moment as the octopus fetches the rubbish like a loyal dog and ferries it to the knight, who holds it aloft in victory. The feylock knows the illusion won't last, but for now its the perfect distraction to escape unhassled.

Down the docks, which are hard to navigate because of the missing planks, rubble, and small fires, you find one the city guard with a cultist in a choke hold up against the wall of one of the first warehouses. He seems to have things under control "I told you not to come back, Aleksei. Remember what I said would happen to you?"

The cultist sputters "*cough* Fool. Mulmaster is already theirs. Get in line like the rest of your watch *choke* and you might live. I'm out, I swear it. The Black Earth are coming and they will not play nice..."

The guard replies "Oh, dont remember then? Ok..." and starts beating him in the face with his chain guantlet.

With little time to interact, the cultists from the ship are steadily *clomp clomp clomping* along...but more carried on tentacles burst out of the rubble nearby and are quickly deposited on land!

So, what we have on our hands here is a chase, post-apocalyptic Mulmaster style.

Chase Round 1:
PCs <--UP
Enemies

Feel free to hammer me with questions about the mechanics here. Its a bit different from our Dino race in that there is no tracker, we are just tracking pursuit checks not pole position.

Cole attempts to surge ahead as he runs headlong from the docks.

Con: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11

My only questions at this point is which stat/skill goes with each Chase Action and which causes player advantage vs. foe disadvantage? Seems pretty obvious, but it would be great to know for sure.

Cole, I'll use that result as your pursuit check later, but its not time for that yet. Those are just done at the end of the round. Right now, if you are taking the Surge Ahead chase action, its a DC 10 athletics check.

Sorry...misunderstood...

Athletics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

Cole pulls away like a fine steed.

Coolness, success there means you get advantage to the next ability check, which could be either a forced check from a cultist, a Complication check, or the Pursuit Check.

Chase Round 1:
Cole, Shal, Davin, Bhoors, Abrel, Elandil <--UP
Enemies

Good job on the minor illusion! Wood elves are nimble, leaping over obstacles seems like a good idea.

Amazing idea to fake them out with the illusion Shal...I vote for a point of inspiration for her quick thinking and ruse!

Davin hangs back a bit to fire on the enemy before sprinting ahead, to repeat the process over again.

It that possible to get an attack then dash?

Abrel takes up the rear with Davin and covers the escape! As they retreat, he slashes a rope that was holding up crates to drop in front of the elemental cultists!

Intelligence check?: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

I second Shal's nomination for Inspiration!

Shal take inspiration by player demand, if you didn't already have it leftover from the Port. ;) More details about the premade chase actions:

Also, you can call out to target specific foes if you want with those. There is 1 knight, 1 reaver, and 4 cultists in pursuit.

Davin, I suppose if you had an action surge you could. If you don't have an action to Dash you are caught.

Elandil, make an acrobatics check DC 10.

Abrel, thats the Create an Obstacle action for sure, no check required on your part.

Cultist 1, Athletics vs Abrel: 1d20 ⇒ 16

The crates drop fast, but the cultist springs into action, diving forward into a somersault and narrowly avoiding the crashing obstacles.

Cultist 2, Athletics vs Davin: 1d20 ⇒ 7

Davin takes up the rear, popping off a few arrows and checking their rapid advance.

Chase Round 1:
Cole, Shal, Davin, Bhoors, Abrel, Elandil <--UP
Enemies

Shaldinari shoves Furgis into a run as she dashes down the street ducking and dodging various bits of debris, carts, and people. Seeing a particularly large cart hauling rubble from the ruined docks crossing the street, she stretches out her stride and leaps up onto the side of the wagon. Balancing for a split second she then pushes off and spins to a rough but workable landing on the other side and keeps running.

Doing an acrobatic leap action. Also, is Furgis still with us?

Acrobatics Check: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

And thanks all. Glad you liked the trick. I think I still have Inspiration from the previous game, but now I've earned it fair and square here. :)

Hold up, if we HAVE to take the Dash action, then Abrel cannot do anything, just has to Dash. He has used up his Action Surge.

acrobatics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

Following the group, Elandil finds himself before a particularly large hole the others managed to avoid. Leaping like his life depends on it he easily clears the gap leaving the cultists scrambling around the obstacle.