DDAL06-01 A Thousand Tiny Deaths (5e adventure league) (Inactive)

Game Master Greycastle

"Hmm..probably more kobolds.." Sashah say absently still looking at his papers.

What shall we do? It sounds as if they could come back and flank us... Should we press ahead?

"Yes, let's continue. If they do flank us, it's better to have the natural bottleneck of the tunnel than being in the open."

Understood. Anton, you and Scram take point in case there are traps. I will stay in the back with Raiden, in case we get hit from behind.

Sounds like a plan. Though he looks anxious, he does seem ready.

Zayless puts the gooey bottle in his gear and moves to the middle of the group.

Scram rubs his shoulder, the bloody little hole from the kobold blade still smarting, he shrugs and squints ahead in the darkness creeping forward.

Ravvek, noticing the halfling still smarting, lays a hand on Scram's shoulder, pouring healing magicks into him.

Lay on hands 5 hp to Scramsax.

As if Ravvek's hands were full of godly power the ground shakes as he lays his hands on Scram. You all hear a rumble and the sound of falling rock. It echos through the cavern but the direction is clear as a cloud of dust rolls into the chamber from the direction you came.

The group all use various means of covering their nose and mouths to be able to breath. The heavy moist air in the cavern begins to settle the dust but it takes a few minutes.

As you pear through the dust trying to locate each other, Scram feels a sharp pain as he is struck with a dart. take 3 points Unfortunately due to the dust you cannot easily determine where the dart came from.

At Ravvek's touch, he turns sharply "Huh? ...why do you keep fondling me like that?!" simultaneously a minor earthquake occurs, rattling the halflings kneecaps together "...what...are...you...doing...?" before getting shot in the face with a dart "Ow! Dangit! W-what the hell, man!" he draws his swords, punching the dart out of his skin with his wrist, waving them randomly into the dust before him.

Move down the hall! We need to get out of this cloud! Ravvek coughs as he ushers Scramsax toward the tunnel.

Scramsax somersaults down the hall out of the dust with Ravvek screaming and herding him behind.

Zayless rushes with the others out of the cloud.

Raiden follows Zayless, still trying to see what's going on. I'm right behind you.
perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

Sashah holds his robes over is face, excluding his eyes and follows the group's ruckus.

Anton moves with the rest of the group, sword at the ready, scanning the area for enemies.

Wisdom (Perception): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15 

As the group moves into the tunnel, they know the way out has been sealed. The knowledge of being trapped begins to settle in. Further down the tunnel thirty to fourty feet, the party notices that they are on a decline and they are plunging further into the earth.

Ravvek stops as he comes to a particularly steep part of the worked path and realizes this must be a low point, it seems for the next twenty to thirty feet seems to be soupy mud and he's not exactly sure how deep it is.

As Anton clears the dust cloud his keep eyes notice the same small alcoves that were described in the first room of the cave. roughly four to six inches wide and about a foot in length worked into the stone. This time however they are on the ceiling.

Map is current and has current marching order from posting order

"Oh hell no. I don't like the looks of that at all. Rav, give me a boost up there..." Scram attempts to deduce the function of the alcoves on the ceiling, crossing his fingers its not 100 gallons of acid about to pour down on his face...

Int Investigation: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Scram can’t really deduce it. It just seems to be carved into the ceiling. He does hear the sound of claws on stone faintly.

"Ah...no, no, no...I swear there's something scratching around up there. 1000 tiny claws, that's what it sounds like...alright bring me back down...bet there's a plate or tripwire around here somewhere, its gonna release a waterfall of arctic moles, rabid no doubt..."

He actively checks around for any triggers...

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 12

Uriah keeps behind the larger and more armored members of the party.

I wonder if I can find a rhyme for "trapped alone to die" maybe..."it's time to fry" or "Anton says Hi". when he notices people giving him dirty looks Uriah settles for combing his hair idly.

To Uriah See if you can spy something to help us not die, maybe a way to get higher. OK, not a poet, but seriously, is this our only way to proceed?
Another perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19.

Are there any loose stones like the size of a foot ball or so? Heavy but not difficult to move?"

"Our way back is blocked. Unless we find something hidden forward is the path we must take."

Raiden looking around notices what Anton ha pointed out about the alcoves. They do look awfully suspicious but of course Scram took a closer and look and found nothing.

Just as he was coming to that line of reasoning, and area in the alcove seems to move to th side leaving a dark void behind. Raiden calls to the others to take cover as a small tube stick through the hole an shoots a dart at the party.

Target: 1d7 ⇒ 6 Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Due to Raidens quick reactions, no one is surprised and the dart strikes the floor finding no purchase.

@Zayless there are some loose tones but nothing bigger than maybe your hand clenched in a fist.

I don't see the alcove on the map? Is it just a space that might allow a blowgun through or is there a visible enemy.

Ravvek, helping Scram up, crouches to let him down after he is done, We are a shooting gallery in here, we may need to proceed!

How far does the mud extend? Around the corner or can we see the end?

Scramsax frowns and quickly pokes his rapier hard into the little hole.

- The alcove is on the ceiling here Zayless. It is dark on the other sid e of the hole so no enemy is visible but yes it appears there is an enemy.
- The mud extends beyond the bright light of sashah’s spell but you believe it’s about 20-30ft of muddy hallway
- give me an attack roll with disadvantage Scram

Ravvek draws his shield and lights a torch, I'll go in first. Cover me, the best you can.

The paladin begins to lower himself into the mud, feeling for solid ground beneath him.

Atk Hole Strike: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Atk Hole Strike Disadvantage: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

Halfling Luck Reroll 1: 1d20 ⇒ 6

Darn, 11. Doubt hits, but here's dmg...

Rapier: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Sneak: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Scram, remember that you do not get sneak when you attack at disadvantage. Little used rule, but you know... ;)

Aha, good point, thanks.

Sashah reads on.

If I stood on someone’s shoulders, could I reach through the alcove to try to grab the attacker?

You could, yes.

Raiden notices Anton sizing up the alcove and his companions. You thinking with a boost you can get up there? Let's try that!
No idea what roll that would be...

Hang on one minute Rav.
I got the impression that the hallway extends 20-30 feet but just has a little bit of mud in it? If Ravvek is truly having to lower himself into it, yipes.

With Raiden's help, Anton reaches through the hole to grapple the kobold.
I really want to get this guy, so I'm going to use inspiration on the grapple.
Strength (Athletics): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 111d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22 

Due to not being able to see the target it would be at disadvantage giving you a straight roll. Plus I believe you need to make a successful attack to initiate the grapple. Actually the attack would be DA not the athletics check so give me the attack roll at Dis adv and we will see what happens.

Anton with Raidens help, calmly reaches into the hole trying to grab his adversary. He does feel around a bit quickly realizing this must be some sort of tunnel close to the one you are in. It seems smaller since you can actually feel the sides begin to curve up.
Ravvek drops down into the mud and finds it only to be ankle deep.

It's not so bad, only ankle-deep... I'd hate to think this might be covering up a trap, Ravvek pulls his shovel out and scrapes a bit of mud out of the way to see the floor. Once he is sure that it is solid ground, then he pokes at the ground before him as he moves forward, ready to jump away if a trap is triggered!

As Ravvek scrapes the mud away he hears the clank of metal on metal. Investigating further a metal caltrop seems to be hidden the mud. It’s going to be a slow trudge through the mud to find them all. As a reminder of the situation a dart comes from somewhere further ahead. due to the angle of the shot, you have 1/2 cover Ravvek. I’m assuming a shovel to be two handed to be used effectively.

Dart Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
The dart sinks into the mud near Ravvek’s foot. Ravvek realizes that the dart attacks will become easier as the group moves through the mud. Conversely if attacks come from the previous murder hole the group will be protected by cover as they move in further.

Incorrect, grappling uses the Attack action, but it does not follow the mechanics of an attack. It is a Strength (Athletics) check opposed to the choice of the opponents Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. Ability checks aren't specifically called out by either the Blinded or Invisible conditions, but disadvantage seems reasonable.

Are others able give me cover? Are the holes big enough for me to shoot through, say, giving the kobolds 3/4 cover? Or are they too small?

This is going to be a slog! Does anyone have a way to keep me from being shot, while I clear this place out?

So...did Anton grab him a kobold? If he did, and gets it to our ground, I'd help attack it. Otherwise I'll be wading in behind Rav.
Raiden is...either attacking a kobold att: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 172d6 + 3 ⇒ (2, 2) + 3 = 7 or is helping to clear those pesky caltrops perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19.

@Raavek If you can see them it would just be 1/2 cover, otherwise disadvantage would be applied as well. @Anton fair enough. @Raiden I don’t know, let’s find out.
Dex Acrobatics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

The Rapier Attack, expected... The hand reaching through the hole to grab him, the kobold did not expect. Anton yanks the creature flat against the opening of the murder hole. Too big to be pulled through, he is still quite immobile. Attacks against the kobold do not incur disadvantage as long as he remains grabbled.

Raiden uses the opportunity to plunge his great sword into the hole, taking care not to injure Anton in the process. As blade sinks into the kobolds flesh, Anton senses the creature stop struggling against the hold and remains still.

While the others take care of those above, Ravvek continues trying to clear a path for the others to pass unharmed by the caltrops hidden in the muck!

Sneaky f&$%in' bastards! ;)

EDIT: Can I rig my shield like a hat to protect me from shots from above?

@Ravvek - If one of the others hops in, Scram’s small size would be perfect. You could take the defend action and I would say that any attacks from the direction you’re defending would be at disadvantage.

Scram, can you move this muck out of the way? I will cover you! the paladin says as he draws his shield and angles it to protect the two of them from attacks from above!

Zayless moves to the wall trying to present less of a target. Zayless also casts a quick spell. "This might be awhile."

"Alright, alright!" he sheathes his swords and dives in enthusiastically, plucking up one caltrop after the other.

Ravvek, exasperated, takes a deep breath, and holds out his spade,
Scramsax, it might be easier to use my shovel.

Hello and welcome.

Kobolds have been growing bolder on their raids near the human settlement of Blasingdell. They have found a home below the ancient dwarven stronghold of Khundrukar. If they're not stopped, Blasingdell will no doubt be their next target.

This is an adventure for level 1-4 adventure league characters
I will take the first 7 submissions OR however many we have by Saturday 2/17th

On a side note, this will be my first time DM'ing both a PbP and Adventure League so bare with me through some growing pains. I do expect to post at least once a day and would like to keep a relatively good pace. I look forward to your submissions.

Hiya Saphina, I'd love to join. :) Halfling Rogue, level 2. Is meatgrinder a season option or is it restricted to only DDAL07 adventures I wonder?

Since this is a past season module, we will not be using the death curse or meat grinder.

Ravvek (3rd lvl Oath of Vengeance Paladin) ready! Hey, guys! I have run this one, so I hope that is okay with you guys. I try not to meta too much. ;)

This is Aeshuura, by the way!

I was thinking of running the next installment in the series you just ran Aesh, but I I am hoping you’ll run em so I went a different route. I am thinking if this goes ok I might run a short expedition to Mezro or something.

The tier 1s for Season 5 are good too! I was looking to play DDAL 5-02 the Black Road and go through a bulk of those, but nobody runs those...

I will run 7-04 in a couple of weeks. After Kawaii Kon on the first weekend of March. (I am running 3 games there, first Con run. 2 AL games and a homebrew Dragonlance one.)

EDIT: If someone else wants to run 7-04, I can run 7-05 after... I am not picky or trying to go for any DM rewards in particular. I just thought that you guys might want to keep the core group together...

I would be interested. Where is the town of Blasingdell I might have to come up with a character.

Blasingdell is the town near Forge of Fury. I believe that they say it is somewhere in the North of the Sword Coast, or at least they placed it near Mirabar? I think. Hope that helps.

@Greycastle, do you plan on running Forge of Fury after this?

Cool thanks.

If I am making a new character should I start it at level 1. Or should I try to get closer to the other submissions.

Gnomezrule, for AL you have to start level 1 unless you have some DM XP or DM Quest XP to spend. Also the scenarios adjust the difficulty based on the APL of the party, so its not a big deal really.

Link to the Adventurers League Player Rules.

So it mentions that Blasingdell is east of Luskan so northern sword coast, more inland though.

As to if I intend to run FoF, it was not the plan but if everyone enjoys the adventure and want to continue into FoF I am cool with it. I ran through it years ago so I familiar enough with it to do it justice.

This could help as well

Blasingdell

The adventure starts with the group already together and on the road to Blasingdell.

Just was asking, since I know that I do not do well with longer than module-length adventures... ;) Wanted to know what I am committing to.

I find that I am enjoying the shorter duration modules as well. I have not had much luck with completing full AP's. They seem to peter out after a good initial push. This allows for RL to come and go as needed.

Agreed!

If you'll have me, Sashah would like to join. wiz 2 / cler 1. I also just found out that there s a Theurge specialization/school for the Wiz... :'( Wish I had known sooner.

We’re up to four. It’s looking pretty good.

Sashah, you can rebuild your character up through 4th level. 5th level it locks you in. You just keep the same name and equipment/treasure. You can can completely change race and class if wanted. Just keep in mind the PHB +1 rule. Essentially your source of class / race /spell can only come from the players hand book plus one additional source book. This is meant to keep down the overpowering of characters.

I do not actually recall a 5e Theurge. The closest I can think of would be a cleric of the arcane domain from sword coast adventure guide (SCAG) which would still be a fantastic choice. If I am wrong please let me know cause I’m curious. I hope it helps.

Sorry, Sashah, the Theurge was an Unearthed Arcana tradition introduced in Wizards Revisited. Unearthed Arcana is not AL legal, but it gives hope that they may bring it in a future product.

Did you look at the Arcane Domain? Are you already the Arcane domain? I forget what your domain is...

Unearthed Arcana: Arcane Tradition: Theurgy.

I think I will keep Sashah how he is though. There were benefits to the build that I would like to keep.

Sashah is definitely an interesting character! I love his liberal use of sanctuary.

I do as well. Sashah’s Sanctuary. Perhaps one day a custom spell will emerge. Heh.

Sanctuary is my version of armor. It's quite effective.

Oh! Also, Sashah should achieve lvl 4 after this (probably). Then the designed build will finally get off.

Nice!

Hey Greycastle, here to join up! First level fighter, still fleshing out the details.

Someone called for a rakishly handsome devil with a skip in his step and a penchant for wit?!?

Enter Uriah Lewis, a ner'do well with a habit of drawing his Rapier but never using it.

Welcome aboard Raiden.

So far that puts us at 4 with Gnomezrule as a possible 5th. Just to compile a list so far.

Raiden - 1st lvl fighter
Scramsax - 2nd lvl rogue
Sashah - 2nd lvl wizard, 1st lvl cleric
Ravvek - 3rd lvl paladin
Gnomezrule - ??

Greycastle! I can vouch for Uriah! He has played in several of my games!

Ooops, didnt see the new applicant.

Welcome Uriah.

Ha ha, finally, a bard to sing of Ravvek's exploits! XD

EDIT: DM, when do you want to start? Monday? Tuesday?

Raiden - 1st lvl fighter
Scramsax - 2nd lvl rogue
Sashah - 2nd lvl wizard, 1st lvl cleric
Ravvek - 3rd lvl paladin
Uriah - 3rd lvl Bard
Gnomezrule - ??

Still room for more if anyone else is interested, we will close recruiting Sunday afternoon when I will be making the first post of the adventure.

Its after 1am where I am.

I am still hashing out details of a character and need to make a profile.

I will finish up when I get up in the morning.

I am putting the final touches on a Dragonborn Celestial Warlock Pact of the Tome.

Extra heals, Spell utility and Flanker.

Nice! Looking forward to it!

Edit: Nice, Pact of the Tome is my favorite. Very versatile. What color dragonborn you thinking? You will level up to 3rd pretty quickly.

Aeshuura! Howdy!

Brave and Noble Ravvek! Behold his Mighty Thews! Ignore the maiden'd claims for that is just Fake News!

Nice! Looking forward to it!

Edit: Nice, Pact of the Tome is my favorite. Very versatile. What color dragonborn you thinking? You will level up to 3rd pretty quickly.

Bronze

Hello this is Gnomezrule's submission. Still putting the finishing touches on things but here is the overall crunch.

I'd like to join with a level 4 monk. I'll provide details in a day or two.

Looking forward to the adventure....it's my first time doing play by post. Will try to follow y'alls lead, but holler if I'm out of place or need to be doing something more. -- Raiden is making some last minute repairs for a customer at his smithy shop, and will be ready to go tomorrow!

Welcome all, the game play thread is up.

Please take any further discussion to the discussion thread.

Good day. Is there like a hub for Adventurers League PBP? I'm about to run some season 8 modules and I'm looking for players.

Posting a recruitment thread should be sufficient, but as this is play by post, be patient. After a few days, you will likely get more players than you can handle!