I hadn't come up with bonds : no xp
alignment Chaotic : I'd like to think so 1 xp
learn something new and important : Lur is a bit thick, I would say no; no xp
Overcome notable enemy : nah, just a bunch of minions got butchered; no xp
loot memorable treasure : spoiler! ; 1 xp
XP tot: 14 - 8 LEVEL UP!
Level 2
Apetite for Destruction : (fighter) Iron Hide [+1 Armor]
Con +1 = Con 16 (+2)
Now would be a good time also to establish some bonds, if you intend to follow this group for awhile longer, barbarian. Even very preliminary impressions can be used.
Everyone I had a bond with is dead or gone. Time for me ones! : no xp
Chaotic alignment, did I spread an idea: nope. Is it possible to change alignment?
learn something new and important : the paladin is immune to my fire somehow, and I now know his deepest loyalty - 1xp
Overcome notable enemy : not really
loot memorable treasure : spoiler! ; 1 xp
XP tot: 8 no level.
Ok, Wek didn't use a single damn one of his bonds. :(
Neutral: eliminate an unnatural menace. Oh yes. Wek chomped abominations. +1 XP.
Did we learn something new and important about the world? Not yet. I mean, we learned about Zz'othra and masonwort.
Did we overcome a notable monster or enemy? Group sez no.
Did we loot a memorable treasure? spoiler then! +1 XP.
Wek is at 11/8 XP. Leveling up! Wek will be at 3/9 for 3rd Level.
Wek will grab Red of Tooth and Claw.
I need bonds as well. I'll think about this over the weekend.
Alignment: Endanger yourself to protect someone weaker than you.
Yeah, I placed myself in danger many times to stand in defense of others. Mostly Wek. 1XP
Did we learn something new and important about the world? We learned about the Paladin and his group. 1 XP
Did we overcome a notable monster or enemy? No. A notable enemy overcame us, though!
Did we loot a memorable treasure? We will! 1 XP
3 XP total. That puts me at 8/8. Level up!
I'll take
Hospitaller
When you heal an ally, you heal +1d8 damage.
And I'll add one to my Strength, bringing it to 16, which I THINK is the bottom part of the +2 range.
No bonds resolved.
Alignment: Use magic to cause terror and fear. I think having a sun lover kill his ally counts. +1 XP
Looted a memorable treasure. +1 XP
XP 11 -8. Level up!
New Move: Arcane Ward
New Spell: Telepathy
Str +1
When you glance through the ajar door on your left in the hallway, you see a large treasure chest, partially covered with webbing. After checking it carefully for any sign of traps or foul play, you lift the chest's lid. It's heavy, but unlocked.
Inside you find several disparate items. Identifying their special properties takes close study of the item and a Spout Lore roll that you can attempt once every 4 hours.
The items are:
A wood and steel buckler with a demon's face painted on it (1 weight)
A shrunken sunlover head with its mouth sewn shut (0 weight)
A silver necklace inlaid with jade gemstones (0 weight)
A deck of cards with the well-known symbol of the God of Magic on the back (0 weight)
Three scrolls that appear to have the same indecipherable writing on all three (0 weight)
4 healing potions (0 weight)
A dueling dagger with a skull on the hilt (1 weight)
Shattertooth investigates the head
But gets nothing at first.
Princess examines the scrolls. "Ooh, come to mama!"
Advancing Cha to 17 (+2)
Firebrand
When you introduce a new idea to an NPC, roll+CHA. On a 10+ They believe the idea to be their own and take to it with fervor On a 7-9, Their passion fades after a day or two. On a miss, they respond negatively, speaking out against the idea.
I now cast as a 2nd lvl cleric.
Prepared spells:
Bless, Cure Light, Speak with Dead
Wek is also curious about the shrunken head, but can't make...heads nor tails of it.
After the skull frustrates his efforts to figure it out, Shattertooth binds the torches together and creates funerary flame. It burns low and hot, mostly blue. He approaches the most senior looking soldier corpse and weaves a spell over him.
He spreads the flame over the body of the nan and lifts it upward. The flame reforms on its own, becoming a burning image of the nan as he was when he was living. Shattertooth asks,
What is it you were fighting, those abominations?
How long have you been fighting them?
Why are you fighting them?
Shattertooth raises a spirit of the man that was killed by Princess' charmed defender. His eyes hold the dull shock of the recently deceased in them, and he's completely transparent.
"The armies of Xotl. They are sweeping across our lands like a plague, and the Five are destroying the abomination menace."
"The war began in earnest three weeks ago."
"It is a war for survival. If we don't kill them, they'll eat us and defile our bodies." With a final gasp, the spirit is released into the afterlife, having fulfilled its obligation to the Immolator.
Princess, the Scrolls are spells of Mind Control. Roll +Int to battle for control of a humanoid or animalian brain that is within 15 feet. If you succeed, the target is under your control for 1d6 minutes.
Shattertooth goes back to the Treasure and wracks his brain over the shrunken head.
Lur sits down once more, obviously bored by the talking.
"I can think of a few good uses for these," Princess says as she tucks the scrolls between a few rolls of her blubber. She then turns to examine the deck of cards.
Sorry to waste a success roll, Uek, but there's no conceivable way for you to have information about Xotl. It's a name you've never heard before.
However, you know that the underground-dwelling race of earth elemental monsters known as the Xorn tend to favor the strange syllables and guttural pronounciations of a name like this one. (reference) The +1 bonus you get from your roll can apply to your next roll that deals with either the abominations or any Xorns you may encounter.
You can only attempt to identify magic items via Spout Lore once every 4 hours, Shattertooth, so you glean no new insights about the shrunken head yet.
Princess, the deck of cards have writing on them instead of traditional card numbers. The writing on the Spades cards are weapon tags. The writing on the Club cards are weapons. The writing on the Hearts cards are armor tags. The writing on the Diamond cards refer to armor. The deck is obviously magical, and to trigger them you know that you have to put two or more cards together and drop them to the ground, but it'll take a bit of experimentation to determine exactly how they work and what their limitations are.
It should also be noted that most of you have been adventuring, battling, and walking for many hours by now. Adrenaline has left your systems, and you feel exhaustion beginning to creep into the gap that the adrenaline left behind.
"We need to find a place to camp. Does anyone have objections to barring this door? ...After taking care of necessities first," says 'Uek.
Lur, having already sat down when the others began discussing what the box contained, proceeds to just lay down where he was sitting. Stone floors are uncomfortable, but it is pretty standard for most prisons Lur has been in. He just kinda 'starfishes' (leaving what little there was left to the imagination, no longer to the imagination) on the floor and closes his eyes. His large sword's handle seems to rest on his open hand.
Not long after, he begins snoring...like a bear.
"Well, that answers that," says Wek.
Shattertooth smirks. Indeed. I always suspected that humans were minimally endowed. Oh well. We'll need time to see what this stuff does anyway.
"Oh, my! Well, it's not about the size, it's how you use it, right? Maybe if the big boy had a little more stamina, this ogress could take it for a spin," Princess muses, the minds of her companions no doubt filling with revolting images.
The wizard finds a comfortable corner to prop up her heaving bulk, and soon she nods off as well, grateful for the chance to rest.
You can continue sleeping for as long as you wish, or roll 1d8 to determine how many hours before you wake up naturally. The treasure room is somewhat secured from the main body of the labryinth, making it a safe place to rest and get your bearings. There are torch sconces in the walls that will accept one of your torches so you don't have to hold it in your hands the entire time to keep the room lit. It looks like nobody but you has disturbed this room for many years.
How much time passes while you are resting?
After he wakes, Shattertooth again tries to determine the function of the skull.
Princess wakes after a fitful slumber, taking the extra time while the others snooze to study the spellbook. Her stomach grumbles happily as she remembers the meal she made of the wizard that formerly owned the tome. Today, new understanding dawns on her as she unlocks the secrets of the telepathy spell.
Once her spells are prepared, the ogre studies the jade necklace, hoping to understand its powers.
Shattertooth eagrely helps anyone in identifying the gear
Wek stretches and lifts one leg, then the other, doing knee bends almost like a large red insect. As usual, he does not eat nor drink anything.
He peers at the buckler, curiously.
Vorgo wakes, as rested as he needs to be. He pays the magic items no mind. If it's Tiamat's will for him to be blessed with new powers, then he will be. He has no need to seek them out.
It's per item, Shattertooth, so you can feel free to try and identify others if you still can't work out what's going on with the skull.
Putting your head together to help in Princess's study, you find that you have a surprising amount of commonality between you. Though you couldn't be more different physically, the two of you tend to think and reason along similar paths when understanding magic, even if your approaches to magic come from different sources.
Princess, the two of you, working well as a team (which means you have to either wait for him to wake up or wake him up), are able to discern part of the necklace's power. The upside. However, you are certain that there's a downside to this necklace's magic, unknown to the both of you.
Touching the Jade Necklace will instantly transport you to wherever you are looking - in real life, on a map, or on a globe. Anyone or anything touching you will be similarly transported; but you sense that something specific happens to the bearer themselves.
Uek, while rolling to defend and bearing the Buckler, you gain 1 additional action that you can spend Defend Hold on - Eat your adversary's weapon as it strikes the buckler. However, the Demon's gotta eat weapons periodically, or something bad will happen.
Vorgo, alone of the company, you are plagued with bad dreams. Throughout your unconsciousness, you toss and turn as you suffer from doubt and uncertainty with regard to your recent actions. Have you angered Tiamat? Was your retreat intelligent, or cowardly? No matter how you feel personally about it, you know that Tiamat's will is solely her own.
You don't feel outwardly any different when you awaken, except for a lingering sense of paranoia threatening to infringe upon your calm exterior. You see the others beginning to examine the hoard, and don't join in yourself. Instead, what do you do?
After working on the necklace, Shattertooth moves on to the dagger.
Then the potions.
Vorgo prays to Tiamat, hoping for a divine message to reassure him that he's done the right thing, or to find if there's a way for him to provide penance
Lur continues to sleep beyond the eight hours, snoring away.
"I shift forms too often to use this buckler. Vorgo, perhaps you or..." he glances at Lur. "Does he even use his sword? I try not to get near him when he's fighting. Except that one time when I was a crocodile."
Wek looks at the potions as well. "No more gelatinous cubes, please."
You get no answers from your prayer and meditation, Vorgo. You still don't feel any physically different, but Tiamat's voice is yet distant.
The healing potions are bog-standard and recognizable even to the most illiterate of barbarians. Wek, you and Shattertooth can both apply your partial-successes for Spout Lore to other items, or discard them. (The rolls, not the potions).
Lur, you are jolted awake suddenly by a spike of adrenaline triggered by a subconscious dream or memory. What was it? How do you react when you awaken?
When you open the skull's mouth, it creates a miniature black hole in front of its front teeth!
"Convenient for waste disposal..." says Wek, rapidly closing the skull.