The Beginning of the End: A Pawn's Dilemma (Inactive)

Game Master caster4life

Wrinil vigorously scrawls notes on a parchment, his face wide with fascination.

"Well, let us hope this necklace, whatever it is, is worth what we had to go through. Let us head back to the entrance and see if we still need to dig our way out."

When you head back up to the ground floor entrance, you find a secret door standing open, leading back into the sunlight. There your lizardwoman guide steps out from the bushes. "You were gone a long time. I wassss attacked and couldn't defend all the mounts. It will be a difficult trek back to the cccccity."

Horat tucks the necklace into his pack, and later shows palpable relief at being back outside under the sun.

"That is understandable, Kassseen. What or whom attacked?"

"Predatorssss.... large ones... Nothing unusual. It issss the way of the jungle." That said, she turns and begins heading back to Port Nyanzaru.

With the packs and mounts lost, how are you going to provide for yourselves on the way back.

"I see. I have some small skill with foraging, though I imagine my companions could match or better that."

Enizver made a face. "Apologies. I should have considered that. Are they fled or eaten?" He looked over to see what the damage was. If it was only one mount he could likely double up with one of the others, since he was small. And they might be able to find and retrieve a fled one. But it would still be slow going.

"On the plus side, I do have some supplies." He pointed at his pack. "Enough for us all for the next day or so, after the temple. It should ease things a little."

"I am glad that at least that secret door allowed us to avoid backbreaking labour, which would have consumed both time and rations."

"I also have some rations and didn't have a mount to begin with, so I think we will be fine."

I forget how long it took us to get here, but I have 10 - that length of time days of rations left.

It took 2 days to get here with mounts so probably 4 days back without.

You consume your rations on the way back as you slog through mud and jungle. After four exhausting days, you see the colorful banners over the stone buildings tiered at many heights in Port Nyanzaru. The busy streets bustle with trade as merchants in many-colored cloths, humans, lizardfolk, and other races.

What's your first priority upon getting back to civilization?

"Let us secure passage back to Waterdeep. Perhaps with a little more investigation of potential captains this time.", suggests Horat with humour as dry as his arid homeland.

"Agreed. A pirate's life is not for me." Enizver sighed tiredly, stretching. [b]"I'll need to pop into a few shops, restock what has been used.

Olivia isn't especially bothered by the slow journey in and of itself. After all, she has her broom to keep her out of the muck and underbrush. But she does seem a little jumpy, expecting ambushes around every corner to come steal their prize from them. She makes sure to let Amari out regularly to stretch himself; he might not have an opportunity to be out this much once they reached civilization again.

"We should get back to Waterdeep as soon as we can. I fear I will not be able to rest until we have put the amulet in the proper hands." She sticks close to Horat as bearer of the amulet, eyes constantly scanning about for potential pick pockets.

Halgrin goes to investigate which ships are leaving soon while the rest of you head to the market around dusk to restock on a few supplies. You are mostly quite muddy and smelly after your trek through the jungle and the crowd gives you a little extra room due to how filthy you are. Suddenly, a shadow explodes in the middle of the market and a large orange creature flanked by two smaller dark creatures emerge. People scream and run in all directions. One of the dark creatures lashes out with a claw and cuts the throat of a passing merchant, who falls with a choked scream. All three of the strange creatures chuckle and the large one turns to you, bellowing in a huge voice.

["So you finally got it away from those devils, eh? Hand it over!!"

Religion: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

Horat's teeth clench and a grimace of a tight grin appears on his face.

"Demons! Slay them!"

The Untherite weaves magic around himself - and advances towards the orange beast! His silvered halberd lashes out, humming with thunderous power!

Protection from Evil and Good on self, moved forward, action surge to attack with Booming Blade

Booming Blade on Orange Demon: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Precision Strike: 1d8 ⇒ 8

Silver Slashing Damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Thunder Damage if Demon moves before end of Horat's next turn: 1d8 ⇒ 7

Dice: 3/4

Halberd End on Orange Demon: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Silver Bludgeoning Damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Ok! Horat initiates combat! They're not surprised by any means so we roll initiative as soon as Horat begins casting a spell.

Enizver and Olivia whip out their actions more quickly than the demons!

E and O then demons. Then Horat and Wrinil. Enizver and Olivia, GO!!

Religion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

"Oddly, I did not expect this," Enizver muttered as he racked his weapon and aimed it at the larger (and probably more dangerous) of the two. "I probably should have, though." Nothing else about saving this person had been simple so far.

To Hit: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (1, 3) + 4 = 8
Thunder Monger: 1d6 ⇒ 6
Intuitive Fighting: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Sneak Attack: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 3) = 8

Religion: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

"A barlgura and shadow demons!" Olivia gasps as she flies higher for a better vantage point. "The barlgura is a spellcaster, but the shadow demons are also fast and dangerous as well."

She throws down her staff to bring forth Amari. "Mmmm...finally ssssssome fuuuuunnn." He hisses, stretching out and tasting the air for the demons as white light from Olivia engulfs both him and Horat.

Amari bite: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Move action to get 45 feet up in the air. Action to summon Amari. Bonus action to twin Shield of Faith on Amari and Horat for +2 AC.

Concentration: Shield of faith
Amari AC 14, HP 60/60

The shadow demons blink into the dimness of the fading sunlight and disappear briefly. They then seem to reappear on either side of Amari, slashing their claws into the surprised snake. (Nat 20 to hit for 34 damage and 18 to hit for 10 damage). The large demon, meanwhile, conjures up plants in the street that grasp at Horat, Enizver, and Wrinil in revenge for Enizver's strike on the demon.

DC 13 strength saves or be restrained. If restrained, you can make a strength check as an action to break out on your turn.

Strength Save DC 13: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Horat tears through the foliage - then disappears!

When he re-appears, it is behind the ape-like demon caster!

Misty step as bonus action. This post, minus the halberd end attack (which requires a spare bonus action).

@GM: Is it okay to use my rolls from my last post versus the shadow demon, or would you prefer that I roll fresh?

Strengt: 1d20 ⇒ 7

Enizver gasped as the chains bound him, and struggled to break free.

Strength: 1d20 ⇒ 19

With a sudden grunt he managed to pop free of the chains, but it had taken him time to do so.

Cue.

Yes, Horat. I prefer to keep the same rolls when the same actions are involved.

You hear a faint mechanical whirring as S.A.M. approaches from the other side of the market, rushing headlong into battle.

Fear not, Kelemvor guides my axe. Together we shall eradicate this blight!

He reaches for his battleaxe, which seems to hum with a mystical power. His other hand gestures at the greater of the demons.

Perish, foul beast!

Bonus Action: Hexblade's Curse on the Barlgura.
Action: Eldritch Blast

Wisdom: 1d20 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 2 + 3 = 211d6 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 3 = 10

Str save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19 huh...

Wrinil seems to spryly dodge the entangling roots as he rushes toward the dying merchant. He says a quick prayer on the way and then says a prayer as he touches the merchant.

Sanctuary DC 14, followed by Spare the Dying

Olivia sent healing energy towards her snake friend before trying to break the concentration of the barlgura.

Healing Word 2nd: 2d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 4) + 4 = 12
Crossbow vs barlgura: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Piercing: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Hissing in pain, Amari attempted to coil around one of the demons attacking him.

Constrict: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10 In the unlikely event that that hits, the target is grappled. Escape DC 16
Bludgeoning: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (8, 1) + 4 = 13

Concentration: Shield of faith
Amari AC 14, HP 60 - 44 + 12 = 28/60

S.A.M., I'm confused about your attack and damage. Eldritch blast should be a charisma-based attack for you. Also, shouldn't your damage be 1d10 + 3 charisma from agonizing blast +2 proficiency from hexblade's curse? Let me know but I'm going to go ahead to the next round since it doesn't kill him either way. But I'm unsure if you have agonizing blast or not since I can't see your sheet in your profile. No worries just get that cleared up when you get the chance.

The demon shouts in frustration when his spell does not manage to capture any of his opponents. Horat reappears behind the demon and strikes him with his halberd, using his excellent training to turn a miss into a hit. Enizver, meanwhile, can't manage to get a bead on the demon again after his first powerful shot. The barlgura concentrates on the constrictor snake with his allies, ignoring Horat and the strange passerby who decided to stay and fight. He fails to bite Amari but then brings down two heavy blows with his fists (16 damage). The shadow demons melt into the darkness then spring back out, surprising Amari and tearing him apart (40 damage).

I believe the summoned snake is done for the day but served a good purpose. Everyone, GO!!

Actually, I believe the staff just shatters. Wasn't expecting them to be able to do that much damage in one round. :-( Though for what it's worth, the snake actually has blindsight 10ft, so not sure if that would affect this whole "disappearing" thing they seemed to be doing.

Olivia lets out a roar of mixed pain and rage as her world goes dark.

Liv, however, is much calmer. Amari's death had served its purpose. Now all that was left was to avenge it. She smiled coldly at the balgura. He was the ringleader. The others were dumb minions. He would suffer for his arrogance. She flew forward to get within 30 feet of him before withdrawing further out of range.

Bonus action for hexblade's curse on the balgura, then I'm twinning a 2nd level guiding bolt on him.

Guiding bolt 1: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Radient damage: 5d6 + 2 ⇒ (2, 3, 2, 6, 5) + 2 = 20

Guiding bolt 2: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Guiding bolt 2 advantage: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Radient damage: 5d6 + 2 ⇒ (5, 6, 5, 5, 1) + 2 = 24

If the second guiding bolt hits and it's not dead, next attack vs the balgura has advantage

Concentration: Shield of faith

Active: Protection from Evil and Good

Horat replies to the metal figure without shifting his attention from the abyssal abomination.

"To victory over the demons!", he calls as he calls mystical flame to his halberd and strikes with it!

Green Flame Blade using Halberd vs Balgura: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

3 fire damage to south Shadow Demon as per Green Flame Blade

Halberd End vs Balgura: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

Damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Aw bummer that shatters Amari. You had such a nice rapport with him. Well the rules are nefariously unclear about what blindsight does for him here. He can still see them if it were completely dark but that doesn't necessarily mean he's immune to stealth, which is all they are doing. But I'll say that the one who just barely meet and beat his passive perception didn't beat him because of blindsight. So that's 7 less damage to him but I'm not sure if it means anything.

The barlgura would have gone after S.A.M. and Horat but they were 10 ft away so he would have had to provoke from Amari to do so.

Note, Olivia: You can only twin to another creature. You can't twin to hit the same creature again. So we'll say you direct that bolt at one of the shadow demons but it misses.

Horat, you have advantage to hit the Balgura thanks to guiding bolt:

Horat crit fish: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Horat and Olivia make a weighty impression on the demons!

Enizver, Wrinil, and S.A.M. still to go.

Free of the chains, at least for a time, Enizver took his chance and fired off another shot before he could be grabbed again.

To Hit: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (3, 1) + 4 = 8
Thunder Monger: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Sneak Attack: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5

Thankfully it's not chains this time, just plants.

Wrinil fires off three force missiles at the big bad.

MM: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (4, 3, 2) + 3 = 12

S. A. M. charges at the Balgura, reaching for his shield before he swings mightily with his battleaxe at the greater demon.

Death shall take you, demon!

Action: Attack Balgura
d20 + 4 (CHA[hex warrior]) + 2 (proficiency); if 19 or 20, crit [hexblade’s curse]
d8 + 4 (CHA[hex warrior])+ 2 (proficiency [hexblade’s curse])
1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 4 + 2 = 261d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 2 = 11
crit!
1d8 ⇒ 7

You hear a faint ticking which might be mistaken for a chuckle come from S. A. M.’s resonant metallic skull.

Wrinil's missiles finish off the large demon while S.A.M. rushes in and strikes one of the shadow demons.

I redirected your attack, S.A.M., since I checked my spreadsheet and realized the big demon was finished by the magic missile.

The demons slip into the shadows then attack the interfering warforged viciously with their claws, knocking him down and leaving him lying on the round, clicking noises coming from the warforged.

Sam, can you add your passive perception, AC, saves, HP, and initiative to your status line? You do that by editing your race in the profile. 23 and 21 to hit. 25 and 19 damage.

Everyone, GO!

Seeing his metallic comrade-in-arms fall, Horat wastes no time. He advances, green flame on his silvered halberd, and drives it at the very demon that the metallic figure had just struck!

Green Flame Blade using Halberd vs Injured Shadow Demon: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

Damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

3 fire damage to south Shadow Demon as per Green Flame Blade

Halberd End vs Balgura: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

Critical Damage: 2d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 1) + 4 = 6

At least the big one was down. Loading another round into the heavy Thunder Cannon, Enizver turned the weapon on the shadowy creature instead.

To Hit: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (2, 3) + 4 = 9
Thunder Monger: 1d6 ⇒ 2
Sneak Attack: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 4) = 8

Liv took a deep breath, enjoying the surge of life force that filled her upon the ringleader's death. She had no need for it, but it was satisfying none the less. She turned her attention to the remaining shadow demons, calling to them in a sing-song voice from her aerial perch. "Little shadows, your master is gone now. You're all alone in the world. Are you ready to go join him? Surrender and I promise your deaths will be quick."

Guiding bolt: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
Radient: 5d6 ⇒ (6, 1, 4, 2, 4) = 17

Part of her said she should have tried to heal the strange metal man, but there were two problems with that. The first was that she wasn't even sure her healing spells would help him. The second was that if she were healing him, then she wasn't killing demons, and Amari needed to be avenged.

Concentration: Shield of faith (Horat)

Wrinil still to go. Sam should make a death saving throw.

Death Save #1: 1d20 ⇒ 15

Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Enizver glanced over at the mechanical warrior, but knew enough about tinkering that there was no point in getting his tools out and trying to enact a mechanical repair.

Instead he moved to the far side of the new warrior and used a healing spell to get him back up and functioning.

Cure: 1d12 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

Wrinil releases more missiles at the nearest enemy.

3d4 + 3 ⇒ (3, 1, 1) + 3 = 8

Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

Horat is about to call over to the others but then realises that Enizver is on track to heal the metallic warrior.

I moved you on the map to match your described course of action, E.

Enizver heals the warforged, gears clicking back into place thanks to the gnome's magic. The demons, meanwhile, ignore the downed foe and circle Horat, blinking in and out of the twilight shadows deceptively.

They both beat your passive perception again, hiding as a bonus action then attacking with advantage and sneak attack. Dang demon rogues!

The demons leap out and claw Horat hard, both catching him off-guard and drawing great spurts of blood from the Untherite warrior (35 damage!).

Everyone, GO!! Sam, one of them provoked from you while you were prone and barely conscious last round. Take an AoO with disadvantage.

No one seemed to use the advantage from the guiding bolt, so I guess I'll use it.
This was a rough position. Mostly for those stuck on the ground. It was pretty clear with the amount of damage they were doing, healing would simply be trying to bail water out of a rowboat with a thimble. Which meant her best option was to try to take the creatures down as quickly as possible.

Another 2nd level guiding bolt at the one still glowing from my last guiding bolt.
Guiding bolt: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26 Well, guess I didn't need advantage
Advantage: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
Radient damage: 10d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 1, 5, 6, 4, 3, 5, 3, 3) = 34

1 more wounded, 2 less wounded: 1d2 ⇒ 2

Olivia blasts the less wounded shadow demon.

I just rolled for it since you didn't specify.

Horat yells in pain but responds with weapon still in hand, driven by sheer determination!

Bonus Action for Second Wind, HP regained: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

HP 9/36

Booming Blade on weakened Shadow: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Precision Attack, Dice 2/4: 1d8 ⇒ 8

19 to hit Shadow

Thunder Damage if Shadow moves before end of Horat's next turn: 1d8 ⇒ 8

Damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Nodding to the machine, Enizver backed away from the shadows again - he had been beaten up enough for a while. Raising his weapon, he shot at the same foe as Horat.

To Hit: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (6, 1) + 4 = 11
Thunder Monger: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Sneak Attack: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 6) = 11

Wireline quickly analyzes the demons and fires 3 more missiles at the most wounded one.

MM: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 4, 3) + 3 = 11

Invigorated by Enziver's Magic, you hear a growing whirr as S. A. M.'s gears begin to revolve once again. His lone eye seems to glint in a kind of wink at the Rogue. Seeing the Demon strike at the Untherite, S. A. M. attempts to seize the moment to swing his axe!
Foul fiend! Taste my blade!
AoO with disadvantage. (Battleaxe).
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 121d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 61d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
S. A. M. shouts in righteous anger as he rises to his feet. These demons would now know his vengeance. Swinging his axe again at the demon, S. A .M. knew that it was now or never:
Bonus Action: Branding Smite: +2d6 on next melee attack which lands
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 91d8 + 4 + 2d6 ⇒ (3) + 4 + (3, 2) = 12
If he is struck again, shield spell as a reaction, which raises his AC to 25 until the start of his next turn.
Concentration: Branding Smite

I like to use the discussion thread actively. Let us know you're here and paying attention. Post in the gameplay thread as soon as you're ready.

Present!

Gram is here! Ready to go!

Is... is the site stable?

I swear today was the first time I checked in without seeing one of the "maintenance" messages.

By the way, is it me, or does the Ysoki engineer kind of look like he's going to the bathroom?

It is stable... for a little while. Hopefully they get things together soon so we can assemble.

Haha about the Ysoki. I'll never unsee that now...

I'm going to build my character as quickly as I can. Expect a post soon--unless the site dies again.

Okay, I got my character going. Now here's hoping people the website remains stable.

Oh, and congratulations to everyone who got in. I'm looking forward to this game.

Oh, and congratulations to everyone who got in. I'm looking forward to this game.

Same to you man! Didn't realize we had another City Watchman in the party. I'm looking forward to the potential character interactions with that angle.

A pair of watchmen? Horat will hopefully get along well with servants of law and order.

And good on everyone who made it in!

Yes the party's quite LG overall, which is going to make for some really interesting RP. Instead of debating whether or not to be honorable, it will be exactly how to be honorable! XD

Halgrin is actually supposed to be Neutral Good, since he's become disenchanted with the life of a City Watchman. But I might switch it back to Lawful Good given the right story development.

Of course, maybe he becomes a full-fledged vigilante and switches instead to Chaotic Good.

Oh, there's an awesome book written by Matt Colville where adventurers are referred to derisively as rat-catchers. I've always loved that, so I've sort of adopted it as a head-canon for all my games. Hope no one minds.

Sounds good to me!

On that same note, I used this and this as resources when refering to the city watch of waterdeep.

Particularly Gram's rank, the insignia on his iniform, and the uses of the horn. I added some elements to facilitatr his backgroind as an Investigator, but I mostly stuck to established lore.

If anything doesn't fit with Pawns interpretation of the city, or with Halgrins history with the Watch, Im happy to roll with whatever.

I used what little 5th edition material I could find on Unther, and filled in any gaps using 3rd edition sources.

I'm completely okay with using this, Gram. Thanks for the info. I guess then that Halgrin would be a sword.

I'm good with this as long as we make one modification. According to the source I'm using at, there is no single lord of Waterdeep but instead many lords who rule in secret. So the Captain of the Watch reports directly to the lords of Waterdeep.

Yeah thats the same. There are 16-20 Lords of Waterdeep all of whom wear masks and hide their identifies, exept for one who is known as the open lord, whise identity is known.

Are we just getting rid of the concept of the open lord, and saying that the Watch is equally monitored by all the masked lords?

No they still report primarily to the open lord but rule is by the entire council. And the open lord is Laeral Silverhand right now, not Piergeiron the Paladinson.

Okay, checking in (I would have done so today, but I ended up taking a nap when I got home from work and just woke up).

Apologies for taking so long. Between trying to hash out a post and the constant site issues, I've had trouble getting something together that I was happy with. I'll be glad to press on now!

Yeah, this play test is playing havoc with the site. I'm actually really disappointed in Paizo. They should have realized this would be an issue when the Advanced Class Guide playtest did the same thing. They had time to prepare for this, but then just didn't.

Yeah, it's a shambles. Paizo have likely underinvested in their technical infrastructure and it is hurting them badly now.

According to what Vic was saying in the discount thread, they're doing site overhaul and improvements.

Cheers for the info Vrog.

And another planned outage is in the works, which is supposed to be announced beforehand.

I don't know. "Site overhaul and improvements" are the kind of thing a company should do when they're not expecting a sudden inflow of increased traffic. This seems more like a desperate scramble to me, than something planned.

Ah, well, here's hoping it gets fixed. I'm actually pleased by what I've seen of the play test so far. And I genuinely like Paizo's material. I really do want nothing but the best for them.

Gram, please put stats such as hp, ac, etc like your allies in your class or race line so I can see it all the time. Create a profile for Gram to do this. Since I'm in a hurry atm and I couldn't find your init or passive perception, I had to do some things a little differently. First, I assume your PP isn't 18. Second, I'm going to roll init for all of you together right now, though not in general.

Oh Sorry, I'll do that now.

Ok. I think I got everything in place. Let me know if I need to add anything, or if I need to change anything with the format.

I added an arrow to the map to show where I moved from. Feel free to erase it, GM, once you've seen it.

Oh one more thing, how much random psychic damage will I take if I start calling you P. Diddy? ;-)

Thanks, Gram! No need to apologize. I was just rushing about. When you get a chance, could you paste or type out your character info into the profile too? I don't want to go back to the recruitment thread to find your full stats. I also think you might have sold yourself a bit short on some of the stats you list and I'll help you figure that out.

One more note, generally you can only choose to KO instead of kill with a melee attack.

@Halgrin: Thanks! That's helpful. XD @your second thing. Probably about 1d6/level/offense.

Ah! I actually looked that rule up befor I posted and must have totally glossed over the bit about it being a melee attack. Noted.

So I transered over the info to my profile, and looked over my stats and it looks like I only spent 26 points instead if 27. I could use it to bump up my Wisdom to gain a +1 or my Strength to give me a +0. But if its ok with you, Id like to take a point from Wisdom along with the unused point and invest in Con (Ive realized I'm quite squishy atm. Lol)

Your skill proficiencies are my first question: You have 9 but I believe you should have 7: 4 from rogue (since this is more than the 3 from bard), 2 from background, 1 from human. Also, since you're proficient in perception, you should have +2 to it and a PP of 12.

It actually looks like I only get 6. I didnt go variant human. I must have double dipped into bard proficiencies when I was building Gram. And yeah, I forgot to add my proficiency bonus to perception. I've gone in and fixed those issues.

Ah you're right. Only variant human gets the bonus skill. I always play the variant human so I forgot what the base human got, besides the massive +6 total attribute bonus.

Other note: Your saves in your status line are too low. Add your proficiency bonus to your dex, int, and charisma saves. Also, your ability scores are +2 int and +0 wis, though I think you recently made it that way and probably just haven't updated your status line yet.

Alright. Changed.

What should i do with that unspent point from pointbuy I mentioned?

Cool!
I would recommend putting it in wisdom or going variant human. I realize that as a rogue/bard you get a ton of skills and both class’s expertise but I recommend you don’t try to cover everything. You just can’t have a high dex, int, wis, and cha, even dumping con. I think you need to pick either wisdom or intelligence to let slide a bit and leave to other party members more invested in that. I would recommend either
Normal human: 9 16 12 14 10 16
or
Variant human: 8 16 10 14 8 16 with any feat (alert is incredible) or
Variant human: 8 16 10 14 10 16 with an int-boosting feat (e.g. historian)

All: I’m obviously a big nerd about mechanics sometimes. I’m not going to overwhelm you with build advice but will give it when asked. Gram gave me an inch so I took a mile. ;) Horat and I also exchanged some ideas at his initiative. All this to say, I won’t suggest build tweaks without invitation.

Oh No problem. This is my first Gestalt character AND my first time ussing point buy, so I guess I got confused sone things along the way. Nit to mention its my first foray into pbp, so I welcome any and all advice!:)

I went with the first option btw. And Ive updated my profile to reflect it.

Looks good! Nice thing about PBP is there's plenty of time for book-keeping so it's probably the ideal format for doing your first gestalt. Confession: I've never GMed 5e gestalt or played it before except for two playtest combat encounters that both ended in TPKs. So I'm working on figuring out encounter balance, though I do think a significant reason for my TPKs were that the playtest group didn't have experience together and therefore didn't really employ any tactics.

Btw, 10 xp each for Katara (picking lock) and Halgrin (talking down merchant). These were low-risk, low-difficulty tasks but completing a goal that moves the party's goals along gets awarded with xp.

For what it's worth, Horat will do his part to keep us from TPK. :)

I began work on a summary for the adventure.

Here is the link.

In the future, you can also find the link in my character's page.

Thank you very much, Halgrin. I appreciate that on multiple levels. That definitely counts as working to further the party's goals. 30 XP.

Good work Halgrin!

All, this XP system isn't intended to make you feel like you're competing against each other. XP is awarded for advancing the team's goals after all. Hopefully you feel like you're all taking the initiative and jumping at opportunities to move the plot forward and keep yourselves alive. ;)

Question about the terrain: I realize were probably standing in water and muck, but would there reasonably be a spot where Gram could set down his torch without extinguishing it? He wants to draw his bow, but theres no point if he loses his light source.

Also, did Viscious Mockery do anything that last round? I didn't see any indication either way.

The torch might go out even if set on a dry spot. 50% chance.

Ah thanks for the reminder.
Wis save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
You dealt damage to him but the spellcaster didn't make any attacks that round.

Cool. Just wanted to check before I blind my self. Haha

GM, feel free to add the +1d6 bardic inspiration die to any saves that Halgrin might fail. Remember that it can be added after the initial roll, because 5e Bards are awesome.

Yes they are! I'm a big fan of the direction they took for the bard. Will do.

I'm going to try 5e bard one of these days!

Yeah. This is my first time playing a bard, and it's pretty fun. The fact that bardic inspiration is a bonus action is nice. I always have an option available to contribute.