Wrath of the Righteous (D&D 5e) ala Fabian

Game Master Fabian Benavente

Kyarra's heart sank at the mongrel-woman's words. Her fear that they were being played came back in force. Stepping into the space that Eliora had opened for her, Kyarra kept her arrow nocked, but aimed down, away from the woman. "Which demon-lovers? Who are you?"

"Yeah...what do you mean?" Sophie said with a clear look of confusion. "We were attacked by demons!"

"Are with them, with the demon-lovers?"

Eliora looked quite offended, "A follower of Iomedae would never associate with demons! There is only one thing you do to demons and that is to kill them."

The tension was still palpable but the woman spoke slowly, "I... my leader was killed and our band has been taken over by surface-dwellers.
Demon-lovers."

She looked around, "I will leave here if allowed but do not corner me..."

"The others said your people were working with the...um...demon lovers." She gave the woman a pitying looks, "Are you saying they instead took over? That they've been forcing you to do bad thing?"

Eliora kept her sword readied but asked more questions rather than attacking. "Where are these demon-lovers? Will you lead us to them so that they can be punished? If you do not fight with them, you have nothing to fear from us."

Kyarra moved further into the room, allowing her brother to follow, should he choose. "When did this happen?" she asked. Perhaps they hadn't been tricked into fighting after all, if their "allies" didn't know about this.

Still wary, the mongrel eyed everyone, "Yeah, our leader was killed and they took over. They took over our lair as well."

She added, "Those of us left have been waiting an opportunity to leave them."

She looked at Lann, "We have no quarrel with you. I would rather leave here after telling you what to expect here."

Kyarel is all too willing to believe, if it means not having to execute someone in cold blood.
"Well, then you're a victim too! If we can kill these leaders, would your people return to the Path of Light?"

Kyarra motioned to their mongrel guide and said, "I would have you hear this. Does this make sense, from what you know of these people?"

Kyarra motioned to their mongrel guide and said, "I would have you hear this. Does this make sense, from what you know of these people?"

"I don't know what your Path of Light is. Down here, life is tough and resources are scarce and we can't quite go to the surface for we would be killed."

She scoffed, "It's happened to people I knew."

She looked at Lann, "Others here have been fortunate enough to find a place to live while some of us wander the deeps and do what we need to survive."

Lann pointed a finger at him, "Yeah, like stealing and mayhem."

She looked straight ahead, "What is needed to survive."

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OOC: I'd like to move this along later today so give me a plan of action for me to execute. The mongrelwoman wants to leave...

She looked straight ahead, "What is needed to survive."

"What needed to survive... yes, we understand survival. We trying to survive," Shiro murmured. "For us, survival journey back to surface. To get there, pass your home we must. If possible, we would offer peace. But your scouts, reach for weapons the moment they see us. Thus, the other way."

"Perhaps, us challenging your new lords, common ground to be found? If we need to fight, we could fight them, not you, if you flee instead, when your lords distracted. Serve both our ends," Shiro suggested, having noticed the light in Eliora's eyes when the woman mentioned people having congress with hell-spawn.

I assume we think the woman sounds sincere?

Sophie mostly seemed glad the woman didn't want to fight. She nodded in agreement with Shiro. "I don't wanna fight anyone who isn't attacking me...and even then I would rather that they just didn't..."

Kyarra was reluctant to let the woman pass by, but she also didn't want to attack and harm an relative innocent. Nodding slowly, she said, "Tell us what you can about what we'll find behind these doors, and we will allow you to leave. Are there people you can warn and take with you?"

"Those of us left have been waiting an opportunity to leave them."

She looked at Lann, "We have no quarrel with you. I would rather leave here after telling you what to expect here."

Eliora was still trying to piece everything together, who was in league with demons and who wasn't. "Why wait for an opportunity to leave? Why not just leave?"

But time was ticking away and there wasn't any sign of the other guard who had fled. "Then tell us what to expect here so we can get on with it. The guard who fled this way, is he raising the alarm with the demon-lovers?"

I think the guard fled this way but I may have been mistaken

Turn 045 – The Blue-skinned Woman

Read the OOC.

Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?

Game on!

How do you get to that SE area where the leader's supposed to be? Is that white circle a hole with a ladder, or some such? And how about that northernmost pair of rooms? Is there a secret door to there where the walls almost meet that another room, or are those brown circles ways to climb up/down to there?

How do you get to that SE area where the leader's supposed to be? Is that white circle a hole with a ladder, or some such? And how about that northernmost pair of rooms? Is there a secret door to there where the walls almost meet that another room, or are those brown circles ways to climb up/down to there?

There are holes with ladders at both places to get to the lower (SE) area and upper (N) area.

Questions?

Game on!

Sophie gave the others a worried look. "A demon!?! How are we supposed to fight something like that?" She thought for a moment before coming up with a cowardly suggestion, "Oh! Maybe we could just sort of sneak around it...Then tell the proper crusaders about it!"

"Given the enormous range in the power of demons, any information you can give us - even rumours - would be appreciated." Kyarel addresses the blue skinned woman. He turns to the others "Look: Whatever this is, it is weak enough these false crusaders can control it. Worth avoiding, though, if we can. Right? We're here to get back to the surface rather than fight a war?" His inflection indicates this is a question, as much as a statement, and he looks between Eliora and his sister as he speaks.

Kyarel will avoid anyone breaking the deal.

"Look. We're letting you leave. We're trusting you. Don't make us regret that, or we'll make you regret making us regret it." Kyarel - unfamiliar with threats - messes up his 'ominous warning'.

How ’bout trying to deceive the woman into believing we have we have a way to get to her in case she betrays us?

"Look. We're letting you leave. We're trusting you. Don't make us regret that, or we'll make you regret making us regret it." Kyarel - unfamiliar with threats - messes up his 'ominous warning'.

”Trust, important,” shiro said, nodding his head sagely at Kyarel’s words. ”But danger of betrayal, considerable. Thus, this humble monk would step to ensure compliance,” he went on, an apologetic tone in his voice as he stepped forward, raising one hand, presenting the metal wire effigy he used to channel his magic to the mongrelwoman. The Tian man concentrated for a moment, using his kami-given powers to manipulate light to make the effigy glow with soft radiance, ever as black smoke began to pour forth from the talisman. Around the focus, the chosen symbol of his patron took shape, the smoke solidifying over the glowing effigy, letting through only a little bit of the light. Light that took the shape of a blood-red corona around what now seemed like a miniature black sun. A corona that began to drip liquid light like glowing blood from an open wound. Shiro quickly put his free hand under the flow, scooping up a few drops of the glowing red-orange liquid that faded into dust the moment the drops he missed touched the ground.

The liquid continued to glow in the palm of his hand even after the monk put away the effigy and dipped a finger into the pool, then touched the mongrelwoman quickly on the forehead, tracing a quick symbol on her flesh – the logogram for the word apology in the Tien language.

”It is done,” he said, as the glowing liquid on his palm seemed to dry out into dust. ”I have marked you. If you betray, and we survive, I will find. Have a talk about things,” he said to the woman, filling his voice with sincerity and regret.

Deception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21 Attempting to make her believe Shiro’s bluff… using Misty Visions since that’s an ability, no spell, so there’s no way she can recognize it as an illusion spell being cast because… there’s no actual spell being cast, just an effect manifesting through sheer force of will. And very little to interact with, as it's all light and shadows and over in a few moments.

How ’bout trying to deceive the woman into believing we have we have a way to get to her in case she betrays us?

I'll let this stand because you wrote a nice description of the process, but I can see multiple times when she would not have consented to this and slapped away your hand or attacked while you 'worked your magic'. :)

In that case, Shiro could just have drawn the logogram in midair and have had it zip to the woman's forehead ;^) Only question is, will she buy it long enough to matter... if she has any plans to betray us, that is.

Action 1:

Eliora was eager to keep going. "Cultists who are demon-lovers cannot be allowed a weapon. We must make sure they pay for their harmful actions. You are familiar with these cultists. How do they arm themselves?"

Action 2:

The half-orc looked torn with this new information. Demons needed to be killed more so than humans who worshiped them. But leaving the cultists behind them to engage the demon seemed somewhat reckless. "If the demon is on the way out, then we should destroy it then. We start with the cultists."

Kyarra hid a smile as her brother turned "tough guy". The expression then slid off her face as she stared in awe at Brother Shiro's marking spell. Very handy! she thought. We should mark each other so that we can find each other if we get split up. She made a mental note to speak to him about it after their prisoner was gone.

"Are there any innocents, or families, or others like you who would avoid conflict if they can? Can you think of a code word or phrase we could use to help them understand we mean them no harm, and they can pass by unmolested?"

I'll try to move this along later today as my time permits.

I know the pace is slow and it's my fault. I underestimated the time the two 'compressed' college courses would take. I will be done early December, just in time for my vacation which start late December. :(

I guess what I'm trying to say is that things will continue to be 'slow' until the next year. I'll then kick this game into normal (high) gear.

Questions?

Game on!

Turn 046 – Mark of Betrayal

Read the OOC.

Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?

Game on!

No worries about the slow pace, it suits me right now, at least until the new year.

religion: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13

ACTIon 2

Kyarra's face wrinkled at the description of the demon - it sounded like something that she'd heard of, but she just couldn't quite place it. Frustrated with her lack of remembering, she turned to Kyarel and said, "It rings a bell, but I can't remember. You?"

Will wait a moment until I know if Eliora does anything before descending. But Kyarra is happy to go next. How far down is the ground, should she choose to jump instead of climb?

Action1:

Eliora's face scrunched up in deep thought, "Sounds like the dead men we saw that were shamefully dressed up like followers of Iomedae when they clearly were not. They had a bull amulet and deserved the death they received."

Action 2:

religion; DC14: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13. So close :( How does aid another work in this game?

Seeing that the guards still were unaware of her, Eliora decided to charge their barricade while giving her most fiercesome growl.

Can she attack after she charges? Or does she have to wait for initiative?

No worries about slower pace - I've had a lot on my own plate, but should soonish get some more time to use for posting.

Action 1

Eliora's face scrunched up in deep thought, "Sounds like the dead men we saw that were shamefully dressed up like followers of Iomedae when they clearly were not. They had a bull amulet and deserved the death they received."

”Plausible, yes,” Shiro agreed. ”Though how they passed city of the mongrels, unchallenged, to end up where we found, puzzling.”

Arcana: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6 Nope, not even enough for aiding if that’s still a thing here.

Is there still no light around here, except the one we carry? If the downstairs is lit, Shiro could take a look down the hole and drop another illusion on the square just below, fill it with a frozen image of the square while it’s still empty. But it’s dark down there and we need to carry lights… that’s not going to fool anyone. And since Eliora already dropped down and escaped immediate detection, I don’t know if there’s a point to it anymore, with her charging at the enemies soon.

Arcana: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22

Sophie looked scared at the description of the demon. "I hope it's not a Rutterkin! I remember growing up this boy who said he knew a boy whose whole family got killed by these things called Rutterkins. He said the boy said they'd shriek and it was like it made you too scared to think. And when the thing killed his parents and his siblings they came back as monsters too! Guards had to kill all of 'em in front of him!" Sophie shuddered, "It was a horrible, horrible story...but probably just a story, right?"

OOC:

Aid another is accomplished by the action 'help' in combat and allows the recipient of the help to have advantage on his task. It can also be done with skill checks but the caveat is that the 'helper' must be able to accomplish the task by himself. In any case, Sophie got it so no need to fuss here.

The drop is 10' for those that want to jump (1d6 bludgeoning damage). Acrobatics check DC 13 to avoid damage and land on your feet. If you take damage, you land prone.

Unless otherwise noted, places are devoid of light. No light here.

@Eliora: Yes, you may move and attack if you wish.

Questions?

Game on!

Kyarra nodded her head as Sophie told her tale. "Yes, that sounds right. And no, they're not just a story, Sophie. If that's what they have here, we'll need to be careful."

acrobatics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12 SO CLOSE
damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Kyarra heard the half-orc growl and charge, and groaned. She suspected there was little use in calling to Eliora to stop...the paladin seemed to be very principled when it came to fighting.

"She must have seen something, she's going in swinging," she warned the others.

Holding her bow carefully, she dropped down through the hole, but turned her ankle on landing and sprawled awkwardly at the bottom. She pulled herself together as quickly as she could and scanned for enemies. She was grateful that her eyes functioned so well in the dark, as there was precious little light coming from the lantern up above.

Mongrel guards or different looking guards?

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 *Splat*
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6 Figures... nothing like self-inflicted damage... who needs enemies?

Shiro dropped down after Kyarra, worried what dividing their little force might lead into. His hurry led to carelessness, and the Tian man twisted his ankle upon landing, falling hard on his rear when his leg refused to bear his weight. Tears of pain glistering in his eyes, the monk rolled to a side to clear the landing for the next person in line.

knowledge: religion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Action 2:
"Sophie has it, I think. And no, not just a story - or at least Rutterkin are all too real." Kyarel answered Sophie, memories of demonic bestiaries nightmarishly keen in his mind's eye. Size, height, weight - and a terrifying picture.
If that is high enough to know of a weakness or resistance he'll add that as well.
"So we'll need to protect our ears, then? Again?"

Action 3
Kyarel moved to the now vacated edge, sighed, and stepped off. acrobatics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
Smoothly he landed, rolled with the impact, and came up with bow drawn and arrow nocked just past his sister.
shoot: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
"Need a hand?" he asked quietly as he released.

Mongrel guards or different looking guards?

Not mongrelmen, they look like the dead cultist you encountered earlier with Lann and the others.

I intend to recap later today...

Then she's totally attacking

Recognizing the look of the Iomedae imposters, Eliora was filled with fury and she didn't stop until her sword was buried in one of them.

1d1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Can I attack this round too, or just strand up?

Can I attack this round too, or just stand up?

"Alright. Easy does it...oof..." Sophie exclaimed, as her hand slipped and she landed on Shiro. "Oops! Sorry!" She apologized as she quickly tried to scramble off the ground.

Acrobatic: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4

A hole in the floor... one of the more dangerous encounters to date ;^)

By the way... how do we get back up? I initially thought there was a ladder of some sort, but I kinda just went with the flow and had Shiro jump down with no idea how to get back up afterwards...

A hole in the floor... one of the more dangerous encounters to date ;^)

By the way... how do we get back up? I initially thought there was a ladder of some sort, but I kinda just went with the flow and had Shiro jump down with no idea how to get back up afterwards...

I know! A simple hole WITH a rope ladder is doing lots of damage to you guys. Be careful. :)

Recapping today.

@Kyarra: you used up all your movement by getting up but you may use a ranged attack if you wish (they have cover though).

There was a rope ladder? Since you gave us the jump DC I assumed that was the only way down... in that case, I assume taking the rope would have had us spend several rounds getting everyone downstairs and into the battle?

Turn 047 – Down the Hole

Read the OOC.

Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?

Game on!

There was a rope ladder? Since you gave us the jump DC I assumed that was the only way down... in that case, I assume taking the rope would have had us spend several rounds getting everyone downstairs and into the battle?

Oops, this did NOT get into the recap.

I only gave you jump DC because the 'agile elven ranger' wanted to show off. :)

Eliora did not jump down.

Getting down there would have taken two people per round.

We can retcon if you guys want...

Questions?

Game on!

Sorry guys, didn't mean to trick you all into jumping! And she wasn't "showing off", she was rescuing Eliora from herself!

"Need a hand?" he asked quietly as he released.

"Focus on your aim, not your sarcasm, little brother," Kyarra grunted, as she prepared to do the same.

Is there a penalty for firing past the barricades? It's disadvantage for firing into combat, right?

Let's roll with things as they are, no worries.

Eldritch Blast: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Eldritch Blast, damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Blinking away tears of pain, the monk rose into a crouch, one hand extended towards the guard Eliora was attacking, sending a bolt of eldritch energy soaring towards the armored man. The energy blast scorched his chest, causing the man to groan in pain.

Might take the retcon. I don't think Sophie is the type to jump off anything if there is another way lol.