The Scales of Blackened Souls (Inactive)

Game Master Lord Grey

Huh. That was smart. Galenus says as he watches his friend off to scout. After a moment, he realized that he's probably standing out and ducks into the tall grasses to avoid being seen

stealth: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

The group approaches the blockade of the road to the temple without incident, where the day before they had sneaked up on and ambushed a couple of sentry orcs.

Sharla equips herself to look like an orc, and steps off the path to look around as she approaches. As she does, she notices pretty early that the sentries have been replaced. Four orcs watch the barricade, two from each side of the road.

It seems the dead orcs from the day before had been noticed and security tightened a bit. Sharla hears their talking while still at a fair distance away, and is confident that they haven't yet caught sight of her or her companions.

Galenus sneaks forward to within 120 feet of the orcs to give Sharla backup if she needs it. If she's not that close, he'll make sure to keep at least within 100' of her.

In case you want a second stealth check to sneak ahead, here it is - otherwise use the roll in my last post.

1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11

Sharla sneaks back and informs the others of what she saw. "How should we deal with this?"

We could move off to their flank through the woods, towards the cemetery?

Sounds good. Let's do it.

Deciding to try and circle around the orc sentries to the south and just going into the graveyard directly, the group does so?

Marching order and general declarations?

If anything Varus seems more dour now that the specter has moved on. It just doesn't make any sense! If good feelings were somehow a viable weapon against the undead then he should give his holy symbol to the bard! Though, it -was- a nice performance, and he feels himself inspired to try and do better.

He wolfs down his gruel as penance for simply being wrong, and girds himself for battle.

"Sound plan, Anders. Let us attack those on one side, then they'll be dead by the time the other two get here. Guerrilla warfare. Fabian. Well done."

Me and Sharla up front, sneaking, and Varus and Galenus 20 feet behind.

Anders heads off around the guards to the cemetery.

Stealth: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Sharla follows beside Anders.
Stealth: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Just use one my stealth rolls above, I don't think it's fair to roll again.

Galenus follows behind, attempting to be sneaky.

Just double checking. Varus, your plan seems to be implying a direct assault on one of the two groups of orcs. The rest of the party is planning on sneaking around them, circumventing having to face them by going deeper in the woods, around them, and to the graveyard by that indirect route. Are you wishing to try and convince the party to take the sentries out, or go along with and sneak by?

Hm? No, I thought he was going attack one group, but if we're not that's fine. I'll follow along.

Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Varus tromps along, his armor clacking heavily.

The group approaches the cemetery with Sharla and Anders in front, looking to advance down the alleyway where they left their assault the afternoon before.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Galenus follows song at the requested distance, keeping a lookout.

perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

Okay, I think everyone is on the same page now. Sorry for the wait.

The party circumvents the orcs through the trees at what they think is a large enough distance that they'll not be noticed by the sentries. It seems to work, as the group moves on they hear no warning signal.

Walking through the morning mist, you notice something before reaching the fence for the graveyard.

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Scene - Forest around the Temple
Just another spot of the woods you have been traveling through. Trees and undergrowth provide a lot of cover, and a mist hangs in the air reducing visibility

Occupants
There is a figure slumped against a tree not far away from you all. It doesn't appear to be an orc, in fact it looks more like an adventurer of some kind. A hooded cloak cover most features, but it is wearing leather armor, and has worn hiking boots on its feet.

At a distance, the figure appears dead and unmoving. There is no rise or fall one would expect if they were breathing, and an orcish javelin has nearly pinned it to the tree it is slumped beside
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Ooo, fascinating. Galenus says to himself as he approaches to investigate further. [/b]

This is probably a trap.

if someone wishes to assist Galenus, roll an investigation as his advantage, using his modifier. This may put you in range if there is a trap that gets triggered, so it isn't a riskless decision.

Varus frowns. "The orc are a brutish race, unwilling or unable to to use cunning or guile. A trap this passive would be beyond them, and in too remote a location to bare fruit. Still, an ounce of prevention..."

Varus assists in discerning the nature of the scene....

Advantage roll: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

...but his pessimism disallows him gathering any further details.

Galenus and Varus cautiously approach the cloaked figure. Circling it and looking out carefully for anything that could be a trap. Not seeing anything, the near the body.

The corpse of a man, dead for probably a couple weeks lays against the tree. He doesn't appear to be armed, but used to be. An empty sheath is strapped to his belt.

However, there is a golden chair visible under his armor. As you near it, checking to see if anything seems off about it, Galenus notices just a slight coldness in the air near his face. The hair on the back of his hand stands up slightly, and he realizes there is an enchantment in place.

The enchantment isn't on the chain, or on the corpse itself, but behind the corpse, on the tree. He is unsure of the nature of the enchantment, but it is most likely a trap. What triggers it, he is unsure of. It hasn't yet BEEN triggered.

This is... Definitely a trap. But it's not the man; it's the tree. Galenus says as he ponders the intriguing situation. There's a bit of coldness to the air near here, and an enchantment of some sort. At this point in time, I do not believe we can study it further. I will need to increase my magical repertoire. Let's mark this location and come back to it in the future with better preparations.

With that, Galenus slowly and, with a slight bit of hesitation, walks away from the puzzle.

Varus nods and follows Galenus. Such magical phenomenon is not unheard of, and they have other priorities for right now.

Disarming a magical trap may be attempted with an arcana check. Dispel magic also has the potential to destroy/temporarily suppress magical traps.
I don't fault you for wanting to avoid it, just letting you know it is possible to try if you wish.

I was thinking just a simple detect magic, which no one in the party has. I had planned on picking it up next level. :) If it's alright with everyone else, I'd just like to avoid it and come back later. Maybe on our escape we can run by here and see if the orcs fall in to the trap if we're getting chased.

"I think we should stay away." Sharla whispers.

Fine idea. Tally ho!

Remembering roughly where the corpse is, the group moves on toward the cemetery.

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Scene - Temple Cemetery, area 2
You reach the cemetery behind the fence, near Meesk's area with the town up ground and the annex. The building sits nearby, and the larger temple looms at the edge of visibility through the fog.

Features
The first thing is the unbroken fence, which will need to be scaled to enter the cemetery. The thing is old, and creaky. Climbing it may result in being noticed, if the group fails to do so stealthily.

Either a stealth check, or you can do an acrobatics (DC 10) to cross it without putting your weight onto it. this will be a group check that everyone passing into the cemetery will need to make.

There is the door into the annex crypt past the fence, as well as the corridor alley between the annex and the temple.

Occupants
None in visible in the area. However, a light snoring sound can be made out from the hole in the dug-up area.

Ahhhh...just as we left it.

Anders attempts to quietly move past the gate and towards the corridor between the building and the annex. He waives the party on behind him.

Stealth: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Oh well...that blew

Varus follows....

Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

..and, predictably, his armor grates against the metal.

stealth: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

Galenus is apparently flawless in his attempt to climb over the fence.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

Sharla attempts to vault over the fence, managing it with some skill.

As a reminder and pre-necessary rules clarification, I wanted to describe an interesting use of Inspiration. You must chose to spend inspiration before you know the result of your check (though sometime the DC will be given to you, you can still use it in these cases), but you can do so after your roll.
In the situation of group checks, you won't know the result until I've gotten EVERYONE'S rolls, so you can choose to use Inspiration after you know who has rolled low, and who has rolled high.
You can also give Inspiration to another player if you so choose. This allows someone with Inspiration who rolled well and doesn't believe they need it for their own check, to give it to someone who did poorly, and then they can spend it to roll advantage before I chime in on the success or failure of the action.
Just be clear if you think you may want to do this. If I see all four of you roll on a group check, I'll butt right in if I think you're waiting on me, so it's a good idea to be clear about "Hey, anyone want to give me their inspiration if you think my roll isn't good enough?", so I can wait for that before I resolve things.
In this case, however, you passed, I'll move forward.

Anders picks the absolute worst plant upon which to rest his weight, apparently, as when he does the plank shatters beneath him as he gets over. The group cringes from the muffled noise, but Varus follows behind. His armor scrapes against a nail, making a soft metal on metal sound, but still no outcry is heard.

Galenus appears to pick the best plank, testing each first and looking for loose nails, and scales the fence without a groan of wood. Sharla simply puts one hand on the fence and only puts minimal weight on it as her acrobatic leap propels her over with hardly a noise.

The group having crossed into the loose soil of the graveyard, they look around for where to move next.

+25 exp to all

Galenus starts heading towards the door to the annex, making the assumption that this is where they're heading.

Making sure you guys aren't waiting on me. Please declare your post fence actions like Galenus, and I'll jump in when I've heard from everyone.

Anders is kind of the sneaky/smashy vanguard. I was kinda waiting on him. =)

Varus follows near Galenus, watching out for orcs.

Sharla moves 10 feet ahead of Galenus.

The party approaches the door to the crypt, which is now fully shut unlike yesterday.

Can you put that tactical map of this area in the campaign tab?

Done

Open the door or keep looking around the campus? Galenus asks.

I hope I'm not causing the slow down. If I've failed to properly explain the scene, or to resolve something anyone asked about and which I missed, please let me know.
Right now the party is back in the graveyard, by the annex (a crypt you previously discovered). The hole your Gnoll friend, Meesk lives in is nearby, and she sounds to be sleeping. You are surrounded by the normal mists, which obscure your vision after about 50 or so feet. The crypt's door is shut (the previous day it was ajar), and you haven't yet seen any Orcs besides the four scouts that you detoured around. So far, I don't believe anyone has yet discussed a plan of approach on where you are going with this temple. You so far have avoided the front doors, found a blocked/locked entrance in the graveyard, and spotted second story windows that look to be accessible if a bit out of reach.
I hope that recap helps pick things back up.

"Shall we begin at the beginning? Should we open the door to the crypt, to make sure it is safe? And then move on to the alley and the smaller building beyond that?"

Aye, Varus, my thoughts too. Can we get some focused light once I open the crypt door?

Anders opens the door and peers inside once light is provided.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Varus again lights his mace and follows the barbarian.

Scene - Crypt 1
The room is about 40 feet wide, and 20 feet deep, and made of the carved, grey stone blocks the same as the outside of the building. Rubble is scattered on the ground from numerous smashed, standing sarcophagi. The air is stale, and dry, and there is a hint of BO.

Features
The sarcophagi appear to be broken open, and empty from what can be seen at a quick glance, though not all of them have holes in them that fully reveal their innards. There could be something inside of many of them, collected at their bottoms. A faded script is half concealed under the collection of stony debris at the bottom of each sarcophagi.

At the end of the room to your right is a single, unmarred and particularly well carved sarcophagi. It seems to be decorated in a skeletal manner. Objects are stacked in front of it, apparently to keep it blocked.

Occupants
Three sleeping orcs lay in the middle of the room, in an area cleared of rubble. As the light washes over them, they begin to rouse. Nearby, on the wall opposite of you from them, are axes and a quiver of javelins. A signal horn hangs from one of the Sarcophagi near these weapons, 20 feet away from the door.
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You have a surprise round so long as you act quickly. Everyone roll initiative.

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Surprise Round - Are Att with Adv because they are asleep?

Anders steps forward and attacks the Orc closest to the signal horn, as he puts himself between it and the orcs.

GA Att: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
GA Dam: 1d12 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

Galenus steps into the room and moves to his immediate right, out of the way. He then casts hex on one of the orcs as a bonus action (it has disadvantage on strength checks and takes an additional 1d6 damage from me if I damage it).

He then casts his eldritch blast cantrip:

spell attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

damage: 2d10 ⇒ (10, 4) = 142d6 ⇒ (2, 2) = 4

Total: 18 damage.

Wow! 20's all over the place for Galenus!

they aren't currently unconscious, the light woke them. They are prone and surprised though, so there is advantage on all but maybe ranged attack rolls. No book on me atm to check if prone gives disadv to ranged attacks, which I think it may do, which would cancel the advantage from surprise

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Varus hurriedly rushes after Varus as he dives in. As Galenus takes position and throws a blast directly on an orc, Varus raises his mace and brings it down on the third, as yet unattacked orc.

As Anders' ardor seems to cause him to overcompensate and fumble with his own attack, Varus calls out, "Anders! Remember for whom we are here!"

Transferring Inspiration to Varus. Go ahead and roll again buddy. =)

Mace Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Attack w/ Adv?: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3