Wild Beyond the Witchlight (Inactive)

Game Master Evriani

Take your time, but we'll proceed as soon as someone wants to stand before the mirror and recite the rhyme.

I have been asleep or running errands all day, and Willow's note thing is done, so don't wait up for me. My leveling will be quick. :) Getting to it as soon as the litter is changed and trash taken out ahaha.

HP Level 2: 1d8 ⇒ 2

Woooo 12 HP

Willow gains 2 HP, Channel Divinity: Invoke Duplicity, and +1 1st level Spell Slot.

:)

Do we need a long rest before all the 2nd level stuff comes online?

"Khalil, you've spent more time in the Feywild than any of us, I imagine. Do you know anything about this place? What we should be on the lookout for?"

DM: I'm not sure if/what Khalil might know that is relevant to Hither. Is there a survival or nature roll I should make? It might not be immediately relevant given the party is being thwarted by structurally unsound fungi, but I wanted to ask before I forget.

My internet is currently suffering a big outage so I'm stuck on my phone. Bot me as necessary and I'll get back as soon as I can.

"You look like you're listing lazily to the left there, friend. Are...are you alright?"

Hi! I'm Darth Harrington of Darth Harrington's Intergalactic Proton Powered Electrical Tentacled Advertising Droids Emporium and Moon Base. Due to a garbled subspace transmission, I am currently overstocked on all Intergalactic Proton Powered Electrical Tentacled Advertising Droids, and I am passing the savings onto yoooou!

;D

DM, do we have any sense of time or distance for the hexes on the map?

There isn't really a day/ night cycle here, but it was past midnight back home when you entered the portal, you may be getting tired. IC you wouldn't have any reference for scale yet but each hex is about 6 miles across, features aren't drawn to scale. Rough terrain, so crossing a hex takes a couple hours, and searching it fully takes a bit longer than that.

Alright, I have that magic hourglass that spills out 24 hours...maybe I can use that to get an approximate sense of time. Will work it in IC somehow.

I was glancing back at Tomb of Annihilation recently, as Chapter 2 has some neat/succinct hex crawl rules for the lush jungles of Chult. They do 10 mile hexes for some reason, not kingdom scale 6 mile...but probably close enough. Its a pretty simple 2 step process:

1. Determine Pace
Fast - roll d4, if 3 or 4 results, move 1 extra hex/day. Suffer -5 passive perception, and -5 to Survival navigation rolls.
Normal - move 1 hex/day
Slow - roll d4, if 1 or 2 results you don't move a hex. Stealth/Surprise is enabled and gain +5 to Survival navigation rolls.

2. Navigation Check
Its a DC 15 Survival check rolled by the 'navigator' once per day.
Fail - become lost. Roll d6 to determine which hex the party moves into. The hex the party is currently located in is hidden/not known.
Success - location on hex map is revealed.

The pacing rules are the same as the PHB pacing rules, but distances covered are halved (since terrain like swamps and jungles is difficult).

Could something like this help streamline our exploration of hexed Hither?

This sounds good to me. One issue I had with the hexcrawl in ToA was how many hexes had no encounters tied to them -- this map has at least a little something in each one, so hopefully it will not feel quite as grindy, whether you make a beeline to a location or wander aimlessly ;)

But yeah, let's go with this!

Yeah, I think for the blanks there was a 1 in 5 chance for random encounter table d100 3 times a day (morning, afternoon, camping). Fitting with the meat grinder ToA theme you could get a T-Rex at level 2 (1 in 50 chance). I only just prepped it thinking I was going to run it though (having had a nice time in chapter 1 with AL modules), never actually played nor ran chapter 2 so not sure how it felt.

So, bottom of basket is 50 ft from the ground. How far away is the snagged balloon on the tip of the tower? Any trees I could climb that would get me within 60 ft of the snag?

If you check out the pic I linked the brambles choke out the trees nearby. You could attempt to climb them, but it'll be tricky and high risk in a fall.

Hrm, well if we can't throw the rope/crowbar up, I could cast Jump on Khalil. That would give him, with a running start, a reach of 18 feet. At the top of his arc he could Misty Step another 30 feet up for 48 total. So with a boost of 2 feet at the bottom somehow he could reach the basket. ;D

Apologies for the late response, water park destroyed me yesterday and I slept like the dead.

I know we can talk through almost every encounter but I also can't help but feel like this when diplomacy fails.

I know we can talk through almost every encounter but I also can't help but feel like this when diplomacy fails.

This made me choke on my own spit laughing lmao

Just because you can theoretically beat the game without combat doesn't mean you need to feel like you have to. We've been playing since March (go us!) without a single combat, so I don't fault you, lol.

Vash, to clarify, the ettercap is on the top floor where Sammy and Khalil climbed in. You were following Nuruk up from the ground floor, you're only on the second floor -- you don't see the ettercap, you just sense that something is in the room with you, but can't see it. Check the map on roll20 for some clarity!

Also, you might not care, since Willow just told you to be careful and her curse would trigger you being dismissive of it XD

First combat and we've already broke Rule #1. ;)

Vash, to clarify, the ettercap is on the top floor where Sammy and Khalil climbed in. You were following Nuruk up from the ground floor, you're only on the second floor -- you don't see the ettercap, you just sense that something is in the room with you, but can't see it. Check the map on roll20 for some clarity!

Also, you might not care, since Willow just told you to be careful and her curse would trigger you being dismissive of it XD

That's what I get for trying quickly post from work...

Just because you can theoretically beat the game without combat doesn't mean you need to feel like you have to. We've been playing since March (go us!) without a single combat, so I don't fault you, lol.

No intention of going through without combat. I can't imagine Vash ever meeting the shadowy woman and immediately wanting to stab her in the face.

As a side note, a more appropriate post is now up in the main thread...

That's what I get for trying quickly post from work...

No worries! I've goofed plenty. ^_^

Awww, Nuruk, the little prayer is beautifully done!

I'm high-key trying to herd the group back together :P

What in the world is Karley trying to do with a broken, snagged hot air balloon? lol

She is thinking back when the carnival visited the Napoleonic Wars on actual earth, during the battle of the pyramids she had a wild surge that brought in a bunch of alternative universe Karleys. One of them was Harley Humbledozen, a military balloonist of the French Aerostatic Corps that lobbed acid from above.

As described here

Basically she wants to take a page from that other self's book.

Karley Rumblemuffin has some "Old Man Henderson" vibes that I'm here for. All in the best ways, of course.

I'm intrigued, hahaha. "Old Man Henderson" vibes is accurate. With love.

Nope, not at all what I'm going for...sorry if she's bringing the game down in some way. She probably does have the actual anarchist's cookbook from the 1970s memorized somehow, though.

Not bringing the game down at all, although I will admit having difficulties on how to actually interact with Karley.

imo, the comparison is not meant to be disparaging (especially since we are qualifying it with good things). Agreed with Vash, though - it can be difficult to figure out how to interact with her because of how off-the-wall most of her behavior/speech can be, unrelated to the loss of nouns.

Oof, that certainly stings to hear. I'll try to be better.

In game terms she's a rogue with some spells/fate-bending stuff instead of expertises...one could chat her up in situations calling for stealth, acrobatics, and deception. Deception especially seems to be her forte, being able to deadpan the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard. She had some thievish tendencies when she was younger but swore off stealing...should theft ever be required that might present an interesting character conflict. Karley of course also picked up a ton of Arcana careening across the multiverse with the carnival for 8 years, not to mention her wild surges that give her occasional glimpses into parallel universes. I would hope if something truly odd is ever encountered, Karley would be the first to be consulted.

She's also a chef if you need a snack, and crazy lucky even for a halfling (Tides of Chaos grants advantage on any roll).

But yeah, I mean she is a hunted fugitive of the infinite strands (strands being my other way of saying parallel universe), a being of pure chaos that has the power to 'blend' strands together in ways they were never supposed to be. Her personality is supposed to reflect this, with 'fun' obscure references mashed together...like a kid with a strong imagination that heard a bunch of adult stuff and finds entertainment instead of knowledge. She doesn't fully recognize who/what she is yet, having only got her first hint from Kube back in the fun mirror house.

Her nemesis is an Inevitable, a somewhat obscure DnD monster from 3e trying to destroy her (when a wild surge goes bad). The huge plethora of characters that come from those and the way they manifest are her wild magic, the deeper part of herself, that protects her (when a wild surge goes good/neutral). Again, her magic is about these probability strands overlapping in some way that breaks the universe. (and again, as a physics nerd, I have to say I find parallel universes completely stupid)

Later when I start spending sorcery points, since that is a super abstract game thing, I was going to add an RP element to it. Basically each point would be a little mote of this 'true' Karley coming back into consciousness. Maybe her personality will shift around that time.

I doubt she'll ever be the traditional hero or girl next door everyone instantly relates to though.

From a more meta angle, she was supposed to be a way I could write when I really felt like writing and didn't want to be confined by whatever was happening in game. I could always pull in something from a parallel universe. In practice though, I'm not having a reason to cast spells very much, but suspect that will change with higher levels and more careful spell selection on my part. In a way the Carnival jumping around everywhere filled some of that player need. Not to mention I am the cruddiest of cruddy writers anyways, with simultaneous fatal deficiencies in grammar and tense. And to self-deprecate further, basically suck in general. XD Sorry again. Trying more for funny wtf than derailment. As a person who DMs on occasion, I know how bitter sweet and challenging it can be to change one's plot or line of thinking to accommodate some player's off-the-wall BS.

-rolls up a newspaper- No self-deprecation allowed here! Bad player! Bad!

Being an "Old Man Henderson" was said with the best kind of love; there is a freedom in his background and story that makes it wonderful to see what kind of bizarre shenanigans are going to occur with her.

She has been the hardest to converse with because of everything that is happening; she has a crazy interesting backstory but that backstory is on the back burner and not really anything the other players can touch or interact with outside of the off-the-wall spell variations we see. I don't know what DM Fern is planning but finding a way to be a bit more hands-on with that story will probably make it easier in the long run. Nothing that needs to happen and certainly nothing that is bad character-wise, it is an interesting character to have with rather traditional characters.

That's my two-cents on it, people can take it and spend it however they want. Everything I have written is written with the best intentions and I put that disclaimer out there since I know writing lacks a lot of context we usually have in-person.

Also, again, no more self-deprecation or you know what'll happen. <3

You're not at all a bad writer, and you can take my word for it as an English teacher who has seen a lot of terrible writing from very earnest students. Grammar/spelling/etc. isn’t at all a problem. You’d get an A on the rubric for that, lol

Knowing more about your intentions for her and your concept for her does clear up some of the confusion. She doesn’t need to be a girl next door character or someone easy to relate to.

I'd agree with KingHotTrash wholeheartedly, especially trying to find a way to be more hands-on with that story. I like Karley.

As KingHotTrash and feyrial have already more eloquently stated than I suspect I'm capable of, Karley is a good character and your posts are interesting. My comment earlier was really more about me not knowing how to interact with the Karley character.

Indeed, and I don't at all mind her backstory being on the backburner...honestly its totally expected. If it just stays as something wacky I write about when a wild surge happens, that's fine. Sammy was the only one who saw Kube, and more important plot stuff was happening at the time.

Talomyr, understandable. Vash and Karley...hrm, sort of like putting Brandon Lee's Crow in the same room with Doc Brown from Back to the Future.

I'll brainstorm some ways to reach out in the next few RL days.

Vash and Karley...hrm, sort of like putting Brandon Lee's Crow in the same room with Doc Brown from Back to the Future.

This is a hilarious image

Sammy was the only one who saw Kube

I don't even remember who the Hell that Kube is. Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, that is my level :P

Got worried when I saw a million discussion posts, you are all lovely human beings and I heart you.

Karley, I don't see you as derailing the campaign, though I do struggle as a DM to bring your backstory into things. As you said you kinda seem to be writing it for yourself as we go to amuse yourself and that is 100% fine, I just feel bad not touching it much. Everyone else's backstory is "this thing happened and now we have to conveniently play the campaign as written!" lol. I DO have an idea with yours but it won't come into play for a good long while yet -- so it's not that I am not trying, it will just be a hot minute before we get around to it. =D

We tend not to get too busy even on days where folks post a lot, but just in case, I'm out of town tonight for a bachelorette party & may be slow posting.

If you're in other campaigns with me, sorry that you're seeing this twice. :P

DM, is the heating thing magic or mundane? Can it shoot a 10 ft geyser of flame? Historically the Montgolfier balloon (first working balloon) was fueled by straw and wool, and the inventors incorrectly believed it was due to the chemistry of a special gas the two substances emitted since thermodynamics wasn't developed yet. Another design that missed being 'first' by only 10 days used hydrogen gas. Propane is the modern thing.

She'll spend an hour or two before going to sleep figuring it out and trying not to burn her beard feathers.

Heating thing is magic, and that's cool, I didn't know that =)

I teach an aerospace engineering class, always get a student presentation on the Montgolfier bros at some point. :) I would probably know about it anyways though, being a stone-cold dork.

Karley will spend a short rest identifying its charges, usage, etc. If not the geyser style flame, maybe it could be like a fire trap she could place on the battlefield and trigger from a distance? Or a portable stovetop for cooking pixie meat/carrot kabobs at the least.

Sorry if you've seen this for the second or third time. Going through kind of a scary family emergency right now so I'll be a little scarce for a bit

I like how we buried the dog but left the named humanoid's corpse just rotting in the basket. XD

#nuts4mutts

dogs > people

Sorry if you've seen this for the second or third time. Going through kind of a scary family emergency right now so I'll be a little scarce for a bit

I hope you and yours are okay! And thank you Karley for mentioning Wiggleswog. I totally would've forgotten a sentence for him <.<