this is the OOC page.
Hello and thanks for the pick
Howdy. This should be fun!
Thank you very much for taking a risk on this lucky rizzard dwarf! I'll do my best make sure you will not regret this, RIZZENMAGNUS!!
Howdy do!
Looking forward to getting some dungeon delving going!
instead of 5, we have 6.
went with torgar and Kolaiah.
for this campaign...
here's what im thinking.
usually i have the party members not know each other and allow for roleplaying to occur amongst everyone at the local pub.
this time, im going to be different.
Way im seeing it, all of you know each other, and have adventured together for the last couple years. your travel range runs from Icewind dale to baldur's gate, from the outskirts of Waterdeep to the Anauroch desert.
however! you have never been to Waterdeep.
Lady fortune and the lust of adventure has never led you into the city interior.
Waterdeep, for as often as you crossed by it, smelled its smells, looked at it from afar, is strange, alien. You meet travelers going to and fro, talk with them at safe points along the road where caravans and merchants gather for safety at night, discussions of waterdeep ever whetting your desire to actually get into the city itself.
and, even more, your desire to learn more about Undermountain.
A simple yet complicated dungeon, it is said, a mad wizards desires laid bare, others. yet all the stories about the horrors and labyrinthian tunnels all revolve around one simple fact.
treasure!
pausing here... will post more in a bit
Nat 20 diplomacy! Glad to be here. :)
Well, hello my adventuring brothers and sisters! Vondal has likely flirted playfully with at least all female members of the party at this point. Whether they have had a relationship with Vondal, I'll leave to the individual players. By the way, what do we call our party? Surly it has a name already? I'm thinking Vondal and his Amazing Friends!! Got a nice ring to it, but I'm open to suggestions, as many of you know.
Tiefling Magus, Aasimar Monk/Paladin, Dwarven Aasimar Godling, Elven Rogue, Minotaur Skald, Human Soulknife…hmmm….a group name?
“Old tales tell that luck plays a crucial role in each person's life. When each newborn baby enters into the realms, Tymora flips a coin formed from the remnants of the original goddess of luck, Tyche. Beshaba calls it in the air—the moon (heads) or the cloak (tails). If Beshaba is right, that person is cursed with misfortune for the rest of his or her days. If she's wrong, Lady Luck smiles on that child for the rest of his or her life. For some rare beings, the coin lands edge on—and these luckless few can forge their own fates, for they have more freedom over their destinies than the powers themselves.”
The name implies honesty as a mercenary company, its vaguely religious, and it says that we make our own luck.
———-
And I’m alright with Vondal being Vondal. But Gaelden has taken a vow of chastity. So any chances of reciprocating are below 0.
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carrying on from my previous post....
treasure!
before we start, id like each of you to submit a short blurb about a time when the six of you were adventuring. Perhaps its a funny story about a minotaur getting her horns stuck in some low hanging tree branches? or a valiant last stand by a paladin protecting some random townsfolk from raving orcs only to be reinforced by the rest of her companions? Perhaps one of you found a supposed map of Undermountain, furthering your desire to explore this dungeon? Or maybe its just a simple tale of one night where you sit high in the mountains, where you gaze upon the stars and talk about your homeland while sharing a meager meal because somebody (looking at you Vondal!) dropped the sack of rations but somehow hung onto a single slab of dried meat and four bottles of mead?
a simple paragraph is fine, but if you feel motivated, heck, shoot for 3,000 words. Feel free to be inventive and imaginative.
this is to give you all a focal point to draw from.
i will be starting the game with you all sitting in the Yawning portal, so if one of you would like to tell the story of going from someplace out in the environs to arriving and sitting down in the Yawning Portal, feel free.
Now
game business
for my games, i host discussions on a discord server. this is not where the game is played. it is just a way to make it easier for me to respond to OOC issues/questions that come up. I am always on discord, so anytime someone pings me or asks something on there, i usually respond within a few minutes to a couple hours. I am usually only on paizo once a day. By utilizing discord to answer questions/resolve issues that pop up, i think it makes the game go a little bit faster.
Now, i want to stress, this is not a requirement. if you dont have discord, please do not think that you have to get it to play this game. I merely use it to better and more quickly respond to players. However, if you dont wish to use it, feel free to post questions on here and i will answer them when i hop online.
Well, hello my adventuring brothers and sisters! Vondal has likely flirted playfully with at least all female members of the party at this point.
Still holding fast on this declaration?
I'll get you that post in the morning! Tuesdays are Scouts BSA meetings here, and I'm the Scoutmaster, so I have lots of catching up to do administratively for that.
for this game, i am using The ruins of undermountain box set from the old ADnD days. ive had this box set for the longest time and have wanted to crack it open. that said.... i have no idea what the CR ratings for the encounters will be. some may equate to CR1, some may be CR12+.
Running away to live another day is a perfectly good response if you find yourself out of your league. I leave it to you players to figure this out.
i will be starting the game with you all sitting in the Yawning portal, so if one of you would like to tell the story of going from someplace out in the environs to arriving and sitting down in the Yawning Portal, feel free.
As the Skald, and designated storyteller, I’d like to call dibs on this action if I can please.
I need to figure out details on the party first, tomorrow morning I’m on it!
Ashes floated across the sky as the hamlet burned. Gaelden had arrived too late to save anyone, for she did not even know that there was anyone who needed saving. All she knew was that an actual Godling was supposed to be in the area. It was a dwarf, or so they said. A dwarf of such radiance that just looking at his beard alone would cause grown adults to weep in religious fervor. Or at least, that is what they said. But thus far she had not found the dwarf with divine blood. All she had found was fire, ash and the charred remains of the simple folk who eked out a living in these woods. That…and a gigantic worm composed of swirling fire, churning magma, and cinders. She had no idea who, or what, had summoned it. She assumed that it had been sent after the godling, as there was no point having such a monster loose on a handful of commoners. She knew then that she could not run. The dead had to be avenged, and she still had to find the godling…
”Tyr!” She cried out, raising her hands to the sky. ”In your name!” She could feel the power of the divine flow through her.
Caught off guard by the speed of the monster, the monk could do little as it lunged at her, its maw closing around not only her but the very ground as well. Caught in its maw she lashed out, even as she was swallowed…
Kicking, punching, tearing, the monk still found herself being sucked down the gullet of the monster….
Astrillith joins the fray as he calls out to Gael "I'll try to make things easier Gael!
Here to find a Godling and here she's about to meet the gods themselves. Irony is there. But for now he plans to at least help his friend in some way or another.
The black clothed magus reaches out, his hand crackling with a multi-coulered energy as he tries to weaken and damage the creature, if all it does is help her escape
electric
cold
Well, hello my adventuring brothers and sisters! Vondal has likely flirted playfully with at least all female members of the party at this point.Still holding fast on this declaration?
Yes, unless you're uncomfortable with the notion. Vondal is a gregarious Diplomancer and High Rizzard.
Ashes floated across the sky as the hamlet burned. Gaelden had arrived too late to save anyone, for she did not even know that there was anyone who needed saving. All she knew was that an actual Godling was supposed to be in the area. It was a dwarf, or so they said. A dwarf of such radiance that just looking at his beard alone would cause grown adults to weep in religious fervor. Or at least, that is what they said. But thus far she had not found the dwarf with divine blood. All she had found was fire, ash and the charred remains of the simple folk who eked out a living in these woods. That…and a gigantic worm composed of swirling fire, churning magma, and cinders. She had no idea who, or what, had summoned it. She assumed that it had been sent after the godling, as there was no point having such a monster loose on a handful of commoners. She knew then that she could not run. The dead had to be avenged, and she still had to find the godling…
Rather abruptly, one of the ruined dwelling's rooves burst open to reveal a strange sight. It was difficult to tell from the nearby fire, but the dwarf's hair and beard looked as if ablaze. Oddly enough, this dwarf's mithril armor looked free of soot and grime.
The dwarf quickly looked down at his feet in surprise. The dwarf warrior bent down and picked up something small and held it in his fingers."Ooo! A gold coin! Don't think it's one of mine. Excellent!" the godling chuckled.
"Ah, you all want a story, do you?" Kolaiah chuckles as she leans back in her chair at the Yawning Portal, her large frame filling the seat with ease. Her brown and white hair cascades down in loose curls, and her massive greatsword rests at her side, the blade glinting under the tavern’s dim lights. She adjusts the massive, shiny mithral armor that covers her body, smoothing the fabric of her cloak.
"Alright, gather round, everyone," she grins, her ears flicking as she begins her tale.
"It started a few months back, after a long trek through the Sword Coast North. The wind was sharp, and we’d crossed the Anauroch desert just days before—feeling the sun's heat burn our skin to a crisp. Vondal had his usual complaints about the weather, Ceirn was brooding about something, Jambreth was already eyeing some trouble in the distance, and Gaelden was, well, being Gaelden, all calm and collected like he always is. But we all needed a good rest."
She takes a long swig from her tankard, her eyes far away as she recalls the journey. "We ended up in the Sumber Hills, where the view of the mountains was more than enough to make up for the hardships of the road. The stars were brilliant that night—almost like they were lighting the path for us." She smiles fondly, clearly nostalgic for the beauty of that place.
"But then came the night I nearly got stuck in a tree." Her grin widens, and she looks over at Vondal. "It was all that damned tree’s fault! I was standing tall, thinking I'd gotten myself a perfect spot to enjoy the view when *whoosh*—my horns got stuck in a branch." She pauses dramatically, glancing around as if expecting someone to say something, but when they don't, she adds, "I couldn’t get free! And that’s when Vondal had the nerve to drop our rations into the fire. All we had left to eat were dried slabs of meat and a couple bottles of mead. The fire was half out, and we were all starving. So I stood there, stuck in the tree, flailing about, while Vondal—true to his stubborn nature—gave a half-hearted attempt to get my horns free, but ended up getting his beard caught instead!"
She laughs, a deep rumble that shakes her massive form.
"Jambreth was too busy eyeing the horizon to help, Ceirn just smirked, and Gaelden," she glances at the changeling, "Gaelden was... well, he was off meditating as usual, which I swear I’ll never understand! But in the end, we made do with what we had. One slab of meat between us all and just enough mead to make the night memorable." She pauses for a moment, her expression softening as she continues, "I remember looking up at the stars that night, and I thought about our journey. The labyrinths we’d conquered. The adventures we’d shared. And for the first time in a long while, I felt like I was truly meant to be with this crew."
She lets out a long sigh before continuing.
"We didn’t just make do with that meal, though," she says with a sly grin. "That’s the night we found the map to Undermountain."
Her tone becomes more serious as she leans forward.
"At first, we thought it was just some old piece of parchment someone had left behind. It looked like a treasure map—crude drawings, strange symbols—but we couldn’t ignore it. Jambreth wanted to sell it, Ceirn wanted to burn it, but I knew, deep down, that this was the key to something... bigger." She looks around the table, her gaze meeting each of her companions’ eyes, the intensity of her voice steady. "The maze. The labyrinth. Undermountain. It called to me. For a minotaur, a labyrinth is sacred, a holy thing. I knew then, with a certainty I couldn't explain, that we were meant to find it. To conquer it. To see what treasures—what mysteries—lie hidden in those tunnels."
She grins widely, her large tusks showing as she smiles at her companions. "But there was something else. Astrillith. You see, our tiefling friend had been quiet for some time, but when she saw that map, there was a fire in her eyes. I swear, she was the first one to truly believe in the maze's power, in the challenges it held. Something about the place spoke to her too. I’ve never seen Astrillith so intent on a goal."
She pauses, glancing at the tiefling. "You know, Astrillith’s magic has always been a mystery, but that map? That map ignited something in her. She could practically feel the arcane power in those tunnels—something primal, untapped." Kolaiah’s voice grows a little more hushed as she recalls the moment. "It was then we made the decision. Waterdeep. We had to go. We’d heard of the Yawning Portal, and we knew we had to start there."
Kolaiah leans forward, her expression filled with excitement, and a bit of reverence.
"We’ve spent a lot of time talking about treasure. And I’ll admit, treasure is nice. But for me, the real treasure is the labyrinth itself. What I seek isn’t gold or jewels—it’s the twists, the turns, the challenge. The stories that will be written when we leave Undermountain, no matter the cost. We may not know it yet, but the labyrinth will reveal what we need to know."
Her eyes gleam, reflecting the light of the tavern’s candles.
"And that, my friends, is why we’re here. To conquer it. To unlock its secrets. To see it all with our own eyes." She raises her mug. "To Undermountain!"
I hope that meets with everyone's approval.
A very nice tale from Kolaiah. It does well to show her personality and to set up our adventure. The only thing I’d add is that Gaelden is a she as changelings must be female. But with the high strength and gender neutral clothing it is fair for a Minotaur to find the gender to be ambiguous. ;)
Recap
While searching for Vondal, a gigantic worm of fire and magma destroyed a hamlet and swallowed Gaelden. Her comrade Astrillith leapt to her defense, even as the aforementioned Dwarven Godling came out of the ruins.
Round 2
Astrillith and Vondal have beat the worm in initiative. The worm has 73HP left. You both can attack again to kill it before it can continue digesting Gaelden. Act now to get bragging rights for saving the monk’s life.
Apparently Astrillith is also female.
Correct. It is a good rendition. Don't need to change anything. As Kolaia can interpret her memories as she sees fit :P
Again she reaches out to touch the giant creature. Her hand crackling again with all the colours of magic. Hoping that today will not be the day her companion sees the gods. That would be rather unfortunate and tough to explain to the others
"Don't get eaten!. I didn't bring my grave kit today!" she calls up to the monk
The Worm dies
The worm reeled in pain as the elf came in, taking it by surprise. Recoiling from elf's touch, which both froze the beast's body and sapped its very soul, it was put into a fight or flight response. A response which did not last long...from within it's stomach, Gaelden continued to lash out, punching and kicking as hard as she could, even as she was being digested. Attacked from both without and within, the worm fell backwards, landing with a crash that shook the ground.
Just as the worm came down, so too did one of the ruined dwelling's rooves burst open to reveal a strange sight. It was difficult to tell from the nearby fire, but the dwarf's hair and beard looked as if ablaze. Oddly enough, this dwarf's mithril armor looked free of soot and grime.
The dwarf quickly looked down at his feet in surprise. The dwarf warrior bent down and picked up something small and held it in his fingers.
"Ooo! A gold coin! Don't think it's one of mine. Excellent!" the godling chuckled.
The worm came down, landing atop the building that the dwarf had just exited from. The structure was flattened, with splinters of wood and debris filling the air.
Gaelden crawled out of the worm's maw, dripping from head to toe in digestive stomach acid. She was fortunate that the robes of her order were enchanted well enough to stand up to such damage, even if her exposed skin had not been so fortunate. She touched a hand to herself, channeling positive energy to heal the worst of her wounds.
"Astrillith!" She exclaimed, seeing her comrade. "I could feel the fire within the creature cool as it was struck. I would have died if not for your timely aid. You have my thanks." Standing up, she added. "Have you seen the Godling? We came here to recruit him...and the only good news that I can report was that I saw no sign of him from within that beast."
At the moment, she was oblivious to Vondal who was standing behind her.
Astrillith looks her over, nodding as if agreeing to something only she can hear before she addresses Gaelden.
"Glad i could help with this incident, but perhaps dont go poking where you shouldnt, i do not wish to practice my craft on you just yet"
Listening to her she motions her head to the back of her "I do believe we have found him, not sure if you broke his house or not, but he seems to be okay"
Standing behind the cleric, the dwarf remarked, "Surely you are a worshiper of Selune, for your ample curves compliment the wonderous heavenly orb that cuts through Shar's darkness."
"Looking for a godlng, you say? I am the only one in the vicinity, as far as I'm aware. Unless the other godling has the Trickery Domain."
”Oh!” Startled she spun around, only to blush as the dwarf’s advances took her by surprise. ”Ah, no. I am sworn to Tyr-I…uhm, let’s start over.” She stammered as she went about healing her wounds and wiping vigor off of herself. Composing herself she said ”I am Gaelden, a monk and Paladin of Lord Tyr. And this is Astrillith, a mage of some talent. We have come to make you an offer to join our band, the Balanced Coin.” She glanced over at her tiefling comrade. Feeling like she was on the back foot she hoped that the magus had something to add.
In a bit more dry tone than before, the mentioned tiefling walks up to the dwarf and lazily extends a gloved hand to him
"Welcome, we have travelled quite a bit to find you, so we are hoping you would join, as my friend here asked, no pressure"
"Greetings, Lovely Garelden. I am Vondel Goldbeard. The Silvertongue. The Vergadainkral. Half-mortal son of Vergadain, The Merchant King. A pleasure to make your collective acquaintances!"
Vondal turns and offers a kindly nod as he turned to meet Astrillith. "Other half of the coin indeed. No matter." The charismatic dwarf takes the gloved hand and kisses it. "No one has any control over who their parents are or the line they come from. My father deals with devils all the time." The dwarf waves his hands dismissively at some hanging smoke.
"So? The Balanced Coin?" Vondal turns to the others with a smile. "The coin is a holy symbol of my father's. Let's see what he thinks."
Vondal flips the recovered gold coin up in the air, seemingly oblivious to the devastation around him. The dwarf catches it. "Heads. Well, Father approves. I'll join you. Anyone else thirsty? Let's see if the bar survived."
Her hand feels very fragile as he takes it, as if he could snap it with but a squeeze, yet she gives no indication that she in any type of pain or discomfort.
Once again in her dry tone, she speaks to Vondal "I wish to correct you, I do not have devil or demon ancestry, but daemon, from the plane of Abbadon. Though I can understand the confusion, as most of my so called kin are one of the two, seldom are they from where I get my ancestry"
She looks him up and down before speaking again "When we have a moment after your drinking escapade, I wish to take your measurements. Just in preparation if you meet your untimely end. I prefer to be a step ahead in such preparations. It does save some time."
"My sincerest apologies" Vondal nodded.
"Wouldn't be the first time a lady wanted to measure me. Won't be the last." The dwarf chuckled.
She laughs, a strange dry laugh "Ha ha ha ha ha. You made a joke. Ha ha ha. It is funny." even though the words were there, no mirth was seen on her face as she did so
"I am also glad you have decided to join us. Our destination will require one such as you." she looks at his coin, her green eyes seem to show some kind of glint but it's gone just as quickly as it came
Ceirn left the camp carrying a half dozen largely empty waterskins. The sound of rippling water came through the woods where the group had set up their camp and it fell on him to go and refill the skins while the others took care of the other various parts of setting up the camp.
As Ceirn approached the creek he kneeled and started filling up the waterskins. As he glanced up, the sharp eyed man noticed a glint of light off of something metal in the water about fifteen feet further downstream. He finished filling up the waterskins and hung them from a branch as he looked around and saw several slick stones that would let him jump over to a stone that was near the glinting light. Curiosity got the better of him, and Ceirn began bouncing along the wet rocks.
As Ceirn landed nimbly on the final stone, he immediately started to move into a crouch when a flash of silver shot out of the water at him. Ceirn reeled back in shock as the silvered form struck him in his right eye and sent him falling backwards into the cold water. He reached up to grab whatever was attacking him and managed to get a hold of the creature as he sat up spitting out cold water and looking to see a large fishes face that he now held. The fish struggled, but Ceirn held on and laughed as he sat in the icy water. He stood up and kept hold of the fish since it would help make dinner better after his troubles.
He then stepped forward and reached into the water to grab whatever was glinting in the water. Pulling it out, he saw that it was the metal mouth of a destroyed waterskin that had been discarded by someone in the past. Shaking his head, Ceirn returned to get the rest of the waterskins and returned dripping wet to camp with his catch.
On the road out, after recruiting Vondal to the Balanced Coin.
"Hey, everyone, did I ever tell you about the time I broke into jail and had to bribe my way back out?"
Jambreth strides alongside the rest of the group, idly playing with a copper coin, flipping it between his fingers, tossing it up and snatching it out of the air quickly.
"This was some time ago, so I bet the constabulary is long since over it, but there I was flush out-of coin and holding a rather large IOU for a card game. Not to mention the bill for dinner and drinks and such. My companions at the time were not really the sort to loan out coin or lend aid, either tight fisted or broke. Or, like my Towers partner Bell, just as unlucky as me."
He grins and tosses his hood back, chuckling a bit.
"But just then I heard snatches of a conversation between two town guardsmen, something about a local noble who'd gotten tossed into the drunk tank. Thinking fast, I nicked the keys off one of those pair, then snuck on over to the holding cells. Fairly simple, this wasn't any big metropolis or anything, but it turns out even nobles don't get locked up with their pouches and such intact."
"Long story short, I had to break little mister fancy pants out, to get his signet back out of evidence (where I may have procured enough gold to cover our debts), and greased the palms of the jailer with everything left. Needless to say, I put that town to my back and haven't looked back since."
Vondal chuckled at the elf. "Good story. Tymora was looking out for you that day!"
** spoiler omitted **
Can you give me a breakdown of all those rolls? Trying to follow, but not making sense
Yup. All stories are considered canon.
Though
If I was running that special purple worm, idve plan shifted Gaeldon end of the round... probably to baldurs gate.
Wouldve been an interesting side quest. "The hunt for gaeldon"
Sure! Do you mean Gaelden's rolls?
* To Hit: +8 (BaB) + 5 (Str) + 2 (Enchantment) +1/+0 (Guidance from familiar) = +16/+15/+10
* Damage: 1d10 (Base) + 10/7 (Str) + 2 (Enchantment) + 1 (LG) + 1 (Trait) + 1 (Race) = 1d10+15 / 1d10+12
* Divine Favor: +3 Hit +3 Damage (Invested Regent archetype)
* Smite: +5 Hit (cha) +4 dmg (lvl)
Or just in general? Rnd 1 Gaelden cast divine favor. The worm attacked her and hit. This caused a free grapple that succeeded. It had the swallow whole rule.
Round 2 she takes damage from being swallowed. She was 'grappled' so could still fight. Options were to fight (grappled), climb to its mouth (CMD), or cut her way out. Thanks to Astrillith, her damage was enough to kill it.
Anyways...I chose the monster because it was CR8 and looked like an interesting way to tell a story and roll some dice.
Because it might help...a breakdown of what this character can do.
In the post above I broke down Gaelden's melee offense. What I can add to it is that she can smite 2x times per day and can spend 2x ki points for smite. Smite can be used against evil and against chaos. So technically, that is up to 6 smites per day if ki isn't otherwise used. Otherwise, Ki is as normal for a monk. Usually, an extra attack.
For ranged, 5 times a day she can throw a spear. +11 to hit, 1d6+3 damage, 2 bleed. It's not much, but it's an option.
When it comes to abilities with limited use, she has smite, ki, lay on hands, and investiture (divine favor), her ranged spear attack, and for 8 hours a day mage armor.
That's about it. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
I am loving the RP! Can't wait for this campaign to get started!!
[dice=Hit]1d20+19+5
[dice=Damage]1d10+18+4[dice=Flurry of Blows]1d20+18+5
[dice=Damage]1d10+15+4[dice=Iterative]1d20+13+5
[dice=Damage]1d10+15+4[dice=Total Damage]28+26+29
...
ok. i think im tracking now.
you used smite evil (swift action) and did full round attack with flurry of blows, and the first notation "flurry of Blows" was your first attack, and the second attack is found under "iterative". correct?
"Surely you are a worshiper of Selune, for your ample curves compliment the wonderous heavenly orb that cuts through Shar's darkness."
that's a solid line