So things seem to have slowed down to a crawl on y'all's part. Something I should know?
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Thom: You have seen no case at any point. You're not sure which locker Rivereye was planning to open. Fist: Looking from the balcony, you can see the battle continues to rage, although there doesn't seem to be much to see at ground level. Most of the combat seems to be in the frigid skies, as the Ragesians attempt to drop explosives on the city while the Gate Pass griffon riders fight to defend it. As you turn to return the rest of the group, you are surprised by an odd sight. It appears that five or so people are unconscious and bound on the floor. Four of them seem to be wearing the livery of the Depository guards and the fifth is a hideously ugly gnome, stripped to his underclothes.
Torrent steps around the edge of lockers and calls upon the power of Melora to heal Gomi. As she glances around wondering what to do next, a group of guards, two dwarves and two half-orcs, pounds up the ramp with weapons drawn and demands that everyone surrender. One of the dwarfs opens a panel on the wall near the ramp and appears to disable the lightning trap. "Put your weapons down!" growls one of the half-orcs. Fist, meanwhile, continues to chase after the fleeing Riverye. He races up the ramps to the fourth floor and out a door to one of the balconies just in time to see the gnome make an impossible jump of over 30 feet, clearing the 20 foot high fence and landing lightly on the sloped, snow-covered rooftop of a building. He then quaffs a potion, falls off the roof, and floats down to the crowd on the city street below.
This is an interesting issue. I certainly don't think this encounter falls into the unwinnable category or TPK, since I have a definite fall-back plan, but it does a subtle job of making you think about just attacking everything.
Fist dashes up the ramp as fast as his half-orc legs can take him, but at its top he discovers that there is another floor, with another ramp headed up to the fourth floor across the room. It is likely that Rivereye's direct assent up the side of the building is much faster than anyone would be able to take the ramps. That said, it's not clear where he might go from the top floor of the building.
A hum and a crackle are followed by a blast of lightning that fires across the north end of the room (Row D) blasting into Audric . Initiative Audric
That's a nasty death effect at this level. It is pretty harsh. You're just lucky that you bloodied and killed it in the same round, so it couldn't use the Immediate Reaction twice on you. This fight exists, to certain extent, to make it clear that you aren't necessarily expected to win every fight in this campaign.
Map.
Initiative Audric
Rivereye glances back over his shoulder, curses in Elven, and then says a phrase in a magical tongue (aranearym soleai). His boots glimmer with an eldritch light and he scampers up the wall as if he were a fly, sticking to the underside of the balcony above and clambering over the balcony to its top. Soon, Thom has lost all sight of him. Initiative Audric
Torrent raises her holy symbol blindly and mutters a prayer to Melora. A wash of water rains down on her, washing the blood from her eyes. . Initiative Audric (concealed, blind) <==
As Fist's maul smashes into the ground, the wisp's final scream begins to echo throughout the room and its remnants explode in a powerful flash of light searing the eyes of all in the room.
Initiative Audric (concealed, blind)
Taking advantage of the Wisp's momentary distraction, Fist lets out a wild roar as he strikes with his maul, smashing the column of flame into the ground. It gutters once and then goes out with a fading scream.
Initiative Audric (concealed)
Sorry, just a lot going on in life right now.
Gomi dashes across the room, losing sight of the column of flame, which takes advantage of the opportunity and lashes him across the shoulders .
Gomi then stabs the flame wisp in the heart of its flickering fire. The wisp gives an inhuman scream but continues to burn and crackle, glaring at Gomi. Another pop and hum and a bolt of lightning fires again across the bottom section of the room. Initiative Flame Wisp (cursed, marked, preferred enemy, bloodied)
Fist dashes down the ramp and leaps toward the wisp of flame, swinging his maul over his head. The wisp shudders slightly in the air and the blinding light it gives off is just enough to throw off Fist's aim, sending the maul arcing to its side, barely missing. Initiative Flame Wisp (cursed, marked, preferred enemy)
Thom dashes past the flame wisp, and it lashes out with a whip of flame, catching Thom across the shoulders as he shields his eyes from the glare . Thom, hurt but still standing, continues across the room and out the door. Once there, Thom looks around the balcony and is met with an awesome and stunning view of the battle at the city’s western gate, about a mile and a half away. Fire lights up the western sky, the result of wyvern-bombing and of trebuchets hurling flaming balls of pitch into the city. A squadron of Gate Pass griffon riders swoops over the nearby city rooftops, heading to join the struggle, battle horns blaring. As Thom tilts his head back to watch the griffons pass, he spots Rivereye clambering his way up the wall of the depository, headed for the balcony of the third floor above. Thom raises a finger and fires an illusionary bolt, which causes the gnome to halt his progress and slide a bit down the surface of the wall. Initiative Flame Wisp (cursed)
Reach: With a reach weapon, you can attack enemies that are 2 squares away from you as well as adjacent enemies, with no attack penalty. You can still make opportunity attacks only against adjacent enemies. Likewise, you can flank only an adjacent enemy.
Audric dashes forward, dodging past the flame wisp. The creature raises a lash of fire to strike him as he moves past but then hesitates and doesn't take advantage of the opportunity to attack. Audric's blast in return flies wide of the column of flame. Rivereye takes advantage of the distraction created by the flame wisp and leaps to his feet. He scampers to the door to the north, which appears to have been propped open a bit to allow for an easy escape. Once out the door, he disappears from view. Initiative Flame Wisp (cursed)
Arrika's halberd swings over Rivereye's prone body, just missing him. . Torrent strides around the end of the row of lockers, brandishing her battleaxe. She swings with fury but misses the flame wisp, tearing a notch in the lockers beside her. The wisp of flame floats away from Gomi and Torrent and fires a blast of radiant energy at Fist on the ramp, but the ray smacks against the side of the ramp harmlessly. Initiative: Flame Wisp (cursed)
This is a pretty gentle ramp, only ascending 20' total, so you could hop down without an acrobatics roll from Row G or H. Anywhere higher than that would involve a bit of damage and falling prone.
Gomi slides forward . Using his ability to manipulate his shape, he briefly disorients the flame creature and then, despite the bright glare cast by the creature, slides his short sword into it. The flame screams inhumanly, but continues to fight. Again, there is a crackle of ozone, a brief hum, and then another blast of electricity fires across the far side of the room (row C). Initiative: Flame Wisp (cursed)
Fist: Spoiler:
You're not in the aura. Fist shoves the gnome and the little creature (which weighs more than a small gnome really should) goes flying off the ramp and lands on the ground below with a thud. Initiative: Flame Wisp (cursed)
Thom's silvery bolt of magic slams into the gnome, but he doesn't look hurt too badly. A musical voice, ringing with soft chimes, floats from the column of flame, speaking common: "I cannot allow you to stand in Larion's way. His mission is paramount." Initiative: Flame Wisp (cursed)
Thom: Spoiler: This is a Wisp Solon, an elemental beast (fire). It is immune to disease, poison, and fire and resistant to necrotic damage. Solons are elemental beings that seek to right wrongs and bring peace. They are often allied with good wizards and sorcerers. A solon invokes a righteous fear that few can stand against. Solons flare up in a righteous light when seriously hurt and release all their life energy in a bright radiant blast when they die.
Audric moves between the lockers toward the wisp of flame. As he moves closer, the bright light cast from the column of flame makes him squint as he fires his eldritch blast, causing him to fire wide with the magical bolt . Rivereye knocks Arrika's halberd from his chest and leaps to his feet, simultaneously drawing a rapier from beneath his robes. He slashes at Fist, but the floor's slant makes him miss. Initiative: Flame Wisp (cursed)
The "gnome" glares at the halberd's tip pointing at his chest, cowed but still glancing about for some sort of get-away route. Torrent shouts to Fist, "Don't let him escape. We need the case!" Before the echoes of her cry die down, there is a flash of light, and a small column of wispy flame appears in the room (E7). There is a vaguely humanoid shape to the column and a pair of brightly glowing eyes can be seen glaring at Fist. Indeed, a blast of radiant light flies from the wisp's eyes, striking Arrika in the head .
Initiative: Flame Wisp
Fist dashes up the ramp and shoves Rivereye but only manages to knock him to his knees. Initiative: Gomi
Thom:
Spoiler:
Arcana doesn't tell you much about the fleeing figure. You get the sense that he is just an accomplished actor, rather than any sort of shapechanger or illusionist. Thom dashes to the foot of the ramp and fires a bolt of black energy that strikes the gnome and forces him to stumble back down the ramp. Almost immediately a low hum begins to fill the air, followed by a massive electrical discharge as a bolt of lightning fires across the room . Initiative: Gomi
Rivereye ignores Audric and continues to dash up the ramp . As he runs, it seems that he is taller than he appeared before, as if he was hunching when you were talking to him but is now standing up straight. Initiative: Gomi
Rivereye Badgerface takes your group to the second floor and pauses in front of one of the many lockers arranged in rows. "Alright, Peppin," Rivereye growls as he reaches for the locker. "What's the password for the case?" Torrent glances around at your party and explains to the gnome that Peppin is not with you. "He was captured by inquisitors," she explains. Rivereye's hand stops reaching for the locker, and he peeks over his shoulder at you, grins a bit sheepishly, and bolts for the ramp headed up.
Torrent leads you inside the Depository, essentially a bank in which wealthy citizens store their valuables. The first floor of the tower is one huge room, and though the far side is hidden in shadows, it looks to be about sixty feet in diameter. A broad stone ramp circles clockwise upward to the left of the door, while the interior of the room is filled with aisles of metal lockers, each slightly larger than a coffin propped upright. Squat round columns twenty feet high support the ceiling. Standing at the top of the ramp leading up to the second floor is a small figure that shuffles forward into the light. Upon seeing the group, the gnome heads down the ramp and nods to you. A pug-faced, ugly gnome with blue robes and a runny nose. He looks at you when he reaches the floor and sneezes. “I hear the war outside,” says the gnome between coughs. “Good to be in here. Very safe.” He clumsily turns around and begins to ascend the ramp, “Follow me, Peppin, it is time to conduct our business.”
As Fist waves the shiny object in front of the grate, Kiki begins to scrabble out of the pipe, trying to catch the coin. The weasel pulls its way over Thom, climbing up his body to the alley street, where Fist grabs him. Thom pulls himself out of the filthy pipe, holding a small, muck-covered box. Thom: Spoiler:
it reveals: A finely crafted +1 duelist’s dagger, a gold ring with a 100 gp amethyst, a potion of healing, and 30 gp. When you carry the frightened weasel back to Corian, he is thrilled at his pet’s return and heads back to shelter. He doesn't bring up any mention of reward or payment.
You hurry to catch up to Torrent and Arrika, whom you find waiting for you a few streets toward the Depository. As you continue on, you see the dark needle of the Depository Tower long before the guarded gate appears along the roadway. Now as you come to the massive iron gates, four well-armed guards, three orcs and a dwarf, snap to greater attention and prepare for a challenge. In a respectful voice, the dwarf asks for the required owner’s key, which Torrent produces. He and the other guards visibly relax. “The riots have us all on edge, please forgive our harsh diligence,” the dwarven guard says as he tests the key on a special lock plate. He hands it back mechanically when the latch opens. Placing his lips against the opening, he whispers something and the large cogs and gears on the sides of the gates rumble and turn. In a moment, the way is open and one of the orc guards clumsily gestures a welcome for all to enter.
You count four other guards patrolling the grounds, dwarves and orcs again, and continue towards the large double iron doors that are the only entrance to the central structure. Once again, Torrent’s key is used and the orc guard speaks a secret phrase to gain entrance.
While Fist tries to soothe the weasel with calming words, Audric and Thom get to work going after the little creature. It hisses at Fist, baring sharp, bright-white teeth, and backs up a bit further into the pipe. Audric, meanwhile, manages to pry the grate up from its muck-covered fastenings and slide it out of the way. Grimacing, Thom rolls up his sleeves, lies down on his belly and begins to slide into the sewer grate, head-first, while his companions hold his feet. Thom:
Spoiler:
As you wiggle your way forward on elbows and kness, you notice a small box half-buried in the muck in the drain. Meanwhile, Arrika and Torrent continue their travel to the depository for a few minutes when Torrent stops and curses. "I guess we have to wait for everyone else. I can't believe they're wasting time with a foolish merchant's pet. Mark my words: he probably won't even give them a reward, even if they find the damned thing."
Thom peers around the gloom just in time to see the weasel scamper through wrought-iron fence and dash into a dead-end alley. Before anyone can stop it, it squeezes between the bars of a sewer grate, headed for the pipes. You'll have to move quickly to keep it from squeezing into the pipes under the grate and disappearing forever.
Gomi peers about the temple grounds but doesn't seem much beyond shadows and overgrown weeds. Somewhere, an echoing boom rolls over the city, reminding you that the attack is still ongoing, in fits and spurts.
Sehanine is god of the moon and Autumn, as detailed in the PHB. You can use that information for most purposes.
Fist starts in the direction indicated by the distraught merchant and soon catches sight of the animal's tracks, leading through the mud and ash of the city streets. Before long, he realizes that they lead to an abandoned temple. "Ah, the old temple to Sehanine," says Thom, following behind. "I'd forgotten this was still here. I think I remember the old password to open the gate ... portamlunae aperi." At the sound of his voice, the rusted gate swings open, allowing you access to the temple grounds. After trudging through the un-maintained hedges, you find the temple door. "Kiki definitely came this way," says Fist. Audric steps to the door and with a twist of his wrist and a popping sound unlatches the old lock mechanism, allowing you all to enter the dusty building.
You are headed east to the Depository and Corian is motioning that the weasel headed north.
Turning his attention to the man, he replies, "And where did you see him last?" Sniffling and wiping his nose with the back of his lace-covered hand, the man smudges dirt from his clothes across his face (or, perhaps, dirt from his face onto his clothes; it's hard to say which is dirtier). "My name is Corian, and Kiki is my pet dire weasel. My house was just struck by a bomb, and though, luckily, the building didn't burn, the sound spooked Kiki, and she escaped through a smashed window. I'm worried, because, although she’s usually friendly, she might injure someone if she stays out. And gods know what could happen to her in this mess!" Corian waves to the north and says, "I think Kiki ran off that way. Please help me!"
Thom knows time is running short, but he just cannot ignore the calls of the man. He turns to the gentleman, and asks,"Are you ok, sir?" His voice sounding forlorn and devastated, the man turns, his eyes brimming, and runs towards you crying, “Please, will you help me find my baby?”
As you turn back to the gate between the two districts of Gate Pass, a shadow-cloaked figure steps out of an alley and approaches your group. It nods to Torrent and says, "I'm here." "Ah, Gomi," she exhales. "I was hoping you'd find us. We missed you at the Pub. Bounty hunters ... Black Horse, I think. Introductions are for later; We're headed to the meet with Rivereye." Finally passing through the gate, the depository is in sight. Eighty feet tall, it flickers with oranges and reds from the fires beneath. Long, garishly colored banners hang from the roof to the topmost balcony. They drift lazily in the thermal currents, displaying the latest merchant advertisements. To your left, you hear a well-dressed man calling out in a plaintive voice, “Kiki, please come out, it’s fine now! Please, Kiki!”
Xabulba. We'll get you in momentarily. Torrent will introduce you to the rest of the group as a fellow member of the Resistance and someone she was hoping would meet at the Poison Apple Pub. Then you're on board. Organized Play Characters
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Xevi Tanara
Qa'dar Basil
Studidious Rex
Andoran Jones
Arato tel' Kalina
An-Nar
