The walls are slimy brick, pretty much like the rest of the sewers.
Kjell's prodding flips over the body, and the muddy water drips away from its face, revealing it to be a bizarre, almost mummy-like corpse. It looks human-like, but shriveled as though something had drained all the muscle and power out of the body before leaving it here, yet the state of its clothing and hair seems to imply that it hasn't been dead for very long.
Taman's spell detects no magic in this area. However, he does feel an aura of ... something from the stone slab. Not any familiar magic, but there is an obvious power to it. Meanwhile, Krieger is stepping into the room, using his true-seeing abilities. He does not notice anything different from how it appeared to his eyes. However, he does sense something from the slab. Putting their knowledge together, the two can surmise that the glowing slab is imbued with a psionic power.
Duncan sifts through the muck for a while, but the only remains he dredges up are some bones that look to have come from a small animal, probably a rat or cat that wandered down into the sewers and fell prey to the otyughs' ambush.
Meanwhile, Lilly is unable to find any living rats that might be lurking around here.
Somewhat recovered from their battle, the group resumes their exploration, sticking to Taman's "right hand rule". With the exception of the occasional dead end, or sewer grate that just leads back upwards onto the streets, this seems successful at taking them deeper and deeper into the sewers... An hour and a half passes by, with nothing but trudging through mucky water. Just as it's starting to feel like you've been down here forever, the tunnel suddenly opens into a very different intersection.
This chamber is at least 35 feet in diameter and 20 feet high, much larger than any of the other sewer junctions. Dominating the center of the chamber is a flat slab of black onyx stone, standing upright. The thick slab is covered in a complex pattern of incandescent lines, glowing with a faint blue-green light.
Arranged around the periphery of the chamber are the unmoving, slumped forms of people! At least 30 individuals lie half-submerged in the sludge. Johana gasps. "A-are those people dead?" (In order to determine that, you'll need a closer look.)
With all of the party's combined attacks, the cornered creature falls down limp into the water, tentacles thrashing for a few moments before they fall silent in death.
End of combat.
Int (Arcana) DC 15:
Looking at the body, you can tell this resembles an otyugh. These creatures are aberrations that live in places of decay, such as garbage middens or sewer tunnels, and wait to ambush prey. They are sentient but not very smart (Int 7) and can communicate telepathically.
However, the things you just defeated are smaller than a normal otyugh. Perhaps some kind of variant.
There are three possible exit tunnels from this chamber, all of them slanting roughly upwards. The one the other monster fled down is in the center.
Wait, uh, I don't know what I was doing, but I think I've messed up the initiative somewhere along the line??
Sorry, guys. Everyone else go ahead and take your turns now, then we can just alternate between party/enemy after that. I'll make sure to be more careful about initiative whenever our next combat encounter comes around.
You can definitely still see it. The fact that it's glowing purple light doesn't hurt either.
Int save:1d20 - 2 ⇒ (19) - 2 = 17
The fleeing creature pauses as it proceeds down the tunnel. It almost turns, then ... continues to proceed away. It seems that even though Krieger's mental hold on it has loosened, it would still prefer to stay away, and go after easier prey next time.
Meanwhile, its companion is hit on all sides from Kjell, Lilly, and Duncan!
They have an AC of 15.
It roars in pain and looks visibly hurt, seeping a sticky not-quite-blood substance from its wounds. Backed into a corner, it lashes out with its tentacles, this time at Duncan...
Tentacle attack 1:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14 Tentacle attack 2:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
...missing both times.
Johana hangs back (skips her turn), not wanting to get too close.
Status
Monster #1 - After taking 41 damage, has fled the fight.
Monster #2 - Taken 60 damage. Looks "bloodied."
Taman is up.
Dex save:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Too entirely baffled by the psychic control that Krieger has exerted on it, the creature can do nothing to avoid the radiant flame that Taman casts.
It wails in pain and looks at Krieger, then telepathically transmits: I'm running! It reaches out with one tentacle to try and grab its companion, but the uninjured creature is too focused on the fighting, swatting away the prod. The charmed creature hisses, seems to give up on bringing its companion with it, then simply turns and runs, down one of the passageways in the back of the chamber.
Its companion, meanwhile, strikes out with both of its tentacles at Kjell...
Monster 2, tentacle attack:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10 Second tentacle attack:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26 Damage (it's a crit!):3d8 + 3 ⇒ (3, 2, 1) + 3 = 9
...who takes 6 bludgeoning & 3 piercing damage (it's a very underwhelming crit).
Now it's Kjell who is grappled in a pair of slimy tentacles.
I'm going to say that the one with Faerie Fire on it is the one which is grabbing Lilly. Sorry about not making that clear.
Kjell approaches, wading deeper into the water until it is up to the middle of his chest, and swings at the creature, but unfortunately misses.
Maeltheron's spells are more successful, all three of his rays connecting solidly with the creature, which hisses in pain.
Duncan has trouble hitting the wriggling tentacle at first, but does manage one solid punch.
Lilly wrote:
Is this an Aberration? Also, I didn't see anything that says she can't full attack while grappled... just can't move.
They are definitely aberrations. I will remind you (and everyone else) that I rule "intelligence checks to see what you know about a monster" as taking a bonus action.
Also... you can still attack while you're grappled, but the issue is that you're currently 10 feet away from your enemy, because its tentacles are a reach weapon and your battleaxe isn't. You can't move while grappled, so by RAW you can't attack this enemy at all. But that doesn't really make narrative sense if it's got its tentacles around you, so I'm going to rule that you cut the tentacle and escape but don't do actual damage to the creature. Okay?
Lilly's second axe swing connects with the tentacle and breaks its hold on her. The severed tentacle tip falls into the water with a splash, still wriggling wildly, as Lilly rights herself.
Monster Int save:1d20 - 2 ⇒ (7) - 2 = 5
Despite its severed limb, the creature suddenly stops flailing, seems to grow calm, and turns towards Krieger, looking directly at him.
Krieger suddenly receives a telepathic message from the creature:
Hurt! That one chopped me! Don't know what to do.
Meanwhile, Johana throws one of her daggers at the other creature (which still looks distinctly unfriendly).
Johana attack:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21 Johana damage:1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Status
Monster 1 = Taken 32 damage. Faerie fire'd. Has been charmed.
Monster 2 = Taken no damage so far.
Lilly is no longer grappled.
Taman is next in the initiative order.
Kjell dodges, but Lilly is hit for...
2d8 + 6 ⇒ (4, 3) + 6 = 132d8 ⇒ (8, 8) = 16
...a total of 13 bludgeoning damage and 16 piercing damage.
Additionally, the first tentacle impact wraps around one of her arms and grabs her, as the creature tries to pull her forwards!
Lilly, you are grappled. Also I think my dice don't like you, sorry, haha.
Everyone else may act now.
The tunnels wind on and on. The group consistently takes the right-hand option, and except for a few brief dead ends where the tunnels become too small, they continue to progress.
At one point Johana spots something stuck to the slimy bricks of the wall - a tattered piece of red cloth. She pulls it off and unfolds it, showing that it's a ripped handkerchief with the initials "J.G." embroidered on one corner. "This is Jordan's! We must be on the right track!"
After a total of another hour and ten minutes, the next notable junction the party reaches is another 20-foot square chamber. Those in the front rank start to wade forwards, expecting the water to remain only about a foot deep, but quickly realize that it slopes rapidly downwards.
Suddenly, Taman feels his dagger of warning alert him that there is danger ahead! Just as he starts to inform the others, the water at the center of the chamber starts roiling as two shapes rise up from beneath. The creatures are skinny, slimy things about 3 feet wide, with four legs, a gaping maw filled with rows of spiky teeth, and two long tentacles that shoot out from their bodies threateningly towards the party!
To help visualize: 20 foot square room. Near the walls the water is shallow and can be waded through (but it counts as difficult terrain, so everyone's speed is reduced by 5). About 5 feet away from the wall it drops off and goes down to 8 feet deep. The enemies are in the center of the room, the rest of you are emerging from a 10ft wide tunnel (so you are in the first marching order.
Jeez, this post involved a lot of dice rolling.
Taman is up!
I'll put Johana in the third rank (or after Duncan).
GM rolls:
t 1:1d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
The Stormport sewer system is extensive; true to its name, the city receives a great deal of rain, and so the sewer tunnels needed to be sprawling. In fact, parts of the labyrinthine system is repurposed from ancient tunnels that were once catacombs used by some long-forgotten inhabitants of the past, so most of the tunnels are large enough for people to move through easily. They otherwise appear (and smell!) like any other sewers.
The group begins their trek directly through the sewers. The tunnel extends for a considerable distance. After a full hour of unpleasant wading through unremarkable sludge, the tunnel slopes downward and ends in what is clearly a drainage chamber (20 feet square) made of slimy brick and vitrified clay. The water here is about 3 feet deep and contains bits of floating matter, giving off a stench even worse than the usual smell of the tunnels. There are two tunnels out of this room, both appearing identical to the one you entered from.
The grate lifts up easily at Kjell's powerful tug. Revealed below is the sewer entrance: a short drop down into a tunnel, branching off into the darkness, with a shallow layer of rank-smelling water at the bottom.
As the group peers down, Johana suddenly gasps and points to something stuck on the side of the grate, which was only revealed when it was pulled up. "Look at that!" She indicates a short tuft of dark hair. "That... I'm not sure, but that could be Jordan's hair."
As you go down into the sewer I'd like to know marching order (don't forget to include Johana and Eyeball!) as well as how you're handling light sources, for those who don't have darkvision.
The tunnel is wide enough for 2 people at a time but there will most likely be narrower tunnels later so I'd like to know a single-file order too, just to get it out of the way.
As they approach the grate, Duncan examines the gateway to the sewers for signs of recent use and anything else that might show if the man had been brought this way.
Nothing sticks out to you, but last night's snow makes it hard to tell whether the area has been disturbed.
Also, it's not a big deal, but in future please roll either Investigation or Perception (not both) -- there's some overlap where you could use either skill for the sort of thing you were just trying to do, but it's not really fair to do two skill checks for the same thing.
The grate is heavy; someone will have to make a (fairly easy) Strength check to lift it.
It would work, but the wrinkle is that Jordan's disappearance was two days ago, so you won't see anything notable happening with the pillow in the past 24 hours.
The last person to hold the pillow was Johana. You see her picking up the pillow and looking at it with alarm, then dropping it to run out of the room. It's pretty obvious this is when she first discovered her brother missing.
Maeltheron:
Nothing about the green stains reminds you of anything magical. However, they do smell extremely foul.
Kjell:
Johana nods. "He's interested in all sorts of herbalism, but he makes his money through tobacco products." The books on the desk, you notice, are scientific tomes about different kinds of plants and herbs.
Taman:
There is nothing magical nearby (with the exception of the wondrous items that you and your party members have).
Krieger & Duncan:
The window was obviously broken from the outside, but the door is entirely intact.
The greenish-brown substance smells awful, and you quickly realize that the scent is that of some kind of sewage. As you peer out Jordan's window to the alleyway beyond, you spot a sewer grate nearby, half-hidden by trash and frozen slush. You can guess that whatever abducted Jordan may have come up from the city's sewer system.
No posts for a day = I'll go ahead and move the story along :)
Duncan:
Your sleep was troubled by strange, disturbing dreams. You can't remember much of the nightmares when you wake up, but you remember being chased by shadowy figures through continually twisting alleyways, all the while trying to keep a lantern alight, but the flame continued to sputter and die despite all your efforts.
Kjell:
Your sleep was troubled by strange, disturbing dreams. You can't remember much of the nightmares when you wake up, but you remember watching snow falling, blizzard upon blizzard, until even a hardy northerner like you could feel the cold, and slowly everything went dark.
Krieger:
Last night you had a dream, unusually clear and vivid. You stood alone on a vast, dark plain, featureless and stretching out in all directions. The sun hung above you, but it was redder and darker than it should have been, and even your svirfneblin eyes, accustomed to the darkness of the underground, could look straight at it without discomfort. As you watched, suddenly, you saw a dark shape ripple over the edges of the sun, and a chunk of it was smoothly removed - as though some gigantic creature had taken a bite from the sun's disk. Then it lowered and set, and the plain was plunged into a deep darkness - not the comforting dark of your underground home but one that felt cold and ominously final.
Lilly:
As you were getting ready to settle in for the night, Handsome John allowed you to bring Eyeball inside the inn with you, rather than leaving the little creature out in the cold. Your sleep was troubled by strange, disturbing dreams. You can't remember much of the nightmares but you remember looking up at a night sky that had no stars, and becoming desperate when you realized you couldn't remember what the constellations used to look like. You woke up in the middle of the night suddenly and Eyeball, resting next to your head, peered down at you and let out a comforting "caaw" before you eventually fell back asleep.
Taman:
Your sleep was troubled by strange, disturbing dreams. You can't remember much of the nightmares but you remember sitting in the center of a dark, featureless plain and trying to summon up fire. You could feel a bright presence next to you and knew it was your patron Mordoloth, but just couldn't call forth the light that you knew he should be able to grant you. You heard Mordoloth give a rueful laugh and then felt his presence fade away.
Maeltheron:
As an elf, you of course don't sleep. But as your companions settled in for the night, you felt a sudden odd urge to look at the stars in the sky. Patches of snowy clouds covered most of them, and although from your window you could spot a few stars you knew, something about the sight made you feel uneasy. Your meditations during your nightly trance were somewhat troubled and not as restful as usual.
The man continues to stare at Mael, looking puzzled and annoyed. "I have much greater concerns than chasing some mysterious monster, to help some drunk woman I've never met!"
Over at the bar the free drinks line has dissipated and Handsome John turns his attention towards you. Hearing the raised voices and the confrontation of the older man, John calls out "Everything all right over there?" and you notice his enforcers warily eying your table as well, thinking there might be some kind of fight about to break out.
Apologies if I'm not posting as often as I ought to over this weekend. I've been packing up all of my stuff in preparation for moving back to school. I'll have a post up for tonight in a bit though.
Duncan:
You can see that his notes are covered in what looks like mathematical equations. There are also a lot of patterns of numerous dots connected by lines (some straight and some curved).
Int check for Duncan:1d20 ⇒ 11To see how much you recognize what you're looking at. Hope you don't mind me making the roll for you, it saves time.
You recognize one of the patterns as a constellation you're familiar with and although you don't know what the equations mean, you guess that in general his notes are some kind of astronomical observations.
Krieger:
He seems a bit uncomfortable about the commotion, but you don't think it's because of anything specific Johana is saying, just the fact she's crying and describing hauntings and abductions and so on.
"I am-- I am on my way home," the man says to Mael, looking taken aback. "I've finished my drink, and I have important things to do. You too surely have greater concerns than when I head out of a tavern."
The woman seems surprised, yet grateful at Taman & Kjell's eagerness to help her. She takes a moment to calm herself and says, "My name is Johana– Johana Grethe, and my brother is Jordan Grethe, I should have said. He... he was always a bit odd, you see, Some said he was– touched in the head– but I always knew he was just... sensitive. Lately he'd been troubled by terrible dreams, oh!" She looks deeply ashamed. "A-and I was awful! I said it was nothing and he'd been eating too many stewed mushrooms! But he said he had these nightmares he was being haunted by something called a ... phthisic." She carefully enunciates the strange word. "A-and then one night his window was broken and he was just gone– vanished and no one knows anything about it and oh I should have listened to him!"
She bursts into yet another round of sobs. A few people at nearby tables give odd looks to the sight of the young half-elf diligently taking notes as the woman cries, including the older man who had been absorbed in scribbling some kind of diagrams. He gathers up his papers, still muttering something to himself, and starts heading out of the bar (passing by the table with Mael and the others as he goes).
Upon Taman's entry, a few of the tavern's regular patrons start groaning or mumbling to themselves in annoyance, as they've heard his routine before and find his incessant cheerfulness somewhat irritating. However, the tone changes as soon as he breaks out the gold. The bar is soon swarmed with people looking to take advantage of the free drinks, and Handsome John grumbles as he starts hurriedly processing their orders.
The woman stares up at the two who are offering help, starting in surprise when Kjell's drink slams the table. Wiping her eyes, she says shakily, "Thank you sirs, though I don't know how much help you'll be. I-I just don't know what to do. My brother's gone missing and the City Watch won't help me find him-- they think I'm just h-hysterical. Oh! They just don't know how Jordan is!" She bursts into sobs.
Most of the tavern's clientele don't seem different from the usual, but Maeltheron does notice a few things. First, behind the bar there are two stern dark-haired dwarven warriors. These are the Brothers Bleak-- Handsome John keeps them on as enforcers in case some kind of brawl were to break out, but they look particularly on edge today. Also you see two patrons who are sitting by themselves: a gray-bearded old human man who is muttering as he sketches something on a piece of paper, and a pale human woman who appears to be sniffling and holding back tears as she nurses her drink.
-
John nods and, in exchange for one silver piece, hands Kjell a mug of stout ale.
Dimorphodon
Small beast, unaligned
Armor Class 13 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points 8 (2d6+1)
Speed 10ft., fly 60ft.
Senses: darkvision 60ft, passive perception 12
-
STR 8 (-1) | DEX 14 (+2) | CON 12 (+1) | INT 3 (-4) | WIS 14 (+2) | CHA
6 (-2)
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Keen Smell. The dimorphodon has advantage on Wisdom (Perception)
checks that rely on scent.
-
Actions:
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or take an additional 2d6 poison damage.
The above is before adding the beastmaster companion features on, of course. All I actually did was take a blood hawk (CR 1/8), shift the ability scores slightly, and add the poison rider effect onto its bite (based on the poisonous snake statblock).
Gameplay tab is now open with an intro post, sorry!
@Lilly: wow, a dimorphodon is adorable, you can absolutely keep Eyeball that way. I will look at the stats and we can work out a conversion, or maybe just re-skin an existing 5e animal.
Each of you recently received a cryptic note from Aleanor Pathsteader, an elven ranger whom you've worked with in the past. It read:
Meet me at the Sign of the Fair Warrior in Stormport, on the next new moon. Something extraordinary is happening, and you need to know about it. The ranks of the Elect are swelling.
– Aleanor Pathsteader
Stormport is a bustling mid-size free city on the edge of the northern sea; its population is mostly human, but with sizable minorities of elves, half-elves, and halflings. The Sign of the Fair Warrior is one of the city's nicer inns, owned by a heavily scarred old human veteran known as Handsome John (the nickname is presumably ironic).
You've all made your way here with one day to spare; the next new moon, when you await Aleanor, is tomorrow. The tavern area of the Fair Warrior is, as usual, filled with the hustle and bustle of people chatting and the scent of pipe smoke. The prevailing subject of discussion is the unseasonable snows the land has been having lately: after a harsh winter, the relief of spring's arrival was shut down by some cold snaps and snow flurries, and folks are worried about the farmers' crops.
You can go ahead and do some introductions, RP amongst yourselves, or just dot into the thread before we kick things off on the next day.
House rules in campaign info tab. Besides the ranger, I remembered a couple of other things I usually do that I thought I should include. Would appreciate feedback on the interlude idea in particular. I have been wanting to try it out, but I might have to see how it works in play.
And I set up a GM alias for myself too... although I might forget to use it, haha.
@our warlock: A "full" caster would definitely be good, since we already have a Bladesinger wizard doing the "melee/caster hybrid" thing.
@Lilly: The one question I had about your backstory is what kind of beast Eyeball actually is? (Also I have a couple of personal house rules about the beastmaster ranger class– I will put them up in the campaign info tab soon.)
