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Pneumonia + COVID? Oh, yikes, that's quite the double whammy. I have a friend who had pneumonia about a decade ago and cracked a rib from coughing because of it. It probably would have been even worse if he'd had to worry about getting COVID, as well. I hope that your recovery to as good a point as you can get goes well.
I'm game for it. We've had 3 so far, but maybe a 4th can get us through.
I hope they're okay.
I am still here. Had problems posting the past couple days.
I have either just made a terrible decision or a Big Darn Hero moment, and only time will tell which it is.
If those assassins got to the Sun Shaman, they would never find the answers they needed. Garran took off, running, the magical haste causing him to speed through the tents, past the assassin dueling Kyras, trying to get in front of the two and get between them and the Sun Shaman.
Is the tent of the Sun Shaman the big structure on the right of the map?
Garran engages the Mantis Assassin before him, adopting a slightly less defensive posture to try and end the threat quickly.
Am I up with everyone else? It says "Done" next to my name in the Initiative tracker.
Garran continued his advance, stepping up to the next Red Mantis assassin and attacking him with several rapid blows.
Garran continued battling the Red Mantis Assassin before him.
Garran turns towards the next group of Red Mantis Assassins and says, "Let's strike, one group at a time. Those ones next." Even with the Defensive enchantment from Seltyn on him, Garran is still somewhat cautious as he engages the next Red Mantis.
With the attack, Garran had grabbed his sword and shield. He doesn't have any armor on, so he knows he's rather vulnerable at the moment. "Seltyn, Alika, can either of you cast an armoring spell on me for the fight? I don't have time to don my armor." Once any defensive spells are cast on him, Garran cautiously moves forward to battle one of the mantises next to Alistair.
Once they are alone, Garran says, "Before we met the Skoan-Quah, in those spirit visions, was anyone told of any other trials? Maybe there's something we can do to earn the information."
Garran is rather surprised by the vehemence with which the Sun Shaman refutes their request - or that he even spoke at all. He follows the chieftain out of the tent to the fire, and answers after Kyras, "For me, there are a couple of reasons. Korvosa is my home, and while I do not always have fond memories of it, it doesn't change my history. The second is that I don't think this evil is one you can simply walk away from and move somewhere else. I think it will grow and spread, eventually consuming all of Varisia and perhaps beyond. Sometimes the only way to avoid the evil is to stand against it."
Continuing to address the Chief, Garran said, "We have spoken with Thousand Bones, shaman of the Skoan-Quah. He told us of something we week - a sword with which we can destroy the evil artifact known as the Midnight's Teeth. We believe that Queen Ileosa, of Korvosa, has found this vile artifact within the pyramid your people once guarded. We believe the evil of this artifact will spread beyond the walls of Korvosa and threaten all in Varisia and perhaps beyond. We have come seeking knowledge of where to find the sword of Mandraivus."
Garran responds to the chieftain, "Seltyn possesses the Thrallkeeper's Mark, and Kyras has been swallowed by Cindermaw and cut himself free using only a dagger. Akram, Truthspeaker of the Lyrune-Quah, has borne witness to this deed, and can attest to it. I also competed with Krojun in a game of sredna and lasted longer than expected, I think. Krojun is a mighty warrior, however, and bested me in the end." Garran hoped that the recitation of their deeds was sufficient, and gestured for Seltyn to show the Thrallkeeper's Mark.
Garran looks at the chief, avoiding looking at the Sun Shaman, and says, "I am Garran Fain, a caravan guard and mercenary. We are honored to be in your presence, chief of the Sklar-Quah." He does not address the Sun Shaman, for they are not to speak to him. He also leaves out being from Korvosa - no sense in aggravating either the Shaman or the Chief.
Garran takes the offered hand and says, "When we have time, I may take you up on that offer. You are right, however, that we are here for more important things. We have come to see the Sun Shaman." He deferentially allows Akram and the other Shoanti to speak further.
"I don't blame them, either. Korvosa hasn't exactly been kind to them." Hopefully the Trial of Totems would help them fully earn the trust of the Sun Shaman.
"I could try hunting something down for them. I'm not particularly good at it, but in my time as a caravan guard, sometimes we had to hunt to make sure there was enough food for the journey."
"Sounds like a plan to me. Do you need us to assist in keeping watch overnight?"
Got COVID, will post when capable.
Garran continues just running.
"Can anyone summon something it can eat? Like a big, fat, slow horse? Maybe that will slow it!"
"Let's go! Move clear." Garran suits action to words, hustling away from the area.
”Seltyn, summon more things that are weak enough not to significantly hurt Cindermaw that can give us cover for our escape. Kyras, get some more distance.” Garran continues moving back as he hunkers behind his shield.
I will be on vacation beginning Sunday through next Friday. I will be mobile limited, so I might be able to get an update in depending.
Garran continues keeping his distance, hunkering down behind his shield.
"Looks like it. Let's try to keep out of reach." Maintaining his defensive stance, Garran backs away from Cindermaw, making sure it has to close distance to get to him.
Garran hunkers behind his shield. Should've seen that coming. He continues his defensive stand, even as Kyras begins stabbing Cindermaw to get its attention.
Garran draws out his shield, and adopts a defensive stance so that if Cindermaw comes at him, he can hopefully avoid its attack. "Move up, Kyras. Get yourself eating distance."
That's what I was thinking. Nonlethal ranged attacks might be the best option for us to start. Or, if it breaks off the attack once it swallows Kyras, we can just shadow it but not attack. Theoretically we can keep up for a few rounds, since Haste is multi-target.
I have nothing that will help other than a few cure mod potions. I'm pretty sure the extent of our contributions in this endeavor are to avoid getting swallowed in place of Kyras and otherwise provide sufficient distraction that Cindermaw doesn't move too far away.
I think a dagger was all we had - none of us had a short sword.
"agreed. Ready as I can be."
I mean, you can always just try to jump into its open mouth. I'm sure its maw will be wide open. I'll let Alika answer about healing from a distance. I'm obviously not equipped for that.
Does it still cost an Inspiration to use it again on an attacker? EDIT: Looks like Resist Energy (fire) might be called for, as well.
Yes, but Studied Combat takes a move action, so he'd only be able to make one attack with Studied Strike per turn. I don't know if the extra d6's from the Studied Strike would outweigh the static damage of multiple attacks in a round. I'd save the Studied Strike for the last round of Studied Combat, and take advantage of the static damage from Studied Combat until then to make multiple attacks in a round.
Kyras makes a lot of good points, and I agree with them. Once we factor in all the buffs, Kyras is the best choice to be swallowed. However, I think we need to make sure that utilizing those buffs doesn't count as automatically failing the test of Cindermaw. If we aren't allowed to buff, then Garran might be the best choice, simply by virtue of having the most HP. For what it's worth, I'm not sure how beneficial ablative barrier would be. If you take too much nonlethal, even after other protections, and fall unconscious before getting out, I don't think one of us will be able to get in there and finish cutting the way out before you die.
Had to dig back to last year's posts to find that stuff.
"Thank you for the healing. We have come here because the Queen of Korvosa may have found an ancient, evil artifact called the Midnight's Teeth, and it has caused her to become a tyrant. The one who discovered this information learned of the artifact and said that the Skoan-Quah may be able to help us. We met with a shaman known as Thousand Bones, who told us of the sword of Mandravius as possibly being the only weapon that could stop the person under the effects of the Midnight's Teeth, and that the Sun Shaman of the Sklar-Quah was the only one who could provide that information. We would seek to gain the Sun Shaman's trust by undertaking the Trial of Cindermaw, and Thousand Bones suggested that gaining the trust of a Truthspeaker to witness our attempt at the trial would be necessary. He said you were the last Truthspeaker in the region, so we were hoping you would be amenable to doing so."
We need a Truthspeaker so one of us can jump down the stomach of a giant bulette and cut our way out, right? I'm remembering that correctly?
Garran nodded at the Truthspeaker and said, "We have much to speak to you about."
"Could have been worse, but that frog-thing bit and clawed me a couple times.. Should we take a moment to make sure wounds are taken care of before we investigate further?"
Ah, okay. I thought he was retrieving a wand or a rod of some kind. That was how I interpreted it. never mind on the AoO, then.
Hey GM, retrieving an item normally provokes an attack of opportunity. Should we roll those? Also, I have the Disruptive feat, so the DC to defensively cast the spell increases by 4. I have Step Up, too, if the daemon tries to 5-foot step away to avoid that.
Ugh, round of bad rolls there. |
