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The ogrekin might say 'Tis but a scratch', but he lacks the wit for that.
What he can do is punch Briggi.
By the way, Foxy, what map exactly do you need? Not sure if it makes sense to put up the overivew map. It has a grid but it is even lacking a scale.
"Less talking, more walking. I'm still hungry."
The large skeleton has a medium greataxe. Moving around and searching is an annoying task, as everytime Ohrmizd comes too close to a statue, its head rotates and spews out the unhealthy mist. The human sized skeletons have nothing on them and also the vultures have no pockets to search in. And no one has stored treassure in the garden since last time you looted it.
The weather is nice, the sun shines and only a few white clouds like cottonballs dot the blue sky. The birds come looking at who plays such a wonderful melody and join in chirping along. Tarjun takes his first step of becoming a disney princess. :D
Before you ask again why we are stuck. I don't have the spells known for Clara anywhere. Which is a pain in the butt. I need to choose again and cross check if these actually are the ones I used so far.
Clara comes back out of the Johnson house with a "fresh" set of clothes. Some too short pants that fit her last year and a shirt with half a dozen patched holes. She puts on her shoes and proclaims "I'm ready to go." She wastes no thought about the tub full of soapwater she left behind or the fire that still gleams under the kettle.
Ernhild runs towards the monster and jumps the last distance to bring her warhammer down on the abberation. In the process she gets hit herself with a free tentacle and also slides down into sewer. There she stands hip deep in stinking water.
I'm wondering what level you are @Omari. The line that comes with your posts tells 12, the mechanics in the profile tell 13 and I think it should be 14. Anyway - for all up to level 15 please. Wouldn't want to do that level up for only a single boss fight.
Some time earlier Neither Davashum, nor Jhavhul have the hots for harpies. So the usual way of charming up to the big guy didn't work out for Undrella. But as a silent shadow in the sky there is much to be learned. On a trek led by two Jann offices to bring new prisoners from Kelmarane to the Pale Mountain.
Merry Christmas!
Another wish is made to grant a companion. Sharzathared and her companions retreat to a luxurious inn to await the outcome of the fight against Jhavhul. With some magic the party leaves to Kelmarane and from their via air back to the Pale Mountain. High in the crags of Pale Mountain, the crumbling domes and minarets of the House of the Beast still stand stark against the mountain sky. The ancient temple is just as desolate as before, but an ominous tension seems to cloak the fallen stones and cracked towers, as if the world itself was holding its breath, forlornly waiting for the end to come. There are none of Jhavhul's allies seen here. No efreet, no janni, no gnolls. The only thing out in the open are about a dozen harpies circling over the place and sitting on its spires.
You take the stats, but you don't take Shazathared. You simply wish for a versatile, competent support to fill in for the weaknesses of the current party. And then a random bard pops up who has by chance the same stats as Shazathared. You're not wishing from an evil genie. If you want that, you have to ask for a wish from Jhavhul.
Clark looks at John and John looks back knowlingly. They both grab Jewel, but careful is not in their vocabulary. With one powerful swing they send her flying into the lake. Tony takes Clara at her outstretched arms, does a few turns like a roundabout and releases her flying - almost too late. A little later and she'd have missed the water.
The temple is a large building around an open coutyard in the center. The altar stands at the western end to catch the morning sun. The floor is a large mosaic in white, sky blue and gold that together with the raised scimitar of angelic statue form a sundial. The service would be held in this open area, but in Katapesh at noon, the place is abandoned. Noone without magical protection would voluntarily stand in the sun. A cloister surrounds the yard and now and then an acolyte comes out a door and walks there, to disappear into another door. Sky blue sheets of silk keep the hot sun out of the cloister and decorate the center place. This douses the walkway with a milder light without hard shadows. As the shadow of the statues' scimitar tip reaches the marking for noon, Sharzathared enters the premise throung the main entrance. She is accompanied by two more marids - seemingly nobles of high rank too. Still in the shadows, she looks around if the heroes are seen.
After an extensive shopping tour through the market and several shops the group is geared up. It is always fascinating to see what is available for buying in this city. And it is disgusting. The greatest works of the different arts and the supplements for the darkest practices. All found within a stone's throw. With not much to do until the next day at noon you spend a night with Rayhan. He is worried when he hears of the fate of Kelmarane and that Princess Almah is not found yet. After sleeping in comfortable beds again for a change and enjoying an opulent breakfast you leave for the temple of Sarenrae.
You only have the main door that you 'knocked' open and then the four prison cell doors. There are no more rooms.
"This time I can't deny that I need rescuing. Can't fight an army on my own - I have tried it though." Heleen replies. "The key is with the efreet guards outside. You haven't by chance found my stuff?" Haleen is very uncomfortable with the situation. No armor, no weapon, and her once fancy clothes are mere rags hanging from her maltreated body. Her self image doesn't fit with being on this side of the rescue.
Omari turns another enemy into a pincushion with a lot of additional holes in the body. Ohrmizd takes down Davashum with the first swing and has some left to end that guy too.
A desk before the northeastern wall contains detailed ledgers of troop transfers, duty rosters, supply schedules, and other minutiae of the day-to-day management of an army, all written in Ignan. An iron strongbox sits beside the desk, and a folding wooden screen stands next to the eastern wall. A study of the sand table reveals the outline of a vast area of destruction emanating from Pale Mountain. Coupled with information contained on the desk, it seems that the genies expect Pale Mountain to erupt into a volcano soon.
Meeting the woman was really a teaching moment. Level up to 14 please.
Well, someone stating that they have the one and only truth that is not up to debate is either a sure sign of a god, which should come with some more indicators about godhood. Or it is the signature characteristic of unblemished stupidity.
It depends a lot on the books you read. If it is just people writing about their experiences, like for example Life on the Missisippi, you get to know a lot, without needing to make those experiences yourself. Especially if the topic is: Do I want to live the life of XY, a memoir of XY might help to get a lot of insight, before putting the effort in to get such a life. And then there is the other kind of books or media in general that are not helping any..
Hazreem ends the former wife* of the gnoll. It is a disgusting mess with the sticky goo inside of a spider. The cleric drops after the first arrow, the second spider drops with two more arrows and the burning light of Sarenrae. Silence falls over the place as the fighting ends.
Khedron tramples over a few gnolls to get Omari to the real action. Ohrmizd keeps shining a burning light on the evil before him and Hazreem keeps risking his health by beting up a spider in melee . Which leaves one spider barely standing, the priest also blinded and one spider seriously wounded. The gnolls are paste or burnt crisp.
A guy on a flying carpet, a large elemental and a guy on a flying elk can't stay hidden forever and so finally some gnoll notices and raises the alarm. Which brings out large numbers of gnolls, that start shooting crossbow bolts into the night sky at the strange figures.
Another jann bites the dust.
How can I access the game and the maps on Roll20? Is there a link I've missed? Probably. But I'll add it to the top again, so we don't have to search for it.
The questioning of the Jann gets the information that Davashuum is indeed in the Brazen Tower which replaced the Battle Market. The command structure has quite some Efreet in it as Jhavhul put some of his trusted companions in these positions. But there are other creatures that support the case for their own reasons. Like the two retrievers at the gate to the upper town - which are extraplanar constructs. About security measures the jann knows nothing as it is on a need to know basis.
No matter what small creature, beating them up is Briggi's speciality. But the gnome doesn't go down with one good hit. Narciso takes the remaining kids down with an explosion of colors. Not willing to take a beating, the gnome withdraws from combat. Seeing that he is left alone, the blonde man also retreats to where he came from. GM:
Here the rule, there is no question about it (emphasis mine):
And yes, this stage in this fight is a really bad situation to do that. Feel free to post a different action.
Being unsatisfied with the result of using the magic stick, the blonde pulls another vial of acid from his pocket and throws it at Briggi.
Narciso finds himself surprised by a very stealthy gnome who sneaks up on him via the roof and jumps down in front of him with a very interesting knife in hand. But after the masterfully executed approach it ends in a clumsy fall to his ass. Which prevents an immediate attack, but the gnome quickly gets back up.
All while the kids halfheartedly keep stabbing at Briggi awaiting their turn to be knocked out.
A quick evaluation of Kelmarane by flying around invisible reveals the following:
"Phew!" Clara comments.
"Sure. Can you pick the lock?" Ernhild inquires, looking at Tisha. What Ernhild is actually saying between the lines: "You look like a criminal, am I right?" ;)
"As honor isn't one of his virtues, I'll assume he hides at the back."
Nefeshti acctepts the hand. "Nice to meet you." "As you are no doubt aware, Kelmarane is no longer a free city. Jhavhul has captured it, and his armies now occupy the town. My spies report that Jhavhul himself has returned to his hidden chambers below the House of the Beast under Pale Mountain, but he left someone behind to rule Kelmarane in his place. One of my own templars turned against me—Davashuum. In recent years, Davashuum felt that the templars should be a more active force in the region. I disagreed, and as they were mine to command, he was forced to comply. Yet recently, when Jhavhul escaped back into this world, Davashuum turned against me for the false promises of power offered by Jhavhul. He murdered my one remaining templar, poor Pazhvann, and fled into the mountains while I raged in frustration and despair. I have since recovered my wits, only to find that treacherous Davashuum has named himself Amir of Kelmarane and is now general of Jhavhul’s powerful janni army." "The time of the Templars of the Five Winds has passed. This is clear to me now. Yet I will not let its legacy live on in mockery and corruption. If my time is to pass, so must Davashuum. He must fall, and his master must be defeated before I can let my legacy go. I have gathered a few dozen jann to my side, and they are loyal to me, but Davashuum’s troops still greatly outnumber us. I need an advantage, something to turn the tide of battle in our favor and make up for our lack of numbers. Your arrival is a fortuitous answer to my prayers, for you have as much reason, if not more, to avenge yourselves against Jhavhul. If you would free Kelmarane and defeat Jhavhul, I would help. Do you accept my aid?"
Zellara closes her eyes, puts her fingers of both hands on her temples and concentrates. "I sense a lot of skepticism in this room." She opens her eyes again and smirks at Ernhild.
Not being fond of the dungeon where he was trapped, Heshan aims for the inner garden and this time the spell succeeds. But it has changed. The weeds are removed and everything is cleaned out, maing the tree that grows in the center look even more expressive. And there is no doubt about who is responsible for that. In the cloister walk and the surrounding rooms are numerous jann preparing for battle - a small army. From the opposite side of the cloister walk someone adresses you in a calm soothing voice. "We have visitors, splendid. I have hoped to meet you." The large female jinn comes flying around the walkway to approach you. "I am Nefeshti former head if the Templar's of the Five Winds. And you are?"
From the back of the garden comes the groundskeeper drawn by the noise. "Master Rayhan, you're alive and well! What a relief."
"Adventure you gave me? I'd say that was well earned, with my screw up that sucked us all into Kakishon, instead of only activating the scroll." "But all is well that ends well. I'm relieved that my home still stands. But there is more work to do, before all is well, with Jhavhul still out."
Teleport: You may also bring one additional willing Medium or smaller creature ... Making someone smaller than medium doesn't help with the count. But lets not waste time on travel stuff. Heshan suddenly feels like he can bring one more creature.
"Pierce was on a merchant ship that the pirates entered. And then the crew was divided and we ended up on the merchant ship with Pierce. He is no pirate. At least not for long. And I took over the ship! I set the mean pirate captain on fire and then I became captain! I just let Sandara handle the details of everyday work."
Mostly the days you were on the plane of fire. The days in Kakishon almost don't count.
Lips Red as Blood, Hair Black as Ebony, Skin White as Snow, ... I guess the evil queen of the AP needs a magical mirror now :D
When everyone is ready and back at a kind of private place, Shathazared and Iavesk argue about who will do the favor. Both have heard of Katapesh and seem to feel capable if bringing you there. Finally an agreement is found where one casts, but both come along.
You appear in a large city inhabited mostly by humans on the coast of the sea, and the climate seems right too. But it is not Katapesh.
A short flight later the group is on the bustling bazar. One of the largest and wealthiest trade districts in all the planes, the Great Bazaar—also called the Suq al-Azzmir Marketplace by efreet—specializes in treasures of rich metal, woven magical goods, exotic spices and incenses from throughout the spheres, and elemental magic, though nearly any item one might imagine could be found here. It is also a thriving slave market and a place where anyone can hire a wizard, mercenary company, or even small armies of elemental servitors. The Great Bazaar is the heart of the City of Brass, the single location that drives the trade, wealth, and splendor of the fabulous city. The Great Bazaar is also the one place where non-efreet gather in great numbers, from creatures of elemental fire selling wonders of sculpted metal and living brass, to azers and salamanders hawking fiery eagles and enormous black elephants for the hunts of efreet nobles, to visiting devils providing guidance to genies in the art of pact-making and contracts with mortals. These crafty merchants offer everything from minor artifacts to rusty slave shackles, for prices ranging from the souls of legendary heroes to mundane coins and gems. Of it all, barter in magic is the preferred form of payment, though debts of servitude are also quite common. Gold, with its relatively low melting point, is rarely a favored medium of exchange.
It might be exiting if there was some detail, but as I don't have a tome of lore about it, it would be underwhelming.
Shazathared dimdoors the ones left behind by Heshan to the terrace on top of the tower too. "Shall I wait here for you to bring you back home, or do our ways part and you travel with Iavesk."
We're going to fix that the adventure puts Shazathared into a situation where you need 9th level spells to get her out by having Iavesk grant a wish. Originally he isn't noble.
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