I've been there - I ran an in-person conversion of this adventure that stalled out at almost the exact spot. I don't see a reason to fake it if it's not causing the creative juices to flow. I'd rather pull the plug now than go through the motions.
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It's the lack of agency that is bothering me, as well, Jiggy. No matter what we do, it seems we're stuck being ambushed - we just have to take the hit then start rolling dice to see if we survive. No way to avoid the constant acid damage, either - just roll to see if you take half and see if we all survive. Whether the focus is on combat or roleplay or a mixture of the two, I'd like my character's choices to have some effect on her fate. As for nostalgia, I wasn't interested in replaying Dragons of Autumn Twilight, but rather in reinterpreting that scenario with our own characters. I'm all for outside the box, and to be honest, I've felt lost even with my familiarity with the books and modules. Anyway, that's my two cents. I don't mean to just complain - if we all simply have different expectations for the game I will go on my way like Urgo. But if there's an opportunity to all get on the same page and move ahead, I'd like that better.
Started to post in the gameplay thread but decided to keep it here. Moondancer would have been tipped off by the enemies' lack of response and then I assume they have to draw in a deep breath or something that would provide a visual cue of their intent - at that point, if her reactions were fast enough (ie., she won initiative) she would have taken a shot. Surprise does not seem appropriate in this situation, as neither side attempted to be stealthy in the approach, and we specifically said we were keeping watch or advancing warily. I don't mean to be a rules lawyer, and I'm not opposed to house rules, but I don't like it when they spring up, to the group's detriment, like this. Based on Urgo's post above, I assume I'm not the only one frustrated? I'd rather address it than let it simmer.
Moondancer readies her bow. "In a swamp full of these lizard men, I don't like the look of those two. Urgo, why don't you go hail them. If the prove evil, Rael and I will fill them full of arrows. "
Moving among the companions, Moondancer sings a wordless tune that seems to lift their spirits as she binds their wounds. Hovering over Bel, she calls upon the power in the blue crystal staff, adding its magic to her ministrations. "Now then, let's wake this scaled creature and see what it knows of swamp and this ruined city we seek," she says.
"How badly is everyone hurt?"Moondancer asks, surveying the group's wounds. "I can bind your cuts with needle and thread, or use the staff's power if you need it."
Moving up behind the more wounded of the two draconians attacking Urgo, Moondancer tries to distract the beast, flailing at it with the blue crystal staff.
"I was afraid we hadn't seen the last of these damned lizards!" Moondancer curses.
"Go back to the dung heap that spawned you, you rotten thing," she says, infusing her words with magic as she draws the blue crystal staff and moves toward Rael.
Sorry for my absence. Business trip was busier than I thought it would be, and managed to get food poisoning the day I returned home. I went with a +2 to Charisma when leveling, and took dancing lights and invisibility as new spells.
Moondancer wipes a soggy leaf from her face and grimaces. "I think Urgo is right - we may end up in the muck again before long, although I'll take you up on the offer when we make camp." she says, surveying the surrounding area for signs of movement or the ruins the group sought.
"Urgo, wait... Moondancer shouts before stumbling and following the half-ogre into the murky water.
"It's quiet out here on the plains," Moondancer says as she studies the pillar marking the crossroads. "It's been years since I was out here to trade with the plainsmen. Bel, have your travels brought you this way? What villages will we pass on our way to the swamp?"
"Yes, a safe place to rest would serve all of us well," Moondancer says. "I just wish we knew what the staff's purpose is before we go traipsing across Abanasinia t an old ruin in a swamp."
"More importantly, these cursed lizard things are crawling all over Solace," Moondancer says. "What has happened? Do the Seekers know? Why haven't they sent reinforcements?"
"Oh boys, what have you gotten yourselves into," Moond-Dancer says as Bel, Urgo and Rael appear. Seeing Urgo's injuries, she rushes to him, clutching the staff.
She then breaks out her healer's kit, applying salves and doing what she can to soothe his wounds.
Still here. Am I correct that there is no way for Moondancer to use the blue crystal staff, since she is CG and you said the staff is LG?
Biting her lip in frustration, Moondancer watches as her friends lead the pursuers away. She wanted to follow and do what she could to protect them, but the blue crystal staff in her hand represented a more pressing duty. "Fly like White Osprey, my friends," she whispered, before making her way through the muddy alleys toward Theros Ironfeld's smithy.
Moondancer will follow at a safe distance, trying to determine if there's anything she can do to help the others lose their pursuers.
Catching the staff in a free hand, Moondancer takes off at a sprint, hoping to lose her pursuers in the crowd.
"Oh, the hell with this," Moondancer says, before releasing the spell she had earlier prepared to use on Urgo.
Seeing the hobgoblins drop to the dirt, she motions to the others. "Move, now!
"This way, you big goof," Moondancer hisses to Urgo, before stumbling into a pile of dried sticks that crackle and break rather loudly.
"Urgo, remember what we talked about after those bandits burned Hake's barn - there's a time and a place," Moondancer says. "You can't plow a field in winter - planting before the thaw only wastes your seeds." She hopes her words and those of the others will get through to the big man, but if they don't, she prepares to cast a sleep spell on him. It wouldn't be the first time ...
"Let's check with Theros - I trust his judgment and he always had a good idea of what was going on in Solace. Then we ought to get out of town, maybe camp in the woods nearby while we decide our next move."
"Damned draconians? I've never heard of a regular draconian, let alone a damned one. What's been going on here?" Moondancer says, concerned and confused.
"The boy will live - that is good," Moondancer says, relief in her voice. "But I fear we may not if we don't leave here. Otik - where have these hobgoblins come from? Why have the city guards not run them off? And are there more that will be coming for us?"
Moondancer draws a third arrow and sends it flying at the remaining hobgoblin goon, hoping that the others will finish off the Fewmaster.
Cringing at the sight of the wounded boy, Moondancer lines up another shot, aiming for a wounded hobgoblin if one is standing.
"Do not let them take the staff, Urgo!" Moondancer yells, nocking an arrow and letting it fly at one of the hobgoblins menacing the half-ogre.
Roused from her torpor, Moondancer stands as the hobgoblins burst in. "The boy Urgo - save the boy!" she says.
"Bel, Rael, Larissa - let's finish these yellow-skinned bastards." Shaking the bells on her wrist, she utters the words of the spell and moves behind a table for cover. The air around the hobgoblins begins to glow and each one is limned in bright blue and green flames.
"No, we shouldn't go to the Seekers - they abandoned the old gods and have found nothing to replace them," Moondancer says, gradually recovering from her dazed state. "We are the ones chosen to carry the staff. We are fated. We must go to the black city, Xak Tsaroth, as the old man said, and go with haste."
"I've heard the name in songs but never where it lies. Perhaps we can find someone who knows more."
Moondancer seems dazed, as if drunk or suffering from a knock on the head. "I wintered in a cave ... bones of old knights, and a priest. I read his book, it spoke of the gods and warriors with shining spears, fighting winged serpents with ice and fire and strokes of lightning," she says. "I burned some of my herbs and ate thimble-caps. I had a vision ... of a drowned place. A blue dove had a nest it shared with a white osprey. Its eggs shone so bright I could not see ..."
Moondancer's breath catches at the mention of the city - she hadn't known the name before, but hearing it triggers memories of the visions she experienced in the knight's tomb. "The city where death rides on black wings," she says, breathlessly. "White Osprey, Blue Dove ... the stories ... From the dead priest's book. It is fated." She falls back heavily in her chair, overcome by images only she can see.
[b]"A little cider for me, dear," Moondancer said, smiling at the now-grown girl. She remembered a time several years ago when Tika had begged her for a mixture that would dye her fiery hair a nondescript shade of black or brown. Now the young woman seemed to revel in the notable color. Good for her, Moondancer thought, before glancing around the room. But be wary of some of these rogues. As the others placed their orders, Moondancer let her eyes wander across the crowd, searching for faces she did not recognize and any hint of those who did not belong among Solace's kind folk.
With the boys all patched up, Moondancer wrapped up the remaining rags in a bundle and stowed them in her pack - they were sure to be needed eventually - and rose to her feet. "No sense wasting more of the day - although we should take care entering Solace. There could be more like those hobgoblins about, although I can't imagine Otik and the others would allow hobgoblins to run around the area if they knew they were about. We should share word of the attack before they commit more evil somewhere else."
"Larissa, why don't you check the bodies for anything interesting while I bind these wounds. Bel, Rael, let's get off the road and into those trees." Moondancer leads the wounded men into the shade of the nearby trees, singing a relaxing song as she binds their wounds.
Moondancer considers putting an arrow in the fleeing hobgoblin's back, but concern for her friends takes priority. Going to Urgo, she checks that the half-ogre has secured the staff again then tears strips from a spare shirt to bind his wounds. Once done she moves on to Bel and Rael. "What exactly do you have there, Urgo my friend? And where did you find it?" she asks. "That hobgoblin seemed to want it badly, for whoever this Onyx is. We should be careful on our way into Solace. There may be more of the same sort."
Just FYI, I was planning on picking up a level in life domain cleric when the plot progresses to that point, as well as picking up some healing spells with my bard spells known (something I avoided for story reasons so far). So you could go with a more martial bent (paladin, fighter/cleric, etc.) and not have to worry as much about the healing end of things. Maybe start as a fighter and see if the boss will let you swap out some levels for paladin or cleric later?
No problem, just thought I'd share after being surprised by it myself. I'm still trying to find a nice happy medium between the glass cannons in the MM and the never-ending bags of hit points you end up with by following the DMG guidelines.
Just as an FYI, since we're all a little new to 5E:
Using the encounter building rules from the DMG (p. 82), a five member party of 3rd level PCs has an XP threshold ranging from 375 (easy) - 750 (medium) - 1125 (hard) - 2000 (deadly). Eight hobgoblins and a hobgoblin captain totals 1100 xp, but that gets multiplied by 2.5 due to the number of adversaries, for a total XP budget of 2750 - well beyond deadly for a party of our size. Hopefully the dice will turn in our favor, but if we end up in a TPK, that's why. I learned that the hard way running a group through the Moathouse in T1 Village of Hommlet a few weeks ago. Things worked better when I adjusted numbers to match the DMG encounter building rules or used waves of mooks when I wanted to keep the numbers closer to the original.
Seeing the deep, red wounds left on her companions by the hobgoblins' blades, Moondancer decided it was time to even the odds. Shaking the bells wrapped around her arm in a slow, gentle cadence, she muttered the words of a spell and pointed languidly at the rear rank of hobgoblins, whose eyes abruptly rolled up into their skulls as they crashed to the ground, snoring loudly.
Moondancer curses as her arrow flies over the shoulder of the fleeing hobgoblin.
"To arms Urgo! I doubt these goblins s will simply jump on your sword!" Moondancer shouts over her shoulder as she raises her bow and lines up a shot at one of the fleeing goblins.
Moondancer looked around at the companions with whom she had recently been reunited. It had been a long five years, and tiring, but her heart sang to hear Bel's bass rumble and Urgo's mumbling conviction. She saw Rael going for his knife while Larissa sought to distract the rider with questions. "If we have the staff, it is because the gods have willed it. I hardly think goblins deserve it more," she says, nocking an arrow to her bow and stepping next to Rael.
I imagine Moondancer spends a fair amount of time wandering, looking for the herbs needed for her potions. At some point in the past five years she stumbled upon the tomb mentioned in her background and began the work of deciphering the pre-Cataclysm priest's journal. That journal might have led her to investigate other sites, or she might have found the staff along with the journal and the old priest's bones. Also, I wanted to give you a heads up that I will be out of Internet range until late Wednesday. I should be able to post again then.
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