Navarre Oleander's page

I'm strongly thinking about bowing out from this game. It's not that I haven't enjoyed it, quite the opposite. I don't feel like I'm really contributing much to the game. Navarre is, to be blunt, bland. I honestly feel like more of a drag on the game than a positive addition.

That, of course, is on me as a player. My creative energies have necessarily been tied up in other endeavors, and I have not felt able to invest as much into this game as it deserves. Sadly, I do not see that changing any time soon.

I'm definitely more than a little confused about what is going on...

Agreed that taking breaks can kill games. I do apologize that I have not always managed to get a post in every day; I try to make checking the thread and posting part of my morning routine but sometimes that gets interrupted and I don't manage to get back to it later in the day.

Navarre follows Brax out of the fortress, but stops just outside the gate. He had been cautiously holding his one spell in reserve since his nap in the stables. it might have seemed miserly or even cruel not to heal Raakuze after the fight at the sally port, but that had not been the intention.

My one spell may make the difference between life and death for Brax, should he be defeated. I am glad I did not squander it.

Navarre fumes. To use the baker and his family this way was horrific.

I don't really know what my destiny is, but surely it can't be to die here and now.

"I won't ask anyone to sacrifice themselves for that family... but if any of you feel you can defeat that thing..."

He shakes his head.

"I don't see how we could protect that family any other way. Even if we could each take out a kobold in an instant, there would be far too many left that could slaughter them in an instant."

IC post coming in a minute.

As I see it, we have two choices: (A) We play along or (B) we break his rules.

A1. If we play along AND he is honorable, the family gets released. Yay.
A2. If we play along and he is NOT honorable, the family dies. Boo.

B1. If we don't play along but have a good plan, MAYBE the family lives.
B2. If we don't play along and DON'T have a good plan, they die.

No good choices, but looking only at what we have control over, A or B, A is at best 50/50, B is.... well, dependent on us coming up with a plan.

In absence of a plan, playing along is more likely to get the family out alive.

I wish I had a great creative wonderful plan, but I don't...

Navarre though of Talis, and her cultist father.

No, these cultists are not all the same. They are first and foremost people - and people come in all types.

He bit his tongue. He had worked stables enough to know that you can't make a mule move by pushing it... that and Brax's rebuke hit home hard. The dwarf had once again proven himself to be the most sensible and level-headed of the group.

"Let's deal with this new threat and consider our options after."

He proceeds toward the main gate, but this time takes a position on the walls.

Like Arianna I just want to reiterate that the annoyance and conflict are purely IC.

OOC, I appreciate the disagreements. IC conflict is much more interesting than "We all agree all the time and no one ever does anything wrong lalala unicorns farting rainbows and sparkles". Even children's shows have character conflicts to create dramatic tension.

"Eska, perhaps you are the one that ought to hold your tongue. You sent us on a fools-errand to meet up with your leeching, murdering 'friends' when we should have been rescuing townsfolk."

He shakes his head.

"Time is a limited resource, and things like that and like this..." he gestures to the dead cultist "... waste that precious resource. I agree that the cultist deserved death. However, that could - should - have been an execution after interrogation. Wasting our time, killing potential information sources.... they help the dragon cult more than us. There are people out there dying, and many more may die as a result of not having this filth's information. That is on your head, Raakuzedu’lon’ros."

Navarre groans inwardly when the discipline-less warrior killed their potential captive, but holds his tongue. The middle of battle was no time to be arguing with allies - no matter how problematic they were behaving.

He launches another bolt of energy at the last remaining - and likely linguistically lacking - foe.

attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
damage: 1d10 ⇒ 2

Navarre steps out from behind Brax to get get a clear shot at the cat-like dragon thing.

"Anyone know what that thing is?"

attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
damage: 1d10 ⇒ 3

"Raakuze, grab that cultist for interrogation." Navarre speaks softly, hoping not to alert the enemy to their plan.

He then sends a bolt of eldritch enemy at the kobold.

Red if it survives the previous attack, otherwise the last one.

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Damage: 1d10 ⇒ 1

Still rattled, Navarre emerges from the stable.

"Well done, Eska." He says, though clearly still wrapped up in his own inner turmoil.

Some hero I am.... no, it is just that my destiny lies elsewhere. Perhaps Eska's fate turns on this point, and thus she needed to face the dragon alone. Fate is strange sometimes. For one to succeed alone, all others must fail. That is no black mark against those that failed - having a destiny to fulfill doesn't mean being the hero of every story in the meantime.

1, 2, and 3 on the d20 rolls, and then a 10 on damage just to taunt me.

My dice are trying to kill, well, all of us.

Wisdom Save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Navarre heard Escobert's scream, and saw Eska get slashed to ribbons. He knew she needed his magic... but still, he couldn't bring himself to approach. He would not do nothing however.

With a a wordless roar of anger, he unleashes an eldritch blast at the dragon...

attack roll 1 (disadvantage): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
attack roll 2 (disadvantage): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
damage: 1d10 ⇒ 10

...or at least, in the direction of the dragon, which turned out to be just 'vaguely into the sky'.

There seems to be some confusion - it is a blue dragon, with lightning breath. I've seen it referred to as red, a flamewyrm, and now white and ice breath....

ok, i see now that Brax's post is mixing current events with a PTSD style flashback, that's cool. Pun not intended.

DC 15... and no one in the party has above a +2... the best of us have a 45% chance of failure. Well, if it turns out to be a suicide mission at least it won't be a TPK.

Navarre spent the hour by the stables, sitting on the ground and leaning against a bale of hay. Some might find the noise and smell of the horses disruptive to their rest, but Navarre had spent more than a few days working in stables, or for that matter sleeping in them at night. Mercenaries can afford to stay in inns, but when you don't ask a poor farmer to pay you for your aid, sometimes a pile of hay and a roof under your head are luxuries.

He had even nodded off a bit when the dragon attacked. Startled, he jumped to his feet...

Wisdom Save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
Well... that's 0 for 3. Some heroes we are. :p

... and immediately finds himself far too busy calming horses to go face the dragon. It wasn't a heroic task, but someone had to do it - else the horses might trample countless refugees. That doing so kept him under the shelter of the stable and out of sight of the dragon surely wasn't the real reason...

While the cleric sees to the wounded, Navarre approaches the governor.

"Any news on other groups out there? We are pushing to our limit, but I am loath to take a rest while good people are dying. If there is another rescue to be performed, I will gladly go now. However, I fear that if we are just going door to door looking for survivors we might only add ourselves to the list of casualties."

Yeah Arianna, that's how I feel. Would be nice to rest, but an hour could make the difference between life and death for the people still out there. On the other hand, we are of no use to anyone if we die.

Do we dare take a short rest before we go back into the fire?

"No offense Brax, but I think a beard would ruin her beautiful face. It does well to hide yours, though."

Navarre says with a smirk as he follows them out ready to provide covering fire should the patrol appear.

"We're here to get you to the keep."

He glances back towards the door they just entered.

"Orion, and sign of the group that was patrolling? I'm not sure we can get everyone away without being seen by them. If we have to fight them it would be better to use the doorway as a choke-point so they can't swarm us."

He turns back to the survivors.

"If any of you are willing to take up arms, your assistance would be welcome. For that matter, if any of you have healing magic, some of our warriors are wounded, and my magic is depleted."

I think Eska's attack takes out red; if not the below attack will target red instead of the cultist.

With his targeted foe dead, Navarre follows the line of his comrades until he sees Arianna bleeding and in combat with a cultist.

"Hold fast, we've got this." He says as he launches a blast at the wounded foe.

He's not quite sure which of his allies he is trying to encourage. Perhaps himself.

EB Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
EB Damage: 1d10 ⇒ 5

Posting slightly in advance so as not to slow down the thread if I don't make it on tomorrow. Note that I have not yet updated Navarre's position on the map.

Navarre moves up behind Brax and fires at the closest kobold.

Target Red. On the off chance that Red is dead, target yellow or green instead.

attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
damage: 1d10 ⇒ 4

All good for me.

Navarre moves up and fires a blast at the closest enemy.

If Arianna's attack does not take out purple target him, otherwise target white kobold.
attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
damage: 1d10 ⇒ 7

Navarre nods.

We've wasted enough time here.

"We seem to have a ranged advantage over our foes. Are there any buildings that have multiple floors and can see the temple doors? We can snipe them from there, while our front-line hold the door as a choke-point."

I'm not always finding the time to update regularly myself, so I certainly have no complaints about the pace.

Arianna, I expect Eska will be the one getting hell more than you :p

"You are lucky we have more important foes to face this day. If we ever meet again..."

Golden flames erupt from his eyes, his mouth, and suddenly engulf his whole body.

"... I will personally deliver the wrath of the divine on your heads."

As quickly as the flames appear, they disappear and he turns and walks away.

Thieves. This is who she calls 'friends'? This is getting us nowhere fast.

A fury takes hold of Navarre, and the caution he has been advocating gives way.

"Tell me, what makes you any different than the filth that has driven the guards to the keep? If you had a dragon at your back, and the numbers these cultists have, what would stop you from raiding a town this same way?"

He shakes his head.

"The people of this town work hard, and leeches like you disgust me."

int for potion: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

Sorry Orion, I was thinking 5 instead of 6 for some reason, so when I got to two names I just stopped... brain fart.

Navarre shrugs and looks to Brax and Arianna to decide. The worst possible choice would be to split up - better a sub-optimal destination than death.

Navarre helps Arianna with the bodies. A little prudence could mean the difference between survival and death for everyone in the keep, not to mention the six of them.

"I disagree. We should go to the temple. The governor said that not all of the clerics had made it to the keep, and with more healing they might be able to organize another rescue party."

Navarre closes his eyes and concentrates. A soft golden light envelops him, and shortly thereafter the same sort of golden glow envelopes Rakuuze and Brax, their wounds closing somewhat - though not fully.

Healing Light Raazuze: 1d6 ⇒ 6
Healing Light Brax: 1d6 ⇒ 3

As the glow fades, Navarre sighs.

"That's it, friends. From here on out you are on your own for healing - until I can rest at least. I'm tapped out. I would advise a greater degree of caution in future fights."

I can get one Cure Wounds back per short rest.

We can't let that kobold get away and bring down the whole army on us.

Navarre launches another Eldritch Blast, wishing he had something a bit more consistent in effectiveness.

"Don't let it get away!"

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
Damage: 1d10 ⇒ 2

Well, guess I'll be using one of my spells on Brax anyway. Terrible time to get a 1. :/

"Raakuze!"

By all the heavens, hells, and everything in between.

Navarre launches another blast, this time at the cultist.

attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
damage: 1d10 ⇒ 1

Yay I hit! Ugh, minimum damage. My luck....

For speed I'm going to post my round now - that way you can post green, purple, etc all at once.

Once more they rush in. Ah well, this is the hand fate has dealt me, I must play it.

He launches a bolt of eldritch enemy at whichever enemy seems most wounded, but the shot goes wide.

attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
damage: 1d10 ⇒ 10

I always seem to roll max damage when I get single digit attack rolls.

Yeah, my Healing Light is the same way. I'll get my one spell slot back after a short rest and can cast a CLW with it... when we can spare the time for a short rest.

Brax, you still have your second wind, right? I still have my two daily uses of Healing Light, but I'd rather save those for those that have no self-healing at all

life happens to us all. :D

"Rats.... why does it always have to be rats...."

He fires off an eldritch blast.

EB attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
EB damage: 1d10 ⇒ 10

Sorry for missing my post yesterday. Don't hesitate to just have Navarre throw an EB at an enemy if I am holding up a combat.

The creatures swarm up her ankle and begin to chew through her pants.

Emphasis added.

Having actually had (pet) rats climbing around on me (and occasionally chew on my clothing)... given enough time and motivation rats can chew through steel, but study cloth (like denim or canvas) or leather will still only have little more than a few small holes in it in just a few seconds, even from a swarm.

So no, Orion, her pants should be still quite intact.

Navarre gladly lets others take the lead - he operates best from range and is hardly the hardiest or best armored of the group.

perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

Navarre will be in the rear... or if anyone wants to play rearguard, right in front of them.

"I have more often been called a 'light bringer'."

He says with a smirk as he taps the boss of Brax's shield, which starts glowing brightly.

casting Light

I'd love to take an hour an get my spell back, but anyone out there may not have an hour to wait.

Navarre steps up, indicating his readiness.

Yeah, I also have a spare crossbow... though funny enough until I level up it's slightly more average damage than the eldritch blast, though a bit less accurate.

To the guards talking about the dragon.

"I wouldn't want to be the only one on the battlements, to be sure... if there is a coordinated effort to defend them, I would certainly participate, however."

When the Mayor addresses them.

Navarre sighs, the matter clearly weighing on his heart.
"I came looking for an old friend. I had heard that she was kidnapped by the Cult of the Dragon somewhere around here..."
I should probably leave out that she was raised as a part of it for now.
"Now I see cultists and a dragon attacking, I can't help but wonder if - and how - it is related."

He looks around at the guards' equipment.

"I was intending to be part of any further rescue missions, but I know some of us were running short of ammunition, and if you have any other equipment to spare..."
He fingers his light leather armor.
"...it could make the difference between successful rescues and suicide missions."

Basically just asking about standard gear, nothing fancy - a chain shirt would be an upgrade, and maybe a spear or something to make attacks of opportunity with.

Navarre slips in the gates, gently pushing Linan in as well.

"Your concern for us is appreciated, but your children need you more than we do."

He smiles, then follows Orion up to the top of the walls.