Tomb's Entrance
After stretching briefly, and planning carefully, Feylynn disregards the pelting rain and begins to make a descent more hastily than the others. The tabaxi, with her feline agility, navigates the slope with relative ease, and celebrates briefly once she reaches the ground safely. She then looks back and realize the rest of her group is electing to take the slow, but safer method.
Despite the steep slope, and the deteriorating weather, Luawn manages to reach the ground next. But, about two-thirds of the way down, the footing in paths Alessa and Thalian have selected prove to be too treacherous and their footing gives way. The pair slide down the remaining few dozen feet, but manage to minimize the damage from the fall suffering only minor scrapes and bruises. (-1) and (-2)
Now, with everyone safely on the ground, the group travels the short distance towards the archway of stone is set into the side of the hill on the opposite side of the valley. Moss has overgrown many of the details, but one is still quite clear:
keystone (also known as capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry arch
The keystone, or wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of the arch, is carved into the shape of a flame with a stylized rune in its middle. Beyond the archway is a darkened tunnel that leads to a pair of massive wooden doors, one of which is slightly ajar.
Tomb Entrance.jpg (139.62 KiB) Viewed 1281 times
The strong smell of rot accompanies a grizzly discovery just outside this arched entrance -- a pair of horses and a trio of ponies lie slaughtered; each corpse still tied to a post set into the ground nearby.
A swarm of flies combat the rain and buzz lazily in the air above these fallen equine creatures.
---
Unfortunately, Bluetongue last visited the site almost two weeks ago (Tue Jun 25, 2019 8:46 am). For now, I'll keep running this game as if you're a party of four, and add Schillachi back if/when Bluetongue returns.
Everyone else, please declare any actions and/or movement. Also, don't forget to include an "if needed" roll in addition to any other rolls you think might be needed.
Fey Ancestry: You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep. (Elf)
Trance: Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (Elf)
Fleet of Foot: Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet. (Wood Elf)
Mask of the Wild: You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena. (Wood Elf)
Sneak Attack: Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon. You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll. (Rogue, 1)
Faanku as Alessa | Female | Neutral Good | Variant Human | Wizard (1) | HD: 1 (1d6) | HP: 9-1 = 8 | AC: 12 | SP: 30' | Initiative: +2 | Darkvision: No | Inspiration: No
Arcane Recovery: Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level (rounded up), and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher. (Wizard, 1)
Actions: A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal.
Features:
Flyby. The owl doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy's reach.
Keen Hearing and Sight. The owl has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or sight.
Familiar. In combat, a familiar rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal. When a familiar drops to 0 hit points, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form.
Rex as Luawn | Male | Neutral Good | Human | Fighter (1) | HD: 1 (1d10) | HP: 12 | AC: 18 | SP: 30' | Initiative: +3 | Darkvision: No| Inspiration: No
Life Domain Spells: Once you gain a domain spell, you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day.
Disciple of Life: Whenever you use a spell of 1st level or higher to restore hit points to a creature, the creature regains additional hit points equal to 2 + the spell’s level.
Marching Order 5-Foot
Feylynn
Luawn
Alessa
Schillachi
Thalian
10-Foot
Feylynn | Luawn
Alessa
Schillachi | Thalian
Watch Schedule
Watch: Armored
Sleep: Unarmored
First Shift (Three Hours: 21:00-24:00)
Thalian
Luawn
Second Shift (Three Hours: 01:00-03:00)
Feylynn (Leather)
Alessa
Selynornis
Third Shift (Three Hours: 03:00-06:00)
Feylynn
Schillachi
Feylynn with her new admiration for her cat like abilities, embracing all of nature her ancestors studied and worshipped for decades and even centuries, will move towards the entrance. Hopefully being as stealthy as a cat on the hunt.
Thalian offers a silent prayer as he kneels down to inspect the corpses. He doesn't expect to find much and does this more so out of respect of the poor creatures.
'Your time has ended, but a new day will dawn for you all in the next life.'
Even a child that receives one bit of praise has the ability to excel in a single talent, and those who receive regular encouragement can feel confidence, achieve success, and become leading members of society. Because they don’t believe they are worthless, they don’t need to raise a fist and have vengeance against fate or the world at large… ~Inspector Lunge
Luawn will see if he can figure out what killed the horses. Then he will dig out and light a torch. "Does someone else want to carry this so I can be ready to deal with anything that might attack us? It looks to me like someone went in and didn't come out again, which doesn't bode well for this going peaceful like."
Alessa dusts herself down after the less than graceful descent, though the few scratches she received do not seen to phase her; nor do the rotting remains of the horses. She takes the torch from Luawn and approaches the carcases alongside the two men.
I'll have my owl keep overwatch on the surrounding area, he should be able to spot anything unsavoury long before it gets near us.
Mystery Roll [1d20] = 13
The gruesome discovery of the slain steeds is not a welcome sight. He would be more concerned if the injuries we made through 'combat' such as arrows and stab wounds rather than a creature wandering about. So Schillachi loads his crossbow and watches over those who are checking out how the animals died.
It's interesting that the rolls were identical; I had the same macro open in two different browser tabs, and rolled one right after the other, but that was unexpected.
Regardless, I did re-roll the "Stage 3" roll a second time from a different character and it was a success, so we're good.
Tomb's Entrance
While Schillachi finishes the final stretch of his descent and becomes the last of the group to successfully navigate the slope down, Feylynn begins to stealthily move towards the entrance.
The rest of the group -- including Thalian, Luawn, Alessa, and Schillachi -- stop and investigate the deceased horses. 'Your time has ended, but a new day will dawn for you all in the next life,'Thalian offers while Alessa accepts Luawn's torch. All the inspections reveal is that the animals appear to have been slain more than a day ago, with the cause of death being crude blades, or maybe claws. Each of the two horses have a pair of saddlebags still strapped to their sides. One of the saddlebags, on the underside of the mare, contains two days worth of rations, a pair of comfortable pillows, two pints of lamp oil, and a quiver with ten arrows.
"It looks to me like someone went in and didn't come out again, which doesn't bode well for this going peaceful like,"Luawn offers.
At the entrance, Feylynn is able to observe that the interior is unlit. From the light afforded from outside, the tabaxi wood elf notices that the stone walls are decorated with a scrolling pattern of villagers fighting off masked bandits and monsters. The artwork is still in relatively good condition, although water damage and lichen appear to have have taken their toll.
The ceilings, like the walls, is solid stone and is roughly 15 feet high.
The stench of mold and rot hangs heavy in the air.
---
Actions? Also, don't forget to include an "if needed" roll in addition to any other rolls you think might be needed.
Fey Ancestry: You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep. (Elf)
Trance: Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (Elf)
Fleet of Foot: Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet. (Wood Elf)
Mask of the Wild: You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena. (Wood Elf)
Sneak Attack: Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon. You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll. (Rogue, 1)
Faanku as Alessa | Female | Neutral Good | Variant Human | Wizard (1) | HD: 1 (1d6) | HP: 9-1 = 8 | AC: 12 | SP: 30' | Initiative: +2 | Darkvision: No | Inspiration: No
Arcane Recovery: Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level (rounded up), and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher. (Wizard, 1)
Actions: A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal.
Features:
Flyby. The owl doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy's reach.
Keen Hearing and Sight. The owl has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or sight.
Familiar. In combat, a familiar rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal. When a familiar drops to 0 hit points, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form.
Rex as Luawn | Male | Neutral Good | Human | Fighter (1) | HD: 1 (1d10) | HP: 12 | AC: 18 | SP: 30' | Initiative: +3 | Darkvision: No| Inspiration: No
Life Domain Spells: Once you gain a domain spell, you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day.
Disciple of Life: Whenever you use a spell of 1st level or higher to restore hit points to a creature, the creature regains additional hit points equal to 2 + the spell’s level.
Marching Order 5-Foot
Feylynn
Luawn
Alessa
Schillachi
Thalian
10-Foot
Feylynn | Luawn
Alessa
Schillachi | Thalian
Watch Schedule
Watch: Armored
Sleep: Unarmored
First Shift (Three Hours: 21:00-24:00)
Thalian
Luawn
Second Shift (Three Hours: 01:00-03:00)
Feylynn (Leather)
Alessa
Selynornis
Third Shift (Three Hours: 03:00-06:00)
Feylynn
Schillachi
Rolls
None
Last edited by dmw71 on Wed Jul 17, 2019 2:56 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Reason:Edit: Tabaxi-> Wood Elf; Edit2: Typo, and clarification (in red)
"The saddlebags still had valuable items in them for a traveler," remarks the cleric as he finishes his inspection of the corpses. "This might not have been the work of a thief or a bandit, but something a little more wild or savage. Be on your guard everyone." Thalian takes up the rear and makes sure his mace and shield are at the ready. He will follow the group inside.
Last edited by Rukellian on Wed Jul 17, 2019 11:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
Even a child that receives one bit of praise has the ability to excel in a single talent, and those who receive regular encouragement can feel confidence, achieve success, and become leading members of society. Because they don’t believe they are worthless, they don’t need to raise a fist and have vengeance against fate or the world at large… ~Inspector Lunge
Feylynn will approach the door and check for mechanical traps and a mechanical opening. Barring anyone wanting to check for anything else she will continue. This includes touching the stone
Alessa grips her staff tightly upon hearing Thalian's warning, calling back her familiar and looking at the door warily. "Perhaps it would be prudent to scout ahead before we go stumbling blindly into danger. Not that I consider you to be bumbling, of course. Nor scared of danger." She clears her throat awkwardly.
My thinking is that Feylynn and/or Selynornis could scope the cave before we go marching in with torches and light spells.
Mystery Roll [1d20] = 14
Apparently I did a piss poor job of detailing the entrance. This will should clear things up.
Apologies for any confusion.
Scouting the Entrance "The saddlebags still had valuable items in them for a traveler,"Thalian remarks as he concludes his inspection of the horse corpses. "This might not have been the work of a thief or a bandit, but something a little more wild or savage."
"Be on your guard everyone," he cautions while making sure his mace and shield are at the ready.
Now ready to move beyond the slaughtered animals, the rest of the group joins Feylynn, whom had been stealthily observing the tomb entrance:
Tomb Entrance.jpg (25.71 KiB) Viewed 1231 times
The arch, which opens into the base of the opposite slope of the canyon, is approximately 20 feet wide and roughly 15 feet tall.
The walls and ceiling are carved from natural stone and are decorated with a scrolling pattern of villagers fighting off masked bandits and monsters. This artwork is still in relatively good condition, although water damage and lichen appear to have have taken their toll.
The stench of mold and rot linger.
The entrance condenses just beyond the entrance, where both the walls and ceiling narrow over the course of 10 feet, ending once reaching a pair of massive wooden doors, one of which is barely ajar.
Feylynn, while the others were paying heed to the fallen animals just outside the arch, has determined that this vestibule-like area is safe. At least relatively.
The wooden doors that open into the first chamber of the tomb are unlocked, but very heavy and, with a fair amount of effort, could be pushed to open inwards.
The crack in the door is barely wide enough for the wood elf to peer inside, and even with her darkvision is unable to make out much more than the fact that the area beyond appears to enter into a chamber of some kind, with risen platforms along the side wall. This platform lining the wall appears to begin about 15 feet inside the chamber, and runs about 5 feet until it reaches the wall:
Entrance.jpg (22.07 KiB) Viewed 1231 times
Aside from Feylynn, and Selynornis, the rest of the group, without a source of light, will struggle mightily as the interior is unlit.
---
Okay, you're officially at the tomb. Now, how to gain entrance?
Opening the doors will require a moderately difficult Strength check (DC 15). Because of the size of the doors, the group will be able to easily work together, which will give the primary character making the effort advantage on their roll.
Please discuss and agree upon who will be making the attempt, and also which door (since there are two) you will be attempting to open. If the plan is to open both doors in the set, feel free to break off into two groups; each side will one character making the attempt, with advantage.
And, no, the wooden doors are not open wide enough for Selynornis to fit through.
And, yes, I did ultimately break down and re-up my subscription with Roll20 to be able to work with dynamic lighting again. The Fantasy Ground upgrade isn't set to be released until December, and it's also not web-based which means the only place I'll be able to access/update it will be from home, on my laptop (assuming it will even be powerful enough to run it! ).
Fey Ancestry: You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep. (Elf)
Trance: Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (Elf)
Fleet of Foot: Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet. (Wood Elf)
Mask of the Wild: You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena. (Wood Elf)
Sneak Attack: Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon. You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll. (Rogue, 1)
Faanku as Alessa | Female | Neutral Good | Variant Human | Wizard (1) | HD: 1 (1d6) | HP: 9-1 = 8 | AC: 12 | SP: 30' | Initiative: +2 | Darkvision: No | Inspiration: No
Arcane Recovery: Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level (rounded up), and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher. (Wizard, 1)
Actions: A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal.
Features:
Flyby. The owl doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy's reach.
Keen Hearing and Sight. The owl has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or sight.
Familiar. In combat, a familiar rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal. When a familiar drops to 0 hit points, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form.
Rex as Luawn | Male | Neutral Good | Human | Fighter (1) | HD: 1 (1d10) | HP: 12 | AC: 18 | SP: 30' | Initiative: +3 | Darkvision: No| Inspiration: No
Life Domain Spells: Once you gain a domain spell, you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day.
Disciple of Life: Whenever you use a spell of 1st level or higher to restore hit points to a creature, the creature regains additional hit points equal to 2 + the spell’s level.
Feylynn looks over at Alessa, “Maybe we should let the boys take the lead on this one? Of course we can each help and give that extra push they will surely need. Who has the lantern? Maybe we should light it?” Feylynn then looks like she is thinking hard about something. “Hey, didn’t one of us grab a grappling hook from the mayor? Could’ve been useful for some of that climb down. Eh, well that’s in the past. Shall we?”
Feylynn patting awkwardly around herself and her backpack then states, “oh yes, I also have this nifty hooded lantern.” Blushing in embarrassment and feeling very new to this adventuring thing.
Entry Hall "I will try to open the door,"Luawn offers, requesting a side from Feylynn. After everyone else assembles into the defensive positions behind him, the fighting man puts his shoulder into the (side?) door and finds his boots slipping and the lack of traction causing the task to be more difficult than anticipated. "Thalian, how about you give me a hand?" he asks. With the cleric's aid, the heavy door swings open.
The faint light from outside reveals a long chamber and confirms the existence of raised platforms on either side. A faded painting of Alric Fieldstone, the hero of your hometown, is on the far wall.
The room appears to be the site of a gruesome battle, with two bodies piled in the center and a number of skeletons scattered around.
Entry Hall.jpg (43.91 KiB) Viewed 1227 times
An echoing wail can be heard somewhere in the distance, beyond this foul chamber.
---
Notes:
I just randomly picked a side. I can switch doors if it matters.
Please let me know who will be carrying Feylynn's lantern.
Please declare any actions and movement, plus supply any rolls you think might be needed (and the "as needed" roll).
Fey Ancestry: You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep. (Elf)
Trance: Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (Elf)
Fleet of Foot: Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet. (Wood Elf)
Mask of the Wild: You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena. (Wood Elf)
Sneak Attack: Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon. You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll. (Rogue, 1)
Faanku as Alessa | Female | Neutral Good | Variant Human | Wizard (1) | HD: 1 (1d6) | HP: 9-1 = 8 | AC: 12 | SP: 30' | Initiative: +2 | Darkvision: No | Inspiration: No
Arcane Recovery: Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level (rounded up), and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher. (Wizard, 1)
Actions: A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal.
Features:
Flyby. The owl doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy's reach.
Keen Hearing and Sight. The owl has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or sight.
Familiar. In combat, a familiar rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal. When a familiar drops to 0 hit points, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form.
Rex as Luawn | Male | Neutral Good | Human | Fighter (1) | HD: 1 (1d10) | HP: 12 | AC: 18 | SP: 30' | Initiative: +3 | Darkvision: No| Inspiration: No
Life Domain Spells: Once you gain a domain spell, you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day.
Disciple of Life: Whenever you use a spell of 1st level or higher to restore hit points to a creature, the creature regains additional hit points equal to 2 + the spell’s level.
Seems no one took any of the items from the saddle bags. Schillachi will at least take the flasks of oil and search the pillows. "Okay the tooth fairy might have got pissed because the people didn't leave their teeth under the pillows, maybe folk are like me and obsessive, sleeping with their pouches of gold under their heads and dreaming of bullion at night?"he remarks.
Packing any finding s away he helps to put a shoulder (and tail) into the door. crossbow armed he follows the group into the first chambers. can he tell what type of sound the echo is? Footsteps, shouting? howling? wind?
).