5e Game Group 2 - IC THread

[tape_measure]

For the past several days, you have been traveling a road that winds lazily across the rolling grasslands of the Greenfields. Sundown is approaching when you top a rise and see the town of Greenest just a few short miles away. But instead of a pleasant, welcoming town you expected, you see columns of black smoke rising from burning buildings, running figures that are little more than dots at this distance, and a dark, winged shape wheeling low over the keep that rises above the center of the town. Greenest is being attacked by a dragon!

OoC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?521122-5e-Game-Group-2-OoC-Thread&p=21906433#post21906433)

[Bounty Hunter]

http://i.imgur.com/712V29a.jpg
Quironomi Lothalus (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=618144)

It seemed like he'd been traveling forever.

The young elven warrior had set out from his home near Evereska nearly a fortnight before. This was the furthest he'd been from home and he still didn't know why. Certainly the leadership of his company had to have some reasoning into taking such a contract but he still hadn't the faintest idea of what it could be for. He was to simply meet a contact in Greenest and the terms of the arrangement would be relayed to him. 'Perhaps this is all some sort of test--a coming-of-age trail of sorts.' He'd toyed with the idea as his small caravan followed it's path along the winding River Chionthar heading toward the walled metropolis of Baludr's Gate.

He'd barely spent enough time in the city to resupply before making arrangements with another small traveling caravan headed toward his goal. He'd expected it to be another terribly boring trudge through the far more rough-and-tumble lands of the Sword Coast . He very much did not not anticipate he'd be staring at the swooping silhouette of a dragon attacking the town. "Look!" He manages to choke out the single word to the others and levels a finger toward the darting shape in the distance.

[TheManicMonocle]

Jack couldn't fathom what he had done to piss off Beshaba so thoroughly. He stared up at the smoking tower, standing outside his favorite inn as a dragon ravaged the nearby keep. A dragon. A real, hells-cursed dragon. He rubbed his eyes for good measure, and suddenly remembered that standing mouth-agape a few blocks from a dragon attack was a good way to end up in a pine box.

He began to run, looking around as he did so. Several surrounding buildings had begun to catch fire. "Devils and ashes!" He swore, as a panicked horse ran infront of him, nearly bowling him over as it raced down a side street. He began to run faster, heading for the front gates, already a little out of breath.

[Airatome1]

Airannis had been with the caravan from Baldur's Gate for several days as it wound its way towards Greenest. The platinum haired Elf had been scouting the Fields of the Dead to ensure nothing nasty was upsetting the balance of the nearby city when he had been summoned back. The Harpers wanted him to meet with one of thier agents for a formal and proper induction into thier ranks; a Half-Elf Monk from Berdusk named Leosin Erlanthar.

His original orders were to meet with the Monk at Berdusk, a two day or less trip east from a small town named Greenest. A Harper agent soon delivered a change of plans when it was found that Leosin had gone to Greenest for unknown reasons, and so Airannis was soon catching a ride with the next caravan heading that way.

It was a simple thing, being a Ranger who knew the land in the southern sword coast pretty well, to find a spot with almost any caravan for little to no cost. Sometimes they even paid him to act as scout, as well as forage and hunt for food on longer trips where rations alone wouldnt be enough.

Airannis had never visited Greenest before and so, when one of the other travelers who had caught a ride departing Baldur's Gate pointed to the sky high above a burning Greenest as the sun began to set, the shape that flew through the clouds of smoke came at quite a surprise.

<Elvish to Quironomi: I see it, warrior Elf. High above the keep! I can barely believe my eyes.> Airannis makes out several shapes in the distance; some fleeing from, some running towards, Greenest. "The people are under attack! Stay low and keep alert. I'll make sure the Dragon doesn't turn its attention towards us!"
Airannis reaches to his sides and pulls his two curved Scimitars before heading towards the gates of Greenest.

[Videkus]

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l211/teranosouras/d53701dd-479a-46be-9dd6-821a86d13bf5.png
Alavel (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1173213)

The novelty of traveling by herself, no family, no chores, unfamiliar sights and sounds, and choosing where she would head next quickly lost it's allure once her bruised feet and tired back started complaining. Back with her family she'd never had to lug around her worldly possessions under her own strength, always before she had a comfortable wagon or the back of a horse to retreat to once she tired. As refreshing as the new experience was Alavel would find her thoughts drifting back to that old creaking wagon every time her resolve faltered. Though every time she caught herself thinking such thoughts, she would remind herself that there was more of the world to see than Baldur's Gate, Athkatla and the various towns and villages in between.

She'd been traveling by herself for a little of a month now and had recently caught up to a caravan which she joined, the services a cleric (even of a lesser know deity) being something quite valuable on the road. The sight ahead was something she only thought to happen in bard's tales, never in all her days had she thought to see a dragon, let alone one assaulting a city!

"God's have mercy!" Alavel prays gripping her holy symbol through her blouse as Quironomi pointed out the massive beast in the distance. "Such beauty and destruction... Fire and brimstone! Those people need help!" she admires the aerial acrobatics and the raw power of fire before she points at the shapes dashing about on the ground.

At Airannis' use of elvish she temporarily forgets the dragon and shoots him a glare. "Don't be rude Airannis! Use a language everyone understands," she reprimands him automatically. He might be a good ranger, but apparently manners weren't his strong suit.

[Airatome1]

"While I do not know any merciful god or goddess who would have let a Dragon drop down upon Greenest...an actual living Dragon...I do know we are here, now, and can do more help than any god seems to be doing at current. This Dragon does not belong here...these people are doomed if we do nothing."

Without turning towards her as he addresses Alavel's other concern of language choice, Airannis scowls to himself even as he continues towards Greenest. "Though my language choice is not your concern, lady Elf, I will endeavor to speak in the common tongue when appropriate. It was not intentional to keep secrets, merely speaking our native language to the warrior here in a moment of surprise. We have more important things to focus on right now. Let us focus."


I usually mark with <Language used> any dialogue that takes place in a non Common language. Otherwise I use "Quotations" to determine normal common language dialogue. So the first line to Quiron was Elvish, the entire rest of the conversation was Common.

I am new to PbP so not sure any better way to clearly convey this language switching. I am open to ideas to help prevent any confusion?

[Bounty Hunter]

http://i.imgur.com/712V29a.jpg
Quironomi Lothalus (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=618144)

Tightening his grip on his spear and making ready to act, Quironomi studies the scene before them; the swooping shadow of the dragon as it berates the fortified outline of the keep. A million questions race through his mind but none of them seem so important as action at the moment. "We must help any we can." He calls out to the caravan members nearby. "Argue later!" Hefting his spear he sets to keep pace with the ranger, Airannis, his feet kicking up small tufts of dust with each footfall as he heads down the road.

He didn't have a proper plan just yet of how he planned for their small group to deal with a dragon which was clearly besting the towns defenses; but he knew they needed to at least help those they could escape the burning town. Perhaps Greenest at least had some sort of townsfolk militia that could be rallied to either draw off the dragon or attempt to fight it proper.

[Matwal1]

Corath was enjoying a drink at a local inn after finishing a round of songs for the patrons and being offered a drink for his performance he gladly accepted. Getting ready to pack up and head to the next town in hopes of finding an actual adventure instead of just playing songs in a inn he suddenly heard a loud roar and some crashes. Picking up his pace he threw his pack over his shoulder and ran to the main area of the inn to see what the commotion was.

"A dragon is attacking the city!" Yelled a man bursting through the door and then disappearing back out into the streets.

Not knowing what to do Corath decided this was his chance to try to get some action under his belt like he has been wanting. So he ran out the door heading down the street hoping to come across anyone that needed help.

[TheManicMonocle]

Jack continued to run down the street, keeping pace with a few townsfolk heading in the same direction. That was when he saw the halfling coming the opposite way. Towards the dragon. It was the second most unbelievable thing he had seen today. "Hey!" Yelled Jack, coming to a stop infront of the halfling. "I dunno if you realise this, but there's a dragon that way! You really ought to go the other way. Y'know, AWAY from the dragon?"

[Matwal1]

Running along the road with his eyes in the air he almost ran straight into a Tiefling but skidded to a stop as he heard the Tiefling talking to him.

"But good sir, Toward the action is where I can get some inspiration for my music!" Corath said as he looks around the streets taking in the chaos. "But I guess you could be correct. May be too dangerous. How about we stick together? Safety in numbers!"

[TheManicMonocle]

"Inspiration for your-" he paused, flabbergasted. "Tymora must love gnomes like you," said Jack, as townsfolk streamed past them. He was starting to smell smoke in the air. Never a good sign. He thought for a second, then grabbed the halfling's hand as he began to run towards the gates once more. "Come on!" Jack yelled, "You can be my lucky charm!"

[Matwal1]

http://i.imgur.com/ecZxiR8.jpg
Corath Altor (Character Sheet)

Gladely taking the Tieflings hand and running along, Corath Asks, "So what is your name anyways? I'm Corath."
As they are running Corath looks around to make sure there aren't any enemies about.





[roll0]

[Videkus]

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l211/teranosouras/d53701dd-479a-46be-9dd6-821a86d13bf5.png
Alavel (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1173213)

Put in her place effectively, Alavel crosses her arms and frowns at the backs of Quironomi and Airannis as they start toward the city. The worst part was that they were right, this was no time for petty matters. Standing up on the wagon bench she puts fingers to lips and lets out a piercing whistle to cut over the worried noise of the other caravan members. "Those people ahead are going to need our help," she says enchanting her voice and pointing to the caravan master. "We'll need blankets and bandages, and buckets, lots of buckets. Pull out all that you have and bring the wagons out to the edge of town away from the flames, we'll need to set up an aid station for the injured."

"Men," she continues swinging her gaze around to the able bodied men, merchants and guards all. "Those of you with courage to match my own, bring your buckets and come with us. Wet down the roofs of the untouched houses, the ones in flames are already lost. Right now, let's move! Come on!" she says clapping her hands to snap them out of their shock before jumping down from the wagon and hurrying after the other two elves hoping that at least some of the men would be following along behind her.

Alavel will cast Thaumaturgy to enhance her voice and try convince the caravan to come to the town's aid. Hoping that her taking charge and her little speech had roused them, or that the fact that a little elf girl was braver than them would be enough to have them act.
Persuasion: [roll0]

[TheManicMonocle]

"I'm Jack!" Grins the tiefling, looking back briefly to speak as he rushes them through the slowly darkening streets. They reach the front gate in good time to find a chaotic crowd trying to exit ahead of them; jostling elbows and panicked people on the verge of a riot. "Hell's Bells!" Oaths Jack, stomping his foot in frustration. "How are we going to get out of here?"

[Matwal1]

http://i.imgur.com/ecZxiR8.jpg
Corath Altor (Character Sheet)

Corath looks around looking for a vantage point to look around.

"Nice to meet you! Wish it was under better circumstances then we could share in Ale and song!" Corath says with a grin.

[tape_measure]

Outside the city

The wagon slows to a halt as horses begin to dance with anxiety at just the sight of the dragon. Even being far enough from the fray, the beasts are visibly disturbed; even the wagon master looks worried. From the far distance, the screech of the dragon rips through the evening air sending shivers down everyone's spine. For most, dragons only existed in drunken stories or legends of heroes. Another crackle and a bright flash of light illuminates the shadows of night that are drawing up as lightening flashes from the dragon's mouth and slams against the ground outside of the keep. Your thoughts pause for a moment as to the action but something soon takes that thought away.

The group of merchants and caravan guards and riders came to life with Alavel's words and began circling together and removing buckets. Some rush to the creek bed that snakes along the outside of the city; others stay close and begin clearing out areas on the wagons for wounded...or worse. Just outside of the last house of the city, you can see a small group of humanoids moving about the small home peering through windows. Its hard to make out from this distance (nearly 250 feet away), but you can make out 3 shorter figures and two larger figures. The larger ones are dressed in flowing robes and have shaved heads, and, again, from this distance, they almost look like kin. One of the shorter figures takes a large stick from a fire stack and breaks out the window of the home. Wrapping the end of the stick with some sort of material (again, difficult to make out exactly what from here) it works to light the stick with flint and steel. Once lit, the creature tosses the stick end over end through the window as the group moves back toward the city.


long story short, the wagons have stopped at a safe distance from the city. I want to give you a chance to act as much as I can without assuming too much.

Currently, the wagon is just inside of 300 feet from the city-a safe distance. The group is coming up on the South side of the city where homes a dispersed unevenly before it looks to become more heavily populated as you move in closer. There is a creek that runs South to East just outside of the city where the caravan members are heading with buckets. The keep of the city is mostly center of town and towering above several taller buildings that dot the landscape

[tape_measure]

Inside the city

The streets swarm with people fleeing their homes and general disarray. The screams and cries echo from home to home as you move about, darting and dodging bodies. Some give you a wicked look, jack as you move past them, as if you had something to do with the dragon.

As the two of you move along, you turn a corner and stop to take in a sight almost as strange as a dragon casting shadows on your feet. Along each side of the street, two groups of 8 humanoid figures dressed in long purple robes are moving down the thoroughfare behind 2 large lizards that look like small dragons on chains. The creatures chomp and hiss as the groups stop at each of the homes. Bashing in doors and breaking windows, the groups lose a few members as they move along in your direction as it appears the figures are looking for something in the homes. As they move closer, more figures join them from side streets and from homes that haven been ransacked already.

Still at a good, safe distance, you can make out the tell-tale signs of kobolds that are darting in and out of the larger groups into the homes and humans, all with shaved heads, dressed mostly in robes that are keeping the lizard creatures on the chain leashes.

[Matwal1]

http://i.imgur.com/ecZxiR8.jpg
Corath Altor (Character Sheet)

"Jack! We might want to run faster and try to stick to the shadows a little. That looks like way too many to handle for me! Although think of the fans I will get if I slay a few of these fellows." Corath says and begins to grin imagining him standing among the crowd being cheered at. Realizing the danger he was in he shook his head before he got too lost in thought. "Lets make haste! Maybe we can find any guards to help take out these bad looking men."





Here is a roll for stealth [roll0] to try and stick to shadows while running along and here is perception so I can see if there are any guards or resistance being set up [roll1]

[Bounty Hunter]

http://i.imgur.com/712V29a.jpg
Quironomi Lothalus (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=618144)

"There! They're setting more of the town on fire!!" Quironomi calls out as he continues his rush toward the gates, spear in hand, pack jangling at his back. He points out the group of dark figures to his companion and any from the caravan that might be following them. Clearly the dragon was the biggest problem, but if there were those that were helping its cause they might be the best place to start.

Just trying to get into the city so I can start helping. Mostly focused on heading toward the group of humanoids.

[Videkus]

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l211/teranosouras/d53701dd-479a-46be-9dd6-821a86d13bf5.png
Alavel (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1173213)

Alavel looks behind her and allows herself a small smile. Thank you, she prays touching her amulet, she had been worried that they would flee at the sight of the great beast wheeling overhead, but they were braver than they looked and she was thankful for that. Though when she caught sight of the people in the street, people adding to the evening of chaos, she pulled up short in shock if this wasn't just a simple dragon attack - those were a few words she'd never thought she'd ever string together: Simple. Dragon. Attack. - what was going on? Had some army enslaved a dragon? Were the hooligans on the street minions of the dragon? We have more important things to focus on, she plays Airannis' words through her head as she untangles her crossbow from the straps of her pack.

"Not for much longer," she replies to Quironomi's words as she fits a bolt to the weapon and hurries after the taller elves.

Equipping her crossbow and following Quironomi (and i assume Airannis) towards the miscreants/thugs/soldiers spreading the destruction.

[Airatome1]

http://i.imgur.com/geDtWmM.jpg

Airannis (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1172821)

As hard as it was for Airannis to not be distracted by the Dragon, his focus on helping the civilians persisted. As they got closer, the shapes that had formerly been little more than dots in the distance, began to come in to focus. That's when he saw them. The large 4 legged lizard-like creatures; the humanoids with shaved heads and black robes; and the smaller creatures running from building to building before each was set on fire.

Kobolds. Why'd it have to be Kobolds?
"I see them! They must be taking advantage of the confusion from the Dragon. Let's give them a warning shot and stop them from causing anymore harm!"

Airannis unslung the Longbow from his shoulder and took aim (Range:150 / 600 Ft) at one of the large beasts, not bothering to stop his forward momentum as he snaps off a shot hoping to catch them unaware.


Not sure how you handle attacking pre emptively out of initiative (usually starts initiative and dtermines surprise or not) but Airannis is attacking if he is at least within 600ft. I will make all possibly relevant rolls.
Initiative: [roll0]
With Advantage if Natural Explorer applies:
[roll1]
Attack: Against 'Lizard Thing' [roll2]
If Natural Explorer applies: [roll3]
If at Long Range (beyond 150ft) disregard Advantage on Attack roll. Or if both Lizards take a turn before Airannis. (He shoots the slowest one)
Damage: [roll4] +2 if Monstrosity

[Bounty Hunter]

http://i.imgur.com/712V29a.jpg
Quironomi Lothalus (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=618144)

Even as he sprints toward the city walls the elven warrior lets out a quick exhale through his nose, clearly amused at the eagerness of Airannis to draw the attention of the vandals. Most archers he knew would have spent great amount of time and effort getting into position and lining up the perfect shot--slow their breathing and all the other tricks that come with it. He'd never seen a bowman loosing arrows at a dead sprint without breaking stride, let alone at such a distance. He may have to tease a member or two of his company about it when it returned--if he returned likely being the better choice of words considering his current state of charging into a dragon attack.

He keeps his eyes on the target waiting to see if the arrow found a mark. Having no options to fight at long range he simply stuck to what he knows best: get up and personal.

Just gonna go ahead and roll Initiative for when you need it so you're not waiting on me.

Initiative : [roll0]

[TheManicMonocle]

Jack nods, not wanting to risk a fight either. He follows the halfling as stealthily as possible, heading for the city gate.

[roll0]

[Videkus]

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l211/teranosouras/d53701dd-479a-46be-9dd6-821a86d13bf5.png
Alavel (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1173213)

He didn't even slow, she looks on impressed following the arc of the arrow through the air before angrily brushing her hair away from her face. She doesn't wait to see if the ranger's shot was true, she had no illusions of her own skill and knew she would have to get closer to be of any use in a fight, which is what it looked like they were about to find ahead.

I'll get this done too so we're not waiting. Though in the future, i'm totally fine with the DM rolling initiative for us all.

Initiative: [roll0]