[5E] The Final Quest (OOC)

[truemane]

Hello, hello! Okay. This is going to be pure high-octane insanity and I am so here for it.

First off, if everyone could make one post, and don't make a second post until everyone has made one. Those can be your personal repositories for sheets and inventory or missing limbs or whatever.

Before we start, I've got some general guidelines. See below.


1. I have a complicated and chaotic RL, and so my posting rate is all over the place. I try to manage two or three posts per week. Sometimes I get a little more, often a little less. I'll always try to keep you updated if I think I'll be away for a few days, but I can't always. But I promise I'll always be back.

2. In terms of posting conventions: I expect everyone to post with reasonably decent grammar and spelling. I won't be all up in your business about minutiae, but everyone should cover the basics: capitalize proper nouns, use quotations marks for speech, italics for thoughts, run everything through a spellcheck, no walls of text, that sort of thing.
I tend to waver back and forth between present and past tense (sometimes in the same post). I don't really care which one you use (or even if you're consistent), just be comprehensible.
I don't colour dialogue in my posts. Don't, and won't, even if you ask me to (I find the ubiquity of that convention strange but I've long-since given up fighting about it). You may format your dialogue if you like but please pick something with good contrast so it doesn't strain anyone's eyes. Please still use quotation marks and commas and all the usual trappings, even if your dialogue is coloured.
I don't have a post length minimum or maximum. Or a required posting rate. Just try to match the energy of whatever's going on. Try not to post way more often, or way less often, or way longer, or way shorter, than everyone else. I find games settle into a rhythm as they go along.
3. Everyone is expected to remain courteous at all times and attempt to resolve potential conflict through empathy and de-escalation. If someone does or says something that causes an issue, address it in the spirit of a reasonable, honest mistake. This goes for me too! I've been doing this a long time and I'm very good at it but I can take a wrong step same as anyone. And, in fact, since cutting corners and moving fast is my primary game parameter, it's almost inevitable that I'll run over someone's toes eventually. Anything can be edited, rolled-back, retconned, deleted or worked around and the game will be fine. So long as we avoid animosity between us.

4. This probably goes without saying, but just in case: I won't tolerate any racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, queerphobia, ageism, ableism or any other sort of weaponized, systemized prejudice, either implicit or explicit, from the players or the PC's.


Our single, primary, overriding, goal will be maintaining momentum. I think momentum is the most reliable indicator of a PbP game's success, and I think the easiest ways to lose momentum is to treat PbP game like tabletop. Around a table, in real time, we can hash out a plan, discuss next steps, ask questions, tell another player they should do something, and it's done. On PbP, with hours or days between posts, low stakes back-and-forth discussion should be avoided whenever possible.

For my part, this means I will: End a scene as soon as the stakes are resolved, even if things are still happening, which can include combat. If the tension point of an encounter has passed, I might say "And you guys finish off the last few bad guys with no trouble" and move on so we don't spend a week mathematically confirming a foregone conclusion.
Avoid any situation where one particular player needs to do something for the story to progress.
In every post of every scene, ensure there's something active and immediate for you to react to. On tabletop, it's fine to say "You enter the basement, it's dark and there's a furnace at the back" and you ask questions and roll dice until you see the glowing green light in the corner but instead I would frame the scene with you already in the basement, at the green light, with it doing something you need to react to right away.
For your part, try to keep in mind: Try not to end a post such that one particular character/player needs to respond in order to move forward. Sometimes this is unavoidable, but if you can avoid it, do so.
Avoid tactical pre-planning like an incurable disease. Nothing will sink a game faster than five people trying to plan a heist in this format. And even though I plan to give this whole thing a pretty straight through-line, it is basically a raid on a secure fortress, so the urge to talk out the tactical approach will be strong. But I want you all to resist. I'd much rather you just took a Leeroy Jenkins at it and we can figure it out as you we go along.
Aside from that, I want everyone to keep these guideposts in mind:

1. Ask Forgiveness Rather than Permission
If you can't move forward unless you know something about the scene, or the world, or the environment, default to telling me rather than asking me. Whether it's what you have near to hand, what's nearby, the extent and limitations of your powers and abilities, things you know, or whatever else, pick something that makes sense and go with it.

Clearly there's a line here ("Is there a Ring of Infinite Wishes on this guy's pillow?") but so long as we all stay in genre and within the established scope and tone of the game, we should be okay. And if you go too far or mess up something else I had in mind? No big deal. We can backtrack, retcon, work out a compromise, or any number of options.

2. For PvP, Always Ask Permission
The one major exception to the above is any kind of Player vs Player (PvP) conflict. Whether emotional, social or physical, any conflict between the PC's should be discussed ahead of time and proceed only if all parties have given enthusiastic consent. If there's any doubt if something counts as 'conflict' default to 'yes it is' and ask first.

This game is, almost by design, going to have intra-party conflict. And I think that's great. But I would like us to get used to pitching it before we do it. This is true for general conflicts ("My character mistrusts Warlocks so she's going to question your judgement"), and specific conflicts ("What if, in this scene, I decide you can't be trusted because your family is rich?").

This is the one place where stalling out is better for the game than pushing forward.
gets easier, and the awkwardness now really pays off later.

3. It's Weird, but That's Cool
In my experience, both of these can be weird and strange until we get used to it. But, also in my experience, once we get the hang of it, and build up a positive dynamic, it really makes things go a lot easier.

So I guess the first thing is to get characters completed. If anyone has any questions, concerns, requests, or wants to change anything from their pitch, or whatever else, let's get into it.

In terms of world-building, I've deliberately left the entire world undefined (except for the one part of it you'll be invading), so you're welcome to come up with whatever you want for your own backstories or people.

Let's get this started!

Original Recruitment Thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?655717-Looking-to-Play-in-a-20th-Level-Gestalt-PF-1E-or-5E)
IC Chapter 1 (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?656391-IC-D-amp-D5E-The-Ultimate-Quest-Part-1)

[JNAProductions]

Grod's Grand Genesis
Level 9 Conjuration
Casting Time: Special
Duration: Instantaneous
Range: Special
Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material

Tapping upon the power of ambient creation, you split off a small shard of reality, that will eventually grow into a copy of the plane you are on.

To cast this spell, you must spend eight hours a day for an entire year expending your 9th level slot and performing powerful rituals. If one day in a row is missed, the time is extended by ten days. If two days in a row are missed, the spell fails. Throughout the casting, you must provide 1,000 GP worth of rare components pertaining to what you are trying to create each day.

Upon completion, a hole is rent in reality, sucking in everything in a 30' radius and leaving nothing in its place. Over the course of the next decade, the embryo of reality will slowly grow into a plane in its own right, based on the plane it was created from, but with changes based upon the rituals you performed and components provided.

Material Components: Minimum 365,000 GP worth of rare components pertaining to the plane you wish to create.

Spell Lists: None naturally-must be found via an awesome quest.
The first casting of Grand Genesis was by a giant known as Grod. Less a giant and more of a titan, Grod saw that the world was filled with frustrations and lacked creativity, so Grod began to work towards making a better world. He performed years, decades even, of research to find out how it could be done, and, when he knew, he gathered the most creative and happy people he could find. He asked them if they were willing to make a sacrifice to create a better world. Most said no-but some said yes. And, over the course of a year, Grod channeled his most potent arcane energies through rituals, and at the culmination, he and the people he had gathered stepped towards the center, and were seemingly obliterated.

But, in their deaths, a new plane was born. It began to grow, with their hearts and souls at its center, and over time became a happier plane, filled with people free from frustrations and with the spark of creativity in them.

Legend says that one can commune with these great spirits, should one find the center of this reality.

She's seen the world. All the glorious, wonderful parts of the world! And all the miserable, fetid, grotesque realities. The world is stained-tainted from its very creation. She doesn't know why. But she knows that there's a chance-however slim it might be-of making a new world. A better one. She won't see it, or at least, not in her current form. Maybe she could linger on as a spirit-maybe not. But it would be worth it.

She thinks of her family, long gone. Her friends, imprisoned and executed for crimes they didn't commit. Her comrades, lost in a senseless war.

She will not fail.

1) Remake reality itself, into a kinder, gentler world.

2) Knowledgeable, ender of tyrants, wielder of mysteries.
She used to have a flair for the dramatic, and called herself that as a way to describe her magic. She's kinda had that burnt out of her, though, with the losses she's had.
She has a burning hatred for those who would abuse their power over others, stemming from her early adventuring life where she fought on the side of revolutionaries against The Tyrant Of Hellkite Peaks, and lost many friends and comrades.

3) Knowledgeable-hunted, ender of tyrants-exiled, wielder of mysteries-bringer of death.
Her brain has many secrets of power. People want that.
After killing The Tyrant Of Hellkite Peaks, she was exiled by the next ruler. She accepted her exile, initially, but later realized that it wasn't "enforcement of laws" it was "get this scary magic-wielding revolutionary away so I can be evil."

4) Supposedly, one of the tears was found by an ifrit. The ifrit, having been enslaved in the past by mortals seeking to use its magic for their own, wished for vengeance upon that family. Unbeknownst to that ifrit was that that family was incredibly fecund and widespread. Millions of people across the world were shattered, physically and mentally, in an event known as The Fiery Death. The ifrit was satisfied-for a short time, as is its nature.

5) There is a ritual ongoing, that she's investigating. Remnants of Hellkite Peak Inquisitors are trying to resurrect the Tyrant, using the ritual to take many lives and use them to empower him into a nascent god.

6) Doesn't matter to me. Just make clear when your refer to me. :)

Mechanics incoming soon.

Jhoira (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2783728) is mostly done!
And I may have accidentally made a tank.

Reporting for duty! In the middle of a real time session right now, so I'll not be updating anything for the moment.

[AvatarVecna]

Simon Paol (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2790139)


Elevator Pitch
Simon Paol is ostensibly a scribe, following along on others' adventures and recording what happens for posterity. Unofficially, Simon has a reputation as a "good luck charm": adventures where he tags along tend to always go well for whoever's side he's on, without him seeming to do anything. The truth is that Simon is trope savvy enough to have realized he's in a story (or in a world in which many stories are told), and has been influencing the author(s) to make small changes in the narrative that add up to larger plot divergences, and even genre changes if he works hard enough.

What's your One True Wish?
For a great many reasons, Simon has no interest in the Tear himself. He likes his life plenty as it is, and wishes are traps anyway. The only power truly beyond him is some means of piercing the fourth wall aside from giving the author ideas on new directions to take the story, and this is probably a power even beyond the Tear. But Simon cares a great deal for this world and the people in it, and knows the Tear will attract malefactors with ill intent. He's coming along to put his thumb on the scale, make sure the right kind of person gets the right kind of wish, even if it's sure to backfire somehow.

Words (Positive)
Famous. Influential.

Simon's traveled a lot, accompanying one group after another, with little rhyme or reason to what cause sparks his interest (at least, little reason than others can determine). Without fail, those groups go on to succeed, their members growing in power and station faster than could be believed. Near enough every king's court in the land employs or is in good relations with someone Simon adventured with and wrote stories about. If you need help from those in authority, Simon is about two or three steps removed from just about anyone you could think to beseech.

Words (Negative)
Hunted. Hated.

Simon's reputation is a double-edged sword. Those with good causes seek him out to try and recruit him, but Simon tends to turn them down. He knows that the power he wields is influencing the story to be more entertaining, which doesn't always overlap with what's best for those the story is about. That's not a very reliable power, but reliability is what's necessary for the role such people are trying to push him into. He works best as a witness to the greatness of others, twisting things from the shadows to tell a better story. But he can't really explain that to anyone, and it tends to build a lot of resentment in those he rejects.

Tear Of Dao
Legend tells of a man who sought out a Tear of Dao to be truly immortal, where even the greatest powers of the gods would be unable to end his life. The man went to war with the heavens after his wish had been granted, and was unstoppable until the gods tricked him into an inescapable prison. He remains there to this day, sealed away in the darkest depths of the world, starved of food and company and light but unable to perish. Simon doesn't put much stock in this story - he's heard a thousand "wish gone horribly wrong" stories just like it. That this one specifically features a Tear Of Dao doesn't necessarily lend it any real credibility in his eyes.

What You Left Behind
Simon's most recent party had been locked up on trumped-up charges, although he had managed to talk his way out of being sentenced himself. He was on his way to free them from imprisonment (legitimately or otherwise) when the courier arrived with this letter. He knew this was of greater consequence than any adventure he'd ever been on, and was forced to abandon it. The group will likely remain locked up until after the solstice, which means the heroine prophesied to be the only hope of stopping the rise of the ancient vampire lord would be wasting away helplessly in a cell. That kingdom is almost certainly doomed, and it was entirely Simon's fault because he was there only hope of escape. Simon hopes that some other circumstance will arise to assist them at the last minute, but he knows that won't be him.

Pronouns
I am they/them. Simon is he/him.

Sheet hasn't been started, but he's planned as a bard//cleric focused hard on support.

[miinstrel]

Hey y’all! This is gonna be nuts. Thx for the invite :)

About to head to bed so I’ll update in the AM.



https://mj-gallery.com/8106c9b0-df6a-401c-a0bd-c48c6a45f531/grid_0_640_N.webp
Osmanthus (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2783741)
DV 60' | P 30 / PIns 19 / PInv 19
AC 21 | HP 200/200
Resist: none
Immune: Disease, Poison, Surprised, Sleep
Effects: Adv. vs. Charm
Conditions: none

After saving the world a handful of times, Osmanthus is TIRED. He's seen every inch of the land on every continent. Twice. Read the complete collected works of human knowledge three times. You know what he's learned after four-odd millennia? The singular truth of it all? People suck. That cute little red-tufted bird-eating toad? Only a dozen or so of them left now. They're extinct they just don't know it yet. What's it all for? To see how many hectares of land our great grandchildren can force their neighbors to work on for next to nothing? Enough.

The land and the beasts don’t deserve this. Maybe this can give them a fresh start free from the interference of all this ‘sapience.’
1. One True Wish
You learn a few things after so many years, and the top of the list? People suck. Yes, all of them. Sure, some THINK they're trying to do the right thing, but no one knows. No one can measure their impact. The gods really screwed the pooch with all this sapience... time for a reset. All these innocent beasts and woodland critters, and dandelions... they deserve a shot without us ruining everything. But we can't very well kill off all the mortals, no then the powers that be would label it a 'tragedy' or some such and intervene. So we'll just create an exact duplicate of everything we have here, except all the beasts can live alone on their side and all the messed up "thinking" beings can have the other. No interference. Just let nature take its course.

2. Descriptors
- Influential
- Knowledgeable
- Famous - As one of the oldest creatures on the planet, Osmanthus has saved the world a dozen or so times now. There was the attempted merger with the first layer of hell, the krakenocalypse, the necrotic god husk... they all start to fade into the fog after so many years. Whatever's going on in the world, Osmanthus was a constant, trusted companion to turn to when everything went wrong as it does so frequently (and usually as a direct result of mortal greed or ambition... just saying). He's advised most world leaders, attended galas, planted forests. His cheerfully weathered face the first to produce an apple from nowhere for a shy child.

3. Other Descriptors
- Infamous
- Destroyer of Sentropoli - But that smile has gradually inverted. It seems the more he intervenes to save humanity the worse everything else gets. Not a noticeable kind of worse, at least nothing you'd see over a few years, but a few centuries? Oh yeah. Things are going downhill. Where there are even hills LEFT... damn dwarves. it's mostly legend by now, but the stories say Osmanthus grew tired of repeating himself to generation after generation of rulers. One day quite without warning, the ground trembled and it didn't stop until the city of some 100,000 people was leveled to dust. They stopped calling him after that.
- Caretaker of the Demesne of Doom - A few hundred years ago he carved a chunk off a nearby kingdom and turned it into a nature preserve to just let nature take its course. Wildlife populations have rebalanced, the flora are thriving... it keeps him busy.

4. Tear of Dao Legend
Now the tricky thing about power like this is as grand as it may be, its use is often lost to time. Most people don't remember there used to be a second sun... but I do. As I understand it, these competing gods of light, one the yellow sun we know now and the other a harsher, redder tint, vied with each other to see who could best keep the darkness at bay. But it wasn't really about the dark... it was about eliminating the competition. And all they needed was a 'champion' naive enough to think they were doing the right thing and POOF... now there's only one sun. And about 30% more darkness, but hey anything to win, right? They'll finish banishing the darkness some other time.

5. What am I abandoning for this
Constantly fending off land grabs, poachers, magical abominations, and the like really does take quite a bit of time. If this 'true wish' thing doesn't pan out, he could return to find much of his preserve overrun. Hundreds of years of work erased. It could be enough to drive anyone into, say... a city-leveling frenzy.

6. Pronouns
You know who don't have to deal with pronouns? Maple trees. And literally EVERY OTHER LIVING THING on this god-forsaken planet. Actually no, that's a lie... capybara do use a set of traditionally three sets of pronou..... you don't care about this.
Use whatever words you like, I only care for their intent.
(i'll refer to myself as he/him)

*****
Magic item I took a Tome of Understanding x4. Is that okay?
I kind of love the idea that he just keeps obsessively reading this same book that promises magical understanding over and over again through the years trying to figure out WHY, and for all the wisdom gained never quite answers the question. Perhaps the truly wise would recognize the answer isn't within...

Truemane - any further thoughts about multiple stat tomes / should I revise my magic items?

[Bobthewizard]

Good to see you all on here. This should be fun.


Here is Khog (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2782298). Divine fury incarnate looking for his lost true love. And some revenge.

Khog is an orc conqueror who will use his wish to find his true love, a fair elven princess.

He was a great barbarian warrior and leader. He conquered neighboring tribes and then neighboring countries. By the time he was 25, he had defeated all of the lands surrounding his and ruled a great orc empire. It was then that the elvish king invited him to negotiate. At the negotiation, Khog fell in love with the king's daughter, and surprisingly, she fell in love with him.

Khog vowed peace with the elves in exchange for the king's permission to marry his daughter. The king agreed, they were married, and they were due to have their first child. But the king did not want his daughter marrying an orc, so he made a deal with Mammon, paying him to have his minions retrieve the princess, thinking that Khog would not suspect his involvement. But Mammon betrayed the elf king and stole the princess for his own.

When Khog found out, he prayed to Hoar and made his Vow of Vengeance. But Khog has not been able to find his bride or his child. He traveled the nine hells to no avail. He has sought diviners, wish spells, and cleric's divine intervention. But none can locate his wife. So when he finds out that a Tear of Dao exists, he knows he needs it. His kingdom is currently under attack and likely will be destroyed if he leaves, but he has to go. He has one wish... "Take me to my wife" He'll take care of things from there.

He wants to be reunited with his wife and meet his child. While he could wish for them to be brought to him, he wants to go to them so he can destroy whoever is hiding them from him.

She is hidden somewhere in the cosmos by powerful enough abjuration magic that he has not been able to find her.

True love!

Famous. Builder of an orc homeland. Without him, his orc homeland will fall. It was his life purpose, but he will give it up for the chance to rescue his wife.

Hated. Destroyer of any who oppose him. Currently, this applies to the surrounding kingdoms that opposed his conquest. In the future, this will apply to his wife’s captors.

His wife told him a story of how one of the original elves, who were servants of the Fey, discovered a Tear of Dao in the Seelie Court. They were able to steal it and wished for freedom and longevity for the elves. The elves were banished to the material plane and given their long lifespans.

His kingdom will be destroyed. His brothers, sisters, and parents will all be killed if he fails to return.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Hooray! This’ll be fun!

I’ll likely not be able to finish Sirocco’s sheet until at least the end of the day today.


A. The "Elevator Pitch."
Sirocco Squall is going on this quest because she's obsessed with granting other people's wishes.

To her, the height of nobility means that if anyone needs anything, you can either provide it yourself or find someone who can. As such, she goes through life with two conflicting impulses in mind: a trickster and a performer. As a trickster, she has the typical genie's inclination to give people exactly what they ask for even if it's clearly bad. It's a twisted sense of morality to be sure - like a high-stakes version of making a child smoke a whole pack of cigarettes.

Her performer side is no less messed up. She's obsessed with her reputation and with garnering favor. Thanks to her connections, she knows this team of renowned heroes is basically unstoppable, so she may as well get in good with them and reserve for her house a piece of whatever new world they create.


Backstory

Sirocco is a genasi, born and raised on the Elemental Plane of Air. Her Djinn relatives and caregivers don't understand mortal concerns very well, and so she has always had a certain sense of detachment from the material realm. What a normal person would consider an impossible choice feels to her like another drama beat in a storybook. On the other hand, she loves giving people what they want and making them happy, hence why she first came here as a performer. She's since made a name for herself as a bard, a fixer, and a diplomat, and established a material foothold for her elemental merchant house.


What's your One True Wish?

As it stands, she would take the macguffin just to have it. She wants to be the person everyone else goes to when they need that kind of power - the epitome of her family's weird brand of conspicuous philanthropy.


Choose two or three...

Wealthy
In addition to the support of her warlock-patron grandparents, Sirocco has a husband and three children, trade princes all.

Builder of the Blue Bridges
Teleportation Circle is probably Sirocco's favorite spell. It's let her forge alliances and maintain connections all over the world, and remains as the centerpiece of her family business even when she's not around. Casting it has basically been her day job for the last two decades or so.


For each of the above...

Architect of Inequity
Alternate title: Builder of the #^*@ING Blue Bridges. Sirocco's trade network has allowed its wealthy users to avoid their neighbors to an unprecedented degree, allowing an already aloof noble and mercantile class to get even worse. Her own claims of objectivity and detachment in her dealings do not help matters.

Despoiler of a Rainforest
A faction of druids who originally supported her work have come back around to hating it, as those leaders who use the Blue Bridges are prone to order their surroundings logged to oblivion without ever having to see them after. In fact, Sirocco made a point of showing the relevant queen the consequences of her actions, but this earned her points with exactly nobody.


Legends say that three or four of the Tears of Dao have been found over the millennia. Tell me what happened to one of them.

A whale ate one, forgotten and adrift in an untamed ocean. The sea level rose three feet that night, and the mighty and beautiful Sky Whales have been a hallmark of this world ever since.


You were living a whole real life when you got this letter and dropped everything to chase it down. Tell me something really bad that's going to happen to something important because you walked away.

When Sirocco received the letter, her first action was to gather her family, including her kids' spouses, and banish them all to the Plane of Air. It was probably the most coldly calculated thing she'd ever done. After all, to them, it's a hostile alien land where they basically have to start their lives over.

Even if they find their way back somehow, their homes on the material plane will likely be gone by then. The trade network they've established quickly falls apart without their contracts and their secret keys. For all the Blue Bridges' infamy, there are cities that will suddenly face starvation with them gone, unless they quick rebuild roads that have since been taken over by monsters.


What are your preferred pronouns?
Dr. Gunsforhands is a they, Sirocco is a she. She's really pretty gender-fluid, which could come up occasionally since she wants to be a party face, but using she/her in narration is always safe.

[truemane]

And that's everyone! Excellent. I'm excited to see how all this turns out.

One thing I wanted to get opinions on is how much conflict we want to have around the actual Tear itself. The question boils down to: there are five of you and one Tear. What do we do about that?

1. Low Conflict. We just state, OC, as part of the game, that the Tear will allow any survivors to make their wish and that's that. This makes the claiming the Tear the climax of the story, and the making of wishes more of a quiet denouement.

2. High Conflict. We muddy the waters. No one really knows how multiple wishes will work. So, unless the answer is found in-game somewhere, things are going to get tense when you get to it.

2b. High Conflict +. I tell each of you, secretly, what your character is 100% certain how the Tear works. So you may wind up with different agendas.

And there are lots of ways to manage any of those options. But it comes down to, once you get to the Tear, how much do you want to fight about it?

You're welcome to vote here, or via PM.

[Bobthewizard]

I prefer 1 but could do 2 if everyone else wants to. I don't like PVP or the idea of players keeping secrets from each other, so I'd rather skip 2b. I've always enjoyed games more when we're rooting for each other to succeed, and cheering each other on.

[truemane]

I also prefer transparency pretty much all the time. High tension one-shots like this my only real exception.

I also agree that rooting each other on is the spirit I want all games to have. But I do think that inter-character conflict can be a lot of fun so long as it doesn't become inter-player conflict. I have some experience managing the separation. The notes on 'Ask Forgiveness' and 'Ask Permission' in this thread's OP are part of that.

But I'm happy to work with the overall consensus.

[JNAProductions]

I vote two. Adds some spice.

[miinstrel]

I personally love the drama of inter party conflict, so I’d vote for #2. I trust that as players we are all seeking a satisfying story, and I’m not opposed to self sacrifice to make that happen. No qualms with pvp, especially for a one-shot like this, provided it’s all narrative based/motivated… and ideally doesn’t involve any of the absurd “I do 928,613 damage in one round” uber optimizer crap.

[AvatarVecna]

I prefer 2.

EDIT: I should probably actually make a character sheet finally, shouldn't I?

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

I have no strong preference between the two tear approaches! Sirocco would try to take 2 and turn it into 1 using her words, though.

Sheet's close to done! (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2786521) I've been torn between the two bard specialties in Tasha's. Eloquence leans into Sirocco's life as a negotiator, and gives a unique save-debuffing mechanic so the team can hit tougher targets with cooler spells. Creation leans into conjuring stuff for her wish-granting shtick, including ridiculous things like spell components and adamantine walls. Either would be a lot fun! Hence the indecision I guess!

I'm leaning toward the Creation side right now because it's funnier, but it's also a lot more complicated, but also might technically require less coordination? Part of my brain wants to peek at what the other bard is doing and do whichever feels like the opposite. :smalltongue:

[Bobthewizard]

I really like Trumane's ask forgiveness and ask permission rules. For PVP, I'd rather we work out the outcome OOC instead of any rolling of dice between characters, especially with the absurd power of this game. The rest of you can fight things out if you want, but I'd rather not.

[truemane]

I really like Trumane's ask forgiveness and ask permission rules. For PVP, I'd rather we work out the outcome OOC instead of any rolling of dice between characters, especially with the absurd power of this game. The rest of you can fight things out if you want, but I'd rather not.
I want us to discuss how we want things to go OC, before the game even starts. That's a good thing to get into while sheets are being finished.

I'll get some talking points up later today.

[AvatarVecna]

It's been quite a week but I'm finally working on putting the sheet together. Rolling up a prayer bead necklace to see if worth getting.

Quantity: [roll0]

Quality: [roll1] (ignore extras if any)

EDIT:

1 bead of "Bless"
2 beads of "Cure Wounds 2nd lvl" or "Lesser Restoration"
1 bead of "Branding Smite"

EDIT 2:

Wasn't enthused with most of the existing Consumable options but wands look tempting. Most wands are technically consumable, in that if you use the last charge, the wand might be expended forever instead of recharging. But the chance of that happening is low, and the chance of your typical adventurer even risking that roll is even lower. If those are "consumable enough" for your taste, let me know. But I feel they're not really consumables and I suspect you'll agree.

And then I saw this:


VARIANT: WANDS THAT DON'T RECHARGE

A typical wand has expendable charges. If you'd like wands to be a limited resource, you can make some of them incapable of regaining charges. Consider increasing the base number of charges in such a wand to a maximum of 25 charges. These charges are never regained once they're expended.

This would make it undeniably consumable, and also more useful than the normal version for our purposes since it allows more castings per day at the expense of long-term (but we don't have to deal with the long-term). Can we use this variant? In case the answer isn't a hard "no", I've collected a list of eligible wands.





Name
Rarity
Spell (Lvl)
Notes


Wand Of Entangle
Uncommon (Attuned)
Entangle (1st)
TotYP source, not auto-approved material.


Wand Of Magic Detection
Uncommon
Detect Magic (1st)



Wand Of Magic Missiles
Uncommon
Magic Missile (1st*)
Can expend additional charges to upcast.


Wand Of Web
Uncommon (Attuned)
Web (2nd)



Wand Of Binding
Rare (Attuned)
Hold Person (2nd)
Hold Monster (5th)
Expend charges equal to spell level.
Can expend charges for adv on avoiding/escaping capture.


Wand Of Fear
Rare (Attuned)
Command (1st)
Expend 2 charges for 60 ft cone of "frightened 1 minute".


Wand Of Fireballs
Rare (Attuned)
Fireball (3rd*)
Can expend additional charges to upcast.


Wand Of Lightning Bolts
Rare (Attuned)
Lightning Bolt (3rd*)
Can expend additional charges to upcast.


Wand Of Winter
Rare (Attuned)
Ray Of Frost (0th)
Sleet Storm (3rd)
Ice Storm (4th)
Expend charges equal to spell level.
Can cast Ray Of Frost as 5th lvl caster by expending 1 charge.


Wand Of Polymorph
Very Rare (Attuned)
Polymorph (4th)





I've excluded the Wand Of Wonder for being a largely-random item whose power fluctuates a lot depending on just how lucky you get, which makes estimating appropriate charges difficult. Unfortunately, eligible wands were far easier to locate than community consensus on appropriate charge numbers. I can barely find anybody even mentioning this variant, let alone discussing it. TBH even if your answer is a hard "no" on this variant rule, I'm probably gonna make a thread for this subject myself.

[truemane]

Okay, everyone. Sorry about that. I had a bit of a week there.

First:
1. What's everyone's status on their sheet?
2. Does anyone have any questions, requests, concerns, confusions, etc?
3. Does anyone need to make any changes to their story or character as a result of having some more time to think it all over?

Second:
In regards to wands as consumables. I'm open to the idea. But since this going to be a pretty tight one shot, they would have a small number of charges to make them feel like consumables. I think, like, no more than three. And/or maybe I roll 1d6? So you don't know?

Thoughts?

Third:
In regards to the narrative conflict. I want everyone to feel okay with the game, and the stakes, and not be made to feel uncomfortable.

My suggestion is this:
-Everyone say, out loud, before the game starts, some idea of what their character believes is going to happen when they find the Tear, and how they're going to deal with it.

So, if your character believes it can only be used once, and you plan to be that one, no matter what, we can say so now.

And, if there's going to be any conflict IC, at any point, follow the Ask Permission rule and just run it past the person(s) involved.

In the game world, some things it would make sense to believe about the Tear:
-Only works once, period.
-Only works once per person.
-Only a certain kind of person can claim it.
-Only a certain kind of person can make certain kinds of wishes.
-There's a ritual or spell or some kind of particular specific set of steps to activate it.
-It grants the deepest wish in your heart, even if you aren't aware of it.
-It always seeks the easiest, least intrusive way to grant a wish, which might have unpredictable effects.
-It actually summons an Avatar of Dao the Shaper, with whom you must bargain for your wish(es).

And/or any number of other, equally outlandish ideas. These things are the single most famous artifacts in existence, and every culture, every society, every race, has mountains of stories and lore and legends about them.

So, two things: sheets, and conflicts.

I've got the opening post written and ready. I'm excited to get rolling.

[AvatarVecna]

Okay, everyone. Sorry about that. I had a bit of a week there.

First:
1. What's everyone's status on their sheet?
2. Does anyone have any questions, requests, concerns, confusions, etc?
3. Does anyone need to make any changes to their story or character as a result of having some more time to think it all over?

Second:
In regards to wands as consumables. I'm open to the idea. But since this going to be a pretty tight one shot, they would have a small number of charges to make them feel like consumables. I think, like, no more than three. And/or maybe I roll 1d6? So you don't know?

Thoughts?

I'm fine with those wand rules. I've got a whole bunch of Magic Detection wands then. This is the info I needed to complete my sheet for the most part. I do have a question though, about spell slots.


Spell slots are tracked separately for each class.

What does this mean exactly?


Third:
In regards to the narrative conflict. I want everyone to feel okay with the game, and the stakes, and not be made to feel uncomfortable.

My suggestion is this:
-Everyone say, out loud, before the game starts, some idea of what their character believes is going to happen when they find the Tear, and how they're going to deal with it.

Simon believes that the Tear Of Dao grants a single wish to a single person and then ceases to function. This isn't based on any particular story as much as his familiarity with narrative tension. That tension either comes from the journey itself (we're plucky underdogs fighting against impossible odds to obtain our happy endings), or from the destination (the tear only works for one person, and so the characters you've gotten to know and who've gotten to know each other will have a physical and philosophical struggle over who deserves to get it). And Simon can see we're not exactly plucky underdogs by any stretch of the imagination.

Despite this, Simon has little interest in the Tear for his own purposes. The problems in his life have more satisfying solutions than a "can do anything" McGuffin could ever give, and he's of the opinion that wishes are generally a trap. Stories of getting the power to do anything are typically a cautionary tale about how complicated the world is and how the smallest misunderstandings can have tragic, even apocalyptic consequences. This, he thinks, is why genies grant three wishes: one for the initial thoughtless wish, one for the hasty attempt at correcting the first wish while still getting what you want, and one for undoing the first two wishes entirely because you've realized there was never going to be a perfect solution and you're better off solving your problem the old-fashioned way. The tear can do more than genie wishes can, but in the grand scheme of things it's still filling the same role in the story.

It's possible that ours is just one story in a world of many stories. The world won't be unmade or conquered too badly because that would impose our story on too many others. A background event of that magnitude would be unthinkable - imagine watching a romance story play out upon the stage, but halfway through there's a meteor crash and now it's a "surviving the apocalypse" story. That's very abrupt...but that's not to say it couldn't happen. It would be nice if Simon could just relax and trust that this Tear Of Dao business will be interesting to witness but ultimately won't screw up too much else going on in the world...but it might very well be that this is the main story being told, and one person's decision to end the world for their own reasons is the book-end of an epic tragedy nobody knows they're living in. If that's the case, Simon wants to try and influence the story towards a happier ending, for most people in the world anyway. Big things are fine, but final things are a problem.

To that end, Simon's actions are largely going to be sniffing out the intentions and beliefs of the other PCs, figuring out what they want to use the wish for and why, so he can figure out which ending he wants to assist in the pursuit of.

(Sorry if this is bit lengthier than you were expecting. >.>)

[Bobthewizard]

Khog believes that it is unlikely that the Tear only works once. If it did, someone would have used it by now and it would no longer function. He also doesn't think it can just work for anyone, or the whole world would have wishes.

He has heard that most people that touch the Tear are instantly killed, engulfed in a swirling mix of radiance, bludgeoning and fire, followed by freezing, psychic and necrotic. (I envision 6 DC20 saves, one for each attribute, STR = bludgeoning, DEX = Fire, CON = Cold, INT = Psychic, WIS = Radiant, CHA = Necrotic. On each failed save, you take 10d10 damage of that type. Half damage on a success)

Then those few who survive can ask the Tear for one wish, but some of those wishes are granted literally and end up not being what the person wanted. The more invasive, overarching and complicated the wish, the more likely for something to go wrong. He thinks you are more likely to succeed if you keep it simple and not try to remake reality. The Tear may also be more helpful for wishes that are for good or pure purposes, rather than wishes that are for power or evil purposes.

Once you have used it, you can never use that Tear again, but you could try to find another Tear.

The other possibility is that it only works once every 100 years, so just in case, he will try to be first to use the Tear.

[miinstrel]

2. Does anyone have any questions, requests, concerns, confusions, etc?
Your thoughts on taking stat bump books multiple times for my items?


My suggestion is this:
-Everyone say, out loud, before the game starts, some idea of what their character believes is going to happen when they find the Tear, and how they're going to deal with it.

The histories suggest that these are literal tears shed by a god when they die. Look at the timing of deific deaths and when stories of the Tears crop up. Coincidence? I THINK NOT!

Godhood is finite; it's an elite club that only accepts so many members. So when one doesn't make the cut, the tear falls into our plane for another to take up the mantle and play the great game. All these stories people tell are just rumors to keep mortals cowed and ensure only the best and the brightest even have the gumption to attempt to chase this power. You ever met someone who used a Tear? Didn't think so. That's because they ASCEND!

I'm practically a god anyway with how damn long I've been alive, may as well get credit for it. Not that he's specifically interested in it... the boredom of a millenias long life is already familiar to him - extending that for eternity isn't necessarily appealing. Though whether or not he lets someone else ascend to godhood will depend on the quality of their character... and their willingness to enact Ozzy's own desires when they take their place among the divine ranks.

[truemane]

Your thoughts on taking stat bump books multiple times for my items?
Thanks for the reminder. Let's go with it. At the very least, it'll be interesting to see how one stat that high (and important) impacts the math of high level encounters.

Plus it's awesome.

[JNAProductions]

First
1) Still need to select Wizard spells known, but that's about it.
2) Not right now.
3) Nope!

Second
I'll probably go with scrolls scribed into my book already, so it doesn't matter to my character.

Third
Jhoira has done a lot of research on this. Enough to know that when it works, it works. Supposedly, the Tear will work once, before laying dormant for a long time. Centuries at a minimum, millennia usually, with the more powerful the wish, the longer it stays dormant. She also knows that the Tear does not twist or contort your wishes-it does require a clear mind and concise thoughts, but it's no monkey paw.
Relatedly, given her wish, she honestly believes that good people will allow her to make the wish, with their own wishes as part of the greater whole. But those who would use the wish for evil ends... She won't allow that.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

1-1) Sirocco's sheet is done! I'll edit into my first post. I went with College of Creation for fun, and with Pact of the Chain because what respectable noble would go around without a lovely Sylph assistant? She rides in style on a pegasus companion, too.

1-2) I remember you mentioned that we should avoid extra bodies. Is this direction still okay? Silph the Sylph is most likely going to be a Kazooie the team can rely on for item retrieval and such, Rex the Pegasus is a horse, and animated objects seem to mainly be an extra little thing to do with Sirocco's bonus actions.

1-3) I think Sirocco is still the same. Her family situation hasn't changed, and she's still eager to endear herself to this gang of world-renowned warrior-poets.

3-X)

All Sirocco asks, from a material standpoint, is that she keep the Tear at the end. Even if it's a spent shell by that point, it's a worthy treasure to rebuild her palace around. If it isn't spent, then she'll have gambled and won!

Sirocco's understanding of the Tear is that it's a wibbly-wobbly power source that responds to a user's desires and ambitions. She doesn't claim to know more than that, and honestly suspects that its power is mostly symbolic. If a being who finds a Tear is destined for greatness, the Tear itself might be incidental. Age-old stories are better at preserving ideas about the meaning and purpose of power than about the mechanics of one item. She and Simon certainly agree on that much. What can I say, bards are weird!

Her proposal, should the group accept it, is to collect everyone's wishes and set to work implementing them all in one go. She can use the power to distribute the power, ensuring that the jobs are done fully and impartially.

The group might not like that idea! Sirocco has a bit of a reputation as a monkey paw in herself, even knowing that she's approaching this honestly. Sirocco doesn't need to be the one holding it to implement that plan, though. I nominate Khog to do it.

[truemane]

Thanks everyone. That's all very helpful. I envisioned the overall feel of this being a sort of tenuous alliance of strangers who don't have reason to trust each other completely.

We'll feel all that out as we go. Just remember to err on the side of caution when it comes to engaging in conflict with each other.

Spell Slots
-I mean that you determine spell slots separately for each side of the Gestalt. Ergo potentially double spell slots.

Extra Bodies
-I think that'll be fine. Let's have your familiar act on your initiative (mix your actions as desired).

One last thing I'll need from everyone (sorry about the endless interrogation - I forgot about this one before):
-Does anyone have any unusual means of movement or travel? How are you getting around?
-Does anyone have any unusual passive senses or abilities that I need to keep in mind? I'll warn you ahead of time that I will forget them all the time, but if I know about them it helps.
-Does anyone have any weird tricks or combos or win buttons hidden in your build that I might not foresee or expect? I'm not asking because I want to take them away. I want you to have them, I just want to know about them.

Other than that, I think we're ready to roll! I'll get our IC up today or tomorrow.

[Bobthewizard]

Khog is pretty straightforward. Lots of HP, rage beyond death, and a couple ways to pop back up from 0 HP. Point him at the main target and he'll try to lock it down with sentinel.

He has a few ways to fly and 10' of blindsight, but no other crazy movement, senses, or win buttons. I focused mostly on defense for him. With all these full casters, he should be the least of your worries.

Oh, does anyone have inspiring leader? I'd like to switch to GWM if someone else has it.

[truemane]

While we're getting the final bits done.

First IC post is up! (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?656391-IC-D-amp-D5E-The-Ultimate-Quest-Part-1)

[AvatarVecna]

Thanks everyone. That's all very helpful. I envisioned the overall feel of this being a sort of tenuous alliance of strangers who don't have reason to trust each other completely.

We'll feel all that out as we go. Just remember to err on the side of caution when it comes to engaging in conflict with each other.

Spell Slots
-I mean that you determine spell slots separately for each side of the Gestalt. Ergo potentially double spell slots.

Extra Bodies
-I think that'll be fine. Let's have your familiar act on your initiative (mix your actions as desired).

One last thing I'll need from everyone (sorry about the endless interrogation - I forgot about this one before):
-Does anyone have any unusual means of movement or travel? How are you getting around?
-Does anyone have any unusual passive senses or abilities that I need to keep in mind? I'll warn you ahead of time that I will forget them all the time, but if I know about them it helps.
-Does anyone have any weird tricks or combos or win buttons hidden in your build that I might not foresee or expect? I'm not asking because I want to take them away. I want you to have them, I just want to know about them.

Other than that, I think we're ready to roll! I'll get our IC up today or tomorrow.

Can I use Bard slots to caster cleric spells, and vice versa? Or should the two remain separate?

[truemane]

1. You should try to keep them separate.
2. I will make zero effort to track or enforce #1.

So it's on your own recognizance. I can't think of any particular way to abuse mixing them, but if you think of any, don't do those.

Does that make sense?

[AvatarVecna]

1. You should try to keep them separate.
2. I will make zero effort to track or enforce #1.

So it's on your own recognizance. I can't think of any particular way to abuse mixing them, but if you think of any, don't do those.

Does that make sense?

Idk if it counts as abuse so I'll explain why I'm asking. Bard has permanent spells known, cleric prepares from their list. Some spells are 1) on both lists, and 2) are important enough I might wanna be able to cast them a whole lot (say, Cure Wounds). If the slots are completely separate, then I need to both know (Bard) and prepare (Cleric) Cure Wounds. If, however, I can cast Bard spells from the cleric list, and vice versa, then I only need to have Cure Wounds known or prepared, eliminating any need for overlap and giving me...let's estimate it at a 50% increase in total spell options available to me. I'd need to know whether you're cool with that or not before I pick spells known, since I can't reselect those if I guess wrong.

EDIT: I'll keep em separate. Probably safer assumption.

[miinstrel]

-Does anyone have any unusual means of movement or travel? How are you getting around?
-Does anyone have any unusual passive senses or abilities that I need to keep in mind? I'll warn you ahead of time that I will forget them all the time, but if I know about them it helps.
-Does anyone have any weird tricks or combos or win buttons hidden in your build that I might not foresee or expect? I'm not asking because I want to take them away. I want you to have them, I just want to know about them.

1. With wild shape + monk + mobile I'll have a fly speed of 130.
1a. I can Transport Via Plants. And given Ozzy's age/travel he probably knows most of the major trees around the world. Also have Plane Shift, but not sure what forks I may have at my disposal.

2. immune to disease, poison, sleep. Passive Perception of 30.
2a. When in air elemental form (which will likely be most of the time), also immune to: exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, unconscious, and poison damage + resist: lightning, thunder, and nonmagical BPS.

3. Foresight + Elven Accuracy = permanent super advantage.
3a. Regenerate + BA wild shape = unless i'm killed while downed I'll pop back up.
3b. super advantage + bronto stomps may lead to frequent and nasty crits @ 12d8+9.

[AvatarVecna]

One last thing I'll need from everyone (sorry about the endless interrogation - I forgot about this one before):
-Does anyone have any unusual means of movement or travel? How are you getting around?
-Does anyone have any unusual passive senses or abilities that I need to keep in mind? I'll warn you ahead of time that I will forget them all the time, but if I know about them it helps.
-Does anyone have any weird tricks or combos or win buttons hidden in your build that I might not foresee or expect? I'm not asking because I want to take them away. I want you to have them, I just want to know about them.

No unusual means of travel...scratch that, I have a Broom Of Flying that'll let me fly most anywhere? Not sure if that's unusual enough to count. I don't intend to take any teleportation magic. Passive Perception 35, about as high as can be even for our level. Becomes PP 40 if I have adv on Perception checks. No weird tricks or combos that I'm aware of. Most of my build is very straightforward, with one major exception that applies to all of these questions but shouldn't be a problem:

Divine Intervention (100% success rate). Once per week, I can literally call in a Deus Ex Machina. The specific form that takes is up to you, but this is a Problem Solving Tool that can do basically anything we want. Hopefully it's not too much of a mental tax on you to come up with something appropriately useful without being overpowered, since it's a 1/week thing at most.

[Bobthewizard]

3b. super advantage + bronto stomps may lead to frequent and nasty crits @ 12d8+9.

I am fairly certain that Bronto stomps and Air elemental slams aren't Unarmed Attacks, which is a specific attack that any creature can make. A monk/moon druid can either use the creature's stat block attacks, or make Unarmed Attacks, which use the monk damage die and range. If you use the bronto's stomp, it doesn't trigger the monk's BA attack or flurry of blows. It's also a specific action and not the Attack action, so it doesn't trigger extra attack. And it's not a simple or martial weapon so you can't use Dedicated Weapon.

So I think you can take one of the following actions:
Unarmed Attack x2 + Flurry of Blows all using WIS and monk damage die
Air Elemental Slam x2 as written
or Bronto Stomp x1 as written

Even without that, though, a level 20 moon druid is the most broken thing in the game. It's fun. Enjoy. Of course, for this game, Trumane might allow it and let you be even more broken. :smallsmile:

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

-Does anyone have any unusual means of movement or travel? How are you getting around?
-Does anyone have any unusual passive senses or abilities that I need to keep in mind? I'll warn you ahead of time that I will forget them all the time, but if I know about them it helps.
-Does anyone have any weird tricks or combos or win buttons hidden in your build that I might not foresee or expect? I'm not asking because I want to take them away. I want you to have them, I just want to know about them.

- Sirocco usually teleports or flies on a pegasus, but she can also hide in her ring and have Silph carry it invisibly.
- Haha, nope! Sirocco is painfully oblivious to danger. She relies on the proper adventurers to look out for her.
- Besides Wish? Mind Blank, Death Ward, and Nondetection. I don't know when is the optimal time to cast them, though.

[miinstrel]

I am fairly certain that Bronto stomps and Air elemental slams aren't Unarmed Attacks, which is a specific attack that any creature can make. A monk/moon druid can either use the creature's stat block attacks, or make Unarmed Attacks, which use the monk damage die and range. If you use the bronto's stomp, it doesn't trigger the monk's BA attack or flurry of blows. It's also a specific action and not the Attack action, so it doesn't trigger extra attack. And it's not a simple or martial weapon so you can't use Dedicated Weapon.

So I think you can take one of the following actions:
Unarmed Attack x2 + Flurry of Blows all using WIS and monk damage die
Air Elemental Slam x2 as written
or Bronto Stomp x1 as written

Even without that, though, a level 20 moon druid is the most broken thing in the game. It's fun. Enjoy. Of course, for this game, Trumane might allow it and let you be even more broken. :smallsmile:

That... is very disappointing. Though after some further research I think I agree with you. My earlier assumption was "it's a body part, it can be used to make an Unarmed Strike," but that term is clearly defined as different than a 'Slam' or 'Stomp' as part of Multiattack. Bummer.

Oh well, it's still a monk with infinite HP and spells as needed. The idea of quad stomping was fun, but I'm not worried about still being able to contribute :smallcool:

[Bobthewizard]

That... is very disappointing. Though after some further research I think I agree with you. My earlier assumption was "it's a body part, it can be used to make an Unarmed Strike," but that term is clearly defined as different than a 'Slam' or 'Stomp' as part of Multiattack. Bummer.

Oh well, it's still a monk with infinite HP and spells as needed. The idea of quad stomping was fun, but I'm not worried about still being able to contribute :smallcool:

You are still going to be amazing. I played a level 20 moon druid once in a one shot and it was a blast, even without the monk. Astral arms monk attacks on a flying air elemental is going to be very cool.

[truemane]

Idk if it counts as abuse so I'll explain why I'm asking. Bard has permanent spells known, cleric prepares from their list. Some spells are 1) on both lists, and 2) are important enough I might wanna be able to cast them a whole lot (say, Cure Wounds). If the slots are completely separate, then I need to both know (Bard) and prepare (Cleric) Cure Wounds. If, however, I can cast Bard spells from the cleric list, and vice versa, then I only need to have Cure Wounds known or prepared, eliminating any need for overlap and giving me...let's estimate it at a 50% increase in total spell options available to me. I'd need to know whether you're cool with that or not before I pick spells known, since I can't reselect those if I guess wrong.

EDIT: I'll keep em separate. Probably safer assumption.
Ah, I see the issue. Yeah, let's keep them separate. This is my first time doing this sort of thing with two sets of slots, and I'm already a little nervous about the balance of it.


1. With wild shape + monk + mobile I'll have a fly speed of 130.
1a. I can Transport Via Plants. And given Ozzy's age/travel he probably knows most of the major trees around the world. Also have Plane Shift, but not sure what forks I may have at my disposal.

2. immune to disease, poison, sleep. Passive Perception of 30.
2a. When in air elemental form (which will likely be most of the time), also immune to: exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, unconscious, and poison damage + resist: lightning, thunder, and nonmagical BPS.

3. Foresight + Elven Accuracy = permanent super advantage.
3a. Regenerate + BA wild shape = unless i'm killed while downed I'll pop back up.
3b. super advantage + bronto stomps may lead to frequent and nasty crits @ 12d8+9.
I said earlier to assume two castings of any expensive component spells, so if you want to choose two Plane Shift forks, that makes sense to me.


Divine Intervention (100% success rate). Once per week, I can literally call in a Deus Ex Machina. The specific form that takes is up to you, but this is a Problem Solving Tool that can do basically anything we want. Hopefully it's not too much of a mental tax on you to come up with something appropriately useful without being overpowered, since it's a 1/week thing at most.
The last thing I would ever want to do is deny you the ability to Conjure Plot Device. No point it being evasive about it. When it's time to pull it out, we'll lean all the way into it and see what happens. Like I said somewhere, so long as we're dumping a Balrog off a bridge and not eagle-courier-ing the Ring, I'll be just as entertained as you.

[truemane]

AvatarVecna, feel free to hop into the IC thread when you get a chance.

I'll update tomorrow either way. And if you're busy, you can hop in when you can.

[truemane]

Okay! That's the basic premise right there. You've got two intermediate goals (neutralize the High Pontifex, and then the Planar Spire) on your way to the ultimate goal (assault the wyrm).

You'll be teleported to the shores of Godfall Caldera, but have to cross it manually/physically by whatever means available to you.

And you're in an unavoidable time crunch.

Meta-narratively, my intent is not for the time-crunch to run out and leave you stranded. It's just to give you an in-universe reason not to A. spend months and months and months preparing and B. not have 15 minute adventuring days.

Also meta-narratively, I will be providing a valid in-universe means of managing Short and Long Rests, even with the time crunch, so I'm not expecting you to get all this done on a single day's worth of resources. The number of each you gain access to is highly variable, but for planning purposes, I think it's safe to assume at least two Long Rests.

As I said in the original pitch, what I'm looking for here is for you guys to commit to the bit: this is something you want more than anything in the world, you're willing to do just about anything to get it, this is your only shot ever in your whole life, and it could be over at any time, and so no matter the danger the only thing for it is an instant headlong rush.

I'm hoping you'll all really lean into the premise and the scenario rather than try to find ways around it.

Feel free to ask any questions you want, IC or OC. I'm happy to be as transparent as possible. I have shocks and surprises planned, but no gotchas.

[JNAProductions]

[roll0]

Not the best odds on this History check, but might as well roll.

Edit: Sad noises. :P

[AvatarVecna]

History: [roll0]

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

The closest things to unarmed martial arts for Sirocco are her fan dance-like spells and acrobatics. If the second roll succeeds and the first doesn't, I'll look at the spoiler and then decide whether it makes sense for her to know or not. :smalltongue:

[roll0]
[roll1]

Edit: Sweet, it didn't matter!

[truemane]

Two things about our current post:

First, if anyone wants to interact with the town before hopping into the portal, that's fine, go ahead. I just wanted to make sure the scene could move forward as needed.

Second, even with the in-universe time pressure, this is the first (but by no means the last) time when you will all be sorely tempted to hash out a sound tactical plan of attack.

Resist that urge.

Unstructured discussion time with no clear approval method is death to PbP games. I promise I have not set up a situation where a clear, careful, watertight tactical plan is necessary. I would highly recommend you do some variation on: decide how you're travelling and just take a run at it.

And/or everyone take one single post worth of preparation/planning, and then I'll move things forward after that.

Other than that, I'm so excited. My last run at this didn't even get this far.

It's go time!

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

From an out-of-character standpoint, I was just wondering which location we're going to first. It feels like a valid branching path, you know?

I'm assuming that we're doing the spire first, but I don't want to discount the possibility that I'm an idiot for that. :smalltongue:

[truemane]

Let's get going on the crossing first. Who's riding, who's flying, what are doing, etc.

Once you're on the island, we can talk about what's next.

[Bobthewizard]

I'm planning on flying. If someone needs to come with me they can.

I thought we should get the oracle first, but if everyone wants to stop the spire first, I could do that.

[truemane]

You'd think Alder would have had some thoughts on the matter. He seemed so prepared.

(actually, he did have an opinion, no one asked and I forgot to mention it)

EDIT: Okay, so we have:
Khog with a pegasus (that could theoretically carry two).
Sirocco, also with a pegasus (same).
Osmanthus, who can fly with Wild Shape or ride a horse.
Jhoira can fly.
Simon has a Broom of Flying.

Am I safe to assume you all just hop into the air and get rolling? Maybe Jhoira and/or Simon ride on the pegasus(es) since they're faster? And am I safe to assume you're flying about 50ft? 100ft? Above the water? The winds get extra bad (difficult terrain) at about 100ft.

Dr.Gunsforhands/Sirocco: Do you want to finish what you're doing there with the weather before moving on?

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Dr.Gunsforhands/Sirocco: Do you want to finish what you're doing there with the weather before moving on?

Yep! Everyone's had their chance to stop me I think. :smalltongue:

Sirocco is casting Control Weather to calm the windstorm. Hopefully that will clear the rough aerial terrain ahead and give us a quick start.

Edit: In terms of altitude? She's staying below the clouds until the storm clears. Other than that she defaults to just a bit higher than the cliff we started on.

I guess it's possible that some reason to take cover above the clouds will present itself, but I'm worried the mortals in the party will get altitude sickness if we just do it for no reason.

[truemane]

Sorry about the delay there, everyone. This was a complicated post to write and I needed some time and quiet to get it right.

Before we get started, Dr.Gunsforhands/Sicocco - I apologize for not noticing this before, but you can't take Resilient more than once. So you'll need to redo a bit of math there.

Okay, now, a few Points of order: The Caldera is about 10 miles to the center. An unmodified pegasus flies about 10 miles per hour. With difficult terrain, that makes it a one hour crossing (in the absence of other means of movement).
Control Weather takes 10 minutes to cast, and once cast, takes 1d4x10 minutes for the changes to take place. This post takes place about 10 minutes into the crossing and the weather hasn't changed. I will let you know when it does.
Sirocco, note you are concentrating on that spell. If you lose concentration, the weather will revert/not change.
I am assuming you are all flying approximately 100 ft above the water. If you want to go higher or lower, let me know. The winds do get stronger as you go up, and weaker as you go down.

Next, Turn Order: I will determine turn order as such: I roll for the PC's, and then for the Bad Guy's (BG's, either individually or by type, depending).
Whoever gets the single highest roll, their side goes first. BUT anyone on the winning side can take Advantage/+5 against anyone who rolled lower than they did. This counts for PC's and BG's. This will allow you to retain some benefit from initiative bonuses without locking us into a specific order.
I'll list the initiative count as a means of keeping track of things in each post, but when it's your turn, feel free to post in any order.

Finally, questions: How transparent do you want me to be about the monsters? Do you want to know what they are straight up? Or do you want to roll to see if you know them?
One thing I've done in the past is that you can assume your PC knows can anything from officially published sources with a CR equal to or lower than 8 + an appropriate ability modifier (Int, Arcana, Religion, Nature, etc). So you can each decide for yourselves how much your PC's know about any given thing.
Out of turn actions are going to be an issue. Three people have Lucky, plus AO's, and other interrupts. These things can really slow the game down, or break immersion if we have to retcon every round. Thoughts on how to handle them? One thing I've done in the past is every PC, every combat post, lists any possible out of turn actions they might make. So you tell me something like "If anyone hits me with a Melee attack I'll use Lucky and I have 10ft reach for any AO's."
Will that work for everyone? It does reduce the utility of some effects if you have to call them ahead of time, and it may get annoying to list everything every post, but in my experience that's what keeps the game moving fastest.
Thoughts and opinions welcome.

[JNAProductions]

I think rolling appropriate Int or other skills would be best. Possibly with advantage, since we're all rather seasoned.

As such, some rolls for myself:

[roll0] Arcana
[roll1] Advantage, if applicable

As for the Con Save... I've got +18. I cannot fail.

[truemane]

As for the Con Save... I've got +18. I cannot fail.
.......yet

[JNAProductions]

.......yet

Ominous! :P

[AvatarVecna]

Will post sometime this weekend, apologies.

[Bobthewizard]

First, I did 180 damage! When I made his character, I rolled the damage dice a few dozen times to practice and the median was right around 100. So great round of rolls for Khog.

Questions:
1 and 2. However transparent you want to be is fine with me. I'm just attacking anything that gets in my way.
3. I listed my AOO criteria. 10' reach, sentinel and PAM.
4. It works fine for me. I'll go ahead and roll my AOO every round and assume you won't game it and run away if I roll low, or stay if I roll high.

[Bobthewizard]

As for the Con Save... I've got +18. I cannot fail.

Plus another 5 for everyone within 30' of Khog.

[Bobthewizard]

Everyone, including minions, gets 25 THP from Khog's Inspiring Leader. He also cast a 5th level Aid to give Silph and the Pegasi 20HP each.

[JNAProductions]

Truemane, any info on the goons from my check?

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Everyone, including minions, gets 25 THP from Khog's Inspiring Leader. He also cast a 5th level Aid to give Silph and the Pegasi 20HP each.

It's funny, I made the status part of the post specifically to help me remember that, and yet I forgot anyway. :smalltongue: I'll go fix it.

[truemane]

Truemane, any info on the goons from my check?

Yes indeed! You recognize the larger, humanoid forms as Aerial Servants. The others are not familair to you.

[JNAProductions]

Yes indeed! You recognize the larger, humanoid forms as Aerial Servants. The others are not familair to you.

So, as a player, I have no idea what those are.
Mind explaining what Jhoira would know, in a little more detail? :P

[truemane]

I'm so sorry! I forgot they weren't standard monsters. They used to be (back in 2E).

This is more or less what you're dealing with. (https://www.5esrd.com/database/creature/aerial-servant/)

And, in fact, the other is kinda like this, but air/electric. (https://www.5esrd.com/database/creature/alazai/)

[JNAProductions]

Gonna use the classic Turret Combo.

Protector and Force Ballista Turrets as action. Tiny-sized, legs, on my mount's back.
Bonus action, activate them. Protector will grant [roll0] THP to everyone allied within 10'. Ballista will shoot, for [roll1] to-hit ([roll2] Advantage) for [roll3] Force damage and knocked back 5', targeting a big boy with burning eyes.

If crit, add [roll4] force damage.

12 Force Damage to one of the bigger boys.
12 THP to me and my buddies. Also half-cover!

[truemane]

Polite nudge for AvatarVecna and/or miinstrel...

[AvatarVecna]

Con save: [roll0]

EDIT: How fortunate for me that nat 1s aren't autofails on saves in 5e.

[truemane]

Round one summary up, back to you guys.

[Bobthewizard]

STR saves

Khog [roll0]
Pegasus [roll1]

@AvatarVecna Simon gets +5 to his STR save from Khog's aura.

[AvatarVecna]

Str save: [roll0]

EDIT: 15 with Khog's benefit, hurray for paladins!

[JNAProductions]

[roll0] Strength Save against DC 13
[roll1] Advantage, cause it's magical
I think I've got +5 from Khog, so they're autopass, actually.

[roll2] Dex save for dismounting, not magical, but only DC 10.

Also, if anyone in range of the Protector Turret was hit by 1 or 0, that's actually a miss-half cover, baby!

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Resist the lightning damage, reducing it to 10
Vs. Wind: [roll0]
I'm pretty sure Sirocco's cloak resists specifically spells and not, like, magically-generated things in general? So no advantage.

Pegasus save Vs. Wind: [roll1]
Sirocco's Reflex if that fails: [roll2]

DC 10 Concentration saves:

[roll3] vs. lightning
[roll4] vs. wind if it hits
[roll5] vs. any third thing I forgot

On reflection it's probably absurd that she took Resilient in strength and not constitution, but hopefully it will at least be funny.:smalltongue:

[truemane]

Sorry about the delay. Next round happening tomorrow.

[Bobthewizard]

Crit base damage should have been 4d10 not 4d4

[roll0]

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

I should probably roll the strength save, though if I have the +5 I think I still have nothing to fear.

Strength: [roll0]+5

I'd roll Con for the other thing, but a lyre and a rod/fan aren't really metal weapons. She does take the aura damage, though. Sirocco 100% wears jewelry when adventuring, despite people saying it'll get grabbed in a fight. :smalltongue:

Speaking of aura damage, did you copy paste both storm guys to be on Khog/Sirocco on purpose, or did you mean for one to be under each pegasus group?

I was thinking the riders were paired up like this:

Sirocco and Jhoira on Pegasus 1 (Rex)
Khog and Simon on Pegasus 2 (Black Pegasus whose name I should probably know)
Ozzie flying under his own power (and possibly giving us the slip :smalltongue:)

Is that right or did I miss something?

[truemane]

They are both near Khog's pegasus. I think I just C&P's Sirocco's name there instead of Simon's.

I'll have to check my notes to make sure. Feel free to skip that part, Dr.Gunsforhands, and we can correct (if necessary) next update.

[truemane]

Hey folks! I know email notifications were down for a bit.

Just checking in to see if everyone's still with us, or if we've lost the thread.

[AvatarVecna]

I'm still here, I just need to post, sorry.

[JNAProductions]

I exist in this plane of reality.

[truemane]

Hey everyone, I'm going to call this one done and over.

Thank you all for the time and energy you put into the characters and the game. I had a really good time in the time we had.

Best of luck with your gaming, and I hope to run into you all again soon.

-truemane

[Bobthewizard]

Hey everyone, I'm going to call this one done and over.

Thank you all for the time and energy you put into the characters and the game. I had a really good time in the time we had.

Best of luck with your gaming, and I hope to run into you all again soon.

-truemane

Thanks for running this. You did a great job, and it was fun while it lasted.