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  1. - Top - End - #1201
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    SwashbucklerGuy

    Join Date
    Apr 2020

    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Set Al-Sayyid
    Changeling Fighter/Hexblade
    AC: 17 HP: 36/41 (36/43) THP: 0/5
    PP: 12 PIv: 13 PIs: 9
    Conditions: Mal's Aid, Nome's Hero's Feast (immune to poison/frightened, Wis ST adv)
    Concentration:

    The Cells

    The words wash over Set, forcing him back half a step as the other Abydossian drowns him in knowledge long-suspected, but never reliably confirmed. Confirmation that Set's sisters are no longer in their homeland, but are being sought in the North where John Bence can make good on the threats. Confirmation that Set's homeland lives in darkness still, despite everything he'd tried to do in agreeing to serve the Shadowkeeper. As the other man descends into madness, however, his rambling reveals more questions than answers. The Bastard of Shu? Set's grandfather's bastard? The Great Queen? The Overlay?

    Set's shoulders slump as he watches the unnamed man devolve into a fit of giggles and sobs. Biting his cheek, Set shakes his head, staring for another few moments before glancing to Selissa. He nods towards the other.

    "One of my people," Set says softly, clearing his throat as he chokes on the words. "He was searching for my sisters."

    Set reaches down to collect his spear from the floor, spinning it easily with a practiced hand. He's fully in control, taking the information and the new face in stride, until he isn't. Erupting suddenly, Set slams the butt of his spear into the stone wall repeatedly, giving vent to a stream of curses in Abydossian. "<****!>" he screams one final time before slumping against the wall, chest heaving. After a few moments he pushes himself off the cold stone of the cell, unable to look directly at Selissa.

    "Sorry. That was stupid." Set thinks of a more verbose apology, but simply bites his cheek, shaking his head. More words wouldn't help. Competence might, if he could shut up, pull it together, and help get them all back to the surface unscathed.

    Looking at the Abydossian, Set adds, "I need to get him out of here. Do you think Maus can help him recover his wits?" Set snorts, letting out a half sigh, half sob borne out of exhaustion. "Can he help me recover mine?"

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show

    The enormity of Set going back to full paranoia if he'd failed his sanity-save as an alternate to this made me chuckle. Two very different sides of the coin.

    Last edited by Riggdgames; 2021-11-30 at 10:13 PM.

  2. - Top - End - #1202
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Amnestic's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Castle Sparrowcellar
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Vargath Hubrecht
    Half-Orc Rune Knight Fighter
    AC: 19 HP: 32/49
    PP: 13 PIv: 12 PIs: 10
    Conditions: Infected (Lycanthropy)
    Concentrating: --

    Satisfied that the egg - whatever it is - is safely warmed for the moment he takes one last look around the room, prompting Mal with a "See anything else we need?"

    Absent any reason provided to stay, he gives one last look around the room before moving to rejoin the others. It wasn't a treasure he'd expected, nor is it even clear if it still is a treasure, but it's something, at least.
    DMing:
    Iron Crisis IC | OOC
    Cyre Red IC | OOC

    Playing:
    OotA IC | OOC

    Master Homebrew Index (5e)

  3. - Top - End - #1203
    Barbarian in the Playground
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Mal
    Levistus Tiefling Bard 5
    AC: 14 HP: 41/41 (48/48) THP: 10/10
    PP: 11 PIv: 13 PIs: 11
    Spell Slots: 1st - 4/4 2nd - 0/3 3rd - 2/2
    Fey Touched: 1st - 0/1 2nd - 1/1
    Masquerade Tattoo: 1st - 1/1
    Levistus Legacy: Armor of Agathys - 0/1 Darkness - 1/1
    Bardic Inspiration: 4/4
    Healer's Kit: 20/20
    Mal Conditions: Praised into Health (43). Immune to poison frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage. Loki's Bane. Aid. Mad/Frightened/Quirk: Fastidious about his appearance to a distracting, unhealthy degree.
    Mal Concentrating: ---

    Esai
    Ancient Companion: Warrior
    Companion HP: 30/30 (32/32)
    Companion AC: 16
    Companion PP: 18 PIv: 12 PIs: 12
    Sage's Counsel: While within 15 feet of the companion, you and your allies gain a +2 bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom checks. Warrior’s Protection (Warrior Only). When a creature within 5 feet of the companion makes a Strength or Dexterity saving throw, the companion imposes itself between the creature and the danger. The creature can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the saving throw.
    Praised into Health. Immune to frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage

    Maledictus noted Vargath's care for the egg. He gestured to the plate, and Esai collected it while unceremoniously dumping the finger into the flames. The tiefling wrinkled his nose as she said, "Quite so. A delicate hand might be able to sap this pipe, turning this oven into a firebomb for the next person to open it. I would entrust that to our resident scout since the alchemist remains otherwise detained."

    The bard then retraced his steps like a cat on the prowl. Esai followed with his seemingly thundering gait in contrast to the lightness of the eldritch scholar. Once they wended to the others, Mal remarked, "Have you found anything useful? We have naught but a possible drake egg."

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show

    Esai picks up the silver plate.

    Spoiler: Mal's Notes
    Show
    Spoiler: Cast and Crew
    Show
    Set: outcast exiled princeling of Abydos. Two princess sisters (Sisi and Sythpen Al-Sayyid). Romantic connection for Moira?
    Selissa: Blighted or reconstructed wood elf? Purported Scout.
    Vargath: Afflicted Lycanthrope seeking to suspend his curse. A Bloodwolf?
    Mandaras: Rival to Dr. Fixer.
    Dr. Fixer: Moira's lieutenant and cultivates relations with the locals of Vale.
    Elder Maus: Seeks to kill Moira. Hired mercenaries who betrayed him.
    --Healed to his full 9ft height.
    --Disbelieves Moira's insights; seeks to end her directly or indirectly.
    --Seeks us to verify the truths of Moira's claims--or stop her by any means necessary.
    Maulei: Successor to Elder Maus as elder of Dam'ess.
    Uluthando Mikoso "Ulu:" Paladin? of Order. From beyond the Vale. Reacts by gripping her dagger and declaring Tieflings are treated differently...Lawful (N/E?) Order? Calls Mal 'Mdala Ohlonishwayo.' Professes to serve no god, but spirits whose reach may be weaker in the Vale than elsewhere.
    Nomcebo: Ulu's handler. Ink skinned tiefling with prehensile tail and an obvious allure.
    Kagiso: Ulu's slave and carriage driver.


    Spoiler: Dream of Leng
    Show
    Spoiler: In Full
    Show
    Mal has had this dream before. He finds himself in the legendary Library of Leng, an ancient home of virtually all worldly and mystical knowledge that burned when the city it was located in was razed nearly nine hundred years ago, half the world away. Still, in his dreams it still existed, and these dreams always played out the same. Hours of dutiful research, referencing and cross referencing sources from multiple tomes, carefully reconstructing ancient languages, until EUREKA! Some devastating and profound arcane truth became evident to him, and the sense of accomplisment and relief normally carried with him for several hours after waking up, even if he could never actually remember anything he learned. But this time is different. Mal is well versed enough in the arcane and divine arts to know that sometimes dreams carry real meaning. And as he stares down at what he has been working on, he instinctively knows this bears some significance. Where normally he would have arcane formulas and theorems, he sees only "The One Who Stalks Behind" scrawled over and over again in his own hand, though the words are manic and look like they were written in distress. He searches the paper for any further omen, and down at the bottom of the page, in the smallest script he could possibly manage, it says Behind you!. Just as he is about to turn, a claw as strong as iron grips the side of his head, snaps his neck to the side, and ends all feeling in the bard's body. But he can still hear the deep throated growls, along with the wet noises of whatever killed him beginning to eat him alive. But he never gets to see it before the dream ends.


    The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. RIGHT BEHIND YOU! The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind.



    Spoiler: Bence's Secrets
    Show

    Spoiler: Bence's Journal
    Show

    ...is a backwards plane, so far removed from the Prime Material that it has not seen an angel or the work of a god in a millennia. I hear that far to the west they do not even worship the gods. Proper savages, but I must remain vigilant, as their knowledge of the ways of this world is far more educated than most. But it is ripe for my conquest. While my Master was tasked with corrupting Avendor, my home plane, a bastion of good and law, my chore is simply to tip the rat into the bucket of the Abyss as it prowls the rim looking for cheese. This plane is already so flooded with the energies of the Abyss that demons spontaneously emerge, monsters manifest in the dark, and their weak leaders bargain with forces they would be wiser to repulse. It will be child's play to nudge it the last few inches into anarchy and destruction, mostly due to the efforts of Pale Night herself. For thousands of years she has been grasping and clawing at this realm, dragging it further from the light and closer to her realm day by day, inch by inch, soul by soul. While my home plane was beyond my ability to destroy, this place will be my masterpiece. With my death at the hands of the forces of good, a symphony of destruction will play the anthem to my ascension to demonhood. The Pale Mother has promised me that each death will bring me closer to my true form, and each rebirth will increase my power, just as our pact promised. I can't wait to die. When will the heroes arrive? I've been planting and tending the seed of the idea in the old giant's mind for weeks now. When will it bear fruit? When can my dark rise to power begin? (The rest is a combination of burned and Abyssal that becomes impossible to read)

    Dam'ess- Mass Quasit Summoning. Magic Mouth to Levy Commands re: Retrieve Mirror of Leng, Scepter of Rulership, And Aniot's Cube. Disperse to Appropriate Parties Per The Plan. Burn The Cabin.

    Harumburg- Sending to Lord of Bone re: Portal to the 113th. (Indecipherable Due to Burns) In Accordance with Their Great Alliance.

    Falluneer- Sending to Lord of Flesh re: (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Ebon Spear.

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)light: Sending to Lord of Blood re: Assassination of (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Yukkot, Recovery of Blood (More Burns).

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)odge- Sending to Cult of Pale (More Burns) re: Initiate Divining Ritual Sacrifices. FIND THE DAMN ZIGGURAT.

    Garrunrow- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Kill the Last Bloodwolf. Recover (More Burns) Key.

    Mountain of Smoke- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) crypt. Seize the Ebon (More Burns).

    Sussoon- Ensure the Prophecy (Indecipherable Due to Burns)... Pay the Bounty Hunters to Find the Abydossian and the Princesses. re: Sacrifices of The Old Blood

    (There is more, but seemingly out of paranoia Bence switched to Abyssal. It is impossible to tell how many lines there are, as the last half of the paper is fully burned away)


    Spoiler: Arcane Lore concerning Bence's Notes
    Show
    The magic of Contingency is a nearly mythical bit of spell work that was said to be lost when the Library of Leng burned down. It allows a caster to prepare spells in advance for a predetermined event, in this case John Bence's own death, and the spells will automatically cast when the event happens. If Bence is capable of such sorcery, he is likely far more powerful than his flashy death at the party's hands would indicate.

    The Mirror of Leng is a artifact of the Library of Leng, said to contain a frozen moment of time where the library was at it's height that a person can temporarily step in to, giving access to the greatest magical library this world has ever seen. Supposedly several mirrors were made, though some are confirmed destroyed after their use led to come calamity of forbidden magics long lost to time. The Scepter of Rulership is said to be an even more powerful version of a Rod of Rulership, a magic item that allows for mass mind manipulation of people to believe that the holder of the Scepter is their rightful ruler. The last time the Scepter was confirmed in play it toppled an entire nation.

    Though numbering and organizing the layers of the Abyss is a fool's errand, there are some realms that are constant enough to designate. The one hundred and thirteenth layer is Thanatos, layer of Orcus, the Lord of Death. It is a lifeless frozen landscape where life is snuffed out almost as soon as it arrives, either by the untold legions of undead denizens, the magical aura of the layer itself, or, in the worst cases, by Orcus himself, using his fearsome Wand.


    Spoiler: John Bence's Wall Art
    Show
    There are no invisible objects in the room, but the entire back wall of the cabin is plastered with profane runes and abyssal scribblings. Where there was nothing to the naked eye, there is an extensive patchwork of spell work, seemingly scribed in the rusted red of blood. More disturbing is the fragments of souls that have been bound to the wall. Faces of people rise and seethe from the wood like a strange and rippling tide, mouths open in anguish. There are not many of them left, presumably due to whatever spell was used here absorbing so much energy, but there is a fine layer of ectoplasm that would indicate that once there were dozens of soul fragments powering this spell. The sight turns Mal's stomach, as the chaotic, destructive magic of the Abyss is written as plainly as news script, but as subtly as any devil could manage.



    Spoiler: Monsters
    Show
    Barlgura: Demon loosed by summoning ritual on the road to Dam'ess. Slain with its summoned partner by team. (Bless helped with accuracy issues due to invisibility. In the future, layer mind sliver to aid with saves.)
    Brazen Hart: Spirit of the wild wood around Dam'ess. Seeks to test the party's mettle by forcing an open fight with the Barlgura.
    Horror of Yurl: Shapeshifting kind of monster. Severs limbs, creates euphoria, and slays by consuming the liver. The newest variant flies...
    Tree-house horror: elven make. Demon infested. Extremely rare creation.

    The presence of the so-called "evolved" ghouls is troublesome. Said to be the chosen of Doresain the Ghoul King, Darakhuls are more motivated, more intelligent, and leagues more dangerous than their lesser kin. They have a subterranean empire on the other side of the continent, and their attempts to bring their Imperium to the surface have only narrowly been thwarted by the actions of great heroes and dedicated rulers. If Darakhuls have come to Harumvale, then the eyes of the Ghoul King have turned in this direction, and things truly are worse than imagined. Darakhul have a mystical connection to lesser ghouls and ghasts that enhances their intelligence and discipline when the evolved ghouls are present, turning them from hungry predators to a military unit.

    Unknown Egg. Vargath has an egg that might be a moon drake, recovered from an oven in the Iron Ghoul territory of the sewers of Harumvale.



    Spoiler: Instrument of the Bards
    Show
    Mal needs a translator, the spells, and woodcrafter to create a new relic.
    Spoiler: Full Description
    Show
    Still, tucked among the primers and amateur books he finds a book that deals with the blending of magic and music. Specifically, it holds the instructions and rituals for a new version of the famed artifacts known as the instruments of the bards. Unfortunately, about a third of the book is in a language Mal does not understand or recognize, including most of the rites and rituals to imbue it with magic. Still, with a translator, appropriate magics, some study, and someone skilled in wood craft, he may be able to produce one of these relics for himself.


    Spoiler: Half Troden Bardic Instrument Key
    Show
    Arcana- High Docent Half Toden directs Mal to a specific scroll on a specific shelf in a specific wing when pressed on this subject. He seems... oddly insistent... actually. It turns out to be a book of songs, actually, and one of them is penned by none other than High Docent Half Toden.

    Lo, behold the works of the Maker of Things,
    Wands, staves, instruments, wonders, and rings,
    His traveling cart rolls from town to town
    And trades mystical wonders for enough coins to drown
    Sometimes human, sometimes dwarf, sometimes gnome,
    He claims fate calls him, binds him, and keeps him from home
    He forged Harum's hammer that split the Eternal Rock
    Tinkered Trelmari's picks which defeat any Lock
    He defies time and age, but one note rings true
    Find one of Harum's adamant coins and he will find you.


    Spoiler: Harumburg Library Lore
    Show
    Religion- There has been a near constant history of undead in and around the capital of Harumsvale. It seems like every three to five decades or so some priest or paladin of Harum organizes a purge that "purifies" a coven of vampire spawn, a hidden necromancer, or a ghoul nest. But it seems to Mal (and to High Docent Toden) that this always treats the outward symptoms without handling the cause. Vampire spawn are rooted out, but rarely is a true vampire found. Students at the university are found to be dabbling in the forbidden arts, but no one ever catches the teacher who revealed such secrets to them. And each time a nest of ghouls is rooted out there is often a new infection there within a century. Half gives Mal an anecdote about one building in the industrial district being raided three times within his lifetime.

    History- Docent Toden cannot corroborate much in this area of research, but Mal does find several portraits that bear an astounding resemblance to Grand Arbiter Myrus Malkaav, each of them depicting some variety of civil servant or noble position with roughly eighty years between them. When Post Master Geller Rell passes away from a wasting disease, eight decades or so later Chief Accountant Daedren Gastaf, who has the same severe eyes, hooked nose, and pale skin but a different haircut, takes his position a serves with merited distinction. There is a general trend in these dopplegangers to rise in the ranks of the government over the centuries, and Mal finds records dating back nearly a thousand years.


    Report daily updates to Mistress Moira at last light.




  4. - Top - End - #1204
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Awful's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    Somewhere Strange

    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Selissa Betula
    Wood Elf Scout Rogue
    AC: 16 HP: 38/38->45/45
    PP: 17
    Conditions: heroic encouragement, Aid, PWT (+10 stealth, can't be detected through magical means, no tracks)
    Concentrating: yes

    Selissa twitched at Set's outburst. She watched him warily through it, gaze flicking between him and the prisoner, but was silent.

    Finally, when he calmed, she approached in a few cautious steps. She reached out a hand and tentatively patted him twice on the shoulder before withdrawing. She cocked her head in thought, but didn't have any helpful words when it came down to his mental state, really. Talking had never been her strong suit. Hell, though, she should try.

    "All you can do," she said, slowly, "Is best you can. Maus old and wise for a human. Might be able to help." She watched him for his reaction. "Your curse. In your sisters too? They here?"

    She gave a look to the madman in the cell.

    "Them aside. Noisy to take with us. Come back for him or take him with us." she said once Set had replied - or not - to the previous attempt at comforting words. "Your tribe. Your choice."


    ---


    She gave a small nod to the devilblood as he came in with his statue.
    "Prison cells. More undead. One of his kin, living. Mad. Body of a <seasons-shifter>- ah, eladrin. Feywilds elf. Strange. Can give him my people's rites. Don't know his." she said, then paused. "Drrake." She said, dragging out the unfamiliar word in her accented speech. "What is that?"
    And the far stars cried, and the planets yearned;
    But no man may know, for she'll ne'er return.

  5. - Top - End - #1205
    Barbarian in the Playground
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Mal
    Levistus Tiefling Bard 5
    AC: 14 HP: 41/41 (48/48) THP: 10/10
    PP: 11 PIv: 13 PIs: 11
    Spell Slots: 1st - 4/4 2nd - 0/3 3rd - 2/2
    Fey Touched: 1st - 0/1 2nd - 1/1
    Masquerade Tattoo: 1st - 1/1
    Levistus Legacy: Armor of Agathys - 0/1 Darkness - 1/1
    Bardic Inspiration: 4/4
    Healer's Kit: 20/20
    Mal Conditions: Praised into Health (43). Immune to poison frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage. Loki's Bane. Aid. Mad/Frightened/Quirk: Fastidious about his appearance to a distracting, unhealthy degree.
    Mal Concentrating: ---

    Esai
    Ancient Companion: Warrior
    Companion HP: 30/30 (32/32)
    Companion AC: 16
    Companion PP: 18 PIv: 12 PIs: 12
    Sage's Counsel: While within 15 feet of the companion, you and your allies gain a +2 bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom checks. Warrior’s Protection (Warrior Only). When a creature within 5 feet of the companion makes a Strength or Dexterity saving throw, the companion imposes itself between the creature and the danger. The creature can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the saving throw.
    Praised into Health. Immune to frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage

    Maledictus listened to the wood elf and responded in reverse order, "More than a lizard, less than a dragon. Not as bloodthirsty as a wyvern."

    "Probably best for you or Maus to render final rites. The madman is relatively safer in his cell until we move to leave. If you are good at trapmaking, hunter, we could set their pipe work to blow and burn out the charnal house with some more undead."



    The bard then pondered the situation. He did not like to leave a living man among the dead, but he also tensed at the thought of an unhinged man gripping his cloak with filthy fingers. He added at last, "What say you, Abydosian? Do you wish to bear your kinsman along while we hunt eaters of the dead?"

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show



    Spoiler: Mal's Notes
    Show
    Spoiler: Cast and Crew
    Show
    Set: outcast exiled princeling of Abydos. Two princess sisters (Sisi and Sythpen Al-Sayyid). Romantic connection for Moira?
    Selissa: Blighted or reconstructed wood elf? Purported Scout.
    Vargath: Afflicted Lycanthrope seeking to suspend his curse. A Bloodwolf?
    Mandaras: Rival to Dr. Fixer.
    Dr. Fixer: Moira's lieutenant and cultivates relations with the locals of Vale.
    Elder Maus: Seeks to kill Moira. Hired mercenaries who betrayed him.
    --Healed to his full 9ft height.
    --Disbelieves Moira's insights; seeks to end her directly or indirectly.
    --Seeks us to verify the truths of Moira's claims--or stop her by any means necessary.
    Maulei: Successor to Elder Maus as elder of Dam'ess.
    Uluthando Mikoso "Ulu:" Paladin? of Order. From beyond the Vale. Reacts by gripping her dagger and declaring Tieflings are treated differently...Lawful (N/E?) Order? Calls Mal 'Mdala Ohlonishwayo.' Professes to serve no god, but spirits whose reach may be weaker in the Vale than elsewhere.
    Nomcebo: Ulu's handler. Ink skinned tiefling with prehensile tail and an obvious allure.
    Kagiso: Ulu's slave and carriage driver.


    Spoiler: Dream of Leng
    Show
    Spoiler: In Full
    Show
    Mal has had this dream before. He finds himself in the legendary Library of Leng, an ancient home of virtually all worldly and mystical knowledge that burned when the city it was located in was razed nearly nine hundred years ago, half the world away. Still, in his dreams it still existed, and these dreams always played out the same. Hours of dutiful research, referencing and cross referencing sources from multiple tomes, carefully reconstructing ancient languages, until EUREKA! Some devastating and profound arcane truth became evident to him, and the sense of accomplisment and relief normally carried with him for several hours after waking up, even if he could never actually remember anything he learned. But this time is different. Mal is well versed enough in the arcane and divine arts to know that sometimes dreams carry real meaning. And as he stares down at what he has been working on, he instinctively knows this bears some significance. Where normally he would have arcane formulas and theorems, he sees only "The One Who Stalks Behind" scrawled over and over again in his own hand, though the words are manic and look like they were written in distress. He searches the paper for any further omen, and down at the bottom of the page, in the smallest script he could possibly manage, it says Behind you!. Just as he is about to turn, a claw as strong as iron grips the side of his head, snaps his neck to the side, and ends all feeling in the bard's body. But he can still hear the deep throated growls, along with the wet noises of whatever killed him beginning to eat him alive. But he never gets to see it before the dream ends.


    The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. RIGHT BEHIND YOU! The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind.



    Spoiler: Bence's Secrets
    Show

    Spoiler: Bence's Journal
    Show

    ...is a backwards plane, so far removed from the Prime Material that it has not seen an angel or the work of a god in a millennia. I hear that far to the west they do not even worship the gods. Proper savages, but I must remain vigilant, as their knowledge of the ways of this world is far more educated than most. But it is ripe for my conquest. While my Master was tasked with corrupting Avendor, my home plane, a bastion of good and law, my chore is simply to tip the rat into the bucket of the Abyss as it prowls the rim looking for cheese. This plane is already so flooded with the energies of the Abyss that demons spontaneously emerge, monsters manifest in the dark, and their weak leaders bargain with forces they would be wiser to repulse. It will be child's play to nudge it the last few inches into anarchy and destruction, mostly due to the efforts of Pale Night herself. For thousands of years she has been grasping and clawing at this realm, dragging it further from the light and closer to her realm day by day, inch by inch, soul by soul. While my home plane was beyond my ability to destroy, this place will be my masterpiece. With my death at the hands of the forces of good, a symphony of destruction will play the anthem to my ascension to demonhood. The Pale Mother has promised me that each death will bring me closer to my true form, and each rebirth will increase my power, just as our pact promised. I can't wait to die. When will the heroes arrive? I've been planting and tending the seed of the idea in the old giant's mind for weeks now. When will it bear fruit? When can my dark rise to power begin? (The rest is a combination of burned and Abyssal that becomes impossible to read)

    Dam'ess- Mass Quasit Summoning. Magic Mouth to Levy Commands re: Retrieve Mirror of Leng, Scepter of Rulership, And Aniot's Cube. Disperse to Appropriate Parties Per The Plan. Burn The Cabin.

    Harumburg- Sending to Lord of Bone re: Portal to the 113th. (Indecipherable Due to Burns) In Accordance with Their Great Alliance.

    Falluneer- Sending to Lord of Flesh re: (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Ebon Spear.

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)light: Sending to Lord of Blood re: Assassination of (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Yukkot, Recovery of Blood (More Burns).

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)odge- Sending to Cult of Pale (More Burns) re: Initiate Divining Ritual Sacrifices. FIND THE DAMN ZIGGURAT.

    Garrunrow- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Kill the Last Bloodwolf. Recover (More Burns) Key.

    Mountain of Smoke- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) crypt. Seize the Ebon (More Burns).

    Sussoon- Ensure the Prophecy (Indecipherable Due to Burns)... Pay the Bounty Hunters to Find the Abydossian and the Princesses. re: Sacrifices of The Old Blood

    (There is more, but seemingly out of paranoia Bence switched to Abyssal. It is impossible to tell how many lines there are, as the last half of the paper is fully burned away)


    Spoiler: Arcane Lore concerning Bence's Notes
    Show
    The magic of Contingency is a nearly mythical bit of spell work that was said to be lost when the Library of Leng burned down. It allows a caster to prepare spells in advance for a predetermined event, in this case John Bence's own death, and the spells will automatically cast when the event happens. If Bence is capable of such sorcery, he is likely far more powerful than his flashy death at the party's hands would indicate.

    The Mirror of Leng is a artifact of the Library of Leng, said to contain a frozen moment of time where the library was at it's height that a person can temporarily step in to, giving access to the greatest magical library this world has ever seen. Supposedly several mirrors were made, though some are confirmed destroyed after their use led to come calamity of forbidden magics long lost to time. The Scepter of Rulership is said to be an even more powerful version of a Rod of Rulership, a magic item that allows for mass mind manipulation of people to believe that the holder of the Scepter is their rightful ruler. The last time the Scepter was confirmed in play it toppled an entire nation.

    Though numbering and organizing the layers of the Abyss is a fool's errand, there are some realms that are constant enough to designate. The one hundred and thirteenth layer is Thanatos, layer of Orcus, the Lord of Death. It is a lifeless frozen landscape where life is snuffed out almost as soon as it arrives, either by the untold legions of undead denizens, the magical aura of the layer itself, or, in the worst cases, by Orcus himself, using his fearsome Wand.


    Spoiler: John Bence's Wall Art
    Show
    There are no invisible objects in the room, but the entire back wall of the cabin is plastered with profane runes and abyssal scribblings. Where there was nothing to the naked eye, there is an extensive patchwork of spell work, seemingly scribed in the rusted red of blood. More disturbing is the fragments of souls that have been bound to the wall. Faces of people rise and seethe from the wood like a strange and rippling tide, mouths open in anguish. There are not many of them left, presumably due to whatever spell was used here absorbing so much energy, but there is a fine layer of ectoplasm that would indicate that once there were dozens of soul fragments powering this spell. The sight turns Mal's stomach, as the chaotic, destructive magic of the Abyss is written as plainly as news script, but as subtly as any devil could manage.



    Spoiler: Monsters
    Show
    Barlgura: Demon loosed by summoning ritual on the road to Dam'ess. Slain with its summoned partner by team. (Bless helped with accuracy issues due to invisibility. In the future, layer mind sliver to aid with saves.)
    Brazen Hart: Spirit of the wild wood around Dam'ess. Seeks to test the party's mettle by forcing an open fight with the Barlgura.
    Horror of Yurl: Shapeshifting kind of monster. Severs limbs, creates euphoria, and slays by consuming the liver. The newest variant flies...
    Tree-house horror: elven make. Demon infested. Extremely rare creation.

    The presence of the so-called "evolved" ghouls is troublesome. Said to be the chosen of Doresain the Ghoul King, Darakhuls are more motivated, more intelligent, and leagues more dangerous than their lesser kin. They have a subterranean empire on the other side of the continent, and their attempts to bring their Imperium to the surface have only narrowly been thwarted by the actions of great heroes and dedicated rulers. If Darakhuls have come to Harumvale, then the eyes of the Ghoul King have turned in this direction, and things truly are worse than imagined. Darakhul have a mystical connection to lesser ghouls and ghasts that enhances their intelligence and discipline when the evolved ghouls are present, turning them from hungry predators to a military unit.

    Unknown Egg. Vargath has an egg that might be a moon drake, recovered from an oven in the Iron Ghoul territory of the sewers of Harumvale.



    Spoiler: Instrument of the Bards
    Show
    Mal needs a translator, the spells, and woodcrafter to create a new relic.
    Spoiler: Full Description
    Show
    Still, tucked among the primers and amateur books he finds a book that deals with the blending of magic and music. Specifically, it holds the instructions and rituals for a new version of the famed artifacts known as the instruments of the bards. Unfortunately, about a third of the book is in a language Mal does not understand or recognize, including most of the rites and rituals to imbue it with magic. Still, with a translator, appropriate magics, some study, and someone skilled in wood craft, he may be able to produce one of these relics for himself.


    Spoiler: Half Troden Bardic Instrument Key
    Show
    Arcana- High Docent Half Toden directs Mal to a specific scroll on a specific shelf in a specific wing when pressed on this subject. He seems... oddly insistent... actually. It turns out to be a book of songs, actually, and one of them is penned by none other than High Docent Half Toden.

    Lo, behold the works of the Maker of Things,
    Wands, staves, instruments, wonders, and rings,
    His traveling cart rolls from town to town
    And trades mystical wonders for enough coins to drown
    Sometimes human, sometimes dwarf, sometimes gnome,
    He claims fate calls him, binds him, and keeps him from home
    He forged Harum's hammer that split the Eternal Rock
    Tinkered Trelmari's picks which defeat any Lock
    He defies time and age, but one note rings true
    Find one of Harum's adamant coins and he will find you.


    Spoiler: Harumburg Library Lore
    Show
    Religion- There has been a near constant history of undead in and around the capital of Harumsvale. It seems like every three to five decades or so some priest or paladin of Harum organizes a purge that "purifies" a coven of vampire spawn, a hidden necromancer, or a ghoul nest. But it seems to Mal (and to High Docent Toden) that this always treats the outward symptoms without handling the cause. Vampire spawn are rooted out, but rarely is a true vampire found. Students at the university are found to be dabbling in the forbidden arts, but no one ever catches the teacher who revealed such secrets to them. And each time a nest of ghouls is rooted out there is often a new infection there within a century. Half gives Mal an anecdote about one building in the industrial district being raided three times within his lifetime.

    History- Docent Toden cannot corroborate much in this area of research, but Mal does find several portraits that bear an astounding resemblance to Grand Arbiter Myrus Malkaav, each of them depicting some variety of civil servant or noble position with roughly eighty years between them. When Post Master Geller Rell passes away from a wasting disease, eight decades or so later Chief Accountant Daedren Gastaf, who has the same severe eyes, hooked nose, and pale skin but a different haircut, takes his position a serves with merited distinction. There is a general trend in these dopplegangers to rise in the ranks of the government over the centuries, and Mal finds records dating back nearly a thousand years.


    Report daily updates to Mistress Moira at last light.




  6. - Top - End - #1206
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    SwashbucklerGuy

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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Set Al-Sayyid
    Changeling Fighter/Hexblade
    AC: 17 HP: 36/41 (36/43) THP: 0/5
    PP: 12 PIv: 13 PIs: 9
    Conditions: Mal's Aid, Nome's Hero's Feast (immune to poison/frightened, Wis ST adv)
    Concentration:

    The Cells

    "I don't know," Set admits quietly in response to Selissa's question. "I don't think they share my curse, but I don't know anymore. I bound myself to the Shadowkeeper thinking it would keep them safe from Him, but for what? So they could end up under John Bence's axe, instead? So they could be grated and ground into Dust?" Set tries to take a deep, calming breath, but it's interrupted by a hiccup.

    "This man was searching for them, but until the madness fades there'll be no knowing how close he came to finding them or if they're here." Set chews the inside of his cheek, hiccuping again and shaking his head as he looks at the man giggling and sobbing in his madness. "If the madness fades."

    Just before the others file into the cells, Set listens intently as Selissa regards the madman, relating the risks of bringing him.

    "Your tribe. Your choice."

    My choice, Set thinks. The others discuss Mal and Vargath's findings, but the words float around him without ever really pulling his attention away from the madman standing nearby. My choice.

    Set's fingers graze the coin in his pouch before he realizes he's reaching for it. He'd "chosen" to keep his sisters safe at the cost of his soul. He'd "chosen" to kill Sirus rather than be killed. Now he could choose his own safety, or this man's. He could choose the Three people keeping him safe down here, or he could choose his sister's safety, maybe, if this man knows anything of worth that can be salvaged to their benefit. One thing is certain, in Set's mind. He can't have everything. They would all be safer without this liability, but this man would not be safe without them. Not down here.

    "The madman is relatively safer in his cell until we move to leave...What say you, Abydosian? Do you wish to bear your kinsman along while we hunt eaters of the dead?"

    "There's no safety," Set spits, the words coming out short and harsher than he'd meant them to as he squeezes the cold metal in his palm. "Not for him or anyone else. Not down here. Not in the North. Not anywhere."

    Releasing the coin back into his pouch, Set takes a stride towards the other Abydosian and issues him a sharp slap across the face. Leaning forward, Set grabs his head roughly in both hands, forcing the other man to look at him.

    "<Listen to me. Listen,>" Set says, freshly determined. "<I am Set Al-Sayyid, son of Geb, member of the First Family. You know this. If you do not pull yourself together, I will leave you in this stinking pit to rot. As the Shadowkeeper is my witness, you will find the Field of Reeds closed to you. You will wander this place and the afterlife with no people, and no home. Your fathers will know your shame when the Field is barred to you. Your sons will search this life and the next, but they'll never find you. Pull yourself together, or your shame will echo for an eternity.>"

    Straightening, Set grasps the other man's hands and forces him to take hold of his spear for the moment, hoping the familiar weapon will shake something loose. At the same time Set pulls off his shemagh, wrapping the face-covering firmly in place on the other man to help muffle his voice. Finally, Set looks up to the others almost apologetically, but he's almost all out of words.

    "Sorry. He might know something about where my sisters are." Set looks between them a moment longer, waiting for objections before ushering the madman towards Maus, eager to forget their differences if the medicine-man could help.

  7. - Top - End - #1207
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    The Pipe Room

    Vargath's last minute twice-over of the room proves fruitful. There is a mug that had rolled into a corner of the floor, and when he scoops it up it proves to be full of liquid. Simply water, but it mists with steam. On a reflex, Vargath wishes it cool so he could dump it out, and immediately the water chills to a tepid temperature. The water simply refuses to leave the mug until Vargath wills it and pours (or sips, if he is brave). Stamped into the bottom of the mug is a seal that reads "Merry Mug Co. Harumburg" with a date four human generations ago burned into the wood and the number "1".

    No one notices Esai lifting silverware and plates. Or more likely no one cares.

    The Cells

    The Abydossian man sobs when Set slaps him, and he tries to look away when Set clamps onto his head, but something about the bastard prince's words reach into this man and stir both his shame and his pride. He takes the spear, awkwardly and fumbling at first but in a practiced motion he brings the spear into the "alert" stance taught to his people in their earliest games as children and maintained as adults serving their leader and their land. His chin shudders for a moment, but he closes his eyes forcefully for a moment, then meet's Set's gaze head on. "I am Mido Mostaf, son of Mahmoud. My spear and my life for the First among us." This man is no soldier, but he has a soldier's training, and a willingness to follow orders.

    The Lab

    When the group reconvenes, with Mido Mostaf in tow, Maus has just finished reading rites to the last victim. He closes a religious tome and slides it into his bag. When Set brings his addled countryman to the former elder, Maus frowns before sticking his thumb in his own mouth. He then draws a half circle across the Abydossian man's forehead with his slicked thumb. There is a flash of vibrant green light, and when it fades away Mido is blinking rapidly, as though he were rudely awakened.

    "It's... not a cure. But this should keep him... together... until we get him out of here. Half a day, if he's lucky. It also gives him a fresh chance to fight off whatever fragmented his mind. I've hidden the trauma from him, but it will return over time. I wish I could do more..." Maus shakes the blinking man on the shoulder, which seems to bring him around. Mido approaches Set, looks him up and down, and says a common idiom from their home. "I would fight beside you, but I'd rather fill both our cups with someone else's wine." It is in that moment, as the poor broken man smiles, that Set realizes that the man is surprisingly handsome and genial. There is still a tremble deep in Mido's eyes, a look of vague uncertainty that looks dangerous, but it appears, either through Maus' magic or Set's force of personality, that Mido is as prepared as he possibly could be for whatever comes down that tunnel next.
    Last edited by purepolarpanzer; 2021-12-05 at 09:30 PM.
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  8. - Top - End - #1208
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    Vargath Hubrecht
    Half-Orc Rune Knight Fighter
    AC: 19 HP: 32/49
    PP: 13 PIv: 12 PIs: 10
    Conditions: Infected (Lycanthropy)
    Concentrating: --

    He didn't bristle, exactly, at the half-mad newcomer that was kin to Set. Vargath has no aggressive disposition, remaining placcid of face and tone - but in his mind he sees the couple, so eager to 'protect' their village they risked life and limb, and received a permanent scar for their troubles. They had been lucky, even as he'd done his best to keep them out of harm's way. He did not relish the thought of repeating this in far more dire and exhausting circumstances, when the individual was not a stalwart defender puffed up with righteous belief, but instead a barely coherent prisoner as liable to break and run back as they seemed to be to charge forward - at least by his estimation. All in all, it seemed folly. It would put them at risk. It would put their job at risk.

    And yet he voices none of these things, even as he carefully lists off in his mind every way it could go wrong, every fault with the idea. He says not a word, because to Set this seemed important, and if it were one of Vargath's people in that spot, he would do the same as Set. He has no right to judge aloud, certainly not while he too is close to a maddened frenzy. Instead, in a growling voice he accedes. "He is your kin and your responsibility." The double meaning behind the word does not escape Vargath, as he's sure it doesn't escape anyone else. "I have no objections." He gives a nod, not necessarily of approval, but at least acceptance. He would do well to look on the bright side, the silver lining, of another warm body in the fight against the undead - it was just the half-orc's thoughts were clouded with an thick fog of concern, through which only his own self-doubt pierced through to agree with Set's wish.
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  9. - Top - End - #1209
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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Selissa Betula
    Wood Elf Scout Rogue
    AC: 16 HP: 38/38->45/45
    PP: 17
    Conditions: heroic encouragement, Aid, PWT (+10 stealth, can't be detected through magical means, no tracks)
    Concentrating: yes

    Selissa watched this exchange. Perhaps there was a slight incline of approval on the stoic elf's flat expression.
    "Resting here or not? " she interjected once the main of it was done. Once she'd gotten an answer, she turned her glass-green eyes on the newly fastidious tiefling.
    "Devilblood. Sabotage. Show me. "

    She started to follow him, then stopped. The wood elf retoreved the pomander of scented herbs she'd obtained to protect against the stench of undeath, but there was another stink her nose would need protecting against if they were taking the wretched madman back with them. She took three long steps and pushed it into his hands.
    "Wear, " she said shortly, and turned on her heel to go sabotage some mechanisms.
    And the far stars cried, and the planets yearned;
    But no man may know, for she'll ne'er return.

  10. - Top - End - #1210
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    SwashbucklerGuy

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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Set Al-Sayyid
    Changeling Fighter/Hexblade
    AC: 17 HP: 36/41 (36/43) THP: 0/5
    PP: 12 PIv: 13 PIs: 9
    Conditions: Mal's Aid, Nome's Hero's Feast (immune to poison/frightened, Wis ST adv)
    Concentration:

    The Cells

    "Thank you Maus," Set responds, a shadow of guilt creeping up on him. He'd often dismissed the man as selfish and hollow, but when the time had come, Set had sought his aid regardless. "Half a day is more than I'd hoped for, given what he's likely seen down here." It feels like there's more that needs to be said, but before Set can find the words, Mido steps closer.

    "I would fight beside you, but I'd rather fill both our cups with someone else's wine."

    Set's face, scrunched up with worry moments before, splits into a broad grin. "I fear our hosts will be more given to fighting than filling our cups down here, friend," Set replies, his tone full of laughter despite the somber message. "But in the desert, we learn to take what is offered. Water, wine, or a fight." Eyes bright, Set claps the other man on the back, unable to hold back his good cheer at Mido's obvious improvement.

    The familiar idiom and the Abydosian's voice are a salve on a wound half-forgotten. The relief is palpable even if the pain had been far from Set's mind. How long had it been since he'd heard a voice from home?

    Set looks around, swallowing the broad smile and recovering his wits. The serious expressions of his companions hauls him back from the desert, out of the sun from his youth and back into the deep, dark pit.

    "He is your kin and your responsibility. I have no objections."

    Set returns the nod, visibly buoyed by the affirmation even though he tries to match Vargath's stoicism. Even the full scope of Set's responsibility doesn't bring him back down.

    Set's eyes fall on Selissa, but his focus switches to the shadows cradling her. "Perhaps we can rest if your work to sabotage these creatures delays us. Is your gift waning, or is there still time?" The magic of her people is still active, that much he can sense, but when exactly that hourglass would run out the shadows didn't seem inclined to say.

    "Wear."

    Set is caught off-guard, a small, surprised smile back on his face as Selissa marches after Mal. He nods to Mido, encouraging him. "Wear it in health. And hang onto that spear. Run through the sunrise forms and get the feel of it again. When we march, you'll fall behind with me and watch my back. Understood?

    "Vargath?" Set asks, turning to look up to the half-orc. "That ghoul in iron carried a polearm. I don't think it moved from where he fell, but do you mind helping me recover it before we rest or resume?"

  11. - Top - End - #1211
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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Vargath Hubrecht
    Half-Orc Rune Knight Fighter
    AC: 19 HP: 32/49
    PP: 13 PIv: 12 PIs: 10
    Conditions: Infected (Lycanthropy)
    Concentrating: --

    Another once-over of the rescued man. He wasn't sure they could carry the weapon in question, nevermind use it effectively. Prisoners often deteriorated quickly - lack of constant muscle use meant that they atrophied in strength and size alike with remarkable speed. But such concerns weren't his, they were Set's and the mans. As long as they had a weapon in hand they would do what they could, he could ask for little more. "It would be safer in pairs," he agrees. "Though I doubt any reinforcements will have arrived in the meantime."
    Last edited by Amnestic; 2021-12-08 at 05:45 PM.
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  12. - Top - End - #1212
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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Mal
    Levistus Tiefling Bard 5
    AC: 14 HP: 41/41 (48/48) THP: 10/10
    PP: 11 PIv: 13 PIs: 11
    Spell Slots: 1st - 4/4 2nd - 0/3 3rd - 2/2
    Fey Touched: 1st - 0/1 2nd - 1/1
    Masquerade Tattoo: 1st - 1/1
    Levistus Legacy: Armor of Agathys - 0/1 Darkness - 1/1
    Bardic Inspiration: 3/4
    Healer's Kit: 20/20
    Mal Conditions: Praised into Health (43). Immune to poison frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage. Loki's Bane. Aid. Mad/Frightened/Quirk: Fastidious about his appearance to a distracting, unhealthy degree.
    Mal Concentrating: ---

    Esai
    Ancient Companion: Warrior
    Companion HP: 30/30 (32/32)
    Companion AC: 16
    Companion PP: 18 PIv: 12 PIs: 12
    Sage's Counsel: While within 15 feet of the companion, you and your allies gain a +2 bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom checks. Warrior’s Protection (Warrior Only). When a creature within 5 feet of the companion makes a Strength or Dexterity saving throw, the companion imposes itself between the creature and the danger. The creature can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the saving throw.
    Praised into Health. Immune to frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage

    Maledictus watched the preparations as the team sought to reinforce the broken man. He calculated a low probability that the man would serve more than to receive an arrow or blade--or bite. He straightened the edge of his glove at thought. Mal responded to the elf, "Certainly."

    The bard conveyed Selissa to the oven room. He pointed out the pipes of gas and the flame function of the device. The scholar added, "If you could induce it to build gas in the oven, perhaps the next person to interact with the contraption would catch fire."

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show

    Help and Bardic Inspiration to Selissa.

    Spoiler: Mal's Notes
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    Spoiler: Cast and Crew
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    Set: outcast exiled princeling of Abydos. Two princess sisters (Sisi and Sythpen Al-Sayyid). Romantic connection for Moira?
    Selissa: Blighted or reconstructed wood elf? Purported Scout.
    Vargath: Afflicted Lycanthrope seeking to suspend his curse. A Bloodwolf?
    Mandaras: Rival to Dr. Fixer.
    Dr. Fixer: Moira's lieutenant and cultivates relations with the locals of Vale.
    Elder Maus: Seeks to kill Moira. Hired mercenaries who betrayed him.
    --Healed to his full 9ft height.
    --Disbelieves Moira's insights; seeks to end her directly or indirectly.
    --Seeks us to verify the truths of Moira's claims--or stop her by any means necessary.
    Maulei: Successor to Elder Maus as elder of Dam'ess.
    Uluthando Mikoso "Ulu:" Paladin? of Order. From beyond the Vale. Reacts by gripping her dagger and declaring Tieflings are treated differently...Lawful (N/E?) Order? Calls Mal 'Mdala Ohlonishwayo.' Professes to serve no god, but spirits whose reach may be weaker in the Vale than elsewhere.
    Nomcebo: Ulu's handler. Ink skinned tiefling with prehensile tail and an obvious allure.
    Kagiso: Ulu's slave and carriage driver.


    Spoiler: Dream of Leng
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    Spoiler: In Full
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    Mal has had this dream before. He finds himself in the legendary Library of Leng, an ancient home of virtually all worldly and mystical knowledge that burned when the city it was located in was razed nearly nine hundred years ago, half the world away. Still, in his dreams it still existed, and these dreams always played out the same. Hours of dutiful research, referencing and cross referencing sources from multiple tomes, carefully reconstructing ancient languages, until EUREKA! Some devastating and profound arcane truth became evident to him, and the sense of accomplisment and relief normally carried with him for several hours after waking up, even if he could never actually remember anything he learned. But this time is different. Mal is well versed enough in the arcane and divine arts to know that sometimes dreams carry real meaning. And as he stares down at what he has been working on, he instinctively knows this bears some significance. Where normally he would have arcane formulas and theorems, he sees only "The One Who Stalks Behind" scrawled over and over again in his own hand, though the words are manic and look like they were written in distress. He searches the paper for any further omen, and down at the bottom of the page, in the smallest script he could possibly manage, it says Behind you!. Just as he is about to turn, a claw as strong as iron grips the side of his head, snaps his neck to the side, and ends all feeling in the bard's body. But he can still hear the deep throated growls, along with the wet noises of whatever killed him beginning to eat him alive. But he never gets to see it before the dream ends.


    The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. RIGHT BEHIND YOU! The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind.



    Spoiler: Bence's Secrets
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    Spoiler: Bence's Journal
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    ...is a backwards plane, so far removed from the Prime Material that it has not seen an angel or the work of a god in a millennia. I hear that far to the west they do not even worship the gods. Proper savages, but I must remain vigilant, as their knowledge of the ways of this world is far more educated than most. But it is ripe for my conquest. While my Master was tasked with corrupting Avendor, my home plane, a bastion of good and law, my chore is simply to tip the rat into the bucket of the Abyss as it prowls the rim looking for cheese. This plane is already so flooded with the energies of the Abyss that demons spontaneously emerge, monsters manifest in the dark, and their weak leaders bargain with forces they would be wiser to repulse. It will be child's play to nudge it the last few inches into anarchy and destruction, mostly due to the efforts of Pale Night herself. For thousands of years she has been grasping and clawing at this realm, dragging it further from the light and closer to her realm day by day, inch by inch, soul by soul. While my home plane was beyond my ability to destroy, this place will be my masterpiece. With my death at the hands of the forces of good, a symphony of destruction will play the anthem to my ascension to demonhood. The Pale Mother has promised me that each death will bring me closer to my true form, and each rebirth will increase my power, just as our pact promised. I can't wait to die. When will the heroes arrive? I've been planting and tending the seed of the idea in the old giant's mind for weeks now. When will it bear fruit? When can my dark rise to power begin? (The rest is a combination of burned and Abyssal that becomes impossible to read)

    Dam'ess- Mass Quasit Summoning. Magic Mouth to Levy Commands re: Retrieve Mirror of Leng, Scepter of Rulership, And Aniot's Cube. Disperse to Appropriate Parties Per The Plan. Burn The Cabin.

    Harumburg- Sending to Lord of Bone re: Portal to the 113th. (Indecipherable Due to Burns) In Accordance with Their Great Alliance.

    Falluneer- Sending to Lord of Flesh re: (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Ebon Spear.

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)light: Sending to Lord of Blood re: Assassination of (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Yukkot, Recovery of Blood (More Burns).

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)odge- Sending to Cult of Pale (More Burns) re: Initiate Divining Ritual Sacrifices. FIND THE DAMN ZIGGURAT.

    Garrunrow- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Kill the Last Bloodwolf. Recover (More Burns) Key.

    Mountain of Smoke- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) crypt. Seize the Ebon (More Burns).

    Sussoon- Ensure the Prophecy (Indecipherable Due to Burns)... Pay the Bounty Hunters to Find the Abydossian and the Princesses. re: Sacrifices of The Old Blood

    (There is more, but seemingly out of paranoia Bence switched to Abyssal. It is impossible to tell how many lines there are, as the last half of the paper is fully burned away)


    Spoiler: Arcane Lore concerning Bence's Notes
    Show
    The magic of Contingency is a nearly mythical bit of spell work that was said to be lost when the Library of Leng burned down. It allows a caster to prepare spells in advance for a predetermined event, in this case John Bence's own death, and the spells will automatically cast when the event happens. If Bence is capable of such sorcery, he is likely far more powerful than his flashy death at the party's hands would indicate.

    The Mirror of Leng is a artifact of the Library of Leng, said to contain a frozen moment of time where the library was at it's height that a person can temporarily step in to, giving access to the greatest magical library this world has ever seen. Supposedly several mirrors were made, though some are confirmed destroyed after their use led to come calamity of forbidden magics long lost to time. The Scepter of Rulership is said to be an even more powerful version of a Rod of Rulership, a magic item that allows for mass mind manipulation of people to believe that the holder of the Scepter is their rightful ruler. The last time the Scepter was confirmed in play it toppled an entire nation.

    Though numbering and organizing the layers of the Abyss is a fool's errand, there are some realms that are constant enough to designate. The one hundred and thirteenth layer is Thanatos, layer of Orcus, the Lord of Death. It is a lifeless frozen landscape where life is snuffed out almost as soon as it arrives, either by the untold legions of undead denizens, the magical aura of the layer itself, or, in the worst cases, by Orcus himself, using his fearsome Wand.


    Spoiler: John Bence's Wall Art
    Show
    There are no invisible objects in the room, but the entire back wall of the cabin is plastered with profane runes and abyssal scribblings. Where there was nothing to the naked eye, there is an extensive patchwork of spell work, seemingly scribed in the rusted red of blood. More disturbing is the fragments of souls that have been bound to the wall. Faces of people rise and seethe from the wood like a strange and rippling tide, mouths open in anguish. There are not many of them left, presumably due to whatever spell was used here absorbing so much energy, but there is a fine layer of ectoplasm that would indicate that once there were dozens of soul fragments powering this spell. The sight turns Mal's stomach, as the chaotic, destructive magic of the Abyss is written as plainly as news script, but as subtly as any devil could manage.



    Spoiler: Monsters
    Show
    Barlgura: Demon loosed by summoning ritual on the road to Dam'ess. Slain with its summoned partner by team. (Bless helped with accuracy issues due to invisibility. In the future, layer mind sliver to aid with saves.)
    Brazen Hart: Spirit of the wild wood around Dam'ess. Seeks to test the party's mettle by forcing an open fight with the Barlgura.
    Horror of Yurl: Shapeshifting kind of monster. Severs limbs, creates euphoria, and slays by consuming the liver. The newest variant flies...
    Tree-house horror: elven make. Demon infested. Extremely rare creation.

    The presence of the so-called "evolved" ghouls is troublesome. Said to be the chosen of Doresain the Ghoul King, Darakhuls are more motivated, more intelligent, and leagues more dangerous than their lesser kin. They have a subterranean empire on the other side of the continent, and their attempts to bring their Imperium to the surface have only narrowly been thwarted by the actions of great heroes and dedicated rulers. If Darakhuls have come to Harumvale, then the eyes of the Ghoul King have turned in this direction, and things truly are worse than imagined. Darakhul have a mystical connection to lesser ghouls and ghasts that enhances their intelligence and discipline when the evolved ghouls are present, turning them from hungry predators to a military unit.

    Unknown Egg. Vargath has an egg that might be a moon drake, recovered from an oven in the Iron Ghoul territory of the sewers of Harumvale.



    Spoiler: Instrument of the Bards
    Show
    Mal needs a translator, the spells, and woodcrafter to create a new relic.
    Spoiler: Full Description
    Show
    Still, tucked among the primers and amateur books he finds a book that deals with the blending of magic and music. Specifically, it holds the instructions and rituals for a new version of the famed artifacts known as the instruments of the bards. Unfortunately, about a third of the book is in a language Mal does not understand or recognize, including most of the rites and rituals to imbue it with magic. Still, with a translator, appropriate magics, some study, and someone skilled in wood craft, he may be able to produce one of these relics for himself.


    Spoiler: Half Troden Bardic Instrument Key
    Show
    Arcana- High Docent Half Toden directs Mal to a specific scroll on a specific shelf in a specific wing when pressed on this subject. He seems... oddly insistent... actually. It turns out to be a book of songs, actually, and one of them is penned by none other than High Docent Half Toden.

    Lo, behold the works of the Maker of Things,
    Wands, staves, instruments, wonders, and rings,
    His traveling cart rolls from town to town
    And trades mystical wonders for enough coins to drown
    Sometimes human, sometimes dwarf, sometimes gnome,
    He claims fate calls him, binds him, and keeps him from home
    He forged Harum's hammer that split the Eternal Rock
    Tinkered Trelmari's picks which defeat any Lock
    He defies time and age, but one note rings true
    Find one of Harum's adamant coins and he will find you.


    Spoiler: Harumburg Library Lore
    Show
    Religion- There has been a near constant history of undead in and around the capital of Harumsvale. It seems like every three to five decades or so some priest or paladin of Harum organizes a purge that "purifies" a coven of vampire spawn, a hidden necromancer, or a ghoul nest. But it seems to Mal (and to High Docent Toden) that this always treats the outward symptoms without handling the cause. Vampire spawn are rooted out, but rarely is a true vampire found. Students at the university are found to be dabbling in the forbidden arts, but no one ever catches the teacher who revealed such secrets to them. And each time a nest of ghouls is rooted out there is often a new infection there within a century. Half gives Mal an anecdote about one building in the industrial district being raided three times within his lifetime.

    History- Docent Toden cannot corroborate much in this area of research, but Mal does find several portraits that bear an astounding resemblance to Grand Arbiter Myrus Malkaav, each of them depicting some variety of civil servant or noble position with roughly eighty years between them. When Post Master Geller Rell passes away from a wasting disease, eight decades or so later Chief Accountant Daedren Gastaf, who has the same severe eyes, hooked nose, and pale skin but a different haircut, takes his position a serves with merited distinction. There is a general trend in these dopplegangers to rise in the ranks of the government over the centuries, and Mal finds records dating back nearly a thousand years.


    Report daily updates to Mistress Moira at last light.



    Last edited by Theophilus; 2021-12-14 at 10:27 AM.

  13. - Top - End - #1213
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    purepolarpanzer's Avatar

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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    The Lab

    Set, followed by Mido, and Vargath reenter the main sewer line and find that it is just as you left it. A mass of dismembered undead coats the floor. When Set begins to search through it, he eventually finds the wicked looking glaive under a the corpse of the iron ghoul, held close to his body in his final moments before he was pulverized. The ghoul fell down onto the blade (not that it experienced it, it was inanimate flesh at the time) and it nearly cleaved it in half. However, when Set lifts the weapon he notices something odd and seemingly malevolent. Small, nearly invisible strings run from the tip of the glaive to each of the fallen undead's limbs, and when Set draws up the glaive the corpse leaps up, causing both Set and Vargath to ready themselves for combat. But it is simply lifting the ghoul into the air like a puppet. When Set evaluates the glaive for magic he finds it pulses with enchantment energy. And he finds he can direct the rotting corpse like a puppet to a remarkable degree. The idea of controlling corpses strikes Set's mind, and the morbidity and sacrilege threatens to overwhelm him.

    The Oven

    Mal's assessment appears correct. If the tubes pumping this stinky gas could be forced open the oven would fill with gas, and the next person to force it to light would certainly experience a fiery explosions.

    Spoiler: I Need A Sanity Save from Set, DC 14
    Show
    Spoiler: If You Pass
    Show
    Your sense of self remains unaltered.
    Spoiler: If You Fail
    Show
    The idea of using this weapon to force corpses into helping you is... interesting. It has potential at least. Maybe even a sickening appeal... but you become suddenly disgusted with yourself when you realize how tantalizing the idea is.


    Spoiler: Thieve's Tools Roll From Selissa, DC 10
    Show
    You don't think you have a way of wedging open the gas tubes. In fact, this whole pipe assembly seems to dangerous for you to mess with.

    Spoiler: DC 15
    Show
    No, it's doable. You just need to use your minute saw to sever the mechanism that opens and shuts them.


    Spoiler: DC 20
    Show
    You find your own way to sabotage the situation in some new or ingenious fashion, or you can default to Mal's idea. Either way, you do a superb job of creating a hazard.


    Spoiler: DC 25
    Show
    You could turn this thing into one very large bomb with a little luck and a breaking the pump keeping the gas flowing.
    The Bear is Back.

  14. - Top - End - #1214
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Awful's Avatar

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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Selissa Betula
    Wood Elf Scout Rogue
    AC: 16 HP: 38/38->45/45
    PP: 17
    Conditions: heroic encouragement, Aid, PWT (+10 stealth, can't be detected through magical means, no tracks)
    Concentrating: yes

    Selissa took a moment to study the array of pipes and machinery.

    She sure couldn't build something like this. She could, however, surely break it. She slid out the slender metal slivers of her thief tools and got to work. At times, she had half wriggled her way into the clanking metalwork to saw open the thin metal pins that controlled the opening and shutting of the gas valves.

    The smell of the gas invaded her nose. She pulled her scarf further up to cover her face and continued, occasionally sticking out a hand and giving a terse command.
    "Third saw. Pass." and so on.

    After a few cramped moments, she stuck her head out, soot smeared on her forehead and great green head of hair, and hopped down. With excessive care, she gently shut the door in the cluster of pipework and stood back.

    "Should be building pressure. Don't open,." She said forcefully. "Left a plate hanging inside. Open the door. Sparks."

    She began smearing at the stains on the forehead, and allowed her self a small satisfied smile. It had all the kindness of the cat with a small bird between its paws.

    "Surprise."
    And the far stars cried, and the planets yearned;
    But no man may know, for she'll ne'er return.

  15. - Top - End - #1215
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    SwashbucklerGuy

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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Set Al-Sayyid
    Changeling Fighter/Hexblade
    AC: 17 HP: 36/41 (36/43) THP: 0/5
    PP: 12 PIv: 13 PIs: 9
    Conditions: Mal's Aid, Nome's Hero's Feast (immune to poison/frightened, Wis ST adv). Mad/Frightened/Quirk: Fascinated with binding and power over death.
    Concentration:

    The Lab

    Set reaches out, attempting to run gloved fingers over the near-invisible strings, frowning down at them and where they lead. As he lifts the weapon higher to get a closer look, Set's heart jumps into his throat as the darakhul dances. When the moment passes and he's sure the undead is no longer capable of attacking him, Set realizes there's magic at work and opens his eyes to the arcane. "<Residual.>"

    Energy pulses from the weapon, revealing the enchantment that connects it to those that have passed. Set briefly experiments, shifting the blade up and down, left and right, watching the iron ghoul mimic each motion. A sense of power floods through Set as he recognizes the sickening potential. A corpse forced to fight undead. Death to fight death.

    Set fingers the weapon, lost in thought. It's horrifying. A weapon that binds the dead in a cruel mockery of life, forcing bodies to carry on after their souls have fled. Dead or undead makes little difference, in this case. The weapon is evil. A tool of death. A glaive that binds bodies, if not souls.

    But what of the living? Why should Set bleed when the dead could take a blow for him? Why should Vargath? What is evil if it means making sure Mal and Selissa regain the surface unharmed? What's wrong with repaying Maus for the kindness he showed Mido? Shouldn't Set be willing to do what it takes, to keep them safe by whatever means necessary? What could be more necessary than finding his sisters? The means are of no consequence to reach that end. Right?

    As Set seeks to justify his thought process, something grips him, pulsing with every heartbeat. His gaze rises, drifting up from the tip of one weapon to the corpse of another, but both weapons are his. Corpse and glaive, both weapons are bound to his will.

    "Power over death," he whispers, puppeting the iron ghoul into a defensive posture. Eyes wide, Set fancies he can feel the strings binding them together through the weapon. He briefly loses himself in the sensation of being a master, eagerly ignoring his own strings. The Shadowkeeper is far from Set's mind. Even the coin remains unconsulted, allowed to sit idle yet again.

    Looking between Vargath and Mido, the floor drops out from under Set. The sense of power flees. He's in a nightmare, falling, but he can't wake up. His stomach lurches, churning violently as the darakhul's arms fall limp, it's body twitching as Set loses conscious control. Releasing his hold over the ghoul entirely, Set watches it drop back into sewage even as his own gorge rises. A moment of unsteadiness passes as Set swallows spit and bile, cursing himself in no uncertain terms. What would Sisi think, to look at him now? What would Sythpen say if she could see him playing puppet-master to the dead? Set looks to the half-orc beside him, trying hard not to imagine what Sirus would do in his position.

    "I need a weapon," Set says to Vargath, coming to a decision and biting back the bile in his throat. He's still sick, but insistent as he nods towards Mido. "He will have that one, at least until we are safe." Chewing the inside of his cheek, Set holds the glaive out, unwittingly forcing the ghoul to crawl forward below them. Swallowing, Set forces himself to look.

    The ends justify the means. Moira would know. None better. Life isn't a gift you get to keep without being willing to fight for it. To bind for it.

    "In your studies, did you ever hear about its like? A weapon that makes the dead dance? The thing is rotten with an enchantment, but if it can help us get out of here alive, so much the better." A chill runs down Set's spine, strangely comforting.

  16. - Top - End - #1216
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Amnestic's Avatar

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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Vargath Hubrecht
    Half-Orc Rune Knight Fighter
    AC: 19 HP: 32/49
    PP: 13 PIv: 12 PIs: 10
    Conditions: Infected (Lycanthropy)
    Concentrating: --

    Vargath watches Set, then the weapon, then Set again. Dark magic. Death magic. It was what they were fighting against here, to rid the city of the undead that plagued it, not to turn them into their own weapons. Just as he was trying to rid himself of his own curse...s, not to embrace them. When the ghoul's body parts shifted at the movement of the glaive Vargath very nearly stomps them into a fine paste, and even though he holds back the urge remains. This wasn't like the magic practiced back home, nor that of the university. It was far more corrupting, he could tell at a glance, the look in Set's eyes. Vargath wants to rip the glaive from his friend and toss it, to launch it away...but he doesn't. He had said it was Set's responsibility to help his countryman, and he didn't have a right to interfere anymore. At least not down here. He could, at least, warn against it though.

    "I have never seen or heard of its kind before, but I recognise enough to know that we should abandon it as soon as possible." He rumbles, his eyes not straying from the wicked blade of the dangling corpse-parts that shuffle with each subtle shift that Set makes. "Use it for this excursion if you must, but no longer. Whatever power it offers will come at a cost you don't want to pay, and if its powers lie in enchantment then already it will be worming its way into your mind, rather than just raising the dead." After they were done, he was no longer protecting his countryman, and Vargath's choice would be more freely made - to protect Set from himself, if necessary.
    DMing:
    Iron Crisis IC | OOC
    Cyre Red IC | OOC

    Playing:
    OotA IC | OOC

    Master Homebrew Index (5e)

  17. - Top - End - #1217
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    SwashbucklerGuy

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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Set Al-Sayyid
    Changeling Fighter/Hexblade
    AC: 17 HP: 36/41 (36/43) THP: 0/5
    PP: 12 PIv: 13 PIs: 9
    Conditions: Mal's Aid, Nome's Hero's Feast (immune to poison/frightened, Wis ST adv). Mad/Frightened/Quirk: Fascinated with binding and power over death.
    Concentration:

    "Whatever power it offers will come at a cost you don't want to pay..."

    Set stares down at the weapon, unable to meet Vargath's gaze. He nods slowly, ostensibly agreeing that the cost is more than Set is willing to pay, but his fingers close tighter around the weapon, gripping it painfully in both hands. Power over death...against a cost that he doesn't want to pay.

    Set's frown deepens as he stares through the weapon, thinking back to a time when he wasn't shackled with debt. A time when he wasn't bound. A time when he'd basked in the warmth of his family and the desert sun. He'd had a brother then. Set glances up at the Mighty uncomfortably before looking back down at the weapon. What if he'd been willing to do what was necessary? Would Sirus be alive if Set had been stronger?

    Absolutely absurd. He'd never have been strong enough to fight the Shadowkeeper, no matter the circumstances.

    But, what if? What if he could have? What would he pay to have Sirus back? In Abydos, soul-binders are akin to monsters. Those who dabble are thought to dance with the devil. Set gives Mido a sideways glance, but quickly returns his gaze to the weapon. What was the point? To ignore power was to give others power over you. The people of Abydos, their people, were learning that now, no doubt.

    Set emerges from the depths of his own mind, molding his face into cautious acquiescence. "You're right, of course," Set says carefully, fingers still clutching the weapon tight, "no doubt it's dangerous. We should tread carefully," until I can show you that this power is necessary, Set finishes internally. The corpse at their feet twitches in silent agreement, bound to obey. "No matter the road we take, there is always a price."

    The power would cost him, but what was the cost of not using it? Vargath couldn't possibly say. "Do you think they'll be much longer?" Set asks, craning his neck around the tall half-orc and searching the tunnel behind him.

  18. - Top - End - #1218
    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Mal
    Levistus Tiefling Bard 5
    AC: 14 HP: 41/41 (48/48) THP: 10/10
    PP: 11 PIv: 13 PIs: 11
    Spell Slots: 1st - 4/4 2nd - 0/3 3rd - 2/2
    Fey Touched: 1st - 0/1 2nd - 1/1
    Masquerade Tattoo: 1st - 1/1
    Levistus Legacy: Armor of Agathys - 0/1 Darkness - 1/1
    Bardic Inspiration: 3/4
    Healer's Kit: 20/20
    Mal Conditions: Praised into Health (43). Immune to poison frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage. Loki's Bane. Aid. Mad/Frightened/Quirk: Fastidious about his appearance to a distracting, unhealthy degree.
    Mal Concentrating: ---

    Esai
    Ancient Companion: Warrior
    Companion HP: 30/30 (32/32)
    Companion AC: 16
    Companion PP: 18 PIv: 12 PIs: 12
    Sage's Counsel: While within 15 feet of the companion, you and your allies gain a +2 bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom checks. Warrior’s Protection (Warrior Only). When a creature within 5 feet of the companion makes a Strength or Dexterity saving throw, the companion imposes itself between the creature and the danger. The creature can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the saving throw.
    Praised into Health. Immune to frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage

    Maledictus admired the elf's handiwork, studying her methods even as he assisted. The scholar nodded at the conclusion of her task, conscious of a smudge on his glove's index finger. He wiped at it with a handkerchief while he answered, "Let us make haste, leaving this pleasant surprise for our foes."

    The bard then returned to find the others. He greeted Esai with a formal, shallow bow. Then he regarded the iron ghoul's stooped stance and Set's new weapon. He remarked wryly, "Is Set among the necromancers? I commend the insult to the foe's preferences, but the imps are likely to overrule your command."

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show


    Spoiler: Mal's Notes
    Show
    Spoiler: Cast and Crew
    Show
    Set: outcast exiled princeling of Abydos. Two princess sisters (Sisi and Sythpen Al-Sayyid). Romantic connection for Moira?
    Selissa: Blighted or reconstructed wood elf? Purported Scout.
    Vargath: Afflicted Lycanthrope seeking to suspend his curse. A Bloodwolf?
    Mandaras: Rival to Dr. Fixer.
    Dr. Fixer: Moira's lieutenant and cultivates relations with the locals of Vale.
    Elder Maus: Seeks to kill Moira. Hired mercenaries who betrayed him.
    --Healed to his full 9ft height.
    --Disbelieves Moira's insights; seeks to end her directly or indirectly.
    --Seeks us to verify the truths of Moira's claims--or stop her by any means necessary.
    Maulei: Successor to Elder Maus as elder of Dam'ess.
    Uluthando Mikoso "Ulu:" Paladin? of Order. From beyond the Vale. Reacts by gripping her dagger and declaring Tieflings are treated differently...Lawful (N/E?) Order? Calls Mal 'Mdala Ohlonishwayo.' Professes to serve no god, but spirits whose reach may be weaker in the Vale than elsewhere.
    Nomcebo: Ulu's handler. Ink skinned tiefling with prehensile tail and an obvious allure.
    Kagiso: Ulu's slave and carriage driver.


    Spoiler: Dream of Leng
    Show
    Spoiler: In Full
    Show
    Mal has had this dream before. He finds himself in the legendary Library of Leng, an ancient home of virtually all worldly and mystical knowledge that burned when the city it was located in was razed nearly nine hundred years ago, half the world away. Still, in his dreams it still existed, and these dreams always played out the same. Hours of dutiful research, referencing and cross referencing sources from multiple tomes, carefully reconstructing ancient languages, until EUREKA! Some devastating and profound arcane truth became evident to him, and the sense of accomplisment and relief normally carried with him for several hours after waking up, even if he could never actually remember anything he learned. But this time is different. Mal is well versed enough in the arcane and divine arts to know that sometimes dreams carry real meaning. And as he stares down at what he has been working on, he instinctively knows this bears some significance. Where normally he would have arcane formulas and theorems, he sees only "The One Who Stalks Behind" scrawled over and over again in his own hand, though the words are manic and look like they were written in distress. He searches the paper for any further omen, and down at the bottom of the page, in the smallest script he could possibly manage, it says Behind you!. Just as he is about to turn, a claw as strong as iron grips the side of his head, snaps his neck to the side, and ends all feeling in the bard's body. But he can still hear the deep throated growls, along with the wet noises of whatever killed him beginning to eat him alive. But he never gets to see it before the dream ends.


    The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. RIGHT BEHIND YOU! The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind.



    Spoiler: Bence's Secrets
    Show

    Spoiler: Bence's Journal
    Show

    ...is a backwards plane, so far removed from the Prime Material that it has not seen an angel or the work of a god in a millennia. I hear that far to the west they do not even worship the gods. Proper savages, but I must remain vigilant, as their knowledge of the ways of this world is far more educated than most. But it is ripe for my conquest. While my Master was tasked with corrupting Avendor, my home plane, a bastion of good and law, my chore is simply to tip the rat into the bucket of the Abyss as it prowls the rim looking for cheese. This plane is already so flooded with the energies of the Abyss that demons spontaneously emerge, monsters manifest in the dark, and their weak leaders bargain with forces they would be wiser to repulse. It will be child's play to nudge it the last few inches into anarchy and destruction, mostly due to the efforts of Pale Night herself. For thousands of years she has been grasping and clawing at this realm, dragging it further from the light and closer to her realm day by day, inch by inch, soul by soul. While my home plane was beyond my ability to destroy, this place will be my masterpiece. With my death at the hands of the forces of good, a symphony of destruction will play the anthem to my ascension to demonhood. The Pale Mother has promised me that each death will bring me closer to my true form, and each rebirth will increase my power, just as our pact promised. I can't wait to die. When will the heroes arrive? I've been planting and tending the seed of the idea in the old giant's mind for weeks now. When will it bear fruit? When can my dark rise to power begin? (The rest is a combination of burned and Abyssal that becomes impossible to read)

    Dam'ess- Mass Quasit Summoning. Magic Mouth to Levy Commands re: Retrieve Mirror of Leng, Scepter of Rulership, And Aniot's Cube. Disperse to Appropriate Parties Per The Plan. Burn The Cabin.

    Harumburg- Sending to Lord of Bone re: Portal to the 113th. (Indecipherable Due to Burns) In Accordance with Their Great Alliance.

    Falluneer- Sending to Lord of Flesh re: (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Ebon Spear.

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)light: Sending to Lord of Blood re: Assassination of (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Yukkot, Recovery of Blood (More Burns).

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)odge- Sending to Cult of Pale (More Burns) re: Initiate Divining Ritual Sacrifices. FIND THE DAMN ZIGGURAT.

    Garrunrow- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Kill the Last Bloodwolf. Recover (More Burns) Key.

    Mountain of Smoke- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) crypt. Seize the Ebon (More Burns).

    Sussoon- Ensure the Prophecy (Indecipherable Due to Burns)... Pay the Bounty Hunters to Find the Abydossian and the Princesses. re: Sacrifices of The Old Blood

    (There is more, but seemingly out of paranoia Bence switched to Abyssal. It is impossible to tell how many lines there are, as the last half of the paper is fully burned away)


    Spoiler: Arcane Lore concerning Bence's Notes
    Show
    The magic of Contingency is a nearly mythical bit of spell work that was said to be lost when the Library of Leng burned down. It allows a caster to prepare spells in advance for a predetermined event, in this case John Bence's own death, and the spells will automatically cast when the event happens. If Bence is capable of such sorcery, he is likely far more powerful than his flashy death at the party's hands would indicate.

    The Mirror of Leng is a artifact of the Library of Leng, said to contain a frozen moment of time where the library was at it's height that a person can temporarily step in to, giving access to the greatest magical library this world has ever seen. Supposedly several mirrors were made, though some are confirmed destroyed after their use led to come calamity of forbidden magics long lost to time. The Scepter of Rulership is said to be an even more powerful version of a Rod of Rulership, a magic item that allows for mass mind manipulation of people to believe that the holder of the Scepter is their rightful ruler. The last time the Scepter was confirmed in play it toppled an entire nation.

    Though numbering and organizing the layers of the Abyss is a fool's errand, there are some realms that are constant enough to designate. The one hundred and thirteenth layer is Thanatos, layer of Orcus, the Lord of Death. It is a lifeless frozen landscape where life is snuffed out almost as soon as it arrives, either by the untold legions of undead denizens, the magical aura of the layer itself, or, in the worst cases, by Orcus himself, using his fearsome Wand.


    Spoiler: John Bence's Wall Art
    Show
    There are no invisible objects in the room, but the entire back wall of the cabin is plastered with profane runes and abyssal scribblings. Where there was nothing to the naked eye, there is an extensive patchwork of spell work, seemingly scribed in the rusted red of blood. More disturbing is the fragments of souls that have been bound to the wall. Faces of people rise and seethe from the wood like a strange and rippling tide, mouths open in anguish. There are not many of them left, presumably due to whatever spell was used here absorbing so much energy, but there is a fine layer of ectoplasm that would indicate that once there were dozens of soul fragments powering this spell. The sight turns Mal's stomach, as the chaotic, destructive magic of the Abyss is written as plainly as news script, but as subtly as any devil could manage.



    Spoiler: Monsters
    Show
    Barlgura: Demon loosed by summoning ritual on the road to Dam'ess. Slain with its summoned partner by team. (Bless helped with accuracy issues due to invisibility. In the future, layer mind sliver to aid with saves.)
    Brazen Hart: Spirit of the wild wood around Dam'ess. Seeks to test the party's mettle by forcing an open fight with the Barlgura.
    Horror of Yurl: Shapeshifting kind of monster. Severs limbs, creates euphoria, and slays by consuming the liver. The newest variant flies...
    Tree-house horror: elven make. Demon infested. Extremely rare creation.

    The presence of the so-called "evolved" ghouls is troublesome. Said to be the chosen of Doresain the Ghoul King, Darakhuls are more motivated, more intelligent, and leagues more dangerous than their lesser kin. They have a subterranean empire on the other side of the continent, and their attempts to bring their Imperium to the surface have only narrowly been thwarted by the actions of great heroes and dedicated rulers. If Darakhuls have come to Harumvale, then the eyes of the Ghoul King have turned in this direction, and things truly are worse than imagined. Darakhul have a mystical connection to lesser ghouls and ghasts that enhances their intelligence and discipline when the evolved ghouls are present, turning them from hungry predators to a military unit.

    Unknown Egg. Vargath has an egg that might be a moon drake, recovered from an oven in the Iron Ghoul territory of the sewers of Harumvale.



    Spoiler: Instrument of the Bards
    Show
    Mal needs a translator, the spells, and woodcrafter to create a new relic.
    Spoiler: Full Description
    Show
    Still, tucked among the primers and amateur books he finds a book that deals with the blending of magic and music. Specifically, it holds the instructions and rituals for a new version of the famed artifacts known as the instruments of the bards. Unfortunately, about a third of the book is in a language Mal does not understand or recognize, including most of the rites and rituals to imbue it with magic. Still, with a translator, appropriate magics, some study, and someone skilled in wood craft, he may be able to produce one of these relics for himself.


    Spoiler: Half Troden Bardic Instrument Key
    Show
    Arcana- High Docent Half Toden directs Mal to a specific scroll on a specific shelf in a specific wing when pressed on this subject. He seems... oddly insistent... actually. It turns out to be a book of songs, actually, and one of them is penned by none other than High Docent Half Toden.

    Lo, behold the works of the Maker of Things,
    Wands, staves, instruments, wonders, and rings,
    His traveling cart rolls from town to town
    And trades mystical wonders for enough coins to drown
    Sometimes human, sometimes dwarf, sometimes gnome,
    He claims fate calls him, binds him, and keeps him from home
    He forged Harum's hammer that split the Eternal Rock
    Tinkered Trelmari's picks which defeat any Lock
    He defies time and age, but one note rings true
    Find one of Harum's adamant coins and he will find you.


    Spoiler: Harumburg Library Lore
    Show
    Religion- There has been a near constant history of undead in and around the capital of Harumsvale. It seems like every three to five decades or so some priest or paladin of Harum organizes a purge that "purifies" a coven of vampire spawn, a hidden necromancer, or a ghoul nest. But it seems to Mal (and to High Docent Toden) that this always treats the outward symptoms without handling the cause. Vampire spawn are rooted out, but rarely is a true vampire found. Students at the university are found to be dabbling in the forbidden arts, but no one ever catches the teacher who revealed such secrets to them. And each time a nest of ghouls is rooted out there is often a new infection there within a century. Half gives Mal an anecdote about one building in the industrial district being raided three times within his lifetime.

    History- Docent Toden cannot corroborate much in this area of research, but Mal does find several portraits that bear an astounding resemblance to Grand Arbiter Myrus Malkaav, each of them depicting some variety of civil servant or noble position with roughly eighty years between them. When Post Master Geller Rell passes away from a wasting disease, eight decades or so later Chief Accountant Daedren Gastaf, who has the same severe eyes, hooked nose, and pale skin but a different haircut, takes his position a serves with merited distinction. There is a general trend in these dopplegangers to rise in the ranks of the government over the centuries, and Mal finds records dating back nearly a thousand years.


    Report daily updates to Mistress Moira at last light.




  19. - Top - End - #1219
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Selissa Betula
    Wood Elf Scout Rogue
    AC: 16 HP: 38/38->45/45
    PP: 17
    Conditions: heroic encouragement, Aid, PWT (+10 stealth, can't be detected through magical means, no tracks)
    Concentrating: yes

    Selissa regarded the puppeted skeleton with narrowed eyes. Her green gaze dragged between it and Set like a knife across sandstone.

    The sight of the bones moving through outside influence was unpleasantly unnerving, and she debated putting a silvery magic arrow through it. Would that work? They'd destroyed it once already. Combined with it bring a living creature who had died once, it was obvious death didn't intend to stick to the wretched thing.

    "Stupid," she said in conclusion, giving it a short sharp shake of her head. Necromancy was ever a poisoned chalace.
    "Cursed thing. Won't end well. "
    Fitting for you, she almost said, but simply made an irritated huff. There wasn't time to argue too long. A bomb was building charge back where they'd been, and being here when it went off would be a poor idea.

    "Keep it away from me," the forest elf said, and began loping in away in her role as forward scout, all the better to put distance between her and the resurrected skeleton.
    And the far stars cried, and the planets yearned;
    But no man may know, for she'll ne'er return.

  20. - Top - End - #1220
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    The Lab

    Maus shakes his head as Set's plaything dangles limply and dumbly, suspended by the weapon's owner's will. Set. Binding the dead to his will. Selissa doesn't linger long after making her disapproval known. Maus approaches Set, walking alongside him. He speaks quietly, but his voice still has the cavernous quality it did when he was not magically reduced.

    "Set, I feel we've come to conflict, and this confuses me. I've shown you nothing but courtesy but you turn your gaze from me with disgust in your eyes. But your feelings on me are beside the point. I must ask you to reconsider carrying that damnable weapon. I will not argue the morality of it, but I will confront you with this- you don't have the experience to do this foul necromancy. You have no idea what power you hold in your hands. Moira was a witch of foul power for over a hundred years before you were even born. Bring the weapon to her. Let her analyze it. Hell, you could let me analyze it, but I think you trust her more. Until we can prove this weapon is not foul necromancy, do not cast your soul to the Abyss for such a cheap price, son." He attempts to put a consoling hand on Set's shoulder. "Do you reckon Vargath needs to be bit by some beastie we're not sure we can control?"

    Ahead, further down the tunnel, Selissa sees a blockading structure of foul, rotten wood blocking the main pipe of the tunnel. A solid wall of wood. Behind it, she hears cheering, dulled by thick layers of rotten lumber. As she comes closer, she sees it to be a large wall covering the entire sewer pipe, over twenty feet around There is a sizable double door ahead with two armed men standing in front of it. Neither looks as skilled or strong as the iron ghoul, but they also appear to have more fortitude than many you've seen. They are having a conversation in a language none of you know, one they are apparently very engrossed in. Neither notices Selissa's approach, their swords on their belts with shields strapped to their arms.
    The Bear is Back.

  21. - Top - End - #1221
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    SwashbucklerGuy

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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Set Al-Sayyid
    Changeling Fighter/Hexblade
    AC: 17 HP: 36/41 (36/43) THP: 0/5
    PP: 12 PIv: 13 PIs: 9
    Conditions: Mal's Aid, Nome's Hero's Feast (immune to poison/frightened, Wis ST adv). Mad/Frightened/Quirk: Fascinated with binding and power over death.
    Concentration:

    Set looks back and forth between Mal and Selissa, face growing hot behind his shemagh. Before he can respond to either, Maus lays a fatherly hand on Set’s shoulder, keen to advise him as Selissa stalks away. Vargath's gentle prodding is one thing, but between the rest, Set reaches his limit.

    "I'm not one of them," he says petulantly, forcing the words through gritted teeth as he shrugs off Maus' hand. Cursing, he adds, "I'm not a necromancer, but what do we gain turning away their power? Power that can save us. That could save you!" Set adds, jamming a finger in Maus' chest. Set takes a breath, trying hard to quell the anger building within.

    They're so short-sighted. They've been handed a gift, and they would throw it away. For what? Why can't they see how important this is? Why can't they understand that their lives are at risk, and this power might save them? It will save them.

    I will save them.

    "It's a weapon," he explains, holding it up for Mal and Maus to examine momentarily, though his fingers are still curled tight around it. "We can't leave it just because it carries an edge. What if this is exactly what we need to get through here unscathed? You would have me carry this, keeping it away from the enemy without using the full measure of its power?" Power over death.

    Set struggles to manipulate the corpse, so keen to prove himself that he doesn't spare a thought for the mockery of life in front of him as he gives it motion. Eventually he wills the ghoul to drop on its face, forcing it to lie inert on the ground. "If they," Set spits out, gesturing down the tunnel, "can overrule my command then it's a good thing I've got a weapon to separate this ghoul's head from it's neck." Flipping the blade so it faces the ground, Set brings the glaive down with both hands in one smooth motion, inadvertently sending up a small splash of sewage towards Mal. Metal impacts stone just beside the ghoul's head, cutting a small groove in its neck, but leaving it's head firmly attached.

    Set frowns down at the blade. He'd meant to sever the head and prove his point. Strange, but the weapon is heavy, and he hasn't practiced with a glaive in years.

    Perhaps it's for the best, though. He’s behaving rashly. Impulsive. Why waste the ghoul just because Maus of all people couldn't comprehend the need to act decisively? Imagine taking a lesson from the same man who'd let Moira die alone because he wouldn't even entertain the idea of undead in Harumburg.

    Well, here they are Maus. Undead everywhere. And if someone is going to do what's necessary it might as well be me.

    Power over death.

    Set breaks from his thoughts as Selissa disappears up ahead. "We waste time. I'll do what's necessary if it comes to that," he adds, shouldering the glaive. "Mido, with me," Set barks, trailing Evergreen at a distance, and coming to a halt at her signal.

  22. - Top - End - #1222
    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Mal
    Levistus Tiefling Bard 5
    AC: 14 HP: 41/41 (48/48) THP: 10/10
    PP: 11 PIv: 13 PIs: 11
    Spell Slots: 1st - 3/4 2nd - 0/3 3rd - 2/2
    Fey Touched: 1st - 0/1 2nd - 1/1
    Masquerade Tattoo: 1st - 1/1
    Levistus Legacy: Armor of Agathys - 0/1 Darkness - 1/1
    Bardic Inspiration: 0/4
    Healer's Kit: 20/20
    Mal Conditions: Praised into Health (43). Immune to poison frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage. Loki's Bane. Aid. Mad/Frightened/Quirk: Fastidious about his appearance to a distracting, unhealthy degree.
    Mal Concentrating: ---

    Esai
    Ancient Companion: Warrior
    Companion HP: 30/30 (32/32)
    Companion AC: 16
    Companion PP: 18 PIv: 12 PIs: 12
    Sage's Counsel: While within 15 feet of the companion, you and your allies gain a +2 bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom checks. Warrior’s Protection (Warrior Only). When a creature within 5 feet of the companion makes a Strength or Dexterity saving throw, the companion imposes itself between the creature and the danger. The creature can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the saving throw.
    Praised into Health. Immune to frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage

    Maledictus dodged the splashing in the piss puddle with preternatural grace. He cut a cold look to the Abydossian and said coolly, "Your funeral."

    The bard then added for his and Vargath's benefit, "Tales of forbidden artefacts and their powers over their owners are many and varied. Yet, the one who overcomes the base urges for ambition or craving for power obtains a strength kings envy and the gods bless. As we probe further, let's keep that in mind."

    Then Mal slipped stealthily forward like oil across the surface of this fetid environment. He eagerly embraced the feline qualities of his Art, inwardly loathing any contact with the soiled ground. When he came up behind Sel and saw the scene before them, he whispered a brief phrase and his form changed subtly. His muscle tone increased to look more impressive and powerful. His fiendish qualities also enhanced, making him look more truly half a fiend than a drop of the ancient blood would render.

    Maledictus winked at the elf and then sauntered out like a marquis of the hells. He spoke, and his voice resonated with the authority of a fiendish prince. <"Hail, servants of the Imperium, I am a courier with important tidings for your masters.">

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show

    Bardic Inspiration to Vargath and Set. 1d8 to use within the next ten minutes

    Cast Comprehend Languages and activate Masquerade Tattoo.

    Deception to fool the guards that I have business here: 22 (Discord) He'd state this in Infernal, then switch to Common if they don't understand hell speech.

    Spoiler: Mal's Notes
    Show
    Spoiler: Cast and Crew
    Show
    Set: outcast exiled princeling of Abydos. Two princess sisters (Sisi and Sythpen Al-Sayyid). Romantic connection for Moira?
    Selissa: Blighted or reconstructed wood elf? Purported Scout.
    Vargath: Afflicted Lycanthrope seeking to suspend his curse. A Bloodwolf?
    Mandaras: Rival to Dr. Fixer.
    Dr. Fixer: Moira's lieutenant and cultivates relations with the locals of Vale.
    Elder Maus: Seeks to kill Moira. Hired mercenaries who betrayed him.
    --Healed to his full 9ft height.
    --Disbelieves Moira's insights; seeks to end her directly or indirectly.
    --Seeks us to verify the truths of Moira's claims--or stop her by any means necessary.
    Maulei: Successor to Elder Maus as elder of Dam'ess.
    Uluthando Mikoso "Ulu:" Paladin? of Order. From beyond the Vale. Reacts by gripping her dagger and declaring Tieflings are treated differently...Lawful (N/E?) Order? Calls Mal 'Mdala Ohlonishwayo.' Professes to serve no god, but spirits whose reach may be weaker in the Vale than elsewhere.
    Nomcebo: Ulu's handler. Ink skinned tiefling with prehensile tail and an obvious allure.
    Kagiso: Ulu's slave and carriage driver.


    Spoiler: Dream of Leng
    Show
    Spoiler: In Full
    Show
    Mal has had this dream before. He finds himself in the legendary Library of Leng, an ancient home of virtually all worldly and mystical knowledge that burned when the city it was located in was razed nearly nine hundred years ago, half the world away. Still, in his dreams it still existed, and these dreams always played out the same. Hours of dutiful research, referencing and cross referencing sources from multiple tomes, carefully reconstructing ancient languages, until EUREKA! Some devastating and profound arcane truth became evident to him, and the sense of accomplisment and relief normally carried with him for several hours after waking up, even if he could never actually remember anything he learned. But this time is different. Mal is well versed enough in the arcane and divine arts to know that sometimes dreams carry real meaning. And as he stares down at what he has been working on, he instinctively knows this bears some significance. Where normally he would have arcane formulas and theorems, he sees only "The One Who Stalks Behind" scrawled over and over again in his own hand, though the words are manic and look like they were written in distress. He searches the paper for any further omen, and down at the bottom of the page, in the smallest script he could possibly manage, it says Behind you!. Just as he is about to turn, a claw as strong as iron grips the side of his head, snaps his neck to the side, and ends all feeling in the bard's body. But he can still hear the deep throated growls, along with the wet noises of whatever killed him beginning to eat him alive. But he never gets to see it before the dream ends.


    The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. RIGHT BEHIND YOU! The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind.



    Spoiler: Bence's Secrets
    Show

    Spoiler: Bence's Journal
    Show

    ...is a backwards plane, so far removed from the Prime Material that it has not seen an angel or the work of a god in a millennia. I hear that far to the west they do not even worship the gods. Proper savages, but I must remain vigilant, as their knowledge of the ways of this world is far more educated than most. But it is ripe for my conquest. While my Master was tasked with corrupting Avendor, my home plane, a bastion of good and law, my chore is simply to tip the rat into the bucket of the Abyss as it prowls the rim looking for cheese. This plane is already so flooded with the energies of the Abyss that demons spontaneously emerge, monsters manifest in the dark, and their weak leaders bargain with forces they would be wiser to repulse. It will be child's play to nudge it the last few inches into anarchy and destruction, mostly due to the efforts of Pale Night herself. For thousands of years she has been grasping and clawing at this realm, dragging it further from the light and closer to her realm day by day, inch by inch, soul by soul. While my home plane was beyond my ability to destroy, this place will be my masterpiece. With my death at the hands of the forces of good, a symphony of destruction will play the anthem to my ascension to demonhood. The Pale Mother has promised me that each death will bring me closer to my true form, and each rebirth will increase my power, just as our pact promised. I can't wait to die. When will the heroes arrive? I've been planting and tending the seed of the idea in the old giant's mind for weeks now. When will it bear fruit? When can my dark rise to power begin? (The rest is a combination of burned and Abyssal that becomes impossible to read)

    Dam'ess- Mass Quasit Summoning. Magic Mouth to Levy Commands re: Retrieve Mirror of Leng, Scepter of Rulership, And Aniot's Cube. Disperse to Appropriate Parties Per The Plan. Burn The Cabin.

    Harumburg- Sending to Lord of Bone re: Portal to the 113th. (Indecipherable Due to Burns) In Accordance with Their Great Alliance.

    Falluneer- Sending to Lord of Flesh re: (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Ebon Spear.

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)light: Sending to Lord of Blood re: Assassination of (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Yukkot, Recovery of Blood (More Burns).

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)odge- Sending to Cult of Pale (More Burns) re: Initiate Divining Ritual Sacrifices. FIND THE DAMN ZIGGURAT.

    Garrunrow- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Kill the Last Bloodwolf. Recover (More Burns) Key.

    Mountain of Smoke- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) crypt. Seize the Ebon (More Burns).

    Sussoon- Ensure the Prophecy (Indecipherable Due to Burns)... Pay the Bounty Hunters to Find the Abydossian and the Princesses. re: Sacrifices of The Old Blood

    (There is more, but seemingly out of paranoia Bence switched to Abyssal. It is impossible to tell how many lines there are, as the last half of the paper is fully burned away)


    Spoiler: Arcane Lore concerning Bence's Notes
    Show
    The magic of Contingency is a nearly mythical bit of spell work that was said to be lost when the Library of Leng burned down. It allows a caster to prepare spells in advance for a predetermined event, in this case John Bence's own death, and the spells will automatically cast when the event happens. If Bence is capable of such sorcery, he is likely far more powerful than his flashy death at the party's hands would indicate.

    The Mirror of Leng is a artifact of the Library of Leng, said to contain a frozen moment of time where the library was at it's height that a person can temporarily step in to, giving access to the greatest magical library this world has ever seen. Supposedly several mirrors were made, though some are confirmed destroyed after their use led to come calamity of forbidden magics long lost to time. The Scepter of Rulership is said to be an even more powerful version of a Rod of Rulership, a magic item that allows for mass mind manipulation of people to believe that the holder of the Scepter is their rightful ruler. The last time the Scepter was confirmed in play it toppled an entire nation.

    Though numbering and organizing the layers of the Abyss is a fool's errand, there are some realms that are constant enough to designate. The one hundred and thirteenth layer is Thanatos, layer of Orcus, the Lord of Death. It is a lifeless frozen landscape where life is snuffed out almost as soon as it arrives, either by the untold legions of undead denizens, the magical aura of the layer itself, or, in the worst cases, by Orcus himself, using his fearsome Wand.


    Spoiler: John Bence's Wall Art
    Show
    There are no invisible objects in the room, but the entire back wall of the cabin is plastered with profane runes and abyssal scribblings. Where there was nothing to the naked eye, there is an extensive patchwork of spell work, seemingly scribed in the rusted red of blood. More disturbing is the fragments of souls that have been bound to the wall. Faces of people rise and seethe from the wood like a strange and rippling tide, mouths open in anguish. There are not many of them left, presumably due to whatever spell was used here absorbing so much energy, but there is a fine layer of ectoplasm that would indicate that once there were dozens of soul fragments powering this spell. The sight turns Mal's stomach, as the chaotic, destructive magic of the Abyss is written as plainly as news script, but as subtly as any devil could manage.



    Spoiler: Monsters
    Show
    Barlgura: Demon loosed by summoning ritual on the road to Dam'ess. Slain with its summoned partner by team. (Bless helped with accuracy issues due to invisibility. In the future, layer mind sliver to aid with saves.)
    Brazen Hart: Spirit of the wild wood around Dam'ess. Seeks to test the party's mettle by forcing an open fight with the Barlgura.
    Horror of Yurl: Shapeshifting kind of monster. Severs limbs, creates euphoria, and slays by consuming the liver. The newest variant flies...
    Tree-house horror: elven make. Demon infested. Extremely rare creation.

    The presence of the so-called "evolved" ghouls is troublesome. Said to be the chosen of Doresain the Ghoul King, Darakhuls are more motivated, more intelligent, and leagues more dangerous than their lesser kin. They have a subterranean empire on the other side of the continent, and their attempts to bring their Imperium to the surface have only narrowly been thwarted by the actions of great heroes and dedicated rulers. If Darakhuls have come to Harumvale, then the eyes of the Ghoul King have turned in this direction, and things truly are worse than imagined. Darakhul have a mystical connection to lesser ghouls and ghasts that enhances their intelligence and discipline when the evolved ghouls are present, turning them from hungry predators to a military unit.

    Unknown Egg. Vargath has an egg that might be a moon drake, recovered from an oven in the Iron Ghoul territory of the sewers of Harumvale.



    Spoiler: Instrument of the Bards
    Show
    Mal needs a translator, the spells, and woodcrafter to create a new relic.
    Spoiler: Full Description
    Show
    Still, tucked among the primers and amateur books he finds a book that deals with the blending of magic and music. Specifically, it holds the instructions and rituals for a new version of the famed artifacts known as the instruments of the bards. Unfortunately, about a third of the book is in a language Mal does not understand or recognize, including most of the rites and rituals to imbue it with magic. Still, with a translator, appropriate magics, some study, and someone skilled in wood craft, he may be able to produce one of these relics for himself.


    Spoiler: Half Troden Bardic Instrument Key
    Show
    Arcana- High Docent Half Toden directs Mal to a specific scroll on a specific shelf in a specific wing when pressed on this subject. He seems... oddly insistent... actually. It turns out to be a book of songs, actually, and one of them is penned by none other than High Docent Half Toden.

    Lo, behold the works of the Maker of Things,
    Wands, staves, instruments, wonders, and rings,
    His traveling cart rolls from town to town
    And trades mystical wonders for enough coins to drown
    Sometimes human, sometimes dwarf, sometimes gnome,
    He claims fate calls him, binds him, and keeps him from home
    He forged Harum's hammer that split the Eternal Rock
    Tinkered Trelmari's picks which defeat any Lock
    He defies time and age, but one note rings true
    Find one of Harum's adamant coins and he will find you.


    Spoiler: Harumburg Library Lore
    Show
    Religion- There has been a near constant history of undead in and around the capital of Harumsvale. It seems like every three to five decades or so some priest or paladin of Harum organizes a purge that "purifies" a coven of vampire spawn, a hidden necromancer, or a ghoul nest. But it seems to Mal (and to High Docent Toden) that this always treats the outward symptoms without handling the cause. Vampire spawn are rooted out, but rarely is a true vampire found. Students at the university are found to be dabbling in the forbidden arts, but no one ever catches the teacher who revealed such secrets to them. And each time a nest of ghouls is rooted out there is often a new infection there within a century. Half gives Mal an anecdote about one building in the industrial district being raided three times within his lifetime.

    History- Docent Toden cannot corroborate much in this area of research, but Mal does find several portraits that bear an astounding resemblance to Grand Arbiter Myrus Malkaav, each of them depicting some variety of civil servant or noble position with roughly eighty years between them. When Post Master Geller Rell passes away from a wasting disease, eight decades or so later Chief Accountant Daedren Gastaf, who has the same severe eyes, hooked nose, and pale skin but a different haircut, takes his position a serves with merited distinction. There is a general trend in these dopplegangers to rise in the ranks of the government over the centuries, and Mal finds records dating back nearly a thousand years.


    Report daily updates to Mistress Moira at last light.



    Last edited by Theophilus; 2021-12-22 at 08:43 AM.

  23. - Top - End - #1223
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Amnestic's Avatar

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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Vargath Hubrecht
    Half-Orc Rune Knight Fighter
    AC: 19 HP: 32/49
    PP: 13 PIv: 12 PIs: 10
    Conditions: Infected (Lycanthropy), Bardic Inspiration (d8)
    Concentrating: --

    Vargath watches, and he listens. Set was too eager, too angry - and Vargath knew plenty about anger - and defensive about his the weapon. It was...unnerving. But further discourse would prove fruitless for now. The man's hackles were raised, ready to lash out. Despite the emotional state Vargath perceives in Set, he's happy to let it lie for now, as promised. "We will settle it once we are done here." He rumbles to Maus. "Ignoring a weapon while in the midst of danger serves none of us, but once we are back in a peaceful location...we can deal with it then."

    Despite the shadowy magic that still persists, Vargath is yet keenly aware that he is the noisiest of the bunch and hangs back from the front as much as he can. When Mal steps forward, Vargath does not follow - between Selissa's stealth and Mal's silver tongue, the half-orc can't help but feel a touch less than useful - but when the time comes to stand in front of people, to hit and be hit, he'd have his place once more. He grips his weapon tighter and readjusts the shield straps on his arm. Just...hopefully there wouldn't be too many fights like the last.
    Last edited by Amnestic; 2021-12-22 at 12:08 PM.
    DMing:
    Iron Crisis IC | OOC
    Cyre Red IC | OOC

    Playing:
    OotA IC | OOC

    Master Homebrew Index (5e)

  24. - Top - End - #1224
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    purepolarpanzer's Avatar

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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    The Sewer Gate

    The two guards raise their weapons aggressively when Mal approaches, but after a second of inspection they lower them half-way. One of them turns and spits into a pile of muck, while the other makes a remark with confidence that Mal cannot understand the language of the ghouls. "Fancy pants half-fiend. Must be one of Pale Night's ilk. Our lord would kill him to improve his efficiency." The guards each gives a bow to Mal, though it is definitely not as deep or sincere as it could be. "You're on the wrong side of the wall, m'lord. If you came for the show, you'll want to go through here and take a seat in the stands. If you've got a message though we'll want to get you down below, and for that you're going to need to go through the arena and further down the pipe. Who are you meant to bring word to? The Lord of Bones? The Colonel? Or is it someone of less status?" In a gesture of subservience, the other guard posits "If it's one of the higher ups we can find you an escort."
    The Bear is Back.

  25. - Top - End - #1225
    Barbarian in the Playground
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Mal
    Levistus Tiefling Bard 5
    AC: 14 HP: 41/41 (48/48) THP: 10/10
    PP: 11 PIv: 13 PIs: 11
    Spell Slots: 1st - 3/4 2nd - 0/3 3rd - 2/2
    Fey Touched: 1st - 0/1 2nd - 1/1
    Masquerade Tattoo: 1st - 1/1
    Levistus Legacy: Armor of Agathys - 0/1 Darkness - 1/1
    Bardic Inspiration: 0/4
    Healer's Kit: 20/20
    Mal Conditions: Comprehend Languages. Disguise Self. Praised into Health (43). Immune to poison frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage. Loki's Bane. Aid. Mad/Frightened/Quirk: Fastidious about his appearance to a distracting, unhealthy degree.
    Mal Concentrating: Enhanced Ability (Dexterity).

    Esai
    Ancient Companion: Warrior
    Companion HP: 30/30 (32/32)
    Companion AC: 16
    Companion PP: 18 PIv: 12 PIs: 12
    Sage's Counsel: While within 15 feet of the companion, you and your allies gain a +2 bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom checks. Warrior’s Protection (Warrior Only). When a creature within 5 feet of the companion makes a Strength or Dexterity saving throw, the companion imposes itself between the creature and the danger. The creature can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the saving throw.
    Praised into Health. Immune to frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage

    Maledictus smiled appreciatively as the guards insulted him in their strange language. They weren't the first fools to consider him clueless, but he preferred they thought him so. The fiend answered, "The Lord of Bones is precisely whom I seek. I can conjure my own escort, but the offer is gracious."

    The courier then gestured to the shadows behind him, as a devil might summon his underlings. Meanwhile, he added, "The Night sends witnesses with important news from Bence. Perhaps your master would find them delectable once they have exhausted their utility as confirmation to my message."

    Mal smiled once more, a cruel knowing smile as if sharing a deliciously wicked joke with the guards for the ghouls. Of course, the Lord of Bones would want to feast on some living flesh. Perhaps he might even want to animate the idiots who came all the way down to have an audience with them. The gut united the living and the undead, the appetite being a shared gateway to their attention. Or so the mage wagered. Mal rested his hands in the small of his back in a relaxed posture and tidied his coat tails discreetly while he did so.

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show


    Spoiler: Mal's Notes
    Show
    Spoiler: Cast and Crew
    Show
    Set: outcast exiled princeling of Abydos. Two princess sisters (Sisi and Sythpen Al-Sayyid). Romantic connection for Moira?
    Selissa: Blighted or reconstructed wood elf? Purported Scout.
    Vargath: Afflicted Lycanthrope seeking to suspend his curse. A Bloodwolf?
    Mandaras: Rival to Dr. Fixer.
    Dr. Fixer: Moira's lieutenant and cultivates relations with the locals of Vale.
    Elder Maus: Seeks to kill Moira. Hired mercenaries who betrayed him.
    --Healed to his full 9ft height.
    --Disbelieves Moira's insights; seeks to end her directly or indirectly.
    --Seeks us to verify the truths of Moira's claims--or stop her by any means necessary.
    Maulei: Successor to Elder Maus as elder of Dam'ess.
    Uluthando Mikoso "Ulu:" Paladin? of Order. From beyond the Vale. Reacts by gripping her dagger and declaring Tieflings are treated differently...Lawful (N/E?) Order? Calls Mal 'Mdala Ohlonishwayo.' Professes to serve no god, but spirits whose reach may be weaker in the Vale than elsewhere.
    Nomcebo: Ulu's handler. Ink skinned tiefling with prehensile tail and an obvious allure.
    Kagiso: Ulu's slave and carriage driver.


    Spoiler: Dream of Leng
    Show
    Spoiler: In Full
    Show
    Mal has had this dream before. He finds himself in the legendary Library of Leng, an ancient home of virtually all worldly and mystical knowledge that burned when the city it was located in was razed nearly nine hundred years ago, half the world away. Still, in his dreams it still existed, and these dreams always played out the same. Hours of dutiful research, referencing and cross referencing sources from multiple tomes, carefully reconstructing ancient languages, until EUREKA! Some devastating and profound arcane truth became evident to him, and the sense of accomplisment and relief normally carried with him for several hours after waking up, even if he could never actually remember anything he learned. But this time is different. Mal is well versed enough in the arcane and divine arts to know that sometimes dreams carry real meaning. And as he stares down at what he has been working on, he instinctively knows this bears some significance. Where normally he would have arcane formulas and theorems, he sees only "The One Who Stalks Behind" scrawled over and over again in his own hand, though the words are manic and look like they were written in distress. He searches the paper for any further omen, and down at the bottom of the page, in the smallest script he could possibly manage, it says Behind you!. Just as he is about to turn, a claw as strong as iron grips the side of his head, snaps his neck to the side, and ends all feeling in the bard's body. But he can still hear the deep throated growls, along with the wet noises of whatever killed him beginning to eat him alive. But he never gets to see it before the dream ends.


    The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. RIGHT BEHIND YOU! The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind.



    Spoiler: Bence's Secrets
    Show

    Spoiler: Bence's Journal
    Show

    ...is a backwards plane, so far removed from the Prime Material that it has not seen an angel or the work of a god in a millennia. I hear that far to the west they do not even worship the gods. Proper savages, but I must remain vigilant, as their knowledge of the ways of this world is far more educated than most. But it is ripe for my conquest. While my Master was tasked with corrupting Avendor, my home plane, a bastion of good and law, my chore is simply to tip the rat into the bucket of the Abyss as it prowls the rim looking for cheese. This plane is already so flooded with the energies of the Abyss that demons spontaneously emerge, monsters manifest in the dark, and their weak leaders bargain with forces they would be wiser to repulse. It will be child's play to nudge it the last few inches into anarchy and destruction, mostly due to the efforts of Pale Night herself. For thousands of years she has been grasping and clawing at this realm, dragging it further from the light and closer to her realm day by day, inch by inch, soul by soul. While my home plane was beyond my ability to destroy, this place will be my masterpiece. With my death at the hands of the forces of good, a symphony of destruction will play the anthem to my ascension to demonhood. The Pale Mother has promised me that each death will bring me closer to my true form, and each rebirth will increase my power, just as our pact promised. I can't wait to die. When will the heroes arrive? I've been planting and tending the seed of the idea in the old giant's mind for weeks now. When will it bear fruit? When can my dark rise to power begin? (The rest is a combination of burned and Abyssal that becomes impossible to read)

    Dam'ess- Mass Quasit Summoning. Magic Mouth to Levy Commands re: Retrieve Mirror of Leng, Scepter of Rulership, And Aniot's Cube. Disperse to Appropriate Parties Per The Plan. Burn The Cabin.

    Harumburg- Sending to Lord of Bone re: Portal to the 113th. (Indecipherable Due to Burns) In Accordance with Their Great Alliance.

    Falluneer- Sending to Lord of Flesh re: (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Ebon Spear.

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)light: Sending to Lord of Blood re: Assassination of (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Yukkot, Recovery of Blood (More Burns).

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)odge- Sending to Cult of Pale (More Burns) re: Initiate Divining Ritual Sacrifices. FIND THE DAMN ZIGGURAT.

    Garrunrow- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Kill the Last Bloodwolf. Recover (More Burns) Key.

    Mountain of Smoke- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) crypt. Seize the Ebon (More Burns).

    Sussoon- Ensure the Prophecy (Indecipherable Due to Burns)... Pay the Bounty Hunters to Find the Abydossian and the Princesses. re: Sacrifices of The Old Blood

    (There is more, but seemingly out of paranoia Bence switched to Abyssal. It is impossible to tell how many lines there are, as the last half of the paper is fully burned away)


    Spoiler: Arcane Lore concerning Bence's Notes
    Show
    The magic of Contingency is a nearly mythical bit of spell work that was said to be lost when the Library of Leng burned down. It allows a caster to prepare spells in advance for a predetermined event, in this case John Bence's own death, and the spells will automatically cast when the event happens. If Bence is capable of such sorcery, he is likely far more powerful than his flashy death at the party's hands would indicate.

    The Mirror of Leng is a artifact of the Library of Leng, said to contain a frozen moment of time where the library was at it's height that a person can temporarily step in to, giving access to the greatest magical library this world has ever seen. Supposedly several mirrors were made, though some are confirmed destroyed after their use led to come calamity of forbidden magics long lost to time. The Scepter of Rulership is said to be an even more powerful version of a Rod of Rulership, a magic item that allows for mass mind manipulation of people to believe that the holder of the Scepter is their rightful ruler. The last time the Scepter was confirmed in play it toppled an entire nation.

    Though numbering and organizing the layers of the Abyss is a fool's errand, there are some realms that are constant enough to designate. The one hundred and thirteenth layer is Thanatos, layer of Orcus, the Lord of Death. It is a lifeless frozen landscape where life is snuffed out almost as soon as it arrives, either by the untold legions of undead denizens, the magical aura of the layer itself, or, in the worst cases, by Orcus himself, using his fearsome Wand.


    Spoiler: John Bence's Wall Art
    Show
    There are no invisible objects in the room, but the entire back wall of the cabin is plastered with profane runes and abyssal scribblings. Where there was nothing to the naked eye, there is an extensive patchwork of spell work, seemingly scribed in the rusted red of blood. More disturbing is the fragments of souls that have been bound to the wall. Faces of people rise and seethe from the wood like a strange and rippling tide, mouths open in anguish. There are not many of them left, presumably due to whatever spell was used here absorbing so much energy, but there is a fine layer of ectoplasm that would indicate that once there were dozens of soul fragments powering this spell. The sight turns Mal's stomach, as the chaotic, destructive magic of the Abyss is written as plainly as news script, but as subtly as any devil could manage.



    Spoiler: Monsters
    Show
    Barlgura: Demon loosed by summoning ritual on the road to Dam'ess. Slain with its summoned partner by team. (Bless helped with accuracy issues due to invisibility. In the future, layer mind sliver to aid with saves.)
    Brazen Hart: Spirit of the wild wood around Dam'ess. Seeks to test the party's mettle by forcing an open fight with the Barlgura.
    Horror of Yurl: Shapeshifting kind of monster. Severs limbs, creates euphoria, and slays by consuming the liver. The newest variant flies...
    Tree-house horror: elven make. Demon infested. Extremely rare creation.

    The presence of the so-called "evolved" ghouls is troublesome. Said to be the chosen of Doresain the Ghoul King, Darakhuls are more motivated, more intelligent, and leagues more dangerous than their lesser kin. They have a subterranean empire on the other side of the continent, and their attempts to bring their Imperium to the surface have only narrowly been thwarted by the actions of great heroes and dedicated rulers. If Darakhuls have come to Harumvale, then the eyes of the Ghoul King have turned in this direction, and things truly are worse than imagined. Darakhul have a mystical connection to lesser ghouls and ghasts that enhances their intelligence and discipline when the evolved ghouls are present, turning them from hungry predators to a military unit.

    Unknown Egg. Vargath has an egg that might be a moon drake, recovered from an oven in the Iron Ghoul territory of the sewers of Harumvale.



    Spoiler: Instrument of the Bards
    Show
    Mal needs a translator, the spells, and woodcrafter to create a new relic.
    Spoiler: Full Description
    Show
    Still, tucked among the primers and amateur books he finds a book that deals with the blending of magic and music. Specifically, it holds the instructions and rituals for a new version of the famed artifacts known as the instruments of the bards. Unfortunately, about a third of the book is in a language Mal does not understand or recognize, including most of the rites and rituals to imbue it with magic. Still, with a translator, appropriate magics, some study, and someone skilled in wood craft, he may be able to produce one of these relics for himself.


    Spoiler: Half Troden Bardic Instrument Key
    Show
    Arcana- High Docent Half Toden directs Mal to a specific scroll on a specific shelf in a specific wing when pressed on this subject. He seems... oddly insistent... actually. It turns out to be a book of songs, actually, and one of them is penned by none other than High Docent Half Toden.

    Lo, behold the works of the Maker of Things,
    Wands, staves, instruments, wonders, and rings,
    His traveling cart rolls from town to town
    And trades mystical wonders for enough coins to drown
    Sometimes human, sometimes dwarf, sometimes gnome,
    He claims fate calls him, binds him, and keeps him from home
    He forged Harum's hammer that split the Eternal Rock
    Tinkered Trelmari's picks which defeat any Lock
    He defies time and age, but one note rings true
    Find one of Harum's adamant coins and he will find you.


    Spoiler: Harumburg Library Lore
    Show
    Religion- There has been a near constant history of undead in and around the capital of Harumsvale. It seems like every three to five decades or so some priest or paladin of Harum organizes a purge that "purifies" a coven of vampire spawn, a hidden necromancer, or a ghoul nest. But it seems to Mal (and to High Docent Toden) that this always treats the outward symptoms without handling the cause. Vampire spawn are rooted out, but rarely is a true vampire found. Students at the university are found to be dabbling in the forbidden arts, but no one ever catches the teacher who revealed such secrets to them. And each time a nest of ghouls is rooted out there is often a new infection there within a century. Half gives Mal an anecdote about one building in the industrial district being raided three times within his lifetime.

    History- Docent Toden cannot corroborate much in this area of research, but Mal does find several portraits that bear an astounding resemblance to Grand Arbiter Myrus Malkaav, each of them depicting some variety of civil servant or noble position with roughly eighty years between them. When Post Master Geller Rell passes away from a wasting disease, eight decades or so later Chief Accountant Daedren Gastaf, who has the same severe eyes, hooked nose, and pale skin but a different haircut, takes his position a serves with merited distinction. There is a general trend in these dopplegangers to rise in the ranks of the government over the centuries, and Mal finds records dating back nearly a thousand years.


    Report daily updates to Mistress Moira at last light.




  26. - Top - End - #1226
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    purepolarpanzer's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    The Frozen Northlands
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    The Sewer Gate

    "We understand. You are not the first to arrive with hangerons, servants, or food. You'll find the route down below is full of living folk. If you're on the up and up, you'll get your medallions and you'll have no fear of any of citizens of the this outpost. If you're not you'll be chewed down to the gristle. Either way, that's not my job. You can bring your cattle forward and come in. We were told to expect you." He gestures to his companion, and each of them moves to one side of the door and begins opening the gate. There are two more guards on the other side, likewise bearing no sign of undead.

    There is a brief exchange between the guards in their native tongue, which Mal fully understands. "Servants of Pale Night. Here to meet with the the Lord of Bones. Escort them to the luxury box until we vet them. Make sure they're comfortable, and make sure no one gets more hunger than sense. And line up a good fight. We've got company." He ends his sentence with a salute and all of the darakhul saying "For Empire!", then waiting for your party to pass through.

    The other side is a wooden grand stairwell heading down into the ground. There is a wooden ceiling that slopes downward, and on the other side of the wooden barrier Vargath can sense the weight of a crowd. But very few heartbeats. You can also hear a rain of stomps and a dull cheer. It resembles nothing more than an entrance to a major sporting event.
    Last edited by purepolarpanzer; 2021-12-22 at 04:12 PM.
    The Bear is Back.

  27. - Top - End - #1227
    Barbarian in the Playground
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Mal
    Levistus Tiefling Bard 5
    AC: 14 HP: 41/41 (48/48) THP: 10/10
    PP: 11 PIv: 13 PIs: 11
    Spell Slots: 1st - 3/4 2nd - 0/3 3rd - 2/2
    Fey Touched: 1st - 0/1 2nd - 1/1
    Masquerade Tattoo: 1st - 1/1
    Levistus Legacy: Armor of Agathys - 0/1 Darkness - 1/1
    Bardic Inspiration: 0/4
    Healer's Kit: 20/20
    Mal Conditions: Comprehend Languages. Disguise Self. Praised into Health (43). Immune to poison frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage. Loki's Bane. Aid. Mad/Frightened/Quirk: Fastidious about his appearance to a distracting, unhealthy degree.
    Mal Concentrating: Enhanced Ability (Dexterity).

    Esai
    Ancient Companion: Warrior
    Companion HP: 30/30 (32/32)
    Companion AC: 16
    Companion PP: 18 PIv: 12 PIs: 12
    Sage's Counsel: While within 15 feet of the companion, you and your allies gain a +2 bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom checks. Warrior’s Protection (Warrior Only). When a creature within 5 feet of the companion makes a Strength or Dexterity saving throw, the companion imposes itself between the creature and the danger. The creature can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the saving throw.
    Praised into Health. Immune to frightened. Wisdom saving throws with advantage

    Maledictus maintained his self-satisfied grin that many nobles of the Hells grow accustomed to wear. He answered, "It sounds like your masters would have a fulfilling exchange either way."

    The courtier awaited his entourage, though the silhouette of the brawny living statue emerged with swift, staccato strides. The militant spirit-made-stone glared dispassionately at the thick-necked door hounds, taking a position at his student's side. The vessel said nothing, keeping his bearing and his shield cocked in parade readiness. In this, Esai knew the part of a ceremonial guardian. He had stood watch over leaders in life, and his service continued after death. He found his form far more favorable than the contemptible groveling, gnawing disposition of his foe.

    When the others appeared, Mal lightly said to the watchmen, "For Empire." Then he strolled into the arena and its noisy audience.

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show


    Spoiler: Mal's Notes
    Show
    Spoiler: Cast and Crew
    Show
    Set: outcast exiled princeling of Abydos. Two princess sisters (Sisi and Sythpen Al-Sayyid). Romantic connection for Moira?
    Selissa: Blighted or reconstructed wood elf? Purported Scout.
    Vargath: Afflicted Lycanthrope seeking to suspend his curse. A Bloodwolf?
    Mandaras: Rival to Dr. Fixer.
    Dr. Fixer: Moira's lieutenant and cultivates relations with the locals of Vale.
    Elder Maus: Seeks to kill Moira. Hired mercenaries who betrayed him.
    --Healed to his full 9ft height.
    --Disbelieves Moira's insights; seeks to end her directly or indirectly.
    --Seeks us to verify the truths of Moira's claims--or stop her by any means necessary.
    Maulei: Successor to Elder Maus as elder of Dam'ess.
    Uluthando Mikoso "Ulu:" Paladin? of Order. From beyond the Vale. Reacts by gripping her dagger and declaring Tieflings are treated differently...Lawful (N/E?) Order? Calls Mal 'Mdala Ohlonishwayo.' Professes to serve no god, but spirits whose reach may be weaker in the Vale than elsewhere.
    Nomcebo: Ulu's handler. Ink skinned tiefling with prehensile tail and an obvious allure.
    Kagiso: Ulu's slave and carriage driver.


    Spoiler: Dream of Leng
    Show
    Spoiler: In Full
    Show
    Mal has had this dream before. He finds himself in the legendary Library of Leng, an ancient home of virtually all worldly and mystical knowledge that burned when the city it was located in was razed nearly nine hundred years ago, half the world away. Still, in his dreams it still existed, and these dreams always played out the same. Hours of dutiful research, referencing and cross referencing sources from multiple tomes, carefully reconstructing ancient languages, until EUREKA! Some devastating and profound arcane truth became evident to him, and the sense of accomplisment and relief normally carried with him for several hours after waking up, even if he could never actually remember anything he learned. But this time is different. Mal is well versed enough in the arcane and divine arts to know that sometimes dreams carry real meaning. And as he stares down at what he has been working on, he instinctively knows this bears some significance. Where normally he would have arcane formulas and theorems, he sees only "The One Who Stalks Behind" scrawled over and over again in his own hand, though the words are manic and look like they were written in distress. He searches the paper for any further omen, and down at the bottom of the page, in the smallest script he could possibly manage, it says Behind you!. Just as he is about to turn, a claw as strong as iron grips the side of his head, snaps his neck to the side, and ends all feeling in the bard's body. But he can still hear the deep throated growls, along with the wet noises of whatever killed him beginning to eat him alive. But he never gets to see it before the dream ends.


    The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. RIGHT BEHIND YOU! The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind. The One Who Stalks Behind.



    Spoiler: Bence's Secrets
    Show

    Spoiler: Bence's Journal
    Show

    ...is a backwards plane, so far removed from the Prime Material that it has not seen an angel or the work of a god in a millennia. I hear that far to the west they do not even worship the gods. Proper savages, but I must remain vigilant, as their knowledge of the ways of this world is far more educated than most. But it is ripe for my conquest. While my Master was tasked with corrupting Avendor, my home plane, a bastion of good and law, my chore is simply to tip the rat into the bucket of the Abyss as it prowls the rim looking for cheese. This plane is already so flooded with the energies of the Abyss that demons spontaneously emerge, monsters manifest in the dark, and their weak leaders bargain with forces they would be wiser to repulse. It will be child's play to nudge it the last few inches into anarchy and destruction, mostly due to the efforts of Pale Night herself. For thousands of years she has been grasping and clawing at this realm, dragging it further from the light and closer to her realm day by day, inch by inch, soul by soul. While my home plane was beyond my ability to destroy, this place will be my masterpiece. With my death at the hands of the forces of good, a symphony of destruction will play the anthem to my ascension to demonhood. The Pale Mother has promised me that each death will bring me closer to my true form, and each rebirth will increase my power, just as our pact promised. I can't wait to die. When will the heroes arrive? I've been planting and tending the seed of the idea in the old giant's mind for weeks now. When will it bear fruit? When can my dark rise to power begin? (The rest is a combination of burned and Abyssal that becomes impossible to read)

    Dam'ess- Mass Quasit Summoning. Magic Mouth to Levy Commands re: Retrieve Mirror of Leng, Scepter of Rulership, And Aniot's Cube. Disperse to Appropriate Parties Per The Plan. Burn The Cabin.

    Harumburg- Sending to Lord of Bone re: Portal to the 113th. (Indecipherable Due to Burns) In Accordance with Their Great Alliance.

    Falluneer- Sending to Lord of Flesh re: (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Ebon Spear.

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)light: Sending to Lord of Blood re: Assassination of (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Yukkot, Recovery of Blood (More Burns).

    (Indecipherable Due to Burns)odge- Sending to Cult of Pale (More Burns) re: Initiate Divining Ritual Sacrifices. FIND THE DAMN ZIGGURAT.

    Garrunrow- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) Kill the Last Bloodwolf. Recover (More Burns) Key.

    Mountain of Smoke- (Indecipherable Due to Burns) crypt. Seize the Ebon (More Burns).

    Sussoon- Ensure the Prophecy (Indecipherable Due to Burns)... Pay the Bounty Hunters to Find the Abydossian and the Princesses. re: Sacrifices of The Old Blood

    (There is more, but seemingly out of paranoia Bence switched to Abyssal. It is impossible to tell how many lines there are, as the last half of the paper is fully burned away)


    Spoiler: Arcane Lore concerning Bence's Notes
    Show
    The magic of Contingency is a nearly mythical bit of spell work that was said to be lost when the Library of Leng burned down. It allows a caster to prepare spells in advance for a predetermined event, in this case John Bence's own death, and the spells will automatically cast when the event happens. If Bence is capable of such sorcery, he is likely far more powerful than his flashy death at the party's hands would indicate.

    The Mirror of Leng is a artifact of the Library of Leng, said to contain a frozen moment of time where the library was at it's height that a person can temporarily step in to, giving access to the greatest magical library this world has ever seen. Supposedly several mirrors were made, though some are confirmed destroyed after their use led to come calamity of forbidden magics long lost to time. The Scepter of Rulership is said to be an even more powerful version of a Rod of Rulership, a magic item that allows for mass mind manipulation of people to believe that the holder of the Scepter is their rightful ruler. The last time the Scepter was confirmed in play it toppled an entire nation.

    Though numbering and organizing the layers of the Abyss is a fool's errand, there are some realms that are constant enough to designate. The one hundred and thirteenth layer is Thanatos, layer of Orcus, the Lord of Death. It is a lifeless frozen landscape where life is snuffed out almost as soon as it arrives, either by the untold legions of undead denizens, the magical aura of the layer itself, or, in the worst cases, by Orcus himself, using his fearsome Wand.


    Spoiler: John Bence's Wall Art
    Show
    There are no invisible objects in the room, but the entire back wall of the cabin is plastered with profane runes and abyssal scribblings. Where there was nothing to the naked eye, there is an extensive patchwork of spell work, seemingly scribed in the rusted red of blood. More disturbing is the fragments of souls that have been bound to the wall. Faces of people rise and seethe from the wood like a strange and rippling tide, mouths open in anguish. There are not many of them left, presumably due to whatever spell was used here absorbing so much energy, but there is a fine layer of ectoplasm that would indicate that once there were dozens of soul fragments powering this spell. The sight turns Mal's stomach, as the chaotic, destructive magic of the Abyss is written as plainly as news script, but as subtly as any devil could manage.



    Spoiler: Monsters
    Show
    Barlgura: Demon loosed by summoning ritual on the road to Dam'ess. Slain with its summoned partner by team. (Bless helped with accuracy issues due to invisibility. In the future, layer mind sliver to aid with saves.)
    Brazen Hart: Spirit of the wild wood around Dam'ess. Seeks to test the party's mettle by forcing an open fight with the Barlgura.
    Horror of Yurl: Shapeshifting kind of monster. Severs limbs, creates euphoria, and slays by consuming the liver. The newest variant flies...
    Tree-house horror: elven make. Demon infested. Extremely rare creation.

    The presence of the so-called "evolved" ghouls is troublesome. Said to be the chosen of Doresain the Ghoul King, Darakhuls are more motivated, more intelligent, and leagues more dangerous than their lesser kin. They have a subterranean empire on the other side of the continent, and their attempts to bring their Imperium to the surface have only narrowly been thwarted by the actions of great heroes and dedicated rulers. If Darakhuls have come to Harumvale, then the eyes of the Ghoul King have turned in this direction, and things truly are worse than imagined. Darakhul have a mystical connection to lesser ghouls and ghasts that enhances their intelligence and discipline when the evolved ghouls are present, turning them from hungry predators to a military unit.

    Unknown Egg. Vargath has an egg that might be a moon drake, recovered from an oven in the Iron Ghoul territory of the sewers of Harumvale.



    Spoiler: Instrument of the Bards
    Show
    Mal needs a translator, the spells, and woodcrafter to create a new relic.
    Spoiler: Full Description
    Show
    Still, tucked among the primers and amateur books he finds a book that deals with the blending of magic and music. Specifically, it holds the instructions and rituals for a new version of the famed artifacts known as the instruments of the bards. Unfortunately, about a third of the book is in a language Mal does not understand or recognize, including most of the rites and rituals to imbue it with magic. Still, with a translator, appropriate magics, some study, and someone skilled in wood craft, he may be able to produce one of these relics for himself.


    Spoiler: Half Troden Bardic Instrument Key
    Show
    Arcana- High Docent Half Toden directs Mal to a specific scroll on a specific shelf in a specific wing when pressed on this subject. He seems... oddly insistent... actually. It turns out to be a book of songs, actually, and one of them is penned by none other than High Docent Half Toden.

    Lo, behold the works of the Maker of Things,
    Wands, staves, instruments, wonders, and rings,
    His traveling cart rolls from town to town
    And trades mystical wonders for enough coins to drown
    Sometimes human, sometimes dwarf, sometimes gnome,
    He claims fate calls him, binds him, and keeps him from home
    He forged Harum's hammer that split the Eternal Rock
    Tinkered Trelmari's picks which defeat any Lock
    He defies time and age, but one note rings true
    Find one of Harum's adamant coins and he will find you.


    Spoiler: Harumburg Library Lore
    Show
    Religion- There has been a near constant history of undead in and around the capital of Harumsvale. It seems like every three to five decades or so some priest or paladin of Harum organizes a purge that "purifies" a coven of vampire spawn, a hidden necromancer, or a ghoul nest. But it seems to Mal (and to High Docent Toden) that this always treats the outward symptoms without handling the cause. Vampire spawn are rooted out, but rarely is a true vampire found. Students at the university are found to be dabbling in the forbidden arts, but no one ever catches the teacher who revealed such secrets to them. And each time a nest of ghouls is rooted out there is often a new infection there within a century. Half gives Mal an anecdote about one building in the industrial district being raided three times within his lifetime.

    History- Docent Toden cannot corroborate much in this area of research, but Mal does find several portraits that bear an astounding resemblance to Grand Arbiter Myrus Malkaav, each of them depicting some variety of civil servant or noble position with roughly eighty years between them. When Post Master Geller Rell passes away from a wasting disease, eight decades or so later Chief Accountant Daedren Gastaf, who has the same severe eyes, hooked nose, and pale skin but a different haircut, takes his position a serves with merited distinction. There is a general trend in these dopplegangers to rise in the ranks of the government over the centuries, and Mal finds records dating back nearly a thousand years.


    Report daily updates to Mistress Moira at last light.




  28. - Top - End - #1228
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Amnestic's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Castle Sparrowcellar
    Gender
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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Vargath Hubrecht
    Half-Orc Rune Knight Fighter
    AC: 19 HP: 32/49
    PP: 13 PIv: 12 PIs: 10
    Conditions: Infected (Lycanthropy), Bardic Inspiration (d8)
    Concentrating: --

    The half-orc stays silent as Mal carries out the silvertongued deception, and does not echo the salute with his own words. He would play the expected from his size and armour: The stoic gruff fighter. They were in the chimera's den now, and if the throng he felt was any indication their numbers far outstripped what their motley group could handle. They'd either need to strike hard at a key target to cause chaos beyond their own abilities, or simply not fight at all. Neither was an attractive prospect, nor was the gladiatorial fighting that it seemed was commonplace. How soon before they too ended up in the pit? He'd read more than a few stories at university of intrepid infiltrations into a sports arena that had the sneakthiefs placed down into the action themselves. One misstep and they'd fall to ruin. But he steps forward regardless. They had no choice but to see it through at this stage.
    DMing:
    Iron Crisis IC | OOC
    Cyre Red IC | OOC

    Playing:
    OotA IC | OOC

    Master Homebrew Index (5e)

  29. - Top - End - #1229
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    SwashbucklerGuy

    Join Date
    Apr 2020

    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Set Al-Sayyid
    Changeling Fighter/Hexblade
    AC: 17 HP: 36/41 (36/43) THP: 0/5
    PP: 12 PIv: 13 PIs: 9
    Conditions: Mal's Inspiration (1d8), Mal's Aid, Nome's Hero's Feast (immune to poison/frightened, Wis ST adv). Mad/Frightened/Quirk: Fascinated with binding and power over death.
    Concentration:

    Set bristles at Mal's words before silently nodding along to Vargath's. As they step further into the muck and gloom, Set motions for Mido to halt when Selissa pauses up ahead. The sight of Mal altering his form and strutting past her puts him on edge for a moment, but Set recognizes Iceblood's purpose as the words finally filter back to them in common.

    "The Night sends witnesses with important news from Bence."

    Set's grip on the glaive only grows firmer at the mention of Bence, but grudgingly he can see the merit in Mal's ploy. They'd be in a position to learn more by posing as Pale Night's faithful servants than by announcing their presence below with spear and sword.

    Set glances down at the ghoul crawling forward at his feet, forced this far, but no further. He can’t abide leaving such power dormant, but then, how could they keep up Mal’s ruse with the evidence of his deception in tow? A unique opportunity awaits through the next gate if they can pass unmolested, at least for a while. It would be best not to break the bind, but at least he'd be doing it for a purpose. A purpose that suits Set much better than the misguided worries of those who can't see that the ends justify the means, and that power over death can be used to save life.

    Still. It seems like such a waste. Set pulls his hatchet to sever the threads binding ghoul to glaive, unsure of the mechanics, but eager to see it done before he can change his mind. Quick and quiet, no fuss. The loss of power registers as an unnecessary risk, but the glaive feels reassuring in his grip. There would be another bind. The power isn’t gone, only dormant.

    Turning to Mido, Set leans in to whisper a message as he puts a hand on his spear. “This path doesn't leave room for half-measures. You needn't hide your fear, but do not speak out of turn and do not use this. It will only be the death of you past that gate." Set glances back at the razor edge of his own weapon glinting in the dark before his eyes return to Mido. "Make no mistake, I intend to get us both back to the surface, no matter the cost." Finished with his hushed message, Set steps after Vargath and Esai, holding the glaive blade-down as part of their strange procession.

  30. - Top - End - #1230
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Awful's Avatar

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    Jan 2018
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    Default Re: The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

    Selissa Betula
    Wood Elf Scout Rogue
    AC: 16 HP: 38/38->45/45
    PP: 17
    Conditions: heroic encouragement, Aid, PWT (+10 stealth, can't be detected through magical means, no tracks)
    Concentrating: yes

    Selissa frowned. The expression on her face never could quite reveal the depths of her emotion, but she was deeply disconcerted. That would be entering an arena where her own skill set was minimal - direct deception, where it was too crowded to hide, and her own tongue was sharp, not silver.

    Still, it was too late to call Mal back as soon as he'd tossed her a cocky wink, and there was little room to sneak around in the cramped tunnels.

    With a discomforted sigh, she made sure her hood was low over her face, and she pulled her scarf up to cover what little else was visible of her features. There were few green-haired wood elves in the city, after all, even if her companions were also distinctive.

    Against every instinct she possessed, she walked with the others to go with Mal, unable to stop herself glaring with narrowed eyes at the undead guards as they let them pass.
    And the far stars cried, and the planets yearned;
    But no man may know, for she'll ne'er return.

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