Chult Hex Crawl - IC

[Pyrophilios]

"A good idea in general. No idea if the animated statue can do that, but I'm sure we can ask her. Alright, I think I know what unearthly beauty means for grungs... I need absolute seclution for this. And no peaking at the unfinished work. I need a large enough section of ground to do this. A separate tent should suffice. Yes. My construct will help me with that."

The Red Horns appeared to be on fire for this new creative work. A bit of a mad gleam shines from his eyes as he bustles around to collect everything he needs for his work.

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Advantage from help

(1d20+5)[17]/(1d20+5)[21] + (1d6)[4] Knowledge from a past life

"Yes, this should do nicely for a royal consort..." The Red Horns murmured to himself when he stepped back from the ground where his creation began to manifest in the 3rd dimension...

Spoiler: Image

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[agignac]

The Red Horns spent many hours perfecting his painting, which slowly came to being as a three dimensonal...being? Statue? Nangnang was certainly solid, and fleshy, and somewhat moist, just as she looked in the painting. She looked real enough to walk and talk. She didn't, of course. But with enough magic, hopefully it would look like she was.

The morning of the ritual dawned bright and clear. The grungs were busy all day. Some were cooking and setting up long tables full of food and drink. Others were weaving flags and kites out of reeds and setting them to flap in the breeze. Children ran around, laughing and splashing each other. A steady stream of attendants came and went from the shrine, helping the king prepare for the ceremony. Krr'ook had little enough time to check in with you once or twice, concern in her lidless eyes.

The sun goes down quickly, as it always does, and fires are lit around the village. The villagers enter the water, watching the shrine while half-submerged. King Groak, wearing a ceremonial robe of orchids and reeds, strides out of the shrine to stand on the top steps. Krr'ook steps forward and speaks prayers and words of supplication to their long-absent deity. Groak's eyes shine in anticipation of meeting his beloved, and he wrings his rubbery hands in anticipation. Sacred herbs are flung into fires, and the commoners break into a worshipful song that fills the village with the sound of loud croaking. Finally, the cacophony fades away, and the village is quiet. It's time to reveal Nangnang.

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So, here's what I need from you. A description of what you're doing. Be specific. Animating her successfully requires a Deception check (DC 12), advantage possible based on your descriptions. Convincing Groak her words are genuine requires Deception or Performance, (DC 15), at disadvantage if he can't understand her language (he only speaks grung). Selling her blessed departure as being temporary requires Deception, Persuasion or Intimidation (DC 15), at disadvantage if not in grung, possible advantage to any roll based on what exactly you're doing. So...take it away! Let the performance of a lifetime, begin!!

[Pyrophilios]

The Red Horns created five little rings from wood and bestowed upon them the ability to utter sound when touched.

"So we need someone speaking Grung to utter the five most likely necessary phrases into these.

1. I am yours, my beloved
2. No, this is not possible
3. Yes, at once
4. Unhand me or suffer for all eternity
5. I must go, await my return faithfully, or suffer for all eternity

Any ideas how we can get someone to those words in Grung?"

[agignac]

It is time.

Nolwenn has spent the day preparing, and hopes she has her "routine" down pat. Invisible with the statue, she and Draelin maneuver it into position. Qawasha sets the scene by calling forth vines and creepers, which all burst into colourful bloom. The waiting grungs gasp in astonishment. The vines continue to creep around, creating a serviceable screen for Nolwenn to stand behind. She drops the invisibility spell, and Nangnang appears! There is a collective gasp, then some concerned muttering. It seems their goddess doesn't look quite how they expected her to. However, Nolwenn animates her with an illusion, and the crowd ooohs in appreciation of her feminine charm.

King Groak croaks with enthusiasm, clearly not put off by her less-than-heavenly beauty. "Nangnang! My beloved! I knew you would come! Tell me, have you come to be mine?"

The Red Horns activates one of his speaking rings, and the goddess inclines her head nobly and says, "I am yours, my beloved!"

The King clutches his chest with ecstasy, and the grungs sitting in the pond begin to cheer loudly. Groak leaps up and says, "My darling! Let us be married at once!"

Nangnang holds up her hand and steps back, saying, "No! This is not possible."

Startled, the king halts in his tracks, and plaintively asks, "Why not, oh beautiful goddess of my heart?"

Nolwenn, with a flash of intuition, has Nangnang point at their little party, then frown. Krr'ook steps forward, bows low to the floor of the shrine, and says, "The goddess will not permit outsiders to witness the ceremony."

King Groak puffs out his chest. "Archers! Dispatch the infidels immediately!" Shocked, the warrior grung step forward, but Nangnang holds up a single hand. Krr'ook interprets, "Oh King! Do not spill blood at such a blessed time! Let the outsiders bear witness to your betrothal, and spread the word of your virility! Perhaps the goddess will return for the ceremony? Soon?"

Nangnang nods, and points at the moon overhead. She spins in a graceful circle, then blows the king a kiss. Groak nearly swoons, catches the kiss, and devours it. "Yes, in one month! Oh, what a ceremony we shall have! But please, just one kiss before you leave me?"

He leaps forward, ready to grab her hand, and The Red Horns activates the ring that says, "No! This is not possible."

Crestfallen, the king restrains himself, then says, "Very well, oh beatific one. I shall await your return with longing!"

Nangnang says, "I must go, await my return faithfully, or suffer for all eternity."

The king nods vigorously and bows low, head scraping the ground. "Yes! Yes my darling! I shall await most faithfully!"

Nolwenn frowns in concentration behind her screen of vines, focusing on the illusion. She makes the goddess shine brightly, then spin on the spot, creating a beautiful whirlwind of colour. The colours fade away, leaving the inert statue of Nangnang behind. With prestidigitation, she creates colourful sparks that swirl off into the distance.

There is some confused muttering among the grung, then Krr'ook exclaims, "She has left you a statue of herself, oh king, as a betrothal gift!"

Groak hesitantly steps forward and strokes the statue. A grin lights his face, and he picks up the statue and embraces it, then carries it off into the shrine. The villagers, realizing the ceremony is over, break into loud croaks and cheers, and then the party starts in earnest.

Spoiler

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You can party with the grung or go to bed. The king will see you in the morning if you like, and is feeling pretty happy, so if you have anything to ask for, now's the time. Otherwise the grung will lead you out of the maze tomorrow and you'll be on your way.

[Pyrophilios]

"It's moments like this that I regret forming the statue so lively... including orifices." The Red Horns shuddered, turning to Nolwenn:

"Is that it, can we leave now? I don't think this will end well."

[The Hellbug]

Nolwenn grimaces and frowns at Red Horns' comment about the statue but doesn't engage with it further. His question, though, she answers. "We have time to relax and enjoy the party, at least," she replies, "it'd be impolite to leave before tomorrow anyway. As for not ending well, I wouldn't say so. At worst the king's anger has been delayed; by the time he's after Nangnang again our interference will be impossible to verify next to the whims of a fickle goddess. And that Krr'ook is clever enough. I wouldn't put it past her to weather this particular storm."

As for the party, Nolwenn excuses herself quickly. She has trouble shaking the jitters from the stressful performance and being surrounded by all the grung does her no favors. Once she manages to break away, she spends the evening investigating the strange bags they found with the dead dwarves to try to calm herself.

[Pyrophilios]

The Red Horns shrugged and went back to their tent as well. He had interrupted his work for the creation of the statue and he wanted to make the best of his time with a roof over his head to advance his work. In any case, he was very ready to move on...

[agignac]

Well feasted, and with marvelous pigments in their pockets, the party was escorted through the maze and out of Dungrunglung. The day was predictably hot, and you realize that you hadn't noticed the lack of bugs in the village until you were back amongst them. "Fresh" undead were caught up in the thorns surrounding the maze, and the grung warriors began systematically dispatching them as they waved you off.

The canoes were where you left them, and Qawasha (having spoken with some of the grung about directions), led the adventurers off with newfound confidence. The undead were indeed thick in the area, but you stumbled across them in ones and twos, and dispatch them without difficulty. That is, until just before sunset.

Qawasha called a halt, and you begin setting up camp. Then, you catch something in the air. The sweltering musk of the jungle gives way to the sickly sweet aroma of decay—that seems to be moving toward you. The ground trembles, sending ripples through the muddy puddles nearby, and a hideous creature erupts from the lush vegetation. The beast is similar to the other huge reptiles that roam this strange land—but this one died a while ago. Gobbets of desiccated flesh hang from the creature’s exposed ribcage, the cavernous hollow within filled with putrefying organs and muscle. The stench of rot is overwhelming now, and you watch aghast as the abomination swivels its broad scaled head toward you, fixing you with its hollow gaze—and roars in fury.

Draelin (1d20+4)[5]
Nolwenn (1d20+2)[4]
Nyx (1d20+2)[6]
TRH (1d20+3)[18]
Qawasha (1d20+1)[9]
Xarmus (1d20+3)[19]
Zombie allosaurus (1d20-2)[18]

If you increased your dex at level 4, then add to your init as needed. If Xarmus doesn't show up soon, he'll be getting stepped on. Don't wait for him to go TRH goes before zombie.

[Pyrophilios]

The Red Horns immediately took to the air and threw his Yklwa as hard as he could at the creature

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Using my new sharpshooter feat, -5 to hit +10 to damage

(1d20+3)[14], damage (1d8)[4]+15, if crit (1d8)[7]

Fly up 30ft.

[agignac]

The creature was long beyond feeling pain, and though the sharp point of the yklwa pierces it deeply, the dead dinosaur seems not to notice. It stomps into the clearing, and finds Draelin in its path. Ponderously pouncing at the elf, it swipes gore-encrusted claws at Draelin, but the elf dodges nimbly aside.

Qawasha crushes a piece of bark in his fist as he completes a druidic utterance, and for a moment nothing happens. Then, a great groan emanates from him, almost like the creaking of a baobab in a monsoon. Bark emerges from the flesh of his hand, snakes up his arm, and overtakes his torso. You see the bark encase him completely, offering its protection. Weed scrambled away behind him, vanishing in the thick undergrowth.

[The Hellbug]

Nolwenn leaves the grung village behind satisfied, her magic and cleverness having alleviated their problems (and won some valuable tools in the process) and the time alone last night having given her a chance to perfect a new addition to her spellbook. Sure, it's a slight disappointment that they couldn't give Krr'ook a more permanent solution, but the were working with what they had. She's also pleased to see that Qawasha is confident in the party's course again.

The only real problem is the undead. Nolwenn always feels a little on edge with them scattered around the jungle--fangs behind every leaf are much less exciting when they're attached to shambling corpses. At least the dinosaurs on the river had been something that she could understand, predators looking for prey; Qawasha's right: the undead here are a blight on the land.

_______

Nolwenn had been tending to the fire when she felt the first tremor, and she's on her feet when the undead dinosaur lumbers into their camp, but the spell she chooses is a new one and she's too slow to react before the allosaurus lurches at Draelin. "I'll try to hold it!" she shouts to her allies and concentrates at the earth at the dinosaur's feet. There's a subtle shift in the fallen leaves as the wizard completes her spell, and she makes a grasping motion up towards the allosaurus that's mimicked by an earthen hand reaching up from the jungle floor to grab at its leg.

Spoiler: OOC

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Nolwenn's casting Maximillian's Earthen Grasp. The dinosaur needs to make a Strength save against DC 15 or be restrained and take (2d6)[7] bludgeoning damage. If it fails, it can use its action to repeat the save to attempt to end the restrained condition.

[Pyrophilios]

Even while The Red Horns had taken to the air, his twig creature moved, compelled by a single word from its creator, attacking the undead monstrosity with no regard for its own safety.

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forgot to post my bonus action attack with my steel defender

(1d20+7)[21] damage (1d8)[3]+2, if crit (1d8)[3]

Reaction to inflict disadvantage on the zombie saurus if it attacks anyone else but the steeldefender.

[Volthawk]

Dodging out of the way of the first attack, Draelin rolls backwards and runs back somewhat, wanting some range in order to start shooting. He watches the creature's movements as he aims - it may be a mindless undead monster, but it still has patterns to how it moves and attacks that he can exploit.

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Moving away from the allosaurus with my move action, then firing at it. If Nolwenn's spell succeeds, he'll use Cunning Action to take a Disengage action as a bonus action first, getting SA due to the effects of Restrained, but if it passes the save or Draelin's acting before it was cast, he'll take the risk of getting hit (although at least it's at a disadvantage from the steel defender) in order to use Insightful Fighting.

If Insightful Fighting is needed, a Wisdom (Insight) check opposed by their Charisma (Deception) check: (1d20+9)[19]
On a success, he gets SA regardless of the advantage situation for the next minute.

Attack (if it's not restrained, take the first result): (1d20+7)[9]/(1d20+7)[12]; Reroll: (1d20+7)[10]
Damage: (1d8+5)[7] weapon + (3d6)[11] SA if applicable

[Pyrophilios]

The Red Horns continued his pattern - throwing the Yklwa as hard as he could only to have it teleported back into his hand a second later.

His construct meanwhile kept up the tireless attacks, meant to distract the undead beast

"Keep at it, this thing is large, but rotten."

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(1d20)[11]+3, damage (1d8)[5]+16, if crit (1d8)[3]

Steel defender
(1d20)[4]+7, damage (1d8)[4]+2, if crit (1d8)[6]

Edit: 21 damage

[agignac]

The long-dead dinosaur trails ribbons of decaying meat, many of which splatter to the ground as it thrashes in the earthen fist's grip. Harried by missiles and magic, the dinosaur focuses on the one creature within its reach - the small twig-creature that stabbed annoyingly at its knees. It lunges down to bite the small creature, but it is too hampered by Nolwenn's magic and it is unable to chomp the annoying defender.

As the group focuses on the undead dinosaur, they don't notice the satyr slips silently away into the jungle.

[Volthawk]

Draelin nods in response to the Red Horns' encouragement, carefully watching the beast as he readies and fires another arrow into it.

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Since he doesn't need to Steady Aim here, Draelin is instead going to spend his bonus action on Insightful Fighting. So he makes a Wisdom (Insight) check opposed by their Charisma (Deception) check: (1d20+9)[25]
On a success, he gets SA regardless of the advantage situation for the next minute - not relevant now, but might be later.

Attack (advantage, plus an extra reroll from Elven Accuracy): (1d20+7)[8]/(1d20+7)[19]; Reroll: (1d20+7)[21]
Damage: (1d8+5)[10] weapon +(3d6)[15] SA

[The Hellbug]

"Ha!" Nolwenn exclaims triumphantly as the horrid dinosaur fails to slip free of the earthen hand's grasp. She keeps her hand reached out in a closed fist (not strictly necessary, a voice in her head that sounds suspiciously to her like her old tutor reminds her, but the visceral act helps her to concentrate and visualize the spell so she ignores it) and tightens the spell's grasp. "Quickly! I don't now how much longer I can hold it!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Action to crush with the gripping hand. Dino takes (2d6)[3] bludgeoning damage (half with a DC 15 Str save). It stays restrained regardless.

[Pyrophilios]

With their opponent pinned, The Red Horns continued his methodical attacks, keeping up the pressure, while the construct also continued to be a distraction

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(1d20)[4]/(1d20)[16]+3, damage (1d8)[7]+16, if crit (1d8)[7]

Steel defender
(1d20)[8]/(1d20)[19]+7, damage (1d8)[3]+2, if crit (1d8)[1]

Edit: 28 damage

[agignac]

The dinosaur had lost both the advantage of surprise, and freedom of movement. Barraged by arrows, yklwa, the druid's magical stones, and the earth itself, it had little option to do anything other than try to catch the steel defender, and roar its frustration. Even that didn't last long. The necromantic magic holding the undead beast together unraveled under the assault, and it collapsed to the jungle floor in an enormous, stinking heap.

[Pyrophilios]

The Red Horns landed and looked around: "Is everyone alright? That could have gone really wrong..." He trailed off.

"Wait, where is Nyx?" He took off again to get a better overview, but returned five minutes later, clearly frustrated.

"No sign off Nyx. The jungle is too dense. But at least there is also no sign of there having been a fight - beside this one I mean.

Damn this jungle!"

After this outburst, his mood changed to melancholy.

"Nothing we can change now, we have to move on, so we can make camp at an at least somewhat saver location."

[Volthawk]

Draelin just nods when he hears the Red Horns' report on Nyx. "No Xarmus either. And then there were three, huh - well, three and our excellent guide here." Draelin's only a little sarcastic there. "In any case there's no point turning back so we better keep moving."

[The Hellbug]

After the zombie collapses, Nolwenn allows her earthen hand to disintegrate into dirt once more and swiftly joins the others, relieved at their good luck that no one was hurt. Well, no one present. With the adrenaline still pumping from the zombie's sudden arrival, she doesn't notice Nyx or Xarmus's absence until The Red Horns points it out.

"Nyx! Xarmus!" Nolwenn calls out into the jungle when their disappearance is brought to her attention, but there's no response. "We have to look for them!" she suggests to her remaining companions, "they can't have gotten far!"

[Pyrophilios]

The Red Horns sadly shook his head: "I looked - believe me. The jungle is so dense here, you could walk by someone who is only three feet away and you'd still miss them. And with that foliage, I doubt even a reliable tracker would be able to find a trail.
I'm sorry. The best we can do is keep to our route and hope they can catch up with us if they want to. Staying here and searching will burn precious daylight that we need to get to a savish camp location."

[agignac]

Qawasha helps Weed out of the underbrush, and the two of them look for tracks. "Look here! Hoof marks, and Nyx's boot prints." The tracks are easy to see in the soft earth. They follow for a minute, then Nyx's tracks stop. Xarmus's go a little further, then enter a creek and disappear.

The stinking carcass of the allosaur is attracting scavengers, some of them dangerous. Qawasha urges you to move on, while there is still a little light in the sky. Picking up one canoe (I assume you'll leave the other one behind now?), the small party moves away until it is too dark to safely travel.

Camp is finally made, the rain catchers set up to catch the near-nightly rainfall, and food is made. As usual, Red takes the first watch, sitting stone-still and listening to the jungle noises. A few hours into his watch, he catches the sound of movement at the edge of the camp. He stirs and looks over. In the darkness, he can just make out a short figure, pale in the moonlight, camouflaged with leaves and vines. It appears to be assessing the camp.

Spoiler: what Red sees

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[Pyrophilios]

The Red Horns didn't move but observed very carefully, trying to identify the creature before calling out - and maybe inadvertently provoking an unfortunate response.
Nevertheless, he gave his construct a mental command to get ready to pounce.

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Knowledge Check Nature/Religion
Whatever is applicable

(1d20+5)[24]

[agignac]

It looks humanoid, but something about the way it movs is just wrong. Red remembers Qawasha mentioning a certain plant, the yellow musk frond, the spores of which could turn creatures into something not unlike a zombie. The yellow musk zombies act like minions, brining more creatures to the plant as food. It seemed possible that was what he was looking at.

[Pyrophilios]

The Red Horns called out to his companions: "Plantzombie. Get up."

At the same time he threw his Yklwa and gave his construct the order to attack.

Spoiler

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Ini
(1d20+3)[9]

Attack w/sharpshooter

(1d20+3)[23], damage (1d8)[7]+16, if crit (1d8)[2]


Steeldefender

(1d20+7)[10], damage (1d8)[4]+2, if crit (1d8)[3]

Woohoo, crit!

[The Hellbug]

"Ah!" There's a moment of rustling from Nolwenn's tent before the wizard gracelessly stumbles out from the flap, hands at the ready to cast a spell but hair unkempt and blinking back the light from the fire. "Who? Where?" she asks anxiously before recognizing the solitary shape in the darkness and turning to face it, "what is that thing?"

[Pyrophilios]

"Some kind of plant undead - careful, there might be more around."
The Red Horns replied, looking around, searching for said potential opponents.

[agignac]

Qawasha also roused at Red's warning, and threw something at the undead. The triple assault was too much, and the dwarf-turned-undead fell silently to the ground, unmoving.

The silence remained unbroken, and eventually the sleepers returned to their bedrolls. The rest of the night passed without incident.

The next two days were relatively quiet. They had a few scuffled with undead as they carried the canoe through the thick jungle, but nothing as dangerous as the dinosaur.

Midafternoon on the third day (15 days since leaving Port Nyanzaru), the thick jungle begins to thin a bit. The ground begins to slope downwards, and soon you find yourself standing at the edge of the treeline.

Ahead of you is the Aldani basin. Thirty miles wide, and stretching almost 100 miles north to south, this lowland basin is a collection of lakes, rivers, and swampland. From here, you can see the River Tath tumbling down as a waterfall into the basin. Directly across from you, and to the south, are tall plateaus, devoid of jungle growth. About 20 miles west of you are the headwaters of the Soshenstar river, which then winds its way north, back into the jungle and eventually back to Port Nyanzaru.

Far to the west, above the jungle tops, the Mistcliff Mountains are just visible.

The scope is a bit dizzying. After two weeks of not being able to see more than about fifty feet in any direction, the openness of the vista is disconcerting. Also, the sun is hot and bright here - out of the shade of the canopy, it feels ten degrees hotter.

Eventually your eyes adjust, and you see creatures moving in the basin. Large dinoaurs, their necks impossibly tall, move slowly through the swamp. Flocks of strange, colourful, long-legged birds rise into the air, circle, then settle again. A troop of flying monkeys takes off from the foliage above you, startling Weed so badly he fell backwards into a puddle. Other creatures, mostly unseen, disturb the water from beneath.

While it is not one big lake, there are enough swamps, rivers, and waterways, that you'll be able canoe most, if not all of the way across it. Of course, once you descend down into the basin, you won't have a view all the way across it, but it is clear the going will be easier here, at least for a while.

Qawasha points out one plateau on the other side and to the south. "The village of Mbala is up there. A friendly village of Chultan locals. It is on the way to the oracle of Orolunga. We should be able to get there the day after tomorrow."

New map and internet art of flying monkeys and the basin on the slide deck.