Adventures in the Forgotten Realms [OOC]

[Chambers]

An Open Invitation

Vhaeraun knows what he wants and recognizes he's not strong enough to get it by his Power alone. He encourages his followers to work with other elves to advance his cause and is more likely to become involved with their affairs as long as they are working for him. Though full of cunning his plans sometimes seem brash and unpredictable as he knows he must take chances that other deities wouldn't.

His gifts are intended to lure elves to his service or at least make them symapthetic to his cause, for his cause is the liberation of all elves from the shackles the other gods impose on them.

You gain the Cloak of Shadows power, a shadow talent from the Dark sphere.

Cloak of Shadows (shadow)

When you are targeted by a magic effect, as an immediate action you may spend 1 spell point and enhance your own shadow with power from the Shadow Weave to protect yourself from harm. Make a magic skill check against the magic effect. If you succeed then the magic effect is harmlessly absorbed by the cloak of shadows.

When you activate the Cloak of Shadows your features are obscurred by the sudden blot of darkness and the faint laughing of a male elf can be heared by those nearby. The strength of the voice grows in intensity with each time per day you activate the Cloak of Shadows. The laughter turns to whispered promises spoken in drow but able to be understood by all who hear it. Each time you activate Cloak of Shadows after the first use in a day, make a wild magic check. Each use increases the wild magic chance by 10%. This increase may not be reduced or negated by any non-deific means. If the result indicates a wild magic event the effect of the spell that triggered Cloak of Shadows is replaced by the wild magic event roll.

[Taelas]

Tamsin argues in favor of eradicating the ogres. While they may not have been a threat yet, they're ogres, and are more likely to become one than not. He knows ogres well: he's got favored enemy (giant). Ogres are just cunning enough to not want to antagonize a village full of wizards; unless Longsaddle wants to rely on Harpell protections forever, destroying the ogre threat goes a long way to securing the independence, plus it'd serve as a deterrent to anyone else that might want to jump at the village with the Harpells away (and who knows when the wizards are going to come back, anyway?).

While the mercenaries aren't particularly trustworthy, they're at least not ogres, and with the reinforcements from Sundabar, the fight is reasonable, especially with Tamsin around: he can scout the ogres through Talon, by having the falcon fly high enough above the ogres that they can't shoot it down. Hit-and-run tactics are literally his bread and butter. They aren't going to have a better opportunity to defeat them than right now, short of the Harpells returning. And even if the Harpells do return, that would more than likely just send the ogres elsewhere to wreak havoc.

Appeasing the ogres solves nothing, merely pushing the threat further down the line, as well as sending off a signal that Longsaddle is currently ripe for plucking. What happens if, once the offered beef is gone, the Harpells still haven't returned, or some other threat arises in the meantime?

Helping the villagers defend themselves is more productive, eliminates a threat to peace in the region, warns off other possible threats that even without their pet wizards, Longsaddle isn't a soft target, and likely saves the most people in the long run, even if some fall in battle now.

What he does not say is that he thinks if the town isn't willing to defend itself, then they aren't really worth fighting for, either.

[Chromascope3D]

Arae grimaces at the thought -- though the reasoning is sound, the thought leaves a bad taste in her mouth. All sentient beings have the right to live by Kelemvor's grace, she notes, ogres and humans alike. But, there is wisdom in not giving up more information than those ogres necessarily know, and it would be wise to make alternative preparations in case negotiations were to break down. She favors diplomacy, but is not opposed to warfare.

She has a few more questions:
1. How many head of cattle does the town currently possess
2. How large are the ogre raiding parties typically

[Chambers]

There are about 3,000 head of cattle in Longsaddle right now between the farms, ranches, and cattle drive teams. That number is lower than what it should be at this time of the season by about 1,000; that's how many ranchers have left town early or driven somewhere else because of the ogre problem. Folks are losing 10 - 15 cattle per week now to the ogres which is double the amount they stole when they started the thefts. In other words, the ogres are taking more cattle each week and more ranchers are leaving town each week. If this continues for much longer the whole season will be a total loss.

With this type of food theft by monstrous creatures you might expect a solitary hunter or a small pack but these ogres have been taught rudimentary military tactics. They move by cover, shout basic commands at each other in the giant tongue, and maintain a rearguard while one ogre drags the cow. Their finesse is non-existent but the basic tactics are effective and they've managed to operate in teams of five. One ogre drags the cow while the other four protect them.

[Chambers]

Longsaddle (Diplomacy)

After some uncomfortable meetings with Vilkor and his lieutenants, you convince them that doing what the ranchers want to do is the best option here. The decision earns you few friends among the Bloodaxes who now go out of their way to avoid you, except for Tamsin. Many of the mercenaries shared his same sentiment and are still friendly with him. Getting Mog to agree to parlay was surprisingly easy. You waved a white flag at the next set of ogre raiders and they stopped their pillaging and returned to the Keep. A day later Mog arrived with two full squads of his best battle-ready ogres, ready for negotiations.

Much like a psychopath who has crafted a mask of civility to wear so as to not frighten the people around them, Mog has learned the rules of behavior that civilized people expect from each other. He agrees to the ranchers' tribute of two cows a week until the season ends, and if the wizards haven't returned by then, down to one cow a week. Mog also agrees to Ordyn's suggestion to try and raise their own cattle but you're not entirely sure how well that got translated.

Vilkor made one last ditch effort to provoke the ogres and demanded a weregild for the deaths of the two ranchers. Again Mog surprises you all with his readiness to negotiate. It seems he understands well the value of a person though he kept referring to people as hostages. In any case he agreed to give the families some man-sized loot they have at the keep as weregild for the dead. What use a rancher's widow has for a full set of platemail, shield, and sword is anyone's guess, but the debt is paid and the ogre problem has been dealt with for now.

Stronghold of the Nine (Arcana)

Some elves on the Council don’t wish to share their knowledge about temporal manipulation with Yzara but given the nature of the daemonfey threat they agree to lead both her and Kelveroth through their rituals. They ask her to keep the details of the magical working to herself as a professional courtesy and then explain how Mystra has banned almost all uses of time travel magic with very few exceptions. They are deliberately vague about which applications are still allowed and how far back or forward one may go.

The ritual they perform with you sends a scrying sensor back into the recent past. You all follow in silence as it scrys upon the elemental lodestone still in your possession; your journey to the High Forest, your summer in Waterdeep, and your fight in the deep forges of Sundabar all happen in reverse. Everything freezes at a moment during the fight and the perspective shifts towards the daemonfey. In the vision he is grabbing lodestones and shoving them into a bag; in the present he is bound within a circle of protection in the Stronghold. Lady Morgwais resumes the travel of time and the scrying sensor follows the fey’ri in their flight from Sundabar.

You see a dozen fey’ri flight through the night, eastward at breakneck speed. They approach the ruins of Hellgate Keep but are battered by the awakened trees and forced down and out of the sky. Unable to go forward, they retreat and fly further south and east until they’re over the High Forest and take refuge in an abandoned city Kelveroth recognizes as the Elven Port. The fey’ri argue among themselves, though you can hear nothing. Your prisoner eventually takes orders from the one who appears to be their leader, a female fey’ri with gold hair that demonstrates her Art when she blasts one of her underlings with lightning. The sensor follows the fey’ri as he takes flight and heads north, traveling at night until he reaches the Everlund Pass near Silverymoon. He waits there until a hooded traveler makes their way from the city and meets the fey’ri. The traveler shows great respect to the daemonfey, bowing and kneeling before them and gives the fey’ri a gift, a silver globe. The fey’ri embraces the traveler who you now see is a female dwarf and afterwards flies back to the Elven Port with the trinket.

You’re not sure exactly what the globe is but the fey’ri leader uses it in some kind of divination ritual along with the elemental lodestones and gets results that she’s evidently happy about. The next few weeks pass in Elven Port with the fey’ri crafting and upgrading their weapons and armor and reinforcing their positions within the elven ruins. You see them capture elves, centaurs, and humans and then interrogate, torture, and eat them. At some point their leader decides to make their next move and they fly low over the forest heading west, following the Old Road. Pitched battle soon follows as the fey’ri are ambushed by elven guardians and the leader retreats, leaving your prisoner behind.

[Xanyo]

Yzara knows the value of a secret, and if Mystra wants it restricted so it shall be. After they gain the information they need, she volunteers to alter her own memories of the event to remove her own memories of the technical details of the chronomancy ritual. It is disappointing to lose such fascinating knowledge, but as sacrifices go that one is rather minor.

[Athaleon]

Kel would likewise understand the need to keep the spell secret. He would have liked to learn the spell, of course, but his time will come.

[Chambers]

Here's the IC thread!

[Chromascope3D]

Spellcraft: (1d20+11)[23]
Will: (1d20+14)[33]

[Athaleon]

Spellcraft: (1d20+17)[19]
Will: (1d20+10)[23]

[rypt]

Spellcraft: (d20+12)[24]
Will Save: (d20+9)[11]

[Xanyo]

Spellcraft: (1d20+20)[35]
Will Save: (1d20+10)[12]

[Xanyo]

Knowledge (nobility): (1d20+16)[21]
Now I just need to not startle anybody when I become visible.

[Chromascope3D]

Nobility 1: (1d20+3)[15]
Nobility 2: (1d20+3)[7]

[Chromascope3D]

Channeling Moira, Hierophant of Mystra

Spoiler

Show

- Arae will take a taboo, preventing her from willfully lying or answering questions that she is asked.
- If anyone chose to participate in her séance this morning, they gain the hierophant spirit boon, which states "Your healing spells and abilities heal an additional 2 points of damage to each target. This does not affect healing conferred by magic items, nor does it add to fast healing or similar effects."
- She will take an additional 2 points of influence to gain access to her legendary incluence feats (Selective Channeling and Extra Channel) and will have used Propitiation to reduce her total influence to 2 out of 5 (All mediums start at one point of influence, and propitiation reduces influence by 1)
- For her Energy Font ability, she channels positive energy, and will gain Channel Resolve as a bonus feat for as long as she channels Moira.

Her Meditative Talents are as follows:
(1) Echoing Word (+5 targets)
(3) Align Object
(5) Bless
(7) Pain
(9) Protection Sphere

Additionally she would have crafted 3 salves and 3 good-aligned liquids via Alchemy

[Chambers]

Reflex Saves

Kip (1d20)[9]
Yassarn (1d20)[1]
Sage (1d20)[19]

Prince (1d20)[12]
Twins (1d20)[20]
Orlando (1d20+10)[29]

[Xanyo]

Reflex save: (1d20+9)[13]
Time to make some rats scream

[Chromascope3D]

(1d20+6)[24] reflex!

[Chambers]

Accidentally rolled in the IC thread. Deleted that post, rolling here.

Rats Will Save
(1d20+4)[21]
(1d20+4)[19]
(1d20+4)[15]
(1d20+4)[23]
(1d20+4)[23]

Mass Replenish
(1d20+4)[6]
(1d20+4)[6]
(1d20+4)[18]
(1d20+4)[17]
(1d20+4)[20]

[rypt]

Ordyn's Reflex save: (d20+11)[27]

[Athaleon]

Kel's Reflex: (1d20+14)[24]

[Chromascope3D]

Ah I forgot to roll for madness mantra

Will Save DC 14 or be enraged at the start of next round
(1d20+18)[23]

[Taelas]

Reflex: (1d20+12)[24]

[Taelas]

And of course I forgot the bear...

Reflex: (1d20+8)[27]

[Chambers]

Kelveroth (Perception) (1d20+10)[29]

[rypt]

Ordyn will take his 3 AoO's as trip attempts made with his shield. Each trip attempt provokes and he will expend an additional AoO to activate Active Defense (+4 to AC) versus any AoO made against him. If an attack misses him while he is benefitting from Active Defense, he will make a free bull rush attempt against the attacker. If the bull rush is successful, the bull rushed enemy also takes damage from his shield.

Trip 1: (d20+27)[28]
Trip 2: (d20+27)[39]
Trip 3: (d20+27)[36]

Bull Rush 1: (d20+35)[55]. If successful, (1d4+9)[13] bludgeoning damage
Bull Rush 2: (d20+35)[51]. If successful, (1d4+9)[13] bludgeoning damage
Bull Rush 3: (d20+35)[54]. If successful, (1d4+9)[12] bludgeoning damage

[Chambers]

Attacks of Opportunity triggered by Odryn's trip attempts.

Rat 1
Claw (1d20+8)[10], (1d4+4)[7] damage and Bleed 1d4

Rat 2
Claw (1d20+8)[28], (1d4+4)[6] damage and Bleed 1d4

Rat 3
Claw (1d20+8)[23], (1d4+4)[5] damage and Bleed 1d4

[Chambers]

Critical Confirmation rolls vs Prince Jonlen

Claw (1d20+8)[28]
Bite (1d20+8)[21]

[Xanyo]

Reflex save vs wild magic: (1d20+10)[22]

[Chambers]

Rats Will Save vs Dizzying Tumble
(1d20+4)[15] Nauseated
(1d20+4)[15] Nauseated

Rats on Ship Reflex Save vs Electric Blast
(1d20+9)[27] No Damage
(1d20+9)[24] No Damage
(1d20+9)[21] No Damage
(1d20+9)[26] No Damage
(1d20+9)[15] Dead

Rats in Water Reflex Save vs Electric Blast
(1d20+9)[29] No Damage
(1d20+9)[26] No Damage
(1d20+9)[23] No Damage
(1d20+9)[18] Dead
(1d20+9)[24] No Damage

Rats That Attacked Kel Reflex Save vs Electric Blast
(1d20+9)[21] No Damage
(1d20+9)[17] Dead

Rats Between Orlando and Jonlen Reflex Save vs Thunder Blast
(1d20+9)[24] No Damage
(1d20+9)[28] No Damage

Fortitude Save vs Thunder Blast (if needed)
(1d20+7)[14]
(1d20+7)[9]

Tamsin Rapid Shot
Attack (1d20+20)[39]; (1d8+9)[11] damage.
Attack (1d20+20)[32]; (1d8+9)[17] damage.
Attack (1d20+20)[24]; (1d8+9)[15] damage. Dead

Rex Grapple Check
(1d20+19)[32]; (1d6+8)[12] damage. Dead

Orlando Full Attack
Attack (1d20+18)[30]; (1d10+6)[16] damage.
Attack (1d20+13)[29]; (1d10+6)[9] damage. Bloodied