Badlands and Broken Souls

whit10 wrote:just in case it got lost in the posts about the statues and what not, it's Marvin's turn.  No rush Mike, I know all of us are busy to some degree

Was typing my turn as you posted this. All good!

damage noted.

Yes, reach applies to AoO

Ok, Marvin will slide through the giant’s reach to G-12 and use Brock for cover.

Done

unless I'm missing something, Marvin will still be moving within 10' of the giant, which is within his reach. 25' of movement still has you within range, according to what I see on the map...

Reaction attack:

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 8 to total : 19, + 8, TOTAL: 27

Hit

Rolling line 1 : 3d8 + 5 to total : 4, 7, 4, + 5, TOTAL: 20

I will wait to run the baddies attacks to allow Mike to respond in case I'm wrong

ok... after consulting the rules and talking to Mike, he does not take the AoO.

Alright, the remaining baddies get to go.

Hill giant first:

he takes a swing at the dwarf and then at Marvin:

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 8 to total : 8, + 8, TOTAL: 16

He misses Brock, just barely

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 8 to total : 16, + 8, TOTAL: 24

He hits Marvin:

Rolling line 1 : 3d8 + 5 to total : 8, 8, 3, + 5, TOTAL: 24

24 damage to Marvin.

The Half-Dragon
Recharge Attempt first:
Rolling line 1 : 1d6 + 0 to total : 2, TOTAL: 2 - failure - cannot use his breath weapon again yet. Melee attacks instead:

He attacks Gor'Zax

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 7 to total : 12, + 7, TOTAL: 19

Fri Sep 23 2022 19:27:49 GMT-0600 (Mountain Daylight Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 7 to total : 20, + 7, TOTAL: 27

one miss, one crit!

Rolling line 1 : 2d8 + 5 to total : 4, 1, + 5, TOTAL: 10 - lol and crap damage roll.

10 to Gor'Zax.

Baddies are done. Map is updated and Warhol is up!

Are the statues going all the way to the ceiling?

no, they are 14' tall

Warhol steps up to h-14 and casts inflict wounds on the giant.

Result of the throw of dice "1d20 +8" :

9 + 8 = 17

Result of the throw of dice "4d10" :

10 + 5 + 3 + 2 = 20

Wolves go to 10-11 G-H to attack the giant
and 6-7 I-J to attack the half dragon
Rolling "1d20 +5" 4 times

1: 5 + 5 = 10
2: 18 + 5 = 23

3: 5 + 5 = 10
4: 16 + 5 = 21

Damage
Rolling "2d6 +3" 2 times

1: 2 + 4 + 3 = 9 to giant
2: 1 + 5 + 3 = 9 to half dragon
Dc 13 or be prone

As a bonus action, Warhol will cast healing word for Marvin
Result of the throw of dice "1d4 +5" :

4 + 5 = 9

all hit and all damage taken;

Str. Saves:

half-dragon:

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 4 to total : 3, + 4, TOTAL: 7 lol... how you know when it's going downhill from here... he is prone.

Hill giant

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 5 to total : 15, + 5, TOTAL: 20

he makes his save and keeps standing.

Map is updated. Zax is up!

whit10 wrote:
The Half-Dragon

He attacks Gor'Zax

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 7 to total : 12, + 7, TOTAL: 19

Fri Sep 23 2022 19:27:49 GMT-0600 (Mountain Daylight Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 7 to total : 20, + 7, TOTAL: 27

one miss, one crit!

Rolling line 1 : 2d8 + 5 to total : 4, 1, + 5, TOTAL: 10  - lol and crap damage roll.

10 to Gor'Zax.

Zax takes 10 and uses his Reaction for a Riposte against the 1/2 D

1d20+10
7+10 = 17

damage if that hits

2d6+7
1,1+7 = 9

pffft, weak sauce


Now its Zax's turn

Attack - 2 swings, gwm all in, ADV for prone

1d20+5
1+5 = 6

1d20+5
7+5 = 12

1d20+5
1+5 = 6

1d20+5
4+5 = 9

wow, all missed, ok.... guess I am done, lol

actually use 2nd wind, bonus action
1d10+8
2+8 = 10

ha!  

Chris wrote:

Gor'Zax
HP: 52/76  
AC: 20  (w\shield 22)
BM dice: 3/5d8
2nd wind:  1/1
Action Surge:  1/1
Racial teleports:  1/3
HD:  7/8
SV: str +9, con +7 (ring +1 to all)
PP: 15
Necro resistant
BM DC = 16


conditions:  adv str checks\sv

wow... except for the riposte, Zax actually missed on all...

ok.

Brock gets his attacks vs. the hill giant. (he's pretty much out of smites now)

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 7 to total : 17, + 7, TOTAL: 24

Fri Sep 23 2022 22:12:07 GMT-0600 (Mountain Daylight Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 7 to total : 3, + 7, TOTAL: 10

only one hit:

Rolling line 1 : 1d8 + 4 to total : 4, + 4, TOTAL: 8

the giant takes the damage;

top of round.... four more whisps of smoke emanate from the portal - same as before without the white whisp

map is updated. Marvin is up!

Marvin will take two shots at the prone half-dragon:
Attacks 1&2 w/ADV
Sat Sep 24 2022 06:15:54 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 10 to total : 10, + 10, TOTAL: 20

Sat Sep 24 2022 06:15:53 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 10 to total : 14, + 10, TOTAL: 24

Sat Sep 24 2022 06:15:52 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 10 to total : 15, + 10, TOTAL: 25

Sat Sep 24 2022 06:15:52 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 10 to total : 9, + 10, TOTAL: 19
Two Hits!

Damage1 w/HM:
Rolling line 1 : 2d6 + 6 to total : 1, 3, + 6, TOTAL: 10
Damage2 w/HM, SA, & CS
Sat Sep 24 2022 06:19:12 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 4d6 + 6 to total : 1, 2, 6, 3, + 6, TOTAL: 18
Rolling line 2 : 1d8 + 0 to total : 2, TOTAL: 2

30 Total Damage

Marvin will use his bonus action to Disengage, then move to F-10

Done.

Stats:
HP:23/52 (35/64)
AC: 18
Attacks: 2
PP: 15

Saves:
STR +4
DEX +7
CON +1
INT +3
WIS +2
CHR +0

Spell Save: 13
Spell Attack: +5
Spell Slots:
1st: 2/4
2nd: 1/2

Arrows: 30/36

well, that finishes the half-dragon

The remaining baddie is the hill giant and he just lashes out in confused rage at anyone in range - which is Brock and the dire wolf

wolf first:

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 8 to total : 7, + 8, TOTAL: 15

Rolling line 1 : 3d8 + 5 to total : 4, 8, 1, + 5, TOTAL: 18 damage to the wolf

now Brock:

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 8 to total : 11, + 8, TOTAL: 19

also hits

Rolling line 1 : 3d8 + 5 to total : 2, 1, 7, + 5, TOTAL: 15 damage to Brock; he's in rough shape but still standing.

Map is updated.

Warhol is up!

Warhol

as a Tortle
Ac 20
Hp 64/62
passive Perception 18

Dire Wolves 2
AC 14
Hp 47/27
Hp 47/41
50 ft of speed

Keen Hearing and Smell. The wolf has an advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Pack Tactics. The wolf has an advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the wolf’s allies is within 5 ft. of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (2d6 + 3) magic and piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

The top Direwolf closes in directly down to the giant and they both attack with advantage.

Rolling "1d20 +5" 4 times

1: 6 + 5 = 11
2: 9 + 5 = 14

3: 11 + 5 = 16
4: 10 + 5 = 15

Damage
Rolling "2d6 +3" 2 times

1: 1 + 5 + 3 = 9
2: 4 + 5 + 3 = 12

Warhol “Boss, the statues!  We’ll take care of this guy!  He’s already DEAD.” Warhol’s vocal resonance tolls like a bell and echoes in the room on the word “dead.”

Toll the dead on the giant wis DC 16
Damage
Result of the throw of dice "2d12" :

5 + 9 = 14

lol... nice one dude

the wolves both hit

Str. Saves for the remaining giant (who would have tried to retreat if he was smart enough to... and not cursed)

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 5 to total : 14, + 5, TOTAL: 19

Sat Sep 24 2022 19:30:48 GMT-0600 (Mountain Daylight Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 5 to total : 1, + 5, TOTAL: 6

lol.. he's prone

map is updated. 'Zax is up!

He gets a save vs toll the dead too. Wis dc 16

ah, yes he does...

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 - 1 to total : 14, - 1, TOTAL: 13

he fails his save; so full damage


'Zax is still up

Statue smashing time!
Move to L9
2 swings, no gwm

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 10 to total : 19, + 10, TOTAL: 29

Sat Sep 24 2022 20:16:48 GMT-0600 (Mountain Daylight Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 10 to total : 3, + 10, TOTAL: 13

Probably 1 hit

Auto crit
Rolling line 1 : 4d6 + 7 to total : 6, 4, 3, 5, + 7, TOTAL: 25

Damage just in case 13 hit too
Rolling line 1 : 4d6 + 7 to total : 1, 1, 4, 5, + 7, TOTAL: 18

Done

The statue is destroyed.

Brock is up... two attacks on the prone giant... Brock has advantage: 2 swings of his might axe

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 7 to total : 20, + 7, TOTAL: 27

Sat Sep 24 2022 20:24:33 GMT-0600 (Mountain Daylight Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 7 to total : 3, + 7, TOTAL: 10

Sat Sep 24 2022 20:24:31 GMT-0600 (Mountain Daylight Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 7 to total : 15, + 7, TOTAL: 22

Sat Sep 24 2022 20:24:30 GMT-0600 (Mountain Daylight Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 7 to total : 8, + 7, TOTAL: 15

hit and a crit!:

Rolling line 1 : 1d8 + 4 to total : 8, + 4, TOTAL: 12

Sat Sep 24 2022 20:25:53 GMT-0600 (Mountain Daylight Time)
Rolling line 1 : 2d8 + 4 to total : 6, 2, + 4, TOTAL: 12

24 total damage. The Giant is on his 'last legs' even though those legs are out from under him.

map is updated. Marvin is up! "Finish him!"

actually, Marvin does not need to go... GM's discretion since this fight is basically over. The poor Giant doesn't have all that much left in him and the rest is just academic.

Marvin finishes off the brute that has been corrupted.  Over the next minute or so, Gor'Zax destroys all the remaining statues with help from Warhol and his wolf pack.

3 more ghostly, smokey forms emerge from the portal, culminating with one red (the hardest statue to destroy).  As the last statue crumbles. The room goes deathly silent. You have defeated the witch and Brock yells in triumph... "Praise to THUENOR!!!!!"  

... after about half a minute... you hear a monstrous, terrifying choir of loud roars. Then the room goes silent again.

After sifting through the debris of your triumph, you find a hidden cache that the witch had been using... it contains the following:

several scrolls that you can't read...

and;

1500 gp, 2500 sp, and several art items – worth 150 gp a piece – all Dwarven

Cloak of Protection
+1 Shield
Necklace of Adaptation
Bracers of Archery
+1 Longsword (from the Half-Dragon)

Nemeae's body also has a Ring of Prot. +1 and a scroll with a Teleport on it

The temple itself shows more friezes. In these; you see Malorca as the malevolent goddess and she slowly transforms into a 5 headed reptilian beast (dragon). The last frieze shows someone summoning individual monsters with one head of a snake with a larger body and gargantuan wings (five dragons).  

You notice in the rubble of the statues that each contains 2 gems. Each statue had gemstones for eyes: white diamond, red ruby, blue sapphire, green emerald and black opal. Each are worth 250 gp a piece.
(since you are going to be able to figure these out over the next day, I'm cutting to the chase on the items)

The party may advance to 9th level and each character gains a Hero Point for defeating a major foe... and rather easily at that!

After only a few minutes, you hear several loud bangs behind the portal (the portal itself is dark at this point and not active as far as you know; Zax can destroy this if he truly wants to)

However, after several more thunderous blows... a section of the north wall collapses...

Behind it you see several dwarves... they look at you with a very surprised look.  Brock steps forward and says in a low voice "cousins?"

The other dwarves start to emerge and break into wide grins as they see the debris and casualties of the battle.  Almost all at once they start shaking your hands and clapping you on the back.

One rather resplendent looking dwarf gets your attention. "You slew the vitch! Vee are forever in your debt. Please, come vith us. You fill be celebrated as heroes!"  As he says this the other dwarves cheer you and slap you on the back again, almost knocking over poor Marvin.
(they have a rather Germanic accent and are various skin colors from ruddy tan to black)

As the other entrance is blocked, the party sets out with the dwarves.  They are mountain dwarves but they are happy to see you and repeatedly confess innocence from any involvement with the witch. They had similar attacks to the ones that your party describes to them. In fact, their young prince was killed leading a battle against creatures similar to the one that killed Thegn Duncan.

You are led for about a mile to an underground chamber that has stores, a large tavern and nearly anything they might want (including a ‘magic item’ shop)

There is also a very large man crafting armor at the smithy and he is told to stop as they will no longer need the extra armor and they pay him. The large man (6’10”) is boisterous and buys a round of drinks for the party. He introduces himself as Vasyli, the armorer.  He says that, since his work is done, he would like to travel with them if they would permit it. "You are great heroes! Vasyli is looking for such company!!"

At this point, the PCs can do whatever downtime stuff they may wish. This is an opportunity to contact King Arcadius and for Gor’Zax to leave. Items can be exchanged and new ones can be acquired. (I will also try to answer or resolve anything else the party might need or need to ask, within the scope of things of course)

Huzzah!

Great story, thanks for all your hard work in putting it together. I appreciate that you got us together again to play D&D.

Alan, as you seem to be our quartermaster.... can you compute a list of gold per person, including anything we sell/swap?
Josh - What price list do you want to use?

Zax doesnt need any particular items as he already has a ring of protection. He can choose last. He will just sell his item(s) and put it towards magic armor.

As soon as the downtime stuff is finished, which Josh should handle, and the +1 ups are done.... I will launch the next chapter.

I will work on the loot thread soon.

Warhol has a cloak, but would like a ring. He uses a shield and might benefit from that as well.

Warhol wants to research the scrolls we “can’t read.” First detect magic, for safety. Then comprehend languages.

I guess the magic item valuation table is maybe a discussion for everyone. Here's the main issue...

5e doesn't have clear or good rules for buying, selling or making magic items. The DMG is different than Xanathar's (XGtE) and both of them use rarity of the item as the base, which makes 0 sense given the wide range of power for items of the same rarity.

Here is a list for you get some sense for yourselves

http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/wondrous-items

Check out the uncommon list which is generally our range of stuff - +1 wepaons/armor, goggles of night, ring/cloak +1 etc
But also in that range are items like:
Broom of Flying! Which gives unlimited flight
Shatterspike and other weapons that are +1 and have another ability ( remember Zax gave up his +1 armor)

Pixie dust - 1 use flying item (same value as forever flying)
Driftglobe - light cantrip (yeah, just as good as flying)


No table is perfect, I know this, lol. I suggest we use the following from Giants in the Playground. It gives individual prices (buy) for all items and breaks them down by type - consumables, combat, non-combat, summons, etc and prices accordingly. There has been lots of feedback given and prices adjusted over time. Price to sell should be half the price to buy

https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?424243-Sane-Magic-Item-Prices

That table will be just fine to use.  

Warhol - the scrolls are in Infernal and don't actually radiate any specific magical aura. They are the full ritual spell to 'release Malorcha's (Tiamat's) children into the world.  After reading through them, you get the sense that Nemeae was successful in her ritual... but the party limited the damage by not allowing Malorcha herself to re-enter and the portal, at least, was only open for a few minutes.

And just to say it, anything Common or Uncommon will be pretty easy to acquire. A Rare item will be negotiable but often not something you can acquire in many cases. Nothing Very Rare or higher

Awesome chapter Josh!

Any current, former, or prospective DMs object to Marvin taking taking his next level as Fighter 1 and selecting Close Quarter Shooter fighting style from UA? (https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/02_UA_Underdark_Characters.pdf)

Starting to seem like I'm building Hawkeye...and I'm ok with that

Marvin instinctively reaches for the Bracers of Archery, then remembers his manners and pulls his hand back, looking with puppydog eyes at the other members of the party...

He also covets the cloak, but will concede that to anyone else who puts a claim in.

This is the one you are looking at; not the Feat, yes?

Close Quarters Shooter

Unearthed Arcana: Underdark

You are trained in making ranged attacks at close quarters. When making a ranged attack while you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature, you do not have disadvantage on the attack roll. Your ranged attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover against targets within 30 feet of you. Finally, you have a +1 bonus to attack rolls on ranged attacks.

I have no particular objection to this... Chris?

And thank all of you for the compliments! I haven't GM'ed in a very long time. I really enjoyed this, even if the encounters weren't a difficult as I had imagined they might be.

part of the problem with UA\homebrew stuff is that there is no consistent rules....

https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Fighter_Fighting_Styles_(5e_Class_Feature)

this is what I see for CQS

Close Quarters Shooter
You are trained in making ranged attacks at close quarters. When making a ranged attack while you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature, you do not have disadvantage on the attack roll and your base movement speed increases by 5 feet.


The one Josh posted (which I can't even find) is way too strong. That combines parts of the Sharpshooter feat (ignoring cover) plus the close range shot and a +1 to boot

how is that anywhere near balanced with Archery fighting style which just gives a +2 to ranged attacks?


Mike - can you please c\p whatever specific rules you are looking at for the fighting style?

Was very organized campaign with compelling story, refereed erring on the side of fun.

Chris, there is also a feat that grants much of the same:

Close Quarters Shooter (5e Feat)
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons against creatures within 15 feet of you.
When making a ranged attack while you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature, you do not have disadvantage on the attack roll.

I think you might be right about it being a bit too powerful. Not really trying to shoot Mike down on this...

From the link I posted (https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/02_UA_Underdark_Characters.pdf) which I believe is from UA source text:

Close Quarters Shooter
You are trained in making ranged attacks at close quarters. When making a ranged attack while you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature, you do not have disadvantage on the attack roll. Your ranged attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover against targets within 30 feet of you. Finally, you have a +1 bonus to attack rolls on ranged attacks.

From http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/fighter

Close Quarters Shooter (UA). When making a ranged attack while you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature, you do not have disadvantage on the attack roll. Your ranged attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover against targets within 30 feet of you. You have a +1 bonus to attack rolls on ranged attacks.

So that's two in word-for-word agreement for the definition of the Fighting Style, likely one quoted the other. Seems more balanced if the ignore cover language is dropped and it's only no DISADV within 5' and +1 to hit.

oops, I saw the .pdf but didn't realize it was a link too, my bad. also the CQS was not in alphabetical order (probably since it was a UA) on the wiki, so I didn't scroll down enough to see it

now that I see it everywhere..... it's fine with me


I do think it is a bit on the power-creep side, but it was an official UA and most of that stuff ultimately got adopted.

no objection here



Just make sure you check the multi class rules

https://5thsrd.org/rules/multiclassing/

Proficiencies
When you gain your first level in a class other than your initial class, you gain only some of new class's starting proficiencies, as shown in the Multiclassing Proficiencies table.

specifically - you never gain additional saving throw proficiencies when you multiclass. you only ever have the 2 save prof from your starting class

Whitey wrote:

Marvin instinctively reaches for the Bracers of Archery, then remembers his manners and pulls his hand back, looking with puppydog eyes at the other members of the party...

He also covets the cloak, but will concede that to anyone else who puts a claim in.

also, no objections - those seem perfect for Marvin

ok, just so I can have this wrapped up... are there any other items that you plan on trying to trade for/buy?

Just go ahead and ask about them here if you think of something and we'll resolve it.

Otherwise, the party gets a full day or two days rest (or whatever) and Brock pays tribute to the Mountain Dwarf King Wilhelm (yeah, I'm getting lazy with the names now) and he goes on his way after a day's rest. He will also take a message to King Arcadius; if 'Zax wants to travel with him to get his horse back, no problem with that.

I need some time to review items

no worries

and Mike - I can't get you the Wand of Secrets after all. I had to do some re-thinking on some things. Sorry bro

Scrolls
2 lesser restoration 2nd level 120gp ea
2 protection from poison 2nd level 120gp ea
2 remove curse 3rd level 200 gp
1 revivify 3rd level 200gp

since the gold is no issue, unless Chris has some issue with this for his upcoming chapter/campaign; that is all fine with me

Marvin will buy six +1 arrows and refill his quiver of normal arrows

ok, again, assuming that the gold is there and there are no objections from the incoming GM, that's fine as well.

At this point, unless Chris has something he wants or there is anything else. I am completely finished with my chapters.

Mr. Carbone is up as GM!

(enter Vasyli)

whit10 wrote:ok, again, assuming that the gold is there and there are no objections from the incoming GM, that's fine as well.

At this point, unless Chris has something he wants or there is anything else.  I am completely finished with my chapters.  

Mr. Carbone is up as GM!  

(enter Vasyli)

Loot thread shows 800+ gold for each PC. Per the cost sheet Chris submitted Arrows +1 are 25gp ea.

wow! That is pretty damned cheap! But I guess since they are one time use only....

no issues with items purchased

let's close this thread. I will start a new one later today

No moon sickle on that list.

Moon sickle is super powerful!
Not only is it a magic weapon, its a focus with +1 and its bonus adds to spell DC which is really hard to get otherwise AND it adds d4 to healing!?!?

3000 for +1 version