Chapter 1 - Sun and Sting

The people of Minas Golath sang of their champion, Ivar the Lightbringer:

O, Freedom's song by workers sung,
Rings loud and clear,
O'er every land, in every tongue,
Afar, anear.
Time passeth by,
Old systems die
Oppression's course outrun,
But Earth, rejoiced, salutes the light
Of Ivar's Sun
O, rejoicing Earth salutes the light
Of Ivar's Sun.

O, all men then their lives may live
From grim want free,
And all the joys that life can give
Their lot shall be
And care shall fly
And sea and sky
Acclaim the work well done
And Earth, rejoiced, salutes the light
Of Ivar's Sun,
O, rejoicing Earth salutes the light
Of Ivar's Sun.

No longer now revolt shall hide
In holes and caves,
Whilst those who have Oppression's pride
But find their graves
To tyrants ban
Can now make man
The truths of knowledge shun
But Earth rejoiced salutes the light
Of Ivar's Sun
O rejoicing Earth salutes the light
Of Ivar's Sun.

Our fathers saw the master's sword
His plunder glean,
But specious fraud and lying word
His thefts now screen
Yet Fraud shall fail and Truth prevail
And Justice shall be done,
And Earth rejoiced salute the light
Of Ivar's Sun
O rejoicing Earth salutes the light
Of Ivar's Sun.



Ivar happily hummed his own theme song as he followed the mountain trails south towards a town his elders called, Mana Springs.  His home is high above the tree line and almost permanently covered with snow.




Ivar carried with him a sample of the black iron ore his people mined deep underground at Minas Golath.  Only after their Liberation, have the Golaths begun to settle above ground again.  The "landlord" forced them to live and work deep in the mines.  The "Lightbringer" changed all that for his people.  Now Ivar has been sent to open their world even further by meeting their neighbors to the south.  The Elders chose Ivar, just in case they are not friendly.

The trails lead down hill and south through steep canyons.




Near the end of his first day walking, Ivar hears a strange bird call overhead.  He looks up and sees this bird circling high above him.





It reminds him of the small black and white "landlord" birds near his home.  His people call them "landlords" because they are sneaky and steal food from the clan.  This bird has similar colors but appears much larger.

Ivar spends his first night alone at a high mountain lake.




When he wakes, he spots his new friend perched above the lake on a rim of rocks.





does Ivar want to do anything in particular during the night or in the morning before setting out again?

Ivar will go see if there is anything under the bird's perch

whit10 wrote:Ivar will go see if there is anything under the bird's perch

Ivar estimates it will take at least 1-2 hours of climbing to get up the ring of rocks around the lake. If he wants to do that, go ahead and make an Athletics check.

oh sure, nothing a good climb in the morning...

Athletics:
Tue Jan 30 2024 17:17:15 GMT-0700 (Mountain Standard Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 6 to total : 12, + 6, TOTAL: 18

Ivar does a few basic stretches after waking and decides to climb the steep rock rim.  He is at home on bare rock and easily ascends the loose dirt, small rocks and sharp crags.  His black\white friend eyes him curiously as he makes his approach.  The bird doesn't let him get too close before squawking his displeasure with a loud and irritated call.





The large bird takes flight again.  He circles the hanging lake once before heading off towards the South.




Ivar summits the rim of rocks.  He looks around the area where the bird perched but finds only bird scat smeared across the rocks.  He takes a moment to enjoy the view.  He can see his home peaks of Minas Golath to the North and the canyons carved out by Elsero Rio winding to the South.  He cannot see the town of Mana Springs due the canyons.  




*note - he does not the person, but it was a good image*



He guesses it must sit in the far valley out of sight.  Some movement catches his eye on the northward side of the final canyon before the valley.


I have provided everything Ivar can see with his passive perception.  If he wants to try and see any further detail, roll Perception

It is a busy morning in the thoroughfare of Mantaniales de Vida.  Horses pull wagons through the crowded streets.  The sound of hammers and saws is a constant background noise as the construction work continues from dawn to dusk.  




The established merchants open their shops while the newcomers set up wagons and booths in the streets.  There is little regulation to commerce in "Mana Springs" yet.  The locals elected Tomas Wellborne as the Edil (Mayor\town manager) to help manage the rapid growth.  So far, he has been less than effective in most people's opinions.




Grunk spots his new friend, TS17 "Tessie" making his stall near one of the intersections.  Tessie does minor repairs of technology, both old and new.  Grunk shared some music from his discman a few days ago with Tessie, but the last of his batteries have run out.  Batteries from the old days are very hard to find and those that are found are often corroded and useless.  There are piles of old tech laying around but most of it doesn't function without electricity.  

Tessie waves his friend over as he works.  The two notice a few hard stares from the predominantly human population of Mana Springs.  




feel free to roleplay as the scene develops

Ivar's Perception:

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 3 to total : 18, + 3, TOTAL: 21

whit10 wrote:Ivar's Perception:

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 3 to total : 18, + 3, TOTAL: 21

Ivar can't make out any detail at this range, but based on how the creatures move, they appear to be some kind of large insect crawling in and out of borrow holes in the hillside.


What does Ivar want to do now - continue walk to mana springs or something else?

oh hell, let's check it out

whit10 wrote:oh hell, let's check it out

sorry if that wasn't clear, but he cannot check anything out from here.

Chris wrote:


 Some movement catches his eye on the northward side of the final canyon before the valley.

it will take the much of the day to walk through the canyons towards Mana Springs.  the burrows appear to be in a canyon\hillside near town.  Ivars would need to finish walking towards town and then could get a closer look at the burrows and\or climb up to investigate further.

assuming you finish the walk.... does Ivar want to climb up for a closer look or continue to town?

ah, misunderstood.

Ivar will file this away for when he reaches town and he'll politely ask about it later if needed (assuming that it might be relevant)

Grunk approaches Tessie’s shop. “Morning!” He eyes up the folks giving hard stares. Without looking away, he asks quietly, “Any of these townie bruisers ever give you a hard time?”

“Nah, they’ll look at ya funny,” Tessie snarks in a South Boston rant, “but I don’t see nobody else fixing their junk.” He clearly doesn’t care who hears. “Show ‘em you bring a contribution to society and people usually warm up to ya. And if they don’t, who needs ‘em.”

Tessie runs a wrench a couple more times on a customer’s doohickey. “There ya go, sir. Good as new.”

“So, big fella, what are you good at? Ya at least gotta be good for lifting logs or something’” Tessie gives Grunk’s arm muscle a squeeze. “Daaaaaamn, Boyee?”

Grunk laughs heartily at the little feline as he wriggles his arm out of Tessie's grasp. "My power isn't in my muscles T, it shows up in more creative ways." He winks at the feline as he plucks a mite from Tessie's fur. "Watch this."

Grunk will wait for one of the lookie-loos to turn away and then mutters an incantation quietly under his breath so as not to be heard. He flicks the flea towards the mean mug:

Infestation, Cantrip
You cause a cloud of mites, fleas, and other parasites to appear momentarily on one creature you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw, or it takes 1d6 poison damage and moves 5 feet in a random direction if it can move and its speed is at least 5 feet. Roll a d4 for the direction: 1, north; 2, south; 3, east; or 4, west. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks, and if the direction rolled is blocked, the target doesn't move.

DC 13

Damage if they fail: Wed Jan 31 2024 19:30:46 GMT-0700 (Mountain Standard Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d6 + 0 to total : 1, TOTAL: 1

1d4 for involuntary movement:
Wed Jan 31 2024 19:31:35 GMT-0700 (Mountain Standard Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d4 + 0 to total : 2, TOTAL: 2 South

When the Tabaxi turns to watch the show, Grunk will use his Hidden Step ability to disappear.

 ok, let's handle the mechanical bits first....


Grunk is casting a damaging spell with V, M, S components

he plucked a flea off Tessie
verbal - he whispered quietly
somatic - he hide his movements in a mundane task with the bug

That gives him ADV on his passive Stealth check +5

he waited for the target to look away, so DIS on his Perception check and let's say the other 'mean muggers' too as they are watching the whole street after all and not just the 2 PCs

passive stealth 8 + 1 + 5 = 14 DC

Perception checks with DIS

5 people

Rolling "2d20" 5 times

1: 5 + 20
2: 17 + 14
3: 4 + 8
4: 3 + 2
5: 12 + 19


taking the lower rolls.... only #2 just barely spots something



DM throws another dice behind his screen

Result of the throw of dice "1d20" :

19


interesting....

Grunk flicks an infestation of fleas at one of the cowboys.  After a moment, the man realizes something is crawling all over him.  He panics at the first bite (1 damage).  He hops up out of his seat and animatedly begins to swat and brush at the creepy crawlers.  Grunk is surprised that the "fleas" seemed to manifest quite a bit bigger than he intended.  The "fleas" are the size of cattails and appear to grow or maybe evolve rapidly.  In their final form, they are snake-like with long white feathery legs.

The cowboy's movement compels him southward, which just happens to be off the boardwalk and directly into a horse trough of water!



A few seconds later, the "fleas" seem to shrivel up and vanish into the water.

Grunk fades out of sight during the commotion.  But he notices that 1 old woman might have spotted his shenanigans.  She continues to rock in her wooden chair.  She does her best to maintain a stony visage but a faint smile cracks at the edges of her lips watching the man dance in a horse trough.  




 mischief managed!

Ivar decides not to investigate the bugs and burrows after all.  He continues walking towards Mana Springs.  His friend returns only once during the day, landing on a stone post of some sort at the end of the canyons.



There are some markings on it that are unfamiliar to the Golath.  Ivar is pretty sure Mana Springs is to the West...



INT check if he wants to try a decipher script on the unknown language

Survival (tracking) check to determine which way to go

Int. Check

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 - 1 to total : 13, - 1, TOTAL: 12

yeah, didn't figure that would go well...

Survival Check:
Thu Feb 01 2024 09:00:15 GMT-0700 (Mountain Standard Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 3 to total : 17, + 3, TOTAL: 20

That's better

whit10 wrote:Int. Check

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 - 1 to total : 13, - 1, TOTAL: 12

yeah, didn't figure that would go well...

Survival Check:
Thu Feb 01 2024 09:00:15 GMT-0700 (Mountain Standard Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 3 to total : 17, + 3, TOTAL: 20

That's better

Ivar can't decipher the symbols but he is confident that he needs to head west towards Mana Springs.


He makes his way along an old road.  It was once wide and took up a good portion of the canyon, maybe even up to the river.  It is now decayed and overgrown in many places.  Some sections show recent wagon tracks, hoof prints and fresh horse dung.  




A little further down the road, Ivar spots an old man that set up an umbrella and is fishing in the shade.  The old man eyes the Golath wearily and offers only a nod at his passing.




continue on or any actions?

"hello friend, good fishing today?"

The man wears a tan leather jacket and wide brimmed hat.  His skin looks leathery from many years in the sun.  He has a long muzzle-loader rifle leaned up against his chair and a knife on his belt.  His daily labor is sitting in a bucket of river water in the shade of his umbrella.

He gives Ivar a long look up and down before relaxing his hand on a nearby rifle, "Hola, glad you named me "frendo" first, Big Fella.  You had me a might worried you wanted my lunch.  The fish?  Oh, they are biting and the odds are good, but the goods are odd, if ya catch my drift."

He indicates his bucket in which Ivar can see an unusual looking animal floating upside down.  It has the traits of both a fish and a frog.





"Now, don't take any offense, but you ain't from around here, are ya?"

"no, I'm from Minas Golath. I would never dream of taking a man's hard earned food. Um, do all fish look like that?"

The old timer shakes his head, "Nope. I caught a purple one yesterday and had a real beast break my line the day before that... seems like no two are alike anymore. A bit of advice? Don't wade out past yer knees, unless you want to lose your feet."

"good advice... I was heading to Mana Springs. This the right road?"

"Sure is, ya can't miss it." The old timer gives Ivar another once over before adding, "I don't see any guns on ya, but the Marshall is serious about unlawful discharges within the town.... deadly serious. He is a good fella and he risks his life everyday when no one else will, but you do not want to get cross with him. I remember this one time last week.... "

Ivar senses the fisherman is lonely and enjoying the company. He will probably keep bumping his gums as long as Ivar stays.

Chris wrote:Grunk flicks an infestation of fleas at one of the cowboys.  After a moment, the man realizes something is crawling all over him.  He panics at the first bite (1 damage).  He hops up out of his seat and animatedly begins to swat and brush at the creepy crawlers.  Grunk is surprised that the "fleas" seemed to manifest quite a bit bigger than he intended.  The "fleas" are the size of cattails and appear to grow or maybe evolve rapidly.  In their final form, they are snake-like with long white feathery legs.

The cowboy's movement compels him southward, which just happens to be off the boardwalk and directly into a horse trough of water!



A few seconds later, the "fleas" seem to shrivel up and vanish into the water.

Grunk fades out of sight during the commotion.  But he notices that 1 old woman might have spotted his shenanigans.  She continues to rock in her wooden chair.  She does her best to maintain a stony visage but a faint smile cracks at the edges of her lips watching the man dance in a horse trough.  




 mischief managed!

Alan - any reaction?
if not or you are just busy, its ok, Josh will in town shortly

Ivar will listen politely for a few minutes and then he will move on. "Pleasure talkin' to ya." With a nod, he moves down the road

I was politey standing by.

I think Tessie’s passive perception sees the whole thing, or most of it. He gives the old lady the same amount of subtle knowing smile and turns to his new friend. “sSheesh, that’s why good hygiene is so important.” He licks at the spot from where the flea was plucked. “You’re alright with me, buddy. Let me see if I can fix any of those batteries for yous.”

Ivar the Liberator continues his journey to Mana Springs.  The decaying highway follows the river as it winds through the canyons.  He rounds a corner and gets his first glimpse at Mana Springs.  




Ivar can see new construction on both ends as the town expands to fill up the narrow canyon.  It is centered around the river and a handful of main streets.  The thoroughfares are filled with people, mostly humans but he does see some variety, horses and wagons.  A low cloud of smoke and soot hangs over the town.  Trees are being chopped down in all directions for lumber to fuel the expansion.  

Ivar hears a deep moaning mew from up ahead on the road.  He spots a massive animal coming around the bend of the trail.  It must weigh over 2000 stones and is supported on 6 massive legs, each the size of a small tree trunk.



It is not hostile, but instead has the slightly glazed look of a domesticated animal.  It sports yellow tags with an unknown rune on both ears.  

Ivar wonders what it is doing lose on the road.

Tessie and Grunk return to their discussion of batteries and old tech.  They barely begin their analysis of 9 volt versus AAA when they hear a ruckus from down the street.  They look up in time to see 3 small mutants\awakened, maybe children but its hard to tell, running like they stole something.  They all appear to have some rat-like features but also wear human clothes.





Not far behind them is Marshall Sparksenthrax in hot pursuit.  He has 1 pistol drawn and is yelling a warning command, "Stop or I will shoot!"

Marshall Sparks is known to both Grunk and Tessie.  He is ever-present patrolling the streets of Mana Springs.  





Do either of you want to intervene in any way or just watch the scene play out?

Ivar will continue into town

Grunk will drop Invisibility while passing his hand through a cobweb hanging off some old piece of tech laying around Tessie’s shop (M) and make a show of shaking it off his fingers (S) in the general direction of the fleeing micemen, saying “Gosh these webs are EVERYwhere.” (V)

He will cast Web, centered on the fleeing creatures

Web
2 conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Target: A point of your choice within range
Components: V S M (A bit of spiderweb)
Duration: Up to 1 hour
Classes: Sorcerer, Wizard
You conjure a mass of thick, sticky webbing at a point of your choice within range. The webs fill a 20-foot cube from that point for the duration. The webs are difficult terrain and lightly obscure their area.
If the webs aren’t anchored between two solid masses (such as walls or trees) or layered across a floor, wall, or ceiling, the conjured web collapses on itself, and the spell ends at the start of your next turn. Webs layered over a flat surface have a depth of 5 feet.
Each creature that starts its turn in the webs or that enters them during its turn must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is restrained as long as it remains in the webs or until it breaks free.
A creature restrained by the webs can use its action to make a Strength check against your spell save DC. If it succeeds, it is no longer restrained.
The webs are flammable. Any 5-foot cube of webs exposed to fire burns away in 1 round, dealing 2d4 fire damage to any creature that starts its turn in the fire.

DC 13

Grunk weaves his magic from the mundane objects around him and hides the manifestation in plain sight.  (I love it!)

rolls dice

A massive web stretches from a water trough, to a wagon, to a hitching post, to a rain barrel.  2 of the Ratkin are caught in its sticky mass.  The 3rd remains running free, just ahead of where the web landed.  Gasps can be heard from the townsfolks at the magical happenings.  




_________________________________________________________________________________________


Ivan declines to chat with the 6-legged Beefalo and continues to town.  It snorts at his passing as if to suggest that it didn't want to speak with him either.  

_____________________________________________________________________________________


let's give Alan a chance to act after work.

Assuming the ratkin is passing within 45’

“Hey Siri, stop that kid before he gets himself killed.”

Siri, “you are directed to halt, please stand still” Siri attempts a grapple.
Result of the throw of dice "1d20 +6" :

18 + 6 = 24

Siri locks onto the passing Ratkin and restrains it.   Marshall Sparks arrives a few seconds later and holsters his gun.  He looks about for the source of the aid.  He begins cuffing the small thieves and tying them by rope to a nearby hitching post as he searches their bags and pockets.

"Thanksss for the assssisssst." He hisses coldly at Siri, "sssstand back, I can take it from here."




 you can make a couple optional rolls here

Stealth to try and let your aid go unnoticed, beyond Siri of course.  If not, he will come talk to you.  

His reptilian features are harder to read than most human\mammalian types, but you can try a Sense Motive to get a read on him first, if that helps your decision about revealing yourselves

Ivar passes by lush green fields full of the 6-legged Beefalos he saw on the road earlier. They all share the yellow ear tags with runes on them. Near the outskirts of town, a rank odor hits his nose. There is a small wooden building with the foul smelling smoke coming from its chimney. Ivar can see a couple large deer or elk strung up outside. They appear to be quite dead but just bleeding out.

Science check to ID if you want

Most folks in town know that Siri comes with Tessie. There’s very little pretense to the old gray. What you see is what you get. “No problem Marshal.”
“Hey Siri, stand back and stand by.”
Siri: “Okay, standing back and standing by.” She releases the Ratkin into the Marshal’s custody.

Grunk will remain in plain sight in Tessie’s shop, but makes no claim regarding the webs. He tips his cap, “Morning Marshall, what did those rapscallions abscond with?”

"Mossst folksss just ssstand by and then complain about the manner in which they are kept ssssafe."  He eyes Siri and the old grey cat in turn.  His vertical eye slits sizing you both up.  "The Ssspringssss is lucky to have sssuch ssskilled citizensss."  

He gives Grunk a nod in reply as he searches the Ratkin.  Grunk and Tessie watch as he removes all manner of junk - partially eaten food, wires, small tools and a mechanical device of some kind.  Marshall Sparks looks at but he clearly doesn't recognize it.  

He hands it to Tessie with a cold command, "What isss thisss?"



computer or science check to ID

Tessie is indifferent to the sizing up. The Marshal isn’t a threat because Tessie doesn’t break the rules. (Not here anyway).

The device elicits more interest from the cat. 

Computers
Result of the throw of dice "1d20 +6" :

17 + 6 = 23

navyik wrote:Tessie is indifferent to the sizing up. The Marshal isn’t a threat because Tessie doesn’t break the rules. (Not here anyway).

The device elicits more interest from the cat. 

Computers
Result of the throw of dice "1d20 +6" :

17 + 6 = 23

Nice roll!


Tessie turns the device over in his paws.  He quickly realizes that he is looking at a detonator.  

 note - there is no writing on the actual device, but the images were spot on so ignore the obvious labels




Marshall Sparks is watching Tessie closely, probably reading his reaction and whether he is truthful in his report. He is waiting for an answer. What do you tell him?

Ivar has no science skills...

He can try and Int. check:

Tue Feb 06 2024 11:11:20 GMT-0700 (Mountain Standard Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 - 1 to total : 11, - 1, TOTAL: 10

lol... well that went about as expected

whit10 wrote:Ivar has no science skills...

He can try and Int. check:

Tue Feb 06 2024 11:11:20 GMT-0700 (Mountain Standard Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 - 1 to total : 11, - 1, TOTAL: 10

lol... well that went about as expected

Ivar doesn't know what it might be, but that shack smells BAD.  Before he can contemplate the odor any further, he hears a commotion behind him.  He turns to see several farmhands running towards him\town.  He notices that the hillside across the valley seems to be moving.  He rubs his eyes, it must be those "heat mirages" the elders told him about.  His eyes finally recognize what they see - a massive swarm of insects.  The swarm flies like a giant tidal wave crashing down on the green pastures.   A low buzzing sound reaches his ears as the swarm draws closer.  Ivar is pretty sure they are the same type of giant bug he saw when he climbed the ring of rocks at the hanging lake campsite.  





One of the passing farmhands call out, "Run, mister!"

Ivar's isn't stupid, just uneducated.

He runs towards town

Under his breath, “well that ain’t a good sign…” Privately to the Marshal, “this is a detonator, part of a bomb. But the bomb should not go off without it… unless there’s more than one.”

whit10 wrote:Ivar's isn't stupid, just uneducated.

He runs towards town

Ivars runs towards town.  He passes by a large warning sign telling visitors to Mana Springs that "unlawful discharge of firearms is punishable by death".  He barely notes the signature of the Marshall as he sprints past it.  Ivar can see a small gathering of people in the center of town.  It looks like a small grey cat person with goggles, a reptilian gunslinger and 3 ratkin that are tied to a hitching post.  The catkin hands the Marshall a small grey box with wires sticking out.  





"Wickednesssss!"  hisses the Marshall as he eyes the box.  A commotion distracts Grunk, Tessie and the Marshall.

A giant of a man and several farmhands are racing up the street towards the center of town.  The farmhands are shouting a warning to "Run, run!"  A general din of alarm is being raised by the citizens at their passage.

The trio soon sees the tidal wave of giant cicada-looking bugs about to descend upon the town of Mana Springs.




The Marshall calls out a loud command as he draws his pistols, "Find ssssome cover.  All gunsss hot!"


Everyone should roll initiative, you will have 1 round to act before the swarm reaches you at the center of town.

combat map



characters = blue
allies = green
panicked town folk that need saving = yellow
swarms of giant cicadas = red (1 large token is 1 'swarm' creature)

Ivar's Initiative:

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 2 to total : 11, + 2, TOTAL: 13

Stat Block:

HP: 45
AC: 15; Unarmored Defense
Saves: Str. 6, Con. 5, Wis. 1, Int. and Cha -1
Movement: 30 ft.
Initiative: +2

TS-17 aka “Tessie”
Ac 16
Hp 27/27

Darkvision 60’
Passive perception 18

Infusions active:
Repeating Shot
Armor of tools

iPhone 178
AC 15
Hp 26/26

Darkvision 60’
Passive perception 14
Vigilant (cannot be surprised)
Immune to charm, poison, exhaustion

Initiative
Result of the throw of dice "1d20 +2" :

1 + 2 = 3