Between a rock-gut and a stone palace

whit10 wrote:gents, shall we just spill it?

Warhol is an open thinker who truly believes that when properly educated, people are usually motivated to do what is intrinsically best for both self and others. The concept of “trust” or “deception” is strange to him. He openly shares his dream experience with the Beholder. Warhol believes that the beholder is under the power of the witch and is attempting to communicate lucidly with others whom the witch is tormenting. Warhol also acknowledges the need to separate fact and observed experience from hypothetical analysis.

“But most talking turtles are intuitive more so than analytical.”

“I will add as an aside that I am actually terribly interested in your education and research pursuits, but at this time I am more motivated to haste than a turtle is typically wont to be.”

Marvin’s down to understanding about every other word, but he relays his version of the dream sequence and then hits Big V up for some healing. He’s still a quart low on HPs

we are also doing a short rest Marvin.  I can spare a spell but would rather see what is needed as we may not do a long rest?

Vasyli will burn 5 HD for healing here.

Rolling line 1 : 5d8 + 2 to total : 6, 1, 7, 6, 6, + 2, TOTAL: 28

So Vasyli is back to full HP

Too bad there isn't a shop here or a way to get building materials. Vasyli can make some much better magic items now..

And speaking of which - Warhol and Marvin have the opportunity for Vasyli to make one of them a magic item (honestly, there is nothing that he really needs off of the new list) - look at page 24 (or 23 in the actual document) for the list of items he can make at 10th level. You two can decide who gets the new item - then Vasyli will take that as a new infusion; assuming the GM approves.

How long do Temp HP last? Marvin was buffed by Warhol and one of the NPCs.

Also, which “document” are you referring to for magic items Josh?

The temp ended when the druid aura ended. The extra max HP lasts 8 hrs.

sorry, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything is where the Artificer list is at

Chris wrote:The temp ended when the druid aura ended.  The extra max HP lasts 8 hrs.

Thanks. Assuming you will keep track of time and let me know when Marvin’s HP reverts?

Whitey wrote:

Chris wrote:The temp ended when the druid aura ended.  The extra max HP lasts 8 hrs.

Thanks. Assuming you will keep track of time and let me know when Marvin’s HP reverts?

sure

Facts added by the party to Whisp's list:

regarding the Dreaming:
1 - party and Dawi have shared dream experience, but not Whisp\Qhu\Haywire
2 - Beholder is in the shared dream experience, also seems to be victim of the Hags
3 - 3 other entities were sensed in the shared dream - only 1 identified Hags (witches)
4 - Hags have Nightmare Haunting ability

visible in waking world:
1- Dawi have lost multiple outposts in the last week to unknown enemies, same time frame as Elder Brain appearance around Beholder + Arcane Tower
2 - carrion crawlers had beholder-kin type mutations (extra eye stalks, aggressive behavior)



Whisp and Qhu exchange worried glances during the party's tales.  They silently stare at each for several moments.  The party then hears a strange voice inside each of your minds.  The sound of the voice seems to echo from mind to mind, as if clapping in a deep canyon, "You have shown your trust in us, it is time we are honest with you in turn.  I mean you no harm."

Qhular stands up.  As he does, illusion magic melts off his form, reminding the party of their dream when the faces of Dawi dripped like candles.



 The party sees before them.....




Whisp seems tense.  Haywire has stopped pacing.  The Mindflayer known as Qhular stands before you.


Actions?

uh, initiative and a defensive posture?

Is this happening before, during, or after our short rest? Marvin was going to use his Second Wind prior to short rest so he’d get it right back.

“Everyone realaaaaaax a bit here. If this fella wanted to hurt us, he could’ve done that already. He’s making himself vulnerable to demonstrate trust.”

Marvin’s Second Wind & HD rolls:
Sun Oct 30 2022 13:43:56 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 1d10 + 1 to total : 10, + 1, TOTAL: 11

HD (1d10+1) x4
Sun Oct 30 2022 13:46:06 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 4d10 + 1 to each : 10 + 1, 9 + 1, 5 + 1, 10 + 1, TOTAL: 38

Marvin’s back to max HP

navyik wrote:“Everyone realaaaaaax a bit here. If this fella wanted to hurt us, he could’ve done that already. He’s making himself vulnerable to demonstrate trust.”

“He’s in our heads Warhol! That makes US the vulnerable ones!”

Marvin stands alongside Vasily…and slightly behind him

“His people are in jeapordy too. We have the same enemy.”

After short rest.

Haywire initiates his defensive protocols in response to Vasyli's posturing.
Whisp mutters, "I told you they would react poorly, Qhu."

Qhu makes strange noises and his tentacles wiggle. You then hear his voice echoing in your minds again, "My anatomy is incapable of speaking common. You just heard Deep Speech in its native tongue. I can understand common but I am only able to communicate with it telepathically. I know that must feel strange and perhaps even... invasive. I apologize for my deception, but your reactions were.... predictable."

Qhu turns to Haywire and gurgles something in Deep Speech. Haywire stands down and resumes his patrol. You hear his voice, "If my presence is truly a deal breaker, then I suggest we go our own ways without unnecessary.... violence. However, you should know that I am no longer enslaved to an Elder Brain. Whisp here helps me avoid detection with his Svirfneblin magic. It has also.... apparently.... shielded us from the shared dreaming you have described. We remained only long enough to watch where the Elder Brain went and then we fled. It would be a shame not to conclude our discussion. You haven't even heard Whisp's theory yet."

He bows his head with his palms held out showing they are empty. " The choice is yours."

Warhol applies 4 hit dice
Result of the throw of dice "4d8 +12" :

7 + 5 + 4 + 7 + 12 = 35
He eats 10 good berries to reach full hp.

“Anybody want some good berries?” He gestures to both groups. “I’d like to hear more from our new friends, huh? I don’t know what an elder brain is, but it sounds like Qhu doesn’t fit the profile that you’re worried about. But whado I know, I’m just a tuhrddle, right?” Warhol laughs until he coughs an elderly spell.

Warhol looks at Qhu. “Maybe you just talk to me for a bit until the others get used to you. They’re a little freaked out, but if their prejudices truly had the better of them they would have already started swinging.”

Marvin remains skeptical, but his agreeable halfling nature gets the better of him. He says broadly in his own head “ok if you’re really telepathic what number am I thinking of..?”

Whitey wrote:Marvin remains skeptical, but his agreeable halfling nature gets the better of him. He says broadly in his own head “ok if you’re really telepathic what number am I thinking of..?”

Marvin hears an amused laugh in his head, "You have to actually think of a number in order for me hear it."

Qhu gurgles something to Whisp who perks up at the news. Whisp addresses the party, "Really? Well that is most fortuitous! I am delighted to exchange ideas instead of blows. Here is my hypothesis, which is, admittedly, a work in progress and recently updated thanks to your most valuable contributions regarding the Hags, shared dreaming and the beholder's lucid outreach....

The Hags are using their Nightmare Haunting on Zormoxiph to induce, well, nightmares. The Beholder's intrinsic reality warping dreams are being amplified by the psychic influence of the Elder Brain, thus manifesting persistent and potent walking nightmares in our waking realm. There must be a third entity or group that is facilitating the shared dreaming connection between Zormoxiph, the Elder Brain and the Hags. You reported sensing 3 entities in your dream. The Beholder is using this connection to call for help. Zormoxiph knows that if it dies in a dream, it will wake as a.... Death Tyrant. Imagine all the powers of a Beholder combined with a Lich. This is to be avoided at all costs."

Qhu's voice echoes in your kinds, "I assure you, an Elder Brain is no victim here. It must have calculated some advantage in making this pact with the Hags and our unknown third party of the triumvirate. And if I know my own kind.... they are plotting several steps ahead of their partners. The nightmares are attacking the Dawi, yes? This is no coincidence. The Elder Brain wants the greatest treasure of the Dawi... the Grym Forge. This ancient Forge is said to be capable of producing Legendary Artifacts! They will enslave or kill every single Dawi to accomplish their goal. Do you have any thoughts on this theory?"

Vasyli relaxes and takes his helmet off as a sign of good faith. But he's a bit perplexed by this new information...

"So, we need to help Beholder?! Or do we kill Hags and eliminate weakest link?"

whit10 wrote:Vasyli relaxes and takes his helmet off as a sign of good faith. But he's a bit perplexed by this new information...

"So, we need to help Beholder?! Or do we kill Hags and eliminate weakest link?"

“Good question. We are currently headed towards my best divining of the location of the hags. If we sleep, they will no doubt know we’re coming.”

Marvin’s doing all he can to keep up. “So we don’t want the Beholder to die in its dream…maybe we NEED to sleep so we can defend it in the dreamworld? What happens if we kill the hags in the dreamworld?”

Whitey wrote:Marvin’s doing all he can to keep up. “So we don’t want the Beholder to die in its dream…maybe we NEED to sleep so we can defend it in the dreamworld? What happens if we kill the hags in the dreamworld?”

Warhol looks at Marvin with curiosity. “Something to consider. I’m guessing that they are weaker in the flesh, but maybe if a quick blow can be struck. When I attempted to interact with one last time, the dream ended immediately.”

DM, is Marvin aware of any creature or race (other than the hags) that can exist simultaneously in a dream state and the waking world?

Nature:

Mon Oct 31 2022 10:18:14 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 8 to total : 19, + 8, TOTAL: 27

Vasyli will make an Arcane check along the same lines:

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 10 to total : 10, + 10, TOTAL: 20

Whitey wrote:DM, is Marvin aware of any creature or race (other than the hags) that can exist simultaneously in a dream state and the waking world?

Nature:

Mon Oct 31 2022 10:18:14 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 8 to total : 19, + 8, TOTAL: 27

whoa, nice roll!

no specific creature comes to mind, but a certain organization does - the Circle of Dream Druids.  
All Druids are some variation of Neutral, but some are Neutral Evil, like the Shadow Druids.  It is reasonable to guess that there could be a Nightmare Court (circle) of Evil Druids that would associate with Hags and Mindflayers.

Inspiration point for Marvin discovering the 3rd group and idea of fighting in the Dreamworld!  


Warhol is correct - the Hags are geo-located in the same direction as the Arcane Tower, Beholder and Elder Brain.  Its a good guess the Nightmare Court is there too at least in the Dreaming, if not physically.  

The party is free to come up with its own plans, of course, but this is what I am hearing from the NPCs and PCs so far:

1) Go to Arcane Tower

2) Either sneak past or wipe out Mindflayers and Elder Brain.  Killing EB would weaken monsters spawning from Beholder nightmares.  But getting captured would be really bad and the party would be implanted with brain bugs that turn you into Mindflayers in about a week (per Qhu).

3) Get into Arcane Tower

4)
kill Hags to stop nightmares
or
kill beholder in the waking world - do not kill beholder or allow him to be killed in Dreaming - or you will have to fight Death Tyrant.

5)
kill beholder in waking world
or
fight Nightmare Court in the Dreaming to free Beholder of their control.



 as I mentioned before, part 2 is a more direct Dungeon Dive.  The arcane tower is the dungeon, but it goes up instead of down.  Find dungeon, get past outside guards (mindflayers), get into dungeon, fight early boss Hags, then final boss either Beholder or Nightmare Druids.  Count treasure!



also - I am just making sure everyone saw that you are supposed to level +1up. Let me know what class you took and when you are finished.


Whisp and Qhu also have more to talk about....

Vasyli is done with his leveling up.  He just can't do the rest of what he could do until we get a long rest and then access to a workshop.

Which is too bad because he would love to have that Helm of Awareness for this next journey...

Warhol has leveled up in Druid. Now D9/C1.

“We sent word to the Dawi, hoping they have a countermeasure for the dreams. So far, our best plan is not to sleep. But you guys should if you aren’t affected by the dreams. How close are we to the tower?”

Marvin’s Leveled up to Ranger5Rogue3Fighter2

Hellooo Action Surge. Wish we could get one more level before the big bads cuz Marvin has his eye on Arcane Archer at Fighter3

Marvin’s counting on fingers and toes now “so…kill mind flayers and elder brain, save beholder who might (?) help us, then kill hags and Nightmare druids.” He turns to Qhu…” is that it!? If only we had a Holocaust Cloak.”

Whisp explains the final part, "I have one more theory, if you care to test it with me....  When Qhu sensed the approach of the Elder Brain, a connection that works both ways over the distance of 1 mile, I began casting Non Detection on us.  

For the Duration, you hide a target that you touch from Divination magic. The target can be a willing creature or a place or an object no larger than 10 feet in any dimension. The target can't be targeted by any Divination magic or perceived through magical Scrying Sensors.

This spell is inherent to Svirfneblin magic (5e racial feat) but anyone can cast it, of course.  (if it on your spell list)  The duration lasts 8 hours, so I have been casting it continuously as we fled the area to avoid notice by the Elder Brain.  I theorize that Zormoxiph cannot see us while dreaming either, while under its aegis.  

If you want to try and take a long rest now, I can ward each of you.  It might be your final rest for a while.  Or, I can ward you for the next 8 hours, which should give you a chance to slip past the Elder Brain.  If you cannot complete the mission in 8 hours though, it will sense you while you are in the Tower and send reinforcements.   Alternately, you could try to destroy the Elder Brain and then you know your back is safe.  
Its a hard decision, but I leave that up to you. "

Whitey wrote:Marvin’s counting on fingers and toes now “so…kill mind flayers and elder brain, save beholder who might (?) help us, then kill hags and Nightmare druids.” He turns to Qhu…” is that it!? If only we had a Holocaust Cloak.”

maybe if you go back and visit the dwarves....

“Hang on a second. How does the elder brain or the hags know when we sleep? Like, how do they find us in the first place after we go to sleep? The Non Detection spell shields us from them finding us, right? But is there a way for us to see them looking for us and then jump them in the dream world!?”

Marvin’s on a roll now, “And Warhol…you conjured that hoop in your dream and then brought it with you into the waking world. So can we create tangible things that go between the two worlds? I had my gear in my dreams…”

doing the non-detection now would get us to full strength with a long rest, that's my vote

Yes

Whisp presses a few buttons on the back of his steampunk wagon train. The party hears a WUT-CHUT-CHUT mechanical grinding sound and watches in amazement as the back transforms into a mini wizard's lab. Its not much, but it is enough for Vasyli to work his craft, including using the mama bug guts for 3 enhancements as described previously - add d4 acid to a weapon, add acid resistence to a pc of armor, misc item like wand of melf's acid arrow or meta magic type convert any elemental damage type to acid. Those don't count as his artificer items.

Ah, splendid!

Who wants what?

Vasyli will tinker with his Helm first - Helm of Awareness - Advantage on Initiative checks and cannot be surprised.

I think Warhol would get the most use out of a melfs acid arrow wand.  Looks like the direct damage wands usually let you upcast by expending extra charges.

“What’s that one spell… oh, Milfs acid arrow.”

Marvin likes the sound of a +1d4 acid buff to his bow…

navyik wrote:I think Warhol would get the most use out of a melfs acid arrow wand.  Looks like the direct damage wands usually let you upcast by expending extra charges.

“What’s that one spell… oh, Milfs acid arrow.”

  how have I have never thought of that....


apparently wand of milf isn't a thing in 5e, odd

I will just take the fireball wand and substitute melf's acid arrow

Wand, rare (requires attunement by a spellcaster)

This wand has 7 charges. While holding it, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of its charges to cast the Fireball MAA spell (save DC 15) from it. For 1 charge, you cast the 2nd-level version of the spell. You can increase the spell slot level by one for each additional charge you expend.

The wand regains 1d6 + 1 expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the wand's last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the wand crumbles into ashes and is destroyed.


+1d4 acid to bow
Helm of Awareness

is Vasyli going to make his armor Acid resistant or add acid to his gauntlets?

if adding acid damage to his gauntlets is an option, then hell yes!

whit10 wrote:if adding acid damage to his gauntlets is an option, then hell yes!

sure, I like giving folks some flexibility in their builds.

And it sounds like you all want to try the long rest with non detection?


go ahead and take care of that stuff, so we can get onto the dungeon crawl!

thanks a million dude!

when everyone lets me know they are ready, we will go on to chapter 2

long rest
magic item
anything else?

is the acid damage +1d4 for Vasyli's gauntlets?

whit10 wrote:is the acid damage +1d4 for Vasyli's gauntlets?

yup

Whitey wrote:“Hang on a second. How does the elder brain or the hags know when we sleep? Like, how do they find us in the first place after we go to sleep? The Non Detection spell shields us from them finding us, right? But is there a way for us to see them looking for us and then jump them in the dream world!?”

Before the long rest: Any input from the NPCs on this?

Whitey wrote:

Whitey wrote:“Hang on a second. How does the elder brain or the hags know when we sleep? Like, how do they find us in the first place after we go to sleep? The Non Detection spell shields us from them finding us, right? But is there a way for us to see them looking for us and then jump them in the dream world!?”

Before the long rest: Any input from the NPCs on this?

ah, sorry, lost that one

The elder brain and hags do not find you when you are sleeping.  The elder brain can detect any sentient minds within a 5 mile radius.  This is an existing RAW ability of the EB:

Creature Sense. The elder brain is aware of the presence of creatures within 5 miles of it that have an Intelligence score of 4 or higher. It knows the distance and direction to each creature, as well as each one's intelligence score, but can't sense anything else about it. A creature protected by a mind blank spell. a nondetection spell, or similar magic can't be perceived in this manner.

So you can't sneak up on the Mindflayers without help from Whisp.  

The Beholder is the one sensing and reaching out to you in your dreams.  The Hags are connected to the Beholder through their Nightmare Haunting and through the "magical-because-I-say-so-plot-device" link of the Nightmare Druids.  

I just adopted the EB's creature sense mechanics to work for the plot device of the Dreaming stuff, to have some rules, keep things consistent and use the NPC plot device help.  The EB amplifies the Beholder's range and the range of its "Warp Reality" regional effects.  The Hags give it bad dreams so it sends scary stuff out into the world.  And the Nightmare Druids link it all up.

Sorry if that's all a little confusing, but it is a mix of rules and plot device stuff, rolled into a burrito for a 3-part dungeon.

Does that make sense?

Not really, both Mike & Marvin are having a hard time tracking all this, but no matter. The question stands though: while we’re shielded by the non-detection spell, is there a way we can we find the Hags or Beholder in the dream world?