# Before the Rise of Tiamat



## Envisioner (Mar 6, 2020)

(Don't mind the "Wiki" tag, the forum seems to be having technical issues, and I'm not being given any other options.)

In a peaceful little southern town by the name of Greenest, populated mostly by humans with a significant minority of halflings, two dwarves both happened to check into the travelers' hostel within an hour of each other, and one was on his way out for an errand when the other walked in.  (The players can figure out the details; one reasonable possibility would be that Grimnir showed up first, dropped off his laundry or whatever, and then headed out to visit a temple, which probably wouldn't specifically relate to his faith, but he could probably find an altar to some generic nature deity who is semi-secretly an ally of Umberlee.) Trading adventuring stories as adventurers generally do (even if this isn't quite a typical tavern, since the bar and the inn are in different buildings), the two dwarves struck up at least the beginnings of an acquaintance, while persons of greater or lesser height wandered by and occasionally goggled at them just a bit (they do at least try not to be rude).

The sun is an hour or two from going down....


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## gargoyleking (Mar 7, 2020)

Mornok was surprised as he was about to step into the door to the inn, another dwarf was just coming out, and this one seemed to have a strange briny scent to him.  The shield dwarf took a few moments to let his eyes adjust to the darkness although he quickly noticed the fine dwarven armor the other wore, though it's design was a bit strange to his eyes.

"Ach, now that be a fine suit friend.  Mornok Storm'ammer of Citadel Abdar, glad t' meet ye'!"


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## JustinCase (Mar 9, 2020)

Grimnir nods politely at first, then a smile crosses his face.

*"Many thanks, the armor was my father's who had it made in Mirabar when he was a lad! My name is Grimnir Hammerdeep of Luskan, well met,"* the more tanned dwarf replies in the common tongue, his speech mostly devoid of the usual dwarven accent.

*"He was a sailor, like myself, and was originally from the Giant's Run Mountains in the south. Can I offer you a drink as I practise my Dwarvish?"*

The gold dwarf fiddles with the simple metal disc with a symbol of two waves, that is connected to a simple chain around his neck. _She can wait for her sacrifice a little longer, this far from her realm,_ Grimnir thinks to himself, and decides to postpone his visit to a shrine or temple for a bit.


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## Envisioner (Mar 9, 2020)

While the two dwarves get to know each other (OOC: I'm gonna let them have at least one more back-and-forth before I give them a plot hook), a different meeting is taking place just a few houses down the main thoroughfare of Greenest village.  When Lyle was deciding to come back to his prior hometown and replant some of the roots he had pulled up a few years earlier, he made sure to move into an available dwelling which was close to the town's traveler's hostel, its freestanding pub, and other such amenities catering to the fairly frequent merchant traffic that comes through this thriving village.  The more places there are for rich passers-by to deposit their spare coins, the better the locals live, and the better they live, the more opportunities they can create for wealth to be redistributed; it's a beautiful cycle.  While currently disinclined toward active larceny (both out of legitimate fondness for the town he grew up in, and because a sensible person keeps their metaphorical larder and privy well-separated), Lyle certainly feels more comfortable knowing that he is close to the flow of trade, just in case he decides he absolutely needs to keep his skills in practice.

So, for the moment at least, he's not a thief (or a "borrower", as the Little People often euphemistically term this activity); he's just the resident of #3 Main Street East, a pleasant little bungalow only a couple doors away from the roundabout where wagons tend to pull up for the night, allowing their teamsters and passengers to seek out the bar, the several small restaurants, or even the well-disguised house of ill repute, among other less stereotypical destinations.  And, in his capacity as resident, he's currently performing one of the unofficial duties of any good citizen who wishes to keep himself utterly above suspicion - paying a social call upon one of his neighbors, in order to exchange small gifts, trade favors, arrange opportunities for other acquaintances, and engage in general gossip and small talk.  The neighbor he's currently calling upon is Ms. Galena Goodburroughs, a platonic friend from back in the day when you were both little "kithlings" of allied hobbit families.  Though she's only sixty-five, and thus still in the prime of midlife, she's already settled comfortably into the lifestyle of a nonagenarian spinster, sharing her dwelling with a smallish cat and two even smaller dogs which she treats as if they were cats; she makes her living by selling odd little curios that she creates out of materials others dismiss as junk, such as lovingly polishing discarded metal sprockets and turning them into jewelry for faddish human noblewomen.  (You've wondered once in a while whether her family might have a touch of gnomish blood, but then, none of them seem to share her predilections; maybe she was "touched by the faeries", euphemistically or otherwise, at a formative age...or perhaps she's just a bit of an odd duck, for no reason at all.)  Right now, she's knitting a caftan for one of her second cousins' nephews' schoolmates over in Berdusk; it'll be a week before it leaves her hands for a caravan heading in that direction, and another month before it arrives in the cousin's hands to be distributed to the nephew so he can take it to school, but despite this, nothing will do but that she gets it finished tonight.  So, while you listen to her gossip about recent comings and goings in the area, you're forced to endure the clacking of her silvered needles (one of which is a novelty painted in light metallic green), and she has failed to offer you any baked goods to snack on while you listen, as she typically otherwise would.


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 9, 2020)

There were times after his move to Baldur's Gate when Lyle missed Greenest badly to ruin his day.  These spells came with little warning, brought up whenever he'd use a piece of slang no one around him recognized, or the kind of seeds an innkeeper used in seed cakes, sometimes just the general sounds and smells of the city would bring them on.  In these moments he'd stop and remember his home fondly. In Greenest people would take the time to talk to you, and never rudely rushed out of a conversation.  In Greenest no one ever skimped on the honey when they made a cake, and there was always enough butter for both sides of your bread.  In Greenest no one ever decided you were paying back your loan too slowly and robbed you in broad daylight, leaving you with little more than the hair on your feet.

Since moving back, there had been a handful of moments where Greenest lived up to his romanticized memories.  This, however, was not one of them.

The steady rhythm of Galena's knitting threatened to put Lyle to sleep, and her uncharacteristic lack of food didn't help.  Lyle caught himself in the middle of a snore and attempted to turn it into a cough. He decided this was a good opportunity to steer the conversation in a more fruitful direction. "Sorry Gal, I've had this cough for a few days now. Could I trouble you for a spot of tea? Maybe a few honey cakes?  I've got a lovely bit of roast chicken at home I could run back and share. Oh, and you haven't noticed anyone unusual recently have you, or anyone asking about me?"


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## Envisioner (Mar 10, 2020)

*OOC:*


gotta think about how to respond to lyle, so just a quick weather report, which the characters may not even be aware of until they go outside.







A dark storm cloud appears on the horizon.


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## gargoyleking (Mar 10, 2020)

"Aye, you know I been in th' market fer a good suit o' dwarven scale. I cannae stand th' penny pinchin' army o' th' citadel. I earned my armor th' standard way, but when my time were up they said they 'ad a new policy. ACH!!! *spits* But ye dunnae need to 'ear about that. Tell me, how's a dwarf end up floating around in' more'n a small pond?"

Mornok spoke as they walked to a nearby tavern and settled onto a barstool.

"Barkeep, somethin' dark an' dinnae skimp on th' head! A good ale need's a nice head on it."


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## JustinCase (Mar 10, 2020)

*"Make it two each,"* Grimnir adds with a smile at the barkeep. *"First one for quenching our thirst, second one just to enjoy."*

The gold dwarf settles on his stool and, once the drinks arrive, raises one mug in toast before taking a big gulp.

*"I was born on my Mum's ship, so it seemed only fitting to live there. The sea can be a generous mistress, but like a heavy storm after a sunny day her mood can turn sour abruptly,"* the sailor says in Dwarvish with just a hint of sadness and fear in his voice. *"Right now I fear that she is angry at me for no reason I can fathom, and I find it best to stay out of her way for a while."*

After a second gulp of ale, Grimnir takes his holy symbol and pours the rest of his first drink over the disc while muttering a small prayer. A small puddle of beer forms on the bar, and the dwarf uses his right hand to create a sort of river to the edge, where he holds up his empty waterskin to catch some of the liquid.

*"Far out of her way,"* he adds softly, then looks up at Mornok.

*"Have you checked the local smithy yet? Don't know if there are any dwarves working there, but it's worth taking a look. And I doubt they've got too many customers so with some haggling you might get a discount."*

Looking the other dwarf up and down, Grimnir adds, *"So what's a mage doing in Greenest?"*


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## gargoyleking (Mar 10, 2020)

Lookin' t' make a bit o' coin honestly, I been on th' road fer a time an' my reserves are low. B'sides, I do need t' find a good suit o' scale I dinnae understand how they manage up 'ere without some real protection."

Mornok smiles as the tankards are brought out and he happily downs the first in one go.


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## JustinCase (Mar 10, 2020)

*"Aye, making some coin helps with purchasing quality stuff,"* Grimnir agrees as he starts on his second ale, his little sacrifice to Umberlee completed to his satisfaction. 

*"What are you thinking? Caravan guard? Adventuring? Diving for sunken merchant ships?"* The latter suggestion is followed by a wink.


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## gargoyleking (Mar 10, 2020)

"I'd take anything 'as doesn't 'arm me 'onor. Might even try my 'and at smithing if it comes doen to it. I've done a bit of mending 'ere an' there on th' road. Always someone with a fouled 'orseshoe or dented pot. But It's a waste o' me talents unless I'm makin' somethin' worthwhile.


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## Envisioner (Mar 10, 2020)

*OOC:*


Seems like a single day can't pass without one of my watched threads failing to notify me....







*Lyle*
Galena hesitates a moment, but her urge to be a good hostess does finally win out over her fixation on completing the caftan, and she sets her knitting aside, promising to produce the requested tea and snack.  When she returns with these, she sits back down and sips her own cup once before speaking again, holding the warm cup in her (probably slightly-numbed from the needlework) hands.  "Hm; can't think of anyone having mentioned you specifically.  We have had several traders in recent weeks, and I did notice a few slightly questionable characters; I'm never sure what to make of the kind of folk who have business in Berdusk or Beregost or Baldur's Gate (strange how they all begin with -/-, hrm?)  Let's see, I've forgotten most of those I saw going in and out of the hostel, but I can recollect three names, and a couple other faces that I never got a name for.  

"There was a tallfolk named Imsa who was green from head to foot, she was pretty hard to avoid noticing; seemed nice enough as long as nobody asked her what the Asmodeus happened to her.  Mentioned she was en route to Waterdeep, and probably hasn't finished a trip of such length by now.  There was also a rather sinister-looking fellow who called himself Preznak; I never saw him go anywhere but up to his room and back out to the wagon, like he didn't find anything about the town worth his attention; I only heard his name because Imsa mentioned it while talking about his refusal to socialize. Thirdly there was a monk from Candlekeep who introduced himself as Leonard Never-Sin; bit pretentious, that nickname, but then he was some combination of human and elf, so that's pretty far from unusual, and aside from being full of himself he seemed friendly enough.  Not the 'punching mountains in half' kind of monk, as far as I could tell, just a religious pilgrim with an armful of scrolls in his backpack.  I also saw one of them "dragon-born" from out of the southeast, who never introduced himself in my presence, but was asking a lot of questions around town - some kind of antiquarian perhaps.  And there was the tallest of tallfolk that I've ever seen, and the darkest-skinned to boot; scuttlebutt around his particular caravan was that he's called 'the pole", and that he's from some place to the far south where they have centaurs that are half-panther instead of half-horse.  I think that's everybody that stood out in any kind of obvious way."









*OOC:*


:  The letter B in Thoross, the typical human and halfling alphabet of the Forgotten Realms, is fortunately possible for me to approximate in Unicode as -/-, although the central line ought to be unbroken, and the diagonal is a pen-stroke which should be wider at the top than the bottom.  This is probably the only time I will bother to distinguish between Common written in Thoross and English written in Roman, since I happen to have the Sword Coast book out from the library, but very little of it seemed useful to me and I don't plan to keep it long.


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## Envisioner (Mar 10, 2020)

*Dwarves*
While Grimnir and Mornok walk to the bar, the former at least notices the thick clouds starting to roll in from the west, born on a high wind far too violent to merit the typical term of "zephyr", the leading edge of which has already reached the town and is beginning to rattle the shutters, set the decorative elven chimes on several of the larger houses to jangling discordantly, and shake the trees hard enough to scatter early apples and acorns onto the ground a week sooner and a yard wider than they'd have ordinarily fallen.  The cleric has strong reason to suspect his patroness might have sent this storm, though whether she had any reason for doing so is anyone's guess; in any event, his experience tells him that the brunt of the blow won't fall until close to midnight, even though the westerly gales have probably carried these clouds close to half of the distance from the sea already, crossing many a mile in perhaps as little as thirty minutes, before they started to pile up on the craggy peaks for which the Wood of Sharp Teeth is partially named.  The terrain to the northwest and southwest of Greenest is probably already being soaked; how odd that Umberlee's servant seems to be in the one place least vulnerable to her wrath, assuming she is indeed wrathful this evening.

The seafaring dwarf was already planning his apotropaic ritual before he saw the evidence of his deity's presence; it seems even more prudent afterward.  The inkeep glares a little at the sight of you pouring his ale onto his tables, but apparently decides to just dismiss this as typical dwarven weirdness and not comment upon it.


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 11, 2020)

*OOC:*


I assume none of these names mean anything to Lyle?







Lyle wondered for a moment if Galena forgot he had lived in Baldur's Gate for years or if she was gently reprimanding him but decided to ignore it. Food tended to distract him from most concerns. 
"Thank you dear, I've often said no one can bake like you Goodburroughs.  Mmm, is this apple? Wonderful." Lyle paused to let one of the dogs lick crumbs from his hand.  "Sounds like the past few weeks have been eventful.  Sadly I'm still settling back in and don't have much gossip to share, although I have noticed that new barber keeps strange hours. I haven't quite figured out where he goes so late at night.  Are any of these strange people still in town or have they all passed on?"


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## Envisioner (Mar 11, 2020)

*OOC:*


Nope







The visitors all passed through at least a night or two ago.  The green woman was closer to a week.


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## gargoyleking (Mar 11, 2020)

Mornok looks up from his second tankard curiously. The wind was picking up outside and seemed rather frightful.

"Sounds like we got a howl comin'...


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## Envisioner (Mar 11, 2020)

Greenest is a town small enough not to really need a City Watch, but also a town connected enough to the constant flow of traffic that it becomes status-conscious, and influenced by the trends of larger metropoli - one of which is the belief that a City Watch is an inherently prestigious institution, which no right-thinking settlement would be without.  Thusly, Greenest has a City Watch of precisely five people, not counting the castellan who runs the city's central keep, although he also acts as an administrator for the Watch force while he's busy doing all of the other "nothing" he usually has to do, in his capacity as the fallback plan in case anything ever goes catastrophically wrong, which so far it never has.  One of the five Watch officers is walking by the window as Mornok and Grimnir continue their conversation.  He's carrying a bullseye lantern, but it isn't lit yet, since the sun has yet to actually set (although the clouds in the west have largely obscured this fact, so the exterior is pretty dim-looking by non-Dwarf standards).


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 11, 2020)

Lyle finally noticed the wind picking up.
"Well Gal, it seems the weather is getting bad.  I hate to eat and run but I'd rather head home before it gets worse. I hate walking in the rain." He surreptitiously stuffed a few sweets into his pocket as he pushed away from the table and gave the dog sitting at his feet a gentle pat.  "I'll see you sometime later this tenday, I hope your cousin's schoolmate enjoys the caftan!"


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## JustinCase (Mar 12, 2020)

*"Indeed,"* Grimnir replies to Mornok as the two dwarves look outside the window at the gathering clouds and increasing winds.

*"I fear that Umberlee has sent this storm, although why I do not know. It'll probably get worse gradually until midnight, so remember to sacrifice something important in water if her wrath threatens to overtake you."* 

The priest considers possibilities for why his goddess may have sent this gail now; after all, he has been away from shore for a while now. Did he forget a day of import, or miss a moment of prayer? He cannot fathom any particular reason, so the dwarf shrugs and gets back to his drink.

*"It'll pass,"* he decides.


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## Envisioner (Mar 13, 2020)

An abrupt gust rattles the bar's windows ominously.  The bartender, a portly human who briefly introduced himself as Roque, says "Let's make it last call, fellows.  I'd normally stay open later, but I don't like the sound of that weather."

(Not ignoring Lyle, just need more time to think of what I want to do with him next.)


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## Envisioner (Mar 13, 2020)

Lyle departs the home of his fellow halfling, or "hin" to use the small folk's own word for themselves.  (The few humans who know this term at all mostly only know it in the context of the famous children's nonsense rhyme, "How much kin can a man count hin, if the men c'n count hin kin?"  Most of those who had this doggerel repeated to them while still in their swaddling clothes don't even realize that "hin" is a real word in the Common Tongue.)  As he walks out onto the streets of Greenest, the puzzle of Galena Goodboroughs's tale nibbles at the edges of his mind.

Imsa, the green woman.  Such coloration might suggest a being who lived very close to nature, but if so, she likely wouldn't have been sensitive when asked about it.  Otherwise, such mishaps are typical of dabblers in witchcraft; if anyone would know more about her, it would be the local "wizer", a gnome by the name of Hodgkin Cobblehoof.  On the other hand, she was supposed to be going to Waterdeep, so maybe she didn't bother to seek the wizard out; if her goal was to simply get back on the road asap, she might have headed to the stables at the far west end of town, where the human whom everyone in town simply calls Saddlesore rents out swift horses, to anyone who's in too much of a hurry to rely on the more unwieldy draft-horsed carriages used for long-range caravan travel.

Preznak was described as "rather sinister-looking", which Lyle's experiences in the Underworld have taught him is a fairly meaningless description.  Most of the most dangerous predators in the urban jungle know how to blend in a good bit better than that; someone who goes out of their way to look evil or frightening is likely just trying to deflect unwanted attention, and while this may conceal a nefarious motive, it's at least as often simply going to prove that the person is fearful enough to try and bluff their way out of trouble.

Leonard Never-Sin; that ridiculous name could only belong to someone as sheltered as a Candlekeep monk.  On some sort of religious pilgrimage, Galena suspected; a man of learning with a habit of asking questions, probably having no more reason to want those answers than the simple desire to know.  Such a person likely poses no direct threat, though the naivete and ineptitude that commonly accompany such an idealistic mindset can make them perilous to be around, despite their own lack of malice.

A dragonborn; you seem to recall hearing that these most often come from the Old Empires of Unther and Chessenta, far to the Unnaproachable East and a little bit in the Shining south's direction.  Certainly an exotic creature, and quite dangerous to seek out; you've heard horror stories of a hin who double-crossed one of these black-scaled monstrosities, who simply picked him up and vomited acid right onto his face, dissolving his eyes, nose and lips.  The poor fool lived, but rather wished he hadn't.  Then again, the dragonborn in question was the same kind of scum and villainy as his victim, in that scenario; perhaps the one who was here in town was of a different ilk.  But is it worth the risk of trying to track him down?  If you decide it is, you should have little trouble finding more witnesses who would remember seeing him (or her? who can even tell with reptiles).

And the exceptionally tall and dark-skinned (though humans in general are usually both of those things by your people's standards) individual who was referred to as "the pole".  You have the least basis to think he might have any meaningful relationship to you, since just being of unusual stature proves nothing about what this person does with his time.  But as with the dragon-man, his remarkable appearance should have been remarked upon by someone besides your neighbor.

None of these individuals (with the possible exception of Preznak, if he actually was what Gal took him for, but you'd bet this is less than half-likely) seem at all likely to be related to the trouble that you're here trying to avoid.  All of them sound likely to be involved in other, hopefully more profitable sorts of trouble, and while you've kept your inquisitive instincts on the back burner while here on your home turf, you are beginning to grow just a bit restless.  Like the storm that's begun to roll in, you feel an energy building inside yourself; it's only a matter of time before it will need release.


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 14, 2020)

Lyle chewed over his options as he chewed on one of the goodies from his pocket.  He had done his best to avoid attention, but a line kept too tight would break.  _There's probably no harm in looking around_ he decided.  Lyle headed home to grab some of his gear and then over to the stables.  
"What could go wrong talking to a man named Saddlesore" he said to no one in particular.


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## gargoyleking (Mar 14, 2020)

Mornock looks back at the barkeep and nods, understanding the need to get away from such dire weather himself.

"Aye, Best we be gettin' back to yon inn. I hopes as they've a spot I c'n rest me bones. May'ap in th' cellar."

He tosses a silver to the barman with a nod and pulls up his hood to step out into the wind.


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## JustinCase (Mar 14, 2020)

Grimnir likewise nods and pays, then follows the other dwarf outside. 

*”No sense in staying outside,”* he agrees. *”That storm will increase for a while, and I’ll keep an eye on it. But from the warm side of a window.”*

Grimnir suspects there are sufficient rooms at the inn, but he’s not picky if they need to bunk up. 

*”Perhaps we can travel together tomorrow? I’ve got no set destination at the moment, unless Umberlee shows me one tonight.”*


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## gargoyleking (Mar 14, 2020)

Mornok chuckles and nods a bit more vigorously than usual as the wind starts whipping at them. Not sure if his words will carry.

"Aye, though neither 'ave I."


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## Envisioner (Mar 15, 2020)

*OOC:*


As I mentioned on the OOC thread, my life took a turn for the worst, so I'll stop drawing out a scene that I was hoping to explore in great detail, and proceed directly to the action beginning. Please take it as read that your characters are at least somewhat positively inclined toward the folk of this village, since I don't have the time I was hoping to take actually portraying them as unique individuals so that you could organically grow fond of some of them.







*Lyle*
Saddlesore proves to be a fairly uninteresting conversationalist; he hasn't seen the green woman, though he does confirm that Preznak rode out of town in a hurry, heading north and a bit east in the general direction of Scornubel and Berdusk (or maybe it's Beregost, nobody can keep those two straight).  Other than that detail, you learn nothing from him, and for lack of a better idea what to do, you head back toward the center of town, trying not to dwell upon the rapidly worsening weather.  You're just in time to see a pair of dwarves, very slightly drunk by non-dwarven standards, emerge from the pub, seemingly discussing the weather.

*Dwarves*
As a halfling you know nothing about idly strolls in his and Mornok's direction, Grimnir takes a look up at the sky and ponders what theology he knows.  Though never formally educated, he's collected plenty of tales from pious travelers, and as he sifts through these in his mind, he realizes that a storm this far inland seems increasingly unlikely to be the work of Umberlee; she might have set it in motion, but once it was well clear of the waves, it ought properly to have become the purview of Talos the Thunderlord, a deity even more feared and less loved than the Sea Witch.  The two are notoriously rivals, with one breed of island-dwelling humans of your acquaintance even believing the two of them (although for some reason they think Umberlee is male, and never call her by name) are the only gods who exist, that sea and sky are constantly at war, with land little more than a neutral zone designed to keep them apart.  Their cult is certainly nonsense, and probably won't survive past the first time a cleric of Tyr or Tempus or Silvanus lands on their shores...still, their odd belief is a microcosm of what you've been taught is true, that these two ill-tempered Powers are eternally at odds, and that storms traveling this far inland are either Umberlee's attacks against Talos, or his violent usurpations of the initially-harmless (well, mostly) weather systems that she creates.

As you dwell upon this enigma, sunlight falls unexpectedly on your face, and you look up to see that the storm clouds are dissolving almost fast enough for the naked eye to see.  The flanks of the shadowy cumulonimbus continue to extend far to the north and south, but Greenest itself is illuminated by the last setting rays of Amanautor...and, looking down the main road directly to the west, you see that the newly emergent light is catching the upper layers of a massive dust cloud several miles away, whose dim outline you can then make out in the gloom beneath what remains of the cloud wall.  No caravan could kick up that much dirt as it ambles slowly along...but an army riding fast certainly might....


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## gargoyleking (Mar 15, 2020)

Mornok watched the sight in a state of awe. One minute they were being beaten about by the wind, the next the clouds were dissipating and the sun was coming out for a last showing.

"Oye, is this may'ap some sign from yer' goddess? An' is ther some war goin' on? That dust cloud dinnae look good."


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## JustinCase (Mar 16, 2020)

*"Not from her,"* Grimnir mutters as he processes what he knows, and what he can imply. *"The Stormlord, maybe. But there's something else..."*

Shielding his eyes from the sudden sunlight, the dwarf peers at the dust cloud in the distance. His mind goes through the options of what it could imply, because as a sailor he is not used to interpreting these landbound signs.

But then, like the sun breaking through the clouds, it dawns on him.

*"An army is approaching!"* he yells loudly, unconsciously reverting to Common. Gathering his wits he turns to Mornok.

*"We need to alert the guard and get everyone to safety! Greenest is under attack!"*


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 17, 2020)

Lyle knew the only thing that traveled faster than bad news was gossip, and that the hin in Greenest had well established channels of communication for it. He found the closest halfling and yelled "Go tell your grandmother the town is under attack!"  He knew that news would spread like wildfire.  Lyle turned to the dwarf who yelled about the attack.  "That human down the street with the lantern is an officer, but he may need to be reminded what to do in a situation like this.  The watch is mostly ceremonial here."


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## Envisioner (Mar 19, 2020)

Even the halfling gossip network takes a few minutes to work, and the humans who lack this resource are even slower to take up the word.  Many of them come to investigate the dwarf's warning, but they tend to be initially skeptical, peering out into the darkness with their own, far more night-blind eyes.  A few even begin tentatively expressing doubt about the validity of Grimnir's hue and cry.

All that changes literally in a flash, as a massive bolt of lightning from the storm crosses about a 30-degree arc of the sky and strikes a flying body in midair.  Though unharmed by the strike, the form is momentarily outlined by arcs of coruscating electricity before it completely absorbs the charge, and that gives everyone who's looking at the sky a very clear look at the size and shape of the creature - a thickly muscled body roughly the size of a barn, with a long tail lashing behind, an outstretched neck ending in a massive head, and broad bat-like wings.  These few details, even glimpsed for just a second, send an immediate and unarguable message:  _dragon_.

Those who witnessed the sight immediately begin running, either headed directly for the town's central keep, or quickly rushing into their homes to grab a few possessions and/or relatives.  Those who didn't see the dragon do see the reactions of ones who do, and in short order the entire assembled crowd is in motion.  A moment later, a loud horn-blast blares from the top of the keep, three times in quick succession, and then repeating fifteen seconds later, and fifteen seconds after that.  Evidently this signal is meaningful to the locals, because before long ever door flies open and the stream of people heading for the fort is up to well over 100.


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## JustinCase (Mar 19, 2020)

*”Dragon,”* Grimnir mutters in disbelief. *”An army, and a dragon. This place is doomed.”*

The gold dwarf shakes his head, ridding his head from the fatalistic thoughts that keep him from acting. He is a priest of Umberlee, by the gods, and has She not shown him more apparently hopeless dangers where he was sure to die? Yet here he is, a familiar storm above him, the elements lashing out around him, and if not for the lack of sea Grimnir would feel almost at home!

*”To the fort!”* he shouts, finding his voice and his run towards what to his dwarven eyes must be the only defensive place in town, urging the villagers to take refuge there.


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## gargoyleking (Mar 20, 2020)

Mornok watched the village slowly evolve into insanity before eventually hearing the call from the keep and pouring towards the relative safety of the fortification. The dwarf looked at the structure with his soldier's eye, assessing it's likelihood of withstanding the assault of an army, let alone one accompanied by a dragon.

Still, he'd rather have some sort of structure and allies at his back than to be caught alone in the wilderness by some scouting party.

"Well, nothin' for it but t' join th' defense. Mayhaps they'll want tae pass us by if they got somewhere better t'be."

With that, the dwarf summoned up the magical armor that he'd been taught as an emergency measure should he be caught without his standard issue halberk. It drained his magical reserves more than he liked, but until he could acqure a proper suit of mail it would have to do. 

Then he turned to the keep and joined the press heading towards the entrance. He did hang back a bit, helping anyone he could who was having trouble making it to safety.



Spoiler: OOC



Casting Mage Armor

*Mornok Stormhammer* 
AC:  
HP: 8 / 8
Spells ( used / slots ):
   1st:  ( 1 / 2 )


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 20, 2020)

"Of course after I decide to come home and hide a dragon decides to attack the town" Lyle cursed under his breath. "And humans think halflings are lucky..."
Lyle decided he should make sure Galena (and his donkey) made it to safety, heading in the direction of home but keeping an eye out for more surprises. "Arvoreen, if I make it out of this I'll never complain about being bored again."


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## Envisioner (Mar 20, 2020)

While Lyle can scuttle between the legs of tall folk, there's still a limit to how well he can penetrate a throng of this density; he finds that getting to Galena's house, and then getting back to the keep before they seal the gates, is going to take more time than he's entirely certain he has.









*OOC:*


Donkey?







Mornok notes that the keep is very solidly built, although he can clearly see that it has never been subjected to any serious assault before.  There's no evidence that it's been repaired, just cleaned and polished in the way of a symbol of civic pride, rather than a fortification against which enemies regularly batter themselves.  Still, it looks at least basically defensible, with no clearly obvious vulnerabilities.

Grimnir catches the eye of a woman who's herding several children out of a solidly-built cottage.  "Sir, you look like a soldier or traveler of some experience.  Would you consider doing me a charitable favor?  I have to get my children to safety, so I haven't the time, but I'm worried about my friend Walther.  He lives out on the edge of town, and he's very hard of hearing, so he may not have noticed them sounding the alarm.  If you could go make sure he's on his way to safety, I'd be very grateful."  Before the gold dwarf can even give an answer, the woman's children commandeer her attention, and she is soon swept back into the fleeing crowd.


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 20, 2020)

*OOC:*


Lyle has a donkey he's mildly worried about






Lyle rechecked his mental arithmetic and decided Galena was probably capable of making it to the keep herself, and decided that no donkey was worth dealing with a dragon over.  He followed the crowd to the keep.


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## JustinCase (Mar 20, 2020)

Grimnir hesitates. His nature tells him to help the woman, that leaving the poor man Walther to his fate is a cruel and heartless thing to do. But on the other hand the dwarf knows that those who cannot help themselves are weak and will only hold back the strong. 

He exchanges a look with the other dwarf. 

*”He’s not going to make it,”* he refers to the old man, and Grimnir spins around and sprints towards Walther’s house, cursing himself the whole time there.


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## gargoyleking (Mar 20, 2020)

Mornok returns the look and curses once, explosively. Then he runs to join his new friend in his endeavour. What one dwarf can do, 2 can do better, as they say.


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## Envisioner (Mar 20, 2020)

Walther is easily found; he was reading a book in a back room whose walls finished muffling whatever sounds would have made it through the decades of wax in his ears (figuratively speaking), and had no idea of the disaster taking place outside his safe and comfortable home.  He's not particularly grateful in the short term for having been rousted out of his favorite chair, but you figure he'll eventually figure out that he owes you his life, even if he's quite possibly too proud to admit it.  Truly, a good deed is its own reward; little wonder mercenary work attracts so many of your adventuring ilk.

Thanks to their detour, the two dwarves are among the last ten people to reach the keep.  As the heavy iron gates are fastened behind them, the approaching army finally comes into view at the outer edge of town, lit by the torches that they begin throwing at people's thatch roofs.  Oddly, the dragon is not in view, despite the fact that it could easily have reached the town long before the riders and footmen.  The sun is long since down, but it's only now beginning to become truly dark, and this lasts only until the flames begin to catch in haystacks and such; within a few minutes, the defenders who look out through the arrow slits of the barbican can get a good look at the still-distant attackers.  Mostly human with a generous handful of dragonborn, several elves, and at least one dwarf (if they have halfings or gnomes, these are probably still too far away to make out amid the throng, the intruding force are primarily clad in black armor, and several seem to be wearing some sort of elaborate masks.  

Then a number of small bodies begin emerging from behind and between the walkers and horsemen; running with fearsome speed in spite of their diminutive stature, these creatures are quickly identified by their glinting red eyes.  Though they like to refer to themselves as "the youngest children of the dragon-goddess", or _Zzh'hh-hk'-kk'let'chek _in their buzzing, hissing version of Draconic, these diminutive barbarians are well-known to the folk of the Realms under a much simpler name: "kobolds".


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## gargoyleking (Mar 20, 2020)

"You there, who's in charge 'round 'ere? I need tae' offer me' services an' such!"

Mornok snags the nearest soldier up to ask the question and then heads off to find the person in charge. He doesn't need to see the kobolds to recognize their yips and yaps. And curses once more the moment he does. "Bluidy dragon rats!"


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 20, 2020)

Lyle looks around for anyone he knows in the courtyard, asking the first person he finds "Did your family make it? Is anyone missing?" He hopes the list of missing halflings doesn't grow too long to remember.


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## JustinCase (Mar 20, 2020)

Grimnir doesn’t know whether he feels good about getting old Walther to safety or not, but at least he wasn’t too stubborn to struggle much when the two dwarves practically dragged him to the ford. 

The cleric gladly follows his new friend Mornok to whoever’s in charge.


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## Envisioner (Mar 21, 2020)

Lyle gathers a list of people who are unaccounted for, updating it as he gathers new information.  While most of the village's population made it into the keep, a significant percentage (something in the high single digits, let's say) are possibly stuck outside.  They might well gather in the town's second-safest location, the temple of Chauntea, but a house of worship dedicated to the Farmers' Goddess is hardly a fortification; they'll be in trouble if the raiders aren't just following the path of least resistance, although it's a good bet that the kobolds at least will do just that.

Mornok locates a distincly nervous-looking guardswoman who directs him to check in with the town's Sherrif, one Tarbeck Reyne, who is conferring with Red Ascot, his castellan, on the second floor of the keep's main tower.  (The town does have a Mayor by the name of Hillister MeKnight, who presides over trade agreements and acts as a justice of the peace, but in a crisis situation like this, the Sherrif's usually-ceremonial authority puts him in charge of the emergency response.  In a larger town, an arrangement like that would be likely to result in the Sherrif being corrupt and possibly arranging just the emergency which justifies him seizing power, but talking to the folk of Greenest for five minutes will confirm that Lord Reyne is a lifetime resident, well-known to those in the know, and almost universally trusted.)


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 21, 2020)

Lyle twirls one of his daggers in his fingers as he considers his options.  _These people will probably need help. I could sneak out myself but...no, I'd have to climb down the wall or fast talk my way out.  These guards might not be worth much but even they know not to open the gates.  Besides, I can't do much on my own._ The dagger twirls faster as Lyle thinks harder.  _I guess there's no helping it, I'll have to talk to the sheriff about it._ 
Long years as a criminal have taught Lyle there's little good in talking to the authorities, but even Arvoreen and Brandobaris work together sometimes. He sheathes his dagger and heads to see the sheriff


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## gargoyleking (Mar 21, 2020)

Mornok strides into the room with the Sherrif and Castellan and pulls up to a position of attention before giving a standard dwarven salute.

"Sherrif? Me name be Mornok o' the Storm'ammer clan. I jus' got intae town meself, but I'd like tae' help where'n I'm needed. I dinnae have me trusty armor, but I have a good 'ammer an' spells tae' sling. An' this 'ere be me gud friend Grimnir, a priest o' th' sea. But I'll let 'im introduce 'imself."


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## JustinCase (Mar 22, 2020)

Grimnir nods politely as he’s being introduced, then continues, *”Grimnir Hammerdeep, from Luskan. I’m a priest of Umberlee passing through, when I spotted the army using the storm for cover. Glad to help in any way I can.”*


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## Envisioner (Mar 22, 2020)

*OOC:*


For the record, the army wasn't really under the cover of the storm, so much as just the cover of darkness.  Indeed, you almost certainly wouldn't have known about the dragon until it was right on top of you, had the lightning not picked it out well in advance.


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## gargoyleking (Mar 22, 2020)

*OOC:*


Maybe, but if the storm hadn't suddenly abated nobody would have seen them coming. Probably a coincidence of the story telling. But that's how it felt to me too.


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## JustinCase (Mar 22, 2020)

*OOC:*


 Alright, I missed that. However...



JustinCase said:


> *Personality Traits:* I stretch the truth for the sake of a good story,




...it’s a better story in Grimnir’s mind.


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## Envisioner (Mar 22, 2020)

*OOC:*


Continue to roleplay that, and there's Inspiration coming your way.







The party finds Sherrif Reyne and Red Ascot (who proves to be a dwarf, by the way) poring over a hastily-sketched map of the town, with various small found objects being used to mark the observed positions of the invaders; as soldiers rotate in from guard posts atop the tower, they give brief dispatches and the map is updated accordingly.  Ascot continues fiddling with the map, comparing it to a large metal plaque he's holding, but Reyne looks up as the three of you enter.  "Ah, gentlemen, I'm told that you were helping to coordinate the evacuation out there; I'm thankful for your assistance.  This keep has never actually been used before, and my proposal to conduct annual drills has been repeatedly denied by the city council.  Somehow I suspect they will vote differently at the next meeting, assuming they remain among the survivors; this isn't some big city where the aristocrats get special treatment, so they continue to be answerable to the same civic responsibilities as any other citizen, including the same risks in this time of crisis.

"But I digress.  Assuming you fellows are amenable to helping out more than you've already done, there are two immediate concerns I'd like you to see to, since I can't spare any of the town's defenders from the immediate protection of the keep.  We believe that the survivors who couldn't reach the castle before it was sealed have regrouped at the Almanac House, the local temple to Shawnteeah; it's likely that the structure has already been besieged, and it was never designed to keep people out.  Also, I'm interested in knowing the identity of our attackers, and what exactly motivates this invasion, beyond the fact that we're simply located on a significant trade route.  There are other towns of comparable size not too far from here; I'd like to know why they chose to strike here, and for that we need to capture one of their commanders.  If you're willing to take on either of these assignments, there are two ways of getting you outside; the keep has a sally port, although it's in poor repair and currently can't be gotten open, so it will have to be looked at by one or two workmen, and then I'll need to assign guards to protect it.  Alternately, there's an emergency exit tunnel which leads from here to the streambed, which is unlikely to be detected as anything other than a sewer grate by the intruders, assuming they're even checking that area.  So it's more safe from the attackers, but it's suffered over a decade of benign neglect due to our previous lack of actual emergencies; I'd imagine it's choked with vermin and other such impediments by now, so it will be difficult, unpleasant, and possibly slightly dangerous to traverse."


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## JustinCase (Mar 22, 2020)

Grimnir nods as he takes in the information. 

*”Of course we can help,”* he says after a brief glance at Mornok. *”That’s why we’re here. Perhaps there’s a townsman who can show us the way undetected? I’d rather not face that dragon, or an entire army.”*

The dwarf winks, and adds, *”Done that once. Never again.”*


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## gargoyleking (Mar 23, 2020)

"The army or the dragon?" Mornok asks jokingly, then he turns back to Reyne.

"It's a good think I 'as me trusty ol' tool kit. I c'n 'elp wit' the sally gate. Though, I 'eard Dragonrats out there an' they love small rodent infested 'oles. Ye best be guarding that tunnel in any case. I say we go see about th' temple an' maybe we'll be lucky an' get yer info along th' way."


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 23, 2020)

Lyle steps forward a bit. "I'm a townsperson, I know the way to the temple. I was just coming here to look for help getting there.  Sorry, we met briefly but the dragon made me forget my manners.  Names Lyle Leagallow." Lyle doffs his hat to the dwarves and gives the sheriff a small wave.


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## Envisioner (Mar 23, 2020)

"Ah yes, Lyle; I've heard of you.  One of Galena's friends, yes?  I think I recall her saying you had spent some time in Baldur's Gate, or was it all the way up in Waterdeep?  Okay, you can lead our two fine dwarves to the temple.  Private!  Escort this trio to the sally port on the double, and round up anyone who can be spared that you run into on the way, have them ready to secure the exit as soon as Mr. Stormhammer gets it open."  "Sir!" replies the soldier whom Tarbeck Reyne addressed, a heavy-set young fellow in an ill-fitting breastplate, who's managed to grow about 1.5% of something that will eventually be a mustache.  The boy then turns to you, his voice cracking but not wavering.  "This way, gentlemen."


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## JustinCase (Mar 23, 2020)

Grimnir ignores the joke from Mornok and nods his consent to Lyle, then curtly to the sheriff as they take their leave.

*"Grimnir Hammerdeep,"* he introduces himself to Lyle as they make their way out. *"Glad to have you with us. You know how to get us to the temple quickly and without attracting too much attention?"*

The dwarf's chain mail rattles as he walks, and anyone can tell that may hinder attempts to move quietly through the besieged town...


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 23, 2020)

"Getting places without attracting too much attention is my middle name. I knew I was in trouble if my parents ever bothered to call me my full name because it was so long" Lyle says with a grin. "Sorry, bad joke. Yes, I can get us to the temple quickly. With some luck I can get us there quietly, even if your tread is as loud as I guess."


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## gargoyleking (Mar 24, 2020)

"Prolly, an' mine too. I'm nae good at traipsin' about in th' shadows neither. Though once I 'as somethin' y' fight, it'll be fire an' lightnin, wit' a bit o' 'ammerin' t' go around."

Mornok rubs his jaw absently as he stumbles over the unfamilliar linguistics. With a final grunt he falls silent and motions for the halfling to lead the way.


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## JustinCase (Mar 24, 2020)

*"Lightning I can do, too,"* Grimnir smiles as they move. *"And thunder and rain. But the Stormlord provides those for free."*

The dwarf waits for dramatic effect, but at that moment no thunderclap resounds.

*"She would've,"* he mutters to himself.


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## Envisioner (Mar 24, 2020)

The chubby young guard leads you back through the keep and toward the tower's outer wall; suddenly, you hear a crash and a ruckus up ahead.  The boy speeds up and likely leaves you all behind for a few seconds; he goes out of sight when he turns a corner, then immediately yelps and stumbles back into view, having been pouce-tackled by some sort of mastiff-sized green lizard.

Roll Initiative!  The creature is in view ahead of you at a distance of 50 feet, and the guard is prone and adjacent to it.  Also give me a perception roll, specific to hearing if it matters.


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 24, 2020)

"Tried to summon the thunder only for nothing to happen? Don't worry, it happens to all of us as we-" Lyle's joke is cut off by the sudden appearance of a giant lizard.  "Brandobaris's brass balls! What is that?" 
Lyle reaches for his shortbow.









*OOC:*


 Initiative 
_: 1D20+4 = [13]+4 = 17
 
Perception
_: 1D20+4 = [11]+4 = 15


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## gargoyleking (Mar 25, 2020)

Mornok wasn't really expectint anything to happen yet and was surprised by the scuffle. He looked at the creature for a moment, not sure what was happening.



Spoiler: OOC



Perception: 1d20+1 *5*
Perception: 1d20+1 *6*[/ooc]


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## JustinCase (Mar 25, 2020)

Grimnir is likewise perplexed, but he focuses his full attention on the reptilian threat before him, raising his warhammer to defend himself. 









*OOC:*


Grimnir init and perception: 1D20 = [13] = 13
1D20+6 = [8]+6 = 14


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## Envisioner (Mar 26, 2020)

*OOC:*



Ambush Drake etc. Inish Rolls:  CoyoteCode Dice Roller
Anyone who won initiative is delaying until the rest of their group can act.

Leader Inish Roll:  CoyoteCode Dice Roller

Stealth rolls:  CoyoteCode Dice Roller

Leader Stealth:  CoyoteCode Dice Roller






The intruders almost pull off their ambush, but one of them squeals with glee as the reptilian beast savages the poor guardsman.  "Quiet!" a human voice hisses from inside the same room as the squeal, before realizing that his own voice carried a good bit more than he expected it to.

The quadruped creature slinks forward with a menacing throaty growl, like some freakish crossbreed of a leopard and a crocodile, its green scales glistening with the blood of its previous victim, a frill of skin-webbed neck spines laying flat against its neck as it crouches and advances toward Grimnir, the most obviously threatening of its potential victims.  After a few halting steps, it suddenly bounds forward and snaps at the dwarf cleric with its red-stained teeth.









*OOC:*


Hit roll:  CoyoteCode Dice Roller

Oof, getting lots of 20s today....





__





						CoyoteCode Dice Roller
					





					www.coyotecode.net
				










Grimnir's armor is now missing a large chunk, and a fair bit of skin went with it.  Could have been worse, but he definitely felt that.









*OOC:*


Lyle and Grimnir are up; Mornok acts after the leader but before the rest of the intruders.


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## JustinCase (Mar 26, 2020)

As Grimnir prepares for the attack, he whispers a prayer to Umberlee under his breath. The ambush dragon manages to get through his defenses easily, however, but his goddess has apparently heard the dwarf's plea.

While ripping a piece of armor and skin off, a spark of lightning follows and fries the creature's mouth.

*"That hurt,"* Grimnir growls, and his expression darkens. The priest drops his warhammer and while muttering a colourful seaman's curse he reaches out with his hand towards the drake's face. The touch seems to suck the life out of the drake and a wicked smile crosses the dwarf's face for a moment.









*OOC:*


Reaction: Wrath of the Storm (when hit with an attack by a creature within 5 feet, as a reaction deal 2d8 lightning or thunder damage, Dex save DC14 for half damage):
Wrath of the Storm lightning damage: 2D8 = [7, 4] = 11

Action: Casting _Inflict Wounds_ (melee spell attack, 3d10 necrotic damage) at the ambush drake:
Inflict Wounds: 1D20+6 = [11]+6 = 17
3D10 = [4, 7, 4] = 15

I'm having trouble piecing together the rolls you linked to. How many hp did that attack cost me?
Edit: Thanks for letting me know!

HP: 3/11
Wrath of the Storm: 3/4 left before Long Rest
Spell slots (1st level): 1/2 left before Long Rest


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## Envisioner (Mar 26, 2020)

*OOC:*


You took 8 damage, so you have 3 HP remaining.  Whew!

DEX Save:  CoyoteCode Dice Roller
The drake takes 5 damage, correct?  And then another 15 from the Inflict Wounds...  You basically melted its face down to the skull, but it's still moving.

Lyle is up.


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## JustinCase (Mar 26, 2020)

*OOC:*


Rounding down, so yes, 5 from the Wrath of the Storm, and 15 from Inflict Wounds.
I'll update my post above for my current hp. Thanks!


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 26, 2020)

Lyle lets out a small scream of terror and takes a few panicked steps away from the monster, blindly firing his bow in the process. The arrow somehow strikes true, sinking into the creature's newly melted face.  "I uh, meant to do that!"









*OOC:*


I'm not sure if Lyle was within 5 feet of the lizard, he moves back just in case to avoid disadvantage on his attack. 
_: 1D20+6 = [20]+6 = 26
 Here's his attack roll

_: 4D6+4 = [1, 3, 3, 2]+4 = 13
 critical hit with sneak attack


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## Envisioner (Mar 27, 2020)

*OOC:*


You know that if you were in 5 feet, moving back would get you an opportunity attack, right?  Nonetheless, you weren't, so you're fine.







The arrow sinks into the reptile's flank, and an immediate shower of gore proves that you've struck a major artery; before it can do so much as roar furiously, the massive saurian bleeds out and slumps over.  Within a moment, however, a figure dressed in black robes steps around the corner from inside the room, stands back clear of the door, and holds up a single hand with the five fingers splayed awkwardly as far apart as they'll go, waving the hand in a sinuous pattern while droning several mystic syllables and then finally pointing at Lyle:  "Drohmakh zankazha trierre khelverrek: FLEE!"









*OOC:*


Lyle, roll your save versus Command













*OOC:*


. Mornok, you're up.


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## gnarlygninja (Mar 27, 2020)

*OOC:*


Yep, just decided it was worth the risk to kill the thing
_: 1D20+2 = [5]+2 = 7
 







Lyle screams again, much louder this time and turns to run.


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## gargoyleking (Mar 27, 2020)

This didn't look good. The guard was being mauled and Grimnir looked much the worse for wear himself. And Lyle seemed unable to do anything but scream. Still, Mornok was a soldier and he knew his duty, even to a place like this.

First things first, raise the alarm. "ENEMY IN THE KEEP! Come on lads! Or they'll 'ave ye' fer' supper!"

Even as he roared his warning, the dwarf was acting on the second thing. Counterattack. Drawing his warhammer he charged the mage and took a powerful swipe at him. Unfortunately, he was in too much of a rush and the swing was likely to be easily deflected. Still, he had to give Grimnir a chance to recover and hopefully the defenders a chabce to rally.



Spoiler: OOC



Move and attack with a free object interaction to draw. Saving the reaction for either a shield spell if it's needed or an attack of opportunity if that becomes the prudent (and available) thing to do.

Warhammer: 1d20+6 *12* 1d8+4 *10*


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## Envisioner (Mar 27, 2020)

*OOC:*


You didn't technically have to scream there Lyle; the spell doesn't cause any fear in you, it simply mechanically forces you to obey the order to run away. Everything other than your physical movements is unaffected, including your larynx since the order wasn't specific to vocalizing. But if your character is a little bit of a coward, the bloody business with the ambush drake was certainly uppermost in his mind, and his reaction might have been due to more than just the spell. We'll just call it roleplaying.







The spellcaster has no armor, and a bit of a glass jaw from the looks of it; one better-than-average whack from your warhammer is more than enough to put him out of commission.  As he crumples, you notice he's wearing a cheap pewter pendant in the shape of a dragon; you didn't really notice before, but he might well have been touching this amulet when he cast his spell, since you weren't really paying attention to what his non-moving hand was doing at the time.

Now that he's the closest to the door, the inhabitants of the next room promptly orient on Mornok - four of the "dragon rats" as you so aptly called them earlier.  The goblinish quasi-reptiles rush at you with their little knives at the ready; you could arm-wrestle at least two of them simultaneously without breaking a sweat, but they're certainly quick.









*OOC:*


Since the Shield reaction is in play, and the kobolds' Pack Tactics makes a huge difference in how their attacks will work depending on whether they manage to put Mornok down and then proceed past him to Grimnir.  I could use some advice as to how to handle this situation; I don't want to keep you guys waiting a super long time, but it really seems like I should maybe run the turns one at a time, and I am not sure whether I should make each hit roll before or after asking whether Shield is cast.


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## JustinCase (Mar 27, 2020)

*OOC:*




			
				Shield spell said:
			
		

> Until the start of your next turn, you have a +5 bonus to AC, including against the triggering attack




That means they could all attack Mornok and he'd have that +5 AC to all their attacks (but no Opportunity Attacks unless none of them would hit his base AC). 

In that case you could roll all their attacks at the same time - unless you expect them to hit him for 8 damage long before all kobolds have taken a turn.

I'm no tactical genius; as a DM I play my NPCs in the manner I think befits their personality or nature. So that's all I got. 

And obviously I don't want Mornok to go down in the second round of combat. In the first fight of the game.

Or at all.


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## gargoyleking (Mar 27, 2020)

Spoiler: ooc



In most games I've played it usually makes life easier for the GM to use their own judgement. Just roll the dice for one attack first and see if it would fall within that range. If it is, then shield goes up. If not, then it doesn't and rinse and repeat. If the last one does hit but he doesn't particularly feel threatened by the damage potential then he might let that one hit pass. I don't want you to have to spend a week on fealing with one of my spells. Unless you're super picky about things, which never seems to work out in pbp to my experience, I'll trust you to make it make sense.


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## Envisioner (Mar 28, 2020)

*OOC:*


Mornok is wearing leather armor, right?  I don't see it on his sheet, but as far as I know everyone who isn't a barbarian or a monk has literally no reason to ever not wear it.

Rereading the Shield spell, it says that you cast it when you are "hit" by an attack, which by a strict reading would mean the +5 AC you get by casting it does nothing, but that's obviously not the intent of the spell, so I'll treat it as saying that you cast the spell when you "would be hit", which is the most generous interpretation of how long you can wait before having to make the call.  If this was still 3.5 you'd be screwed lol.

Rollypop:
Kobold 1:  forgot to grab the link but he rolled a 2
Kobold 2:  CoyoteCode Dice Roller
Kobold 3:  again forgot the link, sorry; he had a 17 and I believe a 5.
Kobold 4:  the dice roller is giving me technical issues all of a sudden, so I'm fiatting this last roll as an 18 for narrative reasons.







The kobolds rush Mornok with a furious series of chopping motions, most of which hit nothing but air.  All the first one manages to do with his ankle-biting is annoy the dwarf, but that's enough; a second one pounces onto his shield and scrabbles furiously for purchase, then while his shield is dragged down, a third dragon-rat scrambles up the back of the first one and launches right at Mornok's face.  This in turn leaves him distracted long enough that a fourth can slip around behind him and practically crawl up his fundament.  At roughly this point he intuits that he's going to need magical protection to survive unscathed; while he would probably have kept his feet after sustaining both slashes, he'd be left in seriously bad shape, and a critical hit could in theory outright kill him, so it's more prudent for him to cast his spell than to try and take a single swipe at one of his attackers.

Grimnir is up.  Lyle, you come to your senses and can act right after him.


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## gargoyleking (Mar 28, 2020)

Spoiler: ooc



No armor, he cast the mage armor spell before they started heading towards the keep in anticipation of having to fight some sort of trouble-making vanguard unit.


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## Envisioner (Mar 28, 2020)

Spoiler: ooc






gargoyleking said:


> No armor, he cast the mage armor spell before they started heading towards the keep in anticipation of having to fight some sort of trouble-making vanguard unit.




Your character sheet lists AC as 14.  The default is 10; your Dexterity modifier of +1 adds to that, and then another +2 for the shield.  Where does the last point come from, if not leather armor?


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## gargoyleking (Mar 28, 2020)

Spoiler: ooc



He doesn't have a shield and the mage armor spell gives an AC of 13+dex.


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## JustinCase (Mar 28, 2020)

Grimnir holds the life essence his goddess took from the drake and with that hand presses against his wounded chest. Already moving, he mutters, *”Umberlee takes, Umberlee gives,”* and the wound starts healing. 

Only slowing to pick up his warhammer, the priest rushes to his fellow dwarf’s aid. The hammer swings towards the nearest kobold, but his unfamiliarity with this foe makes him underestimate its reflexes and it manages to duck under what would otherwise be a lethal blow. 









*OOC:*


Bonus Action: Healing Word on me; regain 1d4+4 hp: 
Healing Word: 1D4+4 = [2]+4 = 6

Move: to nearest kobold

Action: Attack with warhammer:
Warhammer: 
1D20+5 = [5]+5 = 10
1D8+3 = [7]+3 = 10

HP: 9/11
Wrath of the Storm: 3/4 left before Long Rest
Spell slots (1st level): 0/2 left before Long Rest


----------



## gnarlygninja (Mar 28, 2020)

Lyle stops screaming, spins on his heel, and shoots into the throng of kobolds swarming Mornok. The spin carries him past the kobold he meant to aim at but a lucky stumble right as the arrow left the bow puts the arrow back in the right direction. 
"This would almost be impressive if it weren't for all the screaming."



Spoiler: ooc



_: 1D20+6 = [1]+6 = 7
 I rerolled this 1 because of Lucky

_: 1D20+6 = [6]+6 = 12
 New Attack roll

_: 2D6+4 = [3, 5]+4 = 12
 12 damage with sneak attack


----------



## Envisioner (Mar 29, 2020)

The kobolds' incessant scampering about makes it impossible for Grimnir to land a hammer blow upon anything other than the floor and walls, but Lyle's wild arrow manages to catch one of the little rascals right under the tail, spearing out its entire lower intestine and leaving it dead in a puddle of blood and reptilian excrement.

Mornok is up.  Three kobolds are all still swarming all over and around him, though two of them are now also sandwiched between him and Grimnir.


----------



## gargoyleking (Mar 29, 2020)

Mornok was used to fighting kobolds and is showed as he deftly landed a second blow with his hammer.



Spoiler: ooc



Warhammer: 1d20+6 *24* 1d8+4 *6*


----------



## Envisioner (Mar 29, 2020)

Pancaking a second of their membership is enough to break the kobolds' morale; no longer outnumbering the dwarves two to one, they Disengage and dash back out the broken-down door of the sally port, which now stands as an open 20-by-10 room looking out upon the town, which is enshrouded by dusk but lit faintly by the glow of several fires.  An occasional distant scream suggests that a few civilians haven't made it, but for the most part, the few raiders you can see moving around in the gloom seem to have given up trying to hunt down the citizenry, and are bustling about some nefarious errand largely under their own recognizance.  The group can tell that if they slip out into the night, the odds are fair that they can move about with relatively little interference, perhaps bluffing their way past the patrols and goon squads that are currently making Greenest their playground.  

There is currently no sign of the dragon, and neither the temple of Chauntea nor any other significant destinations in the town are clearly visible from this angle.  The once-reinforced door through the keep's wall has been quite thoroughly broken through, and Mornok estimates it would take five castings of the Mending cantrip to render it defensible once again.  If it is left open, the odds are high that the invaders would notice it and begin concentrating their forces upon invading the castle, while if the door is replaced, whoever is commanding this attack would likely conclude that the party you just finished off simply failed or abandoned their mission, and might send one more band of thugs but probably not a full-fledged assault.


----------



## gargoyleking (Mar 29, 2020)

Pah! Bluddy dragonrats!

Mornok turned back to Grimnir, looking him over.

"Ye' alright? Th' drake took quite a bite out o' ye!"


----------



## gnarlygninja (Mar 30, 2020)

Lyle takes a moment to look for his spent arrows.  The one that killed the lizard is mostly fine, but a quick sniff of the kobold killing arrow reveals it's probably not worth carrying around.  "I don't know what these kobolds have been eating but I hope it tasted better than it smells now." Lyle brushes his hand on the floor, then decides to look over the spell caster while he's standing there.  



Spoiler: ooc



Don't know if this investigation check will be necessary but rolled it in case
_: 1D20+2 = [18]+2 = 20


----------



## Envisioner (Mar 30, 2020)

*OOC:*


Well with a roll like that...







The spellcaster is pretending to still be unconscious, perhaps hoping he could slip away when your back was turned; Lyle notices his eyes moving and puts the hurt on him, in his own unique fashion, to make sure he knows better than to try anything.  Within several minutes, a trio of guards shows up to take command of the situation so that you guys can head out; they however have no ability to seal the door in less than an hour of work.  One of the men goes to fetch a few more; the two that remain take control of the prisoner, but won't march him off until the reinforcements arrive.  As they're getting the man up off the ground, gagging him with a scrap of cloth torn from his own robe and then holding his wrists to ensure he can't manage any functional finger-waggling, they jostle him in such a way that a scrap of paper falls out of his robe and Lyle is the first to glimpse it.


----------



## gargoyleking (Mar 30, 2020)

"Oh good I was 'opin 'e was still breathin'. Guess tha's the first task complete already. Let me 'ave a quick go at th' door an' we c'n be on our way."

Mornok has the guards hold the gate in position and spends a half-minute of spell castings to get it semi-functional once more. The whole time he bemoaned the poor workmanship and insisted that the artisan should be hanged and his workmen flogged for their collective failures.


----------



## gnarlygninja (Mar 30, 2020)

Lyle snatches up the paper before he has time to think. A lifetime spent reaching into strangers' pockets has taught him if something falls out in front of you, you pick it up.  "Gold never just falls out, does it?  Ah well, let's see what you are."


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## JustinCase (Mar 30, 2020)

*"Umberlee gives as much as she takes,"* Grimnir answers Mornok's question about his health, and he grins as he shows the almost fully healed wound. Mending that armor will come later; the priest carefully pries the missing piece from the dead drake's maw and tucks it under his belt.

*"Let me help you with that,"* Grimnir says as he, too, starts repairing the gate with magic.

*"Not too different from patching up a ship,"* he jokes to Lyle, noticing the halfling holding a piece of paper. *"What did you find?"*









*OOC:*


I knew that the Mending cantrip would come in handy!


----------



## Envisioner (Mar 30, 2020)

Lyle's examination of the paper is fruitless; it is covered entirely in arcane symbols which mean nothing to him.  He'll have to show it to his new friends when they're less busy.

Two dwarves are better than one, so the door is put back into service within literally seconds.  With that attended to, the party sees their prisoner handed off, some guards take over the watch on the sally port, and they can head out into the night.









*OOC:*


If wishing to attempt stealth, go ahead and roll for it; if your priority is speed instead I will take that into account.


----------



## gnarlygninja (Mar 30, 2020)

"It's gibberish to me, maybe one of you can make it out." Lyle hands the note Grimnir and takes a brief look for the best route to the temple.  "Keep on the balls of your feet and don't fall down, that's 90% of sneaking." 




Spoiler: ooc



stealth roll
_: 1D20+8 = [20]+8 = 28


----------



## Envisioner (Mar 30, 2020)

*OOC:*


That was a perfect time to roll a 20.  Combined with your giving the team a pep talk, you get inspiration.


----------



## JustinCase (Mar 30, 2020)

Grimnir takes a look at the note, then shrugs as he passes it on to Mornok. 

*"No idea. I could ask Umberlee, but I don't want to push my luck with her today."*

Following Lyle's instructions, the Luskan priest carefully takes a few quiet steps, holding down his chain mail so it makes barely any sound.

*"Hey, that works!"* he says enthusiastically. 









*OOC:*


Wasn't sure whether we all had to roll stealth, but here goes: 
Stealth with disadvantage: 
1D20 = [16] = 16
1D20 = [13] = *13*


----------



## gargoyleking (Mar 30, 2020)

Spoiler: ooc



Arcana: 1d20+5 *7*
Stealth: 1d20+1 *9*



Mornok glanced at the paper for a moment but couldn't make much of anything out of it just yet. Shrugging, he rolled it up and stuffed it into a pouch before trying to sneak off after the others. Being a mountain dwarf, he wasn't used to sneaking anywhere though, and while he didn't embarass himself, he wasn't as stealthy as Grimnir who was hampered by his armor.


----------



## Envisioner (Mar 31, 2020)

*OOC:*


With only one failed Stealth roll, the three of you make it about 100 feet without any incidents.  The church is some 300 feet from the keep.  Another round of rolls, please.


----------



## gnarlygninja (Mar 31, 2020)

Lyle grins encouragingly at the dwarves. "See? It's not so hard, it's all about walking with purpose. Walk with purpose and have a full stomach, that's my trick."


Spoiler: ooc



_: 1D20+8 = [7]+8 = 15


----------



## JustinCase (Mar 31, 2020)

Feeling confident now, Grimnir starts moving faster. 

*”I’m getting the hang of this,”* he whispers, looking back at Mornok. 

And promptly walking against a wall with a loud thud. 









*OOC:*



Stealth with disadvantage: 
1D20 = [8] = 8
1D20 = [10] = 10


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## gargoyleking (Mar 31, 2020)

Mornok still couldn't get the hang of it. Nevertheless, he continued trudging along hoping not to bring their enemies down onto their heads.



Spoiler: ooc



Stealth: 1d20+1 *8*


----------



## Envisioner (Apr 1, 2020)

*OOC:*


Don't worry Mornok, that particular pooch had already been screwed.







CoyoteCode Dice Roller

Grimnir's thud gets an immediate response, as two leather-clad, scimitar-wielding brigands emerge from behind the wall he walked into, followed by a black-robed mage similar to the one apprehended back at the keep (although this one seems to be a woman, as best our three brave nonhumans can guess from the face alone).

Innish rolls!
Acolyte = Rolled a 16, but my computer crashed before I could save the edit that included the link.
Cultists = Act on 12 and 11; CoyoteCode Dice Roller


----------



## gnarlygninja (Apr 1, 2020)

*OOC:*



_: 1D20+4 = [17]+4 = 21







Lyle sighs.  "Well, we made it further than I expected."


----------



## gargoyleking (Apr 1, 2020)

Spoiler: ooc



Orokos is hacing coniption fits as it sometimes does. Here's my CototeCode init. Good ol' CC roller...

Initiative: 1D20+1 = [1]+1 = 2


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## JustinCase (Apr 2, 2020)

As soon as he hits the wall, Grimnir knows that he has been heard and the dwarf raises his warhammer, ready for anything.









*OOC:*


initiative Grimnir: 1D20 = [20] = 20


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 2, 2020)

Lyle grabs the dagger on his belt and looks to Grimnir and Mornok. "Think you can hit them as hard as Grimnir hit that wall?" 



Spoiler: ooc



I assume Lyle is going first with the 21, I'm readying an action to throw the dagger at the first enemy who comes within 5 feet of an ally. I'll roll it in advance to speed things up 





__





						CoyoteCode Dice Roller
					





					roll.coyotecode.net
				







__





						CoyoteCode Dice Roller
					





					roll.coyotecode.net


----------



## Envisioner (Apr 3, 2020)

*OOC:*


Okay, it's Lyle then Grimnir then all three of the bad guys and then Mornok.

EDIT - crossposted.


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## JustinCase (Apr 3, 2020)

Moving up to the nearest brigand, Grimnir takes a swing at him with his warhammer. It's not a very accurate swing as the dwarf is preoccupied in getting his opponent between him and the spellcaster, to avoid being vulnerable to her magic.

*"Take her out first!"* he yells to his companions.









*OOC:*


Move: To nearest brigand. (Does that trigger Lyle's Ready action?)

Attack: Warhammer attack: 1D20+5 = [6]+5 = 11
1D8+3 = [5]+3 = 8 

Note: I have a Reaction ready in case I'm being hit by a melee attack, which is the Wrath of the Storm feature.

HP: 9/11
Wrath of the Storm: 3/4 left before Long Rest
Spell slots (1st level): 0/2 left before Long Rest


----------



## Envisioner (Apr 3, 2020)

"Well that's just rude," the spellcaster says, beginning a series of arcane gestures. "Teach the dirt-dwarf some manners, will you Skorob?"  Her voice then trails off into some sort of incantation, and she pulls an aspergillum out of one sleeve of her robe, spinning it over her head and spraying a light shower of water across both of her goons (as well as herself). Where the water splashes on herself or her activities, you see it momentarily flash with blood-red light before soaking into their leathers or robe.

"Whatever you say, Ishka," the presumable Skorob says as he steps forward and swings his scimitar at Grimnir's face.  Umberlee's power surges as the blade bites into the dwarf's cheek, delivering a slash that is only marginally worse than if he cut himself while shaving (unusually enough for a dwarf, Grimnir probably actually has shaved, if only when he was young enough not to have much sense of dwarven pride); the peal of thunder and lightning that he generates will probably hurt the goon more than the cleric himself was hurt.  However, as the crackling arc leaps into his attacker, it is blunted by a flash of red light.









*OOC:*


Skorob's hit roll (with Bless):  21  CoyoteCode Dice Roller
Dex save vs. Wrath of the Storm:  13 CoyoteCode Dice Roller
Forgot to add the Bless roll:  2, so 15 in total:  CoyoteCode Dice Roller
Skorob's damage:  2 CoyoteCode Dice Roller

I forget whether you guys are missing any HP from earlier; regardless, mark Grimnir down a couple HP and roll damage for his reaction, dealing half of the roll result.  Meanwhile Lyle can toss his dagger at Skorob. I'll wait for the results of those rolls before having the second cultist take an action.







Lyle's dagger catches Skorob right in the neck just after his swing; a gush of blood from the wound indicates that the wound is already near-fatal, and the retributive magic puts him down, although he's obviously still breathing (no need to even roll, it will do a minimum of 1 damage and can't possibly do enough for an instant kill, so the effect is the same regardless of the total result).  That fact appears to be lost on his buddy, though.  "Skorob! You little murderer!" He starts to dash after Lyle, but Ishka stops him with a hand on his shoulder.  "No Zigmar, that's what these do-gooders want.  Focus on one at a time and put them down, don't let them pull aggro and leave your allies vulnerable."  "Grr...as you command," Zigmar reluctantly assents, and he too attacks Grimnir before he can get another reaction.  However his heart is clearly not in it and his attack doesn't get even close.









*OOC:*


Zigmar's hit roll:  10 CoyoteCode Dice Roller

That's all of them; to Mornok and then Lyle and Grimnir again


----------



## JustinCase (Apr 3, 2020)

*OOC:*


I love that Wrath of the Storm feature already.  

Grimnir
HP: 7/11
Wrath of the Storm: 2/4 left before Long Rest


----------



## gargoyleking (Apr 3, 2020)

Spoiler: ooc



Before mornok goes, can he figure out what she's just done?

Arcana: 1d20+5 *17*


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## Envisioner (Apr 3, 2020)

*OOC:*


It was obviously some sort of buff spell which offered some degree of protection; you saw the red glow flare when Grimnir shocked the guy who had attacked him, although it didn't stop him from passing out.  While the effect on attacks was also more subtle, that Arcana roll is good enough that I'll rule you can also tell the spell improved their accuracy somehow.


----------



## gargoyleking (Apr 3, 2020)

Spoiler: ooc



Crit fail on a firebolt... Yeesh.
Fire Bolt: 1d20+5 *6* 1d10 *6*



Mornok read what he could into the woman's spell and felt he knew what she'd done. "She's some kind o' priest!

Then he held up his free hand, incanting a spell of his own. Unfortunately, in that moment he lost his balance and spoiled the spell which sizzled and smoked about the tips of his outstretcged fingers.


----------



## gnarlygninja (Apr 3, 2020)

Lyle tries to use the fireworks as a distraction, running up to stab Zigmar with his short sword. "It's a shame to lose a friend, I'll do my best to reunite you!"  In his eagerness to come up with a quip, Lyle misjudges the timing of his strike.  
Lyle glances at Zigmar hopefully. "Before you react, remember I was trying to do you a favor."



Spoiler: ooc



I doubt this hits but I'll roll damage on the off chance it does




__





						CoyoteCode Dice Roller
					





					roll.coyotecode.net
				





			CoyoteCode Dice Roller


----------



## JustinCase (Apr 3, 2020)

*”Not my god,”* Grimnir spits when Mornok calls the woman a priest, and he points at her as if about to shout an insult. 

Before he can open his mouth, however, a blast of shining water spouts from his pointing finger and washes over the enemy cleric. 

*”Thank you Umberlee,”* the dwarf whispers in surprise. 









*OOC:*


Casting the Sacred Flame cantrip. Target takes 1d8 radiant damage; Dex save negates. DC 14

Sacred Flame: 1D8 = [6] = 6


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## Envisioner (Apr 3, 2020)

*OOC:*


Ishka's Bless spell boosts her up to a 20 on her save.  CoyoteCode Dice Roller







Grimnir's spell lashes out at Ishka, but she dances to one side, trailing a streamer of red energy which catches the brunt of his watery blast.  She still catches one curl of the wave, which burns her flesh like acid, but it's little more than a splash of mud from a roadside puddle, and washes away in a moment.
this is post 112.
"That's not how that spell works, dwarf!  Let me show you how it's done!"  Ishka spreads the five fingers of one hand, waves the hand sinuously, crooks the fingers toward you, and unleashes five streamers of varicolored flame.









*OOC:*


Sacred Flame for 6 damage:  CoyoteCode Dice Roller
Roll me a save, please!


----------



## JustinCase (Apr 3, 2020)

*OOC:*


Ouch!

Dex saving throw: 1D20 = [5] = 5


HP 1/11


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## Envisioner (Apr 4, 2020)

Fortunately, while Ishka is gloating about having won the cleric-off, she forgets to prompt Zigmar to do in the hill dwarf, and the surviving hatchet-man defaults to his immediate grudge against Lyle, rather than making the more tactically sound choice to even the odds in the fight.









*OOC:*


I need to roll a concentration save for Ishka and then an attack for Zigmar, but CoyoteCode seems to be down, so you'll just have to take my word for it that I rolled physical dice.  Ishka got a 19, so Bless is still up; Zigmar rolls 13+4 plus his normal 4, so I'm pretty sure Lyle is hit.  And the damage die comes up a 6, so it's 7 total.  Sorry guys, my dice don't seem to like you.


----------



## gnarlygninja (Apr 4, 2020)

Lyle's been hit harder by stronger men, but he really can't remember when.  "I was trying to help you see your friend again, and this is the thanks I get?!"









*OOC:*


Down to 3 hit points myself now


----------



## Envisioner (Apr 4, 2020)

Mornok is next.


----------



## gargoyleking (Apr 4, 2020)

Mornok grumbles incoherently as he raises his hand again, aiming for Ishka. This time he actually got the spell off, but still missed his mark. Grumbling he drew his warhammer and bore down on the thug, hoping to give the man a reason to worry.



Spoiler: ooc



Fire Bolt: 1d20+5 *9* 1d10 *3*
Well, at least it's not another crit fail. LOL


----------



## gnarlygninja (Apr 4, 2020)

Lyle feets lightheaded after the blow.  He reaches into his belt for his second dagger, stabbing at Zagmar with the short sword at the same time.  This time it bit deep into the man.  "Tell your friend I said hello."  Lyle darts past Zagmar and slices his dagger at the priestess.  "I don't have anything clever for you just...die."



Spoiler: ooc



Attacking Zagmar, then using my bonus action for a piddly attack against the priestess.
_: 1D20+6 = [20]+6 = 26
Attack roll for Zagmar
_: 4D6+4 = [2, 6, 4, 1]+4 = 17
damage roll for Zagmar

_: 1D20+6 = [14]+6 = 20
Dagger attack
_: 1D4 = [4] = 4
  dagger damage


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## Envisioner (Apr 4, 2020)

Zigmar is run completely through; you came within an inch of entirely severing his aorta and killing him instantly, but he definitely won't make another movement for hours if not days, assuming he manages not to bleed out within the next minute.  The dagger hits Ishka somewhere in the thigh-hip-intestines area (hard to tell which through the robe), and she gasps in anguish.

Grimnir, you're up.  Will the villain manage to escape, or can you put her down?


----------



## JustinCase (Apr 4, 2020)

Out of breath from the magical beating he just received, Grimnir marrows his eyes. No more threats, not a word does he speak, as with the defiance that marks a dwarf he steps forwards to swing his warhammer at his competitor. 

He lands a solid hit. 









*OOC:*


I hope this ends her, because we’re very low on hp and I can’t heal us until after a long rest...

Warhammer: 1D20+5 = [19]+5 = 24
1D8+3 = [3]+3 = 6


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## Envisioner (Apr 4, 2020)

Ishka goes down from this final hammer-blow, but in the process she shrieks loudly enough that you immediately begin hearing shouts from other cultists.  They probably don't know whether she's one of their members or just another innocent victim pleading for help, but either way they're coming to investigate.  You guys had best find a way of evading notice!









*OOC:*


Feel free to invent some terrain, architecture, horticulture or the like, which would presumably exist in a typical medieval village, that you can hide in.


----------



## gnarlygninja (Apr 4, 2020)

"Those hedges have enough space to hide in, or at least they did when I was a child.  It won't be a comfortable fit in for the two of you but there should be just enough room. They don't run the whole way to the temple but it's enough for us to hopefully avoid getting killed.  I'm not really in shape for another fight." Lyle picks up his dagger as he heads to the bushes.


----------



## gargoyleking (Apr 4, 2020)

"As ye say lad, we c'n try if'n ye think ye c'n pull it off."

Mornok headed for the bushes in question, looking for a way in for a full sized dwarf.


----------



## Envisioner (Apr 5, 2020)

Okay, Stealth rolls all around, with disadvantage for the dwarves.


----------



## gnarlygninja (Apr 5, 2020)

*OOC:*



_: 1D20+8 = [16]+8 = 24


----------



## JustinCase (Apr 5, 2020)

Without a word, Grimnir finds his way into the foliage. He’s not loud, but the dwarf has some difficulty staying low. 









*OOC:*



Stealth with disadvantage: 
1D20 = [11] = 11
1D20 = [15] = 15


----------



## Envisioner (Apr 5, 2020)

*OOC:*


I changed my mind, we'll fiat that Mornok succeeds at the hide check since it was his idea in the first place.  If nothing else, there's a rule somewhere about allowing one character to take disadvantage in order to give an ally advantage; with a rule as good as Lyle's, we can assume he succeeds in hiding his buddy as well as himself.







As the three hide amid the hedgerows surrounding a slightly larger cottage, they see a half-dozen of the black-armored cultists converge on the area where Ishka, Zigmar and Skorob lie comatose.  A single bearded wizard in a purple robe soon arrives and takes command of the situation.  "Sergeant!  What have you found."  His question is answered by a massively burly fellow whose armor is particularly fanciful, with several artistic flourishes reminiscent of a black dragon.  The sergeant gives a summary of what his group was doing when they head Ishka cry out; apparently these men, and the kobolds who are semi-enslaved by them sort-of-willingly, have been looting the town and collecting any and all monies and items of value which they've managed to find.  Discussing the situation, they quickly come to the conclusion that "somebody playing hero" must have attacked the trio and then "scattered"; the sergeant opines that they may well be hiding in the area, and that the kobolds should be brought in to search the various nooks and crannies nearby, but the wizard vetoes this plan.  "If we have a bunch of resisters trying to disrupt our operation, they'll make themselves obvious soon enough; the kobolds need to stick to what they're good at, not go snooping around and possibly finding items of value which they might 'forget' to hand over to the Goddess."


----------



## gnarlygninja (Apr 5, 2020)

Lyle shifts uncomfortably.  The hedge has grown tighter since he hid here as a child, and he never hid with full grown dwarves.  "That's a few too many for a fair fight.  Either of you know what to make of all that? I'm good with 'finding items of value' but goddesses are a little outside my purview."


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## gargoyleking (Apr 5, 2020)

Mornok puts a finger to his mouth and then gestures with 2 fingers to his eyes and then pointing them towards the wizard. He does his vest for now to simply try to see any kind of identifying symbology on the wizard's clothing or gear although he does look at the others as well.



Spoiler: ooc



I'm thinking investigation, looking for clues?

Investigation: 1d20+6 *14*


----------



## Envisioner (Apr 5, 2020)

Mornok vaguely remembers having heard the term "wearers of purple", though he cannot recall the context.


----------



## Envisioner (Apr 6, 2020)

*OOC:*


Waiting on JustinCase.


----------



## JustinCase (Apr 6, 2020)

Grimnir nods, not daring to speak in fear of being discovered by the enemy. He cannot confront anyone right now; his injuries make him slow and vulnerable.

Shrugging, he motions for the others to sit tight until the group has left. Meanwhile, he is studying the cultists' interaction for clues about their respective status and perhaps intent. Working on a ship tends to make one alert to hierarchy and ways in which conflicts are settled.









*OOC:*


Sorry, weekends are often my offline days. Particularly on a beautifully sunny day such as yesterday! Social distancing in my own garden works just fine.  

Making an Insight check on the cultists: insight: 1D20+6 = [11]+6 = 17 

As soon as the enemy are gone, Grimnir will suggest dressing up in the cultists' outfit so they can move about more easily.


----------



## Envisioner (Apr 7, 2020)

Grimnir is able to suss out that the cultists are a rather disorganized lot, seemingly members of disparate factions which have recently been dragooned together into a single force, but are by no means a well-oiled machine as of yet.  There are definitely plenty of vulnerabilities in their command structure which could be exploited, although it'll be a trifle challenging given that nearly all of the membership are apparently humans, elves, or dragonborn (with various hybrids including the occasional half-orc); you've seen only one or two dwarves and not a single halfling (or gnome).  So while you could mug a cultist for their black armor, or an acolyte for their purple robes, either would be radically ill-fitting, particularly if Grimir tried to wear it over his existing armor (which is infinitely better, apart from the impairment to stealth).

(I'm assuming you're all whispering among each other, counting on the wind and the distant din of ransacking and shouted commands to cover up any noise you generate; the contingent onsite is mostly sticking to where the unconscious trio were found, and none of them seems to be paying much attention to the area where you are at the moment.  The house behind you has already been very obviously looted and torched, so they don't seem interested in searching its grounds any further.)


----------



## gnarlygninja (Apr 7, 2020)

"We could sneak around the backside of this house and try to run along behind the row of houses to the temple," Lyle suggests.  "I think I'd look a bit too much like a child in his father's robes if I tried wearing any of their clothing." Lyle thinks for a moment, trying to remember how closely his suggested method would get them to the temple.









*OOC:*


Not sure it's necessary but here's an int check to remember. 
CoyoteCode Dice Roller


----------



## gargoyleking (Apr 7, 2020)

Mornok smirked at lyle for a moment. "Ye c'd prolly pass fer one o' them dragon rats wit' a bit o' work, from a distance may'aps. But fer' us, it'd be about impossible."

He glances back at the trio of cultists and frowns. "When that lot wakes up they'll 'ave our descriptions. We'd best not tarry long, that or find a way t' silence th' lot."


----------



## JustinCase (Apr 7, 2020)

Grimnir nods as he points towards the house Lyle mentioned.

*"Let's go,"* he whispers, slowly moving out of the bushes trying to be silent and unseen.


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## Envisioner (Apr 7, 2020)

The battered trio manages to sneak through to a house across from the temple of Chauntea; they have several close calls, but manage to avoid being spotted.  When they arrive at the rustic but decent-sized sanctuary, they immediately see that the intruders have done some damage; there are small fires burning around the church's outside, but the fieldstone structure itself seems only to have suffered basically cosmetic damage thus far.  However, the squarish building is absolutely swarming with cultists and kobolds; a large number are grouped around the barricaded front door, another smaller group is clustered around the back, and a host of mostly kobolds, led by three men who are holding the leashes of two of the dragon-dog things that you saw earlier, is patrolling a circuit around the temple, chanting some sort of religious litany and capering or gesticulating, while the drakes sniff at the air and howl intermittently.


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 7, 2020)

"Any ideas? Best I can come up with is waiting til the patrol is on the opposite side of the church and trying to take out the group at the backdoor, their chanting and all that battering should cover most of the noise if we're fast enough." Lyle glances down at his own bruises and at the others. "I'm not sure we're up to that though."


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## Envisioner (Apr 7, 2020)

As if in answer to your words, the circling group comes around from the front of the church and passes those gathered at the back.  "Here, what's taking you laggards so long to burn through this door?" barks a melodious female voice, probably an elf from the sound of it (though her language use is hardly typical of any elf you've met).  A particularly weaselly-looking kobold squeaks in response, "Wood not will burning for good!  Us keep break our fire-sticks before theys can get through."  "IDIOTS!  TRY THIS!" shouts a second member of the procession, and he pulls out an incendiary-like device (Mornok recognizes the technology as Dwarven immediately, and in fact the speaker could easily be a dwarf from the shape of him, though atypically tall for the race).  Tossing the spike-shaped object toward the unseen rear of the building, he is rewarded with a big "boom" and a huge gout of thick black smoke, which quickly spreads and blankets the entire area in a gray haze.  The bomber laughs and yanks on the choke-chain to urge his drake forward; the kobold members of the mobile group twirl and leap and jabber in excitement at the detonation, while those who were around the door can be glimpsed cringing and covering their heads just before it explodes, and then scramble to recover their tools before they are fully obscured from view.  The patrol then moves on again, vanishing into the cloud and presumably continuing on with their route.  Assuming they keep their previous movement rate, they will likely take about five full combat rounds to make it back here, giving you a fair amount of time to use the smoke as cover and sneak up on the door guards.


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## JustinCase (Apr 7, 2020)

*"That's our cue,"* Grimnir says with a smile as he moves forward, taking advantage of the smoke to remain unseen, hoping to get the villagers out of the temple.

With the singlemindedness of a true dwarf, the priest rushes towards where he suspects the wood is most easily opened to let out those inside, if necessary with the help of his hammer. If he is detected, he ignores any cultists and kobolds until his current goal is completed.


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 7, 2020)

"That was convenient.  Let's hope our luck can hold out a little while longer." Lyle grips his shortsword and a dagger, then moves forward into the smog.









*OOC:*


CoyoteCode Dice Roller stealth roll


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## gargoyleking (Apr 7, 2020)

Mornok follows the others, warhammer out and ready to go. He doesn't worry about stealth so much as speed at this ppint, relying on the smoke to mask his identity and intent.


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## Envisioner (Apr 8, 2020)

*OOC:*


Watch this space.


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 9, 2020)

*OOC:*


Sorry, not quite sure what that means


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## Envisioner (Apr 9, 2020)

*OOC:*


Since the entire party is on like 2 hit points and the enemies they're facing are similarly pathetic, I'm going to dispense with die rolls and fiat that they succeed, so that we can get on to the more interesting scenario which proceeds from this one.







With the party as severely battered as their last two battles have left them, their only hope of success is to strike before their opponents know they're present; fortunately, with the thick smoke fouling the eyes and noses of the six kobolds, and the two presiding cultists (a human and a dragonborn) both even more helpless, the trio have a golden opportunity to do just this.  Lyle vanishes entirely into the smoke, and has no trouble slitting a couple of kobold throats before they can so much as choke out a cry of alarm; Mornok's more impetuous charge attracts the dragonborn's attention, but with only a vague idea of where his target is approaching from, the cultist impulsively decides to vomit a stream of acid in the wizard's general direction.  And as luck would have it he not only misses by two full yards, but in the process incinerates another of the dragon-rats, whose anguished yelp immediately breaks the resolve of the remaining three, sending them screaming for the hills in every direction.  "You idiot!" the human cultist howls at his counterpart, and he charges toward Mornok - right past an unseen Grimnir, who promptly kneecaps him and then steps on his neck.  Left suddenly alone and with his natural defense wasted, the dragonborn cultist throws down his weapon and puts up his hands.  "Goddess forfend me...I surrender," he says to the now-visible cleric.

The group can hear shouts of alarm from the horde at the temple's front gate, presumably because they noticed the commotion and spotted the fleeing kobolds.  You have only seconds before reinforcements arrive, but luckily someone inside the beseiged temple has noticed; the stout wooden door which the villains were trying to burn through suddenly opens from within, and a woman in her nightclothes hisses "Quickly heroes, in here!" in a whisper that can barely be heard over the din.


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## gargoyleking (Apr 9, 2020)

Mornok slings his warhammer as quickly as he'd drawn it and grabs the dragonborn's wrist, wrenching it behind him just hard enough to let him know that he is no longer in charge of his own body. He orders the new prisoner to put his other arm behind his back and grabs it with his other hand, locking it in a similar position and crossing the other. Then, hearing the woman's voice he forcefully marches his prisoner through the door.

"Aye, we be in yer' debt m'lady, though we come t'help."


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## JustinCase (Apr 9, 2020)

Grimnir nods gratefully, not wasting his breath on words before he’s reached the relative safety inside the temple. 

Only then he speaks, echoeing Mornok. *”Thanks for saving us. We’re here to rescue you.”*

The gold dwarf smiles awkwardly, realizing the irony.


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 9, 2020)

Lyle tries his to flash his best grin.  Given the night he's had, it comes off as more of a sickly grimace.  "What they said, heroes and all that.  We've been sent by the sheriff."


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## Envisioner (Apr 9, 2020)

"Is the whole army or whatever it is still out there?" the woman asks, somewhat nonsensically since the sounds of the combatants rushing around and barking orders is still clearly audible.  Frayed nerves are to be expected; you soon discover that there are more than two dozen people huddled in a chapel barely capable of housing them for the duration of a single service, and they've been besieged for close to an hour by now.  You find that several people are distinctly ambivalent about leaving the short-term sanctuary, while many others are so frantic to get away that they're impossible to reason with, pacing like caged animals and seemingly on the verge of hurting themselves (or anyone else in arm's reach).  A Persuasion roll at DC 15 will be required to get any one person to cooperate in any particular task you might suggest (such as watching over the captive so that Mornok doesn't have to keep holding him personally).


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 10, 2020)

"There are a few less of them now, ma'am. We saw to that.  Is anyone in charge here, maybe a priest? We need to figure how to get all of you out of here, and I need to check everyone in here against my list of missing people." Lyle glances around, noticing how many more people there are than he expected. In a quiet voice he whispers to Grimnir and Mornok "I'm not sure Brandobaris himself could sneak this many people back unnoticed. We're going to need amazing luck or a brilliant plan here, and it'd be better to have both."


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## JustinCase (Apr 10, 2020)

Grimnir nods at the halfling. 

*"And it'll be even more difficult if they can't stay focused,"* he whispers back, indicating the frantically pacing villagers. *"Idle hands make for mutinous acts. Let's get them occupied first."*

Turning to the whole group, the sailor priest starts with a small introduction and then gives out some orders.

*"My name is Grimnir Hammerdeep, and I am a priest. Together with my friends Mornok and Lyle here, we have come on behalf of the sheriff to get you to the keep. Now, we need everyone to work together for this to succeed, and I will therefore give everyone a task."*

Not waiting for answers, he immediately asks three villagers to help Mornok with the prisoner, any sturdy looking people to scavenge the temple for makeshift weapons, and any halflings to discuss with Lyle the options of getting to the keep without being observed. Two more people are asked to watch the goings-on outside, and any remaining villagers are instructed to gather all water and liquids in the temple.

Then he turns to the woman who let them in, and asks quietly, *"Are there any priests or healers that can tend to injuries? "*









*OOC:*


Not sure if my (low) Persuasion check can do all that, but I figured as a sailor Grimnir at least knows a bit about giving orders... 

Persuasion: 1D20 = [11] = 11 

Ooh, and the water gathering is mostly to keep everyone busy.


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## gargoyleking (Apr 10, 2020)

Spoiler: ooc



We could always use the help action to give advantage.  Most mornok has less diplomacy skill than Grimnir does.  I could always roll an intimidate check instead, the threat doesn't necessarily have to originate from him.  Does Lyle want to 'help' grimnir?


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 11, 2020)

Lyle looks through the church for anyone he knows, or halflings, or anyone who looks particularly likely to cause trouble with Grimnir's plans.  He distributes his meager supply of sweets taken from Galena's table before all this mess started and says a few vague words of reassurance. A little food and a little encouragement is all Lyle needs in even the most trying times and he assumes those would work for most people too.









*OOC:*


Using help to give Grimnir advantage


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## Envisioner (Apr 11, 2020)

A lot of surly and ungrateful people fail to cooperate in your efforts, but you are eventually able both to complete a rough census of the crowd, matching a few names to the list Lyle was given, and to locate the temple's rather ineffectual deacon, a half-elf by the name of Aiden Moonfalcon.  Looking at him you immediately get the distinct impression that he's eaten almost nothing but greens and beans his entire life.  He clearly wants to get these people out of the temple and to somewhere safe, but he's far too polite and weak-willed to be capable of standing up to the loudest and most demanding half-dozen or so of the gathered folk.  His job used to be just leading a group of middle-aged women in prayers of thanksgiving for a good harvest in the surrounding farms; now he's utterly out of his depth and can't think of much to do besides continue dressing the wounds of his flock, using a rapidly-depleting healer's kit since he's already totally exhausted his meager reserve of magical ability.


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 12, 2020)

Lyle glances hopefully at the healer's kit.  "I don't suppose you can do anything for us? We've had a bit of a journey getting here. A secret passage that leads out of the church would be nice too. Kidding, we haven't been that lucky." Lyle pauses for a moment to take a closer look at Aiden.  _Easily browbeaten, more concerned with being polite than his own well being, and ready to fold like last week's laundry.  Gods, I've known grifters who would trade their own mothers to meet a mark like this. If I can trick him out of something as easily as I think, I bet I could con some self esteem into him.  That'd be a real *confidence trick*!_

Lyle snorts at his internal joke. "Sorry, it's a bit dusty in here.  Look Aiden, we really need to get these people out of here but they don't seem likely to listen to us.  What we need is someone they know as an authority figure.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard people about town talk about how much they respect Aiden Moonfalcon, how he has such a commanding presence. It's just like farming, you've spent every day planting the seeds of your authority and now it's time to reap what you've sewn! Get up there and get them to listen to us!"



Spoiler: ooc



Lyle's relying on the classic trick of putting an idea in someone's head then talking too quickly for them to realize it wasn't their idea, and lying to Aiden about how much people respect him.  Using my inspiration to roll with advantage
_: 1D20+4 = [14]+4 = 18
_: 1D20+4 = [7]+4 = 11


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## JustinCase (Apr 12, 2020)

Grimnir grimaces as many of the villagers ignore or defy his orders. At least they seem to listen somewhat to Lyle, and the clever halfling seems to have found someone they will be more likely to follow. 

With a helpless shrug, the dwarf gives up his attempts to sway the crowd and instead focuses on a plan. 

*”Perhaps we can disguise a few villagers as cultists,”* he suggests to Mornok hesitantly. *”And the rest their prisoners, heading to the fort to exchange for whatever they seek. Think that’ll work?”*


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## gargoyleking (Apr 12, 2020)

Mornok had taken the chance to bind and muzzle their prisoner. Somehow ge felt the dragonborn would be safest in his direct custody. Not that he wouldn't happily bash the creature's head in himself, but he was a supporter of the law. If he could see to it this prisoner would live to see the noose.

"May'aps, but I'm thinkin' 'aving this many people movin' would draw the attention of this army's leaders. No way they'd not 'ave their own plans fer' these people."


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## Envisioner (Apr 12, 2020)

*OOC:*


I am of thoroughly mixed opinion as to how I should react to Lyle's trick.  He's using his powers for good rather than evil, but I still have an extremely negative opinion of con-artistry as a technique, regardless of how it's being applied.  If we were in my homebrew setting, I'd probably have supernatural forces discriminate against you for even attempting such a thing, but in Forgotten Realms I suspect that the equivalent supernatural forces would approve, although I don't know for sure.  I'm really going to have to think about this, and I'm open to arguments being posted on the OOC thread as to how I should handle this.







The dragonborn is okay with having Mornok bind his hands behind him, but as he goes to fasten his jaws shut as well, he quickly interjects "I hope you realize that if I wanted to acid your face off, those wouldn't stop me from doing it.  Anything you could do which would keep me from using my breath weapon would also keep me from breathing normally, so if you aren't willing to trust that I've surrendered, you might as well execute me."


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## Envisioner (Apr 13, 2020)

*OOC:*


I'm going to fudge things a bit and let you guys get a Short Rest in about 10 minutes.  If anyone asks it was a minor miracle caused by Chauntea under these exact circumstances, which will not be repeated elsewhere.







Aiden seems to perk up a little at Lyle's little pep talk; he doesn't look like he's been entirely convinced, but it was good enough to snap him out of his funk, and he goes and starts taking charge of the listless people and getting them organized.  The three of you are able to get a brief rest; you're able to round up some decent bread and cheese to fix yourself a small meal, bandage a few of your more serious wounds, and generally get your morale back together.  

However in the course of this time, the besiegers are able to organize, and not only is there now a substantial gathering of kobolds and cultists at the back door again, but the much larger force at the front door has brought up some kind of battering ram, which is about to be deployed n order to bash their way into the sanctuary. The people have been gotten out of their panicked state, but they're about to fall apart again if the group can't get them out of here pretty quickly.


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## gargoyleking (Apr 13, 2020)

In the end Mornok DID muzzle the dragonborn, he left the lizard in the corner of the entryway facing said corner otherwise untouched with a note thanking him for the information and signed Mornok Stormhammer stuck to his back.  In another room, he called his allies, including the pries to a meeting.

"We'd best leave soon, th' gate's not likely t' 'old up long.  I say we go back th' way we come in.  We'll 'ave t' bust through, but I've just enough magic now t' make a nice short work o' a pile o' them.  After that th' cowards are sure t' run.  Then we get these people runnin' straight fer' th' keep."


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## JustinCase (Apr 13, 2020)

*”Aye,”* Grimnir agrees, *”Going now is the best chance we’ve got.”*

The cleric feels immensely better after eating and drinking; what’s in that stuff? He feels guilty towards his goddess about taking so much of another deity’s bounty, but decides any penitence must come later. Now’s the time for action. 

*”A swift outbreak with all the firepower we have could take them by surprise. If everyone starts shooting or throwing as soon as we exit, we may appear more formidable than we are. And we head straight for the fort at full speed.”*

He knows, but doesn’t say, that many villagers probably won’t make it. Instead, Grimnir smiles at the local priest as the story comes together in his head. 

*”My fellow clerics of the sea goddess will have captured or defeated the remaining cultists by now, judging by the storm outside. All we need to do is break through the crowd just outside, and most of those are just panicky kobolds.”*









*OOC:*


Rolling hit die: 1D8+2 = [8]+2 = 10

So back at 11/11 hp!


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 14, 2020)

"Is there any problem food can't help with? Wish I still had a spot of cake left though. And a few sausages. Oh well, take what Yondalla's cornucopia provides I suppose." Lyle sighs contentedly and lets out a loud burp.
"Right, I bet those Kobolds will scatter before a group this large.  The back door it is."









*OOC:*


_: 1D8+2 = [3]+2 = 5


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## Envisioner (Apr 14, 2020)

The lies of Lyle and Grimnir get the crowd ready to run for it; suddenly the commotion outside falls to a dull roar, except for a shouted command you can't quite make out, and then a sudden crash at the front door, which visibly cracks and splinters at the impact.  Clearly, the time has come; Aiden throws open the back door and the three of you rush out, taking up a defensive position while the two dozen or so civilians dash past and begin fanning out toward the keep.  The kobolds begin chasing after the fleeing noncombatants, as is typical of their cowardly impulses, but the three cultists with their two "pets" immediately orient on all of you.

(Initiative one more time guys.  You're facing five total combatants, two of which are leashed to three others, although that probably won't last past the first round.  And since your goal is to protect the civilians more than it is to beat the villains, who are after all only one group out of a swarm overrunning the whole town, you shouldn't be afraid to make a fighting retreat out of this rather than standing your ground.  Even without the kobolds, this is a fairly overwhelming force you're dealing with, as the Ambush Drakes are CR 1/2 each and the cultists boost that still more.)


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 14, 2020)

*OOC:*


_: 1D20+4 = [12]+4 = 16


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## gargoyleking (Apr 14, 2020)

Initiative: 1D20+1 = [5]+1 = 6


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## JustinCase (Apr 14, 2020)

*OOC:*


initiative Grimnir: 1D20 = [20] = 20


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## gargoyleking (Apr 14, 2020)

Spoiler: ooc



So I'm hoping to drop a thunderwave. But of course, my init roll was weak. Hopefully there'll be an opening for Mornok to wade into.


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## Envisioner (Apr 14, 2020)

*OOC:*


Coyote Code appears to be down, so I'll roll physical dice:
Cultist in black armor:  1d20+1 = 13
Green ambush drake:  1d20+2 = 3
Cultist in purple armor:  1d20+1 = 19
Red ambush drake:  1d20+2 = 11
Cultist in gold robes:  1d20+1 = 21

Fudging one of those numbers just a tad for the sake of the flavor text I've written below.  Mornok can take an action before the cultist in purple has his full turn, but we'll pretend he had a readied action or something, so that he can do what I felt like describing him doing.







The less armored-looking of the cultists isn't holding the leash of one of the fearsome-looking drakes; instead, he pulls an odd-looking instrument out of his gold-fringed black robe, blowing a mighty blast on it while falling back to get out of the drakes' way.  The beasts are clearly eager to attack Mornok and Lyle, probably because they're still bleeding from fresh wounds, but the cultist who's wearing purple-tinged leathers wrangles his red-scaled drake over toward Grimnir, since he's clearly standing with the most confidence and power (on account of his full hit points).  Fortunately, the storm cleric has a moment to respond before the cultist can release his creature's leash and free it to attack.


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## JustinCase (Apr 14, 2020)

As he comes out of the temple running, Grimnir senses the cultist with gold frayed robes has his eye on him, and the dwarf instinctually points a finger at him. 

*”Umberlee take you,”* he mutters, and a splash of magical water erupts from the cleric’s fingertip. 









*OOC:*


Casting the Sacred Flame cantrip at the cultist. Target needs to make a DC14 Dex saving throw or take 1d8 radiant damage. 

Sacred Flame damage: 1D8 = [3] = 3


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## Envisioner (Apr 14, 2020)

CoyoteCode Dice Roller

The cultist takes the full 3 damage, but it merely...

...wait for it....

..._dampens_ his enthusiasm.

(The last cultist doesn't act until 13, so Lyle is up.)


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 15, 2020)

Lyle takes aim with his short bow, wavering between the drakes and the cultists. He settles on the cultist Grimnir attacked.  "Go for the gold, I guess."



Spoiler: ooc



_: 1D20+6 = [12]+6 = 18
_: 1D6+4 = [3]+4 = 7


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## Envisioner (Apr 15, 2020)

Though mortally wounded by Lyle's arrow, the seeming leader of the cultist group has enough wind left in his lungs that as he falls, he blows mightily on the weird instrument he's holding.  Oddly, it makes almost no audible noise, just a faint high-pitched hiss - but the two ambush drakes appear go absolutely berserk at the sound, snarling and leaping and straining at their chains - which the two remaining cultists then release.

(will finish this later)


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## Envisioner (Apr 17, 2020)

The green drake charges toward Grimnir, while the red one orients on Mornok, who has a chance to react before it strikes.  Grimnir however is unable to do anything before the beast leaps at him.

CoyoteCode Dice Roller

And it misses him by a mile.  Mornok is up.


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## gargoyleking (Apr 17, 2020)

Mornok steps up intle the middle of the melee, making sure not to leave his allies in range but coming into melee range of as many enemies as possible. Then he draws forth all of the air in the immediate vicinity before unleashing it upon those around him in a single thunderous moment.



Spoiler: ooc



Thunderwave: 2d8 *11* DC 13 Con save or take 11 thunder damage and a 10 ft push. He'll hit as many as he can, but won't let Lyle or Grimnir take the hit.


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## Envisioner (Apr 19, 2020)

Finding it hard to follow our initiative order, so let's put it all in one post.  Also I got the colors wrong in my earlier post about the drakes, just switch red for green and it's correct.

Cultist in gold robes:  1d20+1 = 21
Grimnir = 20
Cultist in purple armor:  1d20+1 = 19
Lyle = 16
Cultist in black armor:  1d20+1 = 13
Red ambush drake:  1d20+2 = 11
Mornok = 6
Green ambush drake:  1d20+2 = 3

CoyoteCode Dice Roller
CoyoteCode Dice Roller

The two drakes' keen instincts warn them of approaching disaster, and they brace themselves against Mornok's thunderblast, taking 3 damage each and holding their position.  Their handlers fare less well however; the one who was still holding the green drake's chain is sent flying with such force that he drags the heavy creature with him for 5 feet before losing his hold, and the other one is bowled completely head over heels before faceplanting into the dirt.  Both men make a very satisfying thump when they hit the ground, and are out of commission.

The green drake whirls from Grimnir to Mornok, clearly intelligent enough to identify him as the source of the blast, and charges.  

CoyoteCode Dice Roller
CoyoteCode Dice Roller

Unlike his ruddy counterpart (both of them are kinda greenish really, this one just has fewer scarlet highlights on the fins and such), the green drake succeeds in pouncing upon Mornok, striking with considerable force and thoroughly knocking the wind out of the wizard, who barely manages to keep his feet.

Lyle and Grimnir may act in any order before the other drake is up again.


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 20, 2020)

Lyle aims and shoots at the red ambush drake








*OOC:*


_: 1D20+6 = [19]+6 = 25
 
_: 1D6+1D6+4 = [3]+[3]+4 = 10


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## Envisioner (Apr 20, 2020)

The red-tinged drake is speared through and collapses, breathing laboriously.  Grimnir?


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## JustinCase (Apr 20, 2020)

Rushing to his friend's side, Grimnir roars as he swings his warhammer at the drake that assaults Mornok. He manages to connect with immense force, as if Umberlee herself guides the weapon against the offending creature.









*OOC:*


Move: To Grimnir and the green drake.

Attack: The drake: warhammer: 1D20+5 = [20]+5 = 25
1D8+3 = [4]+3 = 7 
extra damage for crit: 1D8 = [6] = 6 

If needed, use Reaction to use the Wrath of the Storm feature upon being hit by a melee attack.

Hp: 11/11
Wrath of the Storm: 2/4 left before Long Rest
Spell slots (1st level): 0/2 left before Long Rest


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## Envisioner (Apr 20, 2020)

CoyoteCode Dice Roller

The drake makes another attack on Grimnir, but doesn't even begin to get through his armor.  As the last standing foe versus the trio, the creature doesn't last long even though it has quite a few HP; ultimately, it is beaten into submission.

In the meantime, the fleeing party of civilians have made it almost halfway to the keep; several more cultists are attempting to converge on them, but the populace has brought a few objects they can throw to dissuade these attackers.  The kobolds have already dispersed, they seem not to want to tackle with a crowd of this side.  But suddenly, you see another explanation for why the dragon rats might have gone into hiding - the broad-winged silhouette of the actual dragon is heading your way.


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## gargoyleking (Apr 20, 2020)

Mornok takes off at a full dwarven hustle yelling at the top of his lungs.

"*SCATTER!!!* Th' bloody dragon's comin' split up an' get t' th'keep!


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 21, 2020)

Lyle briefly squeaks with terror at the sight of the dragon. "I can't believe I forgot about the dragon." He nudges a survivor and tries to shuffle them behind anything resembling cover as they run toward the keep. "I'm going to need a bigger bow."


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## JustinCase (Apr 21, 2020)

Connecting something he saw earlier to the return of the dragon, Grimnir spins on his feet and rushes over to the prone cultist in the gold frayed robes and snatches the mysterious instrument from him.

*"Gotta be how he called that monster,"* the dwarf mutters to himself as he then starts running after Mornok and Lyle, zigzagging a bit to avoid being an easy target for whatever ranged attacks might be coming his way.


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## Envisioner (Apr 23, 2020)

The dragon swoops down from the sky, but never gets closer than about 50 feet up; it lets off a blast of its lightning-breath in the general direction of the fleeing crowd, destroying several haystacks but not getting close enough to stand anyone's hair on end, and then it zooms on past the group.  As it does so, it is briefly silhouetted against the fires blazing around the keep's distant watchtower, and you realize that there is a humanoid form mounted on its back.  It comes back around for another pass, neglecting to breathe this time, and again buzzes the crowd without attacking, even though it easily could slaughter the twenty-odd remaining members of the procession.  Finally, it heads back toward the keep; several of the refugees hesitate to advance in the same direction as the reptilian horror, but once it's far enough away from them they get moving again, uncertain that they'll be safe behind the castle's walls, but sure enough that they won't be out here.


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## gargoyleking (Apr 24, 2020)

Mornok ducked instinctively as the dragon flew overhead. He'd initially considered firing off a girebolt of his own to distract the beast, but thought better of it. Instead, he took to directing people by shouted instructions and warnings as the dragon swung around for it's second pass. His primary goal though was to keep people moving to the keep, telling them where to find the sally port they'd exited from.


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## JustinCase (Apr 24, 2020)

*”Could’ve killed us,”* Grimnir says to Mornok and Lyle as he tries to catch up. *”Why didn’t it?”*

He decides to ponder about that later, now focussing instead on getting to the keep with as many villagers as possible.


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 25, 2020)

Lyle shrugs.  "Who knows? If I were a giant fire breathing lizard I wouldn't waste time with the likes of us either. Then again I also wouldn't be attacking somewhere like Greenest when I could sleep on piles of gold and eat whatever I wanted."


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## gargoyleking (Apr 25, 2020)

"They're tryin' tae split us up, easier tae' take stragglers, prolly lookin' fer slaves"

Mornok kept running, trying to keep the villagers from spreading out too much or trying to run anywhere but the keep.


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## Envisioner (Apr 25, 2020)

gnarlygninja said:


> Lyle shrugs.  "Who knows? If I were a giant fire breathing lizard I wouldn't waste time with the likes of us either. Then again I also wouldn't be attacking somewhere like Greenest when I could sleep on piles of gold and eat whatever I wanted."












*OOC:*


I'd like you to repeat this observation around an NPC later on, so that I can have someone respond in-character.  I was sorely tempted to have a DMPC step out of midair and comment as if he had been part of the party all along, but I'm trying not to go quite that far in railroading you guys, so the occasional Subtle Hint will hopefully suffice.


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 25, 2020)

*OOC:*


And that's how Lyle got a catchphrase


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## Envisioner (Apr 25, 2020)

*OOC:*




gnarlygninja said:


> And that's how Lyle got a catchphrase



I just hope you don't delete your account, like the last player whose character had a catch phrase.


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## Envisioner (Apr 26, 2020)

Mornok succeeds in rounding up all the stragglers, and soon the three heroes are safely inside the keep along with all two dozen hostages.









*OOC:*


And scene.  I plan to continue shortly, but in case I get interrupted for any reason I wanted to make sure that you guys at least had closure.


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## gargoyleking (Apr 26, 2020)

Once safely inside the keep Mornok turns to Grimnir, a troubled expression on his gruff countenance. "We pulled through that by th' skin o' our teeth. They seem t' be some sort o' cult, methinks. 'ave ye' heard o' somethin' called th' wearers o' purple? It came t' me watchin' that mage earlier, but I couldnae place it." 

While he speaks, he gives Lyle a hearty pat on the back, and smiles at the halfling. "Ye' did well lad, not bad fer' all that."


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## JustinCase (Apr 26, 2020)

*OOC:*


Does Grimnir know about the cult? Do I have some sort of roll to make for that?







Grimnir nods, catching his breath. 

*”Too close,”* he agrees, finally taking the time to magically mend his armor where he was gravely injured before. 

*”I hope the sheriff has found some useful information from his prisoner by now.”*

Turning to Lyle, he adds, *”Everyone here?”*


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 27, 2020)

Lyle smiles in return. "And you two did a fine job sneaking, for people with two left feet. That's everyone from the church but not everyone from my list." He looks somber for a moment before shrugging. "I guess we can't really do much for anyone else while that army is still there though. And the dragon, although I still don't know why he's bothering with a place like this instead of counting his treasure and eating all the sheep he wants."


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## Envisioner (Apr 27, 2020)

*OOC:*


There isn't really a skill in 5E which corresponds to the old "Knowledge: Local", which you'd roll to be aware of important people in a given area or things of that nature.  Given backstory, I think I'll say that Mornok knows no more than the vague hint he picked up, but Grimnir can roll because of his wanderings as a sailor, and Lyle can roll with advantage because of his direct involvement with the seedy side of Waterdeep society.  I'll put the DC at 13; it's not common knowledge but neither is it super-obscure.  So Grimnir has about a third of a chance to know, and Lyle has two thirds.


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## gnarlygninja (Apr 28, 2020)

*OOC:*



_: 1D20 = [6] = 6
1D20 = [17] = 17


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## JustinCase (Apr 28, 2020)

*OOC:*


Apparently Grimnir knows his cults... 

What does Grimnir know: 1D20 = [20] = 20


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