D&D 5E Escape the Underdark, Fear the Madness, and get Out of the Abyss - IC

Welcome everyone to our little experiment. This first post will just be for tracking things throughout the game. Clues, important info, and of course links. The second post will start the game proper so after it is up feel free to RP away.


For anyone who doesn't know or may want to follow along this game will be odd in the fact that the DM will be controlling the Builds and leveling of the heroes (so in charge of all the numbers), while the players will be in charge of the characters personalities, quirks, and character development. I hope by leaving out the static parts of the characters that the players become more involved RP-wise.

Players:
TallIan: Playing Finnan the halfling warlock, as apprentice to an evil wizard it was lucky he escaped whatever mad scheme his former master had planned. Little did he know everything was part of a much larger plan by forces from beyond the Veil.


Charwoman Gene: Playing Atallia, a human monk. Born into a family of servants was never a trail for the young woman who grew up in the kitchens and had more freedom than most. It was during one of those days she had a bit of idle time that she came to the notice of a gnome monk, and slave to the same cruel master. His training may have been the one thing to save her life, but she can't help wonder if he knew this would happen in the first place.


jmucchiello: Playing the elven bard Thia. An entertainer turned soldier, she became so well at her new role that she believes her last mission was a set up, but why is still the question she has no answer for.


hero4hire: Is the groups dwarven paladin Kildrak. The last living blood of the great Firebeard miners, Kildrak became a guide and scout for those that wanted to enter the deeper depths of the Underdark. His own reasons are centered around revenge against the dark elves that killed his people. And now to further his hatred he has become a prisoner of the drow himself.


Links:
EB's Out of My Abysmal Mind - OOC
EB's Out of the Abyss
EarlyBird's Campaign Craziness (Big Interest Check)

Deep beneath the surface of the world lies the Underdark, a realm of endless labyrinthine tunnels and caverns where the sun never shines. The Underdark is filled with races and creatures too numerous to count or list, and foremost among these are the dark elves - the drow. Hated and feared even by their fellow dwellers in darkness, the drow raid other settlements in the Underdark as well as the surface world, taking prisoners back with them.

The adventurers in this story have all had the misfortune of falling to just such a fate. Rendered unconscious with drow poison, then collared and shackled, they await in the drow outpost of Velkynvelve for a caravan from the City of Spiders, Menzoberranzan to transport them off to be sold off as slaves or to become entertainment to some dark elf noble.

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The first to arrive was Finnan, and he has been captive to long to keep track of the days with no sun for reference. The first couple days he spent cuddled in a ball after the beating he took from the male drow Imbros. The warrior wanted a ring the halfling wore, and became enraged when he found it was magically attached and un-removable. Once he could walk without limping he was tasked with laundry duties along with JimJar, the drow thinking it funny to assign "short-folk" to the duty of hanging shirts on lines to high for them. There he won his first bet with the notorious gambler JimJar, by hanging more clothes than the deep gnome. JimJar paid the bet off immediatley (Finnan gain 1gp), and smiled saying he will win it back someday. Another of the sunless days found the halfling trying to fill water barrels taller than he was and then trying to maneuver them after they weighed four times what the poor halfling weighed soaking wet (which he was at the time). It was during that cold miserable night hope finally found its way into the halflings heart. The echoing hollow voices that seemed to always whisper among the halfling's thoughts directed him to a secret compartment in rear of the cell he shared with all the other prisoners. In the small cubby-hole he found an old tome much like the one his former master possessed. In fact the cover looked like part of a picture that needed two other books to complete, he knew where one of the books was, but had no ideal as to the whereabouts of the third. Still the new power the book brought was welcome, now if he only had some others to help him escape.

The next waking cycle the drow brought Atallia to the pens. It was apparent her former master had told someone she had worked in the kitchens for her first task was slicing and dicing mushrooms in the kitchens. Again the constant odds man JimJar lost a gold piece, (Atallia gain 1gp) when he bet the young woman she couldn't make the thin mushroom broth that was served to prisoners tastier. And of course once the drow found out, she was no longer allowed on kitchen detail. Given over to operating the lift was actually a better job, because if you were going to escape from the outpost of Velkynvelve, you needed a safe way to get own from the one-hundred foot cliff it was housed on.

It wasn't but a few (hours? days? who knew in the utter darkness), that Thia was brought into the pens, bruised and battered she had been interrogated by the head drow priestess herself Ilvara Mizzrym. Along with rays of sickness, and a good old fashion beating the elf maiden was subject to a bazaar line of questioning that left her with more questions than answers as to what happened to her patrol. One thing was certain, she had been betrayed. Being a surface elf the drow took an almost childish gleam when it came to assigning labors to Thia. She had to stack and re-stack stones for no known reason. She had to coil rope, then redo the work if it was found to be to tight or to loose. During the stone stacking labor a piece of flint was among the stones, it was small, sharp, and shaped like a dagger. (Thia gains a flint dagger)

Kildrak entered the pens lastly, and it was a good thing for all the trouble it caused. Before they could even untie the dwarf Ront went into a rage and attacked him. (Kildrak gains 5' length of silk rope) Eldeth came to the other dwarf's aid prompting JimJar to start hollering out odds and trying to take bets. The drow had to put four bolts into the orc before he fell in a heap unconscious. When it came to trying to get the dwarf to preform menial labors the drow had trouble at first, and even beating the dwarf didn't seem to work. It wasn't until this morning when he was assigned to fill water barrels, that the drow changed up tactics. Instead of beating Kildrak for refusing they turned they're whips and scourges on Eldeth. After they were done they left both dwarves in the pen along with Finnan, Thia, Atallia, JimJar, Stool, and Shuushar. All the other prisoners were set out to work.



[sblock=Items]
Finnan - 1gp
Atallia - 1gp
Thia - flint dagger
Kildrak - 5' piece of silk rope

All prisoners are currently restrained by drow shackles. A collar and belt fit with a chain to wrist shackles. [/sblock]

"Run!" cried Boxer McGulliin, her teammate, as they both started to run. She looked back to see him fall to the ground, a pair of arrows in his back.

She turned to run and ran into Polir's dead body, blood dripping from his sliced neck.

"I think we should see other people."

A punch to gut doubled Thia over, "Where is the " -- mumbed words -- "He will stop punching you when you tell me." Priestess Mizzrym promised in low, almost sultry tones as another punch landed.

"if only you had been a man," a familiar voice echoed in her head.

"It's not you. It's me."

Arral Tymon leered at her then looked at one of his lackeys, exchanging knowing nods. The leer became a predatory smile, "Here's your mission..."

The whip lashed her arm. "This is not how we coil rope, light-skin," growled the guard.

Quoric was the best fighter on the infiltration team. His body landed in a twist heap in front of her.

A face she's never, ever seen before leans in close, "You will succeed."

With a start, Thia's trance broke. For a moment she had no idea where she was. Then it painfully became clear, this was the cell she'd spent the last Oghma-only-knew how many days caged in. Without a thought, she went to the shallow depression with a small hole in the center located in the corner of the cell and relieved herself without regard for who may or may not be watching.

She returned to the central part of the cell. JimJar was telling a joke in Common she had heard him tell at least a dozen times already. Eldeth politely laughed at the appropriate time. How many times had she heard that joke?

Looking around at her fellow captives, Thia was beginning to think an escape might be possible. The Calishite human had a grace to envy; the halfling managed to retain a ring on his finger, probably some kind of magic; the new dwarf defeated the drow before they started torturing the other dwarf. But how to broach the subject? Could one of the prisoners be a mole? Or perhaps the drow were overconfident in the cells and we could plot freely? At this point she realized she may have spent a bit too much time sizing the others up. She turned her attention to the ever-present, ever-silent Stool and wondered against about the existence of a mole.

Kildrak looked at his manacles and sighed. He leaned into whoever was close and whispered conspiratorially. "We need to be gettin' outta here soon. If'n we wait 'til they transfer us, there will be too many guards I'm thinkin'."

Finnan watched the fitful elf. It was unusual for elves to be so restless when they "slept". He wondered again what was so special about this one, seeing as how much of a beating she'd taken. Of the prisoners who'd arrived after him, she was the only one who'd been subjected to worse treatment, and she didn't appear to have a ring she couldn't take off.

She woke with a start and went to relieve herself. Finnan looks down at his hands to give her what privacy he could, focusing on the cracked, silver sing still on his finger. He twisted it round and round on his finger, Curious thing, magic he thought. The ring was free to move around, but he could not get it past his knuckle. Finnan thought he would lose his finger to Imbros's blade, but that hadn't gotten the ring off either. What had Krelius given him?

Finnan looked over to Stool, the little mushroom creature who seamed terrified of everyone. Reaching out with his new found telepathy, Finnan tried for umpteenth time to communicate, but the little creature only started to quiver.

"We need to be gettin' outta here soon." said the latest rival leaning in to Finnan. The obstinate dwarf strained against the manacles that bound him. That would be good agreed Finnan. "You'll have to do better than that" said Finnan, half jokingly to the dwarf. "We have to get out of the cell too. But this seems to be as good a time as any, they have never left so many of us unattended before." Finnan surveyed the prisoners for other potential allies and his eyes caught sight of Thia coming back. Reaching out mentally to the elf he said, "This is Finnan, how do feel about getting out of here?"

Thia watches as the new guy, Kildrak she thinks, strains against his manacles. She shakes her head. Manacles are a fine weapon when all you have are your fists.

"This is Finnan, how do feel about getting out of here?"

She is surprised by the mental intrusion but tries hard to suppress a visible reaction. The voice claims to be Finnan but is it? With nothing to lose, she thinks, "The sooner the better." She turns to look him in the eyes, to see if she can tell he "heard" her.

TallIan said:

Finnan watched the fitful elf. It was unusual for elves to be so restless when they "slept". He wondered again what was so special about this one, seeing as how much of a beating she'd taken. Of the prisoners who'd arrived after him, she was the only one who'd been subjected to worse treatment, and she didn't appear to have a ring she couldn't take off.

She woke with a start and went to relieve herself. Finnan looks down at his hands to give her what privacy he could, focusing on the cracked, silver sing still on his finger. He twisted it round and round on his finger, Curious thing, magic he thought. The ring was free to move around, but he could not get it past his knuckle. Finnan thought he would lose his finger to Imbros's blade, but that hadn't gotten the ring off either. What had Krelius given him?

Finnan looked over to Stool, the little mushroom creature who seamed terrified of everyone. Reaching out with his new found telepathy, Finnan tried for umpteenth time to communicate, but the little creature only started to quiver.

"We need to be gettin' outta here soon." said the latest rival leaning in to Finnan. The obstinate dwarf strained against the manacles that bound him. That would be good agreed Finnan. "You'll have to do better than that" said Finnan, half jokingly to the dwarf. "We have to get out of the cell too. But this seems to be as good a time as any, they have never left so many of us unattended before." Finnan surveyed the prisoners for other potential allies and his eyes caught sight of Thia coming back. Reaching out mentally to the elf he said, "This is Finnan, how do feel about getting out of here?"

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The dwarf gave an indignant "Harumph!" in embarrassment at his unceremonious defeat by the drow manacles. " Must be dwarven forged!" He replied in an attempt to salvage some dignity

Sent from my SM-G950U using EN World mobile app

Stool reacts curiously to the thought speech of Finnan and Thia, he moves cautiously as if although he heard nothing he felt something when they communicated back and forth in the cell.

JimJar walks up to the small gathering of prisoners and plops down.

"I bet they take everyone away but me." He pauses, then adds,"Again."

"It seems I never get chosen to go, and I'm sick of it. And sick of this place. If you all are breaking out I want to come too." he says with his ever present grin.

Eldeth nods, and winces as the movement causes the pain of the whipping she just received to return.

"But which way should we be goin? I not be sure where we are and in which way safety do be. Do anyone here?"

More likely gnome down here. Finnan kept the thought to himself though. As he looks aver to Thia, catching her eye he leaning close in to Kildrak, "I think getting out the cell might be our best bet; keys, tools and weapons will be in the guard room." Just then a number of other prisoners shuffled closer, all suggesting escape, well so much for secrecy. "Here isn't safe, and I'm willing to take my chances." Finnan says to Eldeth, then to the group as a whole, "Stop crowding in, they'll get suspicious. Someone go check what's outside the door."

As his fellow prisoners spread out a little again, Finnan noticed stool leaning in as well. Finnan narrowed his eyes slightly, So you can hear me? Finnan asked mentally, hoping to finally break through to the quite little thing.

INT check: 1D20+1 = [10]+1 = 11

Stool doesn't respond to the attempt at telepathy with it, and backs away quivering when it notices Finnan staring. The halfling then thinks it wasn't hearing him so much as knowing that he and Thia were communicating, and responding to that.

Shuushar had stayed cross-legged on the floor across the cell, but the others found the halfling's advice sound and wonder a bit from each other. JimJar ran to the cell door and then back to report the two guards on the bridge weren't paying the slave pen no mind.

"Can't hear us because of the waterfall, and I bet you they think we could never escape. How much? Lets say five gold I'm right?"