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Message: <blockquote data-quote="HammerMan" data-source="post: 8567324" data-attributes="member: 84112">Okay, so they didn't get side treked nearly as much as I would expect.(Keep in mind me and my players interchange 'ask the liabrary' and 'research' and 'investigate' all meaning go to the main floor books look up a topic, copy down or memorize (fighter has an eidetic memory) a number of books that refrence it, then go to the lower levels find the books, bring them back to refrence level spread them out read and share the information)They started with the goal... What can cecile the shadow staff do? but that lead to his item 'the shadow staff' and the fact that it is an omniversal item called the shadow of the raven, but it has been limited and forged into a staff. So they asked about the shadow of the raven and before they could get an answer were reminded I used the weird word 'omniversal' instead of multiversal before with a 'cursed' sentient item that held 1/10th of 1% of an omniversal power known as the Angelus force, and as such they started to ask the library something that was restricted... what is the difference between Omniversal and Metaversal and Multiversal?this lead to the funny exchange in game... I wish I could make this up:Teifling Divine soul Sorcerer: "Maybe we should research what else is restricted?"Warforged Fighter: "It only makes sense that information would be restricted too."Sorcerer: "Yeah but we found state secretes, spell secretes and 10 thousand year old cheese cake recipes it can't hurt to ask"Shadar Kai Soul knife/battle master: "Maybe we should ask random questions and just try to figure our what is and isn't restricted"Fighter: "Okay, lets ask about the origin of the first ghoul... that has to have some fun history..."mind you they fought ghouls 9ish months ago in the first dungeon, and they have not come up since... I have no idea as this is said when, who or what the story of the first ghoul is....So I spin a story about a woman who eat her suiters including a priest of a now dead god, and was cursed... when she died she came back as the first ghoul... in doing so I link this to the kingdom (I only had a name for in passing) before the first of the 5 interregnums (things I DO have details about cause it is totally plot relevant)so do they go back to the task of the guy they want to fight... no, do they remember they have a ticking long term clock of the return of the ruler who 5 times before plundged regions (3 of those times almost the whole world, and 1 time expanding into planes) into a dark age known as the great and terrible interregnums'? no.... they ask about the dead god (at least I have some outline) Lucky for me this side trek didn't go TOO far, and the remembered to go back to the shadow staff... and they looked up his previous fights.after days in game (and 20ish minutes out of game) they poured over some fights and found he is a moron. Cecil is highly mobile, able to teleport long distances daily, medium distances a few times (they aren't sure if that is short rest or X times per day) and short range at least close to at will if not at will... and he can call his underlings to him from across the world. AND he has a devastating ranged attack that deals necrotic damage and could tire you out (aka save or gain fatigue). He also has the ability to aid others in combat faster and better then most (bonus action combat action aid within 30ft)... however he travels alone and his go to tactic to start every battle is to melee with his shadow staff. So without seeing the character sheet per say, they then spend half an hour brain storming how it would be better for him if he ALWAYs had 1 or 2 melee combatants with him, and used his mobility to stay at range, summon and aid to wear down opponents THEN close to finish them... so they conclude he must be over confident in his fighting abilities (not un warranted of a thought) but then this turned to out of game guessing what his sheet DOES look like. so meta gaming thoughts they figure he must be legendary (they are right infact he is legendary and mythic) and the summon must cost 2 or more legendary actions, he has to then choose between bonus action misty step or bonus action aid like a master mind rogue, and then choose between a melee or ranged attack as his action, but maybe he has multi attack for one and if his damage is higher in melee that may make sense if the save DC for the fatigue is low or easy to make...     I was impressed they mostly got it rightso they got back 'in game' and researched 1 or 2 private PC oriented questions (about the fallen kingdom that built our warforged, about why all the psycics have green or blue eyes, and about the king of a distant land/if the teifling is related to him...he isn't) but then they got back to tactics.so they asked me if "out of game" there was still a dimensional anchor spell in 5e, and I said not as such. SO Ingame they reserched ways to lock down teleporting... and other then useing magic circle, and high level spells they will most likely never see, they came up with 2 magic items that could do it.  1 was easier to get (and closer) but was limited use and would require 3 out of 4 players to burn an action to use it. the other was WAY more action economy friendly but was much farther away in a dead dragons hoard that looked like it was protected by tribesman that worshiped the ghost of the dragon as a god.So brain storming they joke about splitting up to cover more ground, and or joining the bad guys. They decided to go for the closer easier to get harder to use item (Triliminal Space Time Locks) but before they left they had to ask a few qustions about time travel (since if this locks time AND space there must be a way to move through time) but that was also a short lived side trek.they thanked the immortal Liberian, and then asked her if she could leave here. She explained (again since she said this games ago 1st time they were here) she could only if someone stayed as a temporary Liberian. so with some quick thinking they used a sending spell to get our Divine Soul Sorcerer's father to come and hang out watching the library while she goes with them as an NPC to help at least get the items they want if not to confront the General. We fast forwarded to the mother and father arriving, RPed a bit (including asking why the sorcerer doesn't use sending to call home more often)leaving the library and heading back into the mountains they made it half a day before being ambushed by gnoll demon worshipers that they have faced before... we will start next week with initiative.  Although during wrap up they remembered they should have asked about the gnoll cult.</blockquote>

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