(IC) Dog Days of Doom!

[Neurotic]

Havoc Ironskin was by a head lower than most in the procession. His eyes scanning the crowd for threats, for someone familiar or for a sign that everything will be alright with the world.

In his long and violent life he was a lot od things. A craftsman. A merchant. When he learned about surface, he disliked the chaos of human cities, the dirt and smell. There was a minor skirmish with clans, dwarves versus orcs with some human army involved. He didn't follow all the reasons or politics behind it. Typical, really, but he wanted change from human bustle and signed in. As all dwarves, even not trained as a soldier, he was formiddable in a phalanx.

Everything changed after that one, when he became a mercenary and one job required him to travel in a ship. The freedom. The quiet of the wind and waves. The dangerous, but closely knit group of sailors that literally depended for their lives on one another...he learned. The learning was tough, more often than not, it involved fists, whips, clubs or knives.

His natural resilience and stocky build meant advantage, but still, when he went ashore he would take his old armor and put it on. Thus, ironskin. And when the sun disapeared, the crew, superstitious lot they were, rushed to their various temples to pray or to taverns to drink before the world ends. Which left Havoc strangely alone. So he joined the procession. And soon after he saw a tall human, no, he remembered, a giant kin, a marshal he remembered from the army. And occasionally, the guy who guarded events like these.

Havoc kept close, his iron-encased fists ready to assist, a bit of goodwill from the guards was never a bad thing.

 

[Lidgar]

As Deirdre walked in the procession, she continued to silently pray to Corellon. Let your light guide me Adar. Show me the path I must take.

It was then she heard the sound of a flute from somewhere up ahead. Then, a familiar voice. Ah, she thought to herself, it is him. Our fates seem intertwined.

"Hail Caer Droea!" she called out in a clear, high voice. As she approached she saw that Caer was walking in small group. Once close enough she then added, in elvish ::May the moon guide your steps::

Turning to the others, she added, "Well met. I am Dierdre Sunstar." To the bearded human she added, "You play well. I hear the sound of cold mountain winds and swirling snow in your song."

Then, turning to the child she added, "You will do well staying near this one," gesturing at Caer, "he is one to trust - with your life."

 

[Kobold Stew]

"Thank you, milady," says Anson, taking the compliment as he introduces himself. "It is a somber day, and music both guides my steps and enhances the significance of the occasion. As music does." She knows this, of course, thinks Anson to himself. I'm but a child to someone like her.We all are.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Caer heard the high voice call out, and registered that it was Deidre Eleanor, an Elven priestess of Corellon. The sound of her voice instantly brought him back to an earlier time.

I had seen the disturbance of their passing. The Hobgoblins of Clan Rhukaan Taash must have been the ones to desecrate this forest, for only the militant golin'Dar would so systemically and fully destroy the flora, the fauna, and even foul the water. I had been tracking a small contingent of them to bring the wrath of nature and restore the balance when I came across those cursed Dar were in the middle of an ambush of two elf-kin; one had been killed by the time I was able to summon the Queen's power to my staff and mark them.

But I paused. For only a second, but I paused. My elf-kin had not been kind since I came back from the Garroting Deep; they thought my methods unsound, that I had made a friend of horror. But moral terror is my friend, and their judgment and desire for good instead of protecting the primordial order defeated them.

I called out, and helped the wounded elf whose name I learned to be Deidre. The remaining Dar fled. I stayed, sensing within her a true love of the wild, that she might recover. Then, I stole off to finish the retribution that the Dar had demanded from me. Their lives balanced the order, and their bodies made fertilizer for the trees.

Caer kept his reminiscence to himself. Deidre, it is a blessing to see you again. In elvish, he added, And the moon must be shining on my journey to bring our paths together.

He listened to the further talk, and surveyed the burgeoning group. This is ... unusual. A star has fallen, and tangled paths have brought us all together. Perhaps ... there is some meaning to this.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Benny certainly wasn't the only person trying to hawk his wares. In fact, the procession had been lengthened and bloated by all manner of merchants and con men offering everything from food and drink to holy relics. Carts from outlying villages and towns had come out to meet the masses, offering cool water or mead.

“Fresh Fruit, get your fresh fruit..”

“Blessed Holy symbols. Connect with the Light of Erin Tor with a Holy symbol of Pelor.”

While food and beverage were always in demand, with the strange comet streaking across the sky, vendors were playing to people's fears and the crowd was buying up all manner of trinkets

The group passed a man with a thick black beard and bright clothes who would unfurl a velvet cloth and lay out all manner of wood necklaces and bones,

“Feel the true light of Pelor! This is the knuckle bone of the late Archbishop, his Holiness, Constance IV. Healer of the Great Plague of 987! Guaranteed to ward off the evil effects of the Green Star!”

And, when the crowd passed, he'd mount his pony and make his way back to the front of the procession to start all over again.

An older woman with many children, passed by the vendor and paused. Her seven children ranged from early adulthood to under six years old. The group was pulling a two-wheeled cart that, among other supplies, was carrying a wicker coffin.

She was looking over the man's wares then peering up at the sky apprehensively. It wasn't until Benny came along that the young child pulled at his mother's sleeve and said, “Mommy, can I have a pretty rock instead? The Radiant Servant blessed it mommy!”

“You already have your daddy's necklace of Pelor, I'm sure you don't need something else.”

Sure enough, most of the family wore simple wooden holy symbols of the Sun God.

But the Vendor wouldn't let her go and the child continued on, following Benny.

She looked from Benny to the bearded man but the child was adamant about getting a rock and, despite the man's pleading and bargaining, the woman sighed, deciding to support a “poor orphan boy”. Benny left one silver richer with the man glaring at him from behind.

As for the others, guard duty wasn't a difficult task, although the heat made people impatient and short tempered. Marshal was forced to break up a scuffle between two men pulling carts. One had tried to pass the other and the latter refused to give way. The former's cart going off the road and tipping a polished oak coffin into the ditch.

For the most part, Anson's music seemed to keep the peace and those around him tended to stop their discussions to listen as they walked, some even meditated, remembering the holy purpose of the journey.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

As you travel the final leg of the journey, the procession comes to the crest of a hill and from that vantage, you can see the valley spread out below. In the low lying areas is sparse trees among the downs with swamp in the lowest areas. In the centre of the valley is a high rock where the village Erin Tor can be seen far in the distance. A light shines from the town: the beacon of Pelor, bathing the surrounding the innermost part of the valley in light, cutting the shadows caused by the comet. Outside the city. graveyards and mausoleums dot the landscape.

The procession winds its way down into the valley. The procession seems to move a bit faster in anticipation of their inevitable arrival. Clergy begin chanting holy songs dedicated to Pelor. As you get closer, the open gates are now in sight and The young child that bought Benny's stone is chattering excitedly to an older sibling, pointing at the Beacon. The light bolsters you.

Just then, someone else points in the same direction. Then someone else. Everyone turns their gaze to see what people are pointing at because it isn't the beacon.

Off, in the distance, high above the town and seemingly, far beyond the village a dark, greenish smoke rises from the land, outward to the sky and over the town. It is wispy at first but grows thicker as it climbs skyward.

There's a loud crack thunder. It comes from far off but rumbles outward across the land. Almost in response, another crack echoes out from high above. From the Green Star.

Now, there is a collective hum of people talking, as they watch in wonder at what is happening.

The Cloud climbs higher spreading out into five distinct tendrils, like a hand reaching...reaching... Reaching out towards the star, as if to catch it from the sky. The smoky hand seems to glow as green lights dance inside it as it stretches higher and higher. There's a flash and another crash of thunder.

In slow motion, the smoky hand curls up, closing its grasp upon the falling star. As it does so, the star punches through the smoky fist and instantly changes trajectory as fire and smoke trail out behind it, rumbling as it crashes through the atmosphere and plummeting to the ground, somewhere far off, beyond the valley.

There is a moment of nothing.

Who knows how long you've been standing there? A minute? An hour?

Suddenly there's a burst. It's impossible to describe. Not a burst of sound or light but a definite pulse that causes the hair on the back of your neck to stand up.

Across the land, from the direction of the fallen star, a green light explodes outwards, washing over everything, impossibly fast. You see it rush towards you as it hits the town of Erin Tor and snuffs out Pelor's light replacing it with a terror that washes over the crowd as it fills the valley and washes over everyone in the procession. Your thoughts are bombarded with horrifying images of death and destruction and it takes everything in your power keep it from ripping away your sanity.

You close your eyes to make it go away but even when you chase the images from your mind, your flesh fills with boils and your skin begins to rot away.

Things go quiet.

You open your eyes and look around. And notice that others are doing the same. The sky is darker now and massive clouds fill the sky. There are people dead or dying everywhere around you. You look to the family that bought Benny's shiny stone and you notice them huddled there, together, seemingly untouched by the unholy power. You wonder why. But there's little time to ponder as you feel there is a brief moment before panic is about to set into the crowd.

Spoiler: OOC

- Everyone Make a CON save, DC 10.

Take 6 Necrotic damage on a fail and you are filled with fear. (Disadvantage to all ability checks which will come into play soon.)
Half damage and no fear if you make your save.

- IF you are wearing a holy symbol of a benevolent deity that you actively worship/believe in, you may choose to forgo the save. Instead, your holy symbol breaks and you take no damage and no fear.

@Steve Gorak I think your familiar can grant a +2 bonus to saves as a reaction to everyone within 30 feet? If I read that right, you are welcome to use that ability. your familiar also has to make the save.

- Feel free to post something! IF you do, make an Wisdom Insight, dc12

. Assume you have a 'moment' to act if you want to cast a spell or anything. But, otherwise, you have a chance to rp and respond to what just happened. Things are gonna get real very soon.

Please remember to post your character mini-sheet at the top of the posts now. They will be useful.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Spoiler: Anson Mini-sheet

Anson Willoughby
AC 15
HP: 6/9
Passive Perception: 12
HD: 1/1
Heroic Insp: 1/1

OOC: Con save: 1d20+1=21. Critical save... the way to begin a campaign. 3hp damage, now 6/9. Insight: 1d20+0=14. Pass.

A wave of nausea hits Anson and his knees buckle as the light changes. Has time passed and it's now night? He doesn't think so, but amidst the screaming and the tears and the panic going on around him, he can't be sure. He casts his eyes about, looking for someone he can help, though truth be told he's not a medical man. He holds up his palm, and with a thought a bright aflame appears, like he is lifting up a torch. The minor spell illuminates him, casting long shadows on the ground, but offering a beacon to those nearby.

"Come to me! We will find shelter!" His voice calls out over the crowd. There were children, he remembers, where are they?

With his free hand, he grabs someone by the wrist and helps them to their feet -- "Can you walk? You! Give me a hand!"

Anson looks at the faces of those around him -- pale, ghastly, many wounded. And he wonders at his own face. But there's no time for that now. "

OOC: Produce Flame provides 20' radius bright light, with an additional 20' dim light.

 

[Neurotic]

Spoiler: Mini me

AC 15
HP: 9/12
Passive Perception: 13
Passive Insight: 11
HD: 1/1

Havoc looks at the change suspiciously at the start, but when the falling star changes course he quickly finds a stable and sheltered place to be. While he enjoys the freedom of the seas, he is still a dwarf and dwarves know that the greatest terror anyone can experience is earthquake. Unstable ground. Like he expects the ground soon to be, after the impact.

He is too focused on himself to notice anything else, but he weathers the rot stoically.

After the pulse, he looks around at the dead and dying, shrugs and goes to those still moving. While untrained in the healing arts, he still can shock someone back from the brink. Maybe. Taking the right gauntlet off, he grabs a prone person with the left and slaps them with the right "Oi! Wake up! You cannot go to sleep now or there will be no tomorrow!"

OOC: 19, 1, 19 - very swingy rolls

Spoiler: Actions

neurotic: D20 + 5#havocconsave → 24(19 + 5)#Havoc CON save
neurotic: D20 + 1#havocinsight → 2(1 + 1)#Havoc Insight

Move: prone alive person (or if there is no obvious deadly wounds, a dead one - how would he know) - he avoid those getting up by themselves, they don't need help
Standard: neurotic: D20 + 1#havocmedicinetostabilize → 20(19 + 1)#Havoc Medicine to stabilize

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Spoiler: Caer Droea

AC16 Passive Perception 15
HP 11/12 HD 1/1
SSdc13 Slots 2/2
Hunters 2/2 Healing 1/1 Teleport 2/2

Caer watches the interaction of the smoky green hand and the star without a hint of surprise, but plants the Blackstaff firmly into the ground when he sees the star plummet to the ground. He had once seen a star fall from the sky into the Garroting Deep, and well-remembered the shockwave that emanated and the tragic loss of so many trees. When the ripples hit him, he was prepared for it, but he did not have any preparation for the dread images that filled his mind. And yet .... it feels like staring into the hole into the hole in the Blackwood Tree, as if the ravens themselves had entered my mind again.

It was a momentary feeling, but he understood it well; terror and fear had become his friends in his service of nature, and he understood that, perhaps, some ... one ... thing ... also must be channelling that same dread force for its own purposes.

Looking around, Caer saw the scattered bodies. He had no especial love for these people who took from the land without love or respect. There was no need to heal them. Still ...

There is no need for these innocent to pass without salve.

Caer quickly clambered around, gathering herbs and weeds that had numbing, cooling, and dissociative properties and went from dying person to dying person, applying himself to those who were beyond saving so that they might pass not knowing the pain and terror that they felt.

OOC: Assume familiar bonus as reaction: 1D20+4 = [17]+4 = 21 Doesn't matter if the extra +2 is included. Takes 1hp damage (3, then 1 due to resistance to necrotic). Updated minisheet. Survival with advantage: 1D20+5 = [7]+5 = 12 1D20+5 = [12]+5 = 17 Using survival to assist in palliative care. Herbalism toolkit give proficiency. (Not healing, pain) Insight: 1D20+5 = [5]+5 = 10 Ya gotta be kidding me. Nope, no insight here.

 

[Steve Gorak]

Spoiler: Benny_+_Maximilian_Mini-sheet

Benny
AC 14
Spell Save DC 13
HP/HP 7/10
Passive Perception (PP): 13
HD/HD; 1/1

Maximilian
AC 13
Magic Resistance. The sphinx has Advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Resistances: Necrotic, Psychic, Radiant
HP/HP 23/24
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 11
HD/HD; 1/1

@Steve Gorak I think your familiar can grant a +2 bonus to saves as a reaction to everyone within 30 feet? If I read that right, you are welcome to use that ability. your familiar also has to make the save.

OOC: yeah, that ability isn't too clear upon a second read, I first thought it was for only 1 save, but if we're a bunch of people making the same save, I see how it it could be interpreted that everyone gets the +2. Absolutely, the sphynx will use the bonus that ability, so everyone in a 30 ft radius gets a +2 to their saves rolls for Benny: Con save DC 10: 12 success Benny takes 3 necrotic damage Insight check DC12: 8 Fail Rolls for Maximilian Con save DC 10: 12success Maximilian takes 3/2 because of resistance necrotic damage=1 Insight check DC12: 6 Fail

A warm emanation comes from the sphynx as the colors on his pelt seem to become brighter.

Benny is hurt, this is painful, and his senses become alert. Sitting on his shoulder, Maximilian tells him "Follow them, there is safety in numbers and they seem adept" Benny obeys his mentor and hopes he'll avoid more pain.

Maximilian then mutters arcane words as they move.

OOC: Maximilian casts guidance on Benny. Maximilian concentrating on guidance.