D&D 5E [IC] THE CURSE OF AMBERSTAR

[industrygothica]

OOC: I'm not sure I can do what I want to do, but I'm going to post it like I can anyway, just in case. If it won't work, an edit is easy enough...

Riding down the shaft on Tink's back, Lyllie drops her wolf form and reverts back to the tiny, white-eyed gnome she is used to. It takes her but a flash to re-acclimate herself, then she points a finger at the tentacle-y thing crashing down at them. A twisted grin creeps upon her face as she opts to forego her gifted druidic powers for the moment in favor of her learned necromantic ones.

OOC: Bonus action: Drop wild shape Action: Ray of Sickness hits AC [roll0] for [roll1] damage. Con save DC 15 or poisoned until the end of Lyllie's next turn.

 

[Shayuri]

Realizing there's no time to take it slow, Icosa glances down, and drops off the ladder, trying to land as best he can...

(Acrobatics: [roll0])

Meanwhile, he continues raining fire into the oncoming protoplasmic mass!

(Eldritch Blasts!)
[roll1] to hit, for [roll2]
[roll3] to hit, for [roll4]

 

[Archon Basileus]

EVERYONE

Thulwar's bomb corrodes the mass, shortening the length of the tentacles as the thing drips down a few of its pieces. One of the soldiers jumps to the side, avoiding contact with the mixture. Soon after, Lyllie's ray cuts through the other flank, startling the soldier some more, but reaching the mass with full strength. It's hard to identify at first, but the way the thing curls after the shot is enough to show how plagued it did become! Icosa's blasts explode against the beast, illuminating the shaft as shards of mechanical tentacles rain over the resisting warriors! For the first time, the thing turns entirely visible: a mass of wires and metal mixes up with mechanical parts, looking vaguely human... Faces moan inside as arms and legs try to push the thing through the shaft, even beyond the barrier of attacks unleashed by the heroes... The faces moan and cry, despite the lack of sound, pushing down inch by inch!

Seeing the thing under the strange lights produced by Icosa's shots, the soldiers shoot another salve and hold their ground, waiting for the others to move. The Thing is halted for a few moments, allowing the heroes to breath for a few seconds!

[Ok. I understand that Lyllie can move down and come out of her wolf shape with a bonus action, using her attack to charge against the Thing. Now everyone is at the elevator level or a bit below, and the Thing couldn't advance for a turn on account of the damage taken. Where do you go? Sideways or down? Remember that the next move, even if partial, will cover the elevator - making your choice permanent and irreversible. Round's yours, guys!]
[MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION] [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] [MENTION=6776182]JustinCase[/MENTION] [MENTION=6855102]Greenmtn[/MENTION] [MENTION=23298]industrygothica[/MENTION]
[sblock]
1 X (creature)
2 X (creature)
3 X (creature)
4 X (creature)
5 X (creature)
6
7 Soldiers/Embla
8 Elevator's roof
9 Elevator
10 Tink/Thulwar/Icosa
11 Harfik/Aanzu/Lyllie/Captain/Miners
12
13
14
15
[/sblock]

 

[Archon Basileus]

EVERYONE

The stress imposed by the creature comes to a maximum, as time elapses and a forceful decision has to be made! Noticing the confusion, the Teraphim follow the heroes' lead, and as Thulwar's actions suggest leaving the shaft to the side, they decide to move out of the elevator!

In quick succession, they help the heroes towards the new pavilion, gathering everyone as they can! The beast slides down, faster and faster, pressuring the upper panels of the elevator as Embla and the slaves barely make it! The heroes' agility is somehow enough to take them through. In her humanoid form, Lyllie leaps through the crevices, reaching the pavilion along with Thulwar. Aanzu and Harfik are soon to follow as the soldiers linger behind with Icosa and Yttrian, all blasting their guns upwards to contain the thing! The timing is perfect, and as the last heroes jump into the pavilion, the elevator is invaded - and then swallowed - by the strange techno-mess.

"FOCUS EVERYONE" - the Captain's muffled voice cries out as the soldiers shoot through. The mass took the elevator and now advances through the door! The captain reaches for a lever, and before the thing manages to enter, a heavy blast door falls into place, shutting the pavilion right where it allowed entrance for the elevator! Tentacles are cut with a silent agitation that shocks the entire set of walls around the beast, and soon enough the shaft has been isolated by metal covers! The Thing is contained, at least for now, but the scars of the struggle still remain. A bunch of dark electronic tendrils still agitate itself on the floor, cut away from the main mass by the brutal descent of the doors. One of the golems is here, too, seated and immobile, scarred by the heroes' strikes during the conflict.

"Everyone alive, I take it" - the tired captain's voice reaches out for the group. The pavilion is thrown in darkness, but a strange luminescence coming from distant windows allows for a dim vision. The entire place holds faint reflections, as if made of glass, or shards of crystal.

"Now... Care to tell me WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU TRYING TO PULL BACK THERE?!" - the Captain seems distressed, despite the firm tone on his voice. In the back, the strikes produced by the creature grow weaker and weaker, as if the beast decided to descend even further.


[Ok, as mentioned at the OOC thread, I've forwarded the scene, allowing for a better footing. Let's take it slow and have a taste for the characters. You are isolated from the creature, having left the shaft to the side - the pavilion where the golems were. Feel free to explore, RP, and so on. The idea is, at first, to re-establish the motivations for the characters, as mentioned in the OOC as well! I hope it helps! ]

AREA MAP

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GhWNJ224QW0I3s-Ziri2uSJ5cR4Yi-svMZuZzLZIv_E/edit

@Neurotic @Shayuri @JustinCase @Greenmtn @industrygothica

 

[Neurotic]

Thulwar hurries out of the elevator as he was calling the party forward. He is glad to see they listened and fascinated by Teraphim technology. Tink comes right after his master, Lyllie riding upon his broad shoulders.
"That sounds as if the thing didn't move back up but continued down. Is there a threat to your people, Teraphim?"
Thulwar turns at the sound of blast doors coming down and forgets about Teraphim!
"Oooo! It is not a creature, but a golem...and look, it functions still...how would one get the energy to this little part? How long can it 'survive' like this?" He takes small pincers from his toolkit and tries to hold the thing in place to take a better look. Dropping goggles onto his eyes (you never know when something will spray from semi-demi-dead things) he looks closely upon the moving parts and small bursts of electricity from broken wiring.

[roll0] <-- ha ha!! Another point, I'll be tech master in no time

 

[JustinCase]

Aanzu shrugs at the Teraphim captain.

"A cornered wyrmling will bite," the dragonborn prince says matter-of-factly. Seeing that the Teraphim are no immediate threat, Aanzu has lowered his sword and his posture is relaxed. He does not move from the commander's side, however, and he looks at the unfamiliar creature. Tilting his head to the side, his nostrils opening and closing, the draconic creature is trying to figure out what the Teraphim is, exactly.

OOC: Is that an Insight check? If not, feel free to change the modifier to whatever fits. [roll0]

 

[Greenmtn]

Harfik Human Monk

Harfik walks up to stand behind and to the right of Aanzu in the manner in which an advisor or servant would. He looks to the captain but isn't speaking to him, almost like he has not yet acknowledged that the captain is sufficiently important enough to talk with.

"Prince, do you think they are always this hostile? Simple criminals kidnapping anyone that gets close enough?"

OOC: Attempting to turn the tables and make the captain the one that feels he needs to explain himself.

 

[Archon Basileus]

THULWAR

The flickering currents blink a blue hue over the glossy walls that surround the heroes. The entire place has been encased in glass. Doors, walls, all is transparent, albeit covered in mold and dust, and some of its crystalline purity still remains. Thulwar doesn't see it, though, focused as he is on his own task. The admirable piece of machine has been crafted with dwarven precision, bearing a strange sign at the chest - a stylized left wing. The league used is of unknown origin, quite consistent and resilient, and the inner workings of the remnant are just as impressive. Testing it brings quite a few answers to Thulwar, as he manages to locate the energy source for the golem right below its chest plate and recognizes the moving mechanisms. He might even be able to put one of them to work, provided it is not damaged beyond use.

As the gnome sates his curiosity, he notices one of the Teraphim soldiers glancing over his shoulder.

"Hey, HEY! For the last time, PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE EXO!" - only after the snirfveblin finished his first analysis he did acknowledge the Teraphim's presence over his shoulder. The soldier doesn't seem distressed, but the frustration in his voice is clear. "This is delicate equipment, sir. The core is made of irradiated material, and any leaks could cause severe damage to your health." - he approaches, stretching his arm towards the chest piece. A strange clicking sound accompanies the movement, slow and paced. After that, his manners become more relaxed. "Safe levels here." - he turns to Thulwar. "Sir. Sir. SIR!" - he stabs again through Thulwar's curious and excited manners. "Have you had contact with equipment of this nature anywhere else?" - his manners are formal, following patterns and protocol. He doesn't allow time for the answer, following with another question. "How did you acquire the necessary engineering knowledge to manipulate the exo?" - Thulwar can't tell if he's being nice, polite or forceful. Perhaps he's all three things at once. And Tink can't decide either. The beast moves closer, claws menacingly risen, lying in wait just in case. The Teraphim glances at the beast, quite aware of the damage it might cause. "Sir, have the bot stand down." - he doesn't ask, his guard still up.


[We'll see how long it'll take you to understand all of this, hehehe. Oh, and Lyllie turned back already. She's humanoid once more, having leaped from Tink's back still at the elevator.]


AANZU

The captain moves a lot like a human would. Trained steps and a constant stance change show he's a learned soldier. Still, his habits are strange. He leans away, maintaining one leg constantly at the back. His balance tries to prevent someone from tripping him all of a sudden. His grip on the crossbow is also strange. Relaxed, but quite sure. As all the others, the captain keeps his hand outside the guard, delaying the shot for the time of the finger-slide he'd need. He also resents Aanzu's proximity, attempting to keep the prince always in front of himself and as many steps away as possible. Since the prince moves around to keep up, he doesn't stop as well, and it looks just as if both men were performing the war dance, even as they talk.

Aanzu also realizes that the soldier that fought him hand-to-hand studies him as well. He comes closer - sword-reach closer - and reaches for the base of his helmet. A short hissing sound breaks all of a sudden, affecting Aanzu's senses and combat stance, but as the sound dies out, he pulls off his helmet, showing his own face.

"Here, wyrm. Take a loooong look." - his voice is filled with latent rage and contempt. Underneath the helmet, a human face, perfect in all respects, smirks at the dragon. His skin is golden, as none Aanzu has seen before. The air flows down, a golden-rosed tone; his eyes are surrounded by a dark hue, almost black, where the gold of the skin turns to shadow and fades, and within a pair of all-white eyes, no irises or pupils, stare at him. His left hand holds the helmet, his right one rests at the vibroblade.

"How's the cut?" - he smiles cruelly, looking at Aanzu's flank.


HARFIK

The Captain falls right into Harfik's trap. He doesn't seem at all impressed by the title, but the word 'criminal' brings a shiver through the Captain's body, and both Harfik and Aanzu are able to recognize it. Certainly, the man has his pride.

"WE detected YOUR movement through the closed layers of the old terraforming complex and WE were dispatched by the TERAPHIM AUTHORITY, WHICH STILL HOLDS CLAIM OVER THESE AREAS, TO STOP YOU FROM ACTIVATING THE CTHON AWARENESS! Clearly, we arrived TOO LATE!" - he looks around and signals to the two remaining soldiers. "Sisyfus, recon and secure the room. Hermes, open channel to home base and inform that CTHON is active and going down." - his helmet opens as well. He didn't seem to notice Aanzu's body language reading just now, and completely ignored his subordinate's gesture, moments before. Still, he too removes his helmet, revealing a strong, silver-skinned face with no hair and similar, faint blue eyes.

"Captain Solon, Doomguard Division." - he salutes, not knowing how to act towards Aanzu. All too late he seems to realize the trouble he'd fetch, should he offend an emissary. He seems to assume that the prince leads the expedition, but directs his words to Harfik. "A prince, then. Right. This is not my day. Are you lost, then? How did you end up here?"
[MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION] [MENTION=6855102]Greenmtn[/MENTION] [MENTION=6776182]JustinCase[/MENTION] [MENTION=23298]industrygothica[/MENTION] [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION]

 

[Neurotic]

as he manages to locate the energy source for the golem right below its chest plate and recognizes the moving mechanisms. He might even be able to put one of them to work, provided it is not damaged beyond use.
As the gnome sates his curiosity, he notices one of the Teraphim soldiers glancing over his shoulder.

OOC: I was actually attemption to check the tentacle parts wriggling, but yes, if given a chance and time he would check the golem in more detail.

"Hey, HEY! For the last time, PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE EXO!" - only after the snirfveblin finished his first analysis he did acknowledge the Teraphim's presence over his shoulder. The soldier doesn't seem distressed, but the frustration in his voice is clear. "This is delicate equipment, sir. The core is made of irradiated material, and any leaks could cause severe damage to your health." - he approaches, stretching his arm towards the chest piece. A strange clicking sound accompanies the movement, slow and paced. After that, his manners become more relaxed. "Safe levels here." - he turns to Thulwar. "Sir. Sir. SIR!" - he stabs again through Thulwar's curious and excited manners. "Have you had contact with equipment of this nature anywhere else?" - his manners are formal, following patterns and protocol. He doesn't allow time for the answer, following with another question. "How did you acquire the necessary engineering knowledge to manipulate the exo?" - Thulwar can't tell if he's being nice, polite or forceful. Perhaps he's all three things at once. And Tink can't decide either. The beast moves closer, claws menacingly risen, lying in wait just in case. The Teraphim glances at the beast, quite aware of the damage it might cause. "Sir, have the bot stand down." - he doesn't ask, his guard still up.

"Easy soldier. *gnomish*Tink, stand down*gnomish*. I'm a scientist and engineer and mechanics are the same regardless of the level of skill and science that made it. You have only so much ways in which you can do articulated joint out of metal, whether fully..." he motions toward Tink "...or in the armor to follow humanoid physiology. And we of the Underdark aren't strangers to dangerous emanations and substsances."
He quickly returns to his inquisitive manner.
"What is an EXO? What was that crawling thing? Some kind of technology going wild?"

"How's the cut?" - he smiles cruelly, looking at Aanzu's flank.

Something in the captains tone draws attention of the little alchemist and he approaches, offering a vial to Aanzu. "Drink this, prince, that scratch will disappear. And please stop, we're not here to fight you. We're here to clear the levels of mutants and re-establish control on the lost levels."

OOC: Giving either healing drought (1/day) or healing salve (spell slot) depeding on the damage [MENTION=6776182]JustinCase[/MENTION] - how much damage are we talking about here?

"WE detected YOUR movement through the closed layers of the old terraforming complex and WE were dispatched by the TERAPHIM AUTHORITY, WHICH STILL HOLDS CLAIM OVER THESE AREAS, TO STOP YOU FROM ACTIVATING THE CTHON AWARENESS! Clearly, we arrived TOO LATE!" - he looks around and signals to the two remaining soldiers.

"Captain Solon, Doomguard Division." - he salutes, not knowing how to act towards Aanzu. All too late he seems to realize the trouble he'd fetch, should he offend an emissary. He seems to assume that the prince leads the expedition, but directs his words to Harfik. "A prince, then. Right. This is not my day. Are you lost, then? How did you end up here?"

Thulwar ignores the introductions as they are clearly targeted at the big folk. He does however study the helm and the arm holding it, or rather, armor and its enhancements and embedded devices. With only a visual examination, only general features can be made...but he takes note of the various sensor positions and opening, control panels and similar.
"Note to self: find dismantled device and find a way to disable the armor - from distance or via some admixture. I wonder, if they are fully electrical, would water mists make them spark? Probably not, but...ah, I should think of my mission. But I was sent as an emissary to the duke. Well, to the surface, the duke was only one we heard about. I guess this will have to do. But let the real diplomats have a go first."

OOC: There, short recap and priority of interests for the alchemist

 

[JustinCase]

The captain moves a lot like a human would. Trained steps and a constant stance change show he's a learned soldier. Still, his habits are strange. He leans away, maintaining one leg constantly at the back. His balance tries to prevent someone from tripping him all of a sudden. His grip on the crossbow is also strange. Relaxed, but quite sure. As all the others, the captain keeps his hand outside the guard, delaying the shot for the time of the finger-slide he'd need. He also resents Aanzu's proximity, attempting to keep the prince always in front of himself and as many steps away as possible. Since the prince moves around to keep up, he doesn't stop as well, and it looks just as if both men were performing the war dance, even as they talk.

Aanzu also realizes that the soldier that fought him hand-to-hand studies him as well. He comes closer - sword-reach closer - and reaches for the base of his helmet. A short hissing sound breaks all of a sudden, affecting Aanzu's senses and combat stance, but as the sound dies out, he pulls off his helmet, showing his own face.

"Here, wyrm. Take a loooong look." - his voice is filled with latent rage and contempt. Underneath the helmet, a human face, perfect in all respects, smirks at the dragon. His skin is golden, as none Aanzu has seen before. The air flows down, a golden-rosed tone; his eyes are surrounded by a dark hue, almost black, where the gold of the skin turns to shadow and fades, and within a pair of all-white eyes, no irises or pupils, stare at him. His left hand holds the helmet, his right one rests at the vibroblade.

Aanzu tilts his head sideways, this time towards the soldier. His expression is unreadable as always, and his jaws move slightly as if chewing on something. The dragonborn does not change his stance, alert but not threatening at the moment.

So, the Teraphim are softskinned beings, resembling humans. Aanzu lets out a dismissive grumble, as if they have just dropped considerably in his esteem - which they have. To the prince's mind, anyone needing sturdy armor and advanced ranged weaponry is not a good fighter at all, merely a coward. Even his brother has more honour by refusing to wear armor as he wields his magic.

"How's the cut?" - he smiles cruelly, looking at Aanzu's flank.

Aanzu only now registers a dull pain in his side, and realizes that he had been injured during the initial fight with the Teraphim. His battle trance had blocked out the sensation, and only now that there was a semblance of peace his mind gave him the opportunity to process.

The prince refuses to look down at the injury, but keeps his eyes on the Teraphim.

"This one will live," he answers, the threat not subtle. Making almost imperceptable circles with his mighty sword, he adds, "The Dragon's Fang bites deeper and more painfully."

For less than a second, Aanzu glances at the injury he did to the soldier in front of him, before he looks back into the odd white eyes.

"Captain Solon, Doomguard Division." - he salutes, not knowing how to act towards Aanzu. All too late he seems to realize the trouble he'd fetch, should he offend an emissary. He seems to assume that the prince leads the expedition, but directs his words to Harfik. "A prince, then. Right. This is not my day. Are you lost, then? How did you end up here?"

"Sethmek Aanzu, Prince of Sethmandu," Aanzu introduces himself briskely without answering the questions, without taking his eyes off the soldier.

Something in the captains tone draws attention of the little alchemist and he approaches, offering a vial to Aanzu. "Drink this, prince, that scratch will disappear. And please stop, we're not here to fight you. We're here to clear the levels of mutants and re-establish control on the lost levels."

Aanzu raises his hand towards Thulwar, stopping the small creature from handing over the vial. The prince does not wish to appear weak in front of possible enemies.

OOC: Giving either healing drought (1/day) or healing salve (spell slot) depeding on the damage [MENTION=6776182]JustinCase[/MENTION] - how much damage are we talking about here? I saw that the DM said 10 damage, although I'm not sure if that's after applying Resistance from Rage. But Aanzu is too proud to accept the healing in front of the Teraphim... But when the tension between Aanzu and the Teraphim has lowered, he will gladly accept your offer. Stubborn dragonborn. I'm glad that others are more diplomatic than him, or we'd all be dead by now...