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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 9438978" data-attributes="member: 16069">Dark Squad in the Secrets of SaltmarshSession #143b: Krello!Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).Daktari/Dak (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 9Fellowyn Silverstream (played by George) Male Eladrin Wizard Bladesinger Lvl 9New Tricks/Newt (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 9Ramshambo/Ram (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter Lvl 7/2Vincenzo/Vinnie (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 9DEAD PCs<s>Nicholai Barbaros Kostyiev/Nicky (played by George) Male Dhampir Cleric of Twilight Lvl 8 </s>RIPNPCs<s>Inverna Nightbreeze (played by George) Female Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 8 (Sidekick) </s>RETIRED<s>Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 </s>RIP*<s>Tarbin Tul (played by goonalan) Male Human Bard </s>RETIRED<s>Ubmo (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 1</s> EXPLODEDUbdug (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 2 (When we remember)*Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.Servants/FamiliarsGerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New TricksOwly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiarArchimedes (very scruffy & old, Owl) Fellowyn’s familiar.The Dark Squad’s to-do list-<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Find the other four Symbols of Ub, one was left in Deepbridge (Duergar fortress in the Underdark). The others need to be found, they belonged to- Rambles 'Shambles' Bowspirit (halfling killer from Lowhill), Antonio De La Crane (posh kid druid alchemist) & Giggles (crazy wood elf). All of these folk lived in the Saltmarsh region, the Dark Squad have found the De La Crane Manse (in the Dreadwood) and the De La Crane Crypt (in Saltmarsh Cemetery).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Nightshade is in the Deep Dreadwood- except she's not there anymore, but a big red dragon is?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Blackedge and the Goblin Stair?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">To join the Pact of the Wild Flame prepare the Witch's Tor for the coming of the starfall, the Witch's Tor is in the Drowned Forest, in the Mere of the Dead Men.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">To join the Pact of the Wild Flame track down the last member of the Pact, a wild elf adventurer called Giggles- and finally put her spirit to rest, and also recover her maze button. Location unknown. SEE 2. ABOVE.</li> </ol>This is session 143b, and then the Dark Squad point Castle Argentriver in the direction of the Empress of the Sea and…It takes hours.Hours of tracing the maze on their maze buttons- for those that have them- that’s just Vinnie & Ram.Hours of tracing mental mazes, or scribbled mazes, or imagined mazes, or… whatever, for those without buttons.To make clear- all of the PCs need to make a DC 16 Wisdom Save in the same turn, this to make the Castle go, as it were.Anyone with a maze button has advantage on this roll.It therefore takes a while.Kev, playing Ram, does the maths- if each attempt takes 10 minutes to play out (and it does) then the laws of probability state, and this after going through everyone’s Wisdom Save bonuses, and factoring in Advantage on the rolls for Ram & Vinnie, that it should work on or around the 25th attempt, or else the result will happen 4% of the time.There’s a way on Fantasy Grounds to roll all of the PCs saves with just one click.And so, we do that.A lot.All DC 16 and above on the 22nd go.To make clear- that took just under four hours (three hours forty minutes) to get done.If the PCs get another maze button then the DC drops to 14, and then there will be three PCs with buttons, and therefore with advantage on their rolls.So, Castle Argentriver opens its doors and the Dark Squad step onto the deck of the Empress of the Sea.Just to remind you the Empress of the Sea set sail from Saltmarsh nearly 200 years ago, in the bilges of the boat Rambles Shambles Bowspirit aka The Swarm secreted a chest inside of which is the maze button he stole from Antonio De La Crane. Who had, according to Rambles, gone mad and started consorting with the dead, and doing other very creepy things.So, there’s a maze button in a chest in the bilges of the Empress of the Sea.Last bit- every hour the PCs spend in this space and time is an hour that is erased (randomly) from their lives. This could cause issues- for every hour spent here there is a 1% chance that on their return to Castle Argentriver something about the character will have changed.Changed? How changed?If a PC finds themselves ‘changed’ then they get to roll a % dice, the higher the roll- the greater the ‘change’. Subject, naturally, to the DMs whims.So, it’s not without risk- this visit to the Empress of the Sea, oh- and keep in mind it could take them another four hours to get back on board the Castle- tracing their mazes again.So, here’s the Empress of the Sea.[ATTACH=full]377132[/ATTACH]Although in the image above- ignore the fellows exploring- they’re not present, and the vessel itself is not pulling a wheelie, as depicted- it’s in the water, listing to port a little- but not much. There are no holes in the side of the vessel, the boat- while no longer intact, is still solid/whole.Oh, and there’s not much water here- the ship is located in a swamp.The Empress of the Sea however is quite definitely a Shou merchant ship, of high quality (a very long time ago), it is covered in vines and thick vegetation. It has been here for a while.Here?The PCs are on the bridge of the ship when they step out of Castle Argentriver, the environment is swampy, misty, wet… and full of life.Birds call wildly, and loudly- butterflies, flies and other wingy-things, some bursting with colour- others tiny and annoying.They’re in a swamp, a swamp full of life.But where are they?The Dark Squad search their brains and make a few rolls.Now, foolishly, what happened next here is one of the players, I forget which, said wouldn’t it be mad if they were still in the Mere of the Dead Men (the original location of Castle Argentriver).That they had spent a year in the Castle learning how to move it through space and time… and they end up a couple of miles up the road from where they started.That would be a devilish thing for a DM to do.Fiendish.I only wish I had thought of it.Then a pair of PCs make checks and their rolls are garbage- a ‘1’ and a ‘3’ plus (not very good) bonuses from memory- but I get the PCs to roll ‘in the tower’ on Fantasy Grounds, and so only I can see the result of their rolls.So, they are indeed in the Mere of the Dead Men, about a dozen miles to the east of where they started their journey.There is delight, followed by incredulity, followed by giggling- the genius of the DM etc.I spin this out for a while, until Vinnie- not convinced, I keep telling the PCs how warm it is here, and that it is bursting with life, and it was never warm in the Mere of the Dead Men, foetid and stinky- check, but not hot. It was full of life, but not this sort of life- the Mere was full of danger.Vinnie rolls a ‘20’, and he’s a druid and stacked with bonuses and so when he says-“Mes amis, we ar not in ze Mere, we ar in Chult!”Which brings on a little more in the way of consternation- particularly for Newt, his family fled Chult a long time ago. He’s never been here… but he’s heard stories.The conversation trickles on for a little while- the wonders of Chult, and for wonders read ‘dangers’, the primary of those- dinosaurs.The Dark Squad are on their guard.Although not expecting the invitation, a voice- gruff, deep and male, comes from below, from somewhere within the body of the ship, the voice drifting out through the barred hatch (much overgrown) leading down into the hold.The voice says-“Come on down, I have been waiting for you.”Vinnie asks-“Whoo ar yew?”“Krell” comes the voice, the word fired right back- although without any hint of malice.And that’s all the voice says, apart from repeating versions of his first request-“Come on down, I have been waiting for you.”[ATTACH=full]377133[/ATTACH]Here we all are, but keep in mind I don’t have a map that exactly matches the ship that I was looking for, so… imagination please. It’s Shou, covered in vines- not in the sea, in a swamp, but otherwise- this map will do.But here’s the thing-[ATTACH=full]377134[/ATTACH]When the PCs first arrived, they were under orders from Ram. The rogue’s orders- “shut up for a bit when we get there, let me listen…”And so, it comes to pass. Everyone stays silent and listens when they first arrive on the bridge of the vessel.It’s Ram that hears it. Ram’s rogue-skills (including Perception) are pilled high, he has nothing else, however.Anyway, there’s someone, or something, moving in the chamber below the area indicated in the image above. Ram rolled a ‘20’.[ATTACH=full]377135[/ATTACH]The PCs are prevaricating.Note Ram is in silent mode here.[ATTACH=full]377136[/ATTACH]Eventually Daktari rips the hatch open, which takes a moment, and then drops into the passageway below.The passageway is swathed in webs, with every surface also covered in creeping vines.There’s an open door ahead, into a chamber- a light present there.Standing in the chamber is a very sturdy looking half-orc, with a flying snake nestled on his shoulder.This is Krell.“I am Krell, I have been expecting you… although, you are late.”Daktari doesn’t know quite what to say.[ATTACH=full]377137[/ATTACH]Krell.The rest of the Dark Squad, or else almost all of them- keep reading, enter the passage through the hatch- Daktari helping them down, and tearing away some of the vines and webs.There are a lot of spiders here.They seem to be everywhere.I said almost all of the Dark Squad.[ATTACH=full]377138[/ATTACH]Here we all are again. Note Ram is behind Krell- how did he do that? First off, he observed that there were lots of holes in the deck of the ship, and then after another good roll he managed to find a loose board or two.I ruled that if he wanted to get below then he would have to remove another board and be incredibly quiet about it.Ram rolled two checks- one to remove the boards- all good, and the silent-thing, he rolls another ‘20’, I think that’s a ‘32’ with bonuses.So, Ram drops down behind Krell, and watches his colleagues, although not even they know that he is there.Oh, but Krell is…[ATTACH=full]377139[/ATTACH]A bit creepy.The two webbed upside-down humanoids, that sway slightly every now and then- well, they don’t inspire trust.Neither, up close, does Krell.The Dark Squad and Krell chat a while, it’s all fairly amicable.Krell is not that chatty.Krell, it is discovered, works for Lolth.His job title alas is undisclosed.He refers, and defers, to his Mistress in all things.Lolth wants a button.To be clear- a maze button, just one.Either the one in the chest that sits within the bilges of this vessel, or else one of the buttons that the PCs carry- Vinnie or Ram.Krell, and Lolth- it is presumed, are prepared to make a deal.Krell gives the PCs a glimpse of the contents of the chest on the table.It is chock full of very shiny and very valuable looking things.Krell, on behalf of Lolth, also offers power.Magical power, or else a blessing from his Mistress.It’s all very tempting, only- and for some reason, my usual lever- Newt, is not playing ball.Neither Ram nor Vinnie are for giving up their buttons.The next button, we discovered a few turns past- we rolled dice to see who will get the next one, will belong to Daktari.So, he’s not for giving his button up either.Then, it gets tetchy or else…[ATTACH=full]377140[/ATTACH]Krell attempts to hose a bunch of the Dark Squad with an Insect Plague.Note the big chest full of nice things on the table next to Krell, and… the summoning circle- which seems to be active.In truth Newt went apoplectic at one point in the discussion above. This mainly because Bear went off to get a drink and hadn’t worked out that Krell was not the guardian of the maze button they are here to find.Newt spent a couple of minutes issuing apoplectic and apocalyptic threats to Krell, unless he hands over the button. Which is of course in the chest, in the bilges- as previously advertised.Anyway- the warlock finishes his tirade by complementing Krell on the décor, he ‘absolutely adores’ the twitching bodies and the summoning circle, they scream good times, again- according to the mad tabaxi.So, where were we?Oh yes, Insect Plague.Well, that doesn’t work.Krell was suspicious from the get-go, and so Fellowyn has already let the DM know- if he looks like he’s casting, I’m Counterspelling.I make Fellowyn roll to see Krell starting his spell, he rolls ‘25’ on his perception check, and then enough to make Krell’s fifth level spell fizzle out before it even gets going.But…Ready?That’s the end of the session.No really, not contrived- we were 10 past and one of the guy’s was up early on the morrow.Players- we are doing the Catch the Pidgin game on the 13th (Kev’s away), and then back to this one on the 20th.Stay safe and well you lovely people.Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.</blockquote>

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