THE HEROES OF DYVERS CHAPTER 7: CLARE'S ERRAND

[Neurotic]

OOC: The pace is a bit slow. I'm new and have other games so I don't mind, but it is (in PbP in general) to keep track of all the details when fight can take months. Your status post with list of enchantments help... Few things I saw in games that might help: Small groups (not here obviously, but maybe two parallel groups with some flexible timing could be done in time) Ignore initiative, post when you can - DM will make it work (requires willingness to give agency to DM when conflicts arise and/or DM willing to tweak the flow a bit) - essentially, things happen when posted, not in initiative order (except for the first round because surprise/flat-footed are a thing) make the map interactive - when I post that I fly up and away, let me control my token on the map to actually make the change and the next one that comes along sees the new setup (may be as simple as google doc sheet ) mini-sheets with actual information - HP, conditions, spells cast etc...one of the major reason I don't play casters most of the time is because it is easy to forget a minor cast after a month of combat - this requires upkeep from all players ideally in the same format I'm not trying to change how you guys play the game and I'm completely fine with continuing like this - I keep my own sheet and add what I think is relevant for the story as notes. BTW, anyone knows where can I find my character sheet now, I forgot myth-weavers moved while I was on vacation and now it won't open...

 

[Waynan]

Hey Neurotic...
Yeah myth-weavers made a huge update/core systems change. Everyone had to re-establish their profile, etc.

 

[Neurotic]

Hey Neurotic...
Yeah myth-weavers made a huge update/core systems change. Everyone had to re-establish their profile, etc.

I know and I think I did...but a) the app doesn't work and b) i lost a link to new site

 

[MacConnell]

OOC: That might explain why I could not log in. I thought I might have recorded my log-in and password incorrectly. Fortunately @Tellerian Hawke has his own copy of my character.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Spoiler: DM Comments, please read.

OOC: The pace will begin to quicken some, as my workload lessens over the course of the semester. The reason it slowed down / stopped for several months was my fault, I got bogged down IRL with many responsibilities and obligations that reduced my free time to almost nothing. But I am a lot more free at this point, so I am hoping to get back to posting at least twice a week. I was thinking maybe Sundays and Fridays, the two slowest / most relaxed days of my week. Your specific suggestions: 1. I don't like to split the party if I can avoid it. I did that once when Respen wandered off, and keeping simultaneous threads going was a logistical nightmare. 2. Ignore initiative - I can't bring myself to do that. I am too accustomed to doing it this way, which is the by-the-book way, they way I've been doing it since I started DMing my own games back in 1989. 3. Interactive map - is there an app for this? I am drawing my maps the old school way, by hand, using MSPaint. Most of the time, I have templates ready, that have coordinates marked on them, but some maps, like this one, are so odd-ball, that I have to just approximate a mockup on the fly. If there was an easy way to do the maps, I'd be all for it, but I have never seen anything like that, short of paying for a RollD20 subscription, which I am too poor to afford, lol. 4. I actually keep pretty good track of spells, conditions, terrain, etc. And everything that I am tracking goes into my DM Housekeeping spoiler tab. But each player needs to make their own spell lists, i.e., choosing what they have prepped for any given day. But once you cast a spell, I will generally keep track of the ongoing effects, if any. Hope this helped!

 

[Sylvar B.]

Sylvar stops singing and casts Shadow Conjuration, creating a Melf’s Acid Arrow at Gargoyle #5.
“One left. Let’s finish it.”

OOC:
Sylvar stops performing and makes a full attack against Gargoyle #5, Inspire Courage +2 remains active for 5 rounds.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Spoiler: Initiative Order & DM Housekeeping

GM: INITIATIVE ORDER: ================= Djyn: 25a Kamen: 25b Kleborn: 23 Dewydd: 20 Sylvar:17 Tam: 15 Lathir: 13a Travis: 13b Lenny: 11 Thallok: 8 Gargoyle #5: 5

DURATIONS: (Original duration) [Current count against duration, in rounds]

Fly: Less than 24 minutes (237 rounds) [13]
Armor: 24 hours (14,400 rounds) [13]
Shield: Auto-quickened, will be cast when combat is imminent.
Alter Self: Less than 120 minutes (1197 rounds) [13]
Dragonskin: Less than 120 minutes (1197 rounds) [13]
Prot. vs. Evil: Less than 24 minutes (237 rounds) [13]
Blur: Less than 24 minutes (237 rounds) [13]
Invocations from the twins: 24 hours (14,400 rounds) [13]

Buffs from Khubsheth:
(Affecting: Dewydd, Sylvar, Kleborn, Thallok, Lenny, and Travis)

[Basically, everyone except Tam, Kamen, Djyn, and Lathir.]

Geas for the duration of the adventure.

+5 bonus to all saves (Guardian Bonus, stacks with everything) for the duration of the adventure.

CONDITION REPORT:
.....Alpha Gargoyle is DEAD.
.....Gargoyle #1 is DEAD.
.....Gargoyle #2 is DEAD.
.....Gargoyle #3 is DEAD.
.....Gargoyle #4 is DEAD.
.....Gargoyle #5 is the one that Kleborn shot twice with his bow. (Damage taken so far: 61 pts.) Condition: Severely Wounded.

GM: Touch AC: 12; Sylvar: 1d20+2+16 = 10+2+16 = Touch AC 28. (Hits.) Damage: 7 pts. (Plus 2d4 per round, for the next 3 rounds,) Gargoyle Acid Resistance: 10 pts. Gargoyle takes no damage from Sylvar's attack. Max damage of 8 pts. = The Gargoyle will not take damage from subsequent rounds, either.

Sylvar casts Acid Arrow at the Gargoyle, but his eyes widen in horror as the Gargoyle laughs and shrugs off the acid's effect. The Gargoyle turns his head in Sylvar's direction, sneering in contempt and defiance. He retorts, "Is that all you've got, little clown? That weak little spell isn't going to finish anything,"


TAM: It's your turn! What do you do?

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

GM: Tam posted his intentions / made his rolls in the Discord channel. Here is the resolution of those rolls.

OOC: Tam's attack rolls (vs. AC21): 28, 35, 29. (All 3 rolls are hits.) 20% Concealment from Darkness spell: 80, 19, 40 (Middle attack [35] misses due to concealment.) Damage rolls: (1d8+13): 14, 17 [Total Damage: 31 pts.] Gargoyle's remaining hit pts: 20. Taking another 31 pts. puts him at -11. [DEAD.]

Tam aims Darkfang at the remaining Gargoyle. Three, glowing, metal shards shoot toward the creature, two of which find their mark. Both of the shards making contact strike the Gargoyle in the head. The first shard skips off of the creature's skull, leaving a deep gash; the other one embeds itself completely in the Gargoyle's skull, skewering his brain. The Gargoyle's eyes glaze over as it tumbles lifeless off the edge of the platform. Before its body can make contact with the lava below, Darkfang howls once more, as it drains the creature's essence in mid-fall.

GM: ALL THE GARGOYLES ARE DEAD. COMBAT HAS ENDED.

Once the combat ceases, it takes only a brief time (2 rounds, i.e., 12 seconds) for Lathir (in Roc form) to shuttle Kamen and Djyn back to the hallway.

GM: As a reminder, Tam currently has the staff; it is lying on the ground next to him, thanks to Kamen's quick thinking and agility. The heat from the room is staggering, even in the hallway; a gust of hot wind issues forth from the lava below; if the party had still been in the room, they would have suffered heat damage at that point. But as it stands, the party got in and out of the room quickly enough to where the gust of wind was not an issue.

EVERYONE: Combat has ended! You're all in the hallway! The Gargoyles are dead! Tam has the staff! WHAT DO YOU DO NOW?

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

GM: Dewydd, Lenny, & Travis are now all NPCs for the time-being. It had been suggested that I allow them to just teleport out of the dungeon and return home, and I was almost inclined to do so for the sake of brevity, HOWEVER, I soon realized that all three were still under the effects of Khubsheth's Geas spell. Thus, they MUST complete the adventure before they go home.

Dewydd says, "I suggest we return to the main room, where the elevator landing is. We now have both of the Greater Keys. We should figure out what they do, and how to activate them. I sense that we are getting close to the end, our grueling ordeal nearing its completion."

 

[Waynan]

Tam agrees with Dewydd:
"I feel like we've been here for years instead of days. I, too, would like to see the end of this."