Campaign Stormwreck Isle; Curse of Compass Rose (1-3)

Part 3 - Curse of the Compass Rose
View attachment 357_Promontory.mp3

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MAP:

Maps - D&D Beyond

www.dndbeyond.com

THE STORY SO FAR:

Stormwreck Isle: Journey to Stormwreck Isle (1-P)
Stormwreck Isle: Welcome to Dragon's Rest (1-1)
Stormwreck Isle: Spores of Seagrow Cave (1-2)​

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THE QUEST:

• The party seeks the wreck of the Compass Rose, a ship that went down decades ago and may be linked to the undead incursion.

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THE LOCATION:

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Local Party Map​

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THE PARTY:

ITEM GLOSSARY:

Image	Name	Value (per)	Weight (per)	Description
	Wind Spore Mushrooms​	30	0.06 lbs	A rare fungus with a unique magical property. When a creature squeezes a wind spore mushroom's cap, it releases a small cloud of spores. For 1 hour, the creature doesn't need to breathe, as the spores provide it with oxygen.
	Obsidian Chunk​	10	1 lb	An uncut opaque black gemstone.
	Heart Cap Mushrooms​	30	0.2 lbs	These mushrooms bear an unsettling resemblance to human hearts.
	Potion of Healing​	50	0.5 lbs	This potion's red liquid glimmers when agitated. You regain 2d4+2 hit points when you drink this potion.
	A Fine Lute
	Boots of Elvenkind			While you wear these boots, your steps make no sound, regardless of the surface you are moving across. You also have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks that rely on moving silently.
	Spell Scroll of Command

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THE STORY CONTINUES:

Having departed from Dragon's Rest for the second time, your band of adventurers slowly make their way down the mountain paths towards the shore where you first landed. The journey is uneventful and peaceful, a welcome contrast to the carnage the party has faced since arriving on the island. Songbirds flutter across the path ahead of you as they dart back and forth between bushes, hunting the insects they harbor. Your walk down to the water does not take more than a half hour however, so the ramble through nature is fleeting.

Returning to the beach where you had fought the zombies, the party find the scene just as you left it. The battered corpses of the drowned sailors lay immobile where they were slain, the putrid grey flesh not appealing to any scavengers and having been left untouched. Your group moves cautiously past the bodies, one by one each battling the anxiety that the monsters will spring up again and attack.

The five of you convene on the short wooden dock. There is an old fishing net dangling over the edge and trailing in the water, where it appears to be tangled within a clump of seaweed. Several short lengths of aging rope are knotted here and there around the thick posts, some having been cut free in haste rather than untied. A rowboat not dissimilar to the one you arrived in is tethered to the dock, and you see a pair of oars laying across the seats. The boat appears big enough for 4 medium sized passengers.

North of your position, you can see a long spur of sharp rocks jutting from the ocean waves, extending several miles out.​

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INITIATIVE:
https://improvedinitiative.app/p/e88bk48y

 

[Dungeon Master]

Moonsprout observes the rest of the adventurers hesitant to plunge deeper into the cave.

Ah, you wimps. Afraid of caves all of a sudden? Let me show you how we halflings do it.

Moonsprout leaps up, snatches the torch from Aims, and marches boldly deeper into the cave.

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Moonsprout Beandirt
(Smacktard)​

|
You take the torch from Aims and power-walk to the tunnel on the left, skidding to a halt shortly before your feet dip into dark water. There is a pool here, fairly shallow on the north side of the pool but it gets significantly deeper on the south side. You see a few crabs scurrying sideways through the shallows, at the very edge of the torchlight.|

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[Short Order]

Hey Moon, do you want to try to befriend those crabs, or do you want to eat them?

 

[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

Aims follows behind Moonsprout, making sure to switch back to his big ax. He sees some movement in the dark before the light from the torch properly reveals some crabs in the cave.

I take it back. Mai'Cokk wouldve hated this place.

...but anyways, we found dinner! There's at least a few there. Maybe even one for each of us!

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

Hey Moon, do you want to try to befriend those crabs, or do you want to eat them?

Well if someone else killed them, I wouldn't want them to let them go to waste...

 

[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

Aims cracks his neck and starts creeping towards the crabs.

He whispers you got to go slow and quiet to catch a crab. Then up close, you flatten them like a pancake. Cracks their shell too at the same time. Win-win.

 

[Dungeon Master]

Aims cracks his neck and starts creeping towards the crabs.

He whispers you got to go slow and quiet to catch a crab. Then up close, you flatten them like a pancake. Cracks their shell too at the same time. Win-win.

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Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd
@Jawneh​

|

The crabs see you coming and speed away into deep cracks of the rock. |

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[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

AH HELLS! STUPID CRUSTACEANS!

Aims kicks some rocks.

 

[Dungeon Master]

---

Dungeon Master
(Ben)​

||

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[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

Next time... Next time I'll get them. Find me some more crabs halfling! Maybe rub me with some of that luck of yours too.

Aims winks. Or more so awkwardly blinks with one eye.

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

Ah ah! Can't use up all that luck at once. It's super limited. And then I'll have to sleep to, like, replenish it. Best save it for when we need it most.

At this, Moonsprout winks back at Aims and taps his nose in a knowing gesture.

How much further does this cave extend, anyway? Hey, last one to touch the back wall is a rotten wyvern fart!

Moonsprout takes off, running at full tilt even further into the cave.

 

[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

Hey! No fair! I wasn't ready!

Aims books off right after Moonsprout.

 

[Dungeon Master]

Ah ah! Can't use up all that luck at once. It's super limited. And then I'll have to sleep to, like, replenish it. Best save it for when we need it most.

At this, Moonsprout winks back at Aims and taps his nose in a knowing gesture.

How much further does this cave extend, anyway? Hey, last one to touch the back wall is a rotten wyvern fart!

Moonsprout takes off, running at full tilt even further into the cave.

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Moonsprout Beandirt
@Smacktard​

|

There's a large boulder in-front of you that's obscuring your view, but there seems to again be a slight split in the tunnels. |

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[Dungeon Master]

Hey! No fair! I wasn't ready!

Aims books off right after Moonsprout.

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Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd
@Jawneh​

|

You can see that the way to the left ends in some short ledge, with a large smooth boulder on top of it. |

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[Nac McWeeble]

Nac slowly look at Zesty and Short.

Argh, I swear to Hanseath, dealing with these two feels like I'm back at the monastery herdin' cats... Shall we go after 'em an' try ta keep them out o' trouble?

Nac follows the two excitable ones.

 

[Nac McWeeble]

((Hanseath is the dwarven god of carousing, brewery and singing btw ))

 

[Dungeon Master]

((@Smacktard if you're BOOKING IT blindly and not stopping, we can do that. I'll just flip a coin if you come to a branch. Or you could do all lefts or whatever.))

 

[Short Order]

((Is mold earth capable of moving enough dirt to get the boulder to move slightly off to the side to let us through? I know I can't move it directly))

 

[Dungeon Master]

((Is mold earth capable of moving enough dirt to get the boulder to move slightly off to the side to let us through? I know I can't move it directly))

((No. Mold earth moves loose dirt/stone in a small area. It doesn't move huge boulders.))

 

[Short Order]

((No. Mold earth moves loose dirt/stone in a small area. It doesn't move huge boulders.))

((Yeah I know, that's why I could move dirt around it to cause it to move, and not to move it directly. Didn't expect it to be a yes but figured it was worth asking.))

 

[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

((Maybe we can make a convincing argument on moving some dirty so that I get advantage on a strength check to move it?))

 

[Short Order]

Hey Moonsprout can you befriend the boulder and ask it nicely to move? Otherwise maybe let's see if we have enough room to walk by it.

 

[Zesty Zapcrackle]

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Moonsprout Beandirt
(Smacktard)​

|You check the markings on the ground. They're definitely markings. You think the one on the left is maybe wider than the one on the right, with some different thinner trails. |

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((Do you guys get tagged when just doing it like this mother fucker?))

((I did not get tagged. Also until at least tomorrow assume I’m following the group. I’ve been bedridden sick today and not able to even sit up. So I don’t want to be the one to slow us down. Just in case ))

 

[Dungeon Master]

Hey Moonsprout can you befriend the boulder and ask it nicely to move? Otherwise maybe let's see if we have enough room to walk by it.

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Short Order
@A Pineap-Alu-zer​

|

The boulder is lodged firmly between the cave walls, which are solid basalt. There is no loose earth to move or squeeze past.|

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[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

Aims looks at the boulder, knocks it a few times, and gives it a slap.

Yup lads. I got it. I'm 100% sure that this thing is definitely a boulder.

Check this out!

Aims backs up a little bit, takes a good lean back, and charges at the boulder giving it a good shoulder tackle.

 

[Short Order]

Well if we can't go this way we should try the other way. Aims, do you want to punch it first before we change directions?

 

[Short Order]

((lmao good timing))

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

Aims looks at the boulder, knocks it a few times, and gives it a slap.

Yup lads. I got it. I'm 100% sure that this thing is definitely a boulder.

Check this out!

Aims backs up a little bit, takes a good lean back, and charges at the boulder giving it a good shoulder tackle.

Hey! That doesn't count! I said wall, not boulder. The game's still on.

Moonsprout continues rushing into the dark abyss , turning in whichever direction when there's a fork in the road, and vowing to stop only if he encounters something interesting or dangerous.

 

[Dungeon Master]

Aims looks at the boulder, knocks it a few times, and gives it a slap.

Yup lads. I got it. I'm 100% sure that this thing is definitely a boulder.

Check this out!

Aims backs up a little bit, takes a good lean back, and charges at the boulder giving it a good shoulder tackle.

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Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd
@Jawneh​

|You collide with the boulder.

You fall backwards on your ass and grunt loudly. |

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Dungeon Master
@Ben​

| You take 2 points of bludgeoning damage.

|

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Hey! That doesn't count! I said wall, not boulder. The game's still on.

Moonsprout continues rushing into the dark abyss , turning in whichever direction when there's a fork in the road, and vowing to stop only if he encounters something interesting or dangerous.

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Moonsprout Beandirt
@Smacktard​

|
You run. While you do not do this particularly quietly, splashing loudly through what puddles there are here, no one tries to stop you.



You madly dash in whichever direction feels convenient, and after a few forks you pass some of the same green mushrooms near the entrance of the cave. Your torchlight does not illuminate very far in these dank wet tunnels, and what it does are cast with hard flickering shadows as the flame dances.

As you pass the clump, you fail to notice the Violet Fungus lurking amongst them, which springs towards your sudden motion with glistening white tendrils.

It catches you by surprise, attacking as you pass by it, and initiates a surprise combat round. |

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Dungeon Master
@Ben​

| Violet Fungus attacks twice with it's rotting touch.

The Violet Fungus latches both tendrils onto Moonsprout, one across the right calf and one his left forearm.

The viscous slime coating the tendrils immediately begins to sizzle and blacken the flesh where it touches. Moonsprout's skin begins to slough off leaving deep valleys of raw tissue, itself also beginning to turn gangrenous.

Moonsprout takes 3 points of necrotic damage from the first rotting touch, and 4 points of damage from the second rotting touch.

|

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((@Smacktard you're in combat.))

 

[Nac McWeeble]

Now where did tha' idiot go?!

((Do we need to make some sort of roll to find him or can we just follow the noises?))

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

Moonsprout lets out a loud and not-particularly-masculine scream, which echoes throughout the cave and alerts his allies of the danger he's in.

Moonsprout tries to wriggle free from the violet fungus and outside of its reach.

 

[Dungeon Master]

Moonsprout lets out a loud and not-particularly-masculine scream, which echoes throughout the cave and alerts his allies of the danger he's in.

Moonsprout tries to wriggle free from the violet fungus and outside of its reach.

((You aren't being grappled, you don't need to break free. You could disengage to run without invoking an attack of opportunity, if you just want to take off running in either direction.))

Now where did tha' idiot go?!

((Do we need to make some sort of roll to find him or can we just follow the noises?))

((Someone survival roll for me.))

 

[Short Order]

He's so excited about mushrooms that he's going to get everyone killed

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

((You aren't being grappled, you don't need to break free. You could disengage to run without invoking an attack of opportunity, if you just want to take off running in either direction.))

((Can I attack and then run away?))

 

[Dungeon Master]

((Can I attack and then run away?))

((You could, but you risk getting hit again as you leave the monster's attack range.

• You can Attack as your action and Move as your movement, but you'll invoke an attack of opportunity if you leave the 5ft radius around the monster.
• You can Disengage as your action and Move out of that radius without invoking an attack of opportunity, but you don't get another action to attack with.))

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

You can Disengage as your action and Move out of that radius without invoking an attack of opportunity, but you don't get another action to attack with.))

((yeah, let's do that one))

Moonsprout... disengages and moves out of the killer mushroom's radius.

OWOWOWOW, TITS! THIS MUSHROOM TOOK A BITE OUT OF *ME*!

Tears well up in Moonsprout's eyes. He's no stranger to beatings, but having his flesh melted off his body is a new one.

 

[Dungeon Master]

((yeah, let's do that one))

Moonsprout... disengages and moves out of the killer mushroom's radius.

OWOWOWOW, TITS! THIS MUSHROOM TOOK A BITE OUT OF *ME*!

Tears well up in Moonsprout's eyes. He's no stranger to beatings, but having his flesh melted off his body is a new one.

((So the red square is it's reach. You can move out of the square by disengaging and it won't hit you.



Are you going forward the way you were running, or turning around and going backwards? Blue or green?))

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

((So the red square is it's reach. You can move out of the square by disengaging and it won't hit you.

View attachment 9917

Are you going forward the way you were running, or turning around and going backwards? Blue or green?))

((Absolutely backwards. Moonsprout has learned his lesson about plunging into dark caves alone... Although his memory is somewhat like that of a goldfish ))

 

[Zesty Zapcrackle]

((I doubt I'm near enough to help him, but if I am, let me now and I'll roll something to jump in and try to help him.))

 

[Short Order]

((I doubt I'm near enough to help him, but if I am, let me now and I'll roll something to jump in and try to help him.))

((I think he's safe for now, we just need to hope my roll was good enough to find him. Or he could shout to help us out potentially. He also does have his potion of healing if he wants to shear use that))

 

[Dungeon Master]

He's so excited about mushrooms that he's going to get everyone killed

((yeah, let's do that one))

Moonsprout... disengages and moves out of the killer mushroom's radius.

OWOWOWOW, TITS! THIS MUSHROOM TOOK A BITE OUT OF *ME*!

Tears well up in Moonsprout's eyes. He's no stranger to beatings, but having his flesh melted off his body is a new one.

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Moonsprout Beandirt
@Smacktard​

| You disengage from combat.

You stumble into a roll and throw yourself backwards away from the plant, landing on the cold slick rock. You stagger madly to your feet and back in the general direction from which you came. Your leg burns like it was drenched in acid, and you can see your skin peeling back as it dissolves and melds with the fabric of your pants.

|

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Short Order
@A Pineap-Alu-zer​

|You drop to the ground like a dog, snuffling along through the cave with your nose a few inches from the rock. You pick up on the skunk-like scent of your compatriot fairly easily, and begin tracking it north. The hippy-funk clings in the air like a soup, and it seems to be getting thicker.|

---

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Dungeon Master
@Ben​

| The Violet Fungus reaches for the halfling as he tumbles away, but it moves too slowly to keep up at all, even with the bard injured. It returns to it's still motionless state.

Moonsprout bursts out of a dark tunnel flailing with the torch, and crumples into a pile in front of the rest of the party.

|

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[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

Aims is still rubbing his ass from his earlier escapade.

What on hells happened to you halfling? Did someone eat you and throw you up? Ugh... Never could get used to the stench of rotting flesh.

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

((will the potion of healing heal my wound back as good as new?))

 

[Dungeon Master]

((will the potion of healing heal my wound back as good as new?))

((Yeah. While "necrotic damage" is a thing, it doesn't really count as any particular disease, etc. If you get it taken care of quickly you wouldn't suffer septic shock or anything.))

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

Moonsprout takes out his healing potion and chugs it down.

Ahh, that's the ticket! Good as new! Now back to the race!

Moonsprout gets into sprinting position again.

 

[Short Order]

Don't keep running the thing that hurt you is still in your way. You should probably take a look at those shiny mushrooms on the floor at the fork without licking them

 

[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

Who would've thought that the mushroom licker got licked himself. Hehe.

I wonder if the mushroom is high now...

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

Wait... I have an idea....

Moonsprout approaches the ferocious fungus, remaining just outside of its attack range, and...

Hyurk!!

...launches the torch at its base, hoping it will go up in smoke.

Sauteed mushrooms, anyone?

 

[Dungeon Master]

Moonsprout takes out his healing potion and chugs it down.

Ahh, that's the ticket! Good as new! Now back to the race!

Moonsprout gets into sprinting position again.

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Moonsprout Beandirt
@Smacktard​

|You take several gulps of the health potion, draining the bottle entirely. The shimmering red liquid drips down your chin as you hurry to ingest as much as you can.

Slowly, the wounds on your forearm and calf begin to glow a similar shimmering red, creating a startling highlight against the blackening flesh and bloody-puss covering the small lunatic's arm.

The gore of the injury starts to dry up, the putrid necrotic slime beginning to crack and flake away. The gaping void in Moonsprout's flesh begins to knit itself back together, tendrils of muscle tissue reaching across the fissure until it finds a partner on the other side to bind to. The wound pulls itself closed, snapping shut abruptly and causing the bard to scream in several high-pitched notes.

You heal 9 points of damage, fully healing you.

|

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[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

Aims looks at Moonsprout toss the torch at the mushroom that nearly licked him to death.

Lets hope these mushrooms dont explode into a puff of flamable spores.

 

[Dungeon Master]

Wait... I have an idea....

Moonsprout approaches the ferocious fungus, remaining just outside of its attack range, and...

Hyurk!!

...launches the torch at its base, hoping it will go up in smoke.

Sauteed mushrooms, anyone?

((You didn't ACTION anything in that post so I'm going to be a stickler just to make you do your own roll.

If you're going to try to throw the torch, gimme a STR (Athletics) skill check. No proficiency modifier normally applies, as it's an improvised weapon, so the only thing you'd add is your strength mod, but your Jack of all Trades seem to add the +1 to it, so your -1 STR mod becomes just +0.

So... Roll a d20 and add nothing.))