| You wander the monastery, wishing it was more like your own, where the training dummies were fashioned from drained beer kegs. Here, you've not seen a drop amongst the followers of Bahamut. What an odd faith. You're far more Drunken Master than Enter the Dragon.
As you walk down the cliff-side path, you pause near the small free-standing building with a peaked roof halfway up, that no one has paid attention to before. This small structure is built out over the cliff edge, and you can see around the side that there is pallet hanging just below. The door is slightly ajar.
You pull the door open and peek inside.
You find a small winch house with a system to raise and lower the pallet hanging below towards the water. This is clearly used to haul supplies both up and down to boats below, when deliveries are made to the cloister.
Inside the room, you find Varnoth, who turns suddenly with her hands behind her back.
| "Who the f-Oh, monk. Fucking hells, I thought Agga had caught me drinking again. That old kobold never shuts up about it."
She relaxes and takes her hands from behind her back, where you see she's holding a waterskin. After she tracks your eyes to the item in her hand, and how your vision has gone slightly out of focus, she slowly offers the container to you. You take it and sniff, your nostrils ringing with delight as the ethanol vapors get intimate with your olfactory receptors. It's some kind of homebrewed vodka, but strong.
"Sometimes just the tranquility of this place doesn't cut it, and I need some tranquility in a bottle." she sighs deeply. "Even if you put your sword away, when you blink, sometimes you still see your hand holding it with some poor kid skewered on the other end, crying as his guts fall out." she stares out of the hole in the winch house at the ocean.
"War, huh?" Varnoth spits on the ground. "... What is it good for? Absolutely nothing." |
| Zesty convenes the group, with his new creation at his heels. Nac is staggering worse than on the boat voyage across, but grinning. The rage always kindling within Aims eyes seems slightly more primal. Moonsprout, sitting in the Beany-Björn, has gathered some pages and a piece of charcoal from somewhere and is drawing picture of birds. Short Order is also there.
You feel as thought the lethargic gods of fate have finally turned their attention back to you, and presented you a fortuitous option for reaching the very spot you've been tasked to investigate.
Judging by your other adventures around the island, you estimate it'll probably take about 3 1/2 hours by boat along the 5 mile long yellow path, maybe only 2 hours along the coast even if it looks about 6 miles of walking, and maybe 1 1/4 hours overland for the roughly 3 1/2 miles of hiking. |
((Appreciate your patience, boys. Weekend's been a thing, and I didn't really know how to get you guys going in that direction without just having you wander about, but I kind of just took the opportunity I saw.
@An Obligatory Name Change
@Jon
@Jawneh
@Nae'blis
@Smacktard
Hopefully those tags work!
))
A peaceful jaunt through the forest sounds good to me. More opportunities for mushroom-hunting! Plus, I can pluck this lute to the song of the forest birds.
Moonsprout strums an irritating, monotone tune from a single string.
I need to look around for a few things. Moonsprout do you want to help me look at dirt and rocks for a bit? I'm looking for thorns, twigs, opalescent feldspar, and the seeds of moonseed plants. Be on the lookout as we're traveling as well... I'll be able to show you what a really big moon sprout looks like.
((
))((At 150 gold, I wasn't buying the map, though I assumed importance. Glad you made a fire sale on it
))I didn't see any in her presented inventory, but any good tinkerer should. Wouldn't hurt to ask her.
As for the trek, I'm in agreement I need not see any more
Short Order heads to Myla to see if she has any scraps of iron that are available.
((One of my new spells requires a small straight piece of iron. Another requires either thorns or sharpened twigs, and the last requires the seeds or feldspar...I have another new spell that I likely won't be able to get all the materials for, unless someone happens to have a gilded acorn that I can stuff a feather, some fur, and a fishtail in))
((One of my new spells requires a small straight piece of iron. Another requires either thorns or sharpened twigs, and the last requires the seeds or feldspar...I have another new spell that I likely won't be able to get all the materials for, unless someone happens to have a gilded acorn that I can stuff a feather, some fur, and a fishtail in))
OP
| You knock against the rock of the cave Myla occupies, the sound dull but enough to catch her attention.
"What that you need? Straight iron?" she tilts her head curiously at your question, shrugs her wings slightly, then turns to her workbench and quickly grabs a small item.
Myla turns back to you and holds out a 4 inch long dark grey nail. "This work?" |
Aye, thank you! This will do just fine. Thank you.
OP
| Feeling adequately prepared, your party sets out to the South from Dragon's Rest. You skirt around the large bay on which the monastery sits, and begin climbing up the rocky slope towards the mountains beyond.
The paths prove to be difficult terrain, taking you some time to carefully pick your way past boulders and around loose gravel banks. As you climb higher, the thinly forested area of the island gives way to hardier low-laying shrubs. About an hour into your journey, passing through the valley between the two main mountain ranges, you begin to forget the dangers of the island and let yourself absorb the morning sunshine, listening to the chorus of songbirds that chirp call and response over the rocky ledges.
As you start down the other side of the incline, the ocean cuts in to another bay containing several large volcanic craters. Though you are atop a 30 foot cliff, you can see the top of the volcano spewing billows of smoke into the sky to the East. The waves far below the cliffs seem particularly choppy and treacherous.
In your immediate area, on a path between the two cliff faces, there are a few patches of foliage amongst the otherwise sparse plateau.
You can hear some distant commotion up ahead. |
OP
| The birds chirp a chant.
|Short Order
@An Obligatory Name Change
@An Obligatory Name Change
|| You creep forward and peer around the foliage to find the source of the noise.
|| A discordant sound—half a low growl, half a piercing screech—rips through the air. Abruptly, a hulking creature bursts into view chasing a group of kobolds. A mix of purple feathers and deep brown fur covers the beast's bearlike body, and its large eyes stare angrily from its owlish head.
The kobolds are wearing leather armor, unlike the robed individuals you'd met in the monastery, and bark in panic as they simultaneously try to fight the beast while running away. The owlbear barrels past the several dead Kobolds you see laying in an open area down a small embankment and up towards the road. You see towards the cliff behind the beast a form of nest built up against the cliff-face.
None of them have noticed you yet.|
Aims stares at the bloodbath and yells excitedly very quietly.
Ohhhh! Its an owlbear! Ferocious little things. And by little i mean pretty big! Tend to be fairly territorial. And just like me they basically eat everything. Hahaha!
.... i wonder if i can ride it. What if i rode it? Gasp, I want to go ride it so bad now!
Ohhhh! Its an owlbear! Ferocious little things. And by little i mean pretty big! Tend to be fairly territorial. And just like me they basically eat everything. Hahaha!
.... i wonder if i can ride it. What if i rode it? Gasp, I want to go ride it so bad now!
An owlbear, you say? Fighting kobolds!? We must help the kobolds!
Zesty and Boltzmann attempt to move to the brush on the east, perhaps setting up an opportunity for a stealth attack.
((@Ben - I still have my crossbow technically equipped for the moment. And I did put on those Boots of Elvenkind, though, I will likely give those to Nac as I think he'll make more use out of them than I can, but for now I have them. I'm not sure how stealth works overall. Would I be able to faerie fire without them noticing me, yet too?))
Zesty and Boltzmann attempt to move to the brush on the east, perhaps setting up an opportunity for a stealth attack.
((@Ben - I still have my crossbow technically equipped for the moment. And I did put on those Boots of Elvenkind, though, I will likely give those to Nac as I think he'll make more use out of them than I can, but for now I have them. I'm not sure how stealth works overall. Would I be able to faerie fire without them noticing me, yet too?))
((The STICK OF TRUTH!))
((So this is similar to my bolas attack on the zombie on the compass rose then. Ok, time for some backstory integration and some chaos that I've not really imposed on this character yet...Sorry, ya'll ))
Zesty's affinity towards Myla is giving him an affinity towards the kobolds altogether. Hearing and seeing the owlbear attacking kobolds is sending Zesty almost rage red. He wants to protect them. NEEDS to protect them. He's fiercely loyal to those he perceives as friends, and in this case, Myla has given him that feeling for kobolds as he views them as more non-aggressive, unless provoked. He can no longer wait for the investigation of his friends to finish, as he steps out from the brushes and aims his crossbow directly at the owlbear.
Zesty attempts to surprise attack the owlbear with his crossbow.
OP
((Maybe I just have my expectations as to which of those outcomes is more likely.
))|
You're just under 50 ft out, certainly within range of your crossbow. You move silently with your leaf-clad feet, but the owlbear is too busy swinging at the winged kobold to notice you. You observe that all of the kobolds have blue paint on their scales in rough lightning bolt shapes and they bark-excitedly as they try to flank the creature.|
((I guess roll to hit.))
((You'd hear/see 'em.))
OP
OP
OP
(( /!!\ I already forgot that Moonsprout cast Speak with Animals, which is a blanket spell for 10 minutes and not just at the birds he was talking to...
I would normally feel inclined to DM this to just Moonsprout so only he gets to share it or whatever, but with @Smacktard off and on we're just going to Moonsprout here.))
| The owlbear screeches with rage again, which only the Bard comprehends; "MOTHER FUCKERS I WAS SLEEPING WTF EAT SHIT" |
I would normally feel inclined to DM this to just Moonsprout so only he gets to share it or whatever, but with @Smacktard off and on we're just going to Moonsprout here.))
| The owlbear screeches with rage again, which only the Bard comprehends; "MOTHER FUCKERS I WAS SLEEPING WTF EAT SHIT" |
Aims is very amused and delighted of the verbiage of the owlbear.
Hahaa! I like this beast even more. Its making me more inclined to murder these kobolts... Bastards dare to attack a sleeping beast in a cowardly way. Ptooey! How dare they!
Hey, you stupid kobolts! Have you no honor?! Cant you face your prey properly head on?! Why resort to cowardice instead of trusting your very own muscles?!
Hahaa! I like this beast even more. Its making me more inclined to murder these kobolts... Bastards dare to attack a sleeping beast in a cowardly way. Ptooey! How dare they!
Hey, you stupid kobolts! Have you no honor?! Cant you face your prey properly head on?! Why resort to cowardice instead of trusting your very own muscles?!
OP
((I said the former entirely without having looked to see how far you could jump.
But yeah, with a 10 ft run up and jumping 17 ft from your strength score, you'd be able to get the ~35 feet to land next to it if I was nice enough to retcon your position a square over.
Which I am.
I will assume you snuck to here before Han shot first.
Now... To work out how the fuck you'd try to ride it, while waiting on Nae;
You're not going to land on it, but either way I think it'd come down to a grapple attempt. Even as a medium creature, you can still grab a large one. So it'll then be your Strength (Athletics) against the owlbear. If you succeed in grabbing it and aren't trying to keep it in place, then I would argue you just hold on as it moves. It'll get to try to throw you off each round, etc.
I know you didn't necessarily go this far but the whole taming it to make it an actual mount would require a lot more, such as Animal Handling checks, roleplay getting it to trust you, and also not shooting it with a crossbow.))
OP
|
You move to the left, sliding down the embankment into the depression. You see across the other side at the base of the cliff a form of nest, with bones and pieces of carcass littered around the outside. Three dead kobold lay here, mangled and torn by claw and beak. Getting a closer look, you see the warpaint on these kobolds more clearly, giving the brown scaled creatures a blue hue with white lightning bolts zig-zagging across them.
|((@Jawneh))
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OP
((Hmm, bugger. Checking on Heroism, it's a touch-spell. You've got to be able to touch the owlbear to cast that. It also specifies a willing target, but that's more flexible.
So if you stay in the Beany-Björn, that's doable. I'd just have to retcon you being up by Short, which would work out more to Aims plan anyway I guess.
Which I guess we'll roll with. So Moonsprout is still strapped to Aims back.
))
((Yas. What I will do is hold the action until right after Moonsprout talks to the owlbear for us. And change the order of his actions so talky goes first and holdy the heroism after I've jumped on or into the owlbear lol.
Unless logistics be damned and we're going for it now already! I shall roll for my jumpy already now.))
OP
((OK. I'll hold your action until mid-Moonsprout's and have your jump trigger on him speaking.))
| The Winged Kobold next to the owlbear lets out a tiny roar and pulls a small dagger from some belt. With a forceful flap it lunches towards the beast.
((
))The kobold collides with the feathered wall of muscle and falls backwards onto the ground.
Winged Kobold is prone. |
| The owlbear rears up on it's hind legs, towering over the kobold creature on the ground. The beast's wide eyes focus on the winged creature, which tries to scrabble backwards through the dirt.
((
Didn't catch the dice, but owly got a nat-20))
The owlbear falls forward with it's large paws outstretched, and slams it's enormous weight down onto the small draconic annoyance. The kobold squeaks briefly as the owlbear's paws compresses it's ribcage and shatters all of the bones, flattening the small creature against ground. The owlbear rakes it's claws back towards it, and shreds the kobold's body to ribbons.
Owlbear deals 24 damage to Winged Kobold.
Winged Kobold has been defeated |
| You scream out from atop your half-orc conveyance, "I trust you, noble beast! Let my orc friend here ride atop you, and he will help fend off those feisty, like, finaglers! |
| You grab the leather straps of your halfling-harness and pull them tight, then take a few bounding steps into a sprint and push off the ground to sail 17 feet through the air with Moonsprout on your back, screaming. You land right next to the Owlbear.
The beast hoots with surprise and rears up again, as your huge half-orc form lands on the floor with a thud. It begins to raise it's claws to strike, but realizes it understood what the small food yelled, and it pauses.
You see a small wooden whistle hanging around the owlbear's neck. |
| You clamber over Aims head and reach out your hand, touching the Owlbear's feathers gently. They're remarkably soft and the purple shimmers and iridescent rainbow like an oil-slick.
You cast Heroism on the Owlbear
The owlbear's presence seems to grow larger, and it lets out a bold growl. |
((@Jawneh I'd say you can still take an action since you only moved so far. Really should have gotten your full actions before you held them, I guess, but oh well. Are you still going to try to mount it?))
GIDDY UP! LETS START SOME MAYHEM! HAHAHA!
OP
((I have been fucking with DALL-E forever, trying to get something to actually work for this, since I feel it's one of your cool moments, but it has taken me a real fucking long time to get anything good. I worked on it until I used up my DALL-E usage, so... You get what you get. I also had to think on how I wanted this to play out considering turns got all outta whack and such.
So, my apologies for making you all wait most of the day.))
| You jump again, this time straight towards the owlbear. Your attempt to grapple it, not to restrain the beast but just to hold on. It vastly outsizes even your large ass, and it does not appear too happy with anyone in its immediate area.
The owlbear does not dodge you. You land on its back.
Your hands grasp through fur and feathers until you find purchase, by chance, around the string that is tied to the creature's neck. You stablize and manage to hold on.
You are temporarily mounted. |
((So you'll be temporarily mounted on the owlbear. It will get to try to throw you off on its next turn. If it moves, you'll go with it, as will Moonsprout. Being on it's back alone does not necessarily mean you're going to be able to control it at all. That'd take some kind of magical Animal Handling effect. I think the biggest thing that I was missing on the "mounted" stuff is it puts your initiative together if you're mounted on something, but you basically already are since that Winged Kobold is toast, so... Jah. You can still be targeted individually, but obviously any AOE spell will hit all of you.))
((@April Fool Short is up. Sorry for the long wait, my dude. Just giving you time to think how you're going to kill everyone this time.))
So, my apologies for making you all wait most of the day.))
| You jump again, this time straight towards the owlbear. Your attempt to grapple it, not to restrain the beast but just to hold on. It vastly outsizes even your large ass, and it does not appear too happy with anyone in its immediate area.
The owlbear does not dodge you. You land on its back.
Your hands grasp through fur and feathers until you find purchase, by chance, around the string that is tied to the creature's neck. You stablize and manage to hold on.
You are temporarily mounted. |
((So you'll be temporarily mounted on the owlbear. It will get to try to throw you off on its next turn. If it moves, you'll go with it, as will Moonsprout. Being on it's back alone does not necessarily mean you're going to be able to control it at all. That'd take some kind of magical Animal Handling effect. I think the biggest thing that I was missing on the "mounted" stuff is it puts your initiative together if you're mounted on something, but you basically already are since that Winged Kobold is toast, so... Jah. You can still be targeted individually, but obviously any AOE spell will hit all of you.))
((@April Fool Short is up. Sorry for the long wait, my dude. Just giving you time to think how you're going to kill everyone this time.))
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Short Order walks closer to everyone to see what's happening.
oh this is fun. When did we get an owl bear to ride?
Short breaks the stick into seven smaller pieces and sharpens them
time to get ready to slowly murder everyone.
((I can't move that far so I guess I'm somewhere around Zesty))
oh this is fun. When did we get an owl bear to ride?
Short breaks the stick into seven smaller pieces and sharpens them
time to get ready to slowly murder everyone.
((I can't move that far so I guess I'm somewhere around Zesty))
OP
Short Order
@An Obligatory Name Change
@An Obligatory Name Change
|| "MORE TROPHY FOR SPARKRENDER!"
Kobold 1 moves forward 5 feet to the Owlbear.
It darts under the feathered beast's leg and stabs up into it's stomach.
Kobold 1 deals 5 points of piercing damage to Owlbear. |
| Kobold 2 levels a slingshot at the suddenly appearing green jockey.
It pulls back the string and looses a rock at Aims.
The projectile hits the half-orc in the shoulder.
Kobold 2 deals 4 points of bludgeoning damage to Aims. |
| Kobold 3 chitters and also pulls up it's sling, twirling it and launching another rock at Aims. This one hits in him the other shoulder.
Kobold 3 deals 4 points of bludgeoning damage to AIms. |
| Kobold 4 hops up and down with a dagger clutched in it's scaled hands. As the rocks impact Aims, it cackles and slashes forwards at the owlbear, catching it on the other side of it's stomach.
Kobold 4 deals 3 points of damage to the owlbear. |
((@Jon you and Boltzmann are up.))
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Zesty slouches a little and begins to wonder if an Omenpath opened under him and he suddenly fell into a new plain of existence. The world feels upside down. An owlbear crashes in out of nowhere, chasing small kobolds, and rather than springing to heroic action, his teammates are suddenly attempting to mount the owlbear... and harm the kobolds?! And who the hell is Sparkrender, he wonders?
Still, there is no wavering in Zesty's mind: the owlbear, not the kobolds, are the issue here. Even if Aims and Moonsprout now sit atop the creature, it's a risk Zesty is willing to take.
Zesty attempts to hit the owlbear with his crossbow.
Go, Boltzmann, after the owlbear, protect the kobolds!
Boltzmann dashes to the owlbear, preparing to deflect attack as needed.
Still, there is no wavering in Zesty's mind: the owlbear, not the kobolds, are the issue here. Even if Aims and Moonsprout now sit atop the creature, it's a risk Zesty is willing to take.
Zesty attempts to hit the owlbear with his crossbow.
Go, Boltzmann, after the owlbear, protect the kobolds!
Boltzmann dashes to the owlbear, preparing to deflect attack as needed.
OP
((Looks like Deflect Attack is a reaction, so you don't like... Prepare it. It just happens when that condition is met. So if you're moving Boltzmann 40 ft you'd still get an attack too.
But I totally get that you'd be "marking" the owlbear to use the reaction on. I guess in table-top, you'd just get to call it out, but with the disparate posting thing it's better to just adjust it.))
OP
((Cool... So... You gonna do anything with robopup?((Yeah, I just meant it more as a reminder to you that it's there so that if it triggers it gets used.))
It'd be a +6 to hit, and a 1d8+2 on damage.
))
((Oh, I was going to, but I thought he was too far, even with 40 foot speed. If he can get to the owlbear, then yea, I'd like him to attack. I'll roll in case.))
OP
| You unwaveringly level your crossbow at the owlbear, but trying not to hit your friends makes aiming hard, and you pull the trigger without confidence in your target.
The bolt sails past the owlbear and into the trees behind.
You miss. |
Code:
"ARF"At your command, Boltzmann zigzags across the path towards the monstrosity, calculating the most efficient route.
Boltzmann barrels up towards the owlbear and opens it's mechanical mouth wide as it goes. It's neck extends slightly on hydraulic pistons. The tip of its nose pushes outward forming a sharp point, and it readies to attack.
Sliding under the owlbear, Boltzmann's neck-piston punches forward and his steel teeth clamp down on the Owlbear's leg. With a *THUKPSSSSSSSH* sound the pistons contract, and Boltzmann rakes its jagged sawblade teeth out of the owlbear's flesh. It bellows in pain.
Boltzmann deals 10 points of force damage to the owlbear. |
((@Nae'blis is up.))
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Nac seeing the chaos ensuing, recalls tidbits of what Lady Runara said about a blue dragon making trouble a hundred years ago. He also sees the blue kobolds. In his somewhat addled mind he makes a snap decision in a state of drunken confusion.
Blue koboldsh mus' mean th-.. they... THEY ARE DRAGONSH! *hic* RAAAAAGGHH!
Nac runs/staggers up to Kobold 1 and delivers two punches
((Assuming he can reach it of course, if not he runs as far as he can towards it.))
Blue koboldsh mus' mean th-.. they... THEY ARE DRAGONSH! *hic* RAAAAAGGHH!
Nac runs/staggers up to Kobold 1 and delivers two punches
((Assuming he can reach it of course, if not he runs as far as he can towards it.))
OP
((so very drunk.))((
Now I sort of hope he doesn't get all the way up...))
OP
((You lucked out. I can't reasonably move you through all of the mess at the top of that slight staircase, so you're stuck behind the owlbear and can't reach the kobold.
It'd have you intentionally landing on the owlbear's square, which you can't. So you'll be behind it and I'll pretend I didn't see those beautiful double fails.
))| Your sodden ass sways towards the fray, the vodka Varnoth having shared still warming your insides. You wobble up behind the owlbear, but you cannot get past, and spend several seconds muttering "Oop, mind if I jus'... Scoot by ye' there..?" while trying to edge around it.
|((@Jawneh))
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))