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Post by Daos on Sept 9, 2023 13:04:52 GMT -8
XP is as follows:
Oceana Poole (Ancient Paladin 6) Defeating Dust Mephits (x10) - 200 XP Defeating Sandlings (x5) - 200 XP Defeating Sand Silhouette (x1) - 460 XP TOTAL: 860 XP
That brings her to a full total of 17,471 XP, meaning she now needs 5,529 XP to level up.
Wyldfyre (Berserker Barbarian 5) Defeating Dust Mephits (x10) - 200 XP Defeating Sandlings (x5) - 200 XP Defeating Sand Silhouette (x1) - 460 XP TOTAL: 860 XP
This gives him a total of 11,872 XP, meaning he has now needs 2,758 XP to level up.
Selena (Dream Druid 5) Defeating Dust Mephits (x10) - 200 XP Defeating Sandlings (x5) - 200 XP Defeating Sand Silhouette (x1) - 460 XP TOTAL: 860 XP
This gives her a total of 11,712 XP, meaning she now needs 2,588 XP to level up.
Torrenta (Nature Cleric 4) Defeating Dust Mephits (x10) - 200 XP Defeating Sandlings (x5) - 200 XP Defeating Sand Silhouette (x1) - 460 XP TOTAL: 860 XP
This gives her a total of 4,979 XP, meaning she now needs 1,511 XP to level up.
Lement (Horizon Walker Ranger 3) Defeating Dust Mephits (x10) - 200 XP Defeating Sandlings (x5) - 200 XP Defeating Sand Silhouette (x1) - 460 XP TOTAL: 860 XP
This gives him a total of 3,173 XP, meaning he is now 4th level! He gains 7 HP, +1 to DEX and +1 to WIS.
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Post by Daos on Sept 16, 2023 0:30:57 GMT -8
Session 25 - Burning within a Throne of Rock We picked up where we left off, in the secret Elonnori temple within the Titan Forest. Oceana cautiously stepped over the line of crystal shards growing from the ground, and found all the dust that had caked her armor and skin was cleaned off, and she could breathe easier. As if the dust could not cross the barrier at all.
Oceana examined the unconscious person laying there. She was elderly in appearance, but quite tall and broad-shouldered. Her skin was grey and had left a strange residue behind when touched. Her hair was short and copper colored and her eyes were golden. She was also heavily infected by the Rot. She wore strange armor made of some kind of metal, and it was still pristine, while everything else seemed aged and decayed.
Oceana cleansed her with her innate powers, and the earth genasi seemed to de-age to be closer to her own age. The woman got up and introduced herself as Hardrock. Her story was quite familiar by this point--she received a vision from Elonna to come train at this temple, the Rot appeared and soon the place was overrun and she was the only survivor.
Hardrock explained that the Rot first appeared over two months ago. The Eurekans wanted to study the phenomenon and learn more about it, but the Elonnori believed it was a punishment sent by Elonna for cutting down the sacred trees of the Titan Forest. This disagreement led to inaction, as neither side could agree with the other. The subprefect decided to just close off access to the forest. However, this meant that the druids who operated the temple in secret were cut off, as well. For years, Elonnori made secret pilgrimages there and would bring with them supplies for the druids.
Once the Rot reached and infected the temple, the druids died shortly after. Hardrock couldn't fight it, and made it to his room before collapsing. She wasn't sure where the crystals came from, and wondered if she perhaps summoned them unconsciously somehow. She tried to repeat the process, but found she could not. She could, however, extend the crystals already there, increasing the barrier so the whole party could fit inside comfortably. So they decided to take a long rest there.
As they set up camp, Oceana asked Hardrock about the phrases she found before in the temple. Hardrock speculated that Dust represents decay and entropy--the finite lifespans of all things. To counter it, you'd need something of the earth that was, essentially, eternal. Perhaps the 'bones of the earth' were crystals, as they could grow like living things, but were technically not alive and therefore did not die.
During the party's long rest, Hardrock kept a constant vigil, barely moving, just sitting cross-legged with her katana in her lap, like a statue. When others spoke to her, she had a sort of literal approach to things, and tended to speak very efficiently. For instance, at one point Lement asked her if she had any interesting stories growing up in Crescent. She replied, 'yes' and then returned to her watch.
When the dawning of Day 88 arrived, the party prepared to set off again. Hardrock asked if she could lead them to the heart of the temple, in hopes of redeeming herself for failing to protect the temple. When Oceana asked her where the heart was, Hardrock replied it was 'at the bottom, but could only be reached by going to the top.' Oceana found this confusing.
As they walked, Oceana asked Hardrock if she was Elonnori. She replied she was. Then why was she wearing metal armor, which was taboo? Hardrock replied that the Elonnori in Crescent had to sometimes compromise with the Eurekans. She was a member of the town guard and the armor and sword were part of that. In a way, though, it was a blessing. The metal armor did not decay and seemed to lessen the effects of the Rot for her. The druids, who wore leathers and hides, died much sooner.
Oceana pondered on the differences of the strains of Rot she had encountered so far. The Rot in the volcano fed off heat and discharged ash. The Rot in the lake drained moisture and discharged salt. This strain of Rot seemed to feed off organic matter and discharge dust. She wondered, with some concern, what the two remaining temples would be like.
As they walked through a long, snaking tunnel, they came across several nooks, each glowing slightly with glowing fungi. Oceana asked why the fungi wasn't affected, and Hardrock explained it was--it used to be much brighter and numerous, but there are only a few patches left and they are already fading. Soon this entire temple would be completely dark.
Oceana asked about the nooks. Hardrock explained they were sort of meditative alcoves, where druids could sit and read, study, pray or meditate. Curious, Oceana went to investigate one and found a dead body. It looked very aged, as if it had been there for hundreds of years. When she turned away, the corpse suddenly moved, grabbing at her ankle. She tore free and the dead druid, now a dust ghoul, attacked. At first things went well; it's paralyzing shriek did little and the party was beating it up pretty well, but then they heard a second one in another nook approaching. It went after the backrow members, easily tearing into them. Eventually, though, the party was able to defeat them both.
Hardrock went down in the fight, though, and had to be revived. She lamented she had failed, yet again.
From there, the party arrived at a very large, spacious chamber. On the other end were stairs leading up. The room, however, was filled with dust at least three feet deep. Wyldfyre had to carry Selena on his shoulders to cross it. Fortunately, he was so strong that this only put him in normal encumbrance.
As the party crossed, Oceana realized something was amiss. The dust cloud was not ordinary, it was alive--a dune mimic! This was a tough fight, but Selena's Moonbeam saved the day, as it prevented the mimic from shapeshifting and as a result, it could not use its adhesive properties to grapple the party. This made things a lot easier on the party. And eventually, they were victorious and destroyed it.
My Notes This session was 2h, 25m.
I don't have a lot to say on this one. It was mostly combat. I thought we could finish the dungeon this time, but it was after midnight when we finished the dune mimic, and it probably would have taken another hour, minimum, so I called it there.
The only other thing of note was the introduction of Hardrock, the Earth Genasi Fighter. Horizon was pleased to have another front-line melee character for the group. Although she's still level 1, so still rather squishy. I tried to give her a unique personality, as I didn't want her to be too similar to Ingot, the Earth Genasi Fighter from my Lost Souls Gontoria game. His halting speech patterns would have been pretty annoying to roleplay out in real time anyway.
Anyway, I'll try and get XP up tomorrow.
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Post by Daos on Sept 16, 2023 10:42:40 GMT -8
XP is as follows:
Oceana Poole (Ancient Paladin 6) Recruiting Hardrock - 100 XP Asking Hardrock about her beliefs - 100 XP Defeating Dust Ghouls (x2) - 967 XP Defeating Dune Mimic - 650 XP TOTAL: 1,817 XP
That brings her to a full total of 19,288 XP, meaning she now needs 3,712 XP to level up.
Wyldfyre (Berserker Barbarian 5) Defeating Dust Ghouls (x2) - 967 XP Defeating Dune Mimic - 650 XP TOTAL: 1,617 XP
This gives him a total of 13,489 XP, meaning he has now needs 511 XP to level up.
Selena (Dream Druid 5) Defeating Dust Ghouls (x2) - 967 XP Defeating Dune Mimic - 650 XP TOTAL: 1,617 XP
This gives her a total of 13,329 XP, meaning she now needs 671 XP to level up.
Torrenta (Nature Cleric 4) Defeating Dust Ghouls (x2) - 967 XP Defeating Dune Mimic - 650 XP TOTAL: 1,617 XP
This gives her a total of 6,596 XP, meaning she is now 5th level! She gains 7 HP, Destroy Undead, and two 3rd level spell slots. Her new domain spells are Barkskin and Spike Growth. Her proficiency increases to +3.
Lement (Horizon Walker Ranger 4) Defeating Dust Ghouls (x2) - 967 XP Defeating Dune Mimic - 650 XP TOTAL: 1,617 XP
This gives him a total of 4,790 XP, meaning he now needs 1,710 XP to level up.
Hardrock (Fighter 1) Defeating Dust Ghouls (x2) - 242 XP Defeating Dune Mimic - 163 XP TOTAL: 405 XP
This gives her a total of 405 XP, meaning she is now level 2! She gains 9 HP and Action Surge.
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Post by Daos on Sept 20, 2023 12:27:50 GMT -8
Might go without saying, but no session this week, on account of my illness.
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Post by Daos on Sept 28, 2023 8:43:13 GMT -8
No session this week, either. Still in recovery mode.
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Post by Daos on Oct 6, 2023 23:30:53 GMT -8
Session 26 - Crystal Clear We picked up where we left off, Day 88, with the party having just defeated the dune mimic. As they try to catch their breaths in the dust-filled room, Oceana asks Hardrock what that room used to be. She answered it was the library. All of the books and shelves had rotted away to dust.
Hardrock took point, leading the party down a snaking tunnel which opened up into another large chamber. In the middle of the room was a deep hole that seemed to drop to the very bottom of the tree itself. Hardrock confirmed that the heart was below, which explained her earlier comment about how they needed to go up to go down. A ladder was supposed to lead to the bottom, but it had rotted away. Fortunately, Lement had some rope (“a rogue spirit tamer is always prepared!”).
The party descended down the rope to reach a massive chamber, about as wide as the tree itself. In the center was a giant pink and green flower, its petals holding aloft the portal to the spirit realm. The room was otherwise filled with dust and Rot tendrils. Hardrock lamented that the room was once filled with greenery; trees, flowers, etc. It had been like a little druidic grove.
Oceana asked Hardrock to try and create more crystals. Before she could even get started to try, there was a horrible howl as the wind picked up. The dust formed into a dust elemental and attacked. It was a tough fight, and at one point Oceana got swallowed up into the creature but she managed to smite it enough that Lement was able to finish it off with an arrow.
With that taken care of, Oceana asked Hardrock to try again. She did, and was able to create crystal shaped spikes in the ground, but they just were shaped like them. They were still made of earth. She wasn't sure how to crystallize them.
Amazingly, Oceana remembered one of her lessons with Biles (nat 20 on a Nature check) and realized they needed more than earth alone. So she had Wyldfyre heat the spikes up until they are almost melting into magma, then she had Torrenta rain down on them, cooling them off. Once the crystals were formed, she then used her daylight ability to reflect light within them. This created an amazing light show as numerous colors were reflected in every direction. While the rain washed away the dust, the light scared off the Rot, weakening it significantly.
With the area around the portal cleared, a feminine figure emerged from the ground, seemingly made of earth. She nodded her thanks to Oceana, then presented her two crystals. One was a perfectly spherical green orb, and the other a black onyx. The woman then waved her hand over the area, causing new greenery to spring forth from the ground and grow, then she crystallized herself before shattering. The shards flew up into the air, filling the sky above and destroying the Rot in the forest.
Of the two crystals that Oceana was given, the onyx transformed into a full suit of armor. It seemed to be made of ironwood, beautifully carved and lightweight, but also seemingly alive. Grass and even flowers grew on the exterior surface. Oceana realized it was a suit of Armor of Invulnerability, which would not only bolster her defense, but give her resistance to nonmagical damage and allow her to (once a day) make herself immune to nonmagical damage for 10 minutes.
The other crystal was absorbed into her skin, and she discovered she could now cast the cantrip, Mold Earth.
Oceana put on her new armor and gave her old armor to Torrenta, who in turn gave her old armor to Selena (although she'll need to have it refitted first). She then asked Hardrock to join them, and the group headed back through the now restored Titan Forest to the gates of Crescent City. However, as it turned out, Augury only bribed the guards to let them out. They wouldn't let the party back in. Oceana had to bribe them 50 pink shards to re-enter the city.
As they walked to the harbor, Oceana noted the rivalries had flared up further. The Elonnori were happy that the Rot was gone and believed Elonna had done it. But the Celestians saw it as an opportunity to cut down the trees again, and reasoned that if Elonna had restored the Rot, then it wasn't a punishment like the Elonnori claimed.
Oceana wondered if she should intervened, but realized it would involve staying here days or even weeks longer, and she just wanted to go home. When they reached the Tideway, though, she discovered Jasper on board, speaking with Pisces. Greeting her, he congratulated her on stopping the Rot. He also asked if he could come with her. He always wanted to see the Elonnori lands, but also he found the Rot fascinating and wanted to study it more. And since Oceana was always seeking it out, traveling with her would be a great opportunity to do so.
To assure her he wasn't dead weight, he told her he was a Wizard of some skill, and he had a pair of magical items that might be useful. They were called Transfer Stones, and they would allow two people to switch positions once a day, regardless of distance. With these, Oceana could change out her party without having to trek all of the way home first. A useful tool, especially now that she has so many people to deal with.
The following day, Day 89, the Tideway set sail, this time heading north. Oceana sought out Jasper on the upper deck and told him about the next temple and the issues with it. She told him about Gwenma and her airship (which led to a tangent as Jasper was fascinated with the Rustists and wanted to know more), how the temple is allegedly in the sky, and how it might be impossible to breathe up there.
Jasper was confident that with enough study and research, they could find a way around these problems. If not with magic, then with Ancient One tech. Oceana cautioned him on the latter, as the Elonnori did not take kindly to it. He assured her he would be discreet, regardless of what they decided to do.
Oceana then checked on Hardrock, who was trying to meditate down below, but was having difficulty as the ship kept bouncing up and down on the waves. Oceana was worried an earth genasi would get seasick, but Hardrock seemed fine, physically. She admitted to being uncomfortable, but that was it.
It suddenly occurred to Oceana that Hardrock did not get a chance to say goodbye to her parents before they left, but Hardrock seemed indifferent on the matter. She said goodbye when she went to the temple, years ago. Oceana probed deeper, and it seemed that Hardrock's parents weren't particularly affectionate. They treated her less as a daughter and more as a ward, focusing on training and education and preparing her for her destiny than anything else. They were less parents as they were caretakers or guardians.
Hardrock also lamented the fact that despite all the sacrifices and preparation, she still failed. Oceana tried to reassure her. Hardrock swore she would redeem herself, and would aid Oceana in saving the world to make amends.
My Notes This session was 2h, 10m.
You might wonder how Hardrock is able to use Mold Earth as a Fighter, as that is not an ability Earth Genasi naturally have. Yeah, I tweaked the race slightly. Just felt like it was missing something, so I decided Pass Without a Trace will be received at 5th level, and she gets Mold Earth right away. If it works out well, I might import that rule to the my other 5E games.
Jasper is a Goliath Wizard, and I intend to turn him into a Diviner later on. Horizon had mentioned how the party was severely lacking in anyone with Arcane power or expertise, but the Elonnori aren't big on the arcane. So I knew it would have to come from the Celestian Empire--hence Jasper. He also has the distinction of being the first non-Elonnori party member. He probably won't be the last, though.
The Transfer Stones are something of a contrivance, but I needed a way to deal with the fact that Oceana now has 6 NPCs and that's way too many to bring on adventures. So we can keep a party of 5 and just swap out as needed now.
That's three temples down and two to go. But first, Oceana needs to return home for some downtime, and possibly a wedding or two.
Anyway, I'll try and get XP up tomorrow.
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Post by Daos on Oct 7, 2023 10:29:14 GMT -8
XP is as follows:
Oceana Poole (Ancient Paladin 6) Defeating Dust Elemental - 650 XP Recruiting Jasper - 100 XP Discussing the air temple with Jasper - 100 XP Discussing parents with Hardrock - 100 XP TOTAL: 950 XP
That brings her to a full total of 20,238 XP, meaning she now needs 2,762 XP to level up.
Wyldfyre (Berserker Barbarian 5) Defeating Dust Elemental - 650 XP TOTAL: 650 XP
This gives him a total of 14,139 XP, meaning he is now 6th level! He gains 10 HP, can now Rage 4 times a day, and receives Mindless Rage (he cannot be charmed or frightened while raging).
Selena (Dream Druid 5) Defeating Dust Elemental - 650 XP TOTAL: 650 XP
This gives her a total of 13,979 XP, meaning she now needs 21 XP to level up.
Torrenta (Nature Cleric 5) Defeating Dust Elemental - 650 XP TOTAL: 650 XP
This gives her a total of 7,246 XP, meaning she is now needs 6,754 XP to level up.
Lement (Horizon Walker Ranger 4) Defeating Dust Elemental - 650 XP TOTAL: 650 XP
This gives him a total of 5,440 XP, meaning he now needs 1,060 XP to level up.
Hardrock (Fighter 2) Defeating Dust Elemental - 325 XP TOTAL: 325 XP
This gives her a total of 730 XP, meaning she now needs 170 XP to level up.
Jasper (Wizard 1) N/A TOTAL: 0 XP
This gives him a total of 0 XP, meaning he now needs a total of 300 XP to level up.
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Post by Daos on Oct 13, 2023 1:26:28 GMT -8
Session 27 -Scrag Battle We picked up where we left off, on Day 89, with Oceana down below with Hardrock after their conversation. Suddenly, there was a commotion above deck. The two rushed up to see what was going on.
Five creatures were climbing out of the sea and onto the deck. Oceana recognized them, sort of. They greatly resembled the trolls she faced on the Sunviper, but were more aquatic in nature, with gills and fins and webbed fingers and toes. There was one at the bow, one at the aft, one at port, and two at starboard. Oceana quickly split the party up. She took on the two on the starboard alone. Wyldfyre took the one at the aft, Hardrock and Lement took the one on the port side, and Selena, Torrenta and Jasper faced the one on the bow.
The battle was long and difficult. Both Hardrock and Torrenta fell at one point, but Selena was able to get them back up on their feet. Slowly but surely, the party started whittling down their numbers, and each time one part of the ship was safe, the party members there would join forces with the others.
Once all five were dead, Oceana wondered briefly why they weren't regenerating. Shrugging, she and the others tossed them overboard, into the sea.
Later that night, the Tideway docked in the garden of Thicket. Oceana learned the only inn with rooms was the Panacea. Having remembered her incident there, accidentally turning into a child again temporarily, she decided to just have the party sleep on the ship for that night.
My Notes This session was 1h, 30m.
This was a really short one. Might be the shortest summary I've ever written.
This was for two reasons. First, Horizon arrived fairly late. It was already 10:30, and I didn't want to play past midnight.
Second was the fight took way, way longer than I anticipated (almost 90 minutes!). I suppose in hindsight, it makes sense. We're used to a party of 5, but this was a party of 7. Until we return to Harmony and can drop off some of these extra characters, I suppose fights will take longer than normal as a result.
Anyway, I'll try and get XP up tomorrow.
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Post by Daos on Oct 13, 2023 12:38:16 GMT -8
XP is as follows:
Oceana Poole (Ancient Paladin 6) Defeating Scrags (x5) - 1,286 XP TOTAL: 1,286 XP
That brings her to a full total of 21,524 XP, meaning she now needs 1,476 XP to level up.
Wyldfyre (Berserker Barbarian 6) Defeating Scrags (x5) - 1,286 XP TOTAL: 1,286 XP
This gives him a total of 15,425 XP, meaning he needs 7,575 XP to level up.
Selena (Dream Druid 5) Defeating Scrags (x5) - 1,286 XP TOTAL: 1,286 XP
This gives her a total of 15,265 XP, meaning she is now level 6! She gains 7 HP, a third level spell slot, another 1d6 of fey energy, can prepare an extra spell per day, and can now use Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow (during a short or long rest, she can place a 30' aura of power around the party that gives them a +5 to Stealth and Perception checks and hides any light (torches, campfires, etc.) from anyone outside the circle).
Torrenta (Nature Cleric 5) Defeating Scrags (x5) - 1,286 XP TOTAL: 1,286 XP
This gives her a total of 8,531 XP, meaning she is now needs 5,469 XP to level up.
Lement (Horizon Walker Ranger 4) Defeating Scrags (x5) - 1,286 XP TOTAL: 1,286 XP
This gives him a total of 6,726 XP, meaning he is now level 5! He gains 7 HP, a +1 to proficiency, a first level spellslot, two second level spellslots, and Extra Attack. He learns Pass without Trace.
Hardrock (Fighter 2) Defeating Scrags (x5) - 643 XP TOTAL: 643 XP
This gives her a total of 1,373 XP, meaning she is now level 3. She gains 9 HP and takes the Samurai Subclass, giving her proficiency in Persuasion and Fighting Spirit (can give herself advantage and +5 temporary HP 3/day).
Jasper (Wizard 1) Defeating Scrags (x5) - 316 XP TOTAL: 316 XP
This gives him a total of 316 XP, meaning he is now level 2. He gains 5 HP, a 1st level spellslot, can prepare an extra spell a day, and takes the School of Divination Subclass, giving him Divination Savant (copying Divnation spells into his spellbook takes half as much time and money), and Portent (at the end of a long rest, he can roll two 1d20s and record the results; he can then replace any attack roll, saving throw or ability check made by himself or a creature he can see with one of those rolls).
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Post by Daos on Oct 20, 2023 23:00:57 GMT -8
Session 28 - The Voyage Home We picked up on Day 90, when the crow's nest called out that they saw a ship ahead. Once the Tideway got closer, however, they realized it wasn't a ship, but a tavern--the Parley. But it was also under attack from a sea dragon, a long, blue snake like leviathan. Oceana urged Pisces to pull up closer to help. The captain shook his head in amusement, noting that adventuring types at least kept things interesting as he steered the ship into danger.
The dragon was striking at the tavern itself, while Eddy stood on the harbor, shooting a crossbow and Aula was in the water, flinging spells, but neither was doing any real damage to the creature. As the ship passed by the tavern, Oceana misty stepped over to it, and Wyldfyre and Hardrock jumped, landing on the docks to join them. The ship then continued toward the beast, everyone else using ranged attacks.
The fight was difficult. The best warriors, Oceana and Wyldfyre, had great difficulty hitting the beast due to its high armor class. Strangely, the person who did the most damage consistently was Lement. His aim was pretty impressive. Twice the dragon used its breath weapon--freezing cold water--on the ship. The first time it knocked down half the group on the deck, and the second time it took out everyone on the ship. But fortunately, Oceana was able to finish it off with her flame tongue, then quickly revive Torrenta, Selena, Lement and Jasper.
Eddy was thankful and offered the party free rooms, meals and drinks for saving the place. Usually Aula's magic is enough to deal with any problem--pirates, sahuagin, etc. But a full blown dragon, even a young one, was a bit much for them.
Fortunately, Day 91 was less eventful. The ship sailed north, eventually docking that night in Shorehaven. There, Oceana found out that the Fiddler's Green Inn was shut down. A passing by fisherman explained to her that the inn was closed. The owner, some kind of fey, was draining people's lives. But a beautiful and brave halfling woman defeated her and rescued everyone. They had a big feast and parade in her honor.
Oceana quickly put together what happened--Clover had taken all of the credit for Oceana's efforts. Through clenched teeth, Oceana asked if the 'hero' was still in the garden, but the fisherman said she had already moved on. Annoyed, Oceana returned to the ship to rest for the night.
Before heading to her cot, though, Oceana sought out Jasper and asked him about the Shadowfell. He did his best to explain the concept to her, but Elonnori have a fairly simple cosmology (the mortal world and the spirit world, and that's about it), so she had difficultly grasping the concept.
Oceana wondered if the people in the Shadowfell, specifically whoever had put a bounty on her head, were responsible for the Rot. And why would they use the Rot in the first place? To what benefit was it to destroy the world?
Jasper speculated. Based on the tales Oceana had told him, he began to suspect that the Rot was not created to destroy, but to drain. All of the strains she had encountered so far were draining energy from the earth--heat from the lava, moisture from the lake, life from the trees, etc. Perhaps their true purpose is to drain energy for some nefarious purpose, and the destruction is just a side-effect to that.
But if the Rot is draining energy, where is that energy being sent? Oceana mentioned that the heart of every Rot infestation was a portal. And those portals have been corrupted by darkness. So perhaps that is the source--the negative energy planes. Oceana wonders if she could just jump through a portal and track the source, but Jasper warned her that she would likely die without the proper protection.
Taking all of this into mind, Oceana then sought out Lement, as he is a 'rogue' spirit tamer and thus an expert on the other worlds. She asked him if the air temple was corrupted, what was the negative aspect of Air? He answered it was Vacuum. Then what would be the positive aspect of Air? That would be Lightning. She also asked about the fifth and final temple. Lement speculated it was dedicated to Spirit. If corrupted, it would be Death, but it could be countered with Life.
On Day 92, the Tideway came across another ship. This one, called the Untamed Emporium, was rather unusual looking, in that it appeared to be some kind of zoo or menagerie. Animals of all kinds were running around on the deck, climbing the rigging, or flying near the crow's nest. Curious, Oceana asked Pisces to pull up alongside it.
Oceana met with the captain, a deep dwarf woman named Rynri Wildmantle. She explained that she grew up deep underground, having never seen the sun before coming of age. She was fascinated with the surface world and wanted to explore it, so one day packed up her things and just went. She's been collecting various kinds of fauna to study, and now runs a sort of mobile pet shop. Intrigued, Oceana asked for a tour.
First, Rynri had a variety of mundane animals: goldfish, frogs, lizards, bats, rabbits, cats, dogs, parrots, snakes, hawks, owls foxes and monkeys. But she also had collected a number of exotic, fantastical critters.
Among them included the sanguisaur (a sort of lizard/bat mix that would defend whoever had last fed it blood), the trash griffon (a smaller type of griffon that resembled a crow and raccoon instead of an eagle and lion), an Echoic Popinjay (capable of storing and discharging a spell cast at it), the Furrowed Earth Hog (capable of growing a small garden of flowers or herbs on its back), the Pocket Dragon Turtle (can heat a pot of water in one minute), a Baboom (a baboon that is immune to fire, that can cast fireball on itself once a day), Unreasonably Small Animals (a collection of miniature animals such as the Pygmy Pygmy Hippo, the Even Littler Owl and the Least Weasel), the Pet Rock (a tiny, hand-sized earth elemental that cannot move (although you can paint it and glue accessories on it) but can randomly change its weight anywhere from 0 to 500 lbs), and the Fidelity Finch (a mated pair of finch that mirror each other's movements, no matter how far apart they are from each other).
Despite all of that, Oceana decided to just adopt a normal, run-of-the-mill kitten. She chose an orange tabby and named it Saber.
The Tideway pushed onward, and docked that night at Arcadia Bay. Oceana was almost home.
My Notes This session was 2h.
The Sea Dragon was a tough fight. It's a monster I got from the Tome of Beasts. It's breath weapon nearly wiped out half the party the first time, and it was really bad luck that it recharged it during the fight. But fortunately it was nearly dead by that point. The funny thing was, it was only a young dragon. Imagine an adult or even an elder!
There was some fun roleplaying in this one. Learning about Clover's shenanigans, but also Oceana speculating on the Rot, what it's purpose is, who is behind it, and what the two remaining temples might be like. It's the first time she's ever done that, so that was interesting.
The Untamed Emporium was a little something I picked up online. I joked about how, out of all those crazy critters (the trash griffon was probably my favorite), she just bought an ordinary cat.
Anyway, I'll try and get XP up tomorrow.
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Post by Daos on Oct 21, 2023 8:06:09 GMT -8
XP is as follows:
Oceana Poole (Ancient Paladin 6) Defeating Young Sea Dragon - 714 XP Discussing the Shadowfell and the nature of the Rot with Jasper - 100 XP Discussing the planes and temples with Lement - 100 XP Meeting Rynri - 100 XP TOTAL: 1,014 XP
That brings her to a full total of 22,538 XP, meaning she needs 462 XP to level up.
Wyldfyre (Berserker Barbarian 6) Defeating Young Sea Dragon - 714 XP TOTAL: 714 XP
This gives him a total of 16,139 XP, meaning he needs 6,861 XP to level up.
Selena (Dream Druid 6) Defeating Young Sea Dragon - 714 XP TOTAL: 714 XP
This gives her a total of 15,979 XP, meaning she needs 7,021 XP to level up.
Torrenta (Nature Cleric 5) Defeating Young Sea Dragon - 714 XP TOTAL: 714 XP
This gives her a total of 9,245 XP, meaning she is needs 4,755 XP to level up.
Lement (Horizon Walker Ranger 5) Defeating Young Sea Dragon - 714 XP TOTAL: 714 XP
This gives him a total of 7,440 XP, meaning he needs 6,560 XP to level up.
Hardrock (Samurai Fighter 3) Defeating Young Sea Dragon - 714 XP TOTAL: 714 XP
This gives her a total of 2,087 XP, meaning she needs 613 XP to level up.
Jasper (Diviner Wizard 2) Defeating Young Sea Dragon - 357 XP TOTAL: 357 XP
This gives him a total of 673 XP, meaning he needs 227 XP to level up.
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Post by Daos on Oct 26, 2023 19:02:40 GMT -8
Session 29 - So Fetch We picked up on Day 93, with the party departing Arcadia Bay after saying their goodbyes to Pisces and the Tideway crew, who were going to be heading north next to seek work around Si'ahl.
The party headed east through Twin Rivers at a leisurely pace, when Oceana heard a child crying in the distance. Dismounting her horse, she called Torrenta and Selena to come with her, telling the others to watch over the retainers (and her cat). Following the sound, they went into the wilderness to the north a bit, before coming across a hollowed out tree trunk. Inside was a small drow girl, huddled up and crying. She looked to be maybe 7 or 8 years old.
Oceana spooked her a bit, but Torrenta was able to coax her out of the trunk. The girl, whose name the party never asked, was part of a caravan. She said a woman started singing and everyone but her in the caravan went into the woods to follow it. She was scared so ran away and hid in the tree trunk. Oceana left the girl with her retainers, and then took the entire party with her into the woods (which I pointed out later left her retainers fairly helpless, had anything attacked them at that time; I had expected her to leave 1 or 2 people behind to guard them).
The party entered the wilderness, finding it easy to track the caravan as they were a large group of people, around 20-30, and made no effort to conceal their tracks. Eventually they hear a woman singing. Taking no precautions, they entered a clearing and approached. They found a large group of people watching the singing woman in awe. The woman had blue skin and green hair--a sirine. Instantly, every single person in the party was charmed with the single exception of Hardrock (and this was with Oceana's paladin aura aiding them).
Hardrock went into the crowd and tried grappling Selena and Lement, both of whom escaped her grip. She did manage to grapple Torrenta and drag her away, though. Once they were far enough away, Torrenta seemed to come out of it. The pair went back, after Torrenta stuffed her ears with cloth. Torrenta cast Silence on the sirine, which did not seem to break the charm at all, but it did confuse the sirine. The two then worked together to grapple Oceana and cart her off in the confusion.
Once Oceana was dragged far enough away to snap out of it, the three then went back. But the sirine met them on the way, having left the silenced area. She was annoyed and when Oceana threatened her, she called out for help and the crowd, along with most of her party, came to her defense. Not wanting to fight her own people, as well as a bunch of civilians, Oceana tried to parley instead.
Eventually, they came to a deal. The sirine, whose name the party never asked, agreed to release her friends and the girl's mother (a human woman) and in return, the party would leave her and the rest of her 'fans' alone. Oceana agreed, and the sirine believed her, so released Jasper, Selena, Lement and Wyldfyre, as well as the drow's mother.
Oceana then led her group away a safe distance, and told the girl's mother, whose name the party never asked, to go wait with her daughter with her retainers. She then led her full party back to the sirine, only to find she and the crowd were gone. They followed their trail to the rocky beach, where they saw the sirine escorting the people into some kind of sea cave.
The party kept a distance of 120 feet and started attacking. The sirine hit them with an ice storm, creating difficult terrain to slow down the front-liners as they approached. She then threw up a fog cloud to blind the archers. Despite this, Lement still managed to hit her a few times.
The party whittled her down to 1 HP despite her best efforts, and seeing no other way to escape, she surrendered. Oceana demanded she release everyone from the cave, which she did. The paladin then allowed the sirine to go back into the ocean alive.
Once the caravan was back on the road, they thanked her and resumed their journey to Arcadia Bay. The party, meanwhile, continued eastward until nightfall then made camp.
My Notes This session was 2h.
Seven people is just too many for combat in 5E; it makes battles take forever, which is why we're averaging about one battle a session lately. That should be fixed once we reach Harmony and end the chapter, though.
Anyway, this was a fun session. Largely because once I started roleplaying the sirine, I started channeling Regina George and after that, we spent the rest of the session making various Mean Girls references throughout.
"Is she a fey?" "Oh my gawd, you can't just ask people if they're fey!"
"Would my character know anything about sirines?" "Possibly. She does have ESPN, after all."
“Raise your hand if you have personally been victimized by the sirine.”
“You don't even go here!”
I also joked that when the fight ended, the sirine was hit by a bus.
Anyway, I'll try and get XP up tomorrow.
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Post by Daos on Oct 27, 2023 7:19:56 GMT -8
XP is as follows:
Oceana Poole (Ancient Paladin 6) Defeating Sirine (x1) - 257 XP TOTAL: 257 XP
That brings her to a full total of 22,795 XP, meaning she needs 205 XP to level up.
Wyldfyre (Berserker Barbarian 6) Defeating Sirine (x1) - 257 XP TOTAL: 257 XP
This gives him a total of 16,396 XP, meaning he needs 6,604 XP to level up.
Selena (Dream Druid 6) Defeating Sirine (x1) - 257 XP TOTAL: 257 XP
This gives her a total of 16,236 XP, meaning she needs 6,764 XP to level up.
Torrenta (Nature Cleric 5) Defeating Sirine (x1) - 257 XP TOTAL: 257 XP
This gives her a total of 9,502 XP, meaning she is needs 4,498 XP to level up.
Lement (Horizon Walker Ranger 5) Defeating Sirine (x1) - 257 XP TOTAL: 257 XP
This gives him a total of 7,697 XP, meaning he needs 6,303 XP to level up.
Hardrock (Samurai Fighter 3) Defeating Sirine (x1) - 257 XP TOTAL: 257 XP
This gives her a total of 2,344 XP, meaning she needs 356 XP to level up.
Jasper (Diviner Wizard 2) Defeating Sirine (x1) - 128 XP TOTAL: 128 XP
This gives him a total of 801 XP, meaning he needs 99 XP to level up.
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Post by Daos on Nov 5, 2023 1:42:00 GMT -8
Session 30 - Disharmony We picked up on Day 94. It was a nice spring day, as the party traveled eastward through Twin Rivers, heading for the Smoke Mountain border. It was then they came across a lone traveler, a pale changeling woman with big glasses and a strange looking suitcase at her side. She had grey skin, white hair and completely whited over eyes (but seemed capable of seeing just fine) and was dressed in all black, including a pair of black leather gloves. Her glasses were wide rimmed but also had several smaller lens on one side that could be adjusted to turn them into something of a microscope.
The woman called herself Knick and explained she was en route to Arcadia Bay to trade. Her specialty? Curses. She bought and sold cursed items, and could also curse items, transfer curses from one item to another, and remove curses, as well. All for a fee, of course. She shows off many unusual wares, mostly magical items that had a twist to them in some way, but Oceana wasn't interested so moved on.
That evening, they reached Basalt and got some rooms for the night.
Day 95, they started walking the Fey Eye north, back toward Rain Mountain. Jasper found the gardens interesting, asking numerous questions about them. Hardrock was quiet but observant. Her metal armor got her a few dirty looks from locals, but nobody bothered the party.
As they were traveling that day, an ettin and his two owlbear pets emerged from the wood and tried to rob them. A fight broke out, and the party was victorious. Searching the ettin, Oceana found 180 pink shards, suggesting the ettin had been quite an accomplished bandit before now.
That evening, they reached the Appleseed Inn. However, Oceana was disappointed to discover Ashel wasn't there this time. Everyone else seemed to recognize her, though, and she was hounded for autographs, stories and people buying her drinks. The innkeeper even put up a plaque that read Oceana Poole stayed there, and it was her favorite inn. Oceana didn't argue the point. Although she was a little disturbed to find the innkeeper was selling Oceana Pool merchandise, like dolls of her with a little flaming sword.
The following day, Day 96, the party reached Rain Mountain, and by evening had arrived in Harmony. Her family was pleased to see her, although a little disturbed by how many people were with her now, and Delta muttered under her breath about the manor becoming a half-way house by this point.
Day 97 began at family breakfast, but there was a tension in the air. It reminded Oceana of when she was little and in trouble. There was a iciness coming from her mother, but she wasn't sure why. Her father, Ryver, tried to break the tension with little success. He explained that Moss' wedding would be in a week, and Oceana's own marriage candidate list had been narrowed down to five people: Lord Xarrion Shail, Lord Rark Qulack, Councilor Seraph Valtair, Lord Philamon Sylphe, and Cycles Merwave. Aside from Shail, who she has met before, Oceana had only heard of Sylphe and Valtair before. The former is an elven lord known for his sense of fashion and sharp wit; the latter is a powerful and influential human on the queen's council, and is shrouded in a bit of mystery.
After breakfast, Oceana went to see her mother in her study. Delta revealed she knew what Oceana did with Ashel, and berated her for her foolishness. Oceana wanted to know how she could have possibly found out about that, but Delta would not reveal her sources. But she did question whether Oceana should be allowed to finish her quest. After all, the Elonnori lands are safe. And clearly Oceana cannot be trusted on her own. Oceana argued against this, insisting she would not give up her quest. In that case, Delta insisted she will be married as soon as she returns from the next leg of her quest. She expected Oceana to choose one of the names on the list by the end of the month. Fortunately, all five will be attending Moss' wedding, so she can get to know them a bit then.
Oceana then went to go see her brother, who was sulking in his room. She apologized for not being able to stop his wedding with Korral, and he told her it was okay but he would miss her once he was gone. She also learned that the reason the Winters were willing to go through with this is because they want their own 'chosen one.' It turns out the Winters don't believe Oceana is touched by Elonna, but rather her angelic bloodline is just a quirk of genetics. And if they mingle their bloodline with the Pooles, they might get the same result. That was their only interest in Moss.
While speaking to Moss, it finally dawned on Oceana how her mother learned about Ashel, as she realized someone in the group must have ratted her out. And it also occurred to her who was the most likely suspect. She then sought out Isles and confronted him. He admitted the reason her mother sent him was to keep tabs on her and report back everything. He apologized, but he had no choice. It is his duty to obey the matron of the house.
Feeling betrayed, Oceana went to Torrenta and told her all about it. She then sought out Jasper and they talked a bit about reaching the Cloud Isle, the next grove. He had a few ideas, but would need time to flesh them out before he could report anything.
My Notes This session was 2h, 25m.
At long last, it is revealed that Isles is a plant. I actually decided this way back in session 01. If Oceana did anything her mother wouldn't approve of, Isles would report it back to her as soon as he was able to. So when Oceana went up to Ashel's room and didn't return until the next morning...
Anyway, lots of drama in this one, and more to come. We have Moss' wedding next, and then Oceana will be made to decide on who she will be marrying. What will she decide? Maybe Ashel's offer to run away might become more appealing to her now. We'll see!
Anyway, I'll try and get XP up tomorrow.
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Post by Daos on Nov 5, 2023 11:10:59 GMT -8
XP is as follows:
Oceana Poole (Ancient Paladin 6) Defeating Ettin (x1) and Owlbears (x2) - 357 XP Confrontation with Delta - 100 XP Apologizing to Moss - 100 XP Confronting Isles - 100 XP Talking with Torrenta - 100 XP Talking with Jasper - 100 XP TOTAL: 857 XP
That brings her to a full total of 23,652 XP, meaning she is now level 7!
Wyldfyre (Berserker Barbarian 6) Defeating Ettin (x1) and Owlbears (x2) - 357 XP TOTAL: 357 XP
This gives him a total of 16,753 XP, meaning he needs 6,247 XP to level up.
Selena (Dream Druid 6) Defeating Ettin (x1) and Owlbears (x2) - 357 XP TOTAL: 357 XP
This gives her a total of 16,593 XP, meaning she needs 6,407 XP to level up.
Torrenta (Nature Cleric 5) Defeating Ettin (x1) and Owlbears (x2) - 357 XP TOTAL: 357 XP
This gives her a total of 9,859 XP, meaning she is needs 4,141 XP to level up.
Lement (Horizon Walker Ranger 5) Defeating Ettin (x1) and Owlbears (x2) - 357 XP TOTAL: 357 XP
This gives him a total of 8,054 XP, meaning he needs 5,946 XP to level up.
Hardrock (Samurai Fighter 3) Defeating Ettin (x1) and Owlbears (x2) - 357 XP TOTAL: 357 XP
This gives her a total of 2,701 XP, meaning she is now 4th level!
*She gains 9 HP! *She gains +2 CON (+4 HP)!
Jasper (Diviner Wizard 2) Defeating Ettin (x1) and Owlbears (x2) - 179 XP TOTAL: 179 XP
This gives him a total of 980 XP, meaning he is now level 3!
*He gains 5 HP! *He gains 1 first level spell slot! *He gains 2 second level spell slots! *He learns Alarm, Silent Image, Mind Spike and Detect Thoughts (I forgot to add 2 new spells last level up, so he'll get 4 this time).
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