Reset Era Players Present: Reign of Fear -- A D&D 5e Play-By-Post Campaign

[Claire Delune]

We currently have 6 players, which past experience would seem to indicate is pretty much the maximum these games can reasonably handle. If you want to play a PbP game, or just talk D&D/PnP and everything else, feel free to join to our Discord server (quote for a link). Obviously, we're not the gatekeepers of who can get a game going, but it's a handy way to get everyone interested into the same room and organize one if nothing else.

I'm not going to lay down an edict that none but the players shall post in this thread (I'd have no power to enforce it anyway), but I hope we can count on everyone to not just barge into the thread with some tired joke about casting magic missile at the darkness. Again, the aforementioned Discord channel is available to you, and PMs are always an option as well if you had questions or comments. I trust everyone to use their best judgment.

Thanks!

Current Players:

• ThLunarian as Keranos, a teenage boy who may or may not be the reincarnated avatar of an ancient god of thunder.
• MoonlitBow as Fhiess, an artistic soul trying to make it as a bard in this world of everything trying to kill him.
• Nezumi as Sagishi, a foxy thief with merciless bounty hunters on his tail and a penchant for brewing up fireworks.
• Eternal Song as Galen, a ranger who thought his adventuring days were behind him, but the world refuses to let him settle down.
• Noisy Ninj4 as Thosar, a know-it-all wizard who just so happens to actually know it all.
• Axelhortsemchi as Ludwig, a paladin devoted to upholding the ideals of the forces of the free market. Also, he's a fucking giraffe.

This my first crack at DMing a campaign of any sort, let alone a PbP one or a 5e one. I've been a longtime player of our past PbP campaigns and a regular contributor to the Creative Writing Challenge community, so I'm fairly confident I can at least spin a serviceable yarn.

Spoiler: Character Creation

• Starting attribute stats are 15,14,13,12,10, and 8, or you can do a point buy scheme as listed on page 13 of the PHB.
• Everyone starts at level 3. That should be just enough for everyone to start picking archetypes/schools/disciplines/whatever in their respective classes.
• You can choose to take either the starting equipment granted by class, or the average starting wealth.
• All non-evil alignments are acceptable, though I reserve the right to veto Chaotic Neutral.
• All races and classes in the PHB and DMG are acceptable, barring those that require anything that requires an evil alignment.
• Races and classes from the campaign books, third party publishers, and various Unearthed Arcana supplements are probably acceptable, but subject to approval.
• Fuck, if you want to play something from the Monster Manual with a homebrew class and background, I'm willing to at least hear you out.
• For thematic fodder that I may or may not utilize, I want everyone to provide what their character's greatest fear and biggest dream is.
• Feats are in if the player wants to take them at the associated level ups.
• Please provide a means of contact outside the board just in case.

Spoiler: Campaign-Specific Details

• This is a homebrew setting, but shouldn't provide any limitations on character alignments, gods, etc, though it may impact character backgrounds to keep it in line with the world's history and present.
• Gunpowder and associated weapons exists, but are not widespread. You will almost certainly not have them, barring some very specific character backgrounds.
• There are dungeons with maps and everything that will operate under slightly different rules when we get to them.
• There will be non-combat encounters that also have special rules associated with them.
• That said, I'm going to employ some variant rules from the DMG that I happen to like over the base rule set, mostly to the players' advantage.
• There will be random encounters in addition to the story-driven ones. They might be jettisoned, depending on how much drag they put on the game.
• I'm a fluff over crunch kind of guy, roleplay and player interaction is not only highly encouraged, but probably the best way to be awarded Inspiration points.
• I'm gonna try my best to weave character backgrounds into story threads, so the more you give me to work with, the better I'll probably do.
• Because I am incredibly prone to coming up with superfluous backstories and unnecessary detail, I'm going to make my life way more difficult than it needs to be and maintain a codex. Right now it only has the information that is widely known to all inhabitants of this setting (and would therefore be known to your characters), but the more the party learns, the more I will flesh out the entries. I may share additional information with individual characters that they would know, but the others wouldn't. OMFG, what are you doing, Mike…

Spoiler: House and Variant Rules

• Combat is Side Initiative, same as in previous campaigns. Everyone rolls, and whichever side of an encounter has the higher average initiative goes first.
• Additional combat action options beyond PHB are available: Climb on a bigger creature, Disarm, Mark, Overrun, Shove Aside, Tumble (See DMG pg 271).
• Cleaving Through Creatures and Massive Damage will be in effect (DMG pg 272-273).
• There will be degrees of success and failures beyond just hitting a DC/AC (i.e. missing an AC by 1 may still deal half damage).
• Rolling a 20 on an ability check or saving throw is an automatic critical success and point of Inspiration, provided that you beat the DC. If you roll a 20 on something and still don't meet the DC, I'll roll the percentage die to see if you succeed regardless. Bottom line, you will always have a chance.
• Rolling a 1 on an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw is not an automatic critical failure. If you roll a 1, I'll roll the percentage die to see if there are any penalties incurred. I know critical failures are a somewhat controversial mechanic, but my table is pretty lenient and there's a very small chance you'd end up with anything worse than having Disadvantage on your next roll or something.
• Characters may only have one Inspiration point at a time, per the base rules. But if you have one, you can confer it to any character who does not if you are awarded another (but not in the middle of combat or a skill check).
• Weapons/Armor/Shields +1, +2, and +3 will be treated as masterwork items of varying degrees of quality. Any given town of significant size will probably have a selection of various +1 items (Base price +500gp for weapons and shields, +5,000gp for armor), and a city might have a selection of +2 items (Base price +5,000gp for weapons and shields, +50,000gp for armor). +3 items are some Excalibur-level gear, they won't be available by normal means.
• Weapons can undergo a process similar to silvering so that they deliver magical damage for 250gp.
• There are still magical armaments, but they have effects other than flat bonuses to attack or defense.
• All healing out of combat restores the maximum amount possible.
• Using Hit Dice to recover HP during a short rest requires the use of a Healer's Kit. Each HD recovered expends one use of the kit (a single kit has 10). Given the composition of the team so far, I doubt this will be much of a concern.
• Don't worry about food or rations or mundane ammo count. Special ammo will still need to be tracked.
• In the unlikely event that you get stuck, you can use a WIS or INT check for a hint, but the DC will go up each time.
• I reserve the right to invoke the Rule of Cool as I see fit and fudge results and outcomes at least a little bit from time to time.

Useful links:

• 5e System Resource Document: Reader's Digest version of the core rules and a few things from the DMG
• Myth Weavers: Handy site for storing and sharing character sheets for a variety of RPGs online.
• Fight Club 5: Probably the best game in town for iOS apps to manage character sheets, and once you get it set up (there are a few hoops), it's actually pretty amazing. Not free, unfortunately, but I think the lite version just limits you to one character and has ads. I'm plugging all player characters into this for DMing on the go, and you can send the characters for import to anyone who has either this or the DM app. Seriously, cannot recommend it enough. Sadly, no Android : (
• Pyromancers Dungeon Painter: This is what I used to make bases for the encounter and dungeon maps.
• Hexographer: This is what I used to make the overworld map.

Previous Campaigns (Zip files of old message board threads):

• Quest for the Holy Relics: In which our heroes do some questing for some relics that are holy.
• Excalibur: Sidequel that is not about questing for a magic sword.
• Navigating the Astral Sea: It's not going to navigate itself, now, is it?

Sister Campaign:

• Tabletop Era presents: Adventures in Party Splitting. Play-by-Post Part II
• MafiEra Presents: Against the Shattered Dawn | a D&D 5e Play-By-Post Game

 

[Claire Delune]

​

The Story So Far...

• After a display their skills and prowess, our would-be heroes were selected as the delegates of the town of Remdormo to present the mayor's tribute to the Boy King Dio in a parade in honor of the king's birthday in the capital of Telmur. They were introduced to Barrow, the curmudgeonly wagon driver who often finds himself doing inane errands for the scatter-brained mayor.
  
  
• On the road to the capital, the party found itself set upon by a gang of strangely-behaving hobgoblins who seemed to show a special animosity toward those of elven descent. In the aftermath, they found a curious bottle with the residue of a foul-smelling liquid inside.
  
  
• The rest of the trip to the capital was uneventful as they wound their way around the other sites of the Kingdom of Telmur, such as the Kingsword and Kingsgate fortresses and the walled city of Nodoff.
  
  
• During the parade, Boy King Dio is trapped in a mirror by the malevolent clown Coulro, and the capital city is crushed to dust as an immense obsidian tower tears its way into this plane of existence and descends upon the castle and all who dwell within it as the streets flood with nightmarish creatures.
  
  
• During the escape from the chaos, our heroes found themselves being summoned to a hill not too far distant from the walls of the castle. There they met a mysterious old man who gave them only cryptic instructions before blowing away as sand: They are the Endowed, and they must find others if they are to have any hope of defeating the enigmatic Adversary and his Phobic Anima, who have traveled to this world from beyond.
  
  
• The tower is protected by some form of magical shell, from the top of which ribbons of energy stream in four different directions. The party strikes out westward, helping the injured and shell-shocked people as best they can.
  
  
• In the night, they are ambushed by gnolls, some of whom wield far greater power than would be typical of such creatures. After the battle, the Endowed traced them back to their cave where they found more bottles such as the hobgoblins had.
  
  
• Probing deeper into the forest, they meet a helpful sprite names Peaseblossom, who informs them of a hobgoblin outpost deep in the woods. The Endowed launch a daring raid and discover that the hobgoblins have been capturing large, dangerous beasts and transporting them elsewhere for purposes as of yet unknown. During the battle, they find that the mysterious liquid they've been imbibing is called "Glurg," and that it invokes a frenzied state.
  
  
• They spend like a week trying to befriend a direwolf who then runs off.
  
  
• Hauling a wagonload of spoils from their battle, the Endowed make their way toward Bellows where they discover the purpose of a crystal the mysterious old man gave them; it can be used to locate other Endowed, such as the visiting governor of Westreach, Rexam Crullus. Crullus is unwilling to relinquish the power of the Endowed just yet, but vows to do so once his own troubles in the west are laid to rest.
  
  
• The party turns northward toward the underground city of Hammerfall, escorting a dragonborn ambassador from across the sea as a means of gaining access to the sealed city. There they become embroiled in a political struggle at the behest of another of the Endowed, Vess Talbot.
  
  
• In the aftermath of the legal chaos wrought in Hammerfall, the Endowed escape into an ancient tunnel that leads northward into the White Wastes and eventually emerge in a labyrinth of ice canyons.
  
  
• Escaping the ice canyons, they turn their attention toward the baleful energy snaking through the sky toward the north pole of the world. They traverse a field of ravenous remorhazes by making a few creative uses of the Robe of Useful Items they acquired, including tying a rowboat to Ludwig and having him dash across the snow, and calling a dog into being as a distraction. RIP, Muffy.
• Just when they seem to be out of tricks and about to be consumed by ravenous ice bug worm monsters, a pair of half-orcs piloting what looks like a giant mechanical spider arrive and save the day. Also, they take the Endowed into custody.
  
  
• The half-orcs take the Endowed to the Train, a massive convoy of vehicles made of scavanged technology from the lost Hauntaur empire, who are now revealed to have been a nation of tiefling conquerors. The half-orcs occupy a diplomatic niche in the White Wastes, mediating the peace between the humans on one side and the orcs on another. They're currently on their way to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power in the orc settlement, as their Chieftain has gone missing.
  
  
• Boarding an experimental and extremely unsafe rocket sledge, the Endowed depart from the Train, following the guiding light of the crystal granted them by the Mysterious Old Man at the start of their quest for the purpose of finding others imbued with power.
  
  
• They find the Chieftain, alone in the frozen wilderness and preparing to destroy everyone who lives in the White Wastes in order to save them from the future he has foreseen. Using a magic horn, he summons a white dragon to his side, who proceeds to nearly kill the entire party single-handedly. But Fhiess uses his uncanny power of persuasion to get through the Chieftain's twisted frame of mind and return him to his senses, and the Chieftain immediately dismisses the dragon before it can do any more harm.
  
  
• From the Chieftain, they find out that the Adversary in the tower is a god of fear known as Phobetor, and that he intends to drain this world of all life and feast on the fear it generates. The Chieftain accompanies them to where the energy stream in the sky ends, at a remote Hauntaur fortress that has been overgrown by a towering spire of ice that seems to be draining the land of its very essence.
  
  
• Coulro reappears, somewhat dismayed that the Endowed have pursued him first, as he had always pictured himself more as a penultimate adversary. He reveals that he is the Phobic Animus of Coulrophobia, the fear of clowns, and proceeds to use his powers to do battle with the Endowed from relative safety, emerging only when convenient to cast a spell. This backfires, as Fhiess not only manages to resist a spell compelling him to dance, but accepts Coulro's sarcastic challenge to a dance off in earnest. Unwilling to be upstaged in his own production, Coulro focuses on his grudge match with Fhiess and neglects the rest of the battle until it's too late to prevent the Endowed from ganging up on him and putting him to a quick end.
  
  
• Inside the fort, the Endowed discover the mysterious Door, an ancient Hauntaur device used by the half-orcs that do not wish to devote their lives to the mission of the Train to leave the White Wastes.
  
  
• The Door in fact leads to the outskirts of the village that Galen calls home, which has suffered a devastating hobgoblin attack. The Endowed quickly ascertain two facts. First: The hobgoblins are using rocs, both to deliver their payloads of frenzied creatures and also for troop deployment and extraction. Second: Galen's eldest son is missing, his trail stopping dead cold where the hobgoblins caught their flight out of town. Keranos also catches wind of the acts of a cleric of Talos, his sworn enemy and usurper, but the mysterious figure has long since left.
  
  
• Deciding to travel to Westreach to track down Crullus and secure his promise of relinquishing his power into the crystal, the Endowed return to Remdormo to find that Barrow's wife Hulna has deposed the mayor and instituted a series of increasingly strict ordinances. Fhiess rouses the population to a near revolt with his speechcraft, as the people raid the stores for the food and wine and flour that has been denied them.
  
  
• Hulna is less than pleased by this, as she was counting on those supplies lasting for quite a great deal longer under her rationing plan. With commerce in the kingdom brought to a standstill by the invasion of the tower and its subsequent crisis, there's no way to feed the population that remains in town that hasn't already been evacuated to Westreach. An exodus is arranged, and the Endowed must ferry more than thousand souls over the Pillars of the Sky to the safety of Stonegate in Westreach.

Zip file of previous thread up until we moved to Discord for a bit.
Discord log of what happened while we were in exile.

 

[Nezumi]

((We're back!))

 

[Eternal Song]

((Back? But we only just got here!

So the party's through the labyrinth now?))

 

[MoonlitBow]

<Checking in. I suppose a copy of the last update to our progress through the icy tundra will be posted here eventually?>

 

[Claire Delune]

​

The grade of the slope increases as the party continues to press northward. At last, they see daylight between the walls of the ice crevice; they have climbed their way up and out of the canyons, and beyond them is a vast expanse of gently rolling hills of snow beneath gray skies.

The smell of the remorhazes is such that even others not gifted with Sagishi's keen sense of smell can detect them now on the air wafting in through the gap in the ice. The ice walls surrounding them are riddled with holes about the diameter of one's arm, but there's no motion to be seen and Sagishi doesn't smell anything in the immediate vicinity, though they were here in the recent past on the order of days ago.

Somewhere beyond the canyon, a whole brood of remorhazes is lurking.

Caution is advised.

 

[ThLunarian]

Keranos's boots crunch atop freshly compressed snow. He looks longingly at the storm behind him, then ahead to the relatively clearer sky. His nose curls at the stench of decay; their chances of avoiding the creatures' burrow seem to be dwindling rapidly.

"Well, gentlemen," he says frankly. "In the spirit of fuller disclosure moving forward, I don't see any way to avoid entering a tussle with the beasts that lurk ahead of us. I have neither the aptitude nor the inclination for stealth, and there does not seem to be much in the way of cover besides."

He takes a few purposeful steps forward and then whirls around to face the others. "So the question becomes: how shall we approach the inevitable combat? The more we can dictate the terms of battle, the better our odds of survival."

 

[MoonlitBow]

Fhiess looks down at the crystal, then clutches it. "I don't want a battle if I can help it.. There's only one crystal, only those of us better at sneaking need to find where it leads us."

 

[Eternal Song]

"Well," Galen offers, "you could always climb on Ludwig. It would mean one less set of feet on the ground."

After a couple more steps, he adds, "But we may not need to face any such thing. There is always a way around, is there not?" He gives a bit of a wry smile. "However, if we can choose our arena, and we only have to deal with one, I may have a solution. Sagishi, how do you feel about handling some rope?"

 

[Nezumi]

Sagishi isn't happy with the prospect of battling strange giant worms with temperature confusing, but between Keranos bumbling about in that overgrown armor and Ludwig being, well, himself, he doesn't see much sense in sneaking around. Since the smell of the remorhaz has been assaulting his nose a bit too much he has returned to his human form.
When Galen addresses him, he looks questioningly at the ranger, but nods. "Sure, what do you have in mind?"

 

[Noisy Ninj4]

Digging his nose deeper into his coat's lining to mitigate the olfactory assault, Thosar quietly agrees that the party should try to mitigate the advantage of the Remorahz. "Perhaps we should try to keep to rocky ground, if possible. They have hard time burrowing through it. It'd remove the advantage of surprise and perhaps make our passing less noticeable for them."

 

[Eternal Song]

"If we have time to prepare," Galen answers Sagishi, "it is possible we could secure a couple ropes to throw and tie down a lone remora... Haz. Grappling hooks would do nicely for that. Couple tying it down with Thosar's contingency of being able to shrink Ludwig, and we may be able to handle one without much issue."

Galen pauses before adding, "But more than one could still be a problem."

 

[MoonlitBow]

Fhiess looks around for any nearby rocky surfaces they could easily climb onto.

Perception: (Roll: 1d20 + 9), rolled 13. (4,   9)
Perception Advantage: (Roll: 1d20 + 9), rolled 23. (14,   9)

He doesn't know enough about the oncoming monsters to object or add to Galen's plan to capture one of them.

 

[Nezumi]

Sagishi considers that Galen's plan would involve him getting a lot closer to those unknown beasts than he would be comfortable with, but must agree that the plan is a good one. So nods in agreement all the same as he pulls out his own grappling hook, fastening it around his shoulders so that he has it ready on short notice. Still worried he adds, "I'm confident that I can get the rope around that thing somehow, but I don't how good I'll be able to hold it down." He raises his arms in order to show the absence of his muscles, though realizes that in his thick winter clothing even he looks rather bulky.

((Sagishi has negative strength. He will not be good at holding anything down.))

 

[Claire Delune]

As Fhiess looks around the immediate area, he's able to pick out at least a few rocky outcroppings that look like they would be possible to climb with the right kind of gear--which, fortunately for him, the party happens to have in rather significant quantity--for everyone except Ludwig. The outcropping themselves are a few dozen feet apart from one another, however, so getting from one to the other without setting foot on the snow and possibly alerting the predators lurking below would be a challenge. Even if that were not the case, there's no telling if the outcroppings end past the brood's hunting grounds or smack dab in the middle of it.

 

[MoonlitBow]

Once Fhiess spots advantageous terrain that cannot be as easily melted by heated burrowing, he turns his gaze to Thosar to report, "I see much rocky high ground here, but.. The cliffs are too steep and jagged for Ludwig to climb even with our gear."

 

[Noisy Ninj4]

Thosar ponder the quandry for a moment. "You know, I don't think these things are all that fast. What if we simply had Ludwig pull the rest of us along on a sled so we could outrun them? We could fashion one using a rowboat and some rope."

 

[Eternal Song]

"No, no, Sagishi," Galen says, shaking his head slightly, "we'd be securing the ropes somehow so we didn't have to hold on to them. The idea is to tie it up -if we only come across one- and get a bit of distance. Even if it breaks loose, which I would hope is not the case, it would provide the opportunity for at least a couple shots during a time of minimal danger." He seems a bit amused.

But when Thosar brings his idea before the group, Galen nods his head enthusiastically. "That could work. It could really work." A beat. "Or maybe we could make the boat fly?"

Galen does not seem to have any idea how fast these things may be.

 

[Noisy Ninj4]

Thosar tries to remember what he can about Remorhazes. Especially how fast the can move.
((What does Thosar know about Remorhazes?
Arcana: 1D20+1D4+10 = [19]+[1]+10 = 30))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((I'm in!))

Ludwig nods and says "You know Keranos, it's not exactly my area of expertise either."

On dealing with the potential beasties, he says "Hopefully, we can avoid them sans stealth if we hang a sharp east as sooner as we exit up here. If not, you get that rope around it Sagishi and while I may not be able to overpower a giant flaming hate worm, I can give it a go. Unless outrunning it is an option after all."

He looks at Thosar expectantly.

 

[Jackben]

((Subbed like a sandwich))

 

[Claire Delune]

Thosar tries to remember what he can about Remorhazes. Especially how fast the can move.
((What does Thosar know about Remorhazes?
Arcana: 1D20+1D4+10 = [19]+[1]+10 = 30))

Click to shrink...

((I feel like that should be a nature check, but I'm also pretty sure I've been letting you make Arcana checks this whole time...))

While remorhazes have an impressive burrowing speed, they don't move at such a pace that they can't be outrun by most humanoids. Above ground, they're slightly faster, though perhaps not as much as their multitudinous legs would indicate. They are ambush predators, after all, and have a limited tolerance for actually pursuing prey that can run as fast as they can.

All things being equal, Ludwig hauling everyone in a rowboat as an erstwhile sled would easily outpace even an adult remorhaz starting from the same position.

 

[Noisy Ninj4]

((With magical creatures like this, it's sort of a toss up.))
After trying to remember his Arctic Horrors fun facts, Thosar is able to recall that a Remorhaz is at best no faster than the average human. "Ah ha! Yes, Ludwig would easily outpace any of those things, even fully grown ones. Especially true if we can harry them from the boat. So.. shall I take out our impromptu sled?" He reaches into the cloak, ready to retrieve a boat-shaped patch in it.

((For those not on Discord, a small bit of song for what is about to occur:
Dashing through the snow
In a one giraffe open boat
Over the holes we go
Smashing as we gloat
Spells and arrows sling
Setting worms alight
What fun it is to ride and sing
A slaying song tonight))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

With Thosar's confirmation, Ludwig says "Well then, sounds like I'm going to be hauling ass." To get ready for the impending run, he begins stretching and doing calisthenics to the extent their current space will let him.

 

[MoonlitBow]

Fhiess nods, "Yes! That is a clever idea, although I would feel bad for Ludwig having to drag all of us while running at full speed."

 

[Eternal Song]

"I think it's likely Ludwig would prefer pulling a boat through a sea of ice and snow over facing off with a group of dangerous monsters," Galen says when Fhiess voices his thoughts. "He seems to be accepting of the idea, at least. Perhaps you would like to be an extra set of eyes to help him watch for trouble?"

To Thosar, Galen quickly adds, "Any idea how big the boat is?"

 

[Noisy Ninj4]

Shrugging, the elf replies. "It should be about twelve feet, only one way to be sure though." He tears off a boat patch, placing it on the snow as it grows into a full size rowboat.

 

[Claire Delune]

((Any objections/last minute actions before we proceed with this plan?))

 

[Eternal Song]

((Before this lovely boat ride begins, I am curious as to Fhiess' answer to Galen's suggestion of being an extra set of eyes for Ludwig.))

 

[MoonlitBow]

<Sorry about that, I forgot that was asked.>

Fhiess nods, "If I am to be his eyes, then perhaps I should ride on his back so it will be easier for him to hear me if I notice something important."

 

[Eternal Song]

((It's fine. I wasn't sure you even had a chance to answer, and wanted to make sure you could. Perhaps Fhiess could sit on Ludwig's head.))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

In response to Fheiss's concerns, Ludwig says "It should be fine, especially with you guys slinging spells and attacks at the monsters. Though if you all can spare any strength and stamina supporting spells, that'll make the run less risky for sure."

 

[MoonlitBow]

Fhiess nods, then asks Ludwig to sit down so that he can climb onto the J'Raffa and prepare to carry out the plan.

 

[Nezumi]

Ever since their plan to outrun the ice worms in a boat-sled had taken shape, Sagishi hasn't stopped grinning. Now this was exactly the type of thing he had always imagined heroes would do. Once the boat is in place he jumps in, he fastens some ropes around him and gets his crossbow ready.
"Let's go then!" he says with a gleeful smile.

 

[Claire Delune]

((Soundtrack))​

Remorhazes are dangerous on their own in isolation, so engaging a whole nest of them seems the height of foolhardiness. To this end, the Endowed concoct a scheme to evade the whole lot of them: Ludwig, being the powerful J'raffa warrior that he is, can more than easily outrun the creatures, even when hauling a boat loaded with the rest of the party in his wake. The plan, then, is to make a mad dash for safety and trust in their quadruped friend's might to see them through to safety. All the same, it never hurts to be prepared, so ranged weapons and spells are prepared to fend off any remorhazes that might get within striking distance of the little rowboat.

Ludwig strains against the load to overcome the initial friction but gradually works his way up to full speed, the keel of the rowboat slicing through the snow as it would water. It is not a smooth ride, as the minor variations in the landscape and elevation are not as giving as waves on a body of water. From his perch on Ludwig's back, Fhiess is afforded a generous view of the surrounding area, but those in the back are nearly blinded by the spray of snow blowing in their faces if they try to look forward.

For several minutes, Ludwig continues his pace unabated, and some of those in the boat begin to wonder if they were not lucky enough to have evaded the nest altogether. A wailing screech puts this notion to rest as the first of the remorhazes breaches the surface of the snow off the port side. It arcs through the air like a great insectile serpent before striking the surface and rushing after the boat as fast as its many clawed legs can carry it. Unable to keep pace, it eventually relents, unleashing the screaming cry of a thwarted predator.

Answering cries fill the air as the snow all around churns with movement beneath the surface.

 

[ThLunarian]

Keranos is highly skeptical of this plan from the beginning, but, lacking a better one, he silently agrees to go along with it.

In the makeshift bobsled, he sinks as low as possible to guard against being thrown overboard.

When the first otherworldly shriek sounds, he tries to bring his head up to see what's happening, only to be met with a face full of stinging, wet, cold. He shakes it off and ducks down again. He desperately wants to disembody himself and get a bird's eye view of what's happening, but with the boat thrashing about as violently as it is, he can't risk allowing his body to go limp.

With little recourse, Keranos must sit back and wait for events to unfold.

He finds that he likes this lack of control even less than he liked being stuck underground for two weeks.

 

[Nezumi]

((What checks does Sagishi need to be standing upright, whooping with excitement and shooting his crossbow at the worms, need?))

 

[MoonlitBow]

Perception: (Roll: 1d20 + 9), rolled 21. (12, 9)
Perception Advantage: (Roll: 1d20 + 9), rolled 24. (15, 9)

At first, Fhiess squints his eyes when the monstrous cries fill the air, but once he is able to opens them and looks past Ludwig's neck to keep a watch for obstacles and any of the monsters that may be jumping out in front. He will tell Ludwig where everything is coming from.

 

[Claire Delune]

((What checks does Sagishi need to be standing upright, whooping with excitement and shooting his crossbow at the worms, need?))

Click to shrink...

((Acrobatics check to stand up, and your attacks are at disadvantage))

Perception: (Roll: 1d20 + 9), rolled 21. (12, 9)
Perception Advantage: (Roll: 1d20 + 9), rolled 24. (15, 9)

At first, Fhiess squints his eyes when the monstrous cries fill the air, but once he is able to opens them and looks past Ludwig's neck to keep a watch for obstacles and any of the monsters that may be jumping out in front. He will tell Ludwig where everything is coming from.

Click to shrink...

Riding atop Ludwig's back as the J'raffa continues his loping gallop, Fhiess is the first to see the problem with the off-the-cuff land speed calculations of Ludwig versus a remorhaz from the same starting position. Namely, it fails to take into account the pursuit speed of any of the worm-like creatures that would happen to be in front of Ludwig and the boat. A swell of snow on the starboard side is moving on a direct intercept course with Ludwig's current trajectory.

 

[MoonlitBow]

In a near panic, Fhiess points ahead to where the creatures are trying to ambush them, "L-ludwig!! To our right! We're heading straight toward them! We have to turn against their direction quickly!"

 

[Nezumi]

Acrobatics: Nezumi rolled 25. (19, 6)

As they plough through the snow, Sagishi laughs with pure joy. He jumps to his feet feet having no trouble at all keeping his balance in the bumping boat. It is only when he notices the worms diving in and out of the snow around them that he remembers the danger that the are in. Hastely he takes aim at the nearest beast...

Nezumi rolled 9. (3, 6)

but as it turns out, holding your balance in a swaying boat and shooting bolts at the same time, are two very different things all together he realizes as his bolts vanish somewhere in the snow far away from any worms whatsoever.

 

[Noisy Ninj4]

Hearing that trouble is on its way, Thosar risks a peek to the right. "Shit..." In an effort to divert attention, Thosar reaches into the cloak again, this time pulling out patch from it shaped like a bulky dog. He tosses it overboard onto the powder, muttering a quiet apology to the doomed canine, then shouts up toward Fheiss. "Hey! Fheiss! If one of those things starboard gets within fifteen feet of us, call it out!"

((Using a mastiff patch on the cloak. Gonna use Thunderwave if a Rehmoraz gets within 15 feet. I'll portent it so it rolls a 9 for a saving throw.))

 

[Eternal Song]

((Lets see, where are we... Oh.

What would I need for Galen to, by default, shoot at any Remorhaz he sees? With a longbow that has a 150/600 range and a third shot for any that are within 5 feet of one of his targets.))

 

[Claire Delune]

((You can ready an action to attack when one pops up, they have total cover while submerged. Any attacks would be at disadvantage unless you have any class or background feature to counteract the fact that both you and your target are moving, your visibility is impaired by the snow spray, and the boat is moving irraticly.))

 

[Eternal Song]

((Yeah, disadvantage was kind of a given.

As always, here's how these rolls are working in case I mess something up:
Attack: 1d20+(3)Dex+(3)Proficiency+(2)Archery Style
Damage: (longbow)1d8+(3)Dex

Clearly no Hunter's Mark on this one. Let's go!))

Spoiler: Readied Attack Action:

Attack:[9]+3+3+2=17
Disadvantage:[16]+3+3+2=24

Damage:[6]+3=9

 

[Noisy Ninj4]

((Actually, if we aren't exactly in combat time, Thosar will go ahead and cast Bless on Ludwig, Sagishi, Keranos, Galen, and Himself with a level 3 slot. That pushback on eldritch blast may come in very handy here...))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

As a remhoraz begins to approach from the starboard, Ludwig says "ShiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIT!!" and begins to swerve away from it.

((Do I need to roll anything?))

 

[Claire Delune]

((No need to roll for that, no.))

 

[Claire Delune]

Having always lived something of a charmed life, Sagishie relishes the excitement of the current predicament, showing off his dextrous balancing skills as he stands up in the wildly rocking boat. He laughs as he fires his crossbow to no effect while Keranos huddles in the bottom of the boat wishing for the whole ordeal to end and Galen sits at the ready with an arrow nocked in his bow. For added measure, Thosar casts a spell upon the party to enhance their attacking power should it come to that.

Fhiess calls out the approach of a remorhaz from the right, and Ludwig adjusts course to evade its intercept course. Thinking quickly, Thosar tears one of the patches representing a bullmastiff off the cloak of useful items and tosses it overboard. Muffy springs into existence fully formed, with a love of playing fetch, chasing wagons, and playing on the beach. "Is this my friend?" is the first, last, and only thought that goes through her canine mind before the remorhaz aborts its pursuit of the boat and tears her limb from limb.

At nearly the same time, another of the beasts that was either clever or lucky enough to remain still to avoid detection erupts from the ice and snow to the port side as Ludwig dashes by, but almost immediately retreats screaming back into its burrow as Galen shoots an arrow straight down its gullet. Looking back, it appears that two of the monsters are fighting over what remains of Muffy, while the one wounded by Galen has been turned upon by its brethren, opting for the easy kill over the difficult chase.

Something niggles at the back of Thosar's mind, having put so much of his thought into the nature and behavior of remorhazes in the very recent past.

Spoiler

Large as they are, these are all still well below their full size. So far you have only encountered juveniles.

 

[MoonlitBow]

Witnessing the horrific outcome befalling the sacrificial canine brings a bit of heartache.. but it gives him an idea. "Tease the realm of reality- with nothing more than hope!," Fhiess calls out, turning while clinging to the J'Raffa's neck with one arm, gesturing a hand out with another to call forth a thick, cluttered visage of various fowl fluttering and flickering about with major image. He hopes the spell will distract them enough before they leave its range.