Encounter 0-0: The Incident at Warminster Keep

[jokomaisu]

 

Encounter 0-0: The Incident at Warminster Keep Mission Investigate what happened to the Mithral Hope, an adventuring group known for hunting bandits and small demon cults who sought to bring the Grayhaunt Order to justice at Warminster Keep over a week ago and never returned. Map Fighter - Shocker Cleric - SMARTAgentKC Wizard - Merbak Ranger - Morphing Rogue - Wizard of the Coat Combat Rules Block Initiative Creatures working together can take their turn in any order before any opposing creature or the end of the round. Escalating Combat Rounds All attack rolls receive a positive modifier equal to the round of combat. All saving throws receive a negative modifier equal to the round of combat. Surprise rounds do not include this modifier (they are treated as round 0). Basic Combat Maneuvers The Basic Combat Maneuvers can be used in this encounter. Minions A minion is a weak foe. However, minions still make threatening foes. Killing a minion still requires penetrating their defenses, and characters can’t just shrug off damage from minion attacks. Every minion has the Minion trait, which affects the creature in the following ways: If the minion takes any damage from an attack or as the result of a failed saving throw, their hit points are reduced to 0. If the minion takes damage from another effect, they die if the damage equals or exceeds their hit point maximum; otherwise, they take no damage. Overkill Attacks Powerful weapon attacks can kill more than one minion in a single maneuver called an overkill attack. When a weapon attack’s damage does exceed the target minion’s hit point maximum, the attack becomes an overkill attack and the damage dealt beyond the minion’s hit point maximum becomes overkill damage. Overkill damage can be applied to a second minion who has the same stat block as the target and is in overkill range (see below). Damage against the second minion is counted as if you made a weapon attack against them; since it only takes 1 point of weapon damage to reduce a minion to 0 hit points, any amount of overkill damage immediately knocks them out. But wait, it gets better—if the initial attack’s overkill damage exceeds the second minion’s hit point maximum, the leftover overkill damage can roll over to a third minion, and so on! In other words, for each time the overkill damage exceeds the new target’s hit point maximum, the attacker can choose an additional minion to reduce to 0 hit points. For example, when a weapon attack deals 18 damage to a minion with a hit point maximum of 5, the overkill damage is 13. If there are three additional minions of the same stat block in overkill range, they can all three be immediately reduced to 0 hit points, since the overkill damage exceeded the target’s hit point maximum more than twice over. Overkill attacks can’t be made as part of an opportunity attack. Overkill Range Minions must be within a certain range to qualify for an overkill attack, determined by whether the attack is a melee or ranged attack. Melee Overkill Attacks. When a creature hits a minion with a melee weapon attack, other minions within reach of the attack are in overkill range and can be chosen as additional targets for an overkill attack. The overkill attack can’t target minions outside the weapon attack’s reach. Ranged Overkill Attacks. When a creature hits a minion with a ranged weapon attack, other minions in a line originating from the creature in the direction of the target, to a distance equal to the weapon’s short range, are in overkill range and can be chosen as additional targets for an overkill attack. The overkill attack can’t target minions outside the line or beyond the weapon’s short range. Environment Details Moat*: 5 feet from the surface to the top of the bank, ????? feet deep Outer Keep Walls**: 15 feet high exterior, 10 feet high interior, three-quarters cover from the exterior wall, outlined in dashed white line Inner Keep Walls**: 20 feet high exterior, 15 feet high interior, three-quarters cover from the exterior wall, outlined in dashed white line Rubble: difficult terrain, indicated with a white triangle in the upper right corner Boulders***: 5 feet high, outlined in dashed white line Foliage: difficult terrain, indicated with a white triangle in the upper right corner, can be used to hide, outlined in a dashed green line Tree Cover: from 10 feet to 20 feet up, provides three-quarters cover for opponents under and above, outlined in dashed orange line Bones: not to scale (small and medium creature remains), NOT difficult terrain, and there to show that they are scattered in the general area Fungal Growth: difficult terrain, yellow section outlined in dashed yellow line *Athletics (STR) DC 10 to climb onto the bank, or DC 15 if the bank is difficult terrain **Athletics (STR) DC 20 to climb, or DC 15 from a section that has rubble at the base ***Athletics (STR) DC 10 to climb Grayhaunt Order Rightfully reviled for their desecrations, the Grayhaunt Order’s necromancers and gruesome creations seek power over the living by defiling the natural order of death. If left to perfect their insidious rituals and gather corpses, they will certainly amass a scourge of undeath and seize the world in an unliving grip. Background The Grayhaunt Order serves no ambitions save their own. Each member was shunned for their unique blasphemies, but they otherwise escaped their crimes’ consequences. Though the Grayhaunt Order’s allies are few, they animate those they lack into a horde of undead minions. Goals Though each necromancer in the Grayhaunt Order has a unique dark dream, together they are committed to conquest through undeath. Condemned for their forbidden pursuits, the order also harbors festering grudges against those who vilified them. All who obstruct the Grayhaunt Order’s aspirations will suffer a thousandfold in the glorious dead world to come. Though these necromancers seek to animate an army, they’re unsatisfied with the husks of mere commoners. The Grayhaunt Order unearths the graves of great heroes and reanimates their bones, flesh, or spirits. With the power of legends at their command, the Grayhaunt Order will topple kingdoms and strike fear into the hearts of their sworn enemies. Methods The Grayhaunt Order roams the world, learning folklore to track down the graves of renowned heroes. They camp near graveyards and burial grounds. Under the cover of night, they are remorseless graverobbers, picking burial plots clean. They have no respect for local traditions or beliefs, using corpses as fodder to reach their true prize. If discovered, the Grayhaunt Order shows no mercy to opposition. Meddlers just provide additional corpses and all the better if those come from adventurers with dreams of glory and bleeding hearts. Members Lethari Sangre Treasured as a wizard prodigy in her youth, Lethari flourished under the protection and opportunities afforded her. As the half-elf grew into an insatiable arcane scholar, mentors assumed her academic interest in necromancy was mere morbid curiosity, but her fascination soon became experimentation with the forbidden. Lethari dreamed of cheating death and ruling forever - a privilege she believed the universe owed her brilliance - and her devoted bodyguard Haldrun only encouraged her ambitions. Lethari's teachers finally saw the evil in her and forbade any further dalliances with necromancy. But the young mage had already tasted power, and she killed her ignorant teachers and took their spellbooks. Determined to become a lich, Lethari founded the Grayhaunt Order, gathering other necromancers to work toward her grand vision. While she is skilled in all aspects of necromancy, Lethari specializes in the incorporeal: subjugating spirits, binding souls, and empowering her magic with such essences. Haldrun Yandris Haldrun trained for battle from his youth. After proving his dedication to the art of war, the human was assigned as bodyguard to the brilliant young mage Lethari. When she showed Haldrun kindness and trust, he repaid it in kind, sharing his darkest secret with her. Haldrun supported his charge's macabre passions from the start - in part due to his devotion to her, but also driven by the euphoria he feels when a life slips away under his hand. The warrior enjoys killing in Lethari's name, knowing his corpses help build the Grayhaunt Order. Jovan Palance A human apostate cleric, Jovan, serves a being called Nerull who claims to be a trapped and forgotten god of death. Nerull promised Jovan unimaginable power in exchange for freedom. To free his lord, Jovan defiled the bones of entombed saints for a profane ritual, only to be caught before he could complete the spell. His imminent execution was interrupted by Lethari and Haldrun, who cut their way through the guards and executioner to recruit Jovan into the Grayhaunt Order. Jovan's cold and callous demeanor belies a fervent faith in Nerull. He excels in magics that manipulate bones, and he uses corporeal undead to defend and bolster his allies. Myrel A peculiar tiefling with a distracted air, Myrel's body is crisscrossed with yellow veins of a beautiful parasitic fungus. She has developed a symbiotic relationship with her fungus, which she adores and has named Golden Creep. Myrel dreams of cultivating a garden to cover the entire world—a dream that quickly put her at odds with the people of her home village, for this fungus grows best in the dying bodies of humanoids … and if those bodies are later reanimated, it continues to thrive in their undead husks. After Myrel was caught slaughtering neighbors to serve as zombified hosts for her blossoms, the villagers captured the necromancer, planning to burn her and her creations. The Grayhaunt Order intervened by killing the villagers, saving Myrel, and bringing her into their fold. She specializes in cultivating Golden Creep in the cavities of undead and spreading it across the field of battle, hindering and enervating her foes.

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As the group made their way toward what remained of the south entrance of the keep's courtyard, all seemed to be still and nothing out of the ordinary was heard.

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GM

Enzio

Boots of Elvenkind: steps make no sound, advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks to move silently.

Potion of Climbing: climbing speed equal to your walking speed, advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks to climb, will last for the entire encounter.

Hadrian

Shield of Faith: +2 AC, will last for the entire encounter unless concentration is broken or the spell is dropped.

Iata

Potion of Climbing: climbing speed equal to your walking speed, advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks to climb, will last for the entire encounter.

All

For your next turn, treat it as a round of combat, but it does not count as a round of combat. This means that your movement is now limited by your speed. We have not rolled for initiative, but everyone must wait for Enzio to take his turn first, then everyone else can go in any order.

Only Enzio is alerted and gets both a move and an action. Everyone else is not alerted, so they only get an action, unless they are alerted by Enzio, in which case they get both a move and an action. Don't forget that you can use an action to Dash.

From his starting location, Enzio can alert any of his companions as a free action by speaking at a normal volume from his location. He can whisper instead to alert only Jezelle and Dalrom. He can use an action to wave at Hadrian to alert him. He is unable to see Iata.

Edited October 30, 2023 by jokomaisu (see edit history)

[Wizard of the Coat]

 Enzio Belch - Small of Stature, Large of Personality (Halfling Rogue--Thief)

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AC 14  | HP 21/21 | Init +3 | Passive Perception 12 | Hit Die 3/3 | Inspiration 1/1 | Arrows 20/20

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Enzio turned suddenly, facing the direction from which he'd come. He let out a low appreciative whistle before turning back to his scattered companions. He no longer bothered to hush his voice, given how spread out his companions had scattered. "One of their scouts is a tiefling female. I didn't get a good look: decent figure, but with skin the color of lavender in full bloom." The knave sighed in appreciation. "I'd give her a seven for the skin alone. Can't judge definitively until I get a better look."

As an afterthought, he added, "She ran off between the far west outer and inner wallsSee red arrow on map.. Probably bait for their ambush."

Upon further consideration, Ezio shrugged, adding, "Or maybe she was hoping we'd run blindly after her--through that patch of queer looking yellow mold over there."

He pointed to the patch of mold. And then, frowning, stepped further away from the stuff, to a position at the center of his companions.

"Should we go after her?"

 

OOC

Enzio's movement within the Keep will be combined with a Stealth check. He is trying to move silently and use the ruins around him as cover or partial cover as much as possible.

 

 

 

Edited October 30, 2023 by Wizard of the Coat (see edit history)

[jokomaisu]

 

 

Encounter 0-0: The Incident at Warminster Keep Mission Investigate what happened to the Mithral Hope, an adventuring group known for hunting bandits and small demon cults who sought to bring the Grayhaunt Order to justice at Warminster Keep over a week ago and never returned. Map Fighter - Shocker Cleric - SMARTAgentKC Wizard - Merbak Ranger - Morphing Rogue - Wizard of the Coat Combat Rules Block Initiative Creatures working together can take their turn in any order before any opposing creature or the end of the round. Escalating Combat Rounds All attack rolls receive a positive modifier equal to the round of combat. All saving throws receive a negative modifier equal to the round of combat. Surprise rounds do not include this modifier (they are treated as round 0). Basic Combat Maneuvers The Basic Combat Maneuvers can be used in this encounter. Minions A minion is a weak foe. However, minions still make threatening foes. Killing a minion still requires penetrating their defenses, and characters can’t just shrug off damage from minion attacks. Every minion has the Minion trait, which affects the creature in the following ways: If the minion takes any damage from an attack or as the result of a failed saving throw, their hit points are reduced to 0. If the minion takes damage from another effect, they die if the damage equals or exceeds their hit point maximum; otherwise, they take no damage. Overkill Attacks Powerful weapon attacks can kill more than one minion in a single maneuver called an overkill attack. When a weapon attack’s damage does exceed the target minion’s hit point maximum, the attack becomes an overkill attack and the damage dealt beyond the minion’s hit point maximum becomes overkill damage. Overkill damage can be applied to a second minion who has the same stat block as the target and is in overkill range (see below). Damage against the second minion is counted as if you made a weapon attack against them; since it only takes 1 point of weapon damage to reduce a minion to 0 hit points, any amount of overkill damage immediately knocks them out. But wait, it gets better—if the initial attack’s overkill damage exceeds the second minion’s hit point maximum, the leftover overkill damage can roll over to a third minion, and so on! In other words, for each time the overkill damage exceeds the new target’s hit point maximum, the attacker can choose an additional minion to reduce to 0 hit points. For example, when a weapon attack deals 18 damage to a minion with a hit point maximum of 5, the overkill damage is 13. If there are three additional minions of the same stat block in overkill range, they can all three be immediately reduced to 0 hit points, since the overkill damage exceeded the target’s hit point maximum more than twice over. Overkill attacks can’t be made as part of an opportunity attack. Overkill Range Minions must be within a certain range to qualify for an overkill attack, determined by whether the attack is a melee or ranged attack. Melee Overkill Attacks. When a creature hits a minion with a melee weapon attack, other minions within reach of the attack are in overkill range and can be chosen as additional targets for an overkill attack. The overkill attack can’t target minions outside the weapon attack’s reach. Ranged Overkill Attacks. When a creature hits a minion with a ranged weapon attack, other minions in a line originating from the creature in the direction of the target, to a distance equal to the weapon’s short range, are in overkill range and can be chosen as additional targets for an overkill attack. The overkill attack can’t target minions outside the line or beyond the weapon’s short range. Environment Details Moat*: 5 feet from the surface to the top of the bank, ????? feet deep Outer Keep Walls**: 15 feet high exterior, 10 feet high interior, three-quarters cover from the exterior wall, outlined in dashed white line Inner Keep Walls**: 20 feet high exterior, 15 feet high interior, three-quarters cover from the exterior wall, outlined in dashed white line Rubble: difficult terrain, indicated with a white triangle in the upper right corner Boulders***: 5 feet high, outlined in dashed white line Foliage: difficult terrain, indicated with a white triangle in the upper right corner, can be used to hide, outlined in a dashed green line Tree Cover: from 10 feet to 20 feet up, provides three-quarters cover for opponents under and above, outlined in dashed orange line Bones: not to scale (small and medium creature remains), NOT difficult terrain, and there to show that they are scattered in the general area Fungal Growth: difficult terrain, yellow section outlined in dashed yellow line *Athletics (STR) DC 10 to climb onto the bank, or DC 15 if the bank is difficult terrain **Athletics (STR) DC 20 to climb, or DC 15 from a section that has rubble at the base ***Athletics (STR) DC 10 to climb Grayhaunt Order Rightfully reviled for their desecrations, the Grayhaunt Order’s necromancers and gruesome creations seek power over the living by defiling the natural order of death. If left to perfect their insidious rituals and gather corpses, they will certainly amass a scourge of undeath and seize the world in an unliving grip. Background The Grayhaunt Order serves no ambitions save their own. Each member was shunned for their unique blasphemies, but they otherwise escaped their crimes’ consequences. Though the Grayhaunt Order’s allies are few, they animate those they lack into a horde of undead minions. Goals Though each necromancer in the Grayhaunt Order has a unique dark dream, together they are committed to conquest through undeath. Condemned for their forbidden pursuits, the order also harbors festering grudges against those who vilified them. All who obstruct the Grayhaunt Order’s aspirations will suffer a thousandfold in the glorious dead world to come. Though these necromancers seek to animate an army, they’re unsatisfied with the husks of mere commoners. The Grayhaunt Order unearths the graves of great heroes and reanimates their bones, flesh, or spirits. With the power of legends at their command, the Grayhaunt Order will topple kingdoms and strike fear into the hearts of their sworn enemies. Methods The Grayhaunt Order roams the world, learning folklore to track down the graves of renowned heroes. They camp near graveyards and burial grounds. Under the cover of night, they are remorseless graverobbers, picking burial plots clean. They have no respect for local traditions or beliefs, using corpses as fodder to reach their true prize. If discovered, the Grayhaunt Order shows no mercy to opposition. Meddlers just provide additional corpses and all the better if those come from adventurers with dreams of glory and bleeding hearts. Members Lethari Sangre Treasured as a wizard prodigy in her youth, Lethari flourished under the protection and opportunities afforded her. As the half-elf grew into an insatiable arcane scholar, mentors assumed her academic interest in necromancy was mere morbid curiosity, but her fascination soon became experimentation with the forbidden. Lethari dreamed of cheating death and ruling forever - a privilege she believed the universe owed her brilliance - and her devoted bodyguard Haldrun only encouraged her ambitions. Lethari's teachers finally saw the evil in her and forbade any further dalliances with necromancy. But the young mage had already tasted power, and she killed her ignorant teachers and took their spellbooks. Determined to become a lich, Lethari founded the Grayhaunt Order, gathering other necromancers to work toward her grand vision. While she is skilled in all aspects of necromancy, Lethari specializes in the incorporeal: subjugating spirits, binding souls, and empowering her magic with such essences. Haldrun Yandris Haldrun trained for battle from his youth. After proving his dedication to the art of war, the human was assigned as bodyguard to the brilliant young mage Lethari. When she showed Haldrun kindness and trust, he repaid it in kind, sharing his darkest secret with her. Haldrun supported his charge's macabre passions from the start - in part due to his devotion to her, but also driven by the euphoria he feels when a life slips away under his hand. The warrior enjoys killing in Lethari's name, knowing his corpses help build the Grayhaunt Order. Jovan Palance A human apostate cleric, Jovan, serves a being called Nerull who claims to be a trapped and forgotten god of death. Nerull promised Jovan unimaginable power in exchange for freedom. To free his lord, Jovan defiled the bones of entombed saints for a profane ritual, only to be caught before he could complete the spell. His imminent execution was interrupted by Lethari and Haldrun, who cut their way through the guards and executioner to recruit Jovan into the Grayhaunt Order. Jovan's cold and callous demeanor belies a fervent faith in Nerull. He excels in magics that manipulate bones, and he uses corporeal undead to defend and bolster his allies. Myrel A peculiar tiefling with a distracted air, Myrel's body is crisscrossed with yellow veins of a beautiful parasitic fungus. She has developed a symbiotic relationship with her fungus, which she adores and has named Golden Creep. Myrel dreams of cultivating a garden to cover the entire world—a dream that quickly put her at odds with the people of her home village, for this fungus grows best in the dying bodies of humanoids … and if those bodies are later reanimated, it continues to thrive in their undead husks. After Myrel was caught slaughtering neighbors to serve as zombified hosts for her blossoms, the villagers captured the necromancer, planning to burn her and her creations. The Grayhaunt Order intervened by killing the villagers, saving Myrel, and bringing her into their fold. She specializes in cultivating Golden Creep in the cavities of undead and spreading it across the field of battle, hindering and enervating her foes.

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GM

Enzio

Boots of Elvenkind: steps make no sound, advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks to move silently.

Potion of Climbing: climbing speed equal to your walking speed, advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks to climb, will last for the entire encounter.

Hadrian

Shield of Faith: +2 AC, will last for the entire encounter unless concentration is broken or the spell is dropped.

Iata

Potion of Climbing: climbing speed equal to your walking speed, advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks to climb, will last for the entire encounter.

All

Treat your next turn as a round of combat, but it does not count as a round of combat. This means that your movement is now limited by your speed. You can take your turn in any order.

Everyone has been alerted by Enzio and gets both a move and an action. Don't forget that you can use an action to Dash.

Fungal Growth has been added to the Environment Details above.

Edited October 30, 2023 by jokomaisu (see edit history)

[Shocker]

Hadrian, Human Fighter

 

AC 14, Initiative +3, 28/28 HP, 13 Passive perception

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"Following somebody into a possible ambush sounds like a recipe for disaster, but meeting them from the other side, might be more succesful. How about we cut through the courtyard towards that spot you mentioned?"

 

Hadrian carefully moves 30 ft toward the opposite corner of the fortification without making to much noise, trying to take a peak around the corner. to see if he can get a better picture.

 

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OOC with a natural one I assume that attempt at stealth might be not overly successful. After making a racket Hadrian will curse loudly.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Shocker (see edit history)

[Wizard of the Coat]

Enzio Belch - Small of Stature, Large of Personality (Halfling Rogue--Thief)

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AC 14  | HP 21/21 | Init +3 | Passive Perception 12 | Hit Die 3/3 | Inspiration 1/1 | Arrows 20/20

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Enzio shrugged and nodded before sneaking after Hadrian. The human generally had good sense, and Enzio preferred to let others do the thinking in situations like this. The halfling found tactics and strategic thinking rather exhausting. His eyes darted about as he went, fearful of tiefling ambushers, but that thought turned his attention back to the lavender-skinned female, and he soon forgot all about ambushers.

OOC

Enzio will use stealth to follow Hadrian.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Wizard of the Coat (see edit history)

[SMARTAgentKC]

Dalrom Chetsk - AC 18 | HP 27/27 | Initiative: -1 | Spell Slots 3/2 Condition: Concentrating on Shield of Faith over Hadrian

Dalrom slowly advanced keeping an eye out for anything judging by Enzio's signals he figured the halfling rogue saw something and informed the others who were now taking it cautiously. Dalrom was ready for combat

[Morphling]

Iata hunches down and stalks across the crumbling parapet, taking the time to look for any threats.