Chapter 1: Death House

[emotionaut]

Joliet

---

HP:   12/12

AC:   14

Init:  +3

PP:   13

FeaturesSecond Wind: 0/1
Languages: Common, Paridon Creole

ConditionNormal

Ammo⁍⁍⁍⁍⁍⁍

IC

As Altaïr moves further into the room and discovers the apparition, Joliet shouts back to the others, "Look alive! Room's occupied, and it ain't the nanny!"

 

With the others warned, she then leaps into action, rolling around Altaïr's back. She then vaults atop the bed, grabbing one of the foot posts and swinging around to the far side of the specter. She lands in a half crouch and brings her revolver to bear. "Mornin', sweetheart!"

 

She pulls the trigger and puts a shot straight into the thing, then braces for another thrashing.

OOC

Move:  Moving to the far side of specter so Altaïr and I are flanking.

Action:  Pew pew!

Bonus Action:  n/a

Reaction:  n/a

Edited February 16, 2023 by emotionaut (see edit history)

[Mamori23]

  Altaïr Abd al-Aziz | HP: 12/12 | AC: 18 | Initiative: -1 | Passive Perception: 11

IC

Altaïr gaze shinned brighter at specter's reveal, whlist his heart hammered against his chest, within his spirit did it strike up at arms. The mind afraid, but soul daring to fight was confusing mix wrestling within the paladin. 

Yet, both argeed neither wanted to die in this dilapidated manor. 

"Fates be damned!" He cried, watching the speed of Joliet maneuver around in heartbeat it took for him to raise his sword up and slash down at the ghost as his ears ringed at her cries drowning out any sound. What else laid dead here and unwilling to move on? The question flashed over in his mind, trying to spot the manner of what held her here chained among the living. 

"Can a priest give a sermon for the women!? I think she's mad!"

OOC

Move:  Remaining in postion to take help Joliet flank. 

Action: Slash Slash with long sword (To Hit: 14, For Damage: 3)

Bonus Action:  n/a

Reaction:  n/a

 

Edited February 10, 2023 by Mamori23 (see edit history)

[Lukenary]

      

Giselle the Drowned

---

HP:   11/11  |   AC:   17  |   Init:  +3  |  PP:   11

Features

Divine Sense PHB, pg. 84
As an action, you can detect good and evil. Until the end of your next turn, you can sense anything affected by the hallow spell or know the location of any celestial, fiend, undead within 60 ft. that is not behind total cover. You can use this feature 4 times per long rest. 2/4

 

Lay on Hands PHB, pg. 84
You have a pool of healing power that can restore 5 HP per long rest. As an action, you can touch a creature to restore any number of HP remaining in the pool, or 5 HP to either cure a disease or neutralize a poison affecting the creature. 5/5

Traits

 

Darkvision BR, pg. 39
You can see in darkness (shades of gray) up to 60 ft.

 

Fey Ancestry BR, pg. 39
You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Spells

None

 

IC

Giselle's face hardened as she realized what was happening.  The apparition before her turned her blood to ice.  Either we've been lied to by the children... it's entirely possible they're part of this creature's lure.  Or it... took the babe.  And it's up to us to deliver justice.

 

She raises her rapier in salute as she charges in, taking up a third position around the haunt with Altair and Joliet.  "The stormclouds break. The rains cease.  And the morning sun will lay bare the threat you pose.  Begone, foul thing!"

OOC

Move: If possible to flank with Altair, I don't know if Joliet is in melee range.

Bonus Action: None.

Action:  Attack for Damage if successful.

Item Interaction:  None.

 

[Kavonde]

DYNAHEIR | HP 7/15 | AC 15 | Initiative +2 | Passive Perception 12

All the pain and low-humming anxiety suddenly rush out of Dynaheir as she sees her comrades rushing to engage another threat. Wood creaks beneath her hands as she tightens her grip on her greatsword and finds that place within her that she tapped into against the living armor. Driven by that mad courage, that primal strength, she charges forward to engage. "BUTT KICKING, FOR GOODNESS!"

 

OOC

Bonus Action: RAGE!

Move: Close to melee range with the monster.

Action: Attack!

 

[DoNotFearToTread]

Quick Stats

HP:   3/11

AC:   13 (no shield)

Init:  -1

PP:   13

Spell Slots: 0/2

Spells: Heroism [D], Sanctuary [D], Command, Cure Wounds, Protection from Good/Evil, Shield of Faith

Conditions:

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

There is everything wrong with this situation, the age of rooms and their lack of active presence for what must be years just the most obvious. It is clear that something lurks here but to think that a baby could survive this is absurd. Whatever evil lives in this place, they have no choice but to face it together. When Altair shouts the alarm, Sulimann lets the others move in a forward surge and follows them until he can plant himself in the doorway. He peer around it at the spectral woman and his eyes narrow at the scene.

"Benedictions against undeath usually require a body to be present. Wardings against undead aren't something I have experience with." In moving in to strike, the others had provided the woman with ample choice in who it might harm which limited his ability to provide any form of prevention. He could ward one against her evil only to have her attack another instead. Still, the best choice is not always the most obvious and while he can't deal with her incorporeal nature directly there are short cuts. Holding out one hand, he spreads his fingers wide and lowers his voice in tone but raises it in volume to try and grab the creature's attention.

"Be still, your suffering will be done soon." Pushing Eldath's power in his words, he then lays the crossbow over his forearm and takes aim in case the creature remains standing...err, floating...when a space to shoot clears out.

Actions

Move: Move to the doorway.

Action: Cast Command "halt" on the spirit to try and limit her actions. Wis save DC 13

[GreysonWulffe]

  

Shazzar | The Wizard   With so many already congregating by the doorway to what appears to be the nursery, Shazzar hesitates to step toward the fray. 'If I stand in the doorway, I might hamper the others' maneuvers,' the old wizard thinks, noting how athletic and acrobatic some of the party are moving, even in the limited space of the room.   'Then again, I might lose these fine fellows if I don't lend a hand,' he finally decides. He takes a deep breath and approaches the open doorway.   Carefully so as to not risk his own companions unnecessarily, he observes the battlefield, waiting for a clear line of sight to the shrieking specter. When he does find the opportunity, he thrusts his hand toward the creature and sends a fist-sized ball of fire hurtling toward it.

Stat Block Belshazzar "Shazzar" Zidon Male Human Cloistered-Scholar Wizard 1 hp 8/8 ▪ AC 15 (Mage Armor) ▪ Speed 30 ft HD 1d6 ▪ Proficiency +2 ▪ Initiative +2 ▪ Senses Passive Perception 11 STR 10 (+0) ▪ DEX 14 (+2) ▪ CON 14 (+2) ▪ INT 16 (+3) ▪ WIS 12 (+1) ▪ CHA 8 (-1) Saves Intelligence +5, Wisdom +3 Skills Arcana +5, History +5, Insight +3, Investigation +5 Languages Common, Draconic, Elvish, Infernal Features Arcane Recovery♦ Arcane Recovery ♦ You have learned to regain some of your magical energy by studying your spellbook. Once per day, when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level (rounded up), and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher. (1/1 use), Library Access♦ Library Access ♦ Though others must often endure extensive interviews and significant fees to gain access to even the most common archives in your library, you have free and easy access to the majority of the library, though it might also have repositories of lore that are too valuable, magical, or secret to permit anyone immediate access. You have a working knowledge of your cloister's personnel and bureaucracy, and you know how to navigate those connections with some ease. Additionally, you are likely to gain preferential treatment at other libraries across the Realms, as professional courtesy shown to a fellow scholar., Magic Initiate (Druid)♦ Magic Initiate (Druid) ♦ Choose a class: Druid. You learn two cantrips of your choice from that class's spell list: Guidance, Produce Flame In addition, choose one 1st-level spell to learn from that same list: Goodberry. Using this feat, you can cast the spell once at its lowest level, and you must finish a long rest before you can cast it in this way again. Your spellcasting ability for these spells depends on the class you chose: Wisdom for Druid., Ritual Casting♦ Ritual Casting ♦ You can cast a Wizard spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook. You don’t need to have the spell prepared., Spellbook♦ Spellbook ♦ At 1st level, you have a spellbook containing six 1st-level wizard spells of your choice. Your spellbook is the repository of the wizard spells you know, except your cantrips, which are fixed in your mind. The spells that you add to your spellbook as you gain levels reflect the arcane research you conduct on your own, as well as intellectual breakthroughs you have had about the nature of the multiverse. You might find other spells during your adventures. You could discover a spell recorded on a scroll in an evil wizard’s chest, for example, or in a dusty tome in an ancient library. ♦ Copying a Spell into the Book ♦ When you find a wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it. Copying that spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the wizard who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation. For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells. ♦ Replacing the Book ♦ You can copy a spell from your own spellbook into another book—for example, if you want to make a backup copy of your spellbook. This is just like copying a new spell into your spellbook, but faster and easier, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. You need spend only 1 hour and 10 gp for each level of the copied spell. If you lose your spellbook, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the spells that you have prepared into a new spellbook. Filling out the remainder of your spellbook requires you to find new spells to do so, as normal. For this reason, many wizards keep backup spellbooks in a safe place. ♦ The Book’s Appearance ♦ Your spellbook is a unique compilation of spells, with its own decorative flourishes and margin notes. It might be a plain, functional leather volume that you received as a gift from your master, a finely bound gilt-edged tome you found in an ancient library, or even a loose collection of notes scrounged together after you lost your previous spellbook in a mishap. Attacks  ▬ Dagger: Melee | +4 to hit | 1d4+2 piercing damage | finesse, light, thrown 20/40  ▬ Produce Flame: Ranged 30 | +3 to hit | 1d8 fire damage Spellcasting: Wizard | Spell Save DC 13, Spell Attack +5  ▬ Cantrips: Mage HandConjuration Casting Time: 1 action Range: 30 feet Target: A point you choose within range Components: V S Duration: 1 minute A spectral, floating hand appears at a point you choose within range. The hand lasts for the duration or until you dismiss it as an action. The hand vanishes if it is ever more than 30 feet away from you or if you cast this spell again. You can use your action to control the hand. You can use the hand to manipulate an object, open an unlocked door or container, stow or retrieve an item from an open container, or pour the contents out of a vial. You can move the hand up to 30 feet each time you use it. The hand can’t attack, activate magic items, or carry more than 10 pounds. Flavor: "Apókryfo chéri" The spectral hand seems to be made of bluish, wispy smoke. It is in the shape of Shazzar's wife's hand, as he remembers it, complete with the wedding band., Mind SliverEnchantment Casting Time: 1 action Range: 60 feet Components: V Duration: 1 round You drive a disorienting spike of psychic energy into the mind of one creature you can see within range. The target must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw or take 1d6 psychic damage and subtract 1d4 from the next saving throw it makes before the end of your next turn. At Higher Levels: This spell’s damage increases by 1d6 when you reach certain levels: 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6). Flavor: "Spáse to myaló sou", PrestidigitationTransmutation Casting Time: 1 action Range: 10 feet Target: See text Components: V S Duration: Up to 1 hour This spell is a minor magical trick that novice spellcasters use for practice. You create one of the following magical effects within range: ♦ You create an instantaneous, harmless sensory effect, such as a shower of sparks, a puff of wind, faint musical notes, or an odd odor. ♦ You instantaneously light or snuff out a candle, a torch, or a small campfire. ♦ You instantaneously clean or soil an object no larger than 1 cubic foot. ♦ You chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving material for 1 hour. ♦ You make a color, a small mark, or a symbol appear on an object or a surface for 1 hour. ♦ You create a nonmagical trinket or an illusory image that can fit in your hand and that lasts until the end of your next turn. If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to three of its non-instantaneous effects active at a time, and you can dismiss such an effect as an action. Flavor: "Mageía"  ▬ 1st (1/2 slots): Comprehend LanguagesDivination (Ritual) Casting Time: 1 action Range: Self Target: Self Components: V S M (A pinch of soot and salt) Duration: 1 hour For the duration, you understand the literal meaning of any spoken language that you hear. You also understand any written language that you see, but you must be touching the surface on which the words are written. It takes about 1 minute to read one page of text. This spell doesn’t decode secret messages in a text or a glyph, such as an arcane sigil, that isn’t part of a written language. Flavor: "Gnorízei óles tis glósses"®, *Detect MagicDivination (Ritual) Casting Time: 1 action Range: Self Target: Self Components: V S Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes For the duration, you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any. The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt. Flavor: "Epitrépste mou na do apókryfes ávres" For the duration of the spell, Shazzar's eyes turn into black, obsidian-like orbs that glow faintly with a pale-blue light.©®, Find FamiliarConjuration (Ritual) Casting Time: 1 hour Range: 10 feet Target: An unoccupied space within range Components: V S M (10 gp worth of charcoal, incense, and herbs that must be consumed by fire in a brass brazier) Duration: Instantaneous You gain the service of a familiar, a spirit that takes an animal form you choose: bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, fish (quipper), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel. Appearing in an unoccupied space within range, the familiar has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a celestial, fey, or fiend (your choice) instead of a beast. Your familiar acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A familiar can’t attack, but it can take other actions as normal. When the familiar drops to 0 hit points, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form. It reappears after you cast this spell again While your familiar is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an action, you can see through your familiar’s eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses. As an action, you can temporarily dismiss your familiar. It disappears into a pocket dimension where it awaits your summons. Alternatively, you can dismiss it forever. As an action while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 30 feet of you. You can’t have more than one familiar at a time. If you cast this spell while you already have a familiar, you instead cause it to adopt a new form. Choose one of the forms from the above list. Your familiar transforms into the chosen creature. Finally, when you cast a spell with a range of touch, your familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell. Your familiar must be within 100 feet of you, and it must use its reaction to deliver the spell when you cast it. If the spell requires an attack roll, you use your attack modifier for the roll. Flavor: "Akoúste to kálesmá mou, kollitós mou fíle" At the final stage of the spell, the fire turns a brilliant blue, and it is from this blue fire that the familiar explodes out of, extinguishing the fire at the same time.®, *Feather FallTransmutation Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take when you or a creature within 60 feet of you falls Range: 60 feet Target: Up to five falling creatures within range Components: V M (A small feather or piece of down) Duration: 1 minute Choose up to five falling creatures within range. A falling creature’s rate of descent slows to 60 feet per round until the spell ends. If the creature lands before the spell ends, it takes no falling damage and can land on its feet, and the spell ends for that creature. Flavor: "Sýllipsi" A magic circle that is about 1 foot across appears in the air, over the target's head. It would seem that an invisible energy is emanating from this circle to pull the target up, slowing their descent., *Mage ArmorAbjuration Casting Time: 1 action Range: Touch Target: A willing creature who isn't wearing armor Components: V S M (A piece of cured leather) Duration: 8 hours You touch a willing creature who isn’t wearing armor, and a protective magical force surrounds it until the spell ends. The target’s base AC becomes 13 + its Dexterity modifier. The spell ends if the target dons armor or if you dismiss the spell as an action. Flavor: "Panoplía tou apókryfou" Faintly-glowing pale-blue lines that form a continuous, geometric pattern appear on Shazzar's clothing. Whenever objects impact against him with considerable force, those lines flash mildly., *Magic MissileEvocation Casting Time: 1 action Range: 120 feet Target: A creature of your choice that you can see within range Components: V S Duration: Instantaneous You create three glowing darts of magical force. Each dart hits a creature of your choice that you can see within range. A dart deals 1d4 + 1 force damage to its target. The darts all strike simultaneously, and you can direct them to hit one creature or several. At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the spell creates one more dart for each slot above 1st. Flavor: "Apókryfa véli" Several fist-sized magic circles appear in the air around Shazzar, and darts of bluish energy shoot out of each one toward his targets.   Spellcasting: Magic Initiate (Druid) | Spell Save DC 11, Spell Attack +3  ▬ Cantrips: GuidanceDivination Casting Time: 1 action Range: Touch Target: One willing creature Components: V S Duration: Up to 1 minute You touch one willing creature. Once before the spell ends, the target can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to one ability check of its choice. It can roll the die before or after making the ability check. The spell then ends. Flavor: "Eíthe to Oghma na sas kathodigísei" The target feels a comforting warmth spread throughout their body, radiating Shazzar's hand., Produce FlameConjuration Casting Time: 1 action Range: Self Target: Self or a creature within 30 feet of you Components: V S Duration: 10 minutes A flickering flame appears in your hand. The flame remains there for the duration and harms neither you nor your equipment. The flame sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet. The spell ends if you dismiss it as an action or if you cast it again. You can also attack with the flame, although doing so ends the spell. When you cast this spell, or as an action on a later turn, you can hurl the flame at a creature within 30 feet of you. Make a ranged spell attack. On a hit, the target takes 1d8 fire damage. At Higher Levels: This spell's damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8). Flavor: "Apó to típota, fotiá" The flickering flame is a pale blue in color and takes on a teardrop shape.  ▬ 1st (1/1 use): GoodberryTransmutation Casting Time: 1 action Range: Touch Target: See text Components: V S M (A sprig of mistletoe) Duration: Instantaneous Up to ten berries appear in your hand and are infused with magic for the duration. A creature can use its action to eat one berry. Eating a berry restores 1 hit point, and the berry provides enough nourishment to sustain a creature for one day. The berries lose their potency if they have not been consumed within 24 hours of the casting of this spell. Flavor: "Threptiká moúra" The berries are perfect orbs in shape and have a perfect sheen to them. Equipment Spellbook, staff (arcane focus), scholar's robes, dagger, writing kit, borrowed book (Elminster's Treatise On The Arcane), belt pouch, backpack, bedroll, mess kit, tinderbox, 4 torches, 5 rations, waterskin, 50 ft of hemp rope, 12 gp, 5 sp, 5 cp Narra | The Familiar Owl (Tiny Fey) hp 1/1 ▪ AC 11 (Unarmored) ▪ Speed 5 ft, fly 60 ft. HD 1d4 ▪ Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 13 STR 3 (-4) ▪ DEX 13 (+1) ▪ CON 8 (-1) ▪ INT 2 (-4) ▪ WIS 12 (+1) ▪ CHA 7 (-2) Skills Perception +3, Stealth +3 Features FlybyThe owl doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy's reach., Keen Hearing & SightThe owl has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing and sight.; Deliver Touch SpellsWhen you Cast a Spell with a range of touch, your familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell. Your familiar must be within 100 feet of you, and it must use its Reaction to deliver the spell when you cast it. If the spell requires an Attack roll, you use your Attack modifier for the roll., Link With MasterWhile your familiar is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an Action, you can see through your familiar's eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any Special Senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own Senses., Pocket DimensionAs an Action, you can temporarily dismiss your familiar. It disappears into a pocket dimension where it awaits your summons. Alternatively, you can dismiss it forever. As an Action while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 30 feet of you.   OOC Move: Get close to the doorway until he gets a clear line of sight to the specter. Action: If he gets a clear line of sight, he will use Produce Flame on the specter.

 

֎ ֎ ֎

[Gregorotto]

  ⚔ Round I ⚔

The ghostly figure has appeared, terrible and flashing, barely illuminated, and prepares to lash out. But the heroes from Daggerford are ready for the specter.

Coming around the corner, Joliet situates herself on the opposite end of the spectral image in quick form, cocks her revolver, and takes aim, going straight through her head into the wall above Altaïr; viscus goo slops down upon the paladin, as he prepares to strike. Slicing through her, more viscus goes flying onto the bed as Dynaheir and Giselle file in, both getting their whacks in. All three feel something with their blows, but they watch them go right through, their blades stained with green... something. The spectral woman blinks, writhing, as Sulimann and Shazzar move to the door, spells at the ready.

Though raised in Thay, Sulimann is not well-versed enough in his new connection to his goddess to know the confines of the rote spell: it cannot command undeadPer the spell, undead are immune. Thus the command to halt is largely ignored, while the fire produced by Shazzar burns bright, the being looking at it as the fire hits it, passing through it and almost hitting Giselle: yet it still will not dissipate.

An unholy screech loosed, it rakes its claws at Altaïr, entering his chest. He feels cold fire enter him in his lungs, his heart, as claws squeeze and pullAttack 20 vs. AC 18, 10 necrotic damage. Altaïr must do a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or his permanent HP is reduced to 2 until his next Long Rest: nothing physical comes, but the damage is done. Completed, the specter attempts to fly into the ceiling and thus escape from the group.

Can they bring her down?

Out of Character

Initiative:
Party13
Specter2

Enemies:
Specter-AC 12, 3/22 HP

Begin Round II!

Good job, geez! This was a rough fight for my IRL group, but you lot rolled really well! That said, she's trying to escape: everyone surrounding her and Shazzar gets Opportunity Attacks to finish her off.

Make it count.

 

[emotionaut]

Joliet

---

HP:   12/12

AC:   14

Init:  +3

PP:   13

FeaturesSecond Wind: 0/1
Languages: Common, Paridon Creole

ConditionNormal

Ammo◦◦⁍⁍⁍⁍

IC

Joliet inclines her head as the green goo goes flying, catching the muck on her brim rather than her face. These lands beyond Paridon continue to surprise her, with things bleeding all manner of colors besides crimson. But bleeding is bleeding, and the combined assault of the group seems to be taking its toll on the floaty woman. "Don't let up!" she shouts.

 

When the woman makes for the ceiling, Joliet calls out a warning, as if the situation isn't already plain for them all to see. "She's skippin' out!" She then fires off another shot through the apparition, thankful that the angle of the shot shouldn't endanger anyone other than the rats upstairs.

OOC

Move:  Staying put.

Action:  Pew pew!

Bonus Action:  n/a

Reaction:  n/a

Edited February 16, 2023 by emotionaut (see edit history)

[Lukenary]

      

Giselle the Drowned

---

HP:   11/11  |   AC:   17  |   Init:  +3  |  PP:   11

Features

Divine Sense PHB, pg. 84
As an action, you can detect good and evil. Until the end of your next turn, you can sense anything affected by the hallow spell or know the location of any celestial, fiend, undead within 60 ft. that is not behind total cover. You can use this feature 4 times per long rest. 2/4

 

Lay on Hands PHB, pg. 84
You have a pool of healing power that can restore 5 HP per long rest. As an action, you can touch a creature to restore any number of HP remaining in the pool, or 5 HP to either cure a disease or neutralize a poison affecting the creature. 2/5

Traits

 

Darkvision BR, pg. 39
You can see in darkness (shades of gray) up to 60 ft.

 

Fey Ancestry BR, pg. 39
You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Spells

None

 

IC

The thing screamed as Joliet's shot took it between the eyes.  Giselle was forced to one knee, the psychic force of that scream was overwhelming.  Yet, something about the deathrattle was familiar.  She'd heard it before, but couldn't put her finger on it.  Where and when?

 

She came to herself with a shake of her head.  She ran to Altair's side, concern filling her face.  "Let the good Lord of the Morning heal your soul.  The dawn breaks even the darkest night, and the may sun through the clouds fill you with healing balm."

 

Finally, she wipes her rapier clean of the goo.  Looking around the room, Giselle begins to hunt for anomalies.

OOC

Move: To Altair, then search the room.

Bonus Action: None.

Action:  Lay on Hands for 3 hit points of healing.  It's not much but every little bit helps!

Item Interaction:  None.

 

[Gregorotto]

   ⚔ Round II ⚔

The specter realizes its grief, its reason for being, its very existence, is at stake, and prepares to flee: but not on Joliet's watch.

As the specter begins to ascend to the ceiling, trying to escape to the attic above or whatever secret chamber awaits them, she aims and takes a precise shot that travels through the specter, ripping through the jagged being barely tethered to reality: it tears through the ghost, turning all the ethereal mess like a ripped dress into goo, turning her flesh into ectoplasm as she splatters onto the ceiling: it is as if she ran head-first into a wall, and destroyed her entire physical being. The hole in the ceiling from the bullet is filled with goo, which quickly begins to sizzle and dissolve: the goo on the souls below is cold, as it does much the same, leaving only a thin layer of slime where previously there had been considerable gunk.

They are, once again, alone, the rain pummeling the outside of the building. Thunder rolls, but no lightning this time.

Taking a moment to heal Altaïr, who seems less pale now that the spirit has gone, Giselle wanders the room, looking for signs of irregularities. Dust, like on the landing, coats everything. Shazzar and Sulimann file into the room, joining her and Dynaheir in the hunt, the tiefling noticing a mirror mounted on the wall next to the wardrobe, full-length with an ornate wooden frame carved to look like ivy and berries. Within those berries are eyeballs, hidden and staring, moving with him as he moves. Horrifying.

Giselle instinctively checks out the window, looking for Rose and Thorn.

The street below, even up to the door, is empty.

Childish giggles echo from somewhere behind them.

The paladin was right: nothing about this was right, from the beginning.

Something else is at work here.

Out of Character

End combat!

Good job ending that specter in quick measure. Now everyone roll Initiative again, and let's get to checking this room out. Investigations will be nice, Perceptions, etc.

[Lukenary]

       

Giselle the Drowned

---

HP:   11/11  |   AC:   17  |   Init:  +3  |  PP:   11  |  Lay on Hands: 2/5

Features

Divine Sense PHB, pg. 84
As an action, you can detect good and evil. Until the end of your next turn, you can sense anything affected by the hallow spell or know the location of any celestial, fiend, undead within 60 ft. that is not behind total cover. You can use this feature 4 times per long rest. 2/4

 

Lay on Hands PHB, pg. 84
You have a pool of healing power that can restore 5 HP per long rest. As an action, you can touch a creature to restore any number of HP remaining in the pool, or 5 HP to either cure a disease or neutralize a poison affecting the creature. 2/5

Traits

 

Darkvision BR, pg. 39
You can see in darkness (shades of gray) up to 60 ft.

 

Fey Ancestry BR, pg. 39
You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Spells

None

 

IC

No sign of the children.  This is not good.  Giselle was thoroughly on edge; there was far more to this place than met the eye, and she was wary of keeping themselves in danger if they had a choice.  For good measure, she searched the room further, peering into nooks and crannies.

 

"My companions, if there is nothing of value here, do we need explore any further?  The children may already be safe; I cannot see them below.

 

"Should we simply go back downstairs and ensure their safety?"

 

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.  She knew she'd already called upon her link with the Morninglord more than once this day to reveal the proximity of fiends and undead; however, the need seemed to be tangible now.  Empty night, it will not work in these close environs.  Give me open space any day, with visible opponents.  She instinctively tried to melt into the shadows, hoping to surprise any foes that manifested.

OOC

Move: Search the room.

Bonus Action: None.

Actions:  Rolls:  Initiative. Perception. Investigation. Stealth.

Item Interaction:  Rapier at the ready.

[emotionaut]

Joliet

---

HP:   12/12

AC:   14

Init:  +3

PP:   13

FeaturesSecond Wind: 0/1
Languages: Common, Paridon Creole

ConditionNormal

Ammo◦◦⁍⁍⁍⁍

IC

Joliet holsters her sidearm and shakes goo from her hat. "I am startin' to think we've been swindled, though I can hardly see a reason for those tykes to put us in harm's way," she thinks aloud. "Back home, we don't have creatures such as this. To my knowledge, o'course. But we do have tricksters who can change their shape. Any chance those kids weren't what they appeared? If it's so, then it calls into question us even bein' here, yeah?" She looks up at the ceiling, where the apparition sought escape, and wonders at what must be above at the top of those secret stairs.

OOC

Move:  n/a

Action:  Searching the room.

Bonus Action:  n/a

Reaction:  n/a

[GreysonWulffe]

  

---

Shazzar | The Wizard

---

 

Though the specter had concerned him so, Shazzar is now primarily concerned with the ringing in his ears, so caused by the blasts from Joliet's weapon. He knows well enough to recognize that the item is a piece of non-magical technology. 'Sure creates a thunderous noise, though,' he thinks as he shakes his head as if to clear his head.

Once the ringing in his ears stops, the old wizard joins in searching the room for clues as to what exactly is the situation they're in. "Be mindful of the mirror," he calls out as he conducts his own search. "Many a magic ritual involves the use of a mirror."

 

---

Stat Block

Belshazzar "Shazzar" Zidon

Male Human Cloistered-Scholar Wizard 1

---

hp 8/8 ▪ AC 15 (Mage Armor) ▪ Speed 30 ft

HD 1d6 ▪ Proficiency +2 ▪ Initiative +2 ▪ Senses Passive Perception 11

---

STR 10 (+0) ▪ DEX 14 (+2) ▪ CON 14 (+2) ▪ INT 16 (+3) ▪ WIS 12 (+1) ▪ CHA 8 (-1)

---

Saves Intelligence +5, Wisdom +3

Skills Arcana +5, History +5, Insight +3, Investigation +5

Languages Common, Draconic, Elvish, Infernal

---

Features Arcane Recovery♦ Arcane Recovery ♦
You have learned to regain some of your magical energy by studying your spellbook. Once per day, when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level (rounded up), and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher. (1/1 use), Library Access♦ Library Access ♦
Though others must often endure extensive interviews and significant fees to gain access to even the most common archives in your library, you have free and easy access to the majority of the library, though it might also have repositories of lore that are too valuable, magical, or secret to permit anyone immediate access.

You have a working knowledge of your cloister's personnel and bureaucracy, and you know how to navigate those connections with some ease.

Additionally, you are likely to gain preferential treatment at other libraries across the Realms, as professional courtesy shown to a fellow scholar., Magic Initiate (Druid)♦ Magic Initiate (Druid) ♦
Choose a class: Druid. You learn two cantrips of your choice from that class's spell list: Guidance, Produce Flame

In addition, choose one 1st-level spell to learn from that same list: Goodberry. Using this feat, you can cast the spell once at its lowest level, and you must finish a long rest before you can cast it in this way again.

Your spellcasting ability for these spells depends on the class you chose: Wisdom for Druid., Ritual Casting♦ Ritual Casting ♦
You can cast a Wizard spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook. You don’t need to have the spell prepared., Spellbook♦ Spellbook ♦
At 1st level, you have a spellbook containing six 1st-level wizard spells of your choice. Your spellbook is the repository of the wizard spells you know, except your cantrips, which are fixed in your mind.

The spells that you add to your spellbook as you gain levels reflect the arcane research you conduct on your own, as well as intellectual breakthroughs you have had about the nature of the multiverse. You might find other spells during your adventures. You could discover a spell recorded on a scroll in an evil wizard’s chest, for example, or in a dusty tome in an ancient library.

♦ Copying a Spell into the Book ♦
When you find a wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it.

Copying that spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the wizard who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation.

For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells.

♦ Replacing the Book ♦
You can copy a spell from your own spellbook into another book—for example, if you want to make a backup copy of your spellbook. This is just like copying a new spell into your spellbook, but faster and easier, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. You need spend only 1 hour and 10 gp for each level of the copied spell.

If you lose your spellbook, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the spells that you have prepared into a new spellbook. Filling out the remainder of your spellbook requires you to find new spells to do so, as normal. For this reason, many wizards keep backup spellbooks in a safe place.

♦ The Book’s Appearance ♦
Your spellbook is a unique compilation of spells, with its own decorative flourishes and margin notes. It might be a plain, functional leather volume that you received as a gift from your master, a finely bound gilt-edged tome you found in an ancient library, or even a loose collection of notes scrounged together after you lost your previous spellbook in a mishap.

---

Attacks

 ▬ Dagger: Melee | +4 to hit | 1d4+2 piercing damage | finesse, light, thrown 20/40

 ▬ Produce Flame: Ranged 30 | +3 to hit | 1d8 fire damage

---

Spellcasting: Wizard | Spell Save DC 13, Spell Attack +5

 ▬ Cantrips: Mage HandConjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Target: A point you choose within range
Components: V S
Duration: 1 minute

A spectral, floating hand appears at a point you choose within range. The hand lasts for the duration or until you dismiss it as an action. The hand vanishes if it is ever more than 30 feet away from you or if you cast this spell again.
You can use your action to control the hand. You can use the hand to manipulate an object, open an unlocked door or container, stow or retrieve an item from an open container, or pour the contents out of a vial. You can move the hand up to 30 feet each time you use it.
The hand can’t attack, activate magic items, or carry more than 10 pounds.

Flavor:
"Apókryfo chéri"
The spectral hand seems to be made of bluish, wispy smoke. It is in the shape of Shazzar's wife's hand, as he remembers it, complete with the wedding band., Mind SliverEnchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V
Duration: 1 round

You drive a disorienting spike of psychic energy into the mind of one creature you can see within range. The target must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw or take 1d6 psychic damage and subtract 1d4 from the next saving throw it makes before the end of your next turn.

At Higher Levels:
This spell’s damage increases by 1d6 when you reach certain levels: 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).

Flavor:
"Spáse to myaló sou", PrestidigitationTransmutation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 10 feet
Target: See text
Components: V S
Duration: Up to 1 hour

This spell is a minor magical trick that novice spellcasters use for practice. You create one of the following magical effects within range:

♦ You create an instantaneous, harmless sensory effect, such as a shower of sparks, a puff of wind, faint musical notes, or an odd odor.
♦ You instantaneously light or snuff out a candle, a torch, or a small campfire.
♦ You instantaneously clean or soil an object no larger than 1 cubic foot.
♦ You chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving material for 1 hour.
♦ You make a color, a small mark, or a symbol appear on an object or a surface for 1 hour.
♦ You create a nonmagical trinket or an illusory image that can fit in your hand and that lasts until the end of your next turn.

If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to three of its non-instantaneous effects active at a time, and you can dismiss such an effect as an action.

Flavor:
"Mageía"

 ▬ 1st (1/2 slots): Comprehend LanguagesDivination (Ritual)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Target: Self
Components: V S M (A pinch of soot and salt)
Duration: 1 hour

For the duration, you understand the literal meaning of any spoken language that you hear. You also understand any written language that you see, but you must be touching the surface on which the words are written. It takes about 1 minute to read one page of text.

This spell doesn’t decode secret messages in a text or a glyph, such as an arcane sigil, that isn’t part of a written language.

Flavor:
"Gnorízei óles tis glósses"®, *Detect MagicDivination (Ritual)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Target: Self
Components: V S
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

For the duration, you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any.

The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.

Flavor:
"Epitrépste mou na do apókryfes ávres"
For the duration of the spell, Shazzar's eyes turn into black, obsidian-like orbs that glow faintly with a pale-blue light.©®, Find FamiliarConjuration (Ritual)
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: 10 feet
Target: An unoccupied space within range
Components: V S M (10 gp worth of charcoal, incense, and herbs that must be consumed by fire in a brass brazier)
Duration: Instantaneous

You gain the service of a familiar, a spirit that takes an animal form you choose: bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, fish (quipper), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel. Appearing in an unoccupied space within range, the familiar has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a celestial, fey, or fiend (your choice) instead of a beast.

Your familiar acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A familiar can’t attack, but it can take other actions as normal.

When the familiar drops to 0 hit points, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form. It reappears after you cast this spell again

While your familiar is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an action, you can see through your familiar’s eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses.

As an action, you can temporarily dismiss your familiar. It disappears into a pocket dimension where it awaits your summons. Alternatively, you can dismiss it forever. As an action while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 30 feet of you.

You can’t have more than one familiar at a time. If you cast this spell while you already have a familiar, you instead cause it to adopt a new form. Choose one of the forms from the above list. Your familiar transforms into the chosen creature.

Finally, when you cast a spell with a range of touch, your familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell. Your familiar must be within 100 feet of you, and it must use its reaction to deliver the spell when you cast it. If the spell requires an attack roll, you use your attack modifier for the roll.

Flavor:
"Akoúste to kálesmá mou, kollitós mou fíle"
At the final stage of the spell, the fire turns a brilliant blue, and it is from this blue fire that the familiar explodes out of, extinguishing the fire at the same time.®, *Feather FallTransmutation
Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take when you or a creature within 60 feet of you falls
Range: 60 feet
Target: Up to five falling creatures within range
Components: V M (A small feather or piece of down)
Duration: 1 minute

Choose up to five falling creatures within range. A falling creature’s rate of descent slows to 60 feet per round until the spell ends. If the creature lands before the spell ends, it takes no falling damage and can land on its feet, and the spell ends for that creature.

Flavor:
"Sýllipsi"
A magic circle that is about 1 foot across appears in the air, over the target's head. It would seem that an invisible energy is emanating from this circle to pull the target up, slowing their descent., *Mage ArmorAbjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: A willing creature who isn't wearing armor
Components: V S M (A piece of cured leather)
Duration: 8 hours

You touch a willing creature who isn’t wearing armor, and a protective magical force surrounds it until the spell ends. The target’s base AC becomes 13 + its Dexterity modifier. The spell ends if the target dons armor or if you dismiss the spell as an action.

Flavor:
"Panoplía tou apókryfou"
Faintly-glowing pale-blue lines that form a continuous, geometric pattern appear on Shazzar's clothing. Whenever objects impact against him with considerable force, those lines flash mildly., *Magic MissileEvocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Target: A creature of your choice that you can see within range
Components: V S
Duration: Instantaneous

You create three glowing darts of magical force. Each dart hits a creature of your choice that you can see within range. A dart deals 1d4 + 1 force damage to its target. The darts all strike simultaneously, and you can direct them to hit one creature or several.

At Higher Levels:
When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the spell creates one more dart for each slot above 1st.

Flavor:
"Apókryfa véli"
Several fist-sized magic circles appear in the air around Shazzar, and darts of bluish energy shoot out of each one toward his targets.

 

Spellcasting: Magic Initiate (Druid) | Spell Save DC 11, Spell Attack +3

 ▬ Cantrips: GuidanceDivination
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: One willing creature
Components: V S
Duration: Up to 1 minute

You touch one willing creature. Once before the spell ends, the target can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to one ability check of its choice. It can roll the die before or after making the ability check. The spell then ends.

Flavor:
"Eíthe to Oghma na sas kathodigísei"
The target feels a comforting warmth spread throughout their body, radiating Shazzar's hand., Produce FlameConjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Target: Self or a creature within 30 feet of you
Components: V S
Duration: 10 minutes

A flickering flame appears in your hand. The flame remains there for the duration and harms neither you nor your equipment. The flame sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet. The spell ends if you dismiss it as an action or if you cast it again.

You can also attack with the flame, although doing so ends the spell. When you cast this spell, or as an action on a later turn, you can hurl the flame at a creature within 30 feet of you. Make a ranged spell attack. On a hit, the target takes 1d8 fire damage.

At Higher Levels:
This spell's damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).

Flavor:
"Apó to típota, fotiá"
The flickering flame is a pale blue in color and takes on a teardrop shape.

 ▬ 1st (1/1 use): GoodberryTransmutation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: See text
Components: V S M (A sprig of mistletoe)
Duration: Instantaneous

Up to ten berries appear in your hand and are infused with magic for the duration. A creature can use its action to eat one berry. Eating a berry restores 1 hit point, and the berry provides enough nourishment to sustain a creature for one day.

The berries lose their potency if they have not been consumed within 24 hours of the casting of this spell.

Flavor:
"Threptiká moúra"
The berries are perfect orbs in shape and have a perfect sheen to them.

---

Equipment Spellbook, staff (arcane focus), scholar's robes, dagger, writing kit, borrowed book (Elminster's Treatise On The Arcane), belt pouch, backpack, bedroll, mess kit, tinderbox, 4 torches, 5 rations, waterskin, 50 ft of hemp rope, 12 gp, 5 sp, 5 cp

---

Narra | The Familiar

Owl (Tiny Fey)

---

hp 1/1 ▪ AC 11 (Unarmored) ▪ Speed 5 ft, fly 60 ft.

HD 1d4 ▪ Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 13

---

STR 3 (-4) ▪ DEX 13 (+1) ▪ CON 8 (-1) ▪ INT 2 (-4) ▪ WIS 12 (+1) ▪ CHA 7 (-2)

---

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +3

---

Features FlybyThe owl doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy's reach., Keen Hearing & SightThe owl has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing and sight.; Deliver Touch SpellsWhen you Cast a Spell with a range of touch, your familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell. Your familiar must be within 100 feet of you, and it must use its Reaction to deliver the spell when you cast it. If the spell requires an Attack roll, you use your Attack modifier for the roll., Link With MasterWhile your familiar is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an Action, you can see through your familiar's eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any Special Senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own Senses., Pocket DimensionAs an Action, you can temporarily dismiss your familiar. It disappears into a pocket dimension where it awaits your summons. Alternatively, you can dismiss it forever. As an Action while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 30 feet of you.

 

 

֎ ֎ ֎

[Gregorotto]

 One should always be mindful of mirrors.

Looking through the room, they find exceptionally little that tells them anything. Giselle's suggestion of checking on the children, and Joliet's suggestion they might not be children at all, gives rise to the brutal, delicate feeling that nothing here is what it seems and they have, in fact, been swindled, as Joliet said. Still, better safe than sorry, and they search on. The small wardrobe has clothes within, a moth-eaten black dress of simple make alongside two equally moth-eaten dresses that clearly denote someone who lived in this room was a maid. One of the maid costumes, the two women note, has been hemmed in the stomach, suggesting that the woman who wore it needed extra space in her stomach and abdomen. Beneath these are blankets, soft but dust-covered, with initials embroidered into them. Some are simply a W, while others are WD. The thread is fine, colored brown, in a cursive style that impresses both, neither woman being particularly delicate. Shazzar, himself a father, knows that is masterwork before him, but he has eyes elsewhere.

Eyes on the eyes.

Within the wall's framework he sees two sets of eyes, near each other... a hand's width apart, actually. Taking small and thumb fingers, he presses both, with an audible click, and the wall on which the mirror sits floats back, revealing the hallway with the stairs and the balcony beyond. That solves that problem.

Yet as he does so, the squeak on the door gives way to a small, audible cry from a room very close to them: the room at Altaïr's right.

Within, a baby cries again.

Sobbing, in fact.

Out of Character

Giselle, Joliet, Shazzar: no new rolls from you, we'll keep those awesome rolls. If you want to do something different, by all means.

Dyna, Altaïr, Sulimann: still need those Initiative rolls.

Edited February 28, 2023 by Gregorotto (see edit history)

[Kavonde]

DYNAHEIR | HP 7/15 | AC 15 | Initiative +2 | Passive Perception 12

Dynaheir frowns and, somewhat unsteadily, pushes herself back to her feet. "Normally, I would kick down this door to rescue the crying baby, but I am beginning to suspect that the ghosts haunting this place are rather clever. Still, there is the chance that, this time, it is actually young Valter. I will lead the way, if the rest of you are tired of being savaged by angry suits of armor and evil spirits."

Assuming no one objects to her suggestion, she moves to trade places with Altair, one hand on the handle and ready to throw it open.