Chapter 1: Death House

[GreysonWulffe]

  

Shazzar | The Wizard   As soon as Shazzar observes the condition of the third storey of the mansion, he is immediately alarmed. "Slow, my friends!" he calls out loudly so that the barbarian and the gunslinger in the front of the group can hear him as well. "Something here is amiss. The dust here is thick and undisturbed - it does not follow that this level of the house has been lived in for years, much less keep an infant here, an infant that will require a lot of tending to."   The old wizard can feel his body tensing and his eyes widening with the anticipation of danger. "Advance, if you will," he continues. "Just be careful, please."

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.

 

֎ ֎ ֎

[Kavonde]

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

 

Dynaheir frowns thoughtfully at Shazzar's words, noticing the thick dust. She shakes her head, gesturing behind her for the others to hold, and crouches down to examine the dust. She's not the most skilled tracker in the world, but finding footsteps on a dusty floor should be well within her capabilities. And if there aren't any footprints... well, she's going to need a bigger sword.

[emotionaut]

Joliet

---

HP:   12/12

AC:   14

Init:  +3

PP:   13

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

ConditionNormal

Ammo⁍⁍⁍⁍⁍⁍

IC

Joliet crouches down beside Dyna and tries to look like she knows what she's doing. Truth is, as a bounty hunter working exclusively in an urban environment, she has little experience with traditional tracking. Most of her hunts involved chatting people up and getting them to spill what they know, either with a smile or a threat of violence. Neither will be any use right now. "Uhhh, let's see here..." she mutters as she brings her torch closer to the ground.

OOC

Also trying Survival

[Mamori23]

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

IC

Altaïr stalled, upon Shazzar comment the paladin began to scan the room with mountaining suspicion.

"Wait a moment, do you even hear anything rustling? There was something at the window." He waited, listening for any slight movement besides the party while throwing a glance at the suit of armor, and the doors beside it. "Did the parents even had hired help to attend to maintance?"

OOC

Rolling Perpection 

 

[DoNotFearToTread]

The Search Continues...Kinda

Suliman is cautious with each step on the stairs, knowing how one of his bulk an impact aging construction such as this. He reaches the top as the others filter slowly in, checking their surroundings for some sign of...what, exactly? Monster tracks? A beast lurking in the shadows? He turns his eyes to the ceiling as he ducks through the entryway into the hall beyond, scanning from there down the wall on his right and then across the floor ahead of him. He lingers there, far enough in to allow others past him but not far enough to interfere with his companions' efforts to search the place.

 

"There is a lot about this that doesn't add up." It's a response to Altair's own question about hired help. There would certainly be someone to keep the place tidy and the floor below seemed to be lived in. "Perhaps the family doesn't come up here anymore. Some tragic circumstance?" He presses his hand against the wall, leaving a clean spot in the shape of his outstretched fingers. He wants to believe that the children who led them here are simply ignorant of the complexities of all this, not active participants. "Still, if this is what the living area looks like I'm not eager to see this cellar we've heard about." Turning his eyes back to the hall, he looks to the southern wall where the last activity in the house was previously noted. He sniffs, dust tickling his nostrils, and tries to focus his ears on that area to catch any stray noises that might linger.

 

[Kavonde]

 

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

Dynaheir creeps forward, stirring the dust for seemingly the first time in an age, as she moves towards the door to the southwest.

 

"There are no footprints," she tells her companions quietly as she moves. "This might mean we are dealing with ghosts. I do not think I can hit ghosts with my sword, though I admit, the stories on this subject are inconsistent."

[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 extended her mundane senses to the best of her ability.  She kept naturally to the shadows, attempting to draw out any threats behind by concealing herself and her watchful eyes.  One with the darkness (or so she thought), she followed her companions up the stairs and kept her footsteps light.

 

On hearing the discussion above, she thought once more about using the senses Lathander gifted her; was there a palpable sense of evil near?  She knew there were not many further opportunities to use it; she decided to conserve her ability for use later on.

OOC

Rolling Stealth.

 

[Gregorotto]

The group begins to search the dusty landing, careful not to walk into a trap: because it is becoming increasingly clear that their instincts, that something was off about this, were completely right.

Nothing seems out of sort, with no footprints in the dust. Sulimann begins searching along the walls, looking for signs of secrets, whether traps or hidden passages, and finds nothing: nothing stands out, nothing is out of sorts. Each of them looks, and nothing is out of place.

So Dynaheir and Joliet move forward, towards the southern wall: for it was in that southern-facing room that they saw the candle.

Moving past the statue, nothing is out of place.

It is Joliet and Sulimann who see it first, with Giselle and Altaïr catching the blur of motion.

As Dynaheir moves past, the black armor, covered in cobwebs, rattles to life, slamming its fists into her and then again. The first missesAttack 8 vs. AC 15, miss, laggardly as it adjusts from its eons-long locked structure standing in place, putting two dents in the wooden floor. The nextAttack Nat 20 vs. AC 15, hit, 8 bludgeoning damage including critical hit comes up, catching her in the back just under her shoulderblades, slamming her into the wall.

Everyone, surprised, cannot stand against it, watching what it does to the Rashemi warrior.

But still she stands: and their time to react has come.

Out of Character

Initiative:

Party13.67

Animated Armor8

Enemies:

Animated Armor-AC 18, 33/33

Begin Combat!

Technically a round has passed; I used everyone's mediocre Perception checks instead of passive scores to determine Surprise, and the Armor got a round to itself. Fortunately for you lot, I rolled poorly on one attack.

Since this is our first combat, here's how I do things (if you're not in one of my other games or have a literal decade of experience in my games, like some (I think we're old, PCB)): Do your rolls, adjust to Baldr accordingly, but I need a breakdown of your actions by Action, Move, Bonus, Reaction, etc. Breaking it down in order helps me more than not, and do so in OOC if you don't mind, in addition to your IC post. You have access to the AC, I'm willing to let you roll any saves you need to end your turn. On my next post I resolve the round and prepare us for the next one. If you do a reaction determinant of something else happening to you, like you taking damage you haven't taken yet, we can discuss it in the OOC. You can tell me in advance what you're going to do (if I'm attacked, I do reaction X) or whatever, and be sure to roll as needed.

We can discuss the rest in Discord. Begin!

[emotionaut]

Joliet

---

HP:   12/12

AC:   14

Init:  +3

PP:   13

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

ConditionNormal

Ammo◦⁍⁍⁍⁍⁍

IC

Joliet's heart skips a beat as the suit of armor springs to life and nearly cleaves Dyna in two. This is not the sort of business she's used to, but she's quick to screw her head back on and find her composure. Her pop always said, 'First you panic, then you die.' Well, if she's going to die today, she's going to die with a smile on her face. No reason this can't be fun up until the end.

 

She grins and says, "Lookin' like we got a hard case here, mates. Allow me to open the ball, yeah?"

 

Joliet tucks and rolls beneath the reach of the animated armor, skimming close enough to its legs to see her reflection in its toes, had they any shine. She then pops back to her feet while leveling her revolver at the thing's exposed back. She squeezes the trigger and... BOOM! The shot rings like thunder crashing twice in rapid succession. First as the projectile explodes from her weapon and then again as it punches through the metal man and fragments inside. Whatever sounds may follow are lost in the ringing of ears.

OOC

Move:  Up and left to be directly north of the enemy, to flank with Dyna.

Action:  Firing 1 round at the enemy.

Bonus Action:  n/a

Reaction:  If it moves away from her, she'll take an AoO.

Edited January 18, 2023 by emotionaut (see edit history)

[Kavonde]

 

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

Dynaheir grunts in pain and surprise as she's slammed into the wall. She hurts. She's never been hit so hard by anything before. Something's probably broken. For a second, Dyna's entire world is confusion and agony; she wants to fall to the ground, curl into a ball, and cry.

 

But, there's something else in Dynaheir. Something she's trained to tap into. A deep, primal flame of rage and valor that burns in the recesses of her soul. Her cry of pain transforms halfway through into a scream of fury, and she spins to face her attacker, adrenaline pumping into her biceps as she lifts her greatsword and chops down with all the strength she can muster.

 

OOC

Bonus Action: RAAAAAAAAGE!
Action: Attacking the armor with her greatsword.
Move: None.
Reaction: If it moves away, she'll take an AoO.

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by Kavonde (see edit history)

[GreysonWulffe]

  

Shazzar | The Wizard   Though he had already been expecting a trap of some kind, Shazzar is nevertheless surprised by the sudden movement of the empty suit of armor. 'An animated suit of armor!' he notes silently with a mix of awe and fear. 'So the folks here dabbled in such magic. We must be even more wary now.'   As the other spring into action, engaging the armor in martial combat, the old wizard locks his gaze upon the foe. 'Though it appears empty, it is animated by some sentience, and that sentience I can attack,' he thinks. Then, he chants an arcane phrase to drive a psionic spike right through the mind of that animating sentience, "Spáse to myaló sou!"

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 Action: Shazzar casts 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" (DC 13 Int save) on the Animated Armor.

 

֎ ֎ ֎

[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

At the sound of Dynaheir's pain, Giselle's eyes swam with tears.  Some guard I turned out to be.  The danger wasn't in the back, it was in the front.

 

She moved quickly past Altair and Shazzar, awkwardly trying to dance around them on the stairs.  It was difficult in the constrained environment, and she saw she wasn't going to make it on time.

 

So Giselle reached over her shoulder and grabbed one of her trusty javelins.  Hoping to pin it to the wall, she let fly with a curse.  "The Light shall burn you!"

OOC

Move: E S S W  (10' of difficult terrain, ahem - maybe we need to look at our party diet?)

Item Interaction: Wield javelin.

Action: Attack with the javelin.

Bonus action: None.

 

[DoNotFearToTread]

Quick Stats

HP:   11/11

AC:   15

Init:  -1

PP:   13

Spell Slots: 2/2

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

Conditions:

A Fight, You Say?

The moment the armor suit lurches to life, Sulimann finds himself in the way. He has been so intent on everything around him that he overlooked the obvious danger. In a creepy old manor a suit of armor is never just a suit of armor. Joliet leaps to respond as Dynaheir weathers the blow, the impact jarring the priest's molars and drawing a grimace of empathy pain from him. There is no doubt in his mind in that moment that despite his size the Rashemi woman is tougher than him, maybe even as tough as he was in his prime. The others are moving around him as he labors through both that moment of reflection and his own sluggish reactions, and as always he seems slowest to actually implement his intent. Sliding past the bodies between him and the empty space opposite Joliet, he times his movements to coincide with Dyna's lunging strike to give himself the best clearance behind her as he circles around to face the armor.

"You dirty motha..." The words die in the dryness of his throat and the sounds of battle around him. Empty, soulless hunk of steel. It would have no compunction with striking someone in the back like that. Of course, during his days in the arena he wouldn't have hesitated to do it either. His back was to me is reason enough to throw a dirty punch if it means the fight ends. He shakes his arm and the chain around it loosens, sliding down till he catches it in his hand. A twist swings it around the back and his fingers tighten around it to form a fist of iron from the links. His gladiator days are near a decade behind him and the nerve damage those fights had left him with hadn't gotten better with age, but if he could put a dent in the automaton with that fist it might be enough to make sure the others tear it down before it can do any further damage. Besides, it isn't really violence if the thing you hit isn't truly sentient, right?

Actions & OOC

Move: Go S2, W1 to opposite Joliet

Action: Attack the Heap of Metal (looks like a miss with 17 for 3 undelivered damage)

Bonus: N/A

Reaction: Available for Opp Attack

 

Edited January 19, 2023 by DoNotFearToTread (see edit history)

[Gregorotto]

 ⚔ Round I ⚔

The being may have had the first hit, but is neither the hardest nor the last.

Moving quickly to the side, Joliet produces her revolver and shows her Toril-born companions what it can do, the shot ringing in their ears as it enters the side of the animated armor and leaves a massive hole on both sides, then enters the door of the room they need to go into, the hole lessened considerably. The integrity of the armor wanes already, and then comes Dynaheir, beginning her massive rage, bringing her sword down on where a shoulder would be on a normal being: instead, she cleaves armor from the breastplate and a section of the helm, shards flying behind the Rashemi berserker towards Shazzar. The mage casts his spell, which seems to have no effect whatsoeverSave 1 vs. Mind Sliver, failure; immune to psychic damage on the mindless automaton of magic and metal.

Other attacks are less effective. Giselle and Sulimann try their best, as does Altaïr as he comes off the stairs and draws his blade, the trio a flurry of blows that bounce harmlessly off of the animated armor.

Now, it is the turn of the behemoth.

Unable to move in the slightest, it turns and grabs Joliet, slamming her into the wall before leaving her there and reaching forward with its other, almost removed arm, grabbing massive Sulimann, and with untold strength, slamming him into the railing, which threatens to crack. Both are devastating blows: Joliet finds the wall now takes her shapeAttack 15 vs. AC 14, hit for 6 bludgeoning damage somewhat, breaking the paper and outer frame, with Sulimann stableAttack 17 vs. AC 15, hit for 7 bludgeoning damage on his own but knowing another blow like that will send him down two flights of stairs.

They can take it down, if they hit true.

Out of Character

Initiative:

Party13.67

Animated Armor8

Enemies:

Animated Armor-AC 18, 8/33

Begin Round II!

How do you lot want to handle immunities and stuff on enemies? I typically make you lot roll, but I've provided AC and HP for ease anyway. It might have helped Greyson if we'd had this discussion beforehand; my apologies.

I had to get creative with where I placed people and gave priority to who posted first; if I screwed this up, let me know, but I tried to fulfill people's wishes as best I could. Sorry Fear, you didn't end up where you wanted exactly. I also rolled to determine who to hit, so sorry to the two I hit. Not sorry 😛

Anyway, let's tango!

 

[Kavonde]

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

Dynaheir emits a low growl. How dare this thing hurt her friends! Let it attack her! She will be the stone that weathers the storm! The shield upon which the sword breaks! Her duty is to protect her companions, and how dare this thing hurt them!

She launches another attack at the malevolent mail, hoping to cleave it in half at the point where Joliet's bullet pierced it.

 

OOC

Bonus Action: None
Action: Attack!
Move: None
Reaction: AoO if the armor tries to move somewhere, somehow.

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Kavonde (see edit history)