SoloDark: Pelor's Quest ep60

--/-- Welcome to SoloBickering! It's a solo rpg, which means I roll dice generate a story and decide outcomes, and lose arguments with myself as I portray the exploits of my adventurers. 

--/-- Join me on a journey into the game world I play face to face in, and it may sound vaguely familiar to you. Like many another DM I stitch my world together from any bits and pieces I fancy, adding them into a standard setting, Faerun's Sword Coast.  

--/-- AI and NSFW: For this possibly brief adventure the stars are young and moderately hot, and I'll be using CoPilot AI to buff my romance bar, because I'm useless at romance, and for side situations that need social interactions. Some of the situations the young protagonists find themselves in may turn out to be NSFW. I won't be deliberately aiming for that, but oracles are what they are. So if on either account you take an ethical stand against those, skip this episode and listen in to Rollohi, my other SoloBickering output. 

--/-- And having said that, let's get the game started. 

 --/--Music from Pixabay with thanks to: daynightmorning, Good_B-Music, JefWakeUp, LudoSoundX, makesoundmusic, Playsound, teodholina, and White_Records

--/--The adventure *the Lurker Beneath Red Larch* by MT Black: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/184581/the-lurker-beneath-red-larch-adventure
--/--MT Black's 5e Vol i collection: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/198501/complete-adventures-of-m-t-black-vol-i

https://larrymannplayssolobickering.blogspot.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Two days. Yes. That is reasonable. The bridge will not widen in that time. And now that I have the scroll, I can't really afford to linger here myself. Every hour I delay is an hour the valley loses. But two days? Two days is a time I would have spent traveling with the survivors. I can give you that. If you strike at the threat beneath the red light and return in two days, I'll be ready waiting for you, gladly. But no more than that. After two days, I will ride to Beliard with you or without you.

SPEAKER_03 0:45

Join me on a journey into the game world I play face-to-face in. And it may sound vaguely familiar to you. Like many another DM, I stitch my world together from any bits and pieces I fancy, adding them into a standard setting, Pharunes Sword Coast. For this venture, the stars are young and moderately hot, and I'll be using Copilot AI here and there to buff my romance bar, because I'm useless at romance, and for side situations that don't really need tools. Some of the situations the young protagons find themselves in may turn out to be NSFW. And if you're uncomfortable on either of those two scores, skip this and head over to the world of Rolli. Otherwise, having said that, let's get on with this show. Season 2 began last week with the first descent into the tunnels beneath Red Larch. And immediately equipped with a very basic map from the survivors, our four heroes identify a turn and a wide junction. To the left, they hear goblins. To the right, the map says do not go. The four fall back and strategize and come up with a plan by which Natalie will act as bait to lure the goblins in to a surprise round. Behind the bend, not too far back, a distance that she can hopefully shadow step back to, the other three wait. While Natalie has herself an artfully spilled candle, Lucinda has the torch masked for now. In her other hand, she clutches a plus one short sword. Just beside her, drum waits to rescue his lady love, his plus one longbow ready in his hand. Arrow nodded. And of course, goblin grief humming, Sir Kib stands with his shield raised, ready to charge. Nat hears the scraping claws, muttered curses, clatter of weapons. The first goblin silhouette dances on the stone above her, thrown up by the candle. The goblin sees Natalie. He grins. He opens his mouth to shout. And at this point I have to step back and check. Are the goblins full completely? O5. No, but going to roll a d7. Four of the seven are. The surprise round will go to the characters on four goblins, while the other three hang back, either slightly suspicious or slipping somewhat on the scree that they had to come up. Nat will make a kip-up check on her plus one decks, and if she makes DC 12, which is fairly difficult, she shadowsteps out of harm's way, then hurls a dagger. Drum and Lucinda advance to the corner north of Nat. Drum loses his longbow with a total bonus of plus five against Goblin AC11. He'll then fall back so as to drag out Shatterspike next round. Sakeb rolls past those two and rushes the goblins. Licinda will join him with torch in hand and short sword in the other. Thanks to his magic belt, Sakeb has a plus six to hit. While Lucinda has a plus four to hit. Provided Lysinda has a flank or rear of a goblin opponent, she'll do extra damage. We're going to kick off with Natalie's Kipper check. A 14 plus 1 for her decks is 15 success. She springs to her feet, dancer quick, not caring about the candle, she disappears into the gloom, away from the goblin's immediate presence. In their own tongue, the goblins exclaim. Suddenly, they sense magic and real danger, but she's already throwing a dagger from the shadows. Adjusting for her plus two to hit, that's a 19. Thanks to her thief levels, she gets 3d4 damage. 9 damage. The first goblin is dead before it hits the ground. Now it's Drum's first shot. His attack bonus is plus 5. He rolls a 12, that's a 17 hit. His damage with the plus one longbow is a d8 plus one. That's a seven. A second goblin, scrambling up to the attack, takes Drum's arrow through the chest and tumbles backwards into the goblins waiting behind him. Drum slides backwards, step by step, setting his longbow down and drawing shatter spike. Lisinda, torch aloft, is already moving to the corner, helping Drum to see that target, although the candle was enough, and allowing Sakeb to move forward with positive energy. She doesn't attack yet. She's setting the stage for Sakeb's charge. And that brings us to Sakeb. Shield up, Goblin Grief, hungering and moaning. He rushes the goblins. He rolls an 11, that's a 17. Hit. Damage with Goblin Grief is D8 plus 1. That's 6 points. He cuts down a third goblin in a single stroke. Blade humming triumphantly as it bites through goblin bone. Goblin 3 is dead. Now Lisinda can join the fray, picking her target. She has 4 to attack. She rolls a 9, but that's a total of 13. Hit. Stepping in beside Sakhi and driving her blade into a goblin. She rolls a four. With her bonuses in malay, it's a total of six. It's dead. There was no chance for a backstab, but it didn't matter. All four goblins caught in that surprise round are dead. The remaining three goblins, the ones who hung back, are shrieking in panic, or at least they will panic if I don't roll. Wisdom DC 15. A typical goblin has minus one wisdom. A panic move has them flee straight into where the warping of the planes has caused something horrendous to their cell, to be a threat to them. I roll an O5 and that tells us all we need to know. They panic. The three survivors simply turn tail and flee south into the area they should never have stepped. The aberrant ground welcomes them like a mouth. Echoes distort and shadows bend. One of them has enough presence of mind to scream to the others, but it's too late. There's a wet choking sound. Let's see if any of our heroes pick up on them. At the lowest level of success, DC9, yes. Something went horribly wrong with the survivor's retreat, but that's all I can tell. They don't have a specific direction. I'm going to go to a resource called I Loot the Body, and then I'll roll for silver coins. While the three who threw down on the goblins congratulate Nat on her very successful bit of baiting, they pull back after looting. They need to decide whether to go to the right fork, the one that the map says do not go. However, for now, they find a folded up sheath sized for a longsword decorated with fine stitching depicting the stars. They also find a low-yield healing potion, fairly typical of Goblin Kind, and finally a tightly rolled, oil-slicked poncho designed to ward off all but the worst rain. It's evident these must be from fighter and thief of the Junior Adventurers. And they find 20 silver coins worth of coppers and silvers. And whatever is down there is not a beast. Natalie quivers. We have to at least explore it and see what it is, justifying Lucinda's choice. We can't just say we cleaned out half the dungeon. Comparing the map to what they can see with torchlight, the four, as I said, pull back to plan out their advance. We skirt the edge. Lysender decides.

SPEAKER_02 11:32

No one step on loose soil. Drum, you cover us with your bow. Nat, you keep watching the ceiling. Sakub and I will take point. If you hear me yell, dodge out of the way.

SPEAKER_03 11:49

Nat warns.

SPEAKER_02 11:51

Assume something's dropping.

SPEAKER_03 11:54

While she herself never fell victim to a piercer or other dungeon denizen of that type, she certainly heard plenty about it. If it breathes, I shoot it in the mouth. Drum brags. And I cut it in half in case you miss, Sakeb says, grimly. With the torch up, and close by Sakeb so that he can see where he's stepping. Before now advance to the area that the map said, do not go. As Sakeb probes forward, keeping to the side as Lucinda suggested, he points Goblin Grief down. Up ahead of them, the soil is sulfurous and churned. Lucinda holds up a hand. She crouches, letting the torch play at different angles. After a long pause, in which drum too plays a hand studying the ground. The two with ranger type experience gesture the party back once again. They retire to the original cabin beneath the trapdoor and are just beginning to discuss another attempt at baiting using perhaps a carcass of some kind. When the ground far to the west explodes up and hungry ankhegs head toward them, scrabbling at the tunnel with fast-moving limbs. Combat is entered whether or not our party is ready. Given the distance of 75 feet and the way that the cavern that they're in is separated from that area by a throat, the party won't be able to get off range shots as the ankegs head towards them during that surprise round. But equally, the ankegs can only attack with disadvantage spit attacks. We'll give the party member advantage. It reads like this The ankeg spits acid in a line that is 30 feet long and 5 feet wide, provided that it has no creature grapple. Each creature in that line must make a DC-12 dexterity saving throw. But in this case, it's with advantage. The soil to the west of the party bulges. A sulfur tinged plume erupts upward, the ground explodes. Two vast, vaguely insect-like creatures burst up from the ground. Mandibles snapping, acid sacs pulsing. There's no time for any plan using bait. No time for poison and no time for planning. It's a surprise round during which the ankegs race to long range and spit. Phoosh! Two lines of sizzling acids streak down the tunnel towards the heroes. They're more like wild sprays at this distance. Each hero makes a DC-12 deck save with advantage. Let's roll them one by one. Let's start with Lucinda. That's already a 14. I'll take that. No need to roll again. She presses herself behind a jut of stone, acid splashing harmlessly across the floor. Next is Drum. Best rolled there is an 11. He pivots behind Lucinda, cloak smoking slightly but intact. Next is Natalie. Oh very nice. A total of 18 on her dexterity. Success. She shadow steps instinctively, reappearing a few feet to the side as Acid scorches the stone where she stood. Finally, Saki with no dex bonus at all, but advantage. His best roll is a 12 exactly. He raises his shield and steps slightly to one side, acid hissing across the metal but not eating through. No damage. The ankhegs are still scrabbling forward, tearing toward the group in a straight line. They will be in melee in one round. We move to regulation round one. I'm inclined to wai initiative since the Ankhegs will barrel in and the party will defend itself. Sakib's limited spell options won't stop these brutes. He'll stick with Goblin Grief, but use the shield to cover as much of the front line as he can. Nat has time to manoeuvre. Given her shadow step earlier, she leaps up the ladder, ready to pounce once a weak point presents itself. Lucinda with a snarl jams the torch into a crack in the wall and slides out her spare weapon, her trusty old hand axe. Drum moves to the attack with shatterspike. Since he's up against the wall already, his longbow can be set down easily and shatter spike ready immediately. It allows Sakeeb to fight alongside him. The Ankex have AC14 to the two lads, but will be AC-11 to Nat. And if Lucinda can maneuver adequately, AC11 to her as well, each Anke will still get a bite attack. Sakheeb will play defense alongside Drum, allowing the Ranger to two-hand Shadowsbow. Ankeg attack at plus four for two D6. One at disadvantage thanks to Sakib using the shield to protect Drum. The other will be a flat plus four against Sakeb's AC15. Drum's two-hand attack will be at plus four, doing a D10 plus one. Each Ankeg closes the distance in a blur of chitin and claws, making one bite attack. One targets drum but at disadvantage thanks to Sakib's shield effect. Taking the 7, which is the lowest roll, it's on a plus four, making it 11 for a miss against drum's AC-14. Sakib's shield slams sideways, knocking the mandibles offline. Acid drill splashes harmlessly across the stone. Go cheer! Drum grins. And kick number two is up against Sakeb's chain armor, AC-15. It rolls a 13 plus four a 17 of hit. Its damage is 2d6. 5 and 3, 8 points of damage. Clamping down on Sakeb's shoulder, Mandible's piercing armor. Sakeb grunts in pain but holds the line. Goblin Grief vibrates violently in his hand, eager for retaliation. Now Lucinda and Nat get to benefit from their dangerous maneuvers. Nat drops a top one Ankeg and attacks with backstab against AC11 for 3d4 plus 1 with her magic dagger. Lucinda will roll to get under an Ankeg. Natalie launches herself from the ladder like a striking cat. Cloak, snapping behind her. She lands squarely on the Ankeg's thorax, knees digging into the chiton plates. With an attack bonus of plus two and a target of only AC11, she rolls an 18 total. 3d4 can be impressive if rolled high. Let's see. 10 damage. A wet, acidic screech erupts from the creature as Natalie's blade sinks deep. She clings to its back. Teeth bare, dagger already, twisting for leverage. Lisinda uses the chaos Natalie created, dropping low and sliding under the Ankeg's belly where the plates are thinner. She makes two attacks. Attack plus one is it? Plus three? 2d6 damage. Attack number two is not even needed, for her short sword has already done the real damage. A brutal upward chop. The Cinder is momentarily unsighted as she rolls away from any acid damage, but she is out for next round. Now let's have a look at Drum's counter. This is Drum's attack on the other Ankeg, not occupied by the two women. He's two-handing shatterspike. He rolls a 15 plus four as a 19 for a hit. A clean, powerful strike. A d10 damage. A d10 plus one damage is a total of nine. Shatterspike bites deep, cracking through the Ankeg's chitin and sending a spray of acidic icor across that tunnel floor. The creature shrieks, remaining legs scrabbling wildly. It's round two. Let's roll for characters and remaining ankeg initiative. They're both even on six. As mentioned, Lucinda is part buried under the collapsed ankeg, so she is out this round. Drum is most able to simply redouble his attack on the heavily wounded Ankheag, while Sakib continues to provide protection for them. Since it's fairly clear the target of that Ankeg has to be drum and has to be at disadvantage, I think I'll just roll that first. Despite Sakib's protection, it's a hit. A dirty 20. Drum takes 8 points damage. Drum's repost, total of 14, it's a hit, just. Is d10 plus 1? It's a total of 4. Finishing the beast. It collapses in a welter of acid and scrabbling limbs. Thank you so much for listening. Ratings and reviews are much appreciated. You can email me at LarrymanPlays at gmail.com. That's Larry with two R's and Man with two N's. Larryman Plays all one word at gmail.com. Thanks again and catch you later.