(IC) Quickleaf's Rime of the Frostmaiden

[Aethmud]

Jack whispers, his voice tinged with both humor and urgency, "That's the spirit, Lumrolur! A bonk on the head or two might give him a warm welcome to dreamland."

He warns, "Stay on this side of Daddy Yeti for now! Wouldn't want you bearing the brunt of this." Just as before, when casting the sleep spell on the yeti child, again Jack pulls out a tiny flask filled with shards of enchanted fey glitter, which twinkle in the subdued iridescence of his wings.

This time, he plunges headlong into the untamed frontiers of his magical capabilities, his fingers dancing in a kaleidoscope of gestures, each motion extracting fibers of potent magic from the enigmatic recesses of his fey soul. At first, the air around him begins to ripple subtly, as though boundaries between worlds are thinning, and then the atmosphere starts to shudder, his movements harnessing and shaping leylines of magic into a resonant chord. Ethereal snowflakes emerge from the pulsating atmosphere and spiral around his vial in a tiny vortex. His wings start to frost over with flickers of spark and popping flames, cascading in chaotic waves of arcane energy.

Jack appears to be skating on the edge of his magical abilities, distorting the fabric of reality to amplify his spell in a way that's both exhilarating and unsettling.

Spoiler: Readied Action

Readied action, attempting to cast Sleep as a 4th level spell (so affecting 11d8 HP of creatures).

Using Overchannel (Quickleaf homebrew sorcerer variant class feature) to cast as a 4th level spell. Jack can normally cast Sleep as a 2nd level spell, so there's a -2 penalty on the roll to cast, but he will use Tides of Chaos to gain advantage on that same roll.

Planning to use 2 sorcery points to avoid exhaustion due to use of Overchannel.

Jack continues to hold a readied action, snowballing the spell into a doozy, and will launch it once the rest of the party has a first crack at hitting the yeti.

 

[Necropolitan]

Letting out what he'll claim was a battle cry and not a scream if asked Zeth responds to the oncoming yeti by casting a spell.

Despite Zeth's Patron's association with ice, fire spells are a given given both the Patron's Plane of origin and the fact that the ice he's surrounded with is unwanted. In this case the spell Fire Bolt was most graciously given to Zeth by his Patron's granted book of shadows.

A quick gesture with his hands and a word spat out in Infernal sends a bolt of flame streaking towards the yeti.

Zeth laughs triumphantly as his spell strikes home.

"I'm DONE with this detour, just DIE already!"

Zeth can almost imagine his spell is striking Auril as payback for the pain her winter's caused him and his grin widens.

OOC: ranged spell attack roll for Fire Bolt = 1D20+6 = [7]+6 = 13

Hit!

Damage = 1D10 = [10] = 10

 

[Steve Gorak]

Aric focuses on his bonfire spell. He doesn’t want to dismiss it and lacks other options so he stands on his guard.

OOC: dodge action

 

[domminniti]

Russet knew we should have not gone into their icy warren. Alerted to the danger outside he acts swiftly, he rushes out and strikes the yeti with his adamantine tipped spear.

OOC: single handed spear attack with reach (advantage?): 1D20+5 = [6]+5 = 11 1D20+5 = [10]+5 = 15 -hit if I had advantage Menacing attack: 1D4+3+1D8 = [3]+3+[6] = 12 Yeti needs to make a DC 13 wis save or is frightened till end of my next turn.

The yeti feels a cold in its bones, unlike the cold of this mountain, and sees a terrifying energy flowing out of it. If the yeti looks afraid of him, he will keep himself 10ft away from the yeti, but between the yeti and rest of the party. If not he will use remaining movement to close with the Yeti.

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

Logrim watches as the Yeti enters the cave and begins to sniffing around. He tenses as the others begin to attack the creature. The small gnome scans his surroundings until he sees a large chunk of ice that had fallen from the cave wall. Logrim points his wrench at the chunk of ice and presses a knob on the handle of the wrench. I purplish glow emanates form the wrench and surrounds the ice chunk which begins to raise of the ground following the movements of the wrench. Logrim then flings the ice at the yeti.

OOC: Casting Catapult Yeti needs to make a DC13 Dex save or take Catapult damage on Yeti: 3d8 12

 

[happylace]

Alma grunts in frustration, leaning out from her hiding place to get a better vantage point. There are mixed signals from the group. But ultimately, she knows they want this thing away from them.

She channels another spell, the pungent stink of sulfur beginning to fill the cavern. She hopes the wind will carry it out. That familiar cacophony of voices begins to stir. But something goes wrong. Alma grimaces, grabbing her head as it throbs. The spell shorts out and she can feel herself becoming undone for a moment. She can feel her identity sliding away.

She touches the nearest stone and breathes. Tries to grab hold of herself. Tries to ground herself to this moment. She is not with friends. She is in danger. She needs to get away. Quick. Her form suddenly shifts. Her skin becomes slick and something melts through her sleeves, hitting the ground with a wet plops. Two small globs of red ooze wriggle to life, then stretch and squirm until they take shape--two perfect duplicates of Alma.

Spoiler: Roll to Cast - Dissonant Whispers

Roll to Cast (Dissonant Whispers): 1D20+2 = [6]+2 = 8
FAIL
Miscast: 1D12 = [9] = 9
Delayed effect! The spell activates after 1d12 hours. If you were the intended target, the spell takes effect normally. If the caster was not the intended target, the spell goes off in the general direction of the intended target, up to the spell’s maximum range, if the target has moved away. However, you regain the action you used to cast the spell, and can immediately cast another spell without needing to roll to cast it.

[Cast Mirror Image instead.]

[the table was mislabeled so i counted it out. i believe this one is labeled as 12. please lmk if this is incorrect]

 

[Aethmud]

Spoiler: Action

DC14 Roll to cast (Sleep, cast at 4th level): 2D20.HIGH(1)+2 = [3, 1]+2 = 5 = fail

Miscast roll: use the face value of the roll-to-cast d20 = 3 = no miscast effect
^^^ EDIT: @Quickleaf I think I might have misinterpreted your miscast table. Should be "Refraction!" instead? Please let me know.

Sleep spell, how many HP of creatures put to sleep = 11D8 = [8, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 6, 3, 4, 7, 4] = 58 HP

Jack's sleep spell continues to gather strength, forming into ominous and chaotic eddies in the air around him. While shaping the fey glitter into a swirling and expanding sphere with his gestures, he fumbles. There's a split-second where a spark crackles from his wing onto one of his fingers, and then shoots into the spell vortex, causing the a billowing thread of glitter to flare off the spell sphere. Jack inhales a tiny bit of the magic dust.

A wave of drowsiness washes over him, his vision blurs, and the crackling wild magic dancing across his wings falters. The very enchantment he was conjuring starts pulling him into its embrace. His eyes droop, his lithe body swaying dangerously close to the icy wall. But the cacophany of the moment — Zeth's fiery spell, Russet's confrontation, Aric's crackling bonfire, Logrim's next-level snowball fight, Alma's mysterious replication, and the guttural roars of the yeti — penetrates his fogged senses.

With a grimace of determination, and a hint of irritation at his own near-miscue, Jack shakes his head and takes a staggering step to regain his balance, trying to dispel the mystical fog that threatens to overwhelm him. Taking a deep breath, he pulls even more of the magical dust strand deep within. Suddenly, Jack violently coughs out a groggy and choked wheeze, and a dazzling cloud of pixie dust erupts from him, pushing the sparkling vortex clear out of the cave. It forms a cloud outside. The near edge of the shimmering haze wraps around the yeti, each grain of dust a lullaby in solid form, working collectively to tug the creature into a peaceful slumber.

 

[Quickleaf]

GM POST

GM: I know there's some question about the sorcerer spells @Aethmud and @happylace which I've posted over in OOC, link to that post. I'm going to resolve everyone else's actions now & what happens with Corse (with Kobold Stew dropping, I'll run Corse in this scene) and the mommy yeti and yeti tyke. Then we'll resolve your castings once we have a chance to iron things out in OCC. Sorry for the confusion with my roughly done homebrew. Daddy Yeti (AC 12, disadvantage attacks/checks): hp 51 -13 (crossbow) -10 (firebolt) -15 (spear) = 13 hp Yeti fails save vs. Russet's Menacing Attack Yeti DC 13 Wis save disadvantage Fear of Fire: 2D20.LOW(1)+1 = [3, 4]+1 = 4 Yeti succeeds save vs. Logrim's Catapult Yeti DC 13 Dex save disadvantage Fear of Fire: 2D20.LOW(1)+1 = [15, 17]+1 = 16 Rather than roll, I had Mommy Yeti use Chilling Gaze vs Aric, but had Corse creatively upcast Produce Flame to thwart it

In an instant the icy silence of the cavern is interrupted by the thud of Lumrolur's crossbow string and the pained roar of the horned yeti filling the entrance. Immediately after, the hiss of streaking flames from Zeth's fingertips is followed by the smell of charred fur. Whirling about the yeti's eyes go wide in fear as he grunts heavily, patting out the flames on his shoulder, whirling about the elk corpse in a blind panic. Russet's longspear allows him to stay clear of the flailing creature, lunging at an opening to pierce under the yeti's ribs – the blood that flows now is indeed the yeti's own, and not that of his last victim.

Uttering an anguished roar, the yeti pivots about, sending Russet launching through the air several feet, his armor absorbing the impact against the icy wall as the spear pulls free. Searching the gloom, the yeti's eyes fixate on Zeth as they blister with chill white light. Narrowly avoiding the chunk of ice launched by Logrim, the yeti jerks to the side, nearly trampling Russet in his panicked state, as the ice chunk causes icicles above the entrance to crash down – it's only a minor obstruction (difficult terrain), but further damage to the entrance could close it off!

At least, however, the yeti's eyes lose that terrible light in the distraction of the gnome's magically catapulted ice.

As Aric focuses on maintaining the bonfire blocking any pursuit across the ice bridge, he can make out the silhouette of the whining little yeti gesturing impatiently towards the halfling Perilou. Lumbering behind is the silhouette of the yeti's mother carrying a large bone and pulling the tyke back. Her eyes begin to glow icy white as she lowers her head toward Aric, and for a second the blood in your veins seems to slow to a crawl.

Your guide, Fieldwalker Corse, seems to recognize the threat the mother yeti's gaze poses, and she whispers ancient words, conjuring trails of flail in her fingertips to coalesce into a small ball of flame which she throws into Aric's magical bonfire, sending a shower of sparks and fleeting bright light which drives back the mother yeti whose eyes stop glowing – breaking whatever hold she had on the goblin. "I think we've outstayed our welcome," Corse says to Aric and the others.

 

[Quickleaf]

GM POST

GM: @Aethmud @happylace For the purposes of advancing the scene and not getting bogged down, I'm just going to use your interpretations of my sorcerer variant rules as you posted in the IC. But I'll continue the rules conversation in OOC so we have agreement & clarity for future situations... I'm going to say that Jack's spell puts the daddy yeti AND Jack to sleep, since that seems like a reasonable complication and makes sense with the 58 hit point total being enough to sleep the wounded daddy Yeti (13 hp left) and Jack (14 hp). Btw Mirror Image creates three (3) duplicates! "If you have three duplicates, you must roll a 6 or higher to change the attack's target to a duplicate. With two duplicates, you must roll an 8 or higher. With one duplicate, you must roll an 11 or higher."

As the duplicates of Alma squirm into shape around her, the shrill growls of the yeti tyke and low chuf-chuffing of the mother yeti echo behind you as she hesitantly tests the boundaries of Aric's magical bonfire. Soon enough she will discover its heat doesn't extend far.

Gathering up a bundle of ice and snow into a hard-packed snowball, the yeti tyke hurls it wildly in Alma's direction, soaring just over Aric's head and right between the identical duplicates of the pale-skinned woman to smash against the far wall.

The horned male yeti staggers back and forth for a moment, swinging the elk carcass in a slow motion careening pendulum as Jack's magic settles over it like a scintillating dusting of snow shaken loose from the cavern ceiling by Logrim's catapulted ice. With a rumbling yawn, the horned yeti abruptly topples forward, narrowly missing Russet. However, the cloud of magical snow dust rolls off its collapsed white fur and gives Jack a sneezing fit, soon lulling him into winter's cool embrace as he curls to sleep...

GM: Yeti tyke snowball vs Alma = MissYeti tyke snowball at Alma AC 12 mirror image: 1D20+2 = [1]+2 = 3 You can now escape the cave and make your getaway, as long as somebody picks up or shakes awake sleeping Jack! But you'll need to decide whether to ascend Kelvin's Cairn higher after the tiefling Astrix or descend back down the way you came...

 

[Neurotic]

Wherever weird gnome was hiding before the attack started, he suddenly was next to the bridge hiding in the dancing shadows of the fire on the bridge and shooting toward the pair attacking the group.

Small bolt flies from his crossbow, this time nothing about it seems non-lethal, from insane grin (or maybe just adrenaline spasm?) on gnome's face to red glow (or maybe just fire reflection) in his eyes. The bolt flies true embedding in the torso of the larger creature. But shadows flow around the mother, jagged teeth of darkness followed by eerie whispers of almost heard threats and wails that for merest of moments touch the child next to her. And it wails too, lament for those who passed before it, as it realizes its own mortality.

Lumrolur shakes his head, the glow and the grin disappearing as he looks in what seems to be horror at what just happened. He shakes his head again, this time in sadness.


OOC: first sentence is a tribute to natural 20 on stealth on the surprise round

Spoiler: Actions

Bonus: neurotic: D20 + 4#lumrolurstealth → 20(16 + 4)#Lumrolur stealth
Move: suitably close for sneak attack on the mother (I described the fire so...somewhere in that direction)

Attack hits AC 16 for 8 damage, and child is hit for 6 necrotic (note the error in the roll where I rolled 2d20 and forgot H1 for advantage, but the first roll is 11+5 = 16)
neurotic: 2D20 + 5;D6 + 3 + D6#lumrolursneakattackvsyetimom → 19; 8( (11 +3) + 5);(2 + 3 + 3)#Lumrolur sneak attack vs yeti mom

neurotic: D6#lumrolurwailsfromthegravevsyetichild → 66#Lumrolur wails from the grave vs yeti child