The Harbinger of Ferocity

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

I shall post tomorrow, assuming all goes well and nothing changes. Good to know our trick seems to have gone undetected!

D&D 5e - The Lost Lands

The Vale

The Crypt,
Currently

"Then it is settled!"

The elven wizard proclaimed, his mind having long since been settled on their few options since the moment the chaos of battle faded and consciousness returned to him. It was an enlightening experience, for never had they faced the Great All Dark as that. Once they had, in their fall when the world crumbled, but that battle they lost... here? Here they managed to buy time it seemed, to fill the hourglass with just another small handful of sand, but at least there was certainty there where it was otherwise feeble in all others.

"Friends will stay with Birbin! Very good, yes! All the more friends to fight the darkness and bad shadows!" The gnome proclaimed, as full of life as any other moment, only to look over to Valmjr who was not nearly as impressed. The stalwart man gave a gruff nod of approval, setting aside one of the last bits of the tomb's discarded, chaotic remains, while the paladin of Thea looked to Theodore for a moment.

Her expression said everything he needed to know; duty first, an oath each knew all too well. It was a look of sympathy, more to be said from herself as well, but she swallowed hard and nodded, speaking only with affirming words than concerns now.

"I have never been one for the defensive," She motioned to her arms and armor, "But without that perseverance and a 'safe' place to call home until we can fix everything we cannot go on the offense." The woman cracked a smile, but she dared not continue, lest her heroism peter out. She stepped away at that point, accompanying her friend in the eladrin sage.

Haemar however, laid a hand upon the ranger's shoulder as he passed by. The choice not an easy one, for their adventure was only just beginning at large truthfully. The group as a whole, from the oddest and smallest, to the greatest and most noble saw themselves up the step of the tomb, where Valmjr shut the great doors for what he hoped was the last time. His mission was fulfilled, unlike anything else here in his time, yet it too was just a new beginning - the heroic outsiders proved their worthiness, not only to the ancestors and himself, but their strange "Light". Maybe there was great nobility in this cause beyond the thrill of heightened battle, the rush of the axe in hand and the clatter of shields?

Or maybe he needed a long drink after the past few days.

As the entourage arrived to the above ground, drinking in the rays of the sun through the immense stained glass windows that sat high in the Hall, those not shuttered and barricaded, a sound they almost surely did not expect filled their ears from the outside world. Voices, that of people in fact, speaking the odd dialect their latest companion had uttered when he assisted the sailor and bard in breaching the wards that had been reset after the Green Man and Ruron descended into the tomb! Stepping amidst the overturned tables as adhoc ramparts and all the scattered food and weapons, they could tell the town was...

... was restored.

Effects

Upon the party reaching the Hall itself, up from the crypt, they can easily and well tell the town seems to be alive with action outside the barricaded stone and wood walls. It sounds as though the people, wherever they were, are exploring the once ghost town.

Score
Celestial Temple

Map
???

@Cu Chulainn, @Gordian Nought, @Hekazu, @JBRam2002

D&D 5e -- The Lost Children

The Healing Spirit effect ends as the concentration on the spell is broken on a roll of 4 by the subsequently dead bandit.

Frokane's Mildly Politcal Hangout Thread

And have yet to provide counter evidence of your own.

@SleepingSilence

I believe that sums up the entirety of the issues with the theorizing going on toward the list of matters portrayed. Now for something entirely different. Yes, the Gorilla Channel has become an actual problem, no longer just the absurdist nonsense it was originally as a meme, which is based upon a book that is already mostly fictional despite how the media are taking it. It seems both journalism and authorship are dead, given some quotes from the article that source the writer himself in his book:

"Many of the accounts of what has happened in the Trump White House are in conflict with one another; many, in Trumpian fashion, are baldly untrue. These conflicts, and that looseness with the truth, if not with reality itself, are an elemental thread of the book.

"Sometimes I have let the players offer their versions, in turn allowing the reader to judge them. In other instances I have, through a consistency in the accounts and through sources I have come to trust, settled on a version of events I believe to be true."

Michael Wolff

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

It was only when Brannor caught his balance amidst the tirade physically did he catch on to just what the half-blooded orc had been hiding, seemingly as inconspicuous as it could be in the bags of waste flesh. Perched upon one knee and rising again with the gifted burden, but not without plucking the point from its nest of grotesque camouflage, did he stand. Orchid carried on, bellowing, mocking, and crafting an elaborate scene that was truthfully his giving into the role; loud and hostile, just in a different vein than he had been before. The huntsman, hands still bound, wiped himself clean upon the still bloodied armor he wore, stashing the prize down into the waist where it fell down the leg and landed in the tucked portion of his leather leggings. The pressure of the boot against his leg prevented it from falling into the thing and risking injury from its potentially deadly point; all he needed to do to access it was pull the leg of the pant free and retrieve the adhoc weapon.

Clever, but he was not finished himself, not at all. Instead, as he disposed the rest of the refuse into the pit beside them both, he did so whilst providing the seeming orcish slaver a deathly glare. Dumping the contents in, his muscles did not strain or tire, his strength not entirely human after all, but the gesture was meant to be as much a part of the act as anything else. Those of this cult who likely recognized him, especially as the orc touted the recounting, would equally realize Orchid was not to be trifled with. After all, he and his bear, rather his druid, were able to take on a monster. If anything the deterrent went both ways, Brannor not so naive as to recognize the man was trying to cement his place in the scene, all while keeping his own.

Dealing with the barbarian was among the best options he had, someone he could at least trust in part, and if none of the other cultists would willingly do it, then the half-blood was the easiest candidate. Hopefully such a ruse would keep in play for as long as they needed it, that they would not send the halfling, the priestess, the old man, or the half-blood savage too far out of sight or mind. So when Orchid roared there was more work to do, Brannor only answered reasonably without a word; the wringing of his hands free of the blood from the slaughter, letting it spatter messily onto the muddy, sickly ground. It was a cold gesture, one that kept his mind trained rather than delving into the overwhelming scent of decay mingled with fresh blood.

Effects

Brannor moves to hide the sharpened bone in a pant leg, letting it fall from the waist down and rest just above the boot on the inside, tucked and safely concealed. Assuming it requires a Sleight of Hand (Dexterity) check to do so successfully, he rolls a 20 to hide the deed. If he was granted advantage from the distraction by Orchid, the advantage rolled was a 14.

@Hekazu@Ryonara@Lucius Cypher@Gordian Nought

D&D 5e - The Lost Lands

The Vale

The Crypt,
Currently

"You know I am not so forward about my plans, dear friend." Haemar stood himself up and rigid, folding his arms across his chest and providing the magically inclined company with a smirk. It teetered between the realms of the entirely serious and that he played upon their mutual bonds, before falling off into the latter.

"I assure you that you will not like it, but it is an idea all the same, and I would not bring it forward or even speak of it if it were not valid either." The elven swordmage offered a subtle shrug before the heavily armored paladin beside him sighed, her eyes rolling in their sockets as she gave a muttering under her breath, "That is an understatement."

Looking to Thea then once more to Wick, Haemar spoke freely at that point, elaborating on a conclusion he had come to.

"If we know the Kingdom of Darkness seeks to steal away this Ysgard, to the point of manipulating anyone and everyone, even us, it only stands to reason we do not leave it unprotected. We have become so numerous in kindred spirits, between our arcanely inspired gnomish friend and our magical warrior, that we have a luxury we might not have had if we were not so graced by the light... that some of us can remain here and keep safe the realm while others of us venture on."

The courtly wizard paused for a moment before clasping his hands behind his back, walking to one side amidst the stone slabs that were lining the warm halls of the crypt. His pacing stopped and he pivoted to continue speaking, elaborating on his point.

"The lady Thea has agree to accompany me on this endeavor, to assist in guiding our friends of Birbin and Valmjr, as well as whoever else has survived the darkness." His enchanting eyes shifted from point to point as his lips finished the words, sweeping across the remaining heroes who had gone unmentioned other than himself, "Thus the rest of you can carry onward without our number becoming too unwieldy and us ensuring that there is always a haven to return to should things become dire."

It was at this point the impatience of Thea broke through in contrast to the noble soul's dialogue.

"What he means is, if you go forward with everyone else, then we can hold here. We'll keep it safe and try to stabilize things. I am not fond of that green-knight, but if we don't try and preserve whatever is left of this place then we've lost already. If we just press forward together, the darkness might sweep right in behind us and take everything we worked for as he suggested about all that 'balance' stuff."

The man chuckled, smilingly brightly to both women, "Yes, that."

Effects

Score
Celestial Temple

Map
???

@Cu Chulainn, @Gordian Nought, @Hekazu, @JBRam2002

Frokane's Mildly Politcal Hangout Thread

I came to drop by and say there is a certain brand of humor to be derived from someone proclaiming "Prove that there always will be leaders." and "Prove that everyone constantly wants more." all while supporting and advocating a system that basically is theory at its absolute best and in itself has no real world applicability or proof, then speak about something else altogether. Ignoring that people cannot function without leadership or are utterly predispositioned by nature alone to desire more even when enough is already sufficient, a few interesting things happened in the real world yesterday.

While people were busy paying attention to things that do not matter - Sessions' stance on the legalization of marijuana, the Bannon debacle, the "Bigger Button" issue - they are reopening several cases, one of which is directed toward the Clinton Foundation as well as the blatant misuse and improper procedures related to classified material, to include confirming that Comey's actions were in themselves illegal. There is also confirmation from several Freedom of Information Act mandates that prove they knew all along exactly what they were doing the entire time; you can read some declassified, obviously redacted, Classified information here due to those requests. One of the more entertaining things is that they discuss stored and backed up information.

But it does not end there, no, rather the infamous records of Fusion GPS will be delivered despite the lengthy efforts to prevent it. Yet the momentum has continued elsewhere, as Manafort has begun a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, namely Mueller and Rosenstein, for their overreaching of boundaries about the proposed collusion of Donald Trump and the Russian government. In fact, the filing is even available at this moment, strongly suggesting he has largely been cleared of any proposed wrongdoing based upon his motion to file suit.

Also, something for everyone, which we should all be pleased with.

Frokane's Mildly Politcal Hangout Thread

At this rate I am sure everyone has seen it by now, but the signs being found all throughout the state of California seem to be an organized effort. I admit, they are pretty humorous even if in a bit of poor taste. In other related news that is much more serious, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is apparently planning a tremendous increase of presence in the state, as referenced by Director Thomas Homan, one of his quotes being:

"If the politicians in California don't want to protect their communities, then ICE will. We're gonna be all over the place and we're going to enforce the law without apology."

Thomas Homan, Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement

This elevated, aggressive stance comes as a result of the acquittal around the murder of Kate Steinle by an illegal immigrant who was deported five times and the official sanctuary status of the state, as well as the following information released by the agency's director.

D&D 5e -- The Lost Children

Any that meet the criteria, @Guardian Angel Haruki, just order of preference with highest being those closest being to Jamil of Azalorn and lowest being those away.

I'll Show You Why I'm at The Top of the Food Chain

The other, still an unknown in the dark, watched attentively from where it sat until the night's stranger went about off into the dark further and all but began to vanish. It carried on in pursuit, or rather a casual walk that followed parallel to the trail the thing made that led itself closer to the odd tree that arose here and there. The show of curiosity versus potentially an easy meal were carefully poised in opposition, either this thing was a matter of interest to be explored or merely just another to be eaten, yet which it was did not seem to be clear at the moment. Was the proposed risk worth the reward? Was there any reward at all?

Such simple reasonings were not enough to dissuade it however, as each of its widespread paws carried it along and across the thin layer of snow just as silently as they did before until it came closer still. It laid itself down from a ways behind the robust base of the elder tree, camouflaged perfectly amidst snow crested blades of tall grass; for the moment it chose to watch and observe, to better sort its two options. The only hint of its internal and simplistic debate was the repeated and subtle twitch of its tail again, its broad head dipping between the blades or rising from time to time as it sought a better view, hesitating between a natural need for pursuit - the fact the thing exposed itself at all by setting down rather than remaining upright - and a natural wariness of anything exceptional or odd.

Now and again the tenseness of its back rose then fell at the hair, attempting to become comfortable in what seemed as though it might be a long wait on a night whose temperatures threatened to fall lower with the passing hour. It mattered not, at least not urgently, the patience to lie in wait for hours on end in no short supply for this tawny figure like its relatives. So in place of that hurry, it contented itself with tasting the air again and awaiting what next would come.