The return of the D&D campaign: This time it's potatoes

[Wrathbone]

Truss is a powerhouse! The hits he took in the last fight were all halved because he was raging, and since his max health is 45 that means he took over 90 damage. If you ever want to join us for a night and reclaim Truss you’re more than welcome of course.

[Sly Boots]

Yes, please think about doing so, Animal. We're having loads of fun and it's working really well with mic comms over the website we're using - you get to see maps of all the areas we're in and stuff. It's great and I'm loving it

Thanks again WB, thanks for hosting.

Just had a little play levelling up using DnDbeyond... nice seeing all the skill stats go up, and I get a 3d6 sneak attack bonus now it looks like, and uncanny dodge to halve my incoming damage

[Mantis]

Truss is acting as a perfect meatshield for our otherwise highly squishy team.

I'm struggling to pick my spells for third level, I get one new one and can change any one of my already known spells out every time I level up and it's proving difficult to decide which.

[Wrathbone]

Forgot to say, there was an interesting background turn of events with the dice tonight. I try to stick to the ethos of let the dice fall where they may, and that was certainly the case with the Black Spider rolling his death saves. He rolled a failure and a success, and on the third round he rolled a natural 1 which counts as two failures - i.e. that’s what killed him. If it had been anything other than a 1 then he would have made it to the end of combat and survived. Since he was the Big Bad of the story so far, I refused to fudge it. But yeah, I thought it was interesting how fine the line was and how close it came to what would have been a very different outcome!

[Mantis]

Like we wouldn't have just tortured him for information and then murdered him anyway. His death was an important requirement for my long planned vendetta against that town master.

[Sly Boots]

Nundro needs his skull-tankard, after all.

[Wrathbone]

I’m really looking forward to doing the write up of the Townmaster’s fate tomorrow.

[Sly Boots]

Surprisingly given the nature of some of our exploits, but there haven't been many moments where my reaction to something has just been ".... ....", but that was definitely one of them

[Sly Boots]

Also, WB, a couple of post-levelling questions if that's ok?

For the hp increase just want to make sure I've done it correctly - it said to add 1d8 (I rolled a 7) and your constitution modifier (which is +1) for every level - so for level 5 I added 11hp, ie 7 plus 4 (1 each for levels 2, 3, 4 and 5), is that right?

And just on uncanny dodge, does that work like Truss' rage thing, ie deflect half of all incoming damage, or is it something I have to roll for or can only use selectively?

[Wrathbone]

For the HP increase, each time you level up it's your hit dice (1d8 for a rogue) plus your constitution modifier (+1), so this time it would be 7 + 1 = 8. The only time you'd add your constitution modifier for every level is when the modifier increases, because it works retroactively. e.g. If you were levelling up to level 5 and your con mod changed from +1 to +2, you'd roll 1d8 + 6 (or at least I think it's 6, because if the con mod stayed at +1 then you'd add +1, but you'd also be adding an extra +1 for each of your 5 levels).

Uncanny dodge just works - you don't have to roll anything. If that seems insanely powerful, that's because it is, but I also have an entire monster manual to throw at you guys. Also worth noting that uncanny dodge is a reaction, and you only get one reaction per round, so if you've already taken for example an attack of opportunity then you wouldn't be able to use it that round.

Level 5 is where shit gets real and the tier of play evolves from local heroes* to something larger. Someone once suggested that if you take Game of Thrones as an example, there are no characters in it that would be above level 5. In LOTR, Aragorn and friends operate somewhere between levels 10-15, achieving feats well beyond what your average person could attempt. Levels 16-20 are the cosmic scale 'basically gods' tier - e.g. Thor at his best.

*...'Heroes'.

[Sly Boots]

Cool, thanks for that WB, and I'll knock 3 hp off as I misunderstood. It did seem like a lot to gain on one level-up

[Wrathbone]

Slight clarification on uncanny dodge that makes it less OP than it initially seems: It only works if someone attacks you specifically - i.e. if they make an attack roll against you. It doesn't work for other types of damage that don't come from an attack roll (e.g. an area of effect spell like fireball).

https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions ... as-attacks

[Sly Boots]

Cheers, good to know.

Especially bearing in mind Charr's likely choice of new spells... ¬_¬

[Mantis]

I can still only cast two spells between short rests, but boy do I have some interesting ones to choose from now.

[Wrathbone]

You also have your Spider Staff which can cast Web and Spider Climb a few times a day (should be in your inventory now).

Recap of last night:

Returning from the previous cliffhanger, the party continued to dispatch the onslaught of enemies while somehow avoiding their own demises. The last remaining bugbear surrendered as his comrades fell, and was forced by our illustrious heroes to strip naked and flee with his last shred of dignity in tatters. As surprising as it may be, this would prove to be their most merciful action of the coming day.

Amidst the sea of corpses, only Truss lay alive, and only barely as his friends came to revive him. The Black Spider was not so fortunate, having had his body and brain devastated by Sage's sonic blast which literally shattered multiple stone pillars. Slythe investigated the room and found papers indicating the Black Spider was receiving orders from someone he disliked, along with a coded message in an unknown script. The party also freed Gundren's brother, Nundro, and then conveyed to him the death of his brother Tharden by parading the fancy boots they had ripped off his cold, dead feet. After some much needed rest, Nundro proceeded to hack the head off the Black Spider's corpse as proof of his death, or perhaps as a trophy.

Upon leaving the mine, the party bumped into Jeff, who had got lost and wasn't sure if he was outside or not because he had no concept of what that meant. The group helped Jeff find the exit (Truss scooping up Tharden's body along the way, like a sack of non-destined potatoes), and Jeff was elated and shocked at the sheer scale of the sky. Charr brought him back to earth by informing him that looking at the sky for too long was dangerous, and so Jeff diligently kept his eyes to the ground as he set off on his journey of exploration to the North. Would he find untold treasures and wonders, make new friends and test the depths of his character? Or would he incinerate the first group of travellers he encountered due to an unfortunate misunderstanding and his total ignorance of the wider world? Only the trail of ashes and blood in his wake would tell.

Arriving back in Phandalin, the party found many new wanted posters and warnings of their various activities and disguises, and they heard a commotion from the town centre. A crowd stood around a hastily-erected gallows as the Townmaster decreed that Sildar and Gundren were to be put to death for the crimes of sedition, multiple counts of accessory to murder and conspiracy to depose the town's rightful authorities. Rather than taking the flimsy, pissant approach of trying to defuse the situation, Sage marched forth into the crowd disguised as the Black Spider, his dark and ominous staff in hand, and demanded that the Townmaster release the prisoners into his custody at once.

It is unclear what part the Townmaster played in the troubling events surrounding Phandalin and the Black Spider, though it seems he had been involved to some extent with a subordinate or associate of the Spider's. What is certain is that the party then rallied the crowd against the Townmaster, placing the blame squarely on him for every ill that had happened in the past weeks and months. With the frenzied, ill-informed rage of a Daily Mail reader (that being the local Neverwinter hate rag, of course), the crowd cut free Sildar and Gundren and summarily hanged the Towmaster without trial or forethought until - with his dying constrictions - he watched as Sage reverted in front of him to his true form and revealed the trickery that had led to his demise. Hours later, the Townmaster's corpse still swinging in the breeze, Charr sent his ethereal, disembodied hand to loot a pouch of gold off his belt.

Knowing they would find no dignity in such company, Gundren and Nundro set about burying their brother alone on the edge of town, and then returned to regroup with Sildar and the party at the inn. The town had agreed for Sildar to administer the town's needs temporarily until proper elections could be held. Sildar accepted the charge and suggested that the party returned to Neverwinter to report back to General Sabine and Sir Carac (Sildar's superior), receive their reward and perhaps find more work in tracking down the Black Spider's masters and their plans. Gundren and Nundro also agreed that as a just reward, the party would be given 16% of any profits from the mine once it was up and running again.

With the rescue of Gundren, Nundro and Sildar, the scuppering of bandit activities in the area, the discovery of the Lost Mine and the demise of the Black Spider, the party had proven their value, and their flexible ethics. As they headed to Neverwinter at the close of the first chapter of their story, whispers began to spread of their deeds and misdeeds to ears of both friend and foe. Their true journey had just begun...