Meepo has access to the following spells/skills which may be of help, if you'd like to utilize them before entering: Cure Wounds, Mass Healing Word, Vigilant Blessing
Let me know if you'd like to use any of those at this time...then, when the group is ready to proceed, everyone please roll either Arcane or Insight as you walk into the tunnel, and Perception or Investigation for when you emerge into the room on the other side...
Geth roll 1d20+6 Insight (Meepo)
Geth roll 1d20+3 Perception (Meepo)
Waiting for @Denada before moving forward! Meepo is in quiet, reverent awe of this place at the moment. Meanwhile, Jack and Oak will have discovered four different locations they could potentially investigate inside this gigantic cavern:
- The Doorway: You walked into the tunnel and the Expanse behind you vanished. The sight out the doorway is now alien and unfamiliar....where are you?...
- The Cavern Itself: You stand within an amphitheatre of crystal rock and faint, golden light. The silence in here is nearly deafening, and your reflection falls across a thousand glassy stalagmites and stalagtites which pepper the floors and ceilings...
- Strange Scattered Footprints: ...Someone was here before you, maybe many someones. Their boots still clearly mark the dust and dirt within the cave, and run from one end of the room to another, back and forth curiously...
- The Mirrored Guardian: A clockwork, armoured Knight-statue the size of a small tree rests on the far-north end of the cavern. A massive sword rests upon his back, and it holds a (by now) familiar looking-mirrored shield in front of itself with both hands. The glossy surface of the shield reflects the entire room in front of it...
Jack and Oak, let me know if you would like to get a closer look at anything here!
Oak: Survival or Perception to make sense of the jumble of footprints in the wet sand
Urixes: What do you share of what you've learned with the group?
Jack: Meepo secretly thinks the statue might be the way out of here, but also wants to go nowhere near the giant armored thing. Does Jack choose to approach the Mirrored Guardian regardless?
Meepo: Meepo, wanting nothing to do with the giant statue holding two weapons larger than he is, makes to examine the Doorway
Geth roll 1d20+3 Perception (Meepo)
...
If Jack chooses to step away from the Mirrored Guardian, and Investigate the far ends of the cavern instead, Everyone:
Please make a Stealth Check. You feel like you're being watched
Jack: Correct the Mirrored Guardian's assumption (Persuasion or Perception), or agree wholeheartedly that "Batzus of the Hidden Hills" had finally arrived? (Deception or History (History with an Advantage, from Urixes's lesson))
Oak and Urixes: Approach the Mirror Guardian along with Jack, or hang back out of sight? Roll Stealth to hang back in the cavern unseen, or Insight/Arcana to step forward towards the Guardian instead...
Just so it's clear, Oak is reading the notebook, but he's not trying to hide or anything. Standing where he is, so not approaching it specifically, but also not trying to hide from it.
His thoughts are maybe answers are in this notebook and he'll try to read what he can but also knowing Jack has initiated something, he's going to keep an ear out for any signs that action is starting.
I'll roll insight still, just because you asked for one or the other.
Jack and Urixes: Perception while you're up in the Mirror Guardian's face to get a better look at him, see if you can find any weaknesses or ways to possibly get the upper hand on the giant clockwork knight
Jack: How do you answer the Guardian's question?
Urixes and Oak: Knowing what happens next, how do you coach young Jack/what do you do to prepare yourselves?
Meepo: Currently chasing their own tail in fear. Don't worry, they'll come running when you guys need them!
OOC: Headed out of town on a thing until Tuesday evening for family business/business-business. Have everything pertinent for this current section with me and ready to go, but updates on my part may be sporadic at best between now and then. Just FYI!
Urixes will use Message to secretly tell Jack about the statue and what it's after. He'll do the same (if there's time) to let Oak and Meepo know that a fight is probably coming soon.
He's massive, but moves slowly...very slowly. You're confident that in a straight speed contest, the Wild Bunch could run circles around this guy. But it would be a safe guess that he's been built with a few tricks up his sleeve (that mirror seems to be apart of him somehow, rather than just a mere weapon), and you're guessing it can sustain an incredible amount of punishment. That gigantic shield might present a problem in melee combat, too, if he has it pointed right at you. And then of course, there's the matter of the Were-Jack in the glass...
URIXES
He's massive, but moves slowly...very slowly. But with the intricacy of the clockwork, Urixes suspects he might be more nimble than he initially looks. You're confident that in a straight speed contest, the Wild Bunch could run circles around this guy. But you're guessing it can sustain an incredible amount of punishment, as well
The statue seems to be channeling/controlling some amount of the radiant energy through the shield. Urixes is worried about what might happen if the mirror itself takes a direct hit from his blasts: maybe the glass absorbs his shot, or worse. But if he can somehow get around behind him...
Urixes can't make out his eyes past the darkness underneath the helm. Is it because perhaps...they aren't there? The Warlock wonders if maybe the statue had told Jack the truth: that it can "only see what it has been shown". Maybe the mirror's magics include a "shared sight" with the Mirrored Guardian...?
EVERYONE: We all know where this is quickly headed, so please Roll Initiative! Jack has this question to answer, then one more before the Guardian throws down
Jack: With that Nat 20 on your Initiative, feel free to answer the Mirrored Guardian in part by bashing him good (or initiating combat how you see fit!)
Battle Map to be posted tomorrow- thanks for your patience, everyone!
Geth roll 1d20+2 Initiative (Guardian/Mirror-Jack)
How long has this Q&A been going on for? One of my class features is:
Know Your Enemy
Starting at 7th level, if you spend at least 1 minute observing or interacting with another creature outside combat, you can learn certain information about its capabilities compared to your own. The DM tells you if the creature is your equal, superior, or inferior in regard to two of the following characteristics of your choice:
Strength score
Dexterity score
Constitution score
Armor Class
Current hit points
Total class levels, if any
Fighter class levels, if any
I figure I might've spent enough time looking at at least the guardian if not both at this point. Though tbh, the RAW info is kind of boring, could we maybe interpret is as a successful Insight check instead? I'm more interested in what Jack's gut says about them than combat stats.
How long has this Q&A been going on for? One of my class features is:
Know Your Enemy
Starting at 7th level, if you spend at least 1 minute observing or interacting with another creature outside combat, you can learn certain information about its capabilities compared to your own. The DM tells you if the creature is your equal, superior, or inferior in regard to two of the following characteristics of your choice:
Strength score
Dexterity score
Constitution score
Armor Class
Current hit points
Total class levels, if any
Fighter class levels, if any
I figure I might've spent enough time looking at at least the guardian if not both at this point. Though tbh, the RAW info is kind of boring, could we maybe interpret is as a successful Insight check instead? I'm more interested in what Jack's gut says about them than combat stats.
That's a useful move to have in the ol' toolkit! Ok, you've definitely been talking to the Mirrored Guardian for at least a minute now. You want the goods on him combat-kit wise (basically what I gave Urixes, but all of it), or were you interested in something more specific about him?
The Mirror-Jack post that last Intelligence Save isn't exactly the same creature that's been mirroring you, or that transformed into a Nightmare-version of Jack. You can tell just by looking at it that Jack facing his fear has significantly reduced the thing, whatever it is (say, whereas once it was a Werewolf about to emerge from the mirror, now it's simply a Giant Wolf)
Jack is working (naively) on the assumption that, once this questioning is over, the clockwork will let them pass. So, knowing whether or not his gut also believes that will influence what he does next; the construct is being spooky, but not outwardly hostile just yet.
Jack is working (naively) on the assumption that, once this questioning is over, the clockwork will let them pass. So, knowing whether or not his gut also believes that will influence what he does next; the construct is being spooky, but not outwardly hostile just yet.
Ahhh, gotcha! Well in that case, after having interacted with the Guardian for awhile, Jack discerns
that this highly unique bit of clockwork has a restless, ancient soul bound within it's core. It wasn't enough to simply set a robotic watchdog, the God of this place had to animate it with a person as well! Whether the soul serves it's fate willingly or not, Jack can't tell
As a chosen tool of "Order", whoever's soul it was likely was a bit of a prick to begin with, but long years of solitude have clearly made the thing openly bitter and resentful of his task, and people. It chooses to see people at their worst, having failed to heed his own warning of falling to "false reflections". Jack was never going to win this one: the Mirrored Guardian never would've accepted him as a worthy Champion because he's "conflicted", just as it never would've accepted anyone who chose a Ship like the Curse to live, or a place like the Expanse to willingly traverse. There is a reason "Order" holds no sway inside the Twilight Expanse...
-Every square= 5x5 sq ft
-You may make a Perception Check as a free action within fifteen feet of any wall/stalagmite to determine if it's an illusion or not
-The Mirrored Guardian is currently facing DUE SOUTH
-Meepo has used their turn to overcome their fear of the Shadows; current turn to Oak
-Ask me anything else you wish to know about the Cavern of The Missing Order
INITIATIVE ORDER
-Jack
-Meepo
-Oak
-Mirror Guardian/Were-Jack the Lesser
-Urixes
Posts
Let me know if you'd like to use any of those at this time...then, when the group is ready to proceed, everyone please roll either Arcane or Insight as you walk into the tunnel, and Perception or Investigation for when you emerge into the room on the other side...
Geth roll 1d20+6 Insight (Meepo)
Geth roll 1d20+3 Perception (Meepo)
Geth, roll 1d20+3 for Insight
Geth, roll 1d20+3 for Perception
Geth, roll 1d20+1 for Insight
Geth, roll 1d20+4 for Perception
.....right?
- The Doorway: You walked into the tunnel and the Expanse behind you vanished. The sight out the doorway is now alien and unfamiliar....where are you?...
- The Cavern Itself: You stand within an amphitheatre of crystal rock and faint, golden light. The silence in here is nearly deafening, and your reflection falls across a thousand glassy stalagmites and stalagtites which pepper the floors and ceilings...
- Strange Scattered Footprints: ...Someone was here before you, maybe many someones. Their boots still clearly mark the dust and dirt within the cave, and run from one end of the room to another, back and forth curiously...
- The Mirrored Guardian: A clockwork, armoured Knight-statue the size of a small tree rests on the far-north end of the cavern. A massive sword rests upon his back, and it holds a (by now) familiar looking-mirrored shield in front of itself with both hands. The glossy surface of the shield reflects the entire room in front of it...
Jack and Oak, let me know if you would like to get a closer look at anything here!
Geth, roll 1d20+5 for Investigation Check
Urixes: What do you share of what you've learned with the group?
Jack: Meepo secretly thinks the statue might be the way out of here, but also wants to go nowhere near the giant armored thing. Does Jack choose to approach the Mirrored Guardian regardless?
Meepo: Meepo, wanting nothing to do with the giant statue holding two weapons larger than he is, makes to examine the Doorway
...
If Jack chooses to step away from the Mirrored Guardian, and Investigate the far ends of the cavern instead, Everyone:
Oak and Urixes: Approach the Mirror Guardian along with Jack, or hang back out of sight? Roll Stealth to hang back in the cavern unseen, or Insight/Arcana to step forward towards the Guardian instead...
Meepo:
His thoughts are maybe answers are in this notebook and he'll try to read what he can but also knowing Jack has initiated something, he's going to keep an ear out for any signs that action is starting.
I'll roll insight still, just because you asked for one or the other.
Geth, roll 1d20+3 for Insight
Jack: How do you answer the Guardian's question?
Urixes and Oak: Knowing what happens next, how do you coach young Jack/what do you do to prepare yourselves?
Meepo: Currently chasing their own tail in fear. Don't worry, they'll come running when you guys need them!
OOC: Headed out of town on a thing until Tuesday evening for family business/business-business. Have everything pertinent for this current section with me and ready to go, but updates on my part may be sporadic at best between now and then. Just FYI!
Geth, roll 1d20 for Perception Check
He just yells.
Please make an Intelligence Save vs. the Man in the Mirror
...
...
URIXES
The statue seems to be channeling/controlling some amount of the radiant energy through the shield. Urixes is worried about what might happen if the mirror itself takes a direct hit from his blasts: maybe the glass absorbs his shot, or worse. But if he can somehow get around behind him...
Urixes can't make out his eyes past the darkness underneath the helm. Is it because perhaps...they aren't there? The Warlock wonders if maybe the statue had told Jack the truth: that it can "only see what it has been shown". Maybe the mirror's magics include a "shared sight" with the Mirrored Guardian...?
EVERYONE: We all know where this is quickly headed, so please Roll Initiative! Jack has this question to answer, then one more before the Guardian throws down
Geth roll 1d20-1 Initiative (Meepo)
Geth, roll 1d20+4 for Initiative
Battle Map to be posted tomorrow- thanks for your patience, everyone!
I figure I might've spent enough time looking at at least the guardian if not both at this point. Though tbh, the RAW info is kind of boring, could we maybe interpret is as a successful Insight check instead? I'm more interested in what Jack's gut says about them than combat stats.
That's a useful move to have in the ol' toolkit! Ok, you've definitely been talking to the Mirrored Guardian for at least a minute now. You want the goods on him combat-kit wise (basically what I gave Urixes, but all of it), or were you interested in something more specific about him?
The Mirror-Jack post that last Intelligence Save isn't exactly the same creature that's been mirroring you, or that transformed into a Nightmare-version of Jack. You can tell just by looking at it that Jack facing his fear has significantly reduced the thing, whatever it is (say, whereas once it was a Werewolf about to emerge from the mirror, now it's simply a Giant Wolf)
Ahhh, gotcha! Well in that case, after having interacted with the Guardian for awhile, Jack discerns
As a chosen tool of "Order", whoever's soul it was likely was a bit of a prick to begin with, but long years of solitude have clearly made the thing openly bitter and resentful of his task, and people. It chooses to see people at their worst, having failed to heed his own warning of falling to "false reflections". Jack was never going to win this one: the Mirrored Guardian never would've accepted him as a worthy Champion because he's "conflicted", just as it never would've accepted anyone who chose a Ship like the Curse to live, or a place like the Expanse to willingly traverse. There is a reason "Order" holds no sway inside the Twilight Expanse...
-Every square= 5x5 sq ft
-You may make a Perception Check as a free action within fifteen feet of any wall/stalagmite to determine if it's an illusion or not
-The Mirrored Guardian is currently facing DUE SOUTH
-Meepo has used their turn to overcome their fear of the Shadows; current turn to Oak
-Ask me anything else you wish to know about the Cavern of The Missing Order
INITIATIVE ORDER
-Meepo
-Oak
-Mirror Guardian/Were-Jack the Lesser
-Urixes
CURRENT INITIATIVE
-Meepo
-Oak
-Mirror Guardian/Were-Jack the Lesser
-Urixes @Denada
Gonna level with you guys...I may have been playing some Elden Ring recently. Possibly
Edit: Okay that's one duplicate down, two to go!
Absolutely!