Escaping Stormreach (NOT for GM Steve C.!)

Okay, I mean, Steve C., you’re welcome to read this, of course. But I had some thoughts about our group’s escape from Stormreach while evading the duergar, and I thought to pose the ideas to the group for discussion: (1) The duergar have seen Yipping, Envy, Lukar, and Twitch (as a dwarf). They have not yet seen Legion and Sh’Nezz’Tar.  (2) It’s night and Lukar could presumably use his bat form to do aerial reconnaissance (don’t know how that works but presumably can fly around unnoticed and lead others with squeaks and low passes). (3) Twitch has one spell slot left. She can cast Disguise Self to appear as Lady Alna. If someone is proficient with a disguise kit they might be able to assist with the illusion and help disguise Lady Alna as someone else. At the least, Twitch will let Alna borrow her cloak, and Alna can cover anything identifiable (someone should cast Detect Magic—Twitch has it as a ritual—to identify any magical bugs on Alna. Also, she should give Twitch any distinctive items or have Yipping stuff them in the bag of holding, to avoid low-level Locate spells). (4) Envy, Yipping, and disguised Twitch can serve as a decoy, while Legion and Lukar lead Sh’Nezz’Tar (with Blessing of the Trickster to negate disadvantage on Stealth and Guidance from Yipping) and Lady Alna (with Guidance from Twitch and a Bardic Inspiration to aid with Stealth) away from the patrols and out through the west side of town. Consider using sewers. (5) If Envy, Yipping, and Twitch get cornered, Twitch can drop Disguise Self and Envy can talk the team out of trouble. In the meantime, the other group makes their way out of the city.  (6) Twitch has a pirate’s 🏴‍☠️ Bad Reputation. She’s unlikely to get into trouble with the city guard for being involved in a bar fight and can probably help get Yipping and Envy out of trouble with petty guards, too. The Soulblades are admittedly something else.  Thoughts, comments, things people could add? Decent germ of a plan? Koop

Few things to add/consider. 1) Legion is very good at scouting and can defiantly try to like run the rooftops ahead of you guys and keep the way clear. 2) legion has 3 friends in the iron watch which is like the 2nd level of city guards all made up of warforged. Depending on how much heat we draw we could try to talk to them, I will say thou we might be doing something a bit too illegal for their taste. 3) In General I am not a huge fan of splitting because if we run into trouble we will need each other's help to get out of it.

Ben, good thoughts! About illegality: it's an interesting question. Apart from disabling an arcane lock--a property offense with no lasting damage or injury (and no witnesses)--as far as I can tell, the group hasn't actually committed any crime during this extraction! (Okay: hyper-technically, Envy used her magic to cause a battery, for which Envy could be held liable. And because the rest of us planned with her to do it, the rest of us would be liable for aiding and abetting, conspiracy, or both. The group could be held civilly liable for the personal and property damage that resulted. But the underlying criminal offense--battery--is a misdemeanor at best. And see below regarding a pirate's Bad Reputation.) In any event, helping a woman escape from a captive situation is not a crime--by holding her against her will, the House is committing false imprisonment at the least, and more likely human trafficking. We've been told that there's no impartial justice or law enforcement in Stormreach, but in this case, Envy and the Outcasts are on the side of right. Noted that Don't Split the Party is Rule #1 of D&D. But as with any rule, there are exceptions. In this case, the mission objective is to extract Lady Alna from the city, and she is the locus of any short-term danger (in that there are no immediate threats to the party members that don't involve her). If we were certain to expect a fight, I'd agree that dividing the party is bad strategy. The purpose of this proposed plan is to reduce the physical danger to both sub-groups by avoiding confrontation. The Lukar-Legion-Sh'Nezz'Tar sub-group, which is the locus of risk, has a caster at full spell slots (Lukar), two scouts (Legion and Lukar in bat form), two fighting types at full health (Legion-Sh'Nezz'Tar), and a healer (Sh'Nezz'Tar). By contrast, in the other group--which is at a low-to-no-risk for confrontation--Twitch is out of spell slots, Envy is down or out of spells and bardic inspiration, and Yipping is a half-caster with limited offensive capability for now. Neither group needs to win a combat encounter--they just need to be able to avoid or get away from one. And since the duergar and their minions haven't yet seen Legion, Sh'Nezz'Tar, Lukar in bat form, or a disguised Alna, they won't be looking for them--they'll be looking for Twitch-disguised-as-Alna, Envy, and Yipping, who they've seen and will hopefully be following on a wild goose chase. Even if the decoy group were to get cornered, once Twitch drops Disguise Self, the House forces would need to leave them alone to redouble their search for the real Alna, who is the only objective that matters to their employers. Recognizing the risk of dividing the group, I think we're meeting the exception! FWIW, Twitch's Bad Reputation is a Background feature for the Pirate background: Variant Feature: Bad Reputation If your character has a sailor  Background , you may select this  Background  feature instead of Ship’s  Passage . No matter where you go, people are afraid of you due to your reputation. When you are in a civilized settlement, you can get away with minor crim⁠inal offenses, such as refusing to pay for food at a  Tavern  or breaking down doors at a local shop, since most people will not report your activity to the authorities. Envy and the Outcasts' signature anthem:  "I don't give a damn about my Bad Reputation!"

Envy is out of spell slots, but still has 2 bardic inspos and a disguise kit, so she could help with the split the party plan! She also has minor illusion as a cantrip which can help with diversions, and I'll take any excuse to use Envy's high intimidation and persuasion lol. Splitting the party does also make me nervous, but if we all hurry back to our escape I think it could work out alright!&nbsp;&nbsp; (also bad reputation has now been added to the envy playlist, perfect for her and the vibes of the party!!)&nbsp; <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/64N9w5KGNvL4NU3PZjhPOH?si=49f1e547515a45f7" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/playlist/64N9w5KGNvL4NU3PZjhPOH?si=49f1e547515a45f7</a>

Yipping trust Twitch. Yipping has faerie fire but that is all. Envy will play music that makes them all die so all of us will be fine. If Outcasts are scared, Yipping has extra fingers they can put in ears but Yipping wants them back after.

Awesome--and KC, amazing, again. Where has Yipping been all our lives?