Chereads / Wandering Dead Roads / Chapter 5 - 5

Chapter 5 - 5

//\\ Three Hours Later \\//

"Fucking stop towering already! You undead assholes can't even climb that high! Fuck you, you leaping piece of shit!"

"Aahh fuck! They got the rotator blade in the back with their stunt!"

At Angel's words everyone braced while Tashaun tried keeping us stable enough for a landing. But spinning doesn't fucking help with a crash landing!

"Shut a fucking door! Shut a fucking door! Minimize their entrances and brace against that door!"

None of us argued with Arnette, when Tashaun rushed to us from the cockpit, I cast Enlarge on my Eldritch Cannon. The spider turret curled its legs around us as I cast an extremely sturdy Sanctuary mixed with Dimension Door and Shatter. The chimeric spell filled the gaps and reinforced the legs, while Dimension Door kept us from flying out of the spell. Shatter actually cushioned our fall, surprisingly enough, as the destructive spell transferred the crash impact into the surroundings with the spell exploding. Yet I didn't get off scot free, while Fortress as I'll call the spell, worked in the heat of the moment. I felt organs rupture, blood vessels explode, and my eyes actually exploded in my eye sockets.

Thankfully my Mending variation was second nature by now, but it wouldn't heal everything quickly. Fucking shit just getting up hurt, my HP should last long enough for Mending to fix vitals though. I would need both Mending and Lesser Restoration to even fix a single eye partially. Winston was still operational, scuffed but operational if the frantic metallic beats of wings was anything. My poor cannon though was effectively destroyed by both impact and Fortress exploding. Hearing the sound of a Bull, I forced my right eye to be restored, looking at the fucker trapped under rubble trying to get at us.

I didn't even shoot at it, I just misty stepped right in front of it and crushed its head in with my foot. The world is freezing around me only now after killing thousands of zombies. Guess this means the experience I've gotten from them is starting to run dry, meaning only essentially Floods or Tsunami's will get me much of anything now. Sighing I started rearranging my character sheet into six pages total after reading all the updates.

[Kaiser Lockart | Warforged Human | Druid, Warlock, Artificer | Far Traveler | Chaotic Neutral |Level 7

— — — —

Status:

Armor Class: 16 | Proficiency +3

Strength: 18, +4(mod), +4(save) | Intelligence: 23, +6(mod), +8(save)

Dexterity: 21, +5(mod), +5(save) | Wisdom: 16, +3(mod), +3 (save)

Constitution: 15, +2(mod), +4(save) | Charisma: 14, +2(mod), +2(save)

— — — —

Abilities:

Strength: Athletics 4

Dexterity: Acrobatics 5, Sleight of hand 5, Stealth 5

Charisma: Deception 2, Intimidation 2, Performance 2, Persuasion 2

Wisdom: Animal Handling 3, Insight 7, Medicine 3, Perception 7, Survival 3

Intelligence: Arcana 10, History 6, Investigation 10, Nature 6, Religion 6

— — — —

Racial Features:

Within 120 feet of you, treat dim light as bright and darkness as dim light

Ability Scores increased by one

Light Fortification: Whenever a sneak attack or critical hit is scored, there is a 25% chance that the extra damage is negated and damage is rolled normal

Tireless: Immune to Fatigue and Exhausted conditions

Automatic Languages

Partial Inorganic: You do not require sleep, you only require one meal and water every two months

Pain Tolerance: Unless it's intentional self inflicted pain you do not feel it

— — — —

Proficiencies:

Armor - Light, Medium, Shields

Weapon - Simple, Firearms

Tool: Guitar, Thieves' Tools, Tinker's Tools, Blacksmith Tools

Languages: Common, Greek, Draconic, Elven, Asgardian, Roman, Japanese, Javascript, Python

— — — —

Curses:

Frailty: You are more likely to get sick or break bones easily (partially counteracted)

Sociopath: You do not understand feelings, nor will you ever, the only feelings you truly understand are the warped feelings you simulate

Emotional Suppression:  You barely register emotions at all when they come to you

Physical Immortality: You can never die, you will always regenerate, the only way you can die is if your soul is destroyed, this is both a curse and a blessing

Insanity: You always see and hear things that aren't there, things which would cause these hallucinations have no sway over you, only your own mind can torment you

— — — —

Blessings:

Tri-Class: You can have three classes at once and level them all together at once

Sparta's Blessing: Your rage is insurmountable, your always tightly lidded rage lets you suppress or ignore affects targeting your senses or were cast by a god

Last Words: Words left unsaid should you pass or leave the world permanently in some way shall be delivered regardless of world rules

— — — —

Soul Bound:

Bag of Infinite Ammo

Steam Deck

Android Phone.    Pg 1]

[Artificer Features.  Pg2

As an action, use tools to give a tiny object a visual, auditory, or olfactory effect.

  -The object sheds bright light in a 5-foot radius and dim light for an additional 5 feet. Whenever tapped by a creature, the object emits a recorded message that can be heard up to 10 feet away. You utter the message when you bestow this property on the object, and the recording can be no more than 6 seconds long. 

 -The object continuously emits your choice of an odor or a nonverbal sound (wind, waves, chirping, or the like). The chosen phenomenon is perceivable up to 10 feet away.

 -A static visual effect appears on one of the object's surfaces. This effect can be a picture, up to 25 words of text, lines and shapes, or a mixture of these elements, as you like.

Artificer Infusions: Enhanced Weapon, Homunculus Servant, Repeating Shot, Replicate Magic Item: Bag of Holding, Boots of Elvenkind, Cloak of Elvenkind

Eldritch Cannon:

  -Flamethrower: The cannon exhales fire in an adjacent 15-foot cone that you designate. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC, taking 2d8 fire damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one. The fire ignites any flammable objects in the area that aren't being worn or carried.

  -Force Ballista: Make a ranged spell attack, originating from the cannon, at one creature or object within 120 feet of it. On a hit, the target takes 2d8 force damage, and if the target is a creature, it is pushed up to 5 feet away from the cannon.

  -Protector: The cannon emits a burst of positive energy that grants itself and each creature of your choice within 10 feet of it a number of temporary hit points equal to 1d8 + your Intelligence modifier (minimum of +1)

The Right Tool for the Job: At 3rd level, you've learned how to produce exactly the tool you need: with thieves' tools or artisan's tools in hand, you can magically create one set of artisan's tools in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you. This creation requires 1 hour of uninterrupted work, which can coincide with a short or long rest. Though the product of magic, the tools are nonmagical, and they vanish when you use this feature again.

Tool Expertise: At 6th level, your proficiency bonus is now doubled for any ability check you make that uses your proficiency with a tool.

Arcane Firearm: At 5th level, You know how to turn a wand, staff, or rod into an arcane firearm, a conduit for your destructive spells. When you finish a long rest, you can use woodcarver's tools to carve special sigils into a wand, staff, or rod and thereby turn it into your arcane firearm. The sigils disappear from the object if you later carve them on a different item. The sigils otherwise last indefinitely. You can use your arcane firearm as a spellcasting focus for your artificer spells. When you cast an artificer spell through the firearm, roll a d8, and you gain a bonus to one of the spell's damage rolls equal to the number rolled.

Flash of Genius: At 7th level, you've gained the ability to come up with solutions under pressure. When you or another creature you can see within 30 feet of you makes an ability check or a saving throw, you can use your reaction to add your Intelligence modifier to the roll. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.]

[Druid Features. Pg3

Druidic: You know Druidic, the secret language of druids. You can speak the language and use it to leave hidden messages. You and others who know this language automatically spot such a message. Others spot the message's presence with a successful DC 15 Wisdom(Perception) check but can't decipher it without magic.

Druidic Circle of Spores

 

Wild Shape: Starting at 2nd level, you can use your action to magically assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before. You can use this feature twice. You regain expended uses when you finish a short or long rest. Your druid level determines the beasts you can transform into, as shown in the Beast Shapes table. At 2nd level, for example, you can transform into any beast that has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower that doesn't have a flying or swimming speed.

Beast Shapes

Level Max. CR Limitations Example

2nd 1/4 No flying/swimming speed Wolf

4th 1/2 No flying speed           Crocodile

8th 1                   Giant eagle

You can stay in a beast shape for a number of hours equal to half your druid level (rounded down). You then revert to your normal form unless you expend another use of this feature. You can revert to your normal form earlier by using a bonus action on your turn. You automatically revert if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die.

Wild Companion: At 2nd level, you gain the ability to summon a spirit that assumes an animal form: as an action, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape feature to cast the Find Familiar spell, without material components. When you cast the spell in this way, the familiar is a fey instead of a beast, and the familiar disappears after a number of hours equal to half your druid level.

Halo of Spores: Starting at 2nd level, you are surrounded by invisible, necrotic spores that are harmless until you unleash them on a creature nearby. When a creature you can see moves into a space within 10 feet of you or starts its turn there, you can use your reaction to deal 1d4 necrotic damage to that creature unless it succeeds on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. The necrotic damage increases to 1d6 at 6th level, 1d8 at 10th level, and 1d10 at 14th level.

Symbiotic Entity: Also at 2nd level, you gain the ability to channel magic into your spores. As an action, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape feature to awaken those spores, rather than transforming into a beast form, and you gain 4 temporary hit points for each level you have in this class. While this feature is active, you gain the following benefits:

When you deal your Halo of Spores damage, roll the damage die a second time and add it to the total.

Your melee weapon attacks deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage to any target they hit.

These benefits last for 10 minutes, until you lose all these temporary hit points. or until you use your Wild Shape again.

Improved Wild Shape 

Fungal Infestation: At 6th level, your spores gain the ability to infest a corpse and animate it. If a beast or a humanoid that is Small or Medium dies within 10 feet of you, you can use your reaction to animate it, causing it to stand up immediately with 1 hit point. The creature uses the Zombie stat block in the Monster Manual. It remains animated for 1 hour, after which time it collapses and dies.

In combat, the zombie's turn comes immediately after yours. It obeys your mental commands, and the only action it can take is the Attack action, making one melee attack.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.]

[Warlock Features. Pg4

Pact of The Undying

Among the Dead: Starting at 1st level, you learn the Spare the Dying cantrip, which counts as a warlock cantrip for you. You also have advantage on saving throws against any disease.

 -Additionally, undead have difficulty harming you. If an undead targets you directly with an attack or a harmful spell, that creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC (an undead needn't make the save when it includes you in an area effect, such as the explosion of Fireball). On a failed save, the creature must choose a new target or forfeit targeting someone instead of you, potentially wasting the attack or spell. On a successful save, the creature is immune to this effect for 24 hours. An undead is also immune to this effect for 24 hours if you target it with an attack or a harmful spell.

You know the spells False Life and Ray of Sickness

Defy Death: Starting at 6th level, you can give yourself vitality when you cheat death or when you help someone else cheat it. You can regain hit points equal to 1d8 + your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 hit point) when you succeed on a death saving throw or when you stabilize a creature with Spare the Dying.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Pact of the Blade:

 -You can use your action to create a pact weapon in your empty hand. You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it. You are proficient with it while you wield it. This weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

 -Your pact weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or if you die.

 -You can transform one magic weapon into your pact weapon by performing a special ritual while you hold the weapon. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest.

 -You can then dismiss the weapon, shunting it into an extradimensional space, and it appears whenever you create your pact weapon thereafter. You can't affect an artifact or a sentient weapon in this way. The weapon ceases being your pact weapon if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on a different weapon, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to break your bond to it. The weapon appears at your feet if it is in the extradimensional space when the bond breaks.

Innovactions

 -Mask of Many Faces: You can cast disguise self at will, without expending a spell slot.

 -Repelling Blast:

Prerequisite: eldritch blast cantrip

When you hit a creature with eldritch blast, you can push the creature up to 10 feet away from you in a straight line.

 -Arcane Gunslinger:

Prerequisite: Pact of the Blade feature

You can create a pact weapon that is a sidearm or long arm, and you can transform a magical sidearm or long arm into your pact weapon.

 -Improved Pact Weapon:

Prerequisite: Pact of the Blade feature

 You can use any weapon you summon with your Pact of the Blade feature as a spellcasting focus for your warlock spells.

 -In addition, the weapon gains a +1 bonus to its attack and damage rolls, unless it is a magic weapon that already has a bonus to those rolls.

 -Finally, the weapon you conjure can be a shortbow, longbow, light crossbow, or heavy crossbow.]

[Spells. Pg5

Cantrips: Fire Bolt, Mending, Thunder Clap, Spare The Dying, Mold Earth, Eldritch Blast, Sword Burst, Chill Touch, Find Familiar, Dancing Lights

1st LVL: Purify Food and Drink, Identify, False Life, Ray of Sickness, Unseen Servant, Comprehend Languages, Goodberry, Speak with Animals, Jump, Catapult, Witch Bolt, Shield, Thunderwave, Ice Knife, Expeditious Retreat, Arcane Weapon, Feather Fall, Healing Word, 

2nd LVL:  Blindness/Deafness, Gentle Repose, Misty Step, Pass without Trace, Lesser Restoration, Rope Trick, Continual Flame, Moonbeam, Enlarge/Reduce, Crow of Madness, Darkness, Find Vehicle

3rd LVL: Feign Death, Speak with Dead, Blink, Phantom Steed, Revivify, Dispel Magic, Water Walk, Thunder Step, Counterspell, Fly, Summon Undead, Vampiric Touch

4th LVL: Aura of Life, Death Ward, Dimension Door, Freedom of Movement

5th LVL: Contagion, Legend Lore, Animate Dead, Gaseous Form, Scorching Ray, Shatter, Teleportation Circle]

[Feats. Pg6

Gunner: You are proficient with firearms, you don't have disadvantage when firing at adjacent targets, you can fire the same weapon more than 1/round, and +1 Dex

Slotless: You can cast spells freely, over use though will cause headaches and eventually death

Materialless: Spells requiring materials can be cast without them in exchange for HP depending on the spell level

Spell Mixer: you can mix spells together (self taught)

Sharpshooter: Your ranged attacks ignore no cover and half cover, you don't have disadvantage from long range, and you can take -5 to a ranged attack for +10 damage.

Linguist: You know three additional languages, can create coded ciphers, and gain +1 int

Aberrant Mark:  Your marks flaw is your mark whispers to you, its whispers are indistinguishable

  -Mark of Passage: 

   -Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and one other Ability Score of your choice increases by 1(con).

   -Courier's Speed You gain a base walking speed of 35ft.

   -Intuitive Motion: Whenever you make an Dexterity (Acrobatics) or an Ability Check involving operating or maintaining a Land Vehicle, you can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the total ability check.

   -Magical Passage: You can cast the Misty Step spell with this trait. Once you cast this spell with this trait, you can't cast that spell again until you finish a Long Rest. Dexterity is your Spellcasting Ability for these spells.

   -Spells of the Mark: If you have the Spellcasting or Pact Magic class feature, the spells on the Mark of Passage Spells table are added to the spell list of your Spellcasting class.

Extra Spell Level: Due to your collective class levels your Spell Paths gain access to spell slots one level above your current Spell Levels]

Honestly this is much neater than before, and easier to understand or follow. Plus it's morbidly lining up that I'm becoming a Necro Druid with a penchant for firearms and that's good honestly, that's what I wanted. Hm though my only active infusion currently is Winston, the other two have become permanent ones that nearly killed me so I can feel those slots being empty. I also need to start creating my Arcane Firearm then bind it as my Pact Sidearm. Heading back to the others and talking with them, it was decided to take a bit of a break for a few hours.

They weren't scot free from the crash either, but not as bad as me since it should've killed me normally. My body was a wreck and they were concerned. I guess seeing that I only had sixty percent of my right eye, even after restoring it, and the other still gone but slowly wriggling back together with a glow. Is a good cause to be concerned enough to take a break for a bit of time. Force once I even let my physical immortality do its job for once as I focused on creating magical weapons. The cursed blessing is actively being aggressive and down right greedy to fix my body entirely. Though I could feel it cementing my scars into being a constant as if it was scolding me for depriving it's only job.

I just snorted at the absurd notion, setting aside a reworked and hybridized Flame Tongue Claymore. The magical sword had small, but lethal additions to make it double as an extremely heavy Ballista Crossbow if I were to change handling methods by triggering runes. The pact weapon practically hummed with sadistic glee when it gained its other mode of lethality. Heh Flame Tongue Ballista will surprise most. The guys were amused, the women just didn't understand a thing. Although everyone was disturbed when I pulled out bars of gold from my bag and went to harvest over fifty eyes. Yet I wanted to see if I could combine Robe of Many Eyes with my infusion Cloak of Elvenkind.

The experience was challenging, practically maddening, as I wasted seven gold bars before I got a successful attempt. My Patron practically forced my character sheet to display the information as the display was cyan green.

[Robe of Watchful Elvenkind

Category: Item, Rarity: Rare

While you wear this cloak with its hood up, Wisdom (Perception) checks made to see you have disadvantage. and you have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide, as the cloak's color shifts to camouflage you. Pulling the hood up or down requires an action.

The robe lets you see in all directions, and you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

You have darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. If you already have 120 feet of darkvision you can see through 120 feet of magical darkness. 

You can see invisible creatures and objects, as well as see into the Ethereal Plane, out to a range of 120 feet.

The eyes on the robe can't be closed or averted. Although you can close or avert your own eyes, you are never considered to be doing so while wearing this robe.

A light spell cast on the robe or a daylight spell cast within 5 feet of the robe causes you to be blinded for 1 minute. At the end of each of your turns, you can make a Constitution saving throw (DC 11 for light or DC 15 for daylight), ending the blindness on a success.

Undying's Blessing: You can see souls of the dead and speak or interact with them. All eyes upon the robe expand your vision in all directions.]

Slipping on my duster which had been granted a hood and the new magical effects. My mind nearly overloaded with all the new things I saw now, placing a hand on the wall to avoid falling over. I slowly got used to the all around vision I had been given by my patron. I added the only other elven infusion to my boots, making my still shaky steps from visual overload deathly quiet. My arcane firearm that I would've worked on being forgotten because I stood in front of a window. Scrying symbols around it I called out to The Undying, and the Eldritch spoke back in discordant whispers that terrified the mundane Humans.

'A reward for pushing yourself… a punishment for not embracing everything…. You are undying…. Yet you fear embracing death… disease holds NOTHING over you…'

The whispers cut off then and I couldn't help but chuckle. I just got scolded by The Undying for not being a pain in the ass essentially. Heading back to work on my arcane firear after flipping the window off, a bolt of thunder struck it shortly afterwards. By the time I had bound a completed wooden and metallic alloyed replica of a certain Hunter Vanguard I was fond of. We set out as I spun the hand cannon idly, thinking of the original version and its owner. He was a loveable Exo that I played that game as a Hunter every time I reinstalled it. Sadly I don't think I would ever want to step foot into that universe, I don't want my soul to get destroyed or enslaved after all.

Plus my Patron would try fighting the Darkness or Traveler over me. I don't want my Eldritch patron to die or worse because they bit at them like a rabid animal. So no possibility of ever meeting the loveable Exo Hunter.

"So Kaiser, how did you just turn scrap wood into metal?"

"I just used magic, learned techniques, and stubborn anger at failing to make my hybrid project. Plus literal flames of hatred and war."

I didn't even glance at Bunko when I spoke, I just focused on everything I could see. There were so many souls… so many wraiths of the Sins and Virtues… it was an experience. When a soul consumed by depression that twisted its appearance tried swatting at Angel. I spun my Arcane Arm and fired, a flaming Witch Bolt striking the soul, the soul being consumed in the mixed spell with a wail. The group being startled at the flaming appropriation appearing before its death. The surrounding spirits became deathly still, disbelief radiating off of them, one that moved to rush us met its fate next.

"There is no salvation if you rush towards me, I will not bring you life or be possessed by you. I will only destroy you if you try wandering spirits and twisted souls. You've been warned."

The group could only curse hearing my words, as I just essentially told them Ghosts are real like zombies.

"You don't really have to worry about the Ghosts, they can't interact with you unless they're old and powerful."

"Oh… that's good but still worrying…"

"I knew something kept stealing my socks or eating my food…"

"Great if not zombies it's ghosts…. I can't make a drone that kills ghosts! Fuck this apocalypse!"

"Huh so the camera's and electronic equipment never just bugged because of faults… guess I owe my mother an apology if she's still alive…"

I shot the soul of a priest that stepped towards us with hate in his eyes. The soul exploded into flaming fragments as the spell struck its chest, my arcane arm smoking. We made our way slowly but surely towards the ocean, or more specifically a still operational evac. A military evacuation point was set up at a small fishing pier that had a ferry running out of it. That was our destination, and once we reached it I could only move quickly enough to disable any alarm to be seen.

After all alarms had been disabled Arnette turned the ham radio left behind on and tried hailing anyone. Angel called the ferry back by an attached tow line as the other two searched for undead. Getting on top of a shipping container I summoned several Eldritch Turrets. My ribcage exploding outwards a bit, blood coming out of my mouth in buckets worth. Yet I persisted until three flames, eight regular, and two protectors were operational and guarding the gates just in case. The shipping crate I was on had an entire small section of it covered in black and red blood. Some of the copious amount of blood trailing off the side of the crate.

"You okay man?"

"I'm fine Tashaun…. Just be ready in case something happen-"

My words were cut off when a mortar shell went off nearby. There was no mortar set up, looking around another went off… outside the gates. Someone was laughing and hooting somewhere before their laughter became pained. A distant gunshot then, what was likely a military fob, exploded sending debris everywhere.

"Fuck you Murphy! I didn't trigger you!"

"Uh… I likely did? Sorry…"

Glancing down at Angel who was looking up at me sheepishly, I threw a forgotten and spent bullet casing on the crate at him. The small metallic object hitting him in the head, the Mastiff puppy coming from somewhere and bit his ankle. Bunko chases her and promptly runs away after grabbing her, with the puppy being shoved into her backpack.

"Huh so that's where Stewwy went."