Dealing with Venomfang

Greetings, Phandalin Force Five:

The following is a list of possible objectives we could attempt regarding the situation in Thundertree with the dragon, Venomfang. The purpose of this scroll is to clearly lay out some ideas that I, Boirin, have been working out, and to gather feedback from the rest of the Phandalin Force Five. I’m unsure of whether or not Ratface can read, so if any of you would like to read this to him and get his almost certainly useless opinion, feel free to do so.

OBJECTIVE A

Retrieve some of those dragon clan outfits and see what we can learn from Venomfang as to his objectives here or anything else, by talking to him. I think there are still 4 outfits we can retrieve that haven’t been splashed with acid from chromatic herbs, though it might be better if only one of us attempted to talk to him than all of us at once regardless.

• “Those pesky adventurers freed the only remaining fey we had captured before we could learn what we needed! What do you want us to do now, master?”
• Think of other things we can do/say to learn about Venomfang’s goals without being too suspicious.
• We could attempt to get within range to use the spyglass and ask Geoffrey what he knows about Venomfang’s intentions.
• If only one person is attempting to talk to Venomfang and needs a quick exit should things go wrong, they could drink the invisibility potion and sneak away.

OBJECTIVE B

Using a dragon clan outfit, a potion of invisibility, or some other deceptive means, as well as Rhogar’s artifact that points him towards his objective, attempt to retrieve the object Rhogar is looking for, without engaging Venomfang in combat.

• Consider trying to figure out if Venomfang sleeps
• If using a dragon clan outfit, attempt to get Venomfang to leave his roost by lying to him about something that needs his attention.

If we send someone in disguise to talk to him, maybe we shouldn’t send Rhogar since he was the one that Venomfang has already spoken to. Can someone else use Rhogar’s item-finding tool or is attuned to him?

• We could attempt to rig a loud sound nearby to get Venomfang to leave. This could be done in addition to the lie above to make it more believable.
• If we use the potion of invisibility to send someone in to get Rhogar’s object, we could use Rana’s message cantrip to leave a line of communication open with the invisible person (whoever is best in stealth, I’d wager). If they find themselves in trouble, they can whisper for help, and we could either come help fight, or else attempt to distract Venomfang temporarily (ring a bell nearby or whatever)

OBJECTIVE C

Defeat Venomfang by smashing his green, scaly face. Because honestly, who doesn’t want to slay their first dragon!?! Sure, it sounds a bit crazy, but between our entire group I think we might be able to take him, as long as we have a plan and fight smart.

•  We have the grammar ring, and perhaps there are some spells we could alter that would be particularly helpful. Who has ideas?
•  As a bard, I’m not sure if Andrena has any especially potent damage-dealing options, compared to Rana’s orb spell, my Inflict Wounds spell, or Rhogar’s thorn spell. But if she has ways of enhancing any of our spells, or negatively impacting Venomfang that could be quite helpful. I also have one flask of oil, and if Andrena could find a way to douse him with it, Rana or Rhogar could attempt to alight Venomfang with a firebolt or flaming arrow. Lastly, if she had possession of a couple healing potions, she’d be able to help revive anyone who falls in combat, which would free me up to spend more time doing damage to Venomfang as well.
•  Rather than focusing on damage, I have a command spell at my disposal that when it succeeds can force an enemy to follow my command for a short duration, which would allow the rest of you to focus on doing damage to Venomfang without having to fear his attacks anytime my spell does it’s job.
•  I’m not intimately familiar with all of your combat capabilities, so if you have anything at your disposal that might be of use, do let us know!
•  Lastly, I’ve got this necrotic ring that we retrieved from the goblin priest. I’ve got a crazy idea that would involve putting one of you at some risk:The way the ring works is that whoever is wielding the ring can direct it towards an enemy and anytime the wielder takes damage, the target will take double. The wielder can also harm himself in order do double damage to the target. And should the wielder succumb to his own self-inflicted wounds, the target has a chance of taking damage equal to twice the total potential life force of the wielder, which could all add up to a devastating amount of damage over time to Venomfang. I have a healing spell that I can cast from up to 60 feet away, reviving the wielder every time they succumb to wounds, which I could potentially use up to 6 times during the course of the fight if I use no other spells, as well I could heal a seventh time by using my Channel Divinity’s Preserve Life feature.

A single, brave adventurer might be able to defeat Venomfang with this ring all on his own, with the rest of us hiding nearby, and myself healing them as needed.

However, the ring comes at a cost, as repeated use can decay the flesh of the wielder temporarily and can send negative thoughts and emotions into the wielder’s mind. These effects will eventually wear off, but abusing the ring through excessive use can potentially lead to permanent effects.

With this in mind, we could follow through with the plan, but cease using the ring as soon as the negative effects begin to push the wielder beyond what they are comfortable with, or even plan on only using it for the initial few rounds of combat with the dragon.

Please especially let me know your thoughts about this risk-laced plan involving usage of the necrotic ring.

Signed,
Boirin Ashcloak

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