(Dan: I was reading this and nodding my head in recall when I realized Dave had forgotten a massive battle. At least as I recall it. Right after we defeated the wolves and crossed the bridge it started to rain in a massive torrential downpour. Almost immediately afterward a water elemental attacked us. Its default attack was to engulf and grapple, with the next action being massive pummeling damage. Kaladin spent the first part of the fight flying after this creature as it swallowed half the party in turn. Considering Kaladin has a 60ft movement it's fair to say it was all over the place. It moved so much that on the 3rd attack I didn't have enough movement to use mobility. Naturally, since he was hit, he was one-shotted and engulfed. Water elemental take half damage from most things but for a little while Kaladin's fiery fist did full damage. The NPC was knocked out early and we played hot potato a few rounds to pull her out of the elemental and then get her away. Unfortunately, this thing was so large it would immediately swallow most of the people that used their action to escape the next action. We were pretty beaten up and living on one hit point each, thanks to good berries, when Granny spent an action to turn her knocked-over cart upright and teleported away. At least we think that's what she did. After a few more engulfs from the creature and some more good berries, we finally kill it. Unfortunately, elementals don't carry loot. After the fight, we had only one hit points for most of the party. So, even though it was only early afternoon we decided to stop for the day. We had taken one short rest and the DM clarified that we could take multiple short rests in a day bit NOT a short rest and then a long rest. I suppose it would be too overwhelming if the warlock got his 2 spell slots back and the monk his ki points before sleeping for the day. Despite this helpful clarification we did not get attacked during the night.)
We did get that short rest and made it across the bridge without issue. When we reached the crossroads where we had to decide whether to honor the dinner invitation of Strahd or press on to the city, we found a black coach with two black horses and no people waiting there for us. We decided to honor our commitment to deliver the NPC first. Someone made formal apologies to the empty coach and we moved on. I think there was a raven (familiar?) there watching us. I can’t remember if anything else happened but we soon found ourselves at the Old Mill. We then debated on what to do. Attack, sneak in, walk up, ignore for now, ignore forever, etc. By the way, a raven was watching us again. Was that the same one? It was recalled that technically we had the deed for this place from the first adventure, not that it would do us much good out here in the middle of nowhere. Lord Q sent his messenger into the future(?) and it came back with an answer of “Woe”. However, since Lord Q was vague about what he asked, this vague answer was even more vague than a normal Augury spell. Eventually, we agreed that we were justified to “stop by” to make sure she and the kid Walter made it home safely. And since it was near evening maybe we could ask to spend the night. We did rescue her after all. Although she just disappeared when she had to so the rescue was probably unneeded. That would give us a chance to ask questions, look around and find the hard proof that she was as evil as we thought.
She was polite enough, thanking us for our concerns, but unwilling to let us in. Lots of discussions, in and out of character, made it all very messy. Basically, it was the same story. She was doing a public service, providing dream cakes with low prices, and her baking practices and secret ingredients were her own business. Thanks for stopping by. Now go away. Charismatic Lord Q attempted to play the deed card but to no one's surprise, she was not impressed. Possession being 9/10s of the law out here. He then tried to pull rank, using his majordomo Friends spell to gain her favor. That didn’t really change much. He tried to muscle his way in but couldn’t beat her surprising strength. But Kharn helped and they piled in. Meanwhile, Zolton sent his will o wisp familiar to find a way in upstairs but it found that despite its rundown appearance, there were no holes big enough until the very top where the blades were. Ambrus cast Invisibility and snuck past in the confusion. A round or two later, Loki transformed into a spider and attempted to follow him up the walls but since he couldn’t see him, they were pretty much acting independently. Loki basically saw what he saw, a round later.
So, Granny started to get pissed with her uninvited guests nosing around her operation. Zolton could sense a foul evil smell from a particular barrel. On the second floor, we found the mill’s grinder stone which was moving despite the fact that the blades were not. Ambrus spotted some bones in a pile. They could be chicken bones. Loki made a Nature roll a round or two later and thought they were small human bones. There were two more hags up there, working. On the 3rd floor, Ambrus found Walter and two other children in cages. As he worked on the locks, Granny called her daughters down and initiative was rolled. One of them used a high-level spell that got our attention. Lord Q unleashed 3 swarms of ravens and the room got very small very fast. Then Granny went and all 3 hags disappeared. Arcana rolls were missing and while we were sure it wasn’t Invisibility or Misty Step, we weren’t sure what it was. We stayed on initiative and everyone spread out, figuring they’d reappear somewhere in the mill or nearby outside. Granny and one daughter reappeared outside 2-3 rounds later. When one of them unleashed a doubly upcasted Lightning Bolt (i.e. 5th spell) which dropped Kaladin and injured others, we knew we were in big trouble.
Ravenloft Game 10 - 02/12/21 - Invincible Wagon
Written by David Green
People finished leveling up to 4th. We spent the day resting at the manor so that we could start our journey fully rested. Unfortunately, we were still suffering from the effects of the dream pastries. Saves were made but everyone ended up with a level of fatigue but no one was compelled to keep eating them so I’m not sure what we were saving from. We all had dreams that night which Brian spent time composing but no one could really follow. The sister brought two big trunks and a carpet bag which Karne put in the wagon. We headed out and got to the Gallows’ Crossroads. There was a body hanging that Kaladin said looked like him although only to him, evidently. We debated about messing with it, seeing as everything in this land is a trap of some sort. I think he used his fate coin and decided it was safe to cut it down. However, it turned to dust. We started to leave when the bones in the near by graveyard started to animate. 3 Wights attacked. Undead don’t drain levels anymore but they do drain hit points and since we didn’t have access to a Restoration spell yet, that was concerning. However, Zolton turned them on his first turn and they all failed their save. The one that was in combat was hit with an opportunity attack and started fighting again. The other two fled into the mist. Now that it was all against 1, it didn’t last long and thankfully no one got drained. Loki attempted to chase after one of the turned ones, figuring he could hit it with a pistol shot and draw it back into the main party. But he was unable to track it in the misty forest (having disadvantage on the roll from the fatigue didn’t help) and gave up after a round for fear of getting lost himself. What’s 2 more rampaging undead in this place, after all.
Next stop was the gypsy camp of Madame Eva. We had dinner and then were summoned. She insisted that we leave our magic behind which caused some concerns but nothing came of it. By the way, during dinner a guy told us the story of an epic battle between the archmage Mordenkainen and the Vampire, and the mage lost. That was certainly a morale booster, not! Madame Eva gave the group a card reading. If there were clues in that, none of us got it. It’s in the notes section for our future reference. It’s the same “destined to kill her and free the land” story we’ve been hearing. We asked some questions and got nothing of much value in return. Basically, the only way out is at the deference of the vampire or by killing her. The only ray of hope was that there are powerful forces opposing her besides us. I guess we need to find them. The resemblance between Karne and this lady was noted and it came to light that neither could remember anything before the age of 8. She used the sending stones to talk to her brother and evidently learned that she was adopted? More to be learned. We spent the night and headed out in the morning. (Dan: the visit to the gypsies was mostly a waste of time but the DM did say they had any goods under 50 gold at normal prices, so we at least got an explorer's pack and Kaladin got his flute. He rolled a natural one at the gypsy party that night, so may maybe it should have remained lost)
The next stop was a bridge over a 1000-foot drop canyon. On it was the Dream Pastry witch, her cart, and a small boy. (Dan: She later swears he isn't being kidnaped and his mother is ecstatic that he is with her. Those dream cakes make everything easier I guess) They were being attacked by 5 dire wolves. We started attacking the two on our side. She and the boy ran towards us and luckily 2 of the dire wolves spent a few rounds trying to get into the cart. (Dan: There were jokes about the cart being more durable than we were, it seemed unharmed by four direwolves attacking it. it was also on the combat tracker, which was amusing when its turn came up) Karne raged and then turned into a werewolf. Only Lord Q missed his fear save but since he got knock prone by a wolf before he could run, he didn’t get far. We all had minuses due to the fatigue but we managed. Zolton did a lot of damage with some AOE spells. Karne took a lot of damage after being critted 3 straight rounds but luckily, he was taking half due to the rage. The witch cast at will Magic Missiles and a Misty Step. (Dan: Kaladin used the Mobility feat for the first time to flit in and attack, then leave range without incurring an attack of opportunity. Literally everyone else pointed out that he was moving without being attacked and had to be told about the feat. Then the next person would point it out because they didn't hear the explanation. How can they so aware and not at the same time?) The heroes won and no one went out. We had some debates with her about her pastries but she was unconcerned by our concerns. (Dan: She acknowledged that the cakes were addicting but thought it was okay to sell them. Kaladin threatened to set her on fire with his dragon's breath if she brought them out. Lord Q threatened to attack anyone that attacked her. Naturally.) We still had very grave doubts about her but couldn’t bring ourselves to attack her. Since her Windmill was on our way, we agreed (forced ourselves on her) to accompany her. (Dan: The DM made it clear in-game that she makes a 3 day trip in hours each day. We hate her but we wanted that magical transportation love.) Maybe we’ll learn more once there. Still heading to the big city to drop off this lady and deliver the note to the church. Brian decided to end the night before the short rest and before we cross the bridge.
Review: Battle Grounds (Dresden Files Book 17)
Written by Daniel RuthNote: Review #5 of the Drunken Monkey Book Club.
The Drunken Monkey Book Club hasn't met in a few months. Partly due to some confusion as to what was scheduled to be reviewed and when it was scheduled to meet. Since I did read the book I thought I would publish the review anyway.
Review by Daniel Ruth
Overall Score:
Fast forward several months. This is the second half of the previously reviewed 'Peace Talks'. We didn't have to wait too long for this, telling me what I suspected. This truly was the second half of that book. That one ended rather abruptly, feeling like it was only half of the story. Well, here it is.
This jumps straight into the war preparation. As expected there is a lot of internal sniping and arguments, showing a truly huge amount of disunity. There's a few times they are criticizing Dresden as some of his subterfuges have been exposed. For example, people seem to know that he was around when Mabd was kicked through the wall but not precisely what he was doing. However, they know they don't like it. The constant criticizing him being the Winter Knight is also kind of wearing. It's not like it's a position he can retire from so why are they whining about it? It also seems odd that they are telling the second in command of the Winter Court (wait... 3rd?) what duties he can and can't do. Early on there are hints that he will get kicked off the council for... well, a conflict of interests. Which probably made the most sense of everything though they hint it's a plot from the Black Council.
When the fighting starts it begins hard and continues through most of the book. There should be a meme about Dresden constantly getting crippling injuries yet shrugging them off and fighting normally the scene. This is pretty odd since they repeat over and over that the Winter Knight magic only dulls pain and doesn't actually heal you. After a while, you get numb to it. I don't really buy it, but I suppose it makes good storytelling... or thrilling fights... kinda. The fights are fast and furious against overwhelming odds. They do explain in-story why he doesn't run out of magic energy in the beginning and when later he has to conserve energy but considering how long the battle lasts I guess they had to explain it somehow.
People die. People who you saw mentioned many books ago and you see again just long enough to remember who they were. I have to admit it crossed my mind that it may be a good way to clear out useless characters or reduce the sheer number you have to keep track of. There are also a few that really have an impact. Big impactful names. I won't spoil things but people who matter die too. It's hinted in a way since there is a war in the making and frankly everyone is wondering if they will die. The exact way they died is an interesting twist. I definitely didn't see it coming. Weeks after I read the book I still can't decide if the twist minimizes the death or brought home how fragile life is, even if the characters themselves feel larger than life. So... it made me think and that was good. It made my heart twinge and that was good.
The end of the book shakes things up bigger than a world-sized snow globe. The government now knows about the magic side of things. There is no going back on that. That ship has sailed. Interpersonal shake-ups, political shake-ups. Changes. I really approve. Nothing says that the story is progressing like changing everything. Most of the changes you'll just nod at. Others you might shed a tear at. One surprised me so much that much like Desden I just sat speechless for a minute as I let my brain catch up. A change so terrifying and powerful, yet made so much sense afterward.
Yep. This is the book where the old gets swept away and everything afterward is a new and shiny unknown frontier. Excelsior!
Andy notified us last week that his game is on hold. We all wish him the best and hope he can restart when it's convenient for him.
DaveG and Andy couldn't attend, so I will try to record a series of very unfortunate events.
First thing in the morning we rolled against the dream cakes. Those that failed the saving through felt the need to eat the dream cakes rather than wait for breakfast. These are the cakes we flat out told the old lady selling them that they were probably made from ground bones. Yum. Zolton had bought extra and offered everyone a hit of these addictive treats. During the night Karne and Kaladin stayed up to watch for the first half of the night and we witnessed a red parade of the dead from the house's balcony. Apparently, most nights the dead killed in apprisings to Strahd rise from the dead and do a spectral march towards... maybe Strahd's castle? I wasn't sure about that.
After breakfast, we all went to the Church's graveyard to put to rest Ireena's father. Zoltan did a lovely ritual... wait. That was the alternate universe. In this one, he rolled a one and completely flubbed the ceremony. It was dreadful, but we all told him it was lovely. Immediately afterward we were attacked by swarms of rats and bats. Then a pack of wolves attacked us. Strahdanya was also at the edge of the graveyard with two dire wolf guards. She charmed Karne to come to her (ie, he can do anything he wants as long as he uses his movement to go towards her). I assume this was through the bite she has already done on him. She also called him Tatius. Possibly a previous incarnation of him.
As a side note, we have a new timer for people's actions. So far DaveS has the record at 17 minutes for a reaction and an Arms of Hadar. He has since made it his goal to delay other people's turn so he doesn't have this record anymore Zolton was able to use Hold Person to stop him from kidnapping himself but we used a ton of inspiration each turn because Karne made every saving throw. The GM was kind enough to allow us to use inspiration to allow him to re-roll for a chance to miss the save. At this point, a vampire shadow elf showed up gave Ambrus an invitation to the castle from Strahdanya. The remaining wolves backed off and we were left wondering what the point of it all was.
When we went back to Ismark's place he offered a walking stick for anyone that could wrest it from his grasp. Karne raged and rolled a 19 and it didn't budge. Zoltan cast Command and told him to drop it but it hovered in the air. Lord Quevan did a quick jerk and failed. Ambrus did the slow pull and it didn't work. Then Ireena tickled him and pushed a button to deactivate the effect. It was an immovable rod. In the morning we made another save for the dream cakes. Only Kaladin failed and ate his last dream pastry. Then we stocked the wagon and left the city to escort Ireena to Veloki.
Ravenloft Game 08 - 01/15/21 - An Ocean of the Dead
Written by David Green
We started at the front door of the local lord’s manor. We noted that the exterior was even more damaged by wolf claws than was the church. The lady who answered, directed us around back to talk to the guy. We told him our tale without omission. He didn’t seem too shocked but was concerned that they’d need a new village priest. He invited us into his sitting room. Brian had turned on the point of view feature which made it hard to navigate the map. When there were no seats left, Lord Q ventured into the main hall to find the lady (the guy’s sister) praying at an open coffin. Excusing himself, he rejoined the rest. Turns out that was the local lord, recently died from all the stress of the nightly attacks. And age. So, our guy was actually the new lord although they wanted to bury him first. Zolton said he thought he could help, based on the clerical correspondence book he picked up at the church. The lord asked us to look into the zombie problem. We started debating that when someone showed up, concerned that her father was very sick.
None of us had medicine but we came along. The sister made some rolls but he passed. And transformed into a zombie and attacked. Since it was greatly outnumbered and newly formed, Brian agreed we could vanquish it without rolling initiative. Ambrus noticed that he seemed to have been watering his wine. His daughter thought it was to save the family money. He leaped on this clue and we headed to the well. Even before looking down it, we could tell it had rank odors coming out. The bucket was lit up with a Light cantrip but all we could tell was that there was some sort of chamber down there. Loki volunteered to be lowered down to take a look. It was a 35x35 room with the middle being water. Nothing was seen but when he swung onto the ground, 3 zombies emerged from the dirt and attacked. Loki got hit twice and lost a quarter of his hit points and was then pulled back up. We debated what to do. Some were still down from the vampire battle earlier in the day so maybe it could wait. Kharn cut that short, raged, and jumped down.
So, everyone climbed down as their initiative dictated. There were about 8 of them total as they kept emerging. They did two slam attacks and if both hit, they got a free grapple and a free bite. Their AC was very low but their “to hit” was good and their damage was high. It was Loki’s turn to get racked. He was hit 3 times in a row and dropped with a final crit. Zolton brought him up with a heal long enough to get one attack and then he was knocked out again. Kharn kept getting missed. The rest, somewhere in between. The last issue was that when they went below 0, they got a CON save to keep going. So, it took a bit extra to finish them off. All and all, we got battered but survived. We took a short rest, pulled the bodies out, and burned them. Zolton did a purify water ritual (or 10) and we reported back.
Once again, we were thanked. Loki asked if he could spare a short sword or two. Others made requests and we were able to get some supplies, clothes, trade some weapons, etc. Good thing since all we’ve earned in the town are some books for the Cleric and some coppers from the well. We hung out at the manor and got cleaned up. We stayed for dinner. There was talk about Strahd and the world that mostly flew past the half of us that haven’t read all these books. We agreed to escort the sister to the next town where we hoped to talk to this old wise woman Kharn keeps talking about. Maybe she’ll have answers. Hopefully, we can get a long rest before we go. So next game in two weeks. Still 3rd.
At dawn, we were allowed back into the tavern. We had breakfast and spent some brain cells trying to figure out the money system. Eventually, Zolton just spent two gold for everyone’s meal although Lord Q insisted on paying for his own. We consulted the Message of the Day and tried to figure out what to do next. It was clear we wanted to go to the next town but the debate was whether to try to do some good here first. Then the son of the local lord came in, to thanks us for destroying the monster the night before. Eventually, we agreed to look into the disappearances, starting at the house of the last one. Evidently, the people that have gone missing were the old or weak who lived alone. No clues were found in the house other than no signs of forced entry followed by a struggle. We then questioned some of the neighbors. (Dan: It was like watching the 3 stooges interrogate a nun. We were investigating the missing old man but the party started to question her about every crime in the city and even accused her of kidnapping the children. Yes, the ones wh we already dealt with their kidnapper last game. We ended up having the door slammed in our face after Zolton asked her how such an old lady could possibly have a newborn. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.) At this point, we got tangled up in the various plot thread and the names of the participants in particular. It was not smooth and I won’t try to summarize it two days later. (Dan: People kept bringing up the missing children. Brian and I kept reminding them that we had found and killed the creature taking the children last game. It was weird. There was only one thing left to do in the town, aside from figuring out why everyone is turning into zombie, but we spent a ridiculous amount of time arguing about what to do. We have clue how to find out why the zombies are happening so so there was literally only one thing to do. Usually, we mock Brian about leaving no clues on what to do next but this was all the player's fault.) Ambrus had an underlying suspicion of the town priest and the church. Any church in such disrepair and little use was suspect, in his mind. When the dream pastry lady said she saw someone dragging a body-sized bag in the direction of the church the night of the last disappearance, we decided to go there and at least ask some questions. By the way, evidently, these dream pastries have a “secret ingredient” that she makes outside of town at the mill. Now no one is certain about anything we eat. (Dan: Yeah, that was me. I think it probably contains human remains ground up into the pasties. Borovia is just like that. Considering she lives in the Mill that is located three days away, yet commutes here every day? Yeah, she's evil. Good thing my character isn't human or I might feel bad. Gulp, chew, chew, swallow!)
So Ambrus had gotten a blanket that belongs to the missing girl from her mother. He was hoping that Lancelot could identify one of the recent graves behind the church as being hers. Despite the fact that we’re pretty sure she ended up at Durst Manor where we picked up the dog. So, he and Loki and Kaladin would go there. Meanwhile, Zolton would distract the priest with questions about the book he had borrowed. Kharn and Lord Q would go with him. However, when they entered the church, they could hear moans from one of the rooms. “Please father. I’m so hungry.” So, while Zolton talked, the other two started opening doors. They did not do too well with the stealth rolls but Zolton managed to cover for them for a round or two. They found a barred and locked trap door in one room and the moans were coming from there. At this point, the priest noticed and became upset. Kharn’s logical argument about hearing the moans and wanting to help worked pretty well. Then Lord Q used his majordomo to announce his greatness which had the effect of a Friends cantrip. He began to confide in Lord Q. Evidently a wizard came to town and gathered up the revolutionary-minded for a meeting in the woods. Only his son returned but he was “afflicted”. His hunger could only be sated by the “living”. Lord Q promised that we could help which the priest took to mean we’d feed one of our friends, preferable the big barbarian, to his son. They headed into the basement. Kharn would not go before the priest and the priest would not go before Lord Q so he led the way. Zolton ran to the back door to alert the other 3 who had been forgotten at the airport.
Lord Q was attacked as he walked down the stairs. The vampire got a free grab with his bite attack plus the not so insignificant damage. Plus, a claw attack. Lord Q was hurting pretty quick. Kharn tried to get down to help but despite his rage strength, had trouble getting past the priest. Lord Q tried to get away but he had a low STR and DEX so it was tough. He did manage to roll well once but then the attack of opportunity hit and he was automatically grappled again. The priest cast a couple of spells and Lord Q managed to stay alive long enough for Kharn and then Zolton to get down there. After a few rounds, the other 3 were allowed a perception roll and moved down on their initiative. As usual, Lord Q was in favor of fleeing. This time, one could hardly blame him from the damage he had taken. But when others attacked, he charged as well. Only his magic warlock weapon (and not the silver weapons) was doing full damage. The priest went out pretty quickly and then it was 6 against one. The damage was spread amongst the heroes and only Kaladin was knocked out. (Dan: Seems to be a monk thing. For a melee class they sure go down a lot.) Ambrus made the killing blow with a sneak attack, removing its head. (Dan: The priest incidentally died. I think I blinked because I had missed this since I was out watching the dog pee on graves during most of the fight.)
The head was burned in the furnace upstairs. Bodies were found in the basement but no hard evidence to tie them with those missing. Although we were new in town so that was a tough ask. Nothing of value was found although Zolton took a couple more books. The vampire and the priest were buried. The latest body was exhumed and sort of sounded like the old man who had gone missing. Lancelot identified no graves but peed on a few. There was some debate as to what to do. Just walk away or report to the guy that hired us. Since that guys sounded “anti-vampire” we decided to report to him although there are some concerns that word would get back to Strahd. At that point it was late so we decided to put off that conversation until next time. As a cliff hanger, we knocked on the manor door, and the lady guard who answered looked very much like Kharn. (Dan: Brian said that but none of us were buying it) No treasure or wealth and still 3rd for now.
Ravenloft Game 05 - 12/28/20 - Welcome Gifts
Written by David Green
(Dan: As we left the house we made 3rd level) As we took stock of our escape, we were introduced to Zeb the Paladin. He claimed we had encountered him on the way out. All assumed he was a character for Brian to play to give him a voice in the action. Plus, we could use all the help we could get, especially with some extra healing. He was welcomed with suspicious arms. Next, we encountered Madame Strahd, leader of the land. She welcomed us and made everyone nervous by the amount about us that she knew. (Dan: We initially ignored her as we discussed what to do with the loot and the children's bones. It was strongly hinted that this was the wrong thing to do so we shaped up and gave her our attention). She gave everyone a gift, as the mansion collapsed onto itself and then left. (Dan: The gifts were a picnic basket and a lot of fancy clockwork toys that revealed that she knew more about our background than we did. She mentioned my grandfather who was a silver dragon and Ambrus' people who she had personally forced to the edge of extinction... in this corner of the Shadowfell at least.) Since the common theme of our visions before coming here we about freeing the land of her tyranny, we weren’t sure what to make of it. (Dan: She also gave Karn a rather obvious bite on the neck, even leaving bloody bite marks. Karn being the lady's man he is, didn't notice. Everyone else did but it didn't rile anyone up. The undead paladin Zeb was okay with it too.) But that was a common theme so we just moved on. We debated about what to do with the bones and decided to take them to the church in the village we were heading for. We had a breakfast of Good Berries and headed out. At some point, Zeb slipped away. Evidently, he was a doppelganger and once he realized we weren’t going to camp before reaching town, he gave up his evil plans. So evidently, he was there to amuse Brian. (Dan: The predicted 3-day ride was magically reduced to 4 hours. Karn told us he believed it was due to the goodwill of the Countess, who we haven't pissed off yet. By some miracle. Before we left we checked out loot and most of it had changed into rotten mulch. Weapons, armor, and magic items remained usable.)
Once in town, we went to the church. It was battered and beaten with massive claw marks on the doors. The priest was helpful and the bodies were interned. The spirits inside Lord Q and Arlo were finally put to rest. We did a Detect Magic and Identify on the stuff we had and took the rest to the only store in town. On the way, Lancelot, the dog, eagerly identified his home. The lady inside told a sad tale about her missing daughter. Loki cast his Speak with Animals spell but all he really got was that she had left. Lancelot was asked to lead us to her and started back to what we figured was the mansion we had just come from. So that led nowhere. When questioned, the mother implicated the son of the local Baron somehow. Back to the store. He’d sell for the usual half worth but his prices were 10x normal. This offended all but he was the only game in town. There was talk of finding a black market or going to another town however we had the money and had the need for basic stuff like backpacks and such and so most just ended up paying. He did not carry weapons, however. We then went to the local tavern. Kharn flirted with the 3 owner ladies. Zolton got a lead on a job, escorting the sister of the son of the local baron to the next city.
We were allowed to bed down for the night in the common room (our only option) and we did so. (Dan: Karn slept upstairs with the 3 sisters. What happened up there cannot be spoken of... but at least it didn't keep anyone else awake. Dave made a pretend fort to sleep in, made out of the benches and slpt in it alone with his servants). Those with fatigue were finally allowed to recover. In the wee hours of the morning, Arlo heard a scream, and being the heroes fated to heal the land that we were supposed to be, we leaped into action. We ended up 3 blocks over. A lady’s husband had been killed and her daughter taken by some monster. We gave chase, catching up to it outside of town, by a small stream. We stopped there. (Dan: We did actually see it was a Fiend. It was late and we didn't want to start a fight.)
Ravenloft Game 04 - 12/23/20 - The Trash Monster
Written by David Green
Ravenloft Game 03 - 12/18/20 - The Memory of Death
Written by David Green
So, we awoke in the kid’s room in the mansion. Those that missed a CON save started with a level of exhaustion. (disad on all skills) There was talk of going back into the mansion to retrieve food from the downstairs kitchen. Zolton was eager to use his new purify food and drink spell. But we decided that we had successfully gathered enough shelf-stable food from their last game to get by. Most everyone was eager to get on with it. So, down the stairs we went. We started in the well room that we ended at last time. Ambrus started carefully opening the chests in the alcoves off that room. The rest tried to keep out of the way while that was done although some were less successful at that than others. Various bits of wealth were found. In addition, we found a ledger which seemed to be a record of who was captured, how they were tortured, what was learned, and how grisly was their death. This all happened 200 years ago. Also found were two silvered short swords. Loki and Ambrus both wanted them so each took one. I think there was an eye patch with a gem on it too. We did not take the time to detect magic or identify anything.
Unfortunately, it was a maze down there so there was no clear direction to go. We went a way. The halls were narrow so it was single file which made it hard to keep everyone engaged. Kharn took the lead since he wasn’t fatigued. He walked into a pit trap that evidently was beyond his passive perception. Brian allowed his danger sense to give him a save for half but he still fell in. While the fairness of this was debated, Zolton took it upon himself to go through some sort of dining room and get to the crossroads on the other side of the pit trap. He was then surprised and attacked by 3 more ghouls. There were the usual complaints about Brian triggering an encounter but we would have encountered it soon enough. Since we leave no stone unturned, everything will be triggered eventually. He was quickly knocked out and drug off. The pit wasn’t much of an obstacle, but the narrow halls and initiative order were. People engaged and contributed as they could. These monsters continued doing a lot of damage for 1st or 2nd level characters. Kaladin managed to make a medicine roll to revive Zolton but he was knocked out again before even getting up. They were destroyed but damage was taken. Loki revived Zolton with a cure wounds and then Zolton cured Kharn. And we pressed on.
We passed stairs down from which we heard eerie music but decided to try to finish off this level first. The next room had skeletons hanging from the walls that looked a bit like us. (I suspect the raccoon looking one was a giveaway.) There was also a statue of a lady that held an orb. Kaladin also noticed a secret door behind the plaster. But Ambrus decided to grab the orb first. 3 shadows emerged from the wall behind the skeletons and attacked. They were easy to hit but were resistant to nonmagical damage. Once again, they did a crap ton of damage and they drained STR. Things were dicey but then Zolton stepped in and used his “turn undead” power which for a Light domain Cleric did area effect radiant damage which these things were vulnerable to. He took them out. As we debated on how to get that STR back, 4 more emerged and we started over again. Multiple characters were knocked out and most took some STR drain. That was most hurtful to the Barbarian.
Arlo, who was still held back by Casper the scaredy ghost inside him, attempted to flee by way of what he assumed was a secret door into the last room. However, that turned out to be a Mimic who quicky knocked him out. Lancelot the dog came to his rescue and crit a couple of times. Despite that additional threat, we managed to live through it. And then we hit the to rest or not to rest debate. We had only been fighting for 30 minutes but were seriously depleted. Arlo thought the STR would return in hours, so not on a short rest. We decided to go back to the dining room to at least take a short rest in a room that was less disturbing. Once in there, a Grick attacked. More damage. The last of our spells used. We stopped there, without the rest. We’ll have to debate that question next time. Short or long and where. This is an old school dungeon with a trap or monster in each room. It’s going to be a grind that’ll take multiple rests. Luckily, they’ve all been dead for 200 years so there’s no hurry? Hopefully, someone will feed Kharn’s horse?
We started at the top of the order with one Shadow Demon and one pirate left. The Swashbuckler went first and, using a smite, took out the Shadow Demon. The pirate turned out to be held from last time and didn’t last the round. So then there was the debate as to what to do next. The notion of chasing the ones that had fled into the jungle was quickly dismissed. During that discussion, we gathered the bodies and searched them. The Fate Witch started a Detect Magic ritual. Evidently, Skorpix left a body behind. Everyone but Andy thought his whole body had turned to mist but evidently only his life essence. So, he left behind a magic long sword, short sword, and broach. Later the Fate Witch managed to cast one Identify and discovered the broach is of shielding which gives resistance to force damage and immunity to magic missiles. I think the Rogue has it for now. There was some debated about the swords. I’m not sure where they end up. Meanwhile, we were told we were an hour from the beach we expected to be picked up at and 2 hours from the fort where we assumed their ship was waiting for their victorious return. It was decided to head back to the fort to at least get a look at their ship (or ships) and see how big it was.
So, with some poor tracking rolls from our pseudo ranger, somehow, we ended up at the right beach. We could see a single ship, about the size of ours. We could cast water breathing, walk up to it underwater and take it by surprise. Unfortunately, there were pirates on the beach and at least one lookout. The ritual was cast during which a short rest was had. Then the sneakers (the Rogue, Monk, and Halfling Fate Witch) snuck up to the lookout. With some good stealth rolls, they got up to him. The Monk managed to stun him, and they took him out. They could see another lookout closer to the beach. They could see another lookout closer to the beach. The Fate Witch then cast a Minor Illusion so it looked like he was still there. What followed was a series of skill rolls and spells and they managed to take out 4 lookouts in series without raising an alarm. The other 4 players were left out of the action and got down to the beach when the coast was clear.
So, we made it to the ship. After some debate about splitting up and taking both ends of the ship at the same time, we decided to all attack the captain’s quarters below decks from the windows. The Paladin, carrying the Wizard on his back and the Monk climbed up. The Monk was fortunate is that his window was unlatched but the Paladin was not so lucky. The two climbers got in and found 2 named officers one of which was a Bard, 1 deck wizard (the same one that fled our fight?) and one generic pirate waiting for them. Everyone else got in the next round except the Fate Witch who missed her climbing roll. Combat ensued. Our Wizard cast his last Slow and lucky all four of them missed their saves. That had a lasting impact. Their wizard ran to the door and raised the alarm but at least that was the only way in. The Monk maneuvered through the traffic to try to block the doorway. Unfortunately, there was an assassin hiding in a small room near the door. He attacked with advantage, did an automatic crit, and took over half of the Monk’s hit points in one blow. The Monk then rolled a 1 on his poison save and that 7d6 poison additional damage took the rest of his hit points.
But he wasn’t out for long. The Sorlock hit him with a Healing Word and the Rogue drug him away from the assassin. (We never saw that assassin again. We assume he’s still in that room.) Combat was combative. The Sorlock could hit but rolled terrible for damage. The Paladins did their things. The villains were limited by the Slow and by round 2-3, after missed their saves, started targeting our Wizard. He managed to use his arcane deflection twice and made one concentration save to keep it up. Other general pirates starting coming in as well but the first 4 started dropping. We stopped there. We do not know what awaits us outside this room but there sure does seem to be a lot of guys on this small ship.
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Ravenloft Game 02 - 11/27/20 - Dearly Departed
Written by David Green
Despite coming together on level 3 to fight the armor, we ended up spread out again. Luckily the house was relatively small so we could rally if needed. Brian had us roll initiative again so that we could take turns doing things out of combat. Arlo searched the library, starting with the desk. He found some useful things like a flint and steel and an iron key. Next, he grabbed the empty footlockers from next door and began filling them with books that he thought were interesting or valuable. He found one that he had to read. (Missed a Will save.) Evidently, it was so offensive, he was compelled to burn it in the fireplace. Lord Q joined him in there at some point. Loki, Kaladin, and Ambrus searched the music room and examined the dog. They were convinced the dog was real but didn’t find anything else of note in there. The dog seemed to not like one particular cold corner but we could not find a reason. Kharn went back up to the 3rd floor and searched the room the ghost was in. The ghost did not reappear but he did notice a secret door behind a mirror. It was the stairs up to the attic that we were looking for although it was filled with spider webs. He grabbed a torch and headed up. Loki joined him, feeling the music room was a dead end and having no interest in the library. At this point, we were in two groups. Level 2 and level 4.
Down in the library, Lord Q found a secret door behind a bookshelf. In there were a couple of bookshelves with magical type tombs including, I think, some rituals. I don’t think we’ve found any magical inks though. There were also the skeletal remains of what we figure was an adventurer type. Evidently, he had opened a chest and gotten spikes in his head for his trouble. He did have thieves’ tools on him and some other gear that Ambrus took. He used an abundance of caution and searched. The thief had a letter in his hand we figured he had grabbed from the chest. It was from Lord Straud himself basically telling the head of this house that his adulterous ways had brought the curse on to him and his household. He would be getting no aid and will reap what he sowed. In the chest were 3 blank spells books, 3 cleric scrolls that for some reason our delusional wizard Zolton could read, the deed to the house and a windmill and a will leaving everything to Rose and Thorn. Their searching was then interrupted by combat upstairs.
On level four, the first room had a padlock in it. We could hear the eerie sounds of children playing but the iron key and Rogue were downstairs so Loki moved onto the next room. It was a guest room full of webs and spiders. Since they were small, he got the torch from Kharn and reopened the door. However, the spiders formed into 2 spider swarms and attacked. They did 4d4 of damage and had their usual resistances. 3 of us took significant damage (good thing we got those extra hit points). Those below came up to help but the fight was over before they could do much. The locked room was opened with the iron key. It was a room for the kids. The window was bricked shut. When we started looking at stuff, their ghosts appeared. One merged with Arlo and one with, I think, Lord Q. They wanted to be put to rest i.e. their skeletal remains buried outside the house. There was also a dollhouse of this house. It was detailed enough to see that there was a spiral staircase from the 4th floor down to the basement. Since they were affecting two players, we decided to take care of that asap. Their bones were put into their toy box and we headed down. With a bunch of debate about whether to do other stuff along the way, we ended up at the front door. However, that evil mist had engulfed the whole house and we decided we needed to deal with the basement before going out of the house.
We then spent a bunch of time looking into everything we’d left behind. The first-floor den was searched. The stuff wolves moved to watch us but never attacked. We found two pistols and supplies that went to Loki, a shotgun over the fireplace that, with much debate, went to Kharn, and a deck of cards. The kitchen was searched more thoroughly and any edible food was taken. The books from the library were taken and carried somehow. The hanging corpse was searched but no one made a decent roll so if there was anything worth finding, we didn’t find it. The body was taken down and wrapped in a sheet for future burial. I don’t remember if anything else was done or found. The rest of the 4th floor was searched. If anything of note was found, I can’t recall.
So, then we were finally left with the stairs down. It was more of a dungeon than a basement and certainly larger than the house footprint. There were multiple corridors heading in various directions. Kharn and Loki attempted to sneak ahead a bit. (Ambrus was still poisoned and had disadvantage on all rolls so he hung back.) In one room, we were attacked by 3 ghouls, emerging from alcoves with rotting sleeping mats. They had a claw that did paralysis or a bite. Both did 10+ damage which is significant at 1st level. Kharn raged and was crit like 3 rounds in a row. Luckily it was half damage and he managed to save. Loki blasted away with his pistols so further sneaking was out. Arlo was compelled to hide by Thorn although he was out of 1st level spells anyway. The next room had a well and some more alcoves. A big ghoul emerged from it and managed to shove Kharn into the well. Good thing he saved or that could have been dicey. It did more damage but again, no one missed that save. It was dropped and Kharn was pulled out.
At that point, it was approaching 1 AM. No one was out but most everyone was below half. We agreed to a long rest but where? We still couldn’t leave the house. We decided to hold up in Rose and Thorn’s room which had one door and no windows. I think we locked the door from the inside with the padlock. We set watches but weird things kept happening right when we started to sleep. We got the long rest and Ambrus finally recovered from the poison but everyone had to make a CON save or take 1 level of exhaustion (disad on all skill rolls). Ironically Ambrus, after suffering through the poison all night, was the only one that saved. However, Arlo used an inspiration die and saved on that reroll. Ambrus gave his inspiration die to someone else (Kharn or Kaladin?) and that person also saved. Zolton will have to save next time. Luckily the skill-heavy house search is over and it’ll mostly be combat from here on out so maybe the exhaustion won’t be too bad? We did make it to 2nd level. Next game is scheduled for 3 weeks.
Ravenloft Game 01 - 11/21/20 - Welcome to Hell
Written by David Green
We started with Paul’s Barbarian. The leader of his clan, Madame Eva, told him to take one of the wagons, load it with extra supplies and head east. She also gave him a small bundle that she said one of his new companions would have need of. She said all this rather obliquely as if explaining physics to a child and expecting him to understand. But eventually, Kharn figured out what he was expected to do. I think he was to gather these new friends and return to Madame Eva for further instructions. Soon after the rest of the players found themselves awakened on a lonely spooky road in the middle of nowhere. All of them, including Kharn, have been having a reoccurring dream. There were lots of handouts describing all this but it summarizes as such. A land of great evil is in need of heroes to rescue it. We’ve all been here before, reincarnating over and over again. And then Madame Eva beckoning us to see her. Each awoke with 2 tarot cards, describing their nature and their fate. We had our sleeping clothes, our heirloom item, our comfort item, and those cards. That’s it. Except for Kharn, who was fully equipped since he’s from here.
We compared notes. Loki the Ranger, Arlo the Wizard, Ambrus the Rogue, and Kaladin the Monk had known each other, although briefly, from the other side. Zolton and the Triton were from completely different planes of existence. Kharn was asked if he had any extra weapons or armor but he did not. He did have that bundle which turned out to be Zolton’s spellbook. (Note from Dan: Strangely Zolton is a cleric who thinks he's a wizard. So... yeah. Either he's nuts or that book is messing with his mind.) Loki dug into the wagon and among the meager supplies, only found a trunk of brightly colored woman’s clothes and a big tent. Kaladin noted the smell of death and a body was discovered. He appeared to be a commoner carrying a letter who had been killed by wolves several days ago. Speaking of wolves, one could be heard in the distance. The note was examined. Something about the town of Borovia needing help against some evil. And a reward. There were more discussions but when more wolf howls were heard, we hit the road. (Note from Dan: as we left the DM revealed that a horde of wolves appeared where we had been. Good thing we left.) A couple of stout pieces of wood were found for poor weapons. The extra supplies in the wagon were meager and although several had hunting and gathering skills, there were concerns about venturing off the road so dinner was sparse. The tent was erected and watches assigned. On the 3rd watch, a swarm of bats attacked. Kaladin did some serious damage (Note from Dan: I am a monk so the damage was all from crits. I stole them all from Kharn who couldn't roll above 4 most of the night), Ambrus got bit, several that were asleep never made it into the fight. After a couple of rounds, the bats flew off to seek more defenseless prey.
As we entered the town, we passed a manor house surrounded by a fence. The main house was in decent shape although the outer structures had all collapsed. Beside it, were two children. Rose and her little brother Thorn. They said there was a monster in their house. Their parents had gone into the basement to check it out and had been gone for a couple of hours. They were worried about their little brother in the nursery up on the 3rd floor. In a display of well-coordinated teamwork, everyone headed in different directions. Eventually, Brian had us roll initiative to try to get things under control. Kaladin flew up to the 3rd floor balcony. Loki transformed into a cat and climbed up after him. They went into a spooky bedroom and could hear the baby crying in the next room. When that room was opened, the crib was empty. And then a ghost of a sad woman appeared over the bed (Margaret). She asked why we were there. Kaladin explained that Rose and Thorn were concerned about their baby brother. Did she know where he was? She was confused and concerned but at least she didn’t attack. (Note from Dan: This is the second time I ended up being the contact person for an upset ghost. I think I'm getting pretty good at not triggering them.)
Meanwhile, the rest came in the front door. The mudroom (Note from Dan: I had never heard of this term before. It's the room you wipe your feet and take off your shoes so you don't track things in the house) had shoes that seem to fit everyone in need of them. Zolton found a shield on the wall which he “borrowed” as well. A search of the house commenced. A couple of long swords were also found on the wall. The dining room had a fabulous feast laid out. After two days of twigs and berries, Ambrus grabbed a plate full on his way to the next room. But the food was so tasty, he had to sit down to enjoy it. A round later when Arlo managed to snap him out of it, he realized it was all rotten and he was poisoned. Another room had 3 stuffed wolves that looked surprisingly like monster tokens so that room was deferred. It did seem to have some weapons in it. Zolton skipped the 2nd story and went right to the 3rd where Kaladin and Loki were. (Note from Dan: The ghost had blocked the door inward and Kaladin was trying to get it to lead us inward. Loki had pulled the "I'm a cute kitten scratching on the door. Please open it for me" Naturally his awesome roleplaying was negated the next action when Zoltan opened the door from the other side). A suit of armor animated and tried to push him down the stairs. He avoided that by the barest of margins. With an actual combat started, everyone headed up there. (They never did find a way into the basement unless the dumb waiter went down there.) Since the armor was plate, it’s AC was high but it was soon defeated. The good news was that the breastplate was in good enough shape for Zolton to use. The door to the ghost room was closed and she was not seen again. For now, anyway. Now that everyone was together, we decided to stick together and search the 3rd floor.
We found a body hanging from a rafter in the master bedroom. He had a suicide note. He was the master of the house and was apologizing to his kids for leaving them. Evidently, his wife had done some great evil and this was his only choice. We found another letter written by the wife, thanking a friend for her advice. Something about extreme measures needed to rid the house of evil. We started to think she killed her kids which would make the kids out front ghosts as well. On her nightstand was a jewelry box that had quite a bit of wealth in it. (Note from Dan: The DM boasted how much loot we found. Then I pointed out that it was just about the same amount we had lost on the trip to Ravenloft. So we are now baseline new D&D characters). The rest of the floor was searched, avoiding the ghost room but no way up to the attic was found. There was a balcony from which a climber could get up there however it was noted that the eerie fog seemed to be much thick up there so climbing to it was deferred.
We instead went back to the 2nd floor. It was searched. One room had 4 sets of studded leather which was taken by Loki and Ambrus. Lord Triton felt used armor was beneath him although I suspect he was holding out for medium armor. The other thing that was found was a library. But by this point, we were all tired and worn out by all these clues and descriptions. We had just lost our focus so we stopped there. I suspect the ritual books of Lord Triton and Zolton will be in there. We still haven’t found a way up to the attic or down into the basement but there must be a way somehow. At worst we can climb. (Note from Dan: There was talk of flying or climbing to the 4th floor. The ghost had explained that there was a way to the basement from the attic. However, Brian was very clear that making our way from the balcony to the 4th floor would cross the mist. We think going into the mist is death.) There was talk of making this place our new headquarters, especially since everyone seems to be dead, although with ghosts and bodies and as yet undiscovered evils, maybe we can do better.
We started with a recap of the plot so far to get everybody on the same page. The rescued nobles had no useful information or at least nothing we didn’t already know. After some discussions about what to do next, we realized that it was the middle of the night and our ship would not be returning until the morning. So we had to start by taking a long rest somewhere. We could do that at the dragon statue or at the emptying compound down below however with the Pirate King on his way, we felt it best if we rested in a location that he did not know. So we headed into the jungle to camp just off the beach where we had been dropped off that morning. Two Tiny Huts were erected and after a bunch of pointless discussions about who would be in which tent, the night passed without issue.
In the morning, the tents came down and breakfast was started. At which point we were ambushed by the Pirate King and his not so merry band. Evidently, Andy had secretly rolled our passive perceptions and we all missed it. We could have debated for hours on how we would have likely started the day (e.g. the wizard would have likely slept in and someone would have likely gone out of the tent and run into pirates in the trees) but we just rolled with it and rolled initiative. The Swashbuckler went first and was quickly assassinated by a rogue who did 6? extra dice in backstab damage, doubled due to the assassinate power. All told, he took 40+ points of damage from the first hit of the night. That certainly got everyone’s attention. I.e. panic ensued. (Note from Dan: We all thought we were toast. It turned out to be a very fair combat but Andy has a way of playing up the villains so we think they are far tougher than they are. Almost one-shotting the toughest character didn't help. So there was much moaning and whining.)
So the big guy was flanked by a couple of mates and a sea wizard. There were at least two assassins hiding along with the first mate and more mates. They were all loaded with Feats and abilities to make our life exciting. We were surrounded, and the first round, they kept popping up from behind trees. What followed was an extremely complex and contentious battle. With all our individual 7 levels of powers plus a villain set designed to challenge us and all their stuff plus the interactions between them all; it was a lot to sort through. I’ll hit some highlights. The Monk charged the man who killed his father, risking being surrounded. (Note from Dan: The Arcane Trickster had cast Tasha's Hideous laughter on him and he had actually missed his save. So he was rolling on the ground when the monk charged him. I honestly thought it was a bonehead move, though well roleplayed. Considering they took him out fairly fast I think they did the right thing.)The Paladin did the same as did the Rogue. Basically, it was the “cut off the head” strategy. The Pirate King got batter pretty fast and was hit by multiple spells. Despite his bonuses, he missed a couple of saves including a stunning fist from the Monk. The Paladin smited him several times for tons of damage as well. Within a couple of rounds, he was out however none of his allies were really touched so there was more work to do.
Our Wizard hit theirs with a Slow which seemed like a good thing although it turned out that their wizard was mostly sea spells and lacking in offense. He did manage to put up a delayed Fog Bank which caused heavily obscured chaos. Our Wizard managed to find his way out, hit him, and drop his concentration. (Note from Dan: and yes there were huge arguments about if you were caught in a fog, would you know that there was an enemy in any specific direction even if you saw them 10 seconds ago. It got loud and no one was happy with the results. The moral is don't blind everyone on the map. No one likes it and the rules aren't clear enough to make anyone happy.) Yeah. But the next round he just put it up again. Boo. No one found him this time and it stayed up until he fled the scene a few rounds later. The Fate Witch managed to Charm one of theirs. The Sorlock turned on his flight to get above the fog and then used his familiar (bat with blindsight) to target in it. Whether that was legal was debated along with many other things. (Note from Dan: The help action is legal with familiars. The bat had Blindsight so it should have been able to give my character advantage to negate the disadvantage. The questionable part is whether it was enough to target the assassin even if my familiar was on his head. The halfling Bard argued for it the first time I did it and the next round argued against it. I think this REALLY pissed of the GM. The bat had only an AC of 12 with 4 HP so it was killed in a single attack when the assassin got fed up with it. This was totally legitimate and I expected to lose the familiar temporarily.) It was mainly a grind with the difficulties of the Fog Bank thrown on top to slow down the already slow turns. (Note from Dan: While everyone was in the fog Dave's bard character had charmed one of the pirates and led two others on a merry chase through and around the fog. Excellent use of spalls and environment.)
When the Pirate King went out, he turned to mist much like the Wizard did the previous night and headed to the Orb being carried by the Rogue. She attempted to stay ahead of it but could not. Once in her backpack, another (or the same) Shadow Demon emerged. So that started part two of the fight. At that point, the pirates that were able to, started to flee. (Note from Dan: The rogue trickster ditched the shadow demon which left it with only the sorlock it could see. Thanks Brian! I got nailed by a pirate's arrow, then hit by two claw attacks from the demon for about 60 points. This took me out. Ironically my action was next. I had intended to hide in the fog but it obviously didn't work out. I was about 30 feet above the fight and the racial Asimar flight ability wasn't concentration so the DM was kind enough to say I floated down rather than falling and taking damage. So my death save count started here.) The Fog finally cleared and fire was concentrated on the Shadow for the most part. It was tough and dangerous. We did not want to turn it this time, preferring to kill it so that we wouldn’t have to face it a 3rd time. We ended the night there. Once the Shadow Demon is vanquished, we’ll have to decide if we want to chase down these fleeing pirates. They’ve got a couple rounds head start but we’ve got some fast guys on our team. And/or we could attack their ship with ours. Scorpix, the Pirate King, may have gotten away but we’ve managed to reduce his resources a bit more. It’s a process?
We started in the middle of the fight, at the top of the order. The stunned Wyvern went sailing over the waterfall, taking a ton of damage. Unfortunately, the Monk was still on it. He had a hold of the rope the Rogue gave him but the force of the momentum change was such that he lost his grip. But he had enough athleticism to keep from going over the edge. Two more armored knights showed up from under the statue and ran into the Wizard who was trying to take cover from the Wyverns. He got chopped up a bit. The Fate Witch hit the other Wyvern with a spell that caused it to flee. Despite our watching the skies, they never did return until it was all over. The remaining guards didn’t last long as the only targets. The knights were tougher but then their Wizard appeared at the top of the dragon statue.
Since she was in the dark, she didn’t really appear but her Fireball sure did. That caused the usual panic but the Monk and the Rogue had evasion and the Sorlock had that ring of evasion. Plus, the Paladin gave save bonuses so all totaled, a couple took half damage and the majority took no damage. Luckily our Wizard had fled the knights the round before and was out of the area. Their wizard thought she was safe up there but the Monk used his Monk powers to get up there and avoid her guards. The Rogue did the same with Misty Step and the Paladin with his climbing gloves. Surrounded, she didn’t last long although she did get off a Cone of Cold for a ton of damage. But again, everyone saved, and several evaded. When she died, a green mist wisped into the chamber near the top. Once the last knight was gunned down, we were out of targets.
The Swashbuckler went into the chamber and found a plantar on an altar and a bunch of treasure. He attempted to wrap it in a sack however St Sever saw him coming and sent his Shadow Demon through the plantar with orders to attack. (By the way, he, the demon, and the wizard were all featured in our bad dreams from a couple of games ago.) So, it was a new fight on a new initiative. The Shadow Demon occupied the square of the Swashbuckler and attacked the Monk. It had a claw, claw, bite advantage on Wis saves, and other powers we didn’t really get to see. Because on the Swashbuckler’s turn he did his Paladin turn thing which effects Fae for him. It missed it’s save, despite advantage, and was forced to cower in the corner. But it just went incorporeal and flowed through the rock. We puttered around, waiting for its return in 2 minutes but it never did.
So, we gathered and searched. Around 8 minutes later, the Commander flew up on his Wyvern and offered a deal. He’d return the hostages and leave if we’d let them. Unfortunately, the hostages would likely be put to the sword right in front of us if we didn’t. According to him, St. Sever, armed with his shadow demon allies, had taken over the pirate king and these guys were looking to get away. He also said that St. Sever was on his way to this island, now that he knew where we were. We agreed with the added stipulation that they leave Jailyn alone. The Swashbuckler then allowed that they could visit and resupply as long as they didn’t break the laws and maybe they could share some stories over a drink in the pub. Several were perplexed by this but we moved on. The Fate Witch finished her Detect Magic ritual but the plantar was the only thing that was magical. We stopped with a short rest and the intention of heading back to the other side of the island to rendezvous with our ship.
