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We D&D- Tyranny of Dragons Part 2: The Rise of Tiamat #24b Strike Team 1 Part 2 A Ton of Undead.
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<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 7564406" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>We D&D.</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Lost Mine of Phandelver Session #14a Cunning Plans.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Myrium the Blessed (played by Sandy) Female Human Cleric of Lathander Lvl 4</strong></p><p><strong>Shagga, Son of Dorf (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Paladin of Kord Lvl 4</strong></p><p><strong>Gaukus Grom (played by Pete) Male Dragonborn Sorcerer Lvl 4</strong></p><p><strong>Elvis Pickersgilly (played by Jackie) Male Forest Gnome Rogue Lvl 4</strong></p><p></p><p>Remember last session- the big attack on Cecil and the Black Spider, well… that’s been put on hold for a bit, it seems there’s been a whole lot of chatter between the last session and this one. The Blessed Avengers figure they have got time to spare, they were given 24 hours to complete their tasks, they’ve only used about 8 hours so far- that means they have 16 more hours including time for another Extended Rest before they have to go and face their newest patron (of sorts) Cecil (the nothic, remember).</p><p></p><p>Oh, and this session went on for a while, we even had to stop to order food in- break for a couple of hours, and then get back to it. There was no-way anyone was leaving, however due to the length of the session I have had to break this narrative in to two parts.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]112974[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>And so the Blessed Avengers have a list of things to achieve (I told you they had been chatting between sessions), over the next few hours (in-game time, obviously) they accomplish the following-</p><p></p><p>1) Gaukus (dragonborn sorcerer) gets practical with the magical forge, it takes him five-or-so minutes to turn Elvis’ (gnome rogue) dagger in to a +1 dagger (temporary). Soon enough all of the Blessed Avengers are fishing out a variety of items that need enhancing, Shagga (half-orc paladin) even strips down to his smalls to get his armour magicked, Myrium (human cleric) just gets her shield done. All told over the course of an hour or so about ten items are temporarily en-magicked (I know I’ve made up that word, but I like it).</p><p></p><p>2) While this is going on Myrium (and others) have a good long chat with Kevin the spectator, the winsome eye-monster is questioned about his capabilities; of particular interest is the creature’s ability to deflect spells, although several of his other powers also fall in to the wondrous range. The Blessed Avengers are starting to feel very positive about the latest turn of events.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]112975[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Next up is a visit to Wave Echo Cave proper, the group head north in to a huge high-ceilinged natural cavern containing a large body of water. The Avengers watch to see what happens- right on cue, two minutes since the last time, a sudden rumbling wave of water rolls in to the cavern from the north east and surges to the shore- crashing in to the rocky scarp and making… well, one hell of a noise.</p><p></p><p>That’s it however…</p><p></p><p>The passage alongside the watery fury goes on, as usual Elvis is sent ahead with his comrades following on a little way behind. The rogue wends his way down the tunnels as quietly as he can and eventually comes to the end of the passage- interesting.</p><p></p><p>The passage ends in a high cave opening which looks down in to a crevasse, in the crevasse are a pair of bugbears- the duo seem to be looking for something, digging through the rocks and debris. The gnome stays hidden, and silent, and continues to watch- every now and then comes a voice from the far side of the crevasse. Eventually Elvis spots a pair of rope ladders leading up and out, and at the very edge of the crevasse on the far side is… it’s hard to be sure from this distance, and what with the lack of light- but it could be an elf, or more likely… a drow, and perhaps another hefty creature, a third bugbear?</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]112976[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Elvis reports back to his comrades and then leads them forward one at a time to take a look- although for those lacking darkvision (Myrium & Gaukus) there’s little to see.</p><p></p><p>The Blessed Avengers are not buying it however, they’ve seen drow before- the last one turned out to be a doppelganger, the players debate this for a short while but the subject seems to be mostly academic. It would be a hard ask for them to get from the cavern passage, down in to the crevasse- fight the bugbears there, and then get back up the other side and attack the drow et al. Certainly the task would be difficult to accomplish with stealth and/or speed.</p><p></p><p>Which leads us to the next objective…</p><p></p><p>But before that a quick word about the Random Encounter Table, during the end of the last session and continuing on in to this one I have made maybe ten rolls on it- nothing. I like to play things RAW unless I have a better idea or the RAW is just plain broke. I’m telling you this because I want you to know… I’m still rolling, as it turn out I’m still rolling low.</p><p></p><p>Now back to their list-</p><p></p><p>3) What to do about the flameskull, a short debate follows- very short because the Blessed Avengers have now all got a spring in their step, it seems this is the end of a conversation which has been going on all week. In short Myrium & Shagga are of the opinion that they should try to destroy the flameskull in its lair- if things go badly they will flee to safety (their storeroom) and rest up, after all they have plenty of time to do so. However, if things go well then they have a way through to the eastern side of the caverns that doesn’t involve running through the (poisonous) fungus filled cavern. Last point- there was another exit out of the flameskull’s cavern (Shagga remembers- I think he drew a bit of a map), this could prove to be a short cut to somewhere advantageous. Moments later a consensus is reached- check it out, and if it looks good- ATTACK! The flameskull is going down.</p><p></p><p>Elvis, as always, is sent ahead- the gnome doesn’t venture in to the smelter chamber, he hides in the entrance passage and watches- the zombies are where they were the last time the Avengers were here, in a pile after fleeing from Myrium’s holy aura. As to the flameskull- Elvis cannot see the creature, he therefore presumes it is back in its smelter lair (he’s correct).</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]112977[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Thirty seconds later, after the plan is reiterated, the Blessed Avengers are green for go- Myrium, Gaukus and their new friend Kevin the spectator head in and start firing in to the prone zombies, which soon after are struggling to get to their feet. Meanwhile Shagga and Elvis head for the smelter, the half-orc paladin reads his Misty Step scroll (and then rolls well), and in a blink of an eye he reappears atop the machine- Talon in hand and ready to strike. Elvis makes use of his Boots of Striding & Springing, he joins the half-orc moments later.</p><p></p><p>The zombies meanwhile are taking a beating.</p><p></p><p>Then the flameskull arrives, exactly as the Blessed Avengers planned, it floats up from within the dark depths of the smelter, shouting and screaming dire warnings and threats, only… Shagga slices with Talon (with added Divine Smite), while Elvis lances with his magical rapier (with added Sneak Attack). The flameskull goes from full to 4 HP in a matter of seconds. The fiery foe stops screaming and casts Blur upon itself then flies swiftly up and away from its attackers.</p><p></p><p>Down below the crowd control trio continues to wade through the zombies.</p><p></p><p>Back atop the smelter Shagga drops Talon, grabs out a spear (he made sure that one of his spears was magicked in the forge) and then flings it- the flameskull shatters, consuming itself in a fiery explosion. Soon after all of the zombies are dead too.</p><p></p><p>That was remarkably easy.</p><p></p><p>It also generated a lot of joy- much whooping follows.</p><p></p><p>The Blessed Avengers are however all business- the chamber is searched, even the inside of the smelter- Elvis is lowered in, disappointingly there’s no treasure to be had.</p><p></p><p>There is however a corridor heading from the smelting chamber to the west- it ends in a door, which Elvis determines is barred and maybe barricaded from the other side, there’s also the sound of creatures in the chamber beyond the door- goblins, or else… bugbears.</p><p></p><p>After another brief chat (and another roll on the Random Encounter Table- I’m determined, but nothing) the Blessed Avengers have a plan. Shagga puts his shoulder to the barricaded door and starts shoving, it’s opening- however the bugbears on the other side of the door are clearly perturbed by this activity, they start pushing back- and there are a few of them it seems (at least three different voices Elvis reckons). The half-orc paladin however is making little headway (even when Myrium gives him a hand), therefore the Avengers decide to halt the attempt. In a marvellous piece of improvised theatre Elvis uses his Minor Illusion ability to conjure the groans and moans of zombies at toil. The panicked bugbears go full fury to barricade the door again, convinced the undead are trying to break in.</p><p></p><p>A good idea from the PCs, and well-covered up when the plan proves beyond them (or else beyond their dice rolls), the adventurers move on, back in to the mines, and from there back to their storeroom hideout.</p><p></p><p>Shagga, it seems, has had another ‘great’ idea- he’s full of them, and so five minutes later (no Random Encounters- damn!) the Blessed Avengers get to hear Shagga’s latest plan, put simply-</p><p></p><p>“We shud kill them all- NOW!” Obviously it’s short on detail but the half-orc paladin is quite obviously enthused. The other players (the fools) however do not instantly grasp the merits of the new plan, Shagga therefore adds a few details.</p><p></p><p>Shagga’s New Plan take two- “We are strong (not injured, not expended lots of powers). They say back in 24 hours- we go now catch them pants down (basically they’re not going to be expecting the Blessed Avengers to be back so soon). We have eyeball terror with big bad magic (Kevin). We kill them quick-quick, rescue little people (Pip and Nundro).”</p><p></p><p>Remarkably it all makes sense, and there are no dissenters, it seems we are on for the finale this session after all, and so an hour later- after a Short Rest, the Blessed Avengers- with Elvis (as always) sneaking ahead, head off to war.</p><p></p><p>The gnome rogue sneaks back in to the chamber the Blessed Avengers are supposed to meet Cecil later, a rough cavern containing a large body of water, the place is guarded by a pair of bugbears who are hardly paying attention. One seems to be throwing stones in to the water, the other is sat on the stairs that lead in to the flagged passages north. Elvis reports back, and then a few minutes later (after further Myrium lead discussions) the attack begins.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]112978[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Myrium Blesses the troops- Elvis, deadly accurate as (nearly) always with his bow, assassinates the bugbear sitting on the stairs- the one furthest away from the Blessed Avengers, the other bugbear doesn’t even notice that his companion is dead- it carries on throwing stones in to the water. That is until Shagga breaks cover, the half-orc paladin runs behind the bugbear (who turns to see) and straight to the stairs- Shagga knows there’s a bugbear guardroom here, the door is wide open to the chamber, and he can see at least two more bugbears within.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly Kevin the spectator flies in to the chamber, which causes the bugbear there some consternation (although we’re still in the surprise round), Kevin blasts the creature with his Wounding Ray, but (alas) fails to paralyze it. Gaukus hits the creature with his Fire Bolt, while Elvis finishes it off with another deadly accurate arrow-strike, ah the joys of high initiative rolls- my bad guys are dead before they know what’s going on.</p><p></p><p>The Blessed Avengers move up in to the corridor, the alarm has not yet been sounded, the plan is to get as far as they can in to the bad guys territory, as quickly as they can- and in the process take down as many enemies as they can.</p><p></p><p>Alas their progress does not go unnoticed, one of the bugbears in the guard chamber looks up and sees Shagga making his way forward, the half-orc paladin attempts to hide but… well, he’s a massive slice of humanity and noisy with it. The shout goes out and suddenly all three bugbears within the chamber are shouting and screaming- and moving towards the adventurers.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]112979[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Shagga and Elvis position themselves to block the corridor north, the bugbears are trapped in their room (unless they’re going to dismantle the barricade they reinforced earlier to prevent the undead from getting in). Seconds later Kevin the spectator appears and blasts a bugbear with his Wounding Ray, and then paralyzes another. Myrium smashes the wounded bugbear down, while Elvis stabs the paralyzed one- that hurt- seconds later Shagga finishes it off. The last bugbear standing flings a javelin in to Shagga and then slams the door to the chamber closed, and then holds it shut. Shagga moves to shove and wrestle the portal open but the large goblinoid prevents the paladin from getting in.</p><p></p><p>“Keep moving! Keep moving!” Myrium hisses to her companions and then races down the northern passage, Gaukus following on behind the priestess. The pair arrive at a T-junction, stairs lead down eastwards in to a natural cavern, or so it seems from what little light there is (Gaukus’ lantern), while to the west the corridor continues on- the pair head west.</p><p></p><p>Alas neither of the adventurers are particularly stealthy (they’re also moving at pace), they are of course trying to be stealthy, but they’re not succeeding (Myrium rolls ‘1’ and Gaukus ‘3’). Only twenty or thirty feet away from where they stand a drow (actually another doppelganger) overseeing the search of the crevasse (which the adventurers observed earlier) hears something odd and sends a bugbear to investigate.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]112980[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Less than ten seconds later the bugbear, having climbed the stairs in to the corridor, spots Gaukus and Myrium creeping up the corridor. The bugbear flings a javelin in Gaukus’ back, and almost kills the dragonborn (a Crit, Gaukus goes from full to 7 HP), and then starts screaming and shouting (the bugbear, not Gaukus- the dragonborn is a stoic chap).</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile Shagga and Elvis, who are still trying (and failing) to get to the last bugbear in the guardroom, hear Gaukus’ screams- the pair abandon their task and come running. Elvis arrives just in time to punish the javelin flinging bugbear with a Sneak Attack.</p><p></p><p>Myrium is quickly to Gaukus, she heals the dragonborn (Cure Wounds Level 2) as best she can- Gaukus is pissed, the sorcerer strides purposefully towards the bugbear- hits it with a Scorching Ray, then another (it expires) and then continues on down the stairs in to the crevasse chamber.</p><p></p><p>Which turns out to be an ill-judged move, hidden in the shadows at the bottom of the stairs is the drow (still a doppelganger), the foul creature leaps at Gaukus with its twin shortswords (and misses both attacks, and with Advantage on both). Gaukus grins at the drow (doppelganger) and at very close range (and therefore at Disadvantage) unleashes his last Scorching Ray (and hits and rolls just short of max damage). The doppel-drow looks terrified, it disengages- screams blue murder and rushes off north- further in to the cavern.</p><p></p><p>“He’s getting away!” Gaukus calls back to his comrades.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile the two bugbears that were down in the crevasse are making their way up the ladders, and towards the action.</p><p></p><p>Shagga rushes forward, grabs out his magicked spear and flings it in to the back of the retreating doppel-drow, Kevin catches up with events and hits the same villain with his Wounding Ray, Elvis flings a dagger- the creature is critically wounded but still alive and screaming (and still fleeing).</p><p></p><p>Myrium (who has only just arrived on the scene) and Gaukus let loose the artillery, a Sacred Flame followed by three more Scorching Rays- all way off target. Gaukus has to convert some of his Magic Font Points in order to get himself another second level spell.</p><p></p><p>The two bugbears climb out of the crevasse and charge in to action- one slashes Elvis- the gnome is trying to get to the doppel-drow, while the other flails wildly at Shagga. The doppel-drow however is still intent on fleeing, it doesn’t get far- Elvis gets his man/drow/doppelganger, and cuts the beast down.</p><p></p><p>Just two bugbears left in the fight, and neither of the pair look keen on making a stand- and then less so when Kevin paralyzes one and hits the other with his Wounding Ray.</p><p></p><p>Note I’m not playing the spectator full on, Kevin has once or twice headed off in the wrong direction, and then had to double move the next round to get back in to position. I’m using the creature’s full repertoire of powers but inconsistently, I don’t want the spectator to grab all of the limelight.</p><p></p><p>Elvis kills the badly wounded bugbear and then menaces the paralyzed individual, however Myrium- as always, is in charge, and still directing operations.</p><p></p><p>“Leave it, the drow (doppelganger) was heading this way (north)- COME ON!”</p><p></p><p>The priestess of Lathander races off, Shagga and Gaukus rush after her- which of course just leaves Elvis with the paralyzed bugbear.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]112981[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>“You’re dead, mate.” Elvis states to the bugbear, and when he’s certain that his colleagues can no-longer see him, the gnome guts the hefty goblinoid and then rushes after his friends- grinning like a loon (or else like a homicidal maniac, you decide).</p><p></p><p>At which point we had been playing (around the table) for nearly four-and-a-half hours, and so a break was called for- food ordered after the decision is made that we would play to the end. However, I’ll continue the final instalment in Session 14b next time.</p><p></p><p>Just to say that the fight to the Black Spider’s HQ has taken about fifteen rounds long already- Myrium’s Bless spell has long since faded; Myrium, Shagga and Elvis have all taken hits- but nothing significant, while Gaukus has taken a beating but been healed (mostly- about 75% to full) by the priestess. Kevin hasn’t got a scratch on him.</p><p></p><p>For the bad guys seven bugbears have met their maker, the lone survivor is back in the guardroom still holding the door shut, the only other casualty is the drow (doppelganger) overseer, cut down by Elvis just in the nick of time.</p><p></p><p>The finale comes next.</p><p></p><p>Oh and the players are absolutely loving this session, there was zero chance that they were going to stop now- one of the players (no names, Pete) had to text work colleagues to explain that due to a family emergency he wouldn’t be attending the office meal/party, the lies we tell in order to spend evenings giggling like loons and fingering odd shaped dice.</p><p></p><p>Last note, it was glorious to watch Myrium (Sandy) keep the buggers in line- always moving forward, when the leader thing works- it works incredibly well, or else she’s very good in the role (she’s a teacher by trade).</p><p></p><p>See you next time.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 7564406, member: 16069"] [CENTER][B]We D&D.[/B][/CENTER] [B]Lost Mine of Phandelver Session #14a Cunning Plans. Myrium the Blessed (played by Sandy) Female Human Cleric of Lathander Lvl 4 Shagga, Son of Dorf (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Paladin of Kord Lvl 4 Gaukus Grom (played by Pete) Male Dragonborn Sorcerer Lvl 4 Elvis Pickersgilly (played by Jackie) Male Forest Gnome Rogue Lvl 4[/B] Remember last session- the big attack on Cecil and the Black Spider, well… that’s been put on hold for a bit, it seems there’s been a whole lot of chatter between the last session and this one. The Blessed Avengers figure they have got time to spare, they were given 24 hours to complete their tasks, they’ve only used about 8 hours so far- that means they have 16 more hours including time for another Extended Rest before they have to go and face their newest patron (of sorts) Cecil (the nothic, remember). Oh, and this session went on for a while, we even had to stop to order food in- break for a couple of hours, and then get back to it. There was no-way anyone was leaving, however due to the length of the session I have had to break this narrative in to two parts. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full"]112974[/ATTACH][/CENTER] And so the Blessed Avengers have a list of things to achieve (I told you they had been chatting between sessions), over the next few hours (in-game time, obviously) they accomplish the following- 1) Gaukus (dragonborn sorcerer) gets practical with the magical forge, it takes him five-or-so minutes to turn Elvis’ (gnome rogue) dagger in to a +1 dagger (temporary). Soon enough all of the Blessed Avengers are fishing out a variety of items that need enhancing, Shagga (half-orc paladin) even strips down to his smalls to get his armour magicked, Myrium (human cleric) just gets her shield done. All told over the course of an hour or so about ten items are temporarily en-magicked (I know I’ve made up that word, but I like it). 2) While this is going on Myrium (and others) have a good long chat with Kevin the spectator, the winsome eye-monster is questioned about his capabilities; of particular interest is the creature’s ability to deflect spells, although several of his other powers also fall in to the wondrous range. The Blessed Avengers are starting to feel very positive about the latest turn of events. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full"]112975[/ATTACH][/CENTER] Next up is a visit to Wave Echo Cave proper, the group head north in to a huge high-ceilinged natural cavern containing a large body of water. The Avengers watch to see what happens- right on cue, two minutes since the last time, a sudden rumbling wave of water rolls in to the cavern from the north east and surges to the shore- crashing in to the rocky scarp and making… well, one hell of a noise. That’s it however… The passage alongside the watery fury goes on, as usual Elvis is sent ahead with his comrades following on a little way behind. The rogue wends his way down the tunnels as quietly as he can and eventually comes to the end of the passage- interesting. The passage ends in a high cave opening which looks down in to a crevasse, in the crevasse are a pair of bugbears- the duo seem to be looking for something, digging through the rocks and debris. The gnome stays hidden, and silent, and continues to watch- every now and then comes a voice from the far side of the crevasse. Eventually Elvis spots a pair of rope ladders leading up and out, and at the very edge of the crevasse on the far side is… it’s hard to be sure from this distance, and what with the lack of light- but it could be an elf, or more likely… a drow, and perhaps another hefty creature, a third bugbear? [CENTER][ATTACH type="full"]112976[/ATTACH][/CENTER] Elvis reports back to his comrades and then leads them forward one at a time to take a look- although for those lacking darkvision (Myrium & Gaukus) there’s little to see. The Blessed Avengers are not buying it however, they’ve seen drow before- the last one turned out to be a doppelganger, the players debate this for a short while but the subject seems to be mostly academic. It would be a hard ask for them to get from the cavern passage, down in to the crevasse- fight the bugbears there, and then get back up the other side and attack the drow et al. Certainly the task would be difficult to accomplish with stealth and/or speed. Which leads us to the next objective… But before that a quick word about the Random Encounter Table, during the end of the last session and continuing on in to this one I have made maybe ten rolls on it- nothing. I like to play things RAW unless I have a better idea or the RAW is just plain broke. I’m telling you this because I want you to know… I’m still rolling, as it turn out I’m still rolling low. Now back to their list- 3) What to do about the flameskull, a short debate follows- very short because the Blessed Avengers have now all got a spring in their step, it seems this is the end of a conversation which has been going on all week. In short Myrium & Shagga are of the opinion that they should try to destroy the flameskull in its lair- if things go badly they will flee to safety (their storeroom) and rest up, after all they have plenty of time to do so. However, if things go well then they have a way through to the eastern side of the caverns that doesn’t involve running through the (poisonous) fungus filled cavern. Last point- there was another exit out of the flameskull’s cavern (Shagga remembers- I think he drew a bit of a map), this could prove to be a short cut to somewhere advantageous. Moments later a consensus is reached- check it out, and if it looks good- ATTACK! The flameskull is going down. Elvis, as always, is sent ahead- the gnome doesn’t venture in to the smelter chamber, he hides in the entrance passage and watches- the zombies are where they were the last time the Avengers were here, in a pile after fleeing from Myrium’s holy aura. As to the flameskull- Elvis cannot see the creature, he therefore presumes it is back in its smelter lair (he’s correct). [CENTER][ATTACH type="full"]112977[/ATTACH][/CENTER] Thirty seconds later, after the plan is reiterated, the Blessed Avengers are green for go- Myrium, Gaukus and their new friend Kevin the spectator head in and start firing in to the prone zombies, which soon after are struggling to get to their feet. Meanwhile Shagga and Elvis head for the smelter, the half-orc paladin reads his Misty Step scroll (and then rolls well), and in a blink of an eye he reappears atop the machine- Talon in hand and ready to strike. Elvis makes use of his Boots of Striding & Springing, he joins the half-orc moments later. The zombies meanwhile are taking a beating. Then the flameskull arrives, exactly as the Blessed Avengers planned, it floats up from within the dark depths of the smelter, shouting and screaming dire warnings and threats, only… Shagga slices with Talon (with added Divine Smite), while Elvis lances with his magical rapier (with added Sneak Attack). The flameskull goes from full to 4 HP in a matter of seconds. The fiery foe stops screaming and casts Blur upon itself then flies swiftly up and away from its attackers. Down below the crowd control trio continues to wade through the zombies. Back atop the smelter Shagga drops Talon, grabs out a spear (he made sure that one of his spears was magicked in the forge) and then flings it- the flameskull shatters, consuming itself in a fiery explosion. Soon after all of the zombies are dead too. That was remarkably easy. It also generated a lot of joy- much whooping follows. The Blessed Avengers are however all business- the chamber is searched, even the inside of the smelter- Elvis is lowered in, disappointingly there’s no treasure to be had. There is however a corridor heading from the smelting chamber to the west- it ends in a door, which Elvis determines is barred and maybe barricaded from the other side, there’s also the sound of creatures in the chamber beyond the door- goblins, or else… bugbears. After another brief chat (and another roll on the Random Encounter Table- I’m determined, but nothing) the Blessed Avengers have a plan. Shagga puts his shoulder to the barricaded door and starts shoving, it’s opening- however the bugbears on the other side of the door are clearly perturbed by this activity, they start pushing back- and there are a few of them it seems (at least three different voices Elvis reckons). The half-orc paladin however is making little headway (even when Myrium gives him a hand), therefore the Avengers decide to halt the attempt. In a marvellous piece of improvised theatre Elvis uses his Minor Illusion ability to conjure the groans and moans of zombies at toil. The panicked bugbears go full fury to barricade the door again, convinced the undead are trying to break in. A good idea from the PCs, and well-covered up when the plan proves beyond them (or else beyond their dice rolls), the adventurers move on, back in to the mines, and from there back to their storeroom hideout. Shagga, it seems, has had another ‘great’ idea- he’s full of them, and so five minutes later (no Random Encounters- damn!) the Blessed Avengers get to hear Shagga’s latest plan, put simply- “We shud kill them all- NOW!” Obviously it’s short on detail but the half-orc paladin is quite obviously enthused. The other players (the fools) however do not instantly grasp the merits of the new plan, Shagga therefore adds a few details. Shagga’s New Plan take two- “We are strong (not injured, not expended lots of powers). They say back in 24 hours- we go now catch them pants down (basically they’re not going to be expecting the Blessed Avengers to be back so soon). We have eyeball terror with big bad magic (Kevin). We kill them quick-quick, rescue little people (Pip and Nundro).” Remarkably it all makes sense, and there are no dissenters, it seems we are on for the finale this session after all, and so an hour later- after a Short Rest, the Blessed Avengers- with Elvis (as always) sneaking ahead, head off to war. The gnome rogue sneaks back in to the chamber the Blessed Avengers are supposed to meet Cecil later, a rough cavern containing a large body of water, the place is guarded by a pair of bugbears who are hardly paying attention. One seems to be throwing stones in to the water, the other is sat on the stairs that lead in to the flagged passages north. Elvis reports back, and then a few minutes later (after further Myrium lead discussions) the attack begins. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full"]112978[/ATTACH][/CENTER] Myrium Blesses the troops- Elvis, deadly accurate as (nearly) always with his bow, assassinates the bugbear sitting on the stairs- the one furthest away from the Blessed Avengers, the other bugbear doesn’t even notice that his companion is dead- it carries on throwing stones in to the water. That is until Shagga breaks cover, the half-orc paladin runs behind the bugbear (who turns to see) and straight to the stairs- Shagga knows there’s a bugbear guardroom here, the door is wide open to the chamber, and he can see at least two more bugbears within. Suddenly Kevin the spectator flies in to the chamber, which causes the bugbear there some consternation (although we’re still in the surprise round), Kevin blasts the creature with his Wounding Ray, but (alas) fails to paralyze it. Gaukus hits the creature with his Fire Bolt, while Elvis finishes it off with another deadly accurate arrow-strike, ah the joys of high initiative rolls- my bad guys are dead before they know what’s going on. The Blessed Avengers move up in to the corridor, the alarm has not yet been sounded, the plan is to get as far as they can in to the bad guys territory, as quickly as they can- and in the process take down as many enemies as they can. Alas their progress does not go unnoticed, one of the bugbears in the guard chamber looks up and sees Shagga making his way forward, the half-orc paladin attempts to hide but… well, he’s a massive slice of humanity and noisy with it. The shout goes out and suddenly all three bugbears within the chamber are shouting and screaming- and moving towards the adventurers. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full"]112979[/ATTACH][/CENTER] Shagga and Elvis position themselves to block the corridor north, the bugbears are trapped in their room (unless they’re going to dismantle the barricade they reinforced earlier to prevent the undead from getting in). Seconds later Kevin the spectator appears and blasts a bugbear with his Wounding Ray, and then paralyzes another. Myrium smashes the wounded bugbear down, while Elvis stabs the paralyzed one- that hurt- seconds later Shagga finishes it off. The last bugbear standing flings a javelin in to Shagga and then slams the door to the chamber closed, and then holds it shut. Shagga moves to shove and wrestle the portal open but the large goblinoid prevents the paladin from getting in. “Keep moving! Keep moving!” Myrium hisses to her companions and then races down the northern passage, Gaukus following on behind the priestess. The pair arrive at a T-junction, stairs lead down eastwards in to a natural cavern, or so it seems from what little light there is (Gaukus’ lantern), while to the west the corridor continues on- the pair head west. Alas neither of the adventurers are particularly stealthy (they’re also moving at pace), they are of course trying to be stealthy, but they’re not succeeding (Myrium rolls ‘1’ and Gaukus ‘3’). Only twenty or thirty feet away from where they stand a drow (actually another doppelganger) overseeing the search of the crevasse (which the adventurers observed earlier) hears something odd and sends a bugbear to investigate. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full"]112980[/ATTACH][/CENTER] Less than ten seconds later the bugbear, having climbed the stairs in to the corridor, spots Gaukus and Myrium creeping up the corridor. The bugbear flings a javelin in Gaukus’ back, and almost kills the dragonborn (a Crit, Gaukus goes from full to 7 HP), and then starts screaming and shouting (the bugbear, not Gaukus- the dragonborn is a stoic chap). Meanwhile Shagga and Elvis, who are still trying (and failing) to get to the last bugbear in the guardroom, hear Gaukus’ screams- the pair abandon their task and come running. Elvis arrives just in time to punish the javelin flinging bugbear with a Sneak Attack. Myrium is quickly to Gaukus, she heals the dragonborn (Cure Wounds Level 2) as best she can- Gaukus is pissed, the sorcerer strides purposefully towards the bugbear- hits it with a Scorching Ray, then another (it expires) and then continues on down the stairs in to the crevasse chamber. Which turns out to be an ill-judged move, hidden in the shadows at the bottom of the stairs is the drow (still a doppelganger), the foul creature leaps at Gaukus with its twin shortswords (and misses both attacks, and with Advantage on both). Gaukus grins at the drow (doppelganger) and at very close range (and therefore at Disadvantage) unleashes his last Scorching Ray (and hits and rolls just short of max damage). The doppel-drow looks terrified, it disengages- screams blue murder and rushes off north- further in to the cavern. “He’s getting away!” Gaukus calls back to his comrades. Meanwhile the two bugbears that were down in the crevasse are making their way up the ladders, and towards the action. Shagga rushes forward, grabs out his magicked spear and flings it in to the back of the retreating doppel-drow, Kevin catches up with events and hits the same villain with his Wounding Ray, Elvis flings a dagger- the creature is critically wounded but still alive and screaming (and still fleeing). Myrium (who has only just arrived on the scene) and Gaukus let loose the artillery, a Sacred Flame followed by three more Scorching Rays- all way off target. Gaukus has to convert some of his Magic Font Points in order to get himself another second level spell. The two bugbears climb out of the crevasse and charge in to action- one slashes Elvis- the gnome is trying to get to the doppel-drow, while the other flails wildly at Shagga. The doppel-drow however is still intent on fleeing, it doesn’t get far- Elvis gets his man/drow/doppelganger, and cuts the beast down. Just two bugbears left in the fight, and neither of the pair look keen on making a stand- and then less so when Kevin paralyzes one and hits the other with his Wounding Ray. Note I’m not playing the spectator full on, Kevin has once or twice headed off in the wrong direction, and then had to double move the next round to get back in to position. I’m using the creature’s full repertoire of powers but inconsistently, I don’t want the spectator to grab all of the limelight. Elvis kills the badly wounded bugbear and then menaces the paralyzed individual, however Myrium- as always, is in charge, and still directing operations. “Leave it, the drow (doppelganger) was heading this way (north)- COME ON!” The priestess of Lathander races off, Shagga and Gaukus rush after her- which of course just leaves Elvis with the paralyzed bugbear. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full"]112981[/ATTACH][/CENTER] “You’re dead, mate.” Elvis states to the bugbear, and when he’s certain that his colleagues can no-longer see him, the gnome guts the hefty goblinoid and then rushes after his friends- grinning like a loon (or else like a homicidal maniac, you decide). At which point we had been playing (around the table) for nearly four-and-a-half hours, and so a break was called for- food ordered after the decision is made that we would play to the end. However, I’ll continue the final instalment in Session 14b next time. Just to say that the fight to the Black Spider’s HQ has taken about fifteen rounds long already- Myrium’s Bless spell has long since faded; Myrium, Shagga and Elvis have all taken hits- but nothing significant, while Gaukus has taken a beating but been healed (mostly- about 75% to full) by the priestess. Kevin hasn’t got a scratch on him. For the bad guys seven bugbears have met their maker, the lone survivor is back in the guardroom still holding the door shut, the only other casualty is the drow (doppelganger) overseer, cut down by Elvis just in the nick of time. The finale comes next. Oh and the players are absolutely loving this session, there was zero chance that they were going to stop now- one of the players (no names, Pete) had to text work colleagues to explain that due to a family emergency he wouldn’t be attending the office meal/party, the lies we tell in order to spend evenings giggling like loons and fingering odd shaped dice. Last note, it was glorious to watch Myrium (Sandy) keep the buggers in line- always moving forward, when the leader thing works- it works incredibly well, or else she’s very good in the role (she’s a teacher by trade). See you next time. [/QUOTE]
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